𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 | x1

07

07 — BOUNCE BACK

it's a strange sight to see you like that.

(the first line of this chapter is a reference to one of the older chaps of superhuman, i lowkey hope y'all remember HAAHAHHAH)

—

"why are you squinting like that, are you tryna kiss him or something?"

guanlin teases him eagerly, yet dongpyo is far off from amused. he shoves off his snarky remark, refraining to something else. "i'm not staring at him, i'm just lost in deep thoughts. also, i'm not squinting, it's just the annoying sunlight that's making it harder for me to even see properly."

"yeah, and you end up squinting because of the sunlight. is it that hard for you to admit that i'm right? jeez, you're no fun." guanlin grunts in annoyance. "staring at junho doesn't make it any difference, dongpyo-yah— he's never going to have you as a replacement for eunsang."

dongpyo breaks off the gaze, turning his head to guanlin. "replacement?"

"you have a crush on him, right? a crush on junho?" guanlin laughs again. "please, dongpyo-yah. i could definitely see it in your eyes. your unrequited love with cha junho is torturing your achy-breaky heart; your breakup with lee eunsang had made you realize that who you actually love has been there for you the whole time, and that person is cha junho—"

dongpyo hits him in the guts. guanlin winces. "i do NOT have a crush on junho, nor eunsang, nor any other boys you have in mind so please, shut up before i tape your mouth."

guanlin frowns, and afterwards didn't reply to him again. dongpyo sighs in relief before he continues staring at junho who was sitting alone close to the window, reading his chemistry book. dongpyo ponders.

is that person fully fake junho? is the real junho even still alive?

what happened when he purposely left eunsang to sit with the latter? why did eunsang lose consciousness afterwards? what were they so deeply talking about?

if he let eunsang sit with him that day, is there a possibility of him avoiding such tragedy?

if he wasn't such an ignorant asshole, was he able to understand the dangers of this fake junho without sabotaging the life of his other friend, eunsang?

he hesitates. wow, dongpyo. if it wasn't for you, eunsang wouldn't have to be lying in the hospital right now.

guanlin raises his voice again, pulling dongpyo back to real life after his constant daydreaming. "now that i think of it, it's quite reasonable for you to suddenly have your attention on junho again."

if you say it's because i have a crush on him one more time, i won't hesitate to wrap my fingers around your neck. "hm?"

"i mean.. look at him. are you even sure he's junho?" guanlin wrinkles his forehead. "he's been acting like a strange folk ever since he came home from egypt, did you witness how crazy he was this morning? he volunteered himself as a student council leader candidate! a candidate!" guanlin was practically screaming now. "i mean, that doesn't sound like something the past junho would've done. and hey, look at him!"

he points at junho dramatically without even a pinch of shame, and dongpyo just let the boy be occupied by his sudden ramblings as he lazily continues to stare at junho. "he unbuttons the first two buttons of his shirt, uses a t-shirt underneath his uniform, and has his hair slicked back! boy, junho has always been nothing but a hairy coconut up until to this day! since when did he try to keep up with the latest fashion trends?" guanlin shakes his head. "look at his small face, and those eyes.. with the looks of it, he definitely has the traits of an idol, that's for sure."