Chapter 21

This morning, Ju-woon woke up thinking he had class, but the second he opened his eyes, reality hit. It was Saturday. And... Min-ho?

"Ju-woon, you up?" Min-ho walked into his room like he owned the place.

Ju-woon just stared at him, still half-asleep. God, why did he let Min-ho come over so often?

"I made breakfast~," Min-ho teased, dragging out his words like he knew Ju-woon couldn't resist free food.

Ju-woon immediately sat up.

"Hmph. So that does work."

"Shut up. What'd you make?"

"Eggs and bacon."

"Alright." Ju-woon followed him into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. He was still sleepy, but the smell of food actually woke him up a little. He sniffed the air—okay, it smelled decent. But there was no way Min-ho could actually cook, right? He sat down and took a bite, expecting something something average.

Except,it was really good.

Ju-woon chewed slowly, trying not to let it show on his face. He wasn't about to give Min-ho the satisfaction.

"Is it good, Ju-woon?" Min-ho asked, leaning in with a smirk.

Ju-woon shrugged, playing it cool. "It's alright."

Min-ho sighed dramatically. "Are you always this cranky in the morning?"

Ju-woon ignored him, shoving another bite into his mouth.

"What time is it?" he mumbled between bites.

"Uh… 5 PM."

Ju-woon choked. "What?!"

He knew he went to bed late, but 5 PM? What the hell? Did Min-ho drug him or something?

"Do you seriously have nothing better to do than annoy me? wait, shouldn't you be home by now?" Ju-woon spoke while rubbing his eyes

Min-ho just shrugged like he had all the time in the world.

After Ju-woon finished eating, he grabbed his sketchbook and sat on the couch. He barely got through flipping a page before Min-ho plopped down beside him with a sigh.

"Aw, come on, don't ignore your guest."

Ju-woon kept sketching, pretending Min-ho didn't exist. Min-ho huffed but gave up, pulling out his phone and scrolling through social media. The room was quiet except for the occasional scribbling sound from Ju-woon's pencil. Min-ho didn't know how much time had passed—maybe a few hours—until he came across something weird.

A post. A picture of Ju-woon. With some random girl.

The hell? Who even was she?

Min-ho frowned, staring at the photo for way too long. They weren't holding hands or anything, but they were standing close. Too close. And Ju-woon was actually looking at her while talking. Min-ho had never seen him look at anyone like that before.

Why did this bother him so much?

"Ju-woon, come here."

Ju-woon ignored him.

So Min-ho did the next best thing—he snatched Ju-woon's sketchbook right out of his hands.

"Hey! What the fuck?" Ju-woon snapped, reaching for it, but Min-ho held it out of reach.

"Don't ignore me."

Ju-woon glared. "What do you want?"

Min-ho flipped his phone around, showing the post. "Who's this girl?"

Ju-woon frowned, looking at the screen. "Oh, her? She's from our math class."

Min-ho narrowed his eyes. "Why were you hanging out with her?"

Ju-woon sighed, clearly annoyed. "Min-ho, chill. I bumped into her while getting groceries. That's it. Why do you care?"

Min-ho opened his mouth, then shut it. Yeah. Why did he care? It was just some girl. It wasn't like Ju-woon was his or anything.

But for some reason, the thought of Ju-woon being close to someone else made hime uncomrtable . He wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't like it.

after a few seconds of thinking, it hit Min-ho, was this jealousy? What the hell..why?

"Whatever," Min-ho muttered, tossing the sketchbook back.

They sat in silence until a loud grumble interrupted them. Ju-woon's stomach.

Min-ho smirked. "Pfft. Are you hungry? Should've just said so. Let's go to a cafe or something."

"We don't have to—"

Min-ho grabbed his wrist, pulling him toward the door. "Too late. You're already coming."

Ju-woon sighed, grabbing his jacket and slipping on his shoes. "Where are we even going?"

"Just some random cafe I know. It's close."

Ju-woon hummed. "Fine. Whatever."

The walk was quiet, but it wasn't awkward. The air was warm, the streets dimly lit. When they reached the cafe, Ju-woon was surprised—it was nice, with barely anyone inside. He'd never been here before, even though it was so close to campus.

They sat outside under the glow of the streetlights, the faint hum of passing cars in the background. It felt… peaceful.

A waiter came over. "What'll you have?"

"Just a salad," Ju-woon said. He wasn't too hungry.

"I'll have pasta," Min-ho added.

The waiter nodded and left.

Min-ho leaned back, looking at Ju-woon. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

Again with the unnecessary concern. Min-ho had been acting weird lately. Different. Like he actually cared.

"I'm good."

Min-ho just hummed, but his mind was somewhere else. He watched Ju-woon absently tap his fingers against the table, looking off into the distance. Something about the way he looked right now—calm, not pissed off for once—made Min-ho feel weird again.

These past few days, he had started seeing Ju-woon differently. Like he was noticing things about him he never paid attention to before. Like how his eyes softened when he was zoned out. How he chewed on his bottom lip when he was thinking too hard. How he made Min-ho feel…

Nope. Not going there.

Min-ho shook his head, snapping himself out of it. "Hey, Ju-woon, tell me—who do you think is more annoying when drunk?"

Ju-woon scoffed. "Easy. You."

"Bullshit. You mistook me for your childhood dog once."

Ju-woon's eye twitched. "And you hospitalized a kid!"

Min-ho blinked. "Okay, fair."

Ju-woon smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Thought so."

Min-ho huffed, pretending to be mad. "You know, I could remind you what happened last time you got drunk."

Ju-woon froze.

They both knew what he meant.

For the rest of the night, their usual bickering toned down a little. It felt different. Just slightly.

But neither of them acknowledged it.

That night Ju-woon didnt realize it but he got a few messages from someone.

someone he knew too well, his mom.

Mother- Ju-woon answer

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