oops, i meant that | joyuma

06: UNEXPECTED SIDE

yuma told himself he was fine.

totally fine.

so what if asakura jo had asked him for a kiss last night?

so what if he'd walked home replaying every second of it like some doomed romcom protagonist?

so what if, when he finally collapsed into bed, his brain wouldn't shut up about the way jo had looked at him steady, amused and maddeningly gentle?

none of it meant anything.

except now his chest tightened every time he remembered it, which was approximately every six seconds.

"i'm fine," he muttered into his reflection as he dragged himself onto campus, hoodie pulled low and cap shoved down like armor. "totally, absolutely, one hundred percent fine. nothing to see here."

his classmates, and his curse unfortunately, disagreed.

"I'm not fine." he whispered.

the second he stepped into the lecture hall, whispers flared.

"yuma-kun is here!"
"he's really handsome!"
"my sister's obsessed with his drama!"
"shh, don't bother him!"

except, of course, they did.

"nakakita-kun, do you mind a quick selfie after class?"
"is it true you have a new project coming up?"
"hey, hey, who's that guy you've been hanging around with lately? tall, kind of scary-looking? is he your bodyguard?"

yuma's pen almost snapped in his grip. "he's not my bodyguard, he's just—" he cut himself off before the curse could force a confession. scowling, he hunched deeper into his seat.

the room buzzed with poorly hidden laughter and nudges. yuma clenched his jaw, burying his face in his notebook.

perfect. amazing. exactly what i needed today. thank you, universe.

then the classroom door banged open.

every head turned.

yuma looked up and nearly fell out of his chair.

jo strolled in, late as hell, one hand casually shoving his hair back, the other clutching a slip from the office. his uniform was slightly rumpled, collar askew, like he'd sprinted halfway here but couldn't care less.

"sorry," jo said flatly, handing the slip to the professor. "overslept."

the professor waved him toward the empty seat rows and of course, of course, the only open one was right next to yuma.

yuma slapped a hand over his face. "not this shit again."

jo's footsteps carried closer. closer and then the chair beside him scraped back and jo dropped into it like he belonged there.

"morning," jo said simply.

yuma turned his head so fast his hood nearly flew off. "why are you late?! you're never late!"

"first time for everything." jo's lips curved, just a fraction. "besides, you look like you missed me."

yuma almost choked on his own spit. "i did not! don't say things like that in public."

"then stop blushing in public."

yuma slammed his notebook shut so hard it echoed through the lecture hall.

-

class dragged on. normally, yuma would at least distract himself by scribbling dramatic doodles in the margins of his notes, but today his attention kept drifting sideways.