short | chw.

0.8

"why do you keep falling asleep in lectures?" jooheon muffled as he took a big bite from his sandwich. hyungwon rolled his eyes at jooheon's remark since he doesn't listen either, and just comes to class to see a certain girl.

they were at a nearby cafe, wasting one last hour they had for lectures. of course, jooheon was quick to say yes when hyungwon suggested they skip the rest of the schedule. hyungwon had a valid reason—he didn't feel that well during the lecture, so a little time off would lessen the burden.

"stop pointing it out as if you actually listen," hyungwon snapped.

"cocky," jooheon winced as hyungwon continued to glare. "calm down, would you?"

hyungwon didn't respond and just rolled his eyes. sometimes it was better not to argue with jooheon, because he was pretty defensive. moments after, minhyuk joined them and sat across hyungwon. the boy didn't seem very happy, and it was odd because he was often so energetic. jooheon being quite inconsiderate, he decided to ask what's going on, "what's up with you?"

"nothing," minhyuk answered bluntly. "mind your own business."

"the two of you are such dicks today," jooheon shrugged and attempted to joke them. "what did you have for breakfast?"

neither minhyuk or hyungwon answered and remained silent. jooheon just ignored it and ate his sandwich, if he had an outburst it would probably disrupt the people in the cafe. it didn't take long until hyungwon realized it was the cafe minhyuk's best friend works in. he was probably disturbed over the fact his friend was working in the same place as her boyfriend. hyungwon admitted to himself that if he were in minhyuk's place, he'd be uncomfortable too. he noticed how minhyuk's gaze kept shifting at the counter, seemingly conscious over who might approach their table. hyungwon wanted to ask him if he was okay, but it was a useless question. "minhyuk—ah," a soft voice called and all three of them looked to the same direction. "it's been so long."

hyungwon tilted his head and saw 'sumi' on her name tag. he let out a laugh since it reminded him of hyemi. "everyone is crowding by the counter so we were told to get orders by table," sumi explained, panting a little. she brought out her tiny notepad and pen, looking at the three boys with a smile. "so, are you guys ready to order?"

"uh," hyungwon faced minhyuk who was deadpanned. he figured it was a bad time to ask him so he went to jooheon instead. "do you want anything else other than your sandwich?"

"hmm," jooheon smirked. "are you part of the menu?"

"shut up," hyungwon hissed, noticing how dark minhyuk's face just turned. sumi on the other hand just laughed it off. "i have a boyfriend who always makes those kinds of jokes," she chuckled but jooheon lost expression on his face. "it's okay if you need time, just call me again."

with that, she left and minhyuk let out a big sigh. "now that's over with, i can leave." he said, getting up. hyungwon came to stop him because the three of them had a study group in the library. jooheon didn't hold back and shouted, "what's your problem? is it that sumi girl?"

"what the fuck," minhyuk growled lowly. he looked around making sure sumi didn't hear anything. "stop being so loud."

"well," hyungwon joined. "if you're uncomfortable with sumi, let us do the talking for you."

"she's expecting me to talk to her, but i don't want to."

"you know," hyungwon paused for a bit and leaned back. "doing that makes you look like a coward."

jooheon stopped drinking his coffee to nod. "exactly, you can't stop denying that she's with someone else. how long has it even been?"

"a year," minhyuk answered. "a year of me trying to avoid facts."

"there's something else in store for you," hyungwon said, trying to sound reasonable. "who knows, maybe the next girl would be so much better."

minhyuk didn't respond again, and just averted his eyes from the two boys. he was observing the guy at the counter. hyungwon turned to look as well, and his mouth shaped into a little 'o'.

"is that..." hyungwon pursed his lips. "her boyfriend?"

"yeah, that's kihyun," minhyuk said reluctantly. "of course, when sumi admitted that she liked kihyun, i couldn't force her not to. i just let her go, because i didn't want her to get hurt."

"that's pretty mature," jooheon scoffed. "you're not over her, at all."

"looks like it, right?" minhyuk chuckled, seeming to have calmed down. "it's hard to look at this all over again."

"you guys got anything?" a voice said, rushing onto their table. it was kihyun.

minhyuk turned around on purpose, suggesting he didn't want to see kihyun to worsen his mood. hyungwon hinted the idea and spoke instead, "i'll have an iced americano, and he'll have the same thing too."

"is that it?" kihyun smiled while listing down the order. hyungwon wasn't sure if that smile was genuine but he shrugged it off. "do you want any sandwiches or soups?"

hyungwon suddenly remembered he was going to see hyemi so he added onto the order. "uh, another iced americano and a grilled cheese sandwich to go."

"alright, i'll be quick," kihyun said before running back to the counter that was still flooded with people who wanted their take outs.

"you ordering for hyemi?" jooheon asked. "i swear, she's gonna fall in love with you anytime soon."

when kihyun said he'd be quick, he wasn't lying. he returned with a tiny paper bag the carried the sandwich and a little handle for the three iced americanos. "here you go," he said while placing a tiny tray for the bill. jooheon insisted he pay after hyungwon treated him the other night, and minhyuk promised to repay him sometime.

"thanks," kihyun said before finally leaving.

minhyuk got up with a stretch. "i can breathe."

"do what you want," hyungwon sighed, getting up after jooheon. they got the food and left the cafe. minhyuk seemed to return to his normal persona after leaving. "what are you guys gonna review for?"

"the exam." jooheon and hyungwon said in unison. "i don't think you have much of a problem though, minhyuk." hyungwon continued.

"exactly, you have such a good life all you need is a job." jooheon groaned but minhyuk was quick to answer. "it's not my fault my parents want me to study further."

"you could've worked at the same cafe as sumi," jooheon kidded but got a punch on his shoulder.

"stop talking."

[ author's note ]

i was freestyle writing and this is where it ended up

oh well i can work with it HAHAHA

hope y'all enjoyed i'm happy that more people are acknowledging the story :)