bit of a long chapter ahead. hang in there, grab a snack if needed ;) ♡
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"So, who's going first?" Jisung asked, crossing his arms.
Jisung, Jinyoung, Woojin and a few of the other guys were in an empty classroom. The two culprits were hiding from Jisung all day until Jaehwan saw them and decided to snitch. Grabbing them by the ear, Jisung dragged them to an empty classroom after school hours.
"Well?" Jisung raised his voice, making them flinch.
"Wait don't start, Jihoon isn't back with the popcorn yet!" Jaehwan said, Daniel nodding eagerly beside him. "Oh and some tea... but not literal tea I hate tea ew, so he's getting juice instead."
"I still don't know why I agreed to let you guys stay here for this." Jisung shook his head, he was slowly regretting saying yes to his friends.
"Well I mean who's gonna hold you back when you jump on them out of frustration?" Daniel reminded him.
"Not sure if that'll happen since I put them on different sides of the room, like children in time out."
Jinyoung and Woojin were seated on top of desks on either side of the room while Jisung and the 'by-standers' aka the audience that consisted of Jaehwan, Jihoon and Daniel sat at the back windows, waiting for the show to begin.
Jinyoung and Woojin remained silent, only looking at each other with glaring eyes and furrowed eyebrows.
Jisung sighed, "Fine if you two nut cases won't speak, then I will—". He was about to continue until Jihoon burst through the door with a savory, buttery snack and drinks.
"Sorry I'm late, some guy infront of me decided to heat up his rice cakes, like who does that at the end of the day?" Jihoon hopped on a table between Jaehwan and Daniel, passing their drinks to them, "Did I miss anything?"
"Luckily no since you interrupted me from talking." Jisung looked at Jihoon, who was too busy stuffing popcorn in his mouth to pay attention to his words.
Jisung looked back towards the moody boys, "Alright, lets start. First things first, you two are brainless morons—"
"Preach!" Jaehwan praised, lifting his juice box up in the air, the boys beside him following after. Jisung glared at him before continuing.
"I'm not sure if you hit your head somewhere or are just blinded by love, but I don't know what you were thinking ruining Hyejin's date, Jinyoung."
Jinyoung shrugged, "Whatever happened, happened. Can't go back and stop myself from doing what I did."
"Hmm maybe if I hit you hard enough you'll travel back in time to a century ago, it'll give you plenty of time for you to stop yourself from doing it again." Woojin cocked an eyebrow at Jinyoung.
"Woojin I did not give you permission to speak." Jisung scolded him, making Woojin roll his eyes. "Didn't know we were in court."
"Surprised you would even know what a court hearing would be like. You must have committed a few crimes for you to know. Might as well add this one to your list." Jinyoung spoke up.
"Yeah and in a few minutes another will probably take place." Woojin rolled up his sleeves, threatening Jinyoung from across the room.
"H-Hey, you guys need to relax okay! There's no need for physical fights." Jisung almost slipped off the desk, afraid they were about to pounce on each other.
"That won't be a problem, Jinyoung can't even throw a punch. He only specializes in cat fighting." Woojin smirked.
"Oh I'll show you a punch."
"I'd like to see you try."
"STOP IT!" Jisung raised his voice, making the two fall quiet, the entire building becoming quieter than it was before.
"You know, maybe we should just let them quarrel it out for a bit," Daniel suggested, "Let's just let them get everything off their chest."
"Yeah I don't think they can have a serious conversation unless that happens." Jihoon muffled through the popcorn.
Jisung took a breath in, rubbing his temple to stay calm, "Alright, fine. Let's let them talk it out. It won't be pretty but you three can't stop me if things get out of hand."
He looked between Jinyoung and Woojin, "You two clearly have a lot of things you want to say to eachother, so go for it. I won't stop you, unless things go bad."
"In front of you guys?" Jinyoung asked, pointing to his friends. He watched Daniel, Jihoon and Jaehwan getting comfortable in their spots, placing the popcorn in the middle of the three.
"Well I don't want to be responsible for one of you with a broken nose. So we are staying here." Jisung moved back on the desk, adjusting himself so he can be seated comfortably. "Go for it."
"Fight fight fight!" Jaehwan chanted. Jisung swore under his breath, smacking the excited boy.
There was a bit of silence, neither boy wanted to speak first, not knowing how to start the conversation.
Jisung sighed, "I don't have time to sit here and wait for you someone to speak."
"I'm sure Jinyoung has a lot to say, I wonder why he he hasn't said anything yet?" Woojin leaned back, resting his weight on one arm.
"Alright fine, lets start off with something easy," Jinyoung leaned forward. "Why'd you do it?"
"Go on a date with her?" Woojin scoffed, "Cause I like her, duh."
"No dumbass I meant why didn't you tell us that she was the real Hyejin." Jinyoung clarified.
A hint of amusement sparkled in Woojin's eyes, "Oh, I'm sure the real reason you're mad is because I kept her a secret."
"Well cause it is."
"Actually, now that I think about it," Woojin taps his chin, "You must be pretty jealous that Hyejin likes me more than you. You probably wish that you found her first so you would be the one going on dates with her and slowly win her heart. I'm right, right?"
Jinyoung scoffed, "Okay now you're just being ridiculous. First of all, that's not true. I'm just mad that you took her away from us. We barely got to hang out with her but you're already spent way too much time with her."
"Well it's not like he kidnapped her. He can have his time with her as much as he wants to. They're close, Jinyoung. You should respect that," Jisung told him, "They clearly have this close bond that none of us can relate to."
"Well I know that, I'm just saying he's spent just a wee bit more time with her than the rest of us." He replied.
Woojin smirked, "So I was right, you're jealous."
"No its just the truth."
"That you're jealous."
"NO THAT YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM US!"
"Dude we all know you mean yourself." Daniel spoke up, the boys beside him nodding their heads in agreement.
"Okay whatever, fine maybe I meant myself, but I'm also speaking for everyone on this one. Right guys?"
Jihoon shrugged, "Uh yeah, I guess some of the other guys can relate."
"Listen I don't have the time or the crayons to explain this to you," Woojin started, making the others chuckle, "And I'm pretty sure she told you this too. It was her decision. I mean, if she really liked you then she would've told you before anyone else. Ever thought about that?"
Jinyoung let out a sarcastic laugh, "Oh don't act like you were the almighty chosen one."
"Well lowkey I was so..." Woojin said with a mischievous smirk.
"Gosh I don't know how Hyejin could ever like someone as arrogant as you."
He shrugged, "I could say the same thing about you."
"Wow, honestly I don't know how we're even 'friends'."
"Same, I envy the people who have never met you." Woojin said nonchalantly.
"You make me wish I had more middle fingers."
"Are they...?" Daniel raised an eyebrow. Jihoon nodded his head, whispering, "Yep, they're going into a war, an insult war."
Woojin tilted his head to the side, "I don't know what makes you stupid, but it really works."
"Brains aren't everything, and in your case they're nothing." Jinyoung retorted back.
"Stop trying to be a smart ass, you're just an ass."
"The last time I saw something like you, I flushed it."
"If ugly were a crime, you'd get a life sentence."
"If you were a potato, you'd be a stupid potato!"
The boys snickered to themselves. "What kind of insult was that..." Jaehwan muttered.
Jinyoung hopped off the desk slowly approaching Woojin, who also copied his movements, "Does your ass ever get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?"
"Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent!"
"I'd slap you, but that would be animal abuse."
His jaw dropped, "Y-Yeah? Well y-you're so ugly your own portraits hang themselves!"
"Oh boy here comes the 'ugly' insults..." Jihoon whispered.
"That's how you know they ran out of stuff to say." Jaehwan added.
"You're so ugly, when your mom dropped you off at school, she got a fine for littering."
"You're so ugly that when you were born the doctor slapped your mother."
"Yeah well you look like something I drew with my left hand!"
"Your birth certificate is an apology letter from the condom factory."
"Such a shame that your mom didn't swallow you. She would have done us all a favour."
"I hope your future wife brings a date to your funeral."
"Okay alright that's enough!" Jisung walked over and stood between them. He could feel the intense heat and anger coming off of them. He knew he needed to stop them before something bad would happened.
"Gosh, Jisung always stops them at the best moments." Jaehwan sulks in his spot, lazily stuffing the remaining popcorn in his mouth.
"You two need to maturely work things out, and if you think Hyejin will like a bunch of children like you two, then think again." Jisung glanced at them one more time before heading towards the door.
"But—"
Jisung opened the door, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I'd rather have type two diabetes." With that, he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Daniel chuckled, "Ah, our Jisung will always remain superior out of all of us."
It was quiet, no one dared to speak. The two boys could only stare at each other, almost hoping for the other to say something to break the silence.
"Dang the popcorn ran out... I'm gonna get some more." Jihoon said, hopping off the table. "I'll come too." Daniel copied his movements, following behind him.
Jaehwan too got off the table, walking towards the door. He stopped at the door handle, turning around to them, "We're probably not coming back since we've got better things to do. You guys should probably use this time to work things out, with words." With that he closed the door, leaving the two in infinite silence.
The two stood still, letting their bodies and minds cool and calm down for a while. But with the silence overtaking them, they start to realize that they may have overreacted, even being too harsh to each other. And after a few minutes, Jinyoung was the first one to move, sitting on the table once again, "Jisung is right, Hyejin probably hates us."
"Yeah, I'd hate us too if I were her." Woojin sighed, running a hand through his hair, "We dragged her into something she probably thought would never happen."
Jinyoung nodded, "She was just looking for friends, and we made it worse. If I got the chance to go back and redo everything, I would."
"But I know for a fact that my feelings for her wouldn't change."
It suddenly became awkward, both boys not knowing what to say after Jinyoung's statement.
Woojin awkwardly cleared his throat, "You... you can have her. I'll back off. I already saw your feelings for her way back then and I still went for her anyways. I was being inconsiderate and I'm sorry."
Jinyoung felt his heart sink when he heard the sadness in his voice, it cracking by the end. He moved over to sit beside Woojin, patting his shoulder, "Its okay, I guess I should have expect at least one of you guys to like her. But my actions were uncalled for, I shouldn't have done what I had done to you and her."
"I guess we both acted pretty childish huh."
"Yeah..."
"If I'm going to be honest, you treat her better than I ever could. I can tell she really likes your company, you clearly deserve her." Jinyoung said, looking down at his dangling feet as it didn't touch the floor. He let out a small laugh, "Its a good thing you won the game anyways, it makes the decision easier for us."
"You mean the ping pong match?" Woojin raised an eyebrow at him, "But none of us won, Hyejin took the ball before you could hit it back."
"Yeah exactly, so I technically missed the ball since I didn't hit it. The rules were whoever missed the ball loses, so I pretty much lost."
"Wait Jinyoung that shouldn't count—"
"We both shook on it dude, you won. And I'm okay with it."
Woojin rolled his eyes, "Oh come on its just a stupid game, we are not going by it. I'm not going to call her mine just because I 'won' the game."
"Still, I don't think I can get another chance with her. I ruined your date, and things went too far," Jinyoung sighed, looking away, "I'll let you have her."
Woojin's eyes widen, "W-What?"
"Yeahh I don't think I could ever get on her good side again." He scratched his head awkwardly, clasping his hands together in defeat. "I think I've done enough damage."
Jinyoung didn't feel like mentioning the phone conversation the two had the other day. Just thinking about it brought back painfully memories, the way her voice was hoarse by the end of the call, her harsh cries when she yelled at him. He never thought they would reach that point, a conversation like that would make sense if they were together. But the fact that they were arguing that bad even before they got together scared him, wondering what the future would even look like for the two of them.
"No wait, this isn't fair for neither of us. I think its just best if we let her decide?" Woojin suggested, giving some hope to the now sulking boy. "You know, that is if she still likes us."
Jinyoung thought about it for a bit, before nodding, "Okay that's fine. Although its pretty obvious she'll choose you."
"Oh shut up," Woojin shoved his shoulder, making Jinyoung smile a bit. "Hey, whoever she chooses, no hard feelings right?"
"Of course not."
✧ ── ✩ ── ✧
"So that's why I think unicorns exist, and one day I will prove everyone that I was right." Guanlin said proudly, looking at the two with confidence in his eyes.
"Okay buddy, I'll be here chilling with Hyejin until you find one," Seongwoo rolled his eyes at him, "I mean it'll be a long time but I don't mind spending the rest of my life with her." He gazed at her, aiming to take her hand until Guanlin swatted him away.
The three were out on the schools rooftop, sitting together, chilling and talking while eating a few snacks from the convenience store that Seongwoo bought for them.
Hyejin laughed, playfully rolling her eyes, "I wouldn't mind being friends with you guys until we grow old honestly. Unless you guys fight like those two kids then I want nothing to do with you."
"Oh come on I'm nothing like them. But Guanlin here is pretty childish so you should probably look out for him." Seongwoo nudges his head towards the boy admiring Hyejin's pink phone case.
"Hey I told you to stop being mean to him! I mean just look at him," Hyejin holds out her palm, Guanlin taking the opportunity to lay his head down on it, her hand cupping his cheek, "He's too pure for this world. And you mister are supposed to protect him, not attack him."
Seongwoo scoffs at her, "I don't get how you can stay so chill around him, he literally boils my blood." Guanlin looked at him, pouting. Seongwoo couldn't help but sigh, being hypnotized by his puppy dog eyes, he suddenly felt apologetic. He ruffled his hair, making Guanlin smile again.
"Well atleast you know how I feel about those two right now." Hyejin looks down, fiddling with her bag of chips.
Seongwoo and Guanlin look at each other with sad eyes. The only reason they were all together was to help Hyejin come to a decision and to have a clear mind. She told them about what happened between her and Jinyoung and she had been torn ever since.
"Hyejin, don't stress yourself over this too much. It's not good for your health. They are two ugly mofo's who are not worthy of your time." Seongwoo put his hand on her shoulder, "Why have them when I'm right here?"
"Shut up Seongwoo." Guanlin spoke up suddenly. Hyejin and Seongwoo slowly turn to look at him, bewildered expressions on their faces, "E-Excuse me? What did you just say?"
"I... I said shut up." He gulped before continuing again, "We should take this seriously. Clearly she's upset and there's no need to be cracking "jokes" here, which by the way aren't funny because I'm not laughing. Hyejin talked to us first thing in the morning, not the other guys. We should be thankful that she thinks of us as her close friends but that's clearly not happening since you're here trying to slide into her dm's in real life. So put aside your playboy material and help her out here."
The two of them stare at him in disbelief. Hyejin looked amazed but shocked while Seongwoo looked offended.
"Thank you for coming to my ted talk." Guanlin nodded at the two before turning his attention back to her sparkly phone case.
Seongwoo and Hyejin looked at each other, "He... That was kinda sweet, don't you think?" She looked back at Guanlin, wondering how a sweet boy like him was able to say such amazing words and put Seongwoo back in his place.
"Pft, pure my ass." Seongwoo rolled his eyes. She smack his stomach. "Ow, hey okay sorry. He's right, I'm sorry I'll take it more seriously from now on."
"Thanks, I guess. I mean I'm not complaining but, I really do need to make a decision. I don't want to lose them as my friends. And I do like them both which is such a dumb thing of me to do, just call me Hyejin the slut!" She threw her arms up in exaggeration before covering her mouth, not realizing what she just said.
"S-Slut?" Guanlin raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"
"It's a type of cheese, don't say that ever again." Seongwoo told him before turning his attention back to her.
"Don't call yourself that, it's not like you're going around sleeping with them. I know this seems like some sort of life or death decision, but really its not. They won't hate you if you can't choose one of them. Like you said, friendship is way more important, and I think at this point they rather be your friend than lose you all together. Those two are probably rekindling their friendship right now, I know Jisung wouldn't let them leave until they do. Now that part is over, all there's left is just deciding who makes you happier."
"And you've got two paths to choose from," He pointed to her head, "Either you listen to your mind," He then pointed to her heart, "Or you follow your heart. But there's no rush. Either way, I'm sure they will respect your decision, even Jinyoung."
"I hope so," She bit her lip, "I'm worried about him the most."
"Really? You're not even worried about how broken Woojin's heart will be after you reject him?" Seongwoo asked. She groaned, burying her head in her hands, "Stoppp! This is making everything worse! I might as well not choose anyone!"
"Well like I said before, I'll be here, waiting." Seongwoo leaned back against the wall, smirking to himself as Hyejin glared at him.
The sound of a door opening got the attention of the three, turning their heads to see who had arrived. "Oh? You guys are done already?" Seongwoo asked them.
Jisung nodded, "We're done because I'm done. I couldn't stand being in the same room with them any longer. But I think they're talking it out now." He watched Jihoon and Daniel push Guanlin away so they could sit closer to Hyejin, while Jaehwan took the phone case out his hand and started playing with it too.
"Are you sure leaving them alone is a good idea? What if they hurt each other?" Hyejin asked, trying to uncling Jihoon off her arm.
"Well we made sure to extinguish the flames before we left. They let out everything off their chests so I'm pretty sure things have simmered down now." Daniel said, reassuring her.
"Man all these 'flames' and 'simmering' words are making me hungry. Can we get some food??" Guanlin perked up, poking Seongwoo's legs.
"I just bought you the entire convenience store, you ungrateful b—"
"Seongwoo." Jisung looked at him, warning him with his eyes. Hyejin held in a laugh, despite everyone being the same age, Jisung was a real mother-like figure towards his friends.
"Fine! I'll buy you food, gosh." Seongwoo sulked, leaning back against the wall.
"You hear that everyone!? Seongwoo's buying us dinner!" Guanlin cheered, clapping his hands.
"Us?! I never said us!" Seongwoo panicked; his jaw dropped, staring at everyone in disbelief as they celebrated about free food.
"Thanks for buying us dinner Ong, you're a real one." Hyejin patted his shoulder. He looked down at her, eyeing her as she tried not to laugh. He sighed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "Anything for you, I guess."
The rooftop door suddenly opened, making the group turn their heads. Jinyoung and Woojin walked through, small smiles on their faces and no signs of hatred or anger.
"So how'd it go?" Jisung asked them, eyeing for any physical injuries. The two boys looked at each other, "It went well I guess. We talked about everything and understood eachother. I don't think we will be fighting over something like this ever again." Jinyoung said, smiling a bit at him.
"Really?" Hyejin asked. She had a hard time making eye contact with Jinyoung, but once she saw the genuine smile on his face, she didn't find it that hard anymore. The two boys nodded at her, "Yep, and uh, we're sorry Hyejin."
"For what?" Jisung raised an eyebrow, presuring them to continue.
Woojin cleared his throat, "For fighting over you like a bunch of children."
"And?"
Jinyoung's eyes wavered between him and Hyejin, "A-And for ruining everyone's time and for being dramatic.
"And??"
"Its okay Jisung, I accept their apology." Hyejin butted in, smiling at them, "I'm just glad you finally understood the term 'bro's before hoes'!"
They all stop moving, staring at her, "D-Did... Did you just say a swearsies??" Jihoon asked her slowly. While most of the boys looked shocked, one specific boy looked like he was about to cry once he heard that she said a possible swear word.
"N-No I meant the gardening tool..." She explained, looking down at her lap, afraid to look up at them.
The guys gave each other odd looks before eventually letting it pass. Seongwoo could only laugh, she already exposed herself earlier with just the three of them so he was unfazed by this one word.
"Alright guys I'm suddenly hungry, lets go get food." Seongwoo stood up, the others following along. "You two want to join? Just no food fights please." He asked the two boys as he helped Hyejin up.
"Don't worry we won't cause any trouble. Proud to say the two of us officially graduated from kindergarten today!" Woojin put his arm around Jinyoung's shoulder. He made eye contact with Hyejin, giving her a quick smile before they both turned around, heading towards their friends who were crowded by the door.
The group was slowly headed towards the door, but Hyejin stood in place. Something inside of her told her she should end it today. Seeing them happy made her happy, like all of her problems had cleared up. All except one of course.
Her eyes landed on him, watching him smile at his friend, laughing at some joke. Maybe he was the right choice. She was willing to give him a chance, seeing how things would play out as time goes by.
She made a move, speed walking towards him before he could leave the rooftop. She approached him, grabbing his hand. He slowly turned around, looking back at her.
"H-Hey can I talk to you for a second?"
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THE END.
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iM JOKNG DKM ITS NOT THE END...... sorta. i'm sad to say that this is the last chapter before the ending(s). i'm not crying, you are.
uwu 150k ty all ♡
who do you think Hyejin is confessing to? or at least, is giving a chance to?
I almost wanted to just end it like this and let you guys decide the rest but im pretty sure some of u would show up at my doorstep, demanding a proper ending :^)