A day ago, Hyunjin had stumbled upon a conversation that wasn't meant for his ears, but he couldn't deny the relief of knowing what was going on inside his friends' heads. It was the reason behind the practice list he'd now crafted; one he and Jisung were going to have to follow.

If Felix and Jeongin didn’t want anyone eavesdropping, they shouldn’t have been talking in an open space (this was a private home but you get what Hyunjin meant). He just happened to be there, bored, with no Jisung around to bother. Something about Jisung's mom complaining her son wasn’t spending enough time with her? Well, Hyunjin could understand the sentiment and couldn't blame her for wanting to squeeze out every minute she could get with her son, even if Hyunjin couldn't personally relate to it. Family matter was a bit of a complicated subject for him.

Therefore, Hyunjin decided to pay Seungmin a visit. Not that he’d bothered informing him beforehand. He never did, and Seungmin never complained. It was an unspoken agreement between them, a mutual understanding that if one of them needed to drop by unannounced, it was perfectly fine. Besides, Seungmin’s family barely reacted to his presence anymore. They were lounging in the living room, giving him a casual wave or nod like he was part of the furniture (or an honorary family member; Seungmin's brother would say). Hyunjin liked that. The ease of blending in.

He climbed the stairs to the second floor, feeling the weight of boredom creeping back in, when a familiar voice caught his attention. “Be honest with me. Don’t you also find it interesting that they started dating?” Jeongin’s voice floated through the air, clear as day. Hyunjin’s eyebrows furrowed, and he froze. Hidden just beyond a balcony curtain, he spotted Jeongin and Felix deep in conversation.

“Oh, you mean Hyunjin and Jisung?” Felix responded, his tone innocent but unmistakably curious.

Hyunjin bit the inside of his cheek. Of course, they were talking about him and Jisung. Who else? He knew people saw them as an odd couple. Hell, even he thought it was strange but there was no time to agree with them right now. Not when they were discussing his relationship—or at least what they thought was his relationship. He considered interrupting, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stayed hidden, listening.

“Who else? Which other odd couple do we have?” Jeongin's tone was almost incredulous. “I don’t know. Isn’t it good that they’re getting along? Why, do you think they’re playing with us?”

Jeongin scoffed. “No, I don’t think they’d prank us. They’d probably kill each other before they could pull off a prank but something’s weird. It hasn’t even been a year since that incident. I thought Hyunjin would hold a grudge for way longer.”

Hyunjin winced. That incident was still a sore subject. Even the mere mention of it made his blood simmer. That incident was still fresh in his mind, and if it weren’t for the occasional reminder on the campus forum, maybe he’d have forgotten it by now but no, of course it had to be immortalised online. Even if he got the moderator to delete the post, it always makes a comeback every few months.

“That incident?” Felix asked, clearly out of the loop. But Hyunjin knew exactly what Jeongin meant. The live-streaming disaster. The event that had branded itself into his memory, making his stomach churn every time he thought about it.

"Do you really not remember, or are you pretending to be foolish?"

What happened a few months ago was nothing short of a disaster. If Hyunjin had his way, he’d lock that memory in the darkest corners of his mind, never to see the light of day again. In his personal history, it would be marked as a time best forgotten—his black history. And the culprit? Han Jisung. Yes, the same Han Jisung who always had a way of making Hyunjin’s life just a bit more chaotic.

That day, Jisung and Felix were livestreaming a gaming session from Seungmin’s dorm. Why Seungmin’s dorm? Well, Jisung had forgotten the key to his own room and his roommate wasn’t home yet. It was typical Jisung—unprepared and completely oblivious to the domino effect his actions would soon trigger.

After the stream, Hyunjin had cautiously asked if the live had been turned off. He couldn’t help but have that lingering doubt, especially with Jisung's track record of recklessness but Jisung, with his usual misplaced confident had brushed off the concern; asking if Hyunjin thought he was an idiot.

.

.

.

"Of course, I turned the camera off and everything. Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Hyunjin had snorted at that, emerging from his room in nothing but his boxers, shaking his head in disbelief. "I think everyone knows you're an idiot." His casual retort was just another typical day of banter between them. If only Hyunjin had known then what would happen the next morning, he might have reconsidered stepping out in just his underwear.

By the time the sun had risen, Hyunjin was doing his usual rounds across campus when he noticed something strange. People were whispering and giggling as he passed by, more than usual. At first, he chalked it up to his usual aura—Hyunjin was used to drawing attention, after all—but this felt different. There was a certain... intensity to the whispers. His blood ran cold when he overheard a snippet of conversation: “live accident” and “boxer” mentioned in the same breath. His heart beat rapidly.

He fumbled for his phone, his fingers trembling as he navigated to the campus forum and there it was—his nightmare made real. A screenshot of him, in his boxer, casually walking with a towel draped over his shoulder. The blood drained from his face. His jaw dropped, and in a very Hyunjin fashion: his hand instinctively flew up to cover his mouth in sheer disbelief. Weak in the knees, he slumped against the nearest wall, his phone slipping from his grip with a loud thud. Students around him gave him odd looks, but Hyunjin couldn’t care less. All that filled his mind was one simple, searing thought: Jisung that idiot in fact didn’t turn the livestream off.

The humiliation was overwhelming. His head swam with thoughts of how to deal with the situation, but only one clear conclusion came to mind: murder. Han. Jisung. Murder him. The words were painted in his mind in vivid, blood-red strokes.

Meanwhile, Jisung had no clue that his lifespan was on jeopardy but he must had unconsciously felt that doom was upon him because by the time Hyunjin reached his lecture room, he wasn't among his classmates.

“Where is he?!” The classroom door slammed open, hitting the wall with a loud bang. Hyunjin stormed in, looking a little deranged. His eyes were wide with fury, scanning the room for one specific target. He knew Jisung's class wouldn't start later until 2 p.m. but even if a lecturer was in there, Hyunjin didn't think he was sane enough to mind his manner (arguably , Jisung would have told him that nobody would expect him to practice his manner in the first place anyway if he wasn't scared shitless of Hyunjin.)

The once lively classroom fell into a suffocating silence. All eyes were on Hyunjin, who looked every bit the part of an avenging angel—or, more accurately, a demon hellbent on retribution. Even the air-conditioner’s hum and the frantic tapping of someone typing gradually stopped. No one dared to move or speak.

Jeongin, seated near the back of the room with Felix, broke into a nervous sweat. The atmosphere was so thick with tension, it felt like even a pin drop would be too loud. Hyunjin’s voice cut through the silence like a knife.

“Where is Han Jisung?” His eyes darted towards Felix and Jeongin, both of whom looked ready to pass out from sheer terror.

Jeongin managed a weak response. “Jisung... he’s absent today.”

“Absent?” Hyunjin’s eyes narrowed, and he rolled them dramatically, as if hearing the worst excuse of his life. “How convenient for him to be absent when he’s just ruined a life.” His scoff echoed in the tense room.

Hyunjin wasn’t buying their story for a second. Felix, in particular, was acting suspicious, his eyes darting toward a corner of the room as if a ghost was doing the Macarena back there. Suspicious, Hyunjin whirled around and there, attempting the most pathetic ninja escape, was none other than Jisung himself. Their eyes met and when Hyunjin tilted his head, he found Jisung mirroring his action. Hyunjin’s gaze sharpened and Jisung’s face paled in response before Hyunjin's piercing yell echoed across the room.

"YAHHHHHHHH!"

Jisung, caught like a rabbit in the headlights, screamed back,

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" His voice cracked with panic.

It was a symphony of chaos as Jisung bolted for the door. Hyunjin leapt after him, arms flailing." I’m going to kill you!" Hyunjin bellowed and he meant it.

Jisung ran like the wind, the sound of Hyunjin’s footsteps pounding behind him only fueling his terror.

"Han Jisung! Stop right there!"

Jisung's response was a panicked, "Never!" as he skidded around a corner, Hyunjin was hot on his heels.

"I don't want to!" Jisung screamed, sprinting like his life depended on it (because it was). It was true that when you had the right motivation, adrenaline would do the rest of the job. Jisung was convinced he could outrun a cheetah, let alone Usain Bolt or a possessed Hyunjin.

Reaching the end of the hallway, Jisung dove into a storage room, slamming the door shut and fumbling to lock it. He hoped Hyunjin would give up, but no such luck. Sure enough, seconds later, the door rattled violently as Hyunjin kicked it, over and over again with the intensity of a toddler having a tantrum.

"Get out of there!" Hyunjin roared, his voice muffled through the door but no less terrifying.

One, two, three and more kicks came with no sign of Hyunjin ever giving up. It only added to Jisung's fear that he wouldn't be able to make it back to his dorm in one piece at the end of the day.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? Do I look like I have a death wish?!" Jisung hollered back. Last night's stunt had clearly been a huge mistake. In Hyunjin's book, Jisung's blunder equated to pure suicidal act. The moment he bragged about not being an idiot he was already setting himself for this to happen.

"So, you know how to value your life but can't figure out how to end a live? Admit it, you did it on purpose, didn't you?!" Hyunjin bellowed, taking a dramatic step back before launching another kick at the door. The shelves inside the storage room rattled, sending a barrage of cleaning products and boxes tumbling down on Jisung.

Jisung let out a series of muffled yelps as he was buried under a mountain of dust rags and detergent. "It was an honest mistake. I swear!" he wailed, struggling to free himself from the debris.

"Han Jisung. Get out while I'm still being kind." Hyunjin's patience was fraying rapidly, the tension bubbling up inside him like a kettle about to whistle. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles turning white as he paced in front of the door, torn between frustration and restraint. He wasn’t one to lose his temper easily, but Jisung had a remarkable ability to push him right to the edge. If it meant grabbing a chair and hurling it at the door, he might just do it—anything to pull Jisung from his self-imposed cocoon.

"Bullshit, what part of this is being kind?" Jisung's voice was laced with defiance, but Hyunjin could hear the faint tremor behind it. Hyunjin set his jaw, deciding there was no room for mercy right now.

"1" Hyunjin’s voice was calm, the beginning of his dreaded countdown. It was a familiar tactic—a tried-and-true method he had used to get Jisung to stop acting like a brat. It always worked.

"I don't want to!" came Jisung's stubborn reply, but Hyunjin wasn’t going to back down this time.

"2"

"I said I'm sorry!" The desperation in Jisung's voice began to seep through, but Hyunjin wasn’t moved.

"3! If by the time I say 5, you're still locked in there , I will kick this damn door open."

The threat was real. Hyunjin's leg already twitched, readying itself to make good on the promise. His patience was running out and the pounding in his head wasn’t helping. His fingers curled and uncurled as he waited.

"4!" Hyunjin’s shout was nearly a growl.

"Hwang Hyunjin! You're being petulant!" Jisung's words wavered, but Hyunjin didn’t care.

"5!"

Just as Hyunjin prepared to drive his foot through the door, it swung open. Jisung stood there, hunched and looking utterly miserable, like a soaked puppy that had been kicked too many times. His big, doe eyes peered up at Hyunjin, filled with guilt and pleading. "I'm sorry..." His voice was small, fragile, and he visibly shrank, trying to appear even smaller, hoping that the pitiful sight might trigger some compassion in Hyunjin. Surely, no one could hurt something that looked so defenseless, right?

Hyunjin, however, wasn’t swayed easily. He squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to smother the irritation clawing at his insides. There were so many frustrations, so many battles raging inside his head that this moment seemed to be the tipping point. This annoying gremlin standing before him—he just—he just—Ugh!

Hyunjin stormed forward, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat. He slammed both hands on either side of Jisung, pinning him against the wall. The sharp thud echoed in the small space, making Jisung flinch. To any outsider, the scene might have appeared... different, almost like some twisted romantic gesture. But there was no tenderness in Hyunjin’s eyes, only the frustration of someone barely holding it together. His looming figure, the set of his jaw, and the look of exasperation made it look more like he was about to rob a middle schooler of his lunch money. From a certain angle, he might have even resembled a furious Godzilla, ready to flatten everything in his path.

Hyunjin raised his hands, making a dramatic gesture as though he was going to squeeze Jisung’s face, his annoyance peaking in comical frustration but instead, his hands clutched at his own neck, massaging the tension that had migrated into a headache. His own body was betraying him, and as much as he wanted to be angry, he felt utterly drained.

"Do you- do you even realize what you just did? The humiliation I have to face? The whole campus saw it!"

"I wouldn't say the whole campus... maybe the entire faculty, at least?" Stupid Jisung and his stupid need to correct Hyunjin every single time, as though he couldn’t live a day without proving Hyunjin wrong. It was a habit that got under Hyunjin's skin like an itch he couldn’t scratch. The infuriating way Jisung’s brow furrowed ever so slightly when he felt justified in his corrections, his lips curving just enough to hint at triumph before it turned back into a thin line.

Hyunjin stepped closer and istinctively, Jisung scooted over, his feet barely lifting off the floor, edging himself closer to the storage room they’d just exited. The small, nervous movements only spurred Hyunjin’s determination. He could see the unease in the way Jisung’s lips pressed together, though the bravado in his stance remained.

"Is that so? At least the ENTIRE FACULTY knows? I can't— with you." Hyunjin threw his arms up, pacing in front of Jisung, his frustration manifesting in sharp movements. Every step was a reminder of the embarrassing moment he couldn't escape, and now, it felt like Jisung was poking at it, making it worse. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to yell or laugh—either way, Jisung had to pay for his endless teasing. The wheels in Hyunjin's head turned rapidly, and the thought crossed his mind more than once—if the whole faculty had seen him humiliated, Jisung had to suffer in kind.

He stopped abruptly, the idea clicking into place like the final piece of a puzzle. Spinning on his heel, he pointed a finger at Jisung, his eyes glinting with uncontrolled craze. "You!"

"What?! What do you want?!"

"Take your clothes off."

"What?!" Jisung’s eyes widened, the color draining from his face.

"I said take your clothes off!" Hyunjin’s voice was firm, leaving no room for argument. There was a gleam of wicked satisfaction behind his words like he believed that this was the most suitable punishment for Jisung's wrongdoings.

Jisung threw his arms around himself protectively, his eyes darting left and right as if searching for an escape route. "Ah, I don't want to! Are you crazy?" He stammered, his voice pitching higher in his panic. The tables had turned, and for once, Jisung wasn't so smug anymore.

"That's alright. If you don't want to take them off, I will take them off for you!" Hyunjin lunged, trying to yank off Jisung's jacket, but before he could, someone screamed and barreled into Hyunjin.

"Oh! Hyunjin, you can't do that!" Jeongin yelled, clinging to Hyunjin's arm like a baby sloth. Felix jumped forward, latching onto Hyunjin's leg. "No matter how angry you are, you can't do that. It's...it's inappropriate! Think about his pride!"

"Pride? PRIDE?! PRIDE?!!!!! Then what about MY pride?! Everyone saw me in my Pucca underwear!" Jisung, now half-free of his jacket could only watch as his friends created a tangled, ridiculous mess on the floor. "Pucca underwear..." with all the audacity he had, Jisung scoffed out a small chuckle, a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Ah! Did you just laugh?! You guys see it too, didn't you? He laughed! You dare to laugh in this situation?!" How could he not laugh? If he wasn't so busy trying to find an opening to run, he might just roll on the floor and laugh at Hyunjin's face more.

Hyunjin found new strength and pushed forward to reach Jisung because he could see the ridicule in the latter's eyes but more people started to grab him. "Let me go! If the whole faculty had to see me in my underwear, Jisung must do the same! How is it fair? Do you think it's fair?!"

"Ya! Jisung we're trying to save your life here!" Jeongin scolded Jisung who was still giggling like a moron. They barely held onto Hyunjin, who was then thrashing like a wild animal. For once, Jeongin was glad that he started to go to the gym with Changbin because Hyunjin had the strength of a bulldozer when he was enraged. Jisung was just staring in shock when he saw his classmates holding Hyunjin back. "Let me go!" And just like that, Hyunjin was dragged away by at least five people.

Jisung slumped on the floor, saved by a hair's breadth.

.

.

.

Seungmin shivered. "I saw it from the stairs. I was at the student lounge upstairs and I went down because I heard them screaming. Then I saw you guys pulling Hyunjin away." Jisung hadn't even realized Seungmin was there the whole time. He was so caught up in the retelling that he didn't consider it wasn't just the two of them.

"Do you really think it makes sense that they're dating now?" Jeongin once again voiced his skepticism. Given their history, it didn't add up. "Well, Hyunjin says they are..." Seungmin reasoned.

"Even though they used to fight and hate each other so much?" Felix chimed in, starting to believe the dating acclamation was false. "That's true too," he agreed, shaking his head.

Jeongin closed his eyes, frustrated. "But aren't there times when they actually get along?"

Seungmin stared at the ceiling, trying to recall a memory. "There are. In high school, they teamed up to protest when our coach said he'd only open one trial spot for a student they both hated."

"It was me. They didn't like me back then," Jeongin interrupted. He was an unpopular newbie. Seungmin laughed. "It was hilarious. They couldn't even keep hating you after you helped them sneak out of practice."

"Those two are idiots, I swear. When they're alone, they can be surprisingly really smart, but put them in the same room, and they lose all brain cells. I still remember that one time during report day..."

.

.

.

On that day, Hyunjin stood by the classroom door, his eyes glued to the hallway where his parents had just walked out. They hadn’t exactly been furious, but the disappointment in their eyes was enough to send a wave of guilt crashing over him. Jisung’s didn’t show up, though. Of course, they didn’t. He hadn’t even told them about the report day and he probably made up some excuse as to why his parents didn't come. Typical Jisung—playing it smart or so he thought. Hyunjin should’ve done the same, honestly.

Jisung probably didn’t want to deal with his mom’s endless nagging about his grades. Hyunjin couldn’t blame him. He didn’t do well this time. His grades weren't exactly stellar and all he’d been doing was playing games in the PC room every day or hanging out behind the School away from the study halls and books. Hyunjin would laugh if it weren’t so frustratingly relatable.

He wasn't much better. The PC room? Yeah, they both frequented that instead of hitting the books. The difference? Hyunjin made the mistake of telling his parents about today. Idiot.

He could feel Jisung watching him, probably smirking. Hyunjin didn’t even have to look to know that smug look was plastered on Jisung’s face, silently mocking him for telling the truth. After all, Jisung's parents weren’t here to lecture him. He was in the clear unlike Hyunjin. Hyunjin bet Jisung would pay millions just to see him get chewed out by his mom and teacher again. The bastard.

“Your parents didn’t come?” Hyunjin asked, deadpan, breaking the silence between them.

Jisung barely looked up, shrugging casually like it was nothing. “Unlike you, I made an excuse. I’m not an idiot.”

Hyunjin let out a soft hum, turning away slightly. “So, you lied to them?”

“Yeah, why? Regretting that you didn’t?”

“Nope,” Hyunjin muttered, glancing at him from the corner of his eye. “Just thinking about how unfilial you are. We have to fix that, don’t we?”

“Huh?” Jisung blinked, confused by the sudden comment.

“Yeah,” Hyunjin said, starting to walk toward the door, his voice taking on a mock-serious tone. “I can’t be the only filial son.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Jisung asked, still not understanding where this was going.

“Excuse me for a second, I need to go to the toilet." Hyunjin said as he reached the doorway, pausing for dramatic effect.

Jisung raised a brow, clearly thrown off by the odd comment. “Oh... okay? Psh, you need to announce that to the world?”

Hyunjin didn’t respond, simply opening the door and taking a few calm steps outside. His heartbeat picked up as a wild idea formed in his head, and with a quick glance over his shoulder, he bolted down the hallway, his feet pounding against the tiles.

“Hyunjin!!!” Jisung’s voice echoed in realisation behind him. Hyunjin knew that Jisung had caught on. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where he was going. Hyunjin was headed straight for their homeroom teacher, and Jisung knew exactly what he planned to do. That motherfucker, Jisung must’ve thought, already imagining the worst.

Hyunjin had no intention of backing down. Let him taste the same scolding Hyunjin had endured. The thought made him push forward even harder.

Just when Hyunjin thought he was in the clear, he felt a sudden tug on his leg, and before he knew it, he was crashing down onto the floor. Jisung had thrown himself at Hyunjin’s legs in a desperate move, knocking both of them to the ground with a loud thud. “Don’t you dare!” Jisung cried out, his voice filled with urgency as he latched onto Hyunjin’s leg with all his strength.

“Oh, I dare,” Hyunjin groaned, trying to crawl forward, dragging Jisung along with him. “Why wouldn’t I dare? Why should I be the only one in trouble?! How is this fair?!”

"Hyunjin, I'm begging you!" Jisung’s voice broke through with a rare tone of desperation, his hands gripping Hyunjin’s leg like his life depended on it (it did). Hyunjin almost pitied him. Almost but not enough to stop.

“There’s no use in begging,” Hyunjin grunted, pulling himself forward, inch by inch. Jisung was heavier than he looked, and his grip was annoyingly tight. “You think you can get anything just by begging? Welcome to the real world, you peasant.”

Somehow, with sheer determination, Hyunjin managed to get back on his feet, but Jisung refused to let go. He clung to Hyunjin’s leg like a leech, making it nearly impossible for Hyunjin to walk without dragging him along. With every step, Hyunjin could feel the weight of Jisung slowing him down, but he wasn’t about to give up now. This was ridiculous, both of them—two grown boys wrestling on the floor, one clinging for dear life, the other stubbornly limping toward the staff room. However, if Hyunjin was going down, Jisung was coming down with him. No way he was letting him off the hook that easily.

.

.

.

Hearing back the childishness of his past, Hyunjin felt shameful but he was young back then. He hadn't done anything that was the same level of foolishness ever since (with the exception of the livestream incident which was totally not his fault he lost his temper). He'd grown more mature and he avoided doing anything too physical with Jisung. The most they did at the moment was bicker.

"They make a scene whenever they go. How does that make sense they're dating. There must be a motive here somewhere that we don't know." For the love of god, Hyunjin really adored Jeongin but now he was being a nosy nuisance. The only ulterior motive they had was to hide his feelings from Minho and wasn't Jeongin the one who was upset they didn't tell him about their 'relationship'? What's with all the drama if he ended up not believing it anyway?

If they weren't so nosy, Hyunjin would have let them into the secret too. "Who wants to make a bet they're faking it?" Hyunjin couldn't believe what he was listening to. Now, they're even making a bet on him and Jisung? Felix told him he was happy that they got together, Jeongin showed support and Seungmin was ready to throw hand if someone bothered them.

Had it only been a front? Hyunjin sighed, messing with his hair. He knew it was too good to be true. There's no way they would believe it 100%. Not with Jisung constantly looking like he was at gunpoint when Hyunjin hovered around him.

Huffing his chest, Hyunjin retreated and went back to the stairs to pretend he had just arrived. He even loudly yelled, "Seungmin! Let me borrow your bed!"

The issue about their facade falling apart? He already texted Jisung for an emergency meeting the next day.

˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

Surprise! Surprise! Double update because last week I didn't update. It's just a short chapter. I thought I would dive more into Jisung's and Hyunjin's actual dynamic.

Mostly I portray Hyunjin as the menace but truly Jisung is just as worst. It just that, he's too preoccupied with his feeling now that he doesn't have the time to mess with Hyunjin's life.

Ooh! I hit the tenth chapter finally!

Tell me how you like this chapter and vote! - Hunny