Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jake banged on the door. He couldn't care less about the people coming out with annoyed frowns to stare at him. He wants this door open and the man living inside to be—preferably dead—but right now between his hands so he can snap his neck in half.

The door opened.

But it wasn't Jay, who Jake had expected.

Jake's eyes widened momentarily as he took in the familiar 80’s bandshirt the unfamiliar guy in front of him wore and his seemingly long legs that were covered in not so mysterious bruises.

So, the rumours were true, huh. 

In a blink of an eye, in a wave of uncontrollable rage, Jake found himself pinning the taller boy to the wall, past the door, and his hands around his thin, pale neck. 

He gasped breathlessly, his nails, pretty and girl-like manicured, dug into the back of Jake’s hands. 

“Y- who— stop- I can't- I can't bre-”

Jake's hand tightened, he pressed in, “Yeah? You can't breathe?”

The rapidly turning crimson boy, with blown wide eyes and gasping mouth of a fish, nods.

He looked so fucking pitiful, that despite being taller than Jake, and now bent at his weakened knees, Jake felt like being merciful and letting him go. 

But Jake shook his thoughts away as soon as they arrived and once again, he was overcome by blind rage. 

“You fucking cunt—” Jake grits his teeth, now all up in Sunghoon's face, who looked two seconds from passing out, his eyelids fluttering and mascara smudged, “You thought you can just march in with you pretty fucking face and just take over? Well guess what, bitch? I’m not that easy. I will c—”

Suddenly, he was yanked back by his collar, his hands falling off Sunghoon's neck as he crashed into the opposite wall. 

“What the fuck are you doing Jake?”

Jay yelled at Jake before quickly turning to Sunghoon, who had slid down the wall. His head lolled to the side as he heaved big gasps of air, his bangs sticking to his forehead that barely hid the tear tracks as his eyes blink to focus. Jake wanted to kick him, he was in range too, for looking so pathetic, despite being this tall and bulked up, but Jay put his body in between them and raised Sunghoon in his arms effortlessly.

“You almost killed him, Jake!” Jay yells as he turns to Jake once again, after sitting Sunghoon on his desk chair, the mouth of his water tumbler placed near his lips, “What the fuck is wrong with you, Jake? Why the fuck would you do that!?”

Jake himself breathed heavily, unable to catch his breath as adrenaline coursed through his veins. But seeing Jay like this— still finding fault in him, screaming at him like he only ever did once, and concerned for someone else, someone who's not Jake— something snapped in him. 

He launched at Jay now, gripping him by his collar.

“You motherfucking asshole—” Jake yelled in his face, “What game are you trying to play here, huh? Tell me, what is this?”

Jay grasped Jake's wrists and when he couldn't get them off his neck, he wrapped his fingers around Jake's wrists, squeezing until he felt the bones. 

“No- no one's playing any game! Just get the fuck off me!”

When Jay finally managed to throw his hands off his collar, he shoved at Jake's shoulder, and the younger stumbled back a couple of steps at the harshfull impact.

“Then why is there rumors about you fucking this whore?” Jake stepped closer, eyes sharp at Jay.

Jay clenched his jaw, rolling his eyes, “I don't give a flying fuck about the rumors.”

“Yeah? So tell me what he is doing in your dorm, in your clothes?”

“And that is none of your business.”

He felt a sharp sting behind his nose. He felt like crying, screaming and throwing stuff until everything broke and shattered to the ground. 

But he couldn't break like that. Show weakness like that. That means Jay won. That means Jay succeeded in making him care. 

So he closed his eyes and counted till five with every inhale. 

When he opened his eyes, Jay was still standing there, still separating him and Sunghoon and looking wary like, if he didn't place himself in between them Jake would lurch on him again.

He isn't wrong.

Fortunately, Jake realizes that in order to get an answer out of Jay he will have to talk to him, not jump on his …well, whatever they are. Forcing an answer out of him through screaming will only provoke him to not give in. They're both stubborn that way, holding on too tight, not knowing when to let go. 

Jake briefly wonders if that's why they didn't work out. 

“Jay-ah please,” Jake starts again, voice softer, and he sees how Jay's shoulders fall, shedding his defensive stance, “I just— I just want to know if this is on purpose? To get back on me? Because you can't do this to me, you understand? It's only been, like what? Maybe a month since we broke up and—”

Jay frowns, the earlier firmness returning to his shoulders ever so lightly, “This has nothing to do with our breakup.”

“But Jay how can I believe it, believe you, when you got into a relationship exactly a month after and that to with— with some Lord Byron wannabe”

Jay's frowns deepen, his eyes narrowing as Jake takes a step closer, but he doesn't step back or stop him. So, Jake takes another step forward, until he can smell the mixed scent of luxury cologne and sweat emitting from Jay first-hand. 

“You know how it makes me look, right?” 

Jay sighs, like he gained twenty years in just two minutes of talking with Jake. And that talking further, will add twenty more to it. 

“Jake. I don't work according to people's standard timelines for when to date. It's my choice. Just like choosing Sunghoon to date is.”

It's Jake's turn to frown now but before he can utter a word Jay cuts him.

“Do you even know Sunghoon?” Jay questions, “or are you just- just—”

Jealous.

That's what he meant to say.

That's what Jake heard.

His fists tightened involuntarily. Blood rushed to his brain as he tried to focus on his breath instead of the direction, the speed, if he did decide to land a punch.

“I do.” Jake replies, curt, "I do know Sunghoon.”

It was freshman year. Jake and Sunghoon clicked instantly, for being from the same neighborhood during their childhood. They hadn't met then but they were glad they found each other. That's what Sunghoon had said. And Jake had believed that Sunghoon's going to be his best friend in college.

But it was the first semester exam when it went to shit.

Some missed points. Some misplaced notes. A fuckass excuse for a last minute presentation. That had their strict econ professor furious. Being called to the office. Someone bursting into tears, no one owning up to their mistake, which led to the professor giving both of them a zero, as a lesson to remember.

That was the first and the only 0 Jake had gotten in his entire life. And he's pretty sure, it was the same with Sunghoon, for Jake saw him taking extra classes next semester to recover his lost credits. 

They didn't talk after that. No one questioned why the only pair that were loud about lasting the terrors of University, couldn't make it past 6 months. Jake made sure that no one would. 

It was almost like they never met. Never knew each other. 

And after 3 years, it still feels the same. 

He hears a scoff, soft, followed by a light cough and Jay immediately turns to Sunghoon, his hands reaching out and ready, but Sunghoon raised his palm and Jay stepped back.

Ever the gentleman.

“Grow up,” Sunghoon says with a snarl, “It was years ago.”

Jake rolled his eyes. He then turns his attention back to Jay, lest he says some more horrible stuff to Sunghoon that makes him cry (that will definitely make Jay kick him out), and steps closer to Jay, fearless as he places his palm on top of Jay's chest. 

Jay's breath hitched at the same time he saw Sunghoon sat up straight from his peripheral at his bold move.

“Jay-ah,” he blinks up at Jay, voice so low and soft that he himself feels ridiculous for talking to Jay like he's a child, “Tell me it's over. That whatever this was, is over. You got me Jay, you hear that? You got me. You fucked someone prettier than me, someone better than me, and I came running back to you and everybody knows that now, you won and it's over—” Jake's breath hitched involuntarily, and his hands fisted the front of Jay's shirt to hold back, to ground himself, “just- please.”

“Jake,” Jay sighs, looking down at Jake with a pitiful look in his eyes, and Jake can see it- see himself in his dark orbs, that he once loved, that he still loves, and he looks pathetic, but Jay is kind enough to not say that. 

“You have to understand that I don't make any decision or take any step or literally just anything in order to affect you or get back at you. That's bullshit. Nobody does.”

Jake opens his mouth, ready to refute that yes it's bullshit and I don't think that way but no words came out, and his eyes flicked down in shame. 

Warm palms wrapped around his shaking hands, and when they tried to pull them away he didn't fight it.

“And I won't wait around to be with someone I want to be with until it's appropriate for you.”

Jay steps back and Jake's hands fall free, no warmth or familiar skin wrapping them to stop them from shaking.

“You hurt me and I deserve love too,” Jay admits and he sounds so heartbroken that it squeezed Jake's heart like it's wrapped in barbed wires.

Jake nods slightly, sniffling back the tears as his eyes find Jay again.

“So it's love, huh? You found love just a month after we ended our two years of relationship—”

“Jake—”

“Was it not love? Was my love not enough? Or did you find more in between his legs,” Jake points at the silent figure in the room.

Jay finally snaps, his eyes hardening, “You don't talk to him like that, understood?”

“Or what?” Jake challenges, taking another step closer and the tip of their shoes touches. Their faces are too close, noses just shy of touching and Jake feels the breaths of flames that exist from Jay's flaring nose. 

He's holding back. 

Jake wouldn't let him.

“You already replaced me with that dirty whore. What worse can you do—”

Jay's mouth twists with displeasure, expressions nothing but of rage but it melts into confusion the minute Jake feels the back of his head yanked and dragged by a sharp grip on his hair. He couldn't fight it. The grip was too strong, too painful. He cursed the whole way out, the worst of all, which people in the hallway with their phones out already heard and recorded. 

He’s going to be a hot topic for a while and lose a bunch of followers simultaneously. 

“Who the fuck you think yo—”

Sunghoon easily hurls him out of the door and Jake lands on his ass in the middle of a number of flashes. 

His face is not like how Jake expected. Humiliated. Embarrassed. Ashamed. Instead, he's got a small smile on his red lips, barely visible like he couldn't grace just anyone with it but it makes his pretty face look like the cat got the cream. 

And it bubbles something really ugly in the pits of Jake's stomach, because it did.

The cat did get the cream and the creamer. 

“At least I am not a useless bitch who can’t do his work properly.” Sunghoon looks him up and down, and scoffs when his gaze lands on his face again. Jake is sure he either tore apart the carpet beneath his fist or his nails off his fingers.

“Don't come near me or my boyfriend again.”

The door closed, shaking the frame with the strength it was slammed shut.

A phone stumbled on the floor a few steps from him.

The people slipped inside as silently as they had appeared. 

And Jake made up his mind. 

He's going to ruin Park Sunghoon’s life. 

Chapter Text

Sunghoon became more open about his relationship with Jay.

The stories that are supposed to be for ‘close friends’ become visible to everyone, and when he says everyone, everyone. Despite not being big on social media, Sunghoon has a huge following from their college alone. Something about him being effortlessly good looking, but Jake calls it bullshit. Nothing about branded clothes is effortless to him. 

His instagram alone is full of highlights and posts of them being a couple. Jay driving while one of his hands is on Sunghoon's covered knee, a picture of them holding hands over a table which was definitely candle light date, a post of him posing with a big bouquet of fresh red roses with his smiling eyes focused behind the camera. It was annoying. It was getting on Jake's nerves. 

And Jake couldn't pretend he doesn't see it once he turns his phone off, because he does! He’d turn his head right, and Jay would be walking Sunghoon to his class with a possessive arm around his waist. He turns left and Sunghoon's eating the food Jay’s feeding him while yapping nonstop. He would look down and find them sprawled out under the shade of a tree between classes, looking straight out of some sucky romcom. And he can't be bothered to look up because what if he finds them kissing upside-down from the roof, vampire style? Jake’s not taking any chances, thank you very much.

It was clear that Sunghoon was flaunting his relationship. More so because, Sunghoon had always been the person to keep it lowkey, his private life well hidden from prying eyes— something about getting done with the fame long back when he was younger and a national athlete. But to see thousands of likes on his posts where Jay kisses him while smiling like a dumbass he is, Jake can't help but feel that he is the sole target audience.

Like it's staged just to mock him, and Jake hates to admit that it's working. Better than Sunghoon had probably expected.

“Yanno,” Riki huffs out as he crashes on the couch, squeezing into Jake's side like that was the ultimate landing, “it's fun watching you make that face whenever Sunghoon hyung’s around.”

If Jake didn't feel his entire world tilt and halt when Riki’s 6 ft body crashed into his alleged tiny one, he would have definitely questioned about the hyung Riki added after Sunghoon’s name

Instead, Jake pushes him off him with his elbow, driving it straight into his ribs and only missing it by slight angle, “The fuck you're doing—” and when Riki's finally allows himself to be off Jake, the words finally registers, “What face? What do you mean?”

Riki shrugs as he takes a sip of his drink, the bright and tacky neon colors of the pub shining off his silver hair. He looks like a disco ball this place lacks.

Jake scowls at the lack of response, which is just disrespectful, and smacks his hand on Riki's thigh. The younger double over, choking on the drink that probably went down the wrong path, and Jake would’ve laughed, he almost did but Riki’s glass tipped slightly and Jake winced at the cold feeling of the drink instead, pulling his hand back like it burnt.

“Yah!”

Riki recovers instantly, he's a big boy like that, but his gaze feels nasty as they settle on Jake. Jake definitely doesn't feel goosebumps when Riki observes him with his very adorable but intense big kitty cat- or puma-like, how Riki prefers- eyes.

“You look like you're two minutes away from finishing him but you never do.” Riki does something with his fingers in front of his face but Jake slaps his hands away with his teeth bared like some wolf. Riki only smirks, like saying just like that,  “all the time.”

Jake was quick to open his mouth to retort, like on reflex, but closes it when he realises that Riki is right. 

Sunghoon is getting on his nerves and Jake is doing nothing about it but staring at him like some loser who has accepted his defeat. 

But there is no defeat if the fight didn't even start yet.

“You're right.” Jake hears himself say, back straightened in this moment of enlightenment.

“Uhhh, I don't know what you understood from that,” Riki's expression turns into that of confusion, “but that's definitely not what I mean.”

Like Jake ever cared.

“Too late.”

“Max still has a chance to overtake Lando. They have a difference of 63 points”

Sunghoon smiles, taking a sip off his beer, “does he?”

The sparkle in Jay's eyes turns brighter as he lets out an excited little yes before it dims down just as quickly as he reveals the next line of his thoughts. 

“I’m not sure about Oscar though, 100 points is a big difference ‘cause while Max is gonna be winning, Oscar would get the points too. He should win all the last 8 races to overtake him.”

This time, he picks up Jay's wheat beer for a taste, humming to silently indicate to him that he's still following and to continue. 

“Can’t imagine what would’ve been if Max raced in Mclaren’s bolid. Well, to be fair, Red Bull’s bolid was designed specifically for Max, no one can drive it but him. That’s why they can’t find the second pilot, because their bolid can only drive Max.”

Sunghoon coos at Jay's saddened, little pout. He understood only half of what Jay just explained but it's clear it's very serious for his boyfriend.

“Aw,” he tucks one of the lone strands that has fallen off Jay's gelled back hair behind his ear— they've been here for a while now, “I think it's very cool, no? Imagine having your own car worth billions that's designed jus—

“Sir,” the bartender intercepts as he places a fancy glass in front of them on the counter. It's a light pink liquid with a white flower clipped to its edge beside a thin slice of tangerine. It's pretty but—

“Oh, no, no, no, we didn't order this,” Sunghoon tells him, pushing the glass towards the bartender.

“But it's for you—” The bartender slides it back to its original place and Sunghoon immediately feels himself flush, against his will, at implications in his tone and the gesture.

“Oh.”

He picks up the glass by its thin stem, barely able to ignore it and then flushing harder as Jay's hand tightens around where it rests just above his knees, possessive.

“Who was it?” Jay asks.

“The two gentlemen over there.”

The bartender bows and quickly turns to take a leave after pointing at the general direction of the crowd gathered near the projector. Unhelpful. 

“Wait—” Sunghoon calls out as he's done inspecting the drink for anything suspicious. “What's it called?”

The bartender hesitates, his stoic face breaking momentarily before he wears the expression of neutral and detached hospitality again. 

“Fuck you.”

“Excuse me?”

This time, the bartender disappears swiftly. And before Sunghoon can even think about calling him out again, he hears a loud cackle coming from behind.

It hits him then, his stomach dropping as he recognizes the voices. They're so obnoxiously loud, like hyenas, and from Sunghoon's peripheral’s alone he saw a few people turn their heads before turning back with a shake of their heads, probably thinking they're drunk beyond reason. 

His fists shake where they are balled up over his lap but stops as soon as he sees Jay's palm slide off. His head whips up, scared, but Jay’s arm drapes over his shoulders instead, pulling him closer and Sunghoon goes gladly, tucking himself against his boyfriend's front.

“Quite it.” 

Sunghoon hears the world rumble out of his chest, vibrating against his body and he snuggles closer, feeling tired and exhausted for some reason. The rest of the conversation didn't reach him, either because he was dipping in and out of it against Jay's warm body or because Jay had subtly placed his hands over his ears as if he was comforting him. Either way, it didn't matter.

Soon, Jay’s palm touched Sunghoon's cheek and Sunghoon blinked his eyes open slowly. Jay says something, which didn't reach Sunghoon but he saw his lips move around let's go hoon-ah. So, he stands up and lets himself be tugged along by Jay like an obedient child. 

And if he noticed Riki and Jake doing a high-five then—well, he forgot, because Jay had quickly pulled him away from the scene and closer to him, an arm secured and firm around his waist as he led him out into the cold breeze. 

—

Even after editing it to make it specifically look like Sunghoon was cursed at by the bartender for being a jerk, the video didn't do as well as Jake had expected. A few hundreds of likes with half the amount forwards or reposts, but that's that. 

Nothing more. 

Sunghoon kept posting about his perfect boyfriend. Jay kept being the perfect boyfriend. And Jake once again got busy with school and had to reluctantly pause his plan for a while being. 

And really, Jake had forgotten about it or the fact that Park Sunghoon existed until—

He was on his way to the study hall, arms full of books his professor suggested to look for references for his project when his feet tripped over something. A loud gasp leaves him, his ankle twists, and he immediately comes crashing down with a cry. His thick books flew out of his arms only momentarily before crashing onto his back one by one.

He whines when he registers the wet dirt under his palm and grass sticking to his lip gloss. His shirt is probably in the same state too, sticking to his torso and wet. He groans, and when he tries to raise his body, he feels his spine revolting—

“Bitch.”

Jake flinches in horror, almost losing balance on his arms again when he whips his head around. But Sunghoon was already walking away by the time he recovers from the whiplash, tall and fearless, like he didn't just purposefully trip Jake, out of all the people, on the campus grounds.

—

Sunghoon had just sat down on his side of the bench when the phone’s screen was thrusted to his face in a sharp, swift movement. 

“Hyung, why would you do that?” Sunoo interrogates, voice low.

Sunghoon simply pushes the younger's hand back by a bit without an answer and squints his eyes for a clear inspection. It's the video of Jake tripping and falling face-first on the wet ground, his books falling after him like gigantic confetti, surrounded by dozens of people and groups doing the same recording as the one he sees. 

As if he wasn't the very culprit in the video, the visible catalyst, Sunghoon, relaxes back into his seat with a nonchalant shrug, and lies in a neutral tone, almost natural. 

“It was an accident.”

Sunoo, clearly not buying his natural lie,  just pulls his phone back and raises his eyebrow questioningly, “Really?”

Sunghoon nods, just slightly fazed by the younger's sharp expressions, “Truly.”

A tired sigh.

“Hyung, you know right, that—”

And because he doesn't want to listen to Sunoo lecture him on this, he gives in.

“Fine,” Sunghoon admits with a sigh of his own, feeling a little prickle at the back of his neck, “It wasn't an accident. But he deserved it.”

Sunoo narrows his eyes into thin lines, “He's got his ankle wrapped up and he's limping.”

“He’s an attention-whore.”

“Hyung!”

“What?” Sunghoon replies, a bit too loud with a slam on the table which makes both of them flinch. “Sorry, I—”

Sunoo leans back, eyes going back to concerning gaze from that scary, interrogative gaze which feels like he knows all of Sunghoon's past lives and what he had for breakfast and waiting for Sunghoon to just lie about it.

“It's alright,” he smiles, barely reaching his eyes but genuine like he's trying, “let's talk about something else.”

Sunghoon nods and they fall into an entirely different conversation easily. It's not hard with Sunoo. Talking, that is. Because Sunoo's always bubbling with something in his mind that he has to let out or else he'll combust. Literally. Like that one time Sunghoon had taken his teasing so far and Sunoo decided to give him a silent treatment. However, it worked against him because at the end of the day, Sunghoon opens his door to find himself armful of crying Sunoo, who wetly murmurs something along the lines you're the only one I can tolerate, hyung.

Since then, Sunghoon learnt on how to indulge Sunoo properly and well— how to not cross any border, even though Sunoo reassured him it was not his teasing that made him cry but his absence. And, it's still the same. Except the only change being, that over time Sunghoon has come to find interest in whatever Sunoo brings on their table instead of just pretending like he used to.

In that way, Sunghoon often likes to wonder if Sunoo happened to prepare him for Jay— the king of yappers. 

The thought of Jay instantly puts a smile on his face and he forgets about the surroundings for a while as he wonders where and what Jay might be doing right now. 

Unfortunately, he couldn't go far with his thoughts, being mercilessly pulled out of that daydream with a sharp snap of fingers in front of his nose. 

“Yah, hyung,” Sunoo places him with a judging, tired look, “you have to stop dreaming about Jay-hyung with your eyes open and looking at me. I don't want to be on the receiving end of those,” he pauses, just to dramatically mimic retching. “Those heart eyes.”

This brat. 

Sunghoon reaches across the table and flicks on Sunoo’s chin. Just lightly. Playful. Not enough to be hurt, but enough to be felt like a small sting. 

“Yah wha—”

Sunghoon scowls, but he's sure his eyes are smiling, “Who are you Yah-ing at? I’m your hyung, you brat.”

Sunoo opens his mouth to argue back but is cut off as a box is placed on their table by a blonde girl— who vanished from their sights just as fast as she had appeared. Weird, but not unusual. Still, both of them paused, blinking at each other curiously before Sunoo finally made a move. The younger boy leaned over the box, gaze curious, only to let out a small, but dramatic gasp the next second.

“It says it's from Jay-hyung.”

Sunoo slides the box towards him and Sunghoon has a hard time biting on his smile when the younger exasperatedly rolls his eyes at his flushed face. 

“Why are you blushing?” Sunoo wonders, almost unbelievably, “He's literally your boyfriend, hyung!”

“Shut up.”

Sunoo crosses his arms with a huff but obliges anyway. The tapping of his foot under the table is a reminder, which quickly fades away as Sunghoon tries to figure out what it might be instead of just opening the lid right away. With a tender touch, he plucks the little card attached to its top, smile widening when he sees the lazy scrawl of -from Jay ;) across it. It doesn't really look like Jay's handwriting. It's way too neat and curvy for it to be Jay's, whose penmanship is like that of a 5 year old instead of sophisticated and delicate. Maybe someone else wrote it for him.

“Oh, come on.”

Sunoo groans and, before Sunghoon does something, the former reaches across the table and pulls onto the ribbon tabs tied around it at lightning speed. The box falls open with a haunting sound, like a firecracker going off, and suddenly Sunghoon's face is attacked with a stream of white, sticky stuff.

Shaving cream.

Sunoo screeches as he pulls away, a distant sound of chair scraping against the floor before the lunch hall is filled with surprised gasps that eventually turns into not-so-subtle laughters.

The stream of shaving foam dies down within a minute, giving out last of its spurts, and instead, pathetic music plays from somewhere on it, of children merry and laughing. With a trembling hand, he wipes away the foam over his eyes carefully, gaze finding Sunoo instantly when his line of sight is cleared. Before him, standing at a distance, the younger looks mortified, his mouth hung open and eyes blown wide like he has seen some ghost, and Sunghoon sees him visibly jerk back to life, before rushing straight over to him as he uses a handkerchief down his face, cleaning out rest of the sticky, citrusy mess. 

“Oh, hyung—” Sunoo says, voice small and wet, as he next pulls out some tissue paper from the dispenser on their table, “I-I am so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. Fuck, fuck, fuck— are you okay, hyung? Can you see me?”

Sunghoon does, so he nods. 

Sunoo sighs, relief taking over his features with Sunghoon's assurance, before he goes back to wipe out the remaining foam. His hands are gentle where they rest on his nape to direct his head, and even more gentle as he cleans Sunghoon's face with the rough tissue papers— he knows how sensitive Sunghoon is and how sensitive about his skin Sunghoon is. So, he easily lets himself on Sunoo's mercy, feeling defeated and out-of-it for the entire while.

His mind is nothing but a static voice and his nerves buzz under his skin, like ants crawling up and down. Sunghoon doesn't even register the laughter or the click of camera shutters around him for long enough to hurt. Noticing and then unnoticing on reflex— that is, until one particular voice reaches him, that doesn't go away on its own like the rest.

Airy, high-pitched, and poorly muffled giggles from somewhere behind him and before Sunghoon can make sense of his own limbs, he's already standing up. The chair he was on falls backwards from the force, startling Sunoo, who jumps away in time, looking like he's terrified with the way he was clenching tissues in both of his fists.

He tries to call out to him then, to stop him, but it's too late. Nothing reached Sunghoon past the white noise in his ears and his eyes that were zeroed on the figure he hated the most in this moment.

“You,” he breathes out as his feet come to a stop in front of Jake. His body shakes with restrained anger and he wants to do nothing but pounce on the boy in front of him. “You did this, right? It was you. You sent that—

Jake’s smiles drop, but eyes remain unfazed as he calmly mutters, “What are you talking about, dude?” He raises his arms in mock surrender, somewhat serious. However, someone behind him bursts into a laughter and Jake's lips wobble horribly before cracking into a grin eventually.

Sunghoon sees red for the second time today. His fists shakes where it's clenched beside him and his breathing comes out in rapid bursts of air. His chest and head hurts from the oxygen he's not getting properly and his gums aching where he's trying so hard to bite down his words, or worse. 

At last, he takes a deep breath and turns around on his heels, about to walk away towards the exit of the lunch hall when—

“Wait!” Jake calls out. 

“You got a little something on you,” Jake reaches out, touching the thin skin under his eyes. He slides the pad of his thumb ever so lightly over the skin, before pulling back with white foam sticking to it. He presents the thumb to him then, clearly proud, “There.” He smiles, smug, “you're welcome.”

Sunghoon doesn't think then, just moves on autopilot.

He blindly snatches the take-out paper cup resting on the table closest to him. Ignoring the yelps of whom it belonged to, he flicks off its cap with one twist of his wrist before dumping its contents on Jake— something cold and dark, with ice cubes crashing onto the floor.

Another series of gasps ripple through the hall. Jake yelps, panicked, and that's all it takes for his friends to immediately get in the motion to help him.

“What the fuck—”

Sunghoon tunes out the rest of Jake's pathetic and miserable rambling with his annoyingly, high-pitched voice as he stalks out of the lunch hall and, once he's out, his legs already know where to go, moving on their own. 

—

Jake swears he felt his heart stop for a moment.

“Wait— how do you know Park Sunghoon?”

There's urgency in his voice which doesn't reach Jungwon, who stays laying and calm, eyes ranking over Jake with mild curiosity in them.

“Uhm—”

“Aw, Jungwon-ah,” Jake begins the moment he senses the slight hesitance in the younger's tone.

Purposefully, he flutters his eyelashes, eyes round like a doll, as he slides down the bed to rest his head on Jungwon's firm, bare chest. Tangling their legs together under the dark sheets and threading their fingers together over the younger’s chest, having pushed themselves impossibly closer to one another, Jake whispers in the little space left between their faces, “You can tell me anything, you know. You don't have to hide or be scared.”

He means it. Especially when it involves something that Jake really cares about— or not, in this case, actually— like the people's favourite, but unlikeable to him, Park. And Jungwon would believe him anyway. The younger practically worships the ground Jake walks on. Dances on his palm in the rhythm of his fingers, and shit. He won't ever deny Jake anything. Won't ever be able to, he's sure. 

That's why Jungwon's hesitation vanished as soon as it appeared. He pushes to sit up straight with back against the wall, dragging Jake along, who goes easily, almost purring in delight when Jungwon starts caressing his naked back in small circles down his spine.

“Well,” Jungwon pauses to clear his throat, “I met Sunghoon hyung through a mutual friend. We hit instantly and I was young then and really interested in taking him out. Not gonna lie, though, I had assumed he'd turn me down but unexpectedly he accepted. He said he found me cute and would want to know more about me. So, yeah, we went on a few dates and it was really fun, but eventually— like the after 4th or 5th date he was like ‘I don't think this could work.’”

Jake perks his head up, thick lips turned into a frown and deep eyes locked into Jungwon's, whose gaze immediately softened before his.

“That's it?” he questions, tilting his head slightly, just enough to make the back of his hair bounce with the motion.

Jungwon makes a noise that comes deep from his chest, hand tightening around Jake's nape momentarily to pull him back in their shared warmth. Jake obliges the pull almost instantly and finds himself snuggling the former's sternum again, chin pressed right over Jungwon's heart— warm, alive and beating, as his eyes find the latter’s face. He watches as Jungwon's cute face turns sour from calm, relaxed expressions, as if he's tasting the next words in his mouth.

“Kind of. We hooked up a few times after that, though.”

Jake's breath hitches.

The gears and bolts in his mind move on their own to fit this new piece of information somewhere safe. And Jungwon must see it, and he does, because he looks down at Jake with a quirk of his eyebrows. 

But before Jungwon can know too much just by looking at him, because he's so fucking smart like that, Jake quickly leans up and crashes their lips together. Caught off-guard, Jungwon groans against him, deep and hot. It sent tingles down Jake’s spine and he abruptly sat up without detaching their lips, wrapping his arms around Jungwon's broad shoulders and pulling him in closer to deepen the kiss.

Jungwon hissed under his touch, probably because the skin is still burning from all the scratching Jake left behind barely fifteen minutes ago. Reluctantly, Jake pulls back with a soft apology on his lips. However, the younger dismisses the idea with a little shake of his head and rejoins their lips in another kiss, his big palm dragging Jake in by his waist until he straddles his lap, closer than ever. 

When Jake’s sure Jungwon is in deep sleep— and he made sure of it, milking Jungwon dry, both of his cum and his stamina, just a few moments prior— he carefully removes himself from where he was pressed against Jungwon's front and shuffles around the room until he spots the younger's phone. 

He was able to unlock it without much struggle because Jungwon didn't even stir when the phone dinged open for access. 

It's that easy, huh? 

He goes through all of his apps— gallery, instagram, twitter, facebook— which gen-z uses facebook by the way, looking for something, anything that can be used against Sunghoon.

And he finds that in their chats. 

23 February 2023 

23:47

Sunghoon-hyung

 

[Image]

Missing you

 

Me

 

Fuck hyung

It's almost midnight

Why are you awake

:(

I couldn't sleep

And couldn't stop thinking about you

Hyung…

 

What?

You didn't find me pretty?

I took that especially for you

:(((

 

No

You look gorgeous 

You always do

And you know that

 

Bet you also sound gorgeous right now

As you play with yourself

God

Wonie if only you knew how wet I am right now 

For you

 Yeah?

 

Yws

It's so wet, wonie 

Think I'vr already ruined the sheets

Fucking hell hyung 

You don't know what you're doing

Yes, I dont

So tell me 

Tell hyung what to do

Isn't your roommate with you? 

He’a right there

 

Fuck.

 

Does that bother wonie?

 

No

It's just

Really naughty of you 

Couldn't wait for a few hours until we're together 

You're such a slut, baby

Wonie

Plesse

I wabt you 

I miss you

And your cock too

Come over, baby

You have 15 minutes

At the end, Jake's storage got full of these disgusting text messages. There were so many. These freaks probably have sex and orgasms on the top of their respective Maslow's Hierarchy of needs and live, breath, and will probably die there as well.

But whatever. He was able to leak it the same night through some girl who just needed a few dollars for her weed in exchange to do his dirty work, and wipe those off his own cellphone like they never existed.

He went to sleep against a comforting, muscular body and woke up in the late afternoon, alone and cold, to see those chat messages everywhere— their school's reddit and Tumblr page and the number of chat groups that he's somehow a part of.

Jake was lowkey impressed with the speed of screenshots spreading like they were carried by wind, quick and everywhere. He had wrapped himself in the sheets, satisfied and giddy, that still smelled of Jungwon, and spent the rest of the afternoon reading through people's reactions.

But it worked out his way only for a few hours— those few magical hours where Jake felt like he was on the highest horse before getting the impossible fall off it. 

Because as a statement, Sunghoon uploaded a picture on his Instagram story. It was a mirror selfie, a wide back— Jay’s— marked up with nail scratches and bruises, covering the expanse of the portrait while the top of Sunghoon's head peaked over his right shoulder. His one hand held his phone and the other rested on the center of Jay’s back, fingers spread wide and the manicured nails glinting in an obvious show of possessiveness. 

It almost made him throw his phone across the room when the front door was slammed open and in came Jungwon marching with an angry frown.

Though this one wasn't much of a problem, per se. It wasn't exactly tough to convince Jungwon that this isn't a big issue and that Jake promises nothing will happen to him because he had blurred out his name wherever it was visible. And if required, Jake will personally pull out the tongue of the one who dares utter Jungwon's name in the wrong way. The last one being more of an assurance—not that Jungwon needs to know.

After that, as a final push, Jake only had to flutter his eyelashes, pout a little as he says I am sorry Jungwon-ah and get on his knees for the younger to let it go. Men are that easy. 

Oh, and Sunoo, Sunghoon's best friend, and the mutual friend Jungwon had told him about, had knocked down on his front door and delivered Jake with a hard smack across his face. For Sunghoon, Sunoo had snarled.

Deep down, Jake hadn't expected anything else in that split second when he saw Sunoo at his doorstep because only Sunoo had the audacity and balls to do so out of everyone in this world. 

Again, whatever. At least he knows that somewhere out there some nasty, disgusting, and smelly CompSci guy who has never seen the fresh grass, let alone a pussy, is jerking off to Sunghoon on his knees, with his thighs and chest exposed seductively, as he poses like a cheap slut in another man’s shirt. 

Jake counts that as a win.

—

“You think we can trust him?” Sunghoon leans forward in their slightly awkward height difference and whispers to Sunoo as subtly as he can. 

The younger turns his face around briefly, shooting him a look with those eyes, like Sunghoon's bothering him merely by breathing, before focusing on the mysterious blonde working on his computer in front of them.

“He’s the only one we can trust.” he whispers back with finality.

After the move Jake pulled last week, Sunoo had taken it upon himself to get back at him on Sunghoon's behalf. 

Your ideas suck and they're expired, Sunoo had told him with a deadpan face, I already did them in 6th grade. 

Whatever. 

(That day, Sunghoon made a vow to never cross Kim Sunoo in his life no matter how low he goes.)

Nevertheless, he appreciates it. But when Sunoo had first shared his plan…not so much. It was kind of disturbing, to Sunghoon's standard at least, unlike Sunoo who sat there with the eyes of a contestant that wouldn't accept any score below 8, out of 10, for the dish he made. However, just like how cooking a dish requires dedication and genuine interest, Sunoo’s eyes showed the same. They displayed his will to get involved in this shit even though it has nothing to do with him except for Sunghoon's sake solely. 

Call him crazy but that touched him deeply. 

So he followed Sunoo across their campus, towards the STEM building. And well, that should have scared him, but he's dating Jay, who's literally majoring in finance, so what the fuck, right? How bad the person Sunoo's taking him to meet could be compared to someone who dreams of taking over the silicon valley one day and renaming it after his own name? (Sunghoon lowkey prays that Jay's only joking)

Turns out, it's very bad.

Because holy shit.

The moment the dorm’s door opened, Sunghoon's jaw fell to the floor. There scattered, as far as eyes can see in bright blue tacky mood lightenings the room is draped in with no other source of light, are piles of clothes, dirty laundry, electronic keyboards, crumbled up papers that could pass as unique origamis, and empty instant ramen cups and crushed cans of energy drinks— and what the fuck? Isn't this hazardous for humans to walk through? Let alone live in? But before Sunghoon could voice his concerns, Sunoo had already reached the other side of the room. He watched with horror as Sunoo carefully laid each step down, as if he had a special map describing where to put his feet down without dipping it in a ramen bowl or a black hole to another dimension. 

He picks up his jaw considerately after that, not wanting to add to the mess below him.

The guy— Heeseung, Sunoo had whispered to him— had only given him a once over with a nod as a greeting and Sunghoon wisely decided that's better anyways and took a long jump towards where Sunoo stood, instead of finding his way like the younger did. Sunoo did kick him when he accidentally landed right on his feet but he also pulled him up when Sunghoon lost his balance after his jump and saved him from falling onto the wicked faux carpet. So he stuck himself quietly to Sunoo and let him handle all the business they were here for.

“How do you know him though?” he asked after a while of standing there silently and watching Heeseung work, unable to hide his curiosity anymore.

But Sunoo waves the question off, “not important,” he answers uninterestedly before stomping over the mess on the floor towards Heeseung. 

Despite the forever darkness in this tech den, Sunghoon didn't miss the flushing of Sunoo’s ears, and the way he softly curls his palm around Heeseung's biceps, who doesn't even flinch at the unexpected touch. “Is it done yet, hyung?”

The virus worked. The minute Jake's laptop was connected to the room projector, the screen started popping multiple hentai ads at once in every corner. And it was well displayed to the whole lecture hall through the white screen on the front. It was big “hentai boobies” and creepy moans with their high-pitched faux innocence, monsters with monster dicks, humans with monsters dicks, even female characters with dicks, fucking of or getting fucked by questionable things, and all the other things that Sunghoon would've lived on without knowing that they lived alongside him.

Irrelevant but Sunghoon did get the shock of his life when Heeseung had first run the tests on his own computer. Surely, nothing compares to seeing the real, big thing, as they say.

Anyways.

Jake's face showed horrors when it unfolded in front of his eyes and Sunghoon thinks it's one of the best sights he's ever seen in his entire life, and he's literally friends with Sunoo— the man who has unlocked all the possible expressions. 

“Fucking hell.”

“No way.”

“What the fuck?”

“Oh my god?!”

A series of gasps erupted from across the class, people trying and failing to hold their giggles and chuckles as Jake too tried and failed to bring his computer back to normal. If the virus didn't ruin his laptop, like Heeseung had assured, then Jake probably did so on his own with the way he was urgently pressing on any and every key. It was hilarious, the frantic motion of his fingers and eyes were alike. The scene reminding him and looking eerily similar to trying to bring a person back by performing chest compression CPR.

Sunghoon and Sunoo saw it all from the last row, sneaking in and successfully disguising themselves as sleep-deprived and cryptic in worn, oversized dark hoodies like any other engineering students surrounding them. 

“I-I—” Jake starts, turning to look at their professor, who, honestly, looks frozen in her seat, before whipping his head back, and in that brief second, Sunghoon swears, he saw his eyes water. “I don't— don't know what— what's happening?”

Guess he's not getting any help for the damage control. Or grades for this sem either.

—

Sunghoon has not had a single peaceful day ever since Jake showed up at Jay's doorstop, bitter and full of rage. 

It was always something bad after something bad. And of course, Sunghoon wouldn't sit back and watch Jake piss all over him. He has to retaliate. But, it has been weeks since this started and Sunghoon is scared to admit that now there seems no way back to normal life. 

Apart from usual tripping, name-calling, etc, the sabotaging has gotten way worse, physically and mentally. Like Jake's coughing with his face covered in limestone because of his towel that Sunghoon knew where he kept in his duffle bag and also, the passcode to his locker. Like Sunghoon finding the jacket he swears he had removed for five minutes stuffed in the toilet tank. Like Jake feeling something move inside his shoes, under his feet, only to get, and give, a near-heart attack as he shrieks in horror upon a lizard crawling out the moment he flips the shoes over. Like toppings of Sunghoon's favorite orea-ferrero frappe replaced with kibbles. And the likes. 

It made him overly vigilant, expecting anything to go wrong for him, at any minute, from any direction. He is always on his toes, alert of the movements around him and wary of new people, or literally any person, coming way too near him. The last one also has Jay announcing his presence before he touches Sunghoon— his own boyfriend, in the comfort and safety of their own place. Deep down, he knows he's being pathetic and he feels that he's being pathetic when Jay shoots him a concerning glance that tips just slightly over disappointment because Sunghoon had flinched at the sound of chair scraping against the floor.

But one can never be too safe, Sunghoon has learnt it the hard way.

Though, he does find his safe haven eventually.

Where he’s not on his toes and where all his six senses take a break from being on high alert, enabling his mind to actually focus on things that matter.

His classes.

It all disappears when he's in class. For those long, but only hours, he knows he's free from any potential danger or harm staged by Jake. Here, surrounded by professors, TA’s and cctv’s, he finds he can breath without worrying about the next inhale. Here, no Jake or his evil mind can reach him.

He surely underestimated Jake and his evil mind like that.

It was a random Tuesday. 12 pm chemistry lecture, and— god just kill Sunghoon because if two hours of stupid atoms wasn't enough already, it was also the day their professor had moved their practical from the end of the week to today because of some stupid holiday. So now Sunghoon has to make it alive through four hours of chemistry. He can barely do two! He might as well finally give in and drink one of the poison potions lining up the shelves. 

“Sunghoon-ah,” a nudge at his side pulled him back, “you wandered far enough. It's time to come back.”

“I hate chemistry,” Sunghoon groans, embarrassed, as his hand finds its way to his nape in some sort of comforting motion. He's been doing that a lot these days. Zoning out. 

“Sure you do, buddy,” his partner chuckles in reply. He then pushes a flask towards him and when Sunghoon takes hold of it, he's being guided towards the sink by a push on his shoulders. “Go, bring some H2O.”

“Dude,” Sunghoon says with a light, teasing roll of his eyes at the default name of the element, which he found very unfunny, by the way, “just call it water like normal people.”

When he reached the sink of their lab counter, he didn't think twice before turning the tap— and because why would he? This is an everyday, mundane task for him that he does at least twenty times a day. The regularity of the task has stitched itself into his muscle memory, flick of his wrist and gush of water. Easy. Normal. Familiar. 

However, nothing could've prepared him for the change.

Instead of the normal gush of water, he hears a hollow roar coming definitely from below the sink and, before he can even think about turning the tap back around to silent the invisible beasty sound and not disturb the whole class, the silver tap pops off like a rocket in front of his eyes and a powerful flood of water attacks Sunghoon in a blink.

It hits him hard in the middle of his chest, pushing him with great force. He stumbles back a few steps and some more in order to get out of its reach, until his spine crashes into the thick edge of the marble countertop behind. A sharp jolt of pain travels up his back and he doubles over in pain, gasping, only to get attacked by the water jet on his face, water flowing into his lungs in what feels like big,  chunky handfuls through his gasping mouth. There’s commotion around him, some rushing and yelling too, but nothing really reaches him. The intensity of the water crashing against his ears overpowers everything else. It feels no less than drowning. 

And when he finally slides down rest of the way, finally slipping under the merciless spray, all he feels is the wet, cold tiles sticking to his own drenched body before the next inhale makes his head pound, his lungs revolt and stomach clench as if he's about to return all the water back, and everything turns black.