Chapter Text
You know, Sunghoon and I have always been close. I mean, forced to be… Let’s say our mothers were friends even before we were born, and they tried to have their children at the same time. Very cute and all. It worked; we were basically raised together. What they didn’t expect was that we would hate each other.
Sunghoon is that type of person who takes too much care about his things, like he would even scream in my face if I took one of his stupid baseball caps… No jokes here, it happened once. He is overall shy, but don’t let that deceive you, I know him like anyone else. Sunghoon is a demon; that bastard has done some of the nastiest things to me. He’s a bit too honest sometimes; it’s like he’s not afraid to tell the truth at all. That would be an amazing trait, if it didn’t mean he tells me I look ugly whenever I’m trying to look pretty to… You know, other boys.
I, on the other hand, ain’t really as careful with things like him. Being honest, I’m sluggish, though I would never say it out loud in front of Sunghoon. And I like… Well, I like flirting, especially with boys. I can’t help but feel thrilled whenever I get their attention; it’s like some kinda hobby. But I’m not an asshole, though. I don’t like breaking their hearts… I mean, it might happen sometimes, what can I do? Anyway, the problem is that Sunghoon is the opposite of me in that area. He basically never liked anyone, not in a sexual way, much less in a romantic way. He’s usually super focused on his PE graduation. He even read books about it, I mean, what’s even there to read? Like, go play some sports, dude. Ok, so the point is, Sunghoon is liking someone. And I mean, not anyone, Heeseung.
And Heeseung is basically a very popular boy on our campus. Like, very popular. He’s graduating in journalism, so he basically knows about everything. He’s the Campus News boy, which is some kind of Club at our University where people spread gossip. So, apart from that quite dubious trait of his, he is very handsome. Honestly speaking, he’s hot; he has that mysterious aura around him, even though he is the person who knows about everyone. And that’s… Attractive.
So, that’s the problem, I also like Heeseung. No, that’s not fair to my feelings. I’m head over heels for him. I can’t take my eyes off him whenever I see him, you know? It’s crazy, every time we speak, I even stutter. And I never, never, stutter. Seriously, I’m very good at flirting with boys and making them like me. But Heeseung? He makes my head all fuzzy, and I can’t even talk properly. So, I defined it in my head that he would be mine, no matter what. As I said before, I’m lazy except when it comes to boys I like; in that case, I become very strategic.
Fortunately, Sunghoon doesn’t know that I have a crush on Heeseung. And I’d say, in this game we're playing, this is an advantage, you know?
“So that’s a game to you?” The woman said behind me, her tone neutral, like always. That kinda destroyed my thought process, not gonna lie.
“It always is.” Isn’t that obvious? Seducing, flirting, and everything. Making boys fall in love with me has always been a… game to me. “Is there a problem with it?”
“I’ll let you think about it, Jake. Right now, our time is over.” She said with that sinister, serious expression on her face. This woman gives me the creeps.
“Oh… Okay. Until next week?” I said with a smile adorning my lips. She just nodded her head, not even smiling back. Urg, how is that woman even a therapist? It feels like she’s unreachable.
Anyway, unexpected, I know. But I do therapy, you see? I take care of myself!
As I left the clinic, the monologue I had during that 1-hour consultation was still in my head. It is an advantage. It means I can use the fact I know he likes Heeseung as a weapon against him. And since seducing Heeseung isn’t going to work - because somehow I can’t even talk to him without shaking - that means I have to disrupt Sunghoon’s plan. He never said he had one, but I’m sure he does. He can’t even leave his house without planning how he's going to walk. Crazy fuckhead.
Though I’m not so sure of how I'm going to take his attention off Heeseung yet, I know I’ll come up with something… I always do.
...
“Jake, you’re nuts. I’m telling you!” Sunoo said, laughing loudly in the dorm he shared with the blond. “Do you even hear yourself?”
“What? Do you have any suggestions?” Jake questioned while looking at himself in the mirror. He was dressing for a party that was going to be thrown at a frat house close to their dorms. Heeseung would definitely be there.
“Why don’t you try, like, talking to Heeseung? Like a normal person would do.” Sunoo said, like it was obvious, taking his eyes off his phone to look at Jake with an arched eyebrow.
“Because… I can’t, ok? I freeze every time I try to act like I usually do with boys I want. It’s like my words disappear, I can’t think of ways to talk to him.” Jake said, frustrated, getting up to get some perfume. Right now, he was basically ready to leave.
“So Sunghoon must be your victim?” Sunoo said, his tone ironic.
“Exaclty. Finally, you understood.” Sunoo rolled his eyes in response, deciding that this discussion wouldn’t go anywhere. When Jake decides he wants to do something, no one can stop him. “Anyway, I’m leaving, don’t wait for me,” Jake said as he left the room.
“I won’t!”
Jake decided, though, that he would try to flirt with Heeseung one last time before he did anything about Sunghoon. And tonight, that party would be the perfect moment to do it.
...
Music and people talking could probably be heard blocks from there. That frat house was crowded with people, almost like the whole campus was there. Some of the students were outside the house, drinking and dancing. Some were kissing. Jake could almost see a couple probably fucking behind some tree. Nothing new.
He went alone to the party; it didn’t matter. Jake was pretty much extroverted; people liked him. As he walked inside the big house, some guys complimented him. He just smiled; he knew he looked nice. He came with a black fitted t-shirt, a little short on the ends, short enough to show a bit of his belly and his underwear. Which, by the way, is white and has the Playboy logo in front, Jake loved that one. His cargo pants were a dark green, and he had a belt adorning them, but just as a decoration, not really to prevent his pants from falling. That wouldn't matter; in fact, people would love to see it happening.
It didn't take long for him to find Heeseung. He had some people with him; he always had. Everyone was just magnetized to him, like he had some kind of power. He was wearing a backward cap and square-framed glasses with no lenses, more for style than function. His dark red hair slipped out from beneath his cap in an attractive way. He had on a black hoodie, unzipped just enough to reveal his collarbones and the straps of a tank top underneath. His gray pants were slightly loose, paired with clean white sneakers. A few earrings adorned his ears, and a silver cross necklace rested at the center of his chest, completing the look. It was a simple look, but it worked. Heeseung had that typical boyish charm to him that Jake really liked. He didn’t need more than that to look nice.
So Jake decided he would wait a little longer, maybe take some drinks to get some courage. Yes, that was way out of character for him already. In fact, typical Jake wouldn't mind having an audience watching him; he loved it. But the chances are, he feared, he would humiliate himself trying to speak with Heeseung.
Those kind of parties was Jake’s element, sometimes it even felt like he could know exactly what would happen. A cute boy looked at him, but Jake didn’t spare so much attention to him; right now, he wanted to kiss someone, and the taller boy was making it easier for him. He knew he didn’t need to go to him; a smile was all he needed for the boy to walk in his direction. He was taller than him and had that typical college football team outfit. It didn’t take long for him and Jake to start kissing; boys were always that easy. Too easy. Boring even.
Heeseung was on the other side of the room, close to the stairs that probably led to the bedrooms of the house. He was talking to some people, more like hearing than actually talking about anything. But Jake noticed, as he stopped kissing the guy from before, that Heeseung was looking directly at him. Was he checking him up? But it didn't take long for his attention to go to another person. Wait, is that… Is that Sunghoon?
Jake squinched his eyes, not believing that he was there. Sunghoon didn't go to parties! He usually spends his nights at home doing some nerd shit or whatever. What was he doing there? And worse, when did he get brave enough to talk with Heeseung?
Sunghoon was a tall figure, tall enough that it was hard for him to pass through the crowd of people dancing unnoticed. He was using a fitted shirt with short sleeves, which made his arm muscles stand out. Yes, Sunghoon had some muscles; it’s quite hard not to have when your graduation requires you to do sports or whatever. He wore black leather pants, probably synthetic, molded perfectly to his legs. His black hair was styled, so it was slightly pulled back, yet still fell loosely over the sides of his face. A loser trying to look like a bad boy, if you asked for Jake’s opinion.
Jake had many questions in mind, and a cold sweat ran down his forehead. Was the house getting warmer?
“Jake? Are you there?” The boy he was kissing before asked after being ignored for the last couple of minutes. Jake didn't answer, though, his eyes and mind focusing only on the scene that was unfolding on the other side of the living room. Heeseung was leaning against a wall, a smirk adorning his lips, his eyes not coming back to look at him anymore. Jake felt his stomach wriggling; his heart was beating like crazy. Jake watched as Heeseung checked Sunghoon, looking him up and down, then up again. Fuck, that’s not good. Both boys were talking, smiling at each other. Sunghoon would get closer to his ears sometimes to whisper things that made Heeseung laugh. No way, Sunghoon wasn’t like that… Since when has he been good with those things? Flirting? No. Usually, Sunghoon would flush every time Jake teased him, just juking around, of course. It’s not like Jake was really into him.
And then… They were kissing. Sunghoon and Heeseung were kissing. Jake was frozen with the sight, and he felt like he was going to puke out of anger. Why Sunghoon of all the people in that party? His hands felt cold, jealousy corroding him from the inside. It felt like he lost to Sunghoon, and that was unacceptable.
Jake could see Sunghoon's hands on Heeseung’s waist, holding there with precision. They both kissed intentionally, Heeseung’s left hand on the back of Sunghoon’s hair, holding him there, and pulling him in more. Their bodies were so close, they probably could feel each other perfectly. Jake could see Sunghoons pulling Heeseung to him, making each other's bodies even closer, one hand was even getting inside Heeseung’s hoodie, feeling his body, like Jake wanted. He could imagine feeling Heeseung’s lean body in his hands; it was probably hot. God, were Sunghoon's big hands cold? It was October after all. How would it feel to have a pair of cold hands on your hot body? It didn’t help that Jake was getting aroused, seeing their bodies dancing against each other, strings of saliva connecting their lips when they broke apart for a split second, only to find each other’s lips again. His pants were getting tight. How could he have been turned on and angry at the same time?
Why did it hurt so much? He even felt like he could cry with what he’s seeing. It was supposed to be him kissing Heeseung, not Sunghoon.
“Jake, are you ok?” The boy asked, worried. Jake didn't even know his name, and the sound of his voice was making him even more angry. He wasn't Heeseung; it didn't matter. He meant nothing!
“Shut up,” Jake grumbled. His heart was pounding like crazy.
“... What?” The boy blinked twice, confused if he had heard it right. “I said. Shut. Up,” Jake said, finally looking at him. His expression dark with resentment.
“Fuck you, dude. What the fuck!” The boy said, finally leaving Jake alone. But that, different from what Jake expected, didn't make him feel any better. On the contrary, he felt lonely, like nothing mattered anymore. If only he had tried talking with Heeseung before… If only he had followed his plan to distract Sunghoon from Heeseung… And then, at that moment, Jake realized something. A kiss wouldn't be enough for Sunghoon; he liked Heeseung, and he would want more than that. Fuck, he probably wanted to date Heeseung. Unacceptable, Jake wouldn't allow that.
That's it! He might have lost today, but that's not the end of the game. He still can do something about it. He still can take Heeseung away from Sunghoon. His expression lifted, and he looked at both, who were still kissing. His brain coming up with ideas, like a machine, probably an evil one. Though Jake wasn't always a bad person, he wasn't really a fan of losing. Especially not to Sunghoon. His entire relationship with Sunghoon was basically an unending competition. The smart boy, the all-perfect Sunghoon, the campus emo crush or whatever. They didn't know him as Jake did; Jake knew Sunghoon was just as petty as he was. Jeez, if Sunghoon had known that Jake liked Heeseung, he would have made sure Jake never got the chance to date Heeseung.
Just as he thought that, Sunghoon and Heeseung stopped kissing. And as Jake watched them talking, to his surprise, Heeseung pointed to something with his head. It didn't take long for Sunghoon to follow with his eyes to where he was pointing. To Jake. Sunghoon looked directly into Jake's eyes and smirked. What. The. Fuck? Jake felt his ears getting red. Did he know? Was Jake’s state that obvious? Could he tell that he was aroused? Impossible, Jake said nothing about liking Heeseung. In fact, he only knew about Sunghoon liking Heeseung because he was observant enough.
It's been at least three months since Sunghoon started buying the University News Club's Journal. Yes, journals in 2025. And he always looked only at what Heeseung wrote there. Like some kind of psycho who was studying his next victim. Almost every day, Jake could see Sunghoon at the cafeteria reading that stupid journal. He even saw Sunghoon looking at Heeseung. So, one day, he decided to confront him about it.
“Hey, fuckhead.” Jake called, gaining Sunghoon's attention.
“What do you want, dumbass?” Sunghoon said, going back to study.
“You're liking Heeseung, aren't you?” Jake's tone was provocative. He smiled as he said it, planning to irritate Sunghoon.
“Yes.” That made Jake stop for a second. He wasn't expecting the confession. “Why? You don't think I can date him?” He smiled, looking at Jake with a look that he knew would irritate Jake.
“You can't.” Jake's response was fast, faster than he wanted. “In fact, you won't even try to talk to him. You're too much of a coward, Sunghoon.”
“Am I? Well, I think you're full of bullshit, honestly.” Sunghoon smiled, preparing to leave for his room. “I'll have him, you'll see.” Sunghoon had such an arrogance to him as he said that, it felt like he was doing it on purpose.
“Sure, I doubt it,” Jake said, leaving the place infuriated.
Since then, Jake started looking even more to Heeseung. To the point that he was always thinking of him. So it didn't take long for him to notice he also liked Heeseung. But that was it, as Sunghoon's eyes diverged from him and went back to Heeseung. Jake finally came up with an idea. It wouldn't be easy, of course. But as he said already, no one knew Sunghoon as he did. So he might as well use it to his advantage.
There's only one way that Jake can think of that would make Sunghoon forget about Heeseung. And that would be by making him fall in love with Jake. After that, Jake would be able to have Heeseung all by himself, and he would even be able to break Sunghoon's heart. Isn't that an amazing plan?
Well, he would make sure he would win this game, even if it meant he had to play it dirty. But right now, Jake couldn’t stand their gazes on him. He felt humiliated. What was happening? Sunghoon had a playful expression, like he was having fun with that. It didn't take long for him to start whispering something to Heeseung again, and then, both left for the second floor. Jake observed as Sunghoon’s hand travelled to the back of Heeseung, guiding him upstares. That was enough for Jake; he wouldn’t just watch as they probably went upstairs to fuck. No, he wouldn’t let Sunghoon have it that easy. So, he also went up the stairs, pushing the people that were in front of him, which led to some swearing, but it didn’t matter.
Fortunately, he was fast enough to catch them in front of a door.
“Hey, Sunghoon!” They both looked at him, Heeseung looking confused. Fuck. He didn’t think that properly. What was he going to say now?
“Yeah?” he replied, his voice sounding like a laugh, as if he found the situation highly amusing. He turned directly to Jake, crossing his arms and arching his eyebrows. “What do you want?” Behind him, Heeseung observed the situation, intrigued. Jake could swear he was writing something in a notebook, but Sunghoon’s body was basically hiding him from actually seeing what was happening behind him.
“I need your help with something.” Jake continued, hurriedly. He just needs to leave that place quickly enough, so Sunghoon would lose his opportunity with Heeseung. But it wasn’t hoping, Sunghoon wasn’t dumb, he knew Jake would never ask for his help.
“My help?” He scoffed, smiling. “With what exactly?”
“My mom. She called me today, inviting us to one of her dinners, you know…” Jake clasped his hands behind his back, not wanting Sunghoon to notice how they were shaking. “Honestly, I forgot about it. But it’s still 8 P.M., we have time to get there. You don’t want to disappoint her, do you?”
That’s it, the perfect excuse. Sunghoon really liked Jake’s mom; she raised him, too, after all. He could say no to Jake, but not to his mother. Sunghoon sighed, the smile on his face disappearing. “Fine, wait for me outside, I’ll go there in 2 minutes.” He said, unamused.
“You know his mother?” Heeseung asked, making Jake’s heart rate shoot. “Yes, our mothers raised us together,” Sunghoon answered, turning to him. Whatever Heeseung was doing before, he wasn’t anymore, Jake noticed.
“You two. Raised together?” Heeseung laughed, shocked. Everybody knew that Sunghoon and Jake hated each other, of course. They didn’t hide it. And if everybody knew, Heeseung obviously would know too.
“I know… I’ll have to leave,” Sunghoon continued, but whatever he had to say to Heeseung, it didn’t matter to Jake. His plan worked, he thought, smiling to himself as he went downstairs.
...
It didn’t take long for Sunghoon to find Jake outside waiting for an Uber. Even though they weren’t talking with each other, the night wasn’t silent at all. The music was loud enough to cover the fact that they were now ignoring each other.
“So, how was it?” Jake asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot, a smile still playing on his lips. Sunghoon had no idea what had just happened, and that was thrilling to him. “Kissing your crush, I mean.”
“Why do you care?” Rolling his eyes, Sunghoon took his phone from his pocket. Deciding he would not encourage the conversation with Jake. “What? I’m impressed, who would have guessed that the all-emo Sunghoon had the guts to talk with Heeseung.” Jake laughed, looking at Sunghoon.
“I told you, didn’t I?” He questioned, still finding it very weird for Jake to look that happy with that.
“Actually, no. Your words were that you would date him, Sunghoon.” He provoked. “And, a kiss is just a kiss, especially in a party like that. It’s nothing special, you know? Don’t go getting your hopes all up.” Jake continued as the Uber stopped right in front of them.
To that, Sunghoon said nothing. Jake knew that this annoyed him; he always knew how to get in Sunghoon’s head. As both entered the car, they stopped talking, each one focusing on their cellphones. But it didn’t take long for Sunghoon to notice that they weren’t going to the typical route that would lead to Jake’s mother's house. No, they were going back to the University dorms. A million thoughts went through his head, but he said nothing. Just as Jake expected. Sunghoon wouldn’t make a scene in front of someone else; he’s too shy for it, and he’s probably very much confused right now. So Jake only smiled and waited.
As soon as they both got out of the car and came to a stop in front of the six-story building, Sunghoon grabbed Jake’s arm as he was about to head into the dormitory without saying a word. “Jake, what are we doing here?”
“You know, Sunghoon…” Jake looked at him, an evil smile on his lips. “I didn’t think it would be fun enough if you had Heeseung that easy…”
Slowly, Sunghoon was starting to understand the situation, anger rising in his guts as he looked at Jake’s eye in disbelief. “Yeah, I lied. Sorry, I interrupted you from getting your dick wet,” he said it with a false expression of sorrow on his face.
“You know what? Fuck you, Jake.” Sunghoon said, his tone rising as he pushed Jake hardly enough for him to fall down. “You’re so pathetic, did you know that? You went through all that, and for what? Jealousy?”
“What? Why would I be jealous of you?” Jake said, also angered with that affirmation.
“Because you don’t like anyone, you can’t!” Sunghoon exasperated, lifting his arms in a frustrated gesture. “All you think about is getting dicked down by any available man. A whore with no feelings, that’s what you are. What? Does it make you feel good? Believing that you’re wanted? You’re not, really. You’ll never be, because there’s nothing more to you than that, a disposable whore…” He said all that while sticking his finger on Jake’s chest; it hurt a little, but Jake was too shocked to say anything.
Yes, they fight a lot, but Sunghoon had never said those kinds of things to him before. Is this how he saw him? They grew up together, and that’s how he perceives Jake?
“You know what? Since it's dick that you want, I can give you some.” Sunghoon’s expression was dark as he approached Jake, while still pushing him with his hand. “Yes, be a slut, Jake, open your legs to me, I’ll show you what real cock feels like.”
A sharp twinge stirred low in Jake’s abdomen, heat pooling there. Somehow, the degradable way that Sunghoon was talking to him was getting him aroused. There’s no way. Is Sunghoon right about him?
“You’re so quiet now. What happened, just talking about taking cock suddenly makes you a good bitch, is that it?” He continued, but Sunghoon still sounded angry.
“Fuck you, Sunghoon!” Jake screamed, pushing him as strongly as he could, and turning around, running to the dorms. He felt even more humiliated than he felt at the party. Sunghoon was pushing all his limits. But part of him also didn’t want to accept that he got aroused. That’s fucked up.
He banged the door of his room with a strong hand, making Sunoo jump out of his bed in surprise. “What the-”
“Not now, Sunoo.” He said, sharply, going to the bathroom that they had in their shared room and looking at himself in the mirror. His breathing was still fast, and he felt so angry at Sunghoon’s words, but he also felt angry at the way his body reacted to it. How dare he? How dare Sunghoon treat him like that?
As he looked at himself in the mirror, only two things were clear on his mind. He would date Heeseung and, for that, he would break Sunghoon’s heart.