Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The stadium was freezing cold, yet the clashing of hockey sticks and the aggressive press of players' warm bodies were deafening. Energy surged through the arena as the crowd erupted with cheers with every goal made.

Instead of feeling the cold biting his skin, Sunghoon felt alive. With sweat dripping from his forehead and warm breath fogging up his helmet, he swiftly glided past his opponents while his teammates blocked them. His eyes were set on the opponent's net. Everything around him started to muffle until it was only him and the net.

He took a deep breath as he swung his hockey stick, hitting the puck with full strength.

The puck spun in a perfect circle, as if in slow motion. Sunghoon heaved as he watched it, a drop of sweat falling from his chin to the worn-out ice exactly as the puck went in.

The buzzer hit, and there were rainbow confettis blown everywhere.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Park Sunghoon has done it again! The Ice Breakers are the champions of this year's Summer Ice Hockey League!"

The moment Sunghoon lifted his hockey stick, cheers erupted throughout the stadium as if on command. The rest of the team piled onto him, shouting wildly at their back-to-back university win. Butter-yellow daffodils rained onto the floor as the crowd celebrated, while cheerleaders screamed and jumped, waving their pompoms excitedly.

Sunghoon let out a loud, "WHOA!!" as he glided around the stadium, giving people high-fives and signing their shirts. With the word "CAPTAIN" written in bold letters across the back of his jersey, he skated over to his teammates and pulled them into one big group hug.

"So, Cap, you coming to the party tonight?" one of the teammates asked Sunghoon.

Sunghoon ruffled the teammates' hair and shook his head. 

"Are you for real? Look at all those cheerleaders over there!" The teammate gestured towards them with his head as they giggled and waved their pompoms flirtatiously. "It's about time you made a move. Everyone's been saying the cheerleader captain wants to get to know you."

Sunghoon briefly glanced over at the cheerleaders, with Wonyoung at the center of the group.

Jang Wonyoung. The university campus "It-girl" and captain of the Fox cheerleaders. Born and raised in an elite chaebol family, she also served as the face of the school's magazine.

The teammate was, however, pulled back by his shoulder and smacked across the head by another teammate. "You should worry about getting laid yourself."

"Ugh.....let go of me, Jay! Just because you've got a boyfriend doesn't mean you have to ruin our chances too," the teammate hissed, shaking Jay's hand off his shoulder.

Jay gave a devious grin, his shoulders hiked high, overly proud of his boyfriend. No one on the team knew how he had managed to get the student council president to date him, especially with his irascible personality.

His teammate rolled his eyes and elbowed Jay's stomach, snapping him out of his reverie. Jay offered a light shrug, earning a disgusted look in return.

Jay then turned to Sunghoon and agreed with the teammate, somehow concurring that he needed some oxytocin in his body. He suggested picking up some dates for him, which wouldn't be too hard, considering the queue of fans already waiting.

Sunghoon was no stranger to the dating game. He had been on countless dates, survived multiple drunken nights, and had his fair share of hookups—but nothing ever lasted. It was the same routine. He would lose interest quickly and move on to the next person. It was like flipping through pages of a book—a very boring one, to be exact. Nothing brought him as much joy as the ice did, and he was sure nothing ever will.

He did not want to argue today, nor did he have the energy to do so. He agreed to Jay's suggestion for a date on the condition that he could bail out on the after-party.

After much deliberation among the teammates, they finally agreed. Jay still made one last attempt to coax Sunghoon by saying that he was going to miss out on the drama between Niki and Sunoo, who always have an on-and-off relationship. And today was their rare "on" moment. 

Sunghoon gave a tight-lipped smile, patted Jay's shoulder, and walked past him.

On his way out of the bleachers, Wonyoung hollered at him from a distance, dragging the school's photographer with her. 

"Oh, Sunghoonnnnn," she dragged out her words like a clingy wannabe girlfriend. "You're coming to the after-party, right?"

"No. Not tonight," Sunghoon flatly responded, just wanting to get out of his sweaty uniforms and his foggy helmet.

"Why not? We could have a lot of fun....." Wonyoung closed in the distance between them, her fingers lightly grazing his gloves.

"Are you done?" Sunghoon said with a sigh of irritation.

Wonyoung let out a forced laugh, glancing around nervously to make sure no one caught on. Masking her annoyance, she grabbed his hand and wrapped them around her arms, demanding he at least take a photo with her for the school magazine. 

Before he could retort, the camera flashed. Sunghoon groaned, turning his head away, entirely suffocated by the superficial persona everyone around them seemed to play. He slipped out without another word. He didn't want to ruin the mood during what was supposed to be a celebratory moment.

After bowing to some people along the way, he finally made it to the locker room. 

Sunghoon swung his body around, feeling his muscles loosen at the cracking of his bones. He sat down at the edge of the bench, exhaling deeply as he caught his breath. He was thankful that the rest of his teammates were busy celebrating outside, as he needed some quiet space alone.

He roughly pulled off his gloves, which were sticky from sweat accumulated throughout the game. He clenched and unclenched his hands, turning them over to find his knuckles all bruised. During one of the rounds, he must have hit them against the wall while pushing his opponent. But it was nothing new. In fact, it would be more unbelievable if someone made it out of the game without a single injury.

He threw his gloves into the bin near the door, which now served as a makeshift hamper for dirty laundry.

Sunghoon's shoulders slumped as he bowed his head, staring at the wet floor in a daze. As he proceeded to unbuckle his helmet, he heard the door to the shower room slam shut. Sunghoon was confused, as he believed all his teammates were still out in the stadium and no one else was allowed inside.

He waited for the person to walk past him, but he couldn't hear any footsteps. For a second, he thought he had imagined it out of exhaustion.

He kept his head on the floor as a pair of chestnut Ugg boots walked past him without even acknowledging his presence. He knew it couldn't be any of his teammates based on the small shoe size, as everyone on the team, including him, had much larger feet. He scoffed in disbelief at the person's audacity.

"Hey. Who the fuck are you?" Sunghoon spat as he kept looking down, not even sparing a glance at the person. "Don't you know that this place is off-limits? You think this is some sort of public washroom?"

Whoever it was, stopped. Sunghoon watched as the Ugg boots turned and stood in front of him. Sunghoon looked up, but because his helmet was completely fogged up, he couldn't see who it was. He tried to remove his helmet, but the person began to speak.

"You're hurt." The person pointed to Sunghoon's knuckles.

Sunghoon's hands stopped moving. From the tone of his voice, he could tell it was a guy. 

As a social butterfly and in fulfilling his duty as captain to participate in multiple events, Sunghoon was acquainted with almost everyone at the university. Even if it was just someone he passed in the hallway or a fan who wanted a picture, he could at least recognize something about them. 

After all, he had to keep up with the Ice Breakers' reputation to gain support from the students to fund their formal gatherings. If he wanted to, he could have easily funded the events himself. But his teammates refused to let him use his own money, despite him being extremely rich.

The thing is, he had an excellent memory for recognizing people. But he couldn't figure out who this person was. His voice....was unfamiliar—cold and distant. It was colder than the biting ice, and Sunghoon felt chills climbing up his spine.

"Yah....are you fucking dumb? I said who the fuck are you!?"

The person remained unresponsive, instead rummaging through his backpack for something right in front of him. Sunghoon tried to be amicable for once, but there was a limit to his patience. He could bear the buzzing no longer; was this guy texting right now?

Sunghoon banged the locker next to him aggressively, demanding the person answer his goddamn question. He finally managed to unbuckle his helmet, and as he was about to take it off, the other person threw a handful of "something" right at his face.

"What the actual fuck!!" Sunghoon yelled as he turned his head to the side, caught off-guard by the whole situation. "You're going to pay for th—"

The locker door burst wide open. Sunghoon quickly removed his helmet and spun around. He stood up furiously, only to see that the person had bolted from the room. There was no way that had just happened. What kind of person does that? To him, nonetheless.

Sunghoon decided to chase after whoever it was, knowing that he was probably faster since the person didn't seem that tall. But as he took a step forward, he felt something under his shoe. He looked down to find the items the person had thrown at him. Crouching down to examine them, he discovered multiple yellow band-aids covered in brown teddy bears scattered across the floor.

As he went to pick it up, he paused, remembering the bruises on his knuckles.

"You're hurt."

Sunghoon rolled his tongue inside his mouth. "Don't tell me.....there's no way..."

"Did you see the look on the opposing captain's face when the goalkeeper couldn't block the puck when he was right there?" someone commented as they walked into the locker room. "Oh! Cap, you were here?"

Sunghoon could not catch a break.

"What are all these?" The teammate picked one of the band-aids up and examined it. "So not your type, Cap."

"Put it down, Nishimura Riki." Sunghoon glared at him, snatching the band-aid from his hand.

Niki lifted his hands up, ranting about how Sunghoon seemed more prickly when they just won the match. However, being the maknae of the team, he decided to push his buttons even more. He teased Sunghoon, asking whether someone had been in the locker room before they arrived, wiggling his brows because those band-aids definitely did not come out of Sunghoon's pockets.

Well, technically speaking, someone was there. He just didn't know who. He tried to casually ask if they had seen anyone running down the hallway, but they assured him that there was no one.

Sunghoon decided to leave it be, carelessly shoving all the band-aids into his gym bag. He exited the room before his teammates could force him to attend the after-party again.

                                        *

Two weeks had passed since their last match. One would think the Ice Breakers would be on their couches, lounging around and still hung up on their victory.

Instead, just two days later, they were back at the ice rink, busy training for their upcoming match, which was to be held a week from now. It was a friendly match with the neighboring university's hockey team, but that did not mean they could take it lightly. After all, they had a pride to uphold.

Sunghoon leaned his elbow on the wall just behind the players' bench as he grabbed his bottle from his duffle bag and sipped his energy drink. He watched every movement and play of his teammates to make sure there was no mishap during the game.

"Ni-ki! You need to smooth out your turn when you slide towards that corner!" Sunghoon shouted as he tried to gesture with the bottle in his hand. "You keep fucking that turn!"

Niki had to apologize furiously as he tried to fix his blunder, but he kept failing every time. It wasn't until Sunghoon aggressively threw a bottle at him that Niki finally started to get the hang of it.

After that, the rest of the teammates played cautiously so as not to be the next target. Sunghoon was a perfectionist, especially when it came to sports, which meant the rest of the players were not spared either. They hated it—the way not even the slightest mistake was ever overlooked.

By the end of the training, their eardrums were ringing from the amount of scolding thrown at them. But at the same time, they respected him a lot. They couldn't deny how all those criticisms actually helped them hone their skills better. They were at the top because Sunghoon was at the top.

Sunghoon's eyes were sharp as a hawk whenever they were out in the field. He studied not only their own players but even those on the opposite team, down to the minutest detail.

That was how the training went on for the rest of the week, with not even a rest day in between. Everyone was dying. At this rate, they might all end up missing the match itself. But if that ever happened, Sunghoon would drag them from their hospital beds to the game.

                          ☆Day of the match☆

                 The Ice Breakers vs The Vikings

The rounds were brutal, and any semblance of a "friendly" match was non-existent. The intensity only escalated with every passing round.

In the first round, Sunghoon literally slammed into anyone in his field of vision, not even sparing his own teammates. He was like a man on a mission. It was beyond ridiculous. The Ice Breakers kept scoring, leaving the opposing goalkeeper completely dispirited by the end of the round.

During the 15-minute intermission, Jay tried to tell Sunghoon to take it easy but was left on read. Jay scoffed at the audacity, especially since he was the sub-captain. Taking off his helmet and shaking the sweat from his hair, Sunghoon nonchalantly commented that he wasn't to blame for their poor gameplay.

With that, the referee blew the whistle for the second round to commence. 

As Sunghoon was skating his way to the rink, he looked around at the audience in the bleachers. But just before he turned around, he noticed someone at the corner of one of the upper benches in the west wing looking down at his laptop. There were a lot of people with their phones and cameras filming the game, so it was nothing new. Sunghoon brushed it off and went ahead with the game.

But as they continued to play, Sunghoon unconsciously looked up at the crowd, catching a glimpse of the same person staring at their laptop, not giving a fuck about the game. For some reason, that fucking pissed him off, but he didn't want to be petty. He continued to focus on his game.

Then came the second intermission. Sunghoon went over to the player's bench to analyze their position once more. As he wiped the sweat dripping from his neck, he knew he shouldn't, but he did it anyway: he looked over to the same bench in the west wing.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" Sunghoon cursed as he threw the towel down. He glared over at the same guy, who now had headphones on. Sunghoon initially wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt—maybe he had to check an important email, or maybe a message was inevitable. He didn't even know if recording a game with headphones on was possible.

But now, even that was out of the question. This guy with those stupid, big, black-framed glasses was actually doing his work here during an important match! And as if that wasn't disrespectful enough, he even had headphones on, as if the game were disturbing him!

The whole team, and even the coach, stopped all their discussions and curiously stared at Sunghoon at his sudden outburst.

"Yo man....you okay?" Jay stepped closer, putting his hand on Sunghoon's shoulder.

Sunghoon kept glaring at the guy, who was busy typing away with not a care in the world. He shoved Jay aside and marched past him, stating that nothing was wrong. Everyone knew something was definitely wrong, but who would dare press him further while in the middle of a match? That was just voluntarily asking for a ride to the afterlife.

"Whatever. It was not his problem," Sunghoon thought to himself. Why concern himself with someone so insignificant? He shook his head, focusing on the game. He couldn't make a blunder.

The referee blew the final whistle for the third and final round to commence. 

The whole stadium went quiet as everyone sat on the edge of their seats, watching intensely as the two captains crouched at the center with their hockey sticks touching the puck, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. A staring competition ensued, with both captains asserting their dominance. Sunghoon had a smirk on his face as he watched the other team's captain try his best to hide his nervousness, but the trembling of his hands gave it away.

Sunghoon knew he had this in the bag. But just as the whistle was about to blow, he made the worst blunder of his life: he looked up at the same guy.

Only this time, the guy seemed to have pulled a long strip of Chupa Chups from his bag and dangled it from his mouth, chewing on it as he typed away. 

Sunghoon was so baffled and angry that, for a split second, he lost focus and missed the whistle. The Vikings' captain capitalized instantly, seizing the puck and catching Sunghoon completely off guard.

His whole team was shocked that he had missed it. This had never happened before. Sunghoon rolled his eyes and grunted, extremely pissed off. It was not long before the Ice Breakers easily stole the puck from the other team. But Sunghoon was not happy. It did not matter that they stopped the others from scoring a point. It was the fact that he had let himself get distracted, ruining his perfect strategy.

The rest of the round was intense. No one had ever seen Sunghoon play so roughly. It was getting so dangerous that the coach had to yell from the bench to take it a bit easy. Jay and Ni-ki had to stay beside Sunghoon on both sides to keep him in check, as they did not want a full-blown fight to break out at the end of the game.

All the audience members' jaws dropped as they watched the round heat up. Although the Ice Breakers were all playing exceptionally well, everyone could see that Sunghoon was in a completely different league. The way he smoothly glided over the ice as if it were as easy as breathing, his intense concentration despite the pressure, and even the goals he scored were hit perfectly into the center of the net.

The final time buzzer went off. 

As expected, the Ice Breakers won against the Vikings by a margin of 50 points. It was embarrassing to even call it a match. The whole stadium erupted in cheers at the exhilarating victory. 

The university's flag was unfurled with paper confetti blasters all over the stadium. The Ice Breakers' anthem played as fans threw daffodils onto the rink, as the daffodil was the Ice Breakers' theme flower.

The cheerleaders screamed with all their might. Even the Vikings' cheerleaders, swooned over by the perfect play played by the opponent's team, started to cheer for them, with some even flirtatiously winking at the players.

The Vikings kept their heads lowered, their faces flushed pink from the gut-wrenching defeat. Despite being furious, they still had the decency to go over to the other team and congratulate them on their victory.

That is the beauty of sportsmanship: accepting defeat proudly, learning from one another, and coming back even stronger.

The players then stood in a line facing one another and shook hands, hoping to play together again in the future. Once the formal ceremony concluded, everyone rushed toward the rink. Some begged for autographs and photos, while players from other teams even approached Sunghoon to tell him they were huge fans of his.

Sunghoon, like the PR-trained professional he was, put on his polite smile like it was his second skin. As everyone kept rushing into the Ice Breakers' lounge, the west wing came into view. Sunghoon's eyes wandered to the upper benches and....what the fucking hell! There was absolutely no fucking way!!

Sunghoon literally had to take off his helmet, unable to believe what he was seeing. With cameras flashing at him and girls giggling as his bare face came into view, Sunghoon stared intensely as the guy sat in his seat unmoving, his eyes still fixed on his laptop. He did not even have the decency to clap, or even to act like he had watched the game.

Sunghoon observed as the guy stretched himself out, finally looking up. He could see the way the guy seemed genuinely stunned that the benches had all cleared. The guy quickly slammed his laptop shut, hurriedly shoving it into his bag—which Sunghoon couldn't help but notice had a stupid koala sticker on it—along with his sweet wrappers, sliding his glasses up his nose as he rushed to the nearest back exit. The guy didn’t even care to look at the massive scoreboard to see who had won.

Sunghoon’s last shred of sanity snapped. With a polite smile plastered on his face, he pushed everyone aside and bolted towards the bleachers. At this point, he couldn't care less about what his teammates or the coach had to say. Like a predator zeroing in on its prey, he effortlessly vaulted over the glass wall and sprinted up the stairs to the same exit.

Sunghoon slammed the door open as he rushed into the hallway, his head turning in every direction to find the guy. As he kept running, he finally caught sight of the guy from behind, humming as he chewed on his jellies. 

Sunghoon shouted at him, but the guy straight up ignored him, probably because he had headphones on. However, Sunghoon was too blinded by rage to even realize that. He marched right up to the guy and grabbed his wrist aggressively, making him drop his jellies. 

"Hey! Are you deaf!! Haven't you heard of basic courtesy!!" Sunghoon spat.

The guy finally turned around, pulling off his headphones. He locked eyes with Sunghoon, his gaze dropping to the hand gripping his wrist.

"Let. Go," the guy said through gritted teeth.

Sunghoon was taken aback for a moment. The guy's face was emotionless, yet his eyes were filled with such intense disdain and rage. It felt as though Sunghoon had committed some grave offense against him. It was unnerving. 

Moreover, Sunghoon had never—ever!—seen him before on the university campus. Was he even a student here? A corner of a university ID card, just barely peeking out from beneath the guy's collar, confirmed he belonged. So, who the fuck was he? 

Sunghoon was snapped out of his reverie when the guy aggressively yanked his wrist away. Without a word, he whirled around and walked away.

Sunghoon staggered, scoffing at the unnecessary anger. He knew that at any other time, he could have just let it go. But for some reason, the adrenaline from the game was still pumping through him, craving more thrill. With that, Sunghoon dashed right past the guy, turned around, and blocked his path. 

Looming closer, Sunghoon looked down at him. "Who said you can just leave?"

The guy did not move back even an inch. He just stared at Sunghoon, despite him towering over him. Sunghoon was amused. Even amongst other hockey players, his height and build always intimidated everyone on the field. Maybe that's the reason why girls kept flirting with him. But this guy here seemed so unaffected by it.

"I saw you. Back at the bleachers. Don't you think it's rather rude to be staring at a stupid fuckass laptop while people are giving their all? For the university's pride, nevertheless." Sunghoon clenched his jaw, his chest all puffed up.

The guy looked to his left and rolled his eyes, sighing as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned to Sunghoon. 

"So? What does that have to do with me? It's a free country. I could be blasting music out loud for all I cared."

Sunghoon scoffed at the guy's complete lack of remorse. Leaning forward aggressively, he commented that the snob shouldn't even be there. "Why waste a perfectly good seat when someone who actually appreciates it could have it? Instead, we're stuck with some snob who thinks his right to freedom gives him the excuse to ruin the atmosphere."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're the only one who seemed to have a problem with me. And why are you so sensitive? You act as if you represent the team or something," the guy responded.

Sunghoon wondered if the guy was being serious. There was no way he didn't know who he was! Sunghoon assumed it was one of those clichés where someone pretends not to recognize a person, as if their photos weren't literally plastered on the front page of every magazine. He had come across so many people like that with their "I'm not like the others..." blah blah blah.

"Is this really how you're going to play? So fucking predictable!"

"Okay....I don't know who you are but you're crazy. I don't have time to dwell on this. Move." The guy shook his head and tried to cross, but Sunghoon blocked his path.

Okay, you know what? Fine, let's talk about it then," the guy grumbled. Pushing his glasses up, he crinkled his nose and continued, "I know your type very well—a frat boy who thinks he is entitled to everyone's attention. Who do you even think you are?"

It was then that Sunghoon could see the way the guy's eyes shifted downward, narrowing then widening as realization hit him upon seeing the uniform. The guy swallowed hard and awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other.

Fuck... did he really not know who he was?

Sunghoon was genuinely shocked. He was not trying to brag, but as the university's pride and joy, the Ice Breakers' posters were plastered on every possible bulletin board. Their pictures were always printed on the front page of the school magazine, and there were multiple fan clubs for them—both as a team and as individuals. Still....Sunghoon decided to go along with it.

"Don't you think you should apologize to me, though? You distracted me in the last round."

The guy blinked, staring blankly as he struggled to believe what he’d just heard. "Are you kidding me right now? Apologize? Don't blame me for your incompetency. It's your fault for getting distracted."

Sunghoon's eyes twitched as the guy kept pushing his buttons. Incompetence? Him? Who exactly was this guy?

"You know what... how rude of me. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Park Sunghoon, Captain of the Ice Breakers. And you are.....?" Sunghoon raised a brow as he held out his hand for a handshake.

"Leaving," the guy coldly stated, ignoring Sunghoon's hand.

Just then, a female voice echoed from the end of the hall.

"Mr. Sim Jaeyun! I've been searching everywhere for you! Professor Jeonghan is about to leave. If you want to meet him, you better get going now. I'll go ahead and stall him. Hurry!"

"O—Okay, Miss Jihyo. I'll be right there," Jaeyun blurted.

As he tried to leave, Sunghoon kept blocking his path. Jaeyun grunted as he tried to find an opening, but to no avail. Sunghoon chuckled as he watched him struggle. 

However, Sunghoon was completely unprepared for what came next. Jaeyun kicked him right in the shin, earning a low groan from Sunghoon.

Sunghoon staggered back as he bent down to massage his shin. "What the fuck! You have no idea who you are messing with! You're gonna pay—" the words died on his tongue as the guy stepped closer. Since Sunghoon was bent over holding his shin, the guy was now exactly at eye level with him.

"Since you seem desperate for it....Congratulations. Park. Sunghoon," Jaeyun muttered with a blank expression on his face and briskly walked out of the hall.

Sunghoon froze as he watched the guy...well...Sim Jaeyun or whatever disappear from his sight. He was so flabbergasted. For a second there, he was too close. Too close for comfort.

Niki shouted from the corner of the corridor, huffing and puffing as he insisted to Sunghoon that they needed to take the group photo before they changed out of their sweaty uniforms.

Once the group photo was taken, Sunghoon came out of the shower shirtless in only his boxers, searching for his sweatpants. Some of the steam from the shower leaked into the locker room, revealing perfectly aligned abs. One could easily see that he worked out a lot from the way his back and arm muscles twitched as he picked up a towel. 

While opening his locker, Jay spotted something and nodded towards a bruise on his leg. Sunghoon’s brows drew together in confusion, knowing full well he hadn't been hit by anyone during the game. He had been in full offense mode.

But Jay gave a mischievous grin with his hair all wet and lightly kicked the spot. Sunghoon let out a small groan and looked down, surprised to actually see a purple bruise at the shin of his leg.

"What the....." Sunghoon muttered, wondering where he got it. And then it hit him. He closed his eyes, vexed at the thought of it. That damn guy! And now that he recalled, that guy was even wearing a pair of Ugg boots. How could such soft shoes leave such heavy bruises? Absolutely absurd!

Sunghoon sat down at the edge of the bench and asked Jay to hand over some band-aids to cover the bruise. But Jay seemed a bit uneasy at the request. 

"Uh....sorry, dude, we've run out of it. Niki used it all for his back."

Just when things couldn't get worse, they did. Sunghoon had had it. He reached out his arm to grab his grey sweatpants, accidentally dropping his duffle bag in the process.

"FUCK!!"

The rest of the teammates glanced at one another, everyone on edge. Jay gestured for the others to discreetly leave the room if they were done, and he mouthed at Niki to ask why he had to literally use every single one of the bandages!

Niki silently waved his hands around, as if to say it was not his fault. Who would have thought Sunghoon would get hurt?

Sunghoon leaned languidly against the bench and snatched the duffle bag that had fallen off. But as he brought it up, yellow band-aids fell out from his unzipped bag. He slowly picked them up, recalling the incident of how he got them in the first place. He kept staring at the bandages, remembering a very similar detail.

"Hey Jay?"

"Yeah?"

"Are Ugg boots in trend these days?" Sunghoon questioned as he peeled a band-aid off.

"What? Ugg boots? No? I've never seen anyone in the university wearing those. Can you even imagine? Wearing those soft-ass shoes in the middle of summer!" Jay laughed as he looked in the mirror and wiped his hair with a towel.

"Well, yeah, I can. Because I've already encountered two people wearing them," Sunghoon snapped as he pressed a band-aid onto his bruise. 

That's right—two very weird people with the most baffling encounters.

Sunghoon kept fidgeting with the edges of his bandaids, rolling his tongue inside his mouth as he asked Jay if he knew anyone on campus named "Sim Jaeyun." Hopefully, he heard the name right.

"Sim? I've never heard of that surname before." Jay leaned back against the locker and looked over at Sunghoon. "I can try asking around. Niki!"

Niki peeked out from the shower, brushing his teeth. "Hm?"

Jay asked the same question to Niki, who also had no clue. Niki, however, suggested that he could ask Sunoo about it, as he was an even bigger social butterfly than Sunghoon.

But right in the middle of it all, both of them turned to Sunghoon with a smile dancing at the corner of their lips. They bombarded him with millions of questions as to why he wanted to know so darn bad, but Sunghoon quickly dismissed them and put on his sweatpants.

"Well, aren't we going?" Sunghoon asked in a dry tone as he pulled on his hoodie and donned the cape.

Jay and Niki both asked, "Where?" at the same time. Realizing what he meant, they high-fived and grabbed their stuff.

"Let's party!!" Jay lifted his hands up.

"Man, we're so going to get wasted tonight, especially since the cheerleaders from the other team are also joining us. Who knows..." Niki elbowed Sunghoon. "You may meet your next date as well, Cap."

Sunghoon sighed as he pushed Niki aside and made their way to the party.

                                         *

Two days later, Jay, Niki, and Sunghoon finally returned to the university after taking a break from their games. They slumped into their usual table in the school cafeteria next to the sliding glass door, which overlooked the breathtaking cherry blossoms. They were still hungover from the party. 

Sunghoon could barely recall most of it—how many drinks he downed or how many girls he made out with. Everything was a blur. 

Now, as they all had their heads on the cold glass table, Niki lazily commented on how the party had been a blast and added that the cheerleaders were hot.

"Who's hot?" A voice came from behind.

Niki's eyes widened with fear as he sat straight up, tittering as he turned around. "Babe.......when did you get here?"

Niki was met with a smack to the head. 

"Shut up, you....Just because I said we should take a break does not mean you can go partying all night!" Sunoo hissed.

"Sunoo, I swear I did nothing! You can ask Jay and Sunghoon. Jay? Sunghoon?" Niki desperately called out to them but they ignored it.

Niki kept apologizing as he grabbed Sunoo's wrist, coaxing him with the assurance that there was no one prettier than him and that it was just the leftover alcohol talking. Sunoo finally conceded and ordered Niki to move out of the way. Niki moved without a second delay, gesturing to the space for Sunoo to sit. Sunoo exhaled sharply as he glared at Niki and sat down.

After a while, Sunoo clapped his hands and turned to Sunghoon. "Oh yeah... Niki was telling me about this guy you were asking about. Sunghoon....are you sure he's from here?"

Sunghoon simply nodded as he pressed his palm to his forehead, explaining how he had seen the university ID strap on him. Sunoo seemed deep in thought at the response. 

Sunoo continued, noting that he had literally tried asking everyone around about this so-called Sim Jaeyun, but nobody had any clue about him. It was as if he were invisible.

"Dude....are you sure you were not high by then?" Niki teased as he laid his head on Sunoo's shoulder.

Sunghoon clicked his tongue, not in the mood to fight first thing in the morning. Just then, three closed-lid cups of cold lemon tea were slid across the table.

"Jungwonnnn...." Jay grinned as he opened his arms wide for a hug.

With an endearing smile, Jungwon handed Sunoo a bubble tea before sitting next to Jay and giving him a half-hug. He then placed his own drink on the table and took a sip.

"So...what were you guys talking about?" Jungwon asked, resting his cheek in his hand as he put his elbow on the table. 

"Nothing much. Just how Sunghoon has been seeing a ghost," Niki replied.

Sunghoon warned Niki that if one more word slipped out of his mouth, he’d be cleaning the ice rink for a month. At that, Niki immediately pursed his lips and hid behind Sunoo.

Jay put his arm around Jungwon and filled him in on all that was going on. Jungwon nodded his head as he pondered for a while and then asked Sunghoon if he could describe him a little bit more. 

Jay snorted as he commented on how Jungwon could help when even Sunoo, the literal dictionary of the entire university, had no clue. But Jungwon retorted, ranting about how they should not underestimate the student body president.

Sunghoon leaned back in his chair and looked out the window, trying to recall anything he could. 

Sim Jaeyun....wore thick black-framed glasses. He had black hair like 90% of the students here; the only difference was that his long bangs swept right over his glasses, making him look somewhat cute.... No....cut that out. He also had an unnecessarily sharp tongue despite how soft he looked. Oh, and that he was literally glued to his laptop! He bet it wouldn't be long before he started to make out with it, considering how fixated he was.

Jungwon kept humming, his brows furrowing as he tried to identify any such person. Honestly speaking, it felt like a lost cause. How many students were there who wore glasses and carried their laptops around? If he had to guess... well, the number was not small.

"Oh! He also wore... uh... what were they called again? Oh, yeah!" Sunghoon snapped his fingers. "Ugg boots!"

Jungwon suddenly experienced a moment of enlightenment upon hearing it. He slammed his hand on the table, startling everyone there.

"Oh my gosh!! Why didn't you start with that! JAKE!" Jungwon exclaimed.

"Uh...Jungwon? We're searching for a Sim Jaeyun? Not Jake??" Jay tried to correct him.

Jungwon sighed as he began to explain that Jake...was Sim Jaeyun! Sim Jaeyun was his Korean name, though he mostly went by Jake on campus.

"Sunghoon. Let me ask you this. Were these boots perhaps...chestnut brown in colour?" Jungwon inquired.

"Yeah...? Wait, how did you know that?"

"Because there's only one person that wears those in the entire campus!"

The rest excitedly urged Jungwon to spill the beans, curious as to who this person was. Jungwon then explained that there wasn't much to know about Jake. All he knew was that he had transferred from Australia to finish his thesis because his work required a background in Korean culture. Like the rest of them, Jake was a senior and belonged to the Physics department in the College of Sciences and Engineering.

"Is that all?" Sunghoon blurted. That was basically nothing.

"I told you, didn't I? There's not much information about him. Apparently, he's very introverted. And I don't think he hangs out with people a lot—at least, based on the few times I saw him. He's only interested in his work, so I'm not surprised he didn't know who you were, Sunghoon. He also doesn't attend parties or gatherings of any sort." Jungwon shrugged as he spoke.

In fact, there were two times that Jungwon had somehow managed to force Jake to attend a party. But Jake would leave before it had even started, and Jungwon couldn't even get mad at him because, technically, he did attend. Jungwon couldn't believe the nonsensical loophole Jake had managed to create.

Sunghoon laughed under his breath as he listened to Jungwon. He was intrigued by how such a person could stay off everyone's radar. Then, Sunghoon wanted to know how Jungwon even knew Jake, considering how nearly impossible it seemed for anyone to meet him.

"Oh that... I met him by accident," Jungwon casually commented. "I was on my way to the student council meeting when I bumped into him. He helped me pick up the papers, and as he was handing them over to me, he told me how the budget estimation was wrong."

As the president, Jungwon was honestly a bit offended by how some random stranger had criticized his papers. But at the same time, Beomgyu was the one who had handled that section, so he wasn't entirely against the feedback. Beomgyu was the finance secretary, but he barely did his job. Jungwon now believed that Beomgyu had only joined the student council for the title, using it to attract other girls. 

Wanting to test if Jake was just being a know-it-all, Jungwon told him to correct the paper if he was so sure he was right.

Jungwon nearly choked on his own saliva when Jake silently snatched the paper, sat on the ground with his knees tucked to his chest, and hunched forward. Pulling a pen from his pocket, Jake began scribbling on the paper.

Jungwon was dumbfounded and extremely embarrassed. Multiple students whispered to one another as they stared at them, having to walk on the grass outside because, well....Jake was literally sitting in the middle of the corridor. Jungwon had to hide his face with his hand, unable to handle the stares. He couldn't even run away because Jake literally had the papers!

Finally, Jake stood up, handed the paper to Jungwon, and left without another word. Jungwon couldn't even thank him before he vanished from the scene.

"Guys....let me tell you, though. When I checked it, I swear I had never seen anything more glorious than that piece of corrected paper. It was perfection!" Jungwon gushed.

"Even better than my heartfelt love letter?" Jay whined."

"Yes," Jungwon replied in a beat..

"Ouch."

"Then....isn't the problem solved?" Sunoo interrupted. "Jungwon can just take us to him."

Jungwon laughed so loud that the other students turned to look in their direction. He leaned back on Jay's arm, wiped the tears from his eyes, and added that if only it were that easy.

After his first meeting with Jake, Jungwon could not get over how perfect the corrected report was. He wanted Jake to take over the finance secretary position. For a month, Jungwon went all over the campus, searching every nook and cranny for Jake, but he was nowhere to be found. It was as if he had never existed. Even when he entered the physics class mid-lecture, Jake was still absent!

Then one unexpected day, Jungwon had to go to the nurse's office mid-class due to a bloody nose. On his way back, as if God had finally answered his prayers, he spotted Jake eating alone in the cafeteria. 

Turns out, when he ate, he always waited until class started so that he did not have to interact or meet with anyone. That guy was literally doing the most.

Jungwon really tried to recruit Jake, but Jake was like a boulder. He remained resolved in his decision. He did, however, offer to help with the budget report when Jungwon really needed help. And what could Jungwon do but accept it? He was willing to take the crumbs offered to him. 

After that, most of the time, Jake would place the corrected reports on the council's table and leave before anyone even came in. Everyone wondered when Jake would even arrive, considering they usually alternate staying in the room based on their respective department schedules.

Everyone at the table had their jaws drop to the floor as Jungwon narrated his whole experience. He didn't even have Jake's phone number because whenever he actually saw him, he had more important priorities to discuss, and the topic always slipped his mind.

"So....to conclude, we still got nothing," Sunghoon declared.

How was it possible that they ended up at level zero once again? Sunghoon needed to get back at Jaeyun for a lot of things. The kicking, the disrespect toward their team—in short, he had his pride to uphold, and Jaeyun needed to be put in his place.

With that, the bell rang for the classes to start.

Sunghoon’s main interest was in sports, no doubt. But he still had to choose a major as a backup plan, so he settled for Business. He initially chose it just to stop his parents' pestering, but who would have thought that he had a knack for it? From his freshman year until now, he has remained at the top of his department, much to everyone's surprise.

Jay ended up taking Social Sciences alongside Jungwon in Law. Both Niki and Sunoo were in Humanities. Fortunately, their electives coincided, which gave them plenty of chances to hang out.

As they separated, they all made a bet, pledging thirty thousand won to whoever could find Jake first. Jungwon warned that it was a futile bet and that none of them were ever going to win it. And even if they did, he threatened not to freak Jake out because he needed to stay on Jake's good side for the reports.

How hard could it be to find one person? Especially when there were four of them—not including Jungwon. They all started with the exact same mindset: completely overconfident, relentlessly boasting about being the one to win the bet.

A full week had already passed, and they sat in the cafeteria once again, with no winner yet in sight.

"Ayo...what the actual shit! Where the fuck is he?" Niki hollered through a half sandwich in his mouth.

There was no way it was possible. For the entire week, they kept visiting the Physics department hoping to catch Jake, but he was never in any of the lectures! One might assume he had skipped class, but the attendance register clearly recorded him as present. Even after bribing everyone they knew to let them know if they saw him, they had absolutely no luck finding him.

"I told you, didn't I?" Jungwon walked in holding a bunch of papers and sat down next to Jay, naturally gravitating toward him.

Sunghoon watched as the two shared stolen glances, wondering how they could be so in love. He thought about how lucky they were to find each other so early, as freshmen. 

This made him wonder why his own relationships never lasted. He just didn't know why; nothing ever seemed right. Even when things appeared to be going well, hockey always took that away. He frequently fought with his exes because he gave more attention to the sport than to them, but he just couldn't give it up.

Sunghoon knows how committed he can be to the ice. But he was not lying when he declared that he could drop it all if he really wanted to. The only problem was no one was ever worth that much to him. That was why he only did casual romantic encounters—a.k.a. hook-ups.

Jay began complaining that they had wasted a whole week searching for someone who didn't even know he was being hunted—all because someone couldn't get over a bruised shin.

Sunghoon kicked Jay under the table, earning an embarrassing yelp from Jay. Jay took the chance to dramatically cling onto Jungwon, who lovingly stroked his arm, playing along.

"You know what? Karina is having a party at her house tonight. She's invited all the Ice Breakers with a plus one," Niki interrupted. "Guys....we need this. We need this rewind."

It was a given that Ni-ki was taking Sunoo as his plus-one and Jay was taking Jungwon. When asked who he was bringing, Sunghoon revealed he wasn't going. It wasn't that he lacked a suitable partner, but rather that he simply wanted a day to himself to lounge on the couch and enjoy a cheat day. He really meant it; he had been on a long, restricted diet for his back-to-back matches. With no upcoming leagues for a while, he finally wanted to relax.

None of his friends were having it, though. They kept insisting that Sunghoon stop being a killjoy and join the party. Moreover, everyone knew that Karina had hosted the party with the secret intention of finally making things official with Sunghoon. She and Wonyoung always seemed to be competing over Sunghoon—not that he even cared.

However, once Sunghoon made up his mind, nothing could convince him otherwise.

That was how Jay ended up in Sunghoon's apartment, making the most of the evening before he left for the party with Jungwon and the rest. Sunghoon scrolled through his phone, searching for a good pizza restaurant to order from, while Jay kept asking if Sunghoon was really going to stay behind.

"Jay, for the last time, I'm not going. You clearly know that once I've made up my mind, it's a done deal. So please just choose an outfit and get out."

Jay repeated Sunghoon's words in an annoyingly high-pitched voice before his phone started to ring. He then entered the next room to look at himself in the full-length mirror.

"Jungwon? Yeah, I'm almost done.Just give me five more minutes."

.

.

Sunghoon kept scrolling through the reviews of restaurants as Jay's voice echoed in the background.

.

.

"What do you mean I don't have to pick you up? I thought we decided to go together?

.

.

What? You'll meet me there? Why?

.

.

Jake? Sim Jaeyun's coming with you? Are you serious?!

.

.

Sunghoon's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly upon hearing the name.

.

.

Okay, I'll meet you there. Bye, love you.

Jay hung up the call and finally chose the second outfit with the jean jacket. He adjusted his collar as he made his way to where Sunghoon was.

"Hey, you'll never guess who won the be—" Jay's jaw went slack. "What the actual fuck!"

Sunghoon was suddenly standing at the door, dressed up from head to toe in a coordinated fitted black leather jacket and pants, paired with classic black laced boots. He held his motorcycle helmet in his left hand and the keys in the other.

"Let's go. We don't wanna be late, do we?" Sunghoon nonchalantly commented as he tousled his hair roughly.

Jay was completely shocked. He asked Sunghoon what happened to his perfect night-in and his planned caloric feast. Sunghoon offered a lame excuse that there were no good restaurants around, so he might as well just eat at the party. That was what he had convinced himself of, too.

Jay and Sunghoon ended up arriving at the party separately because Jay drove the car while Sunghoon rode his bike. Sunghoon couldn't understand why Jay was complaining the entire way there, especially since he was riding right beside the car the whole time.

Music blasted through the house, illuminating the area in a shade of neon purple. The bass vibrated through every inch of their bodies. As Sunghoon and Jay made their way inside, Jungwon called out to Jay as he came down the stairs.

"Jay! You're here. And....Sunghoon as well? I thought you said you won't come? What happened to your perfect night-in?"

"That's what I said!" Jay chimed in as he wrapped his arms around Jungwon's waist. "By the way, how did you get Jake to come to the party? And more importantly, how did you even find him?"

Jungwon waved his hands, brushing it off by saying it was a long story.

"Where is he? Sim Jaeyun?" Sunghoon asked in a low, raspy, rather possessive voice.

Both Jungwon and Jay were caught off guard by how serious Sunghoon had become. Jungwon cleared his throat, looked around, and nervously reported that Jake should be close by; he had just gone to get a glass of water since he didn't actually like drinking.

With that, Sunghoon shoved his hands into his pockets and left without another word. Jay and Jungwon exchanged glances at each other regarding Sunghoon's weird behavior. It seemed too over the top for him to be acting like this just for a tiny bruise that happened weeks ago. But that was his problem, not theirs, so they proceeded to enjoy the party.

What was Sunghoon doing? Even he himself didn't know. He was surprised that he had actually decided to ditch his own picture-perfect routine to attend this suffocating and noisy party. He didn't like how impulsive he was getting these days.

With everyone being of average height, it was easy for him to spot people as he moved through the crowd. If Jungwon's words were true, he had to find Jaeyun fast before he checked out of the party.

As he made his way through the living room, Karina suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sunghoon could tell she was already tipsy from the smell of alcohol and her flushed cheeks. She hiccuped, offering a playful smile as she mumbled, "I'm so happy you came."

Sunghoon turned his head slightly as she kept throwing her entire weight against him.

"Sunghoon-ahh.....why don't you loosen up a bit? There's only one reason why you're here, isn't there? Let's have a bit of funnnn....."

Sunghoon looked down at her as he contemplated for a moment. Fuck Jaeyun, right? Why was he even wasting his time searching when he could just enjoy the party since he was here anyways? Sunghoon grabbed her waist and leaned in closer, making Karina close her eyes in response.

But just as their lips were about to touch, Sunghoon looked over her shoulder to see a hooded figure enter the next room, a glass of water in hand.

Sunghoon quickly pulled back and broke the moment, pushing her aside impassively. He didn't even care to look at her as he walked away, his eyes fixated on where the hooded person had gone. Karina scoffed and stomped her foot in disbelief, shouting at Sunghoon, but he was long gone.

Embarrassed by all the stares, she threw the phones that were recording her, grabbed the first guy she saw, pushed him onto the couch, and started making out with him.

Girls kept trying to talk to Sunghoon, but he brushed everyone aside, searching for the hooded person. For some reason, he just knew it was Jaeyun by his small build. 

Sunghoon stood right in front of the chimney, the sound of the loud thunder catching his attention. He looked out the window, only to see the night sky get even darker, with the clouds tinged with gray and piled up in oppressive layers.

Suddenly, the rain began to pour, forcing the crowd partying outside to rush indoors for shelter, screaming at the sudden downpour. The rain battered against the windows, creating an even louder roar.

Sunghoon went through the entire house, but there was no Jaeyun in sight. He thought about leaving, but upon seeing the heavy downpour, he started to have second thoughts. He couldn't even drink because he had to ride his motorcycle home. 

For once, he regretted not getting a ride in Jay's car. He thought about leaving his bike there and getting in Jay's car, but seeing how Jay was completely wasted on the couch hugging Jungwon, that was out of the question. He didn't even want to imagine where Niki and Sunoo were, nor did he want to know what they were doing. 

Sunghoon walked back through the living room, still hoping to find Jaeyun when he saw Karina again, dancing near the DJ booth. He turned around and marched right out of the house. Putting on his helmet, he decided to leave immediately, not wanting to stay there any longer. He chose not to inform his friends of his departure, not wanting to risk getting tangled up with another drunk girl.

Despite the heavy downpour, Sunghoon got on his motorbike. As he rode through the streets, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got. Why was he wasting his time trying to get back at some pathetic loser? He was fed up with trying to find Jaeyun. Sunghoon decided then and there that he was going to put it all behind him.

The traffic lights glowed a blurry red with the rain and fog obscuring their light. Sunghoon hit the brakes as he waited for the traffic light to turn green. He looked around the streets, where he saw couples sharing umbrellas and pedestrians taking shelter under whatever shade they could find—and then....he saw him.

Sim Jaeyun.

Walking on the other side of the street in the opposite direction, he had no umbrella. Both his hands hovered over his forehead and eyes, creating a small canopy to block the falling droplets from reaching his glasses. Jaeyun did not seem to care about the whisperings or the eyes that were on him. Nor did he care that he was drenched from head to toe or that his soft Ugg boots had soaked up the rain, making him drag his feet due to the heaviness.

Sunghoon watched from behind his all-black helmet as Jaeyun wandered absentmindedly. 

Sunghoon grabbed the clutch of his bike tightly as the lights turned green. The cars behind him started to honk, but he remained unmoving. He told himself he didn't care, so that was exactly what he was going to do. He twisted the throttle and rode ahead, but halfway through, he let out a grunt as he made a U-turn and drifted across the street into the opposite lane.

As soon as he spotted Jaeyun, he pulled up to the parking spot and honked his bike to grab his attention. Jaeyun stopped in his tracks and stared at Sunghoon's helmet, completely devoid of expression.

"You want a ride?" Sunghoon asked in a deep, husky voice, his tone likely lowered by the biting cold.

Jaeyun quietly kept his gaze locked on Sunghoon, his hands still pressed to his forehead.

Sunghoon then was hit with the realization that Jaeyun probably did not know who he was with his helmet on! Now that he thought about it, everything about it seemed extremely suspicious: a random masked stranger suddenly stops in front of you in the dead of the pouring night asking if you wanted a ride. Fuck! Sunghoon tried to remove his helmet to show that he was not a creep but was met with something unexpected.

Jaeyun blinked slowly, leaning closer to Sunghoon without a word. He stared so intently that Sunghoon felt as though Jaeyun could see right through him. Jaeyun then lowered his hand and pushed up his sleeves to wipe the droplets from Sunghoon's visor. Sunghoon watched him through his face shield, his eyes unblinking. 

Once it was clear, Jaeyun glanced at the speedometer, then back at him.

"80 mph in the dark with a heavy downpour is a recipe for disaster."

With that, Jaeyun stepped back and walked away without acknowledging his presence any further. He kept walking until he turned into a narrow pedestrian alleyway.

Sunghoon's whole body went still at what just happened. Did Jaeyun know who he was? Or was it just a chance encounter? And if so, did he do this to literally any stranger?!

Whatever it was, it made his throat rather dry. His whole body became hyper-aware to the point that he could feel his skin tingling. It was probably because of the rain. Everything happened so instantly that he did not have enough time to process it before realizing that Jaeyun was gone.

That night, Sunghoon didn't even know how he rode all the way to his apartment without getting into an accident, though he made sure to keep his speedometer in check. He lazily kicked off his shoes at the entrance and removed his helmet. 

Just as he was about to place it on the table, his fingers lingered on the visor.

Despite the fact that Jaeyun’s clothes looked even more drenched than his own, he still used his dripping sleeves to clear the visor. It was bound to get wet again since it was still pouring. 

Yet, the gesture....the way Jaeyun was intently focused on it with his nose scrunched up like he was solving a complex equation, oblivious to the raindrops obscuring his own glasses. Sunghoon could barely see him through the way Jaeyun's warm breath fogged up the helmet.

"What a bizarre guy," Sunghoon whispered to himself. He wondered if Jaeyun had reached home safely.

Then, immediately, he threw the helmet on the table, walked to the shower, and slammed the door shut. There was no way he was having such thoughts! He turned on the warm water and stood still, letting it wash all unnecessary thoughts away.

After spending a full hour in the shower, Sunghoon walked into the kitchen, his phone buzzing constantly with text messages. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a drink as he scrolled through his screen. He had multiple messages from friends asking where he was and if he'd already ditched them, missed calls from unknown numbers (likely girls who’d somehow gotten his contact info), and a series of drunk texts from Karina.

Sunghoon sighed and ignored it all, putting his phone down to avoid further distractions. Too lazy to even make it to bed, he lounged on the couch and dozed off.

                                          *

Sunghoon regretted not sleeping in the bed because now he was walking to class with the worst strain on his neck. He slung his bag over his shoulder as he rolled his head and massaged his sore neck.

His friends kept asking where he went or who he went home with, but Sunghoon just ignored it all until Jay asked him a question that made him stop dead in his tracks 

"So....did you get to see him? Jake?"

The obvious answer was yes. So then, why is it that he answered them "No??" It's not like he was trying to hide anything."

"Guys...let's drop it already. I have more important things to focus on," Sunghoon added.

The rest seemed rather confused as to how Sunghoon had suddenly become disinterested when, just yesterday, he had seemed obsessed with Jake. However, they decided to let it go, since pressing him wasn't going to do them any good. 

With that, they all went to their respective classes.

Sunghoon twirled his pen as he stared at the ticking clock. Why was time moving so slowly today! There were still two more hours until break, and his neck was killing him. Unable to handle it anymore, he asked the professor to excuse him so that he could go to the nurse's office.

Sunghoon walked through the library with an ice pack pressed onto his neck that he had gotten from the nurse, not wanting to enter the lecture hall again. He was not a frequent visitor to the library. The only time he went was when he needed to go on a full study sprint for an exam that had long been procrastinated.

Sunghoon noticed how insanely quiet the library was. He was not stupid, though—it was a library, after all. Perhaps it was still class hours, but there was not a single soul inside. There was no flipping of pages or whispering of students. Sunghoon decided to take this rare moment to grab a nap away from prying eyes.

He bowed to the librarian before taking the slip, noting that the poor man seemed heavily caffeinated, sporting dark eyebags.

Sunghoon walked through the endless bookshelves, searching for a book to read. He was going to sleep, but there was no harm in having a book in hand. 

The university's library was massive, spanning multiple stories. Sunghoon settled on John Green's novel, "Looking for Alaska." He didn't have a specific reason for choosing it; he just found the blurb on the back cover particularly interesting—

"If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane."

Sunghoon searched for a secluded spot to take a nap so that even if students started to arrive, he would not be disturbed. Walking down the corridor, he sensed a figure sitting just out of sight beside the table. He did not stop, assuming it to be another student because, after all, it was a public library.

But then he paused and backtracked, finding the figure rather familiar. Sunghoon squinted and stepped closer, faintly chuckling as the person came into view.

"Sim Jaeyun?" Sunghoon muttered under his breath.

There was Sim Jaeyun dozing off, probably because of the warm sunlight hitting his face from the long, rectangular glass window just above his head, with a book half-open in his hands. Sunghoon watched as Jaeyun's glasses kept sliding off every time his head fell. For a moment, that look made him seem completely domesticated—just a normal guy without that usual scowl or expressionless face.

But at the same time, Jaeyun looked like he barely slept. Sunghoon knew it was now that he should turn his heels around and continue what he had been trying to do—to take a nap. Instead, his feet started to walk in Jaeyun's direction until he stood right in front of him.

Sunghoon took a seat directly opposite Jaeyun, who was completely unaware that someone had just entered his space. He put his book down and rested his cheek in his hand, contemplating whether to wake Jaeyun up.

As he got closer, Jaeyun's hair looked so soft that Sunghoon had to stop himself from touching it. He was definitely not trying to be a creep. Sunghoon tilted his head as he tried to read the title of the book in Jaeyun's hand, when he accidentally knocked his own book to the floor.

Jaeyun's lashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes, waking up from the sound. Sunghoon genuinely had no idea what to do. In a moment of panic, he ducked down underneath the table, as if he and Jaeyun had not already made eye contact.

"What are you doing?" Jaeyun asked in a chiding tone.

Sunghoon squeezed his eyes shut and cursed under his breath, then quickly straightened up and leaned back against the chair like nothing had happened.

"Just picking up my book." Sunghoon waved it with a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

Jaeyun's eyes trailed the title of the book and proceeded to look at his own, which had been abandoned for a while.

"John Green....weird choice. For someone like you," Jaeyun said with simple directness.

Sunghoon did not expect Jaeyun to say anything. In fact, what he actually expected was a full-on accusation of creeping on him in his sleep, followed by a threat to get lost. But leaving all that aside, what did he mean by "someone like him?"

"Don't you think you're judging the author a bit too soon?"

"I'm not judging the author. I'm judging you."

Sunghoon was offended by the way Jaeyun said it so confidently as a statement. He scoffed. 'You think you're all that, huh? Enlighten me, then. Tell me the reason.'"

Jaeyun exhaled harshly, putting his book down, and asked if Sunghoon was going to keep disturbing him. Sunghoon answered yes, adding that he would keep talking until Jaeyun gave him the answer.

"You know what...fine." Jaeyun slammed his book shut. "I know guys....players like you. Your head is up your ass. All you do is party and act superior, and now you have the audacity to sit here, watch me sleep, and disturb my studies. So yes. It is a weird choice for someone who doesn't even give a shit about the author because you'll never appreciate good writing."

"You're the one acting all superior and judging us from your seat. Just because we're athletes doesn't mean we're all fucked up in the head! I can't stand hypocrites like you!" Sunghoon spat, fuming as heat rose to his face.

"Then leave! No one's asking you to stay. Did you only come here to pick a fight with me?" Jaeyun's face screwed up, making it clear how uncomfortable he was with the situation.

In a fit of anger, Sunghoon slammed his hand onto the table, inadvertently crushing the melted ice pack and splashing its contents all over Jaeyun. Jaeyun closed his eyes, his nostrils flaring, and glared at Sunghoon, his face wet.

Sunghoon panicked as he quickly pulled back his hand. "Oh fuck! I really did not do that intentionally. I didn't know the ice pack was there or that it had even melted. I—"

"Leave. Right now!" Jake's expression hardened as he wiped his forehead with his sleeves.

"I'm sorry, okay? It was really an accident. I think I have tissues in my pockets. Let me just—" Sunghoon frantically rummaged through his pockets.

"If you won't leave, then I'll leave. Jerk." Jaeyun stood up and grabbed all his books. Several had already been drenched by the ice pack, so he quickly made his way from the table.

Sunghoon rushed after him and grabbed his wrist, which made Jaeyun viscerally flinch. He shook his hands violently off Sunghoon, as if he had been burned. 

"Don't touch me! What is your problem!?" Jaeyun whispered harshly, still aware that they were in the library.

Sunghoon held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, okay? Let me make it up to you. Please."

"There's nothing you need to do, okay! So just leave me b—" Jaeyun's sentence was interrupted by a growling sound from his stomach. 

The whole room went silent.

Jaeyun pouted, caught off guard by his own stomach, and decided to pretend like that did not just happen. He silently and painfully turned around and walked right out. 

Sunghoon tried so hard to hide the smile that kept trying to escape his lips. There was no fixing the situation if he dared to laugh right now. After managing to swallow his laughter, he hurriedly grabbed his book and followed after Jaeyun.

Sunghoon kept trying to call Jaeyun, but Jaeyun had no intention of stopping. So, Sunghoon had no choice but to run ahead, turn back, and face him.

"Hey, it's nearly lunch time. Let me buy you something to eat."

Jaeyun stared at him and walked away.

Frustrated by the lack of communication, Sunghoon threw his head back and repeated the action.

"Come on....the cafeteria is just a ten-minute walk. Besides, it definitely seemed like you could use some food." Sunghoon discreetly tried to hint that Jaeyun's stomach was growling earlier. He could see by the widening of Jaeyun's eyes that the comment was audaciously shameless.

"Just a ten-minute walk? Just?! Let me tell you something: in those ten minutes, I could write two pages for my paper—five minutes for writing and five for revising. I don't have time to waste eating. Now, go away. Shoo." Jake waved his hands as if he were chasing a stray dog away.

Was Jaeyun being serious right now? How can someone ignore the literal cries coming from their own body that it needs to be fueled? This guy was living in survival mode, and it definitely showed. 

Persuasion is key—some might say it's essential for success. But Sunghoon learned that pestering someone to the point of contemplating murder could also work. Because right now, he was standing at the cafeteria counter with a very annoyed Jaeyun.

"So....what do you want? Sandwiches? Donkatsu? Cream bun?" Sunghoon read every item on the menu.

"Latte," Jaeyun ordered.

"Latte? Okay......and what else? There's even waffl—"

"Just latte." 

If Sunghoon were to nitpick the order, he would point out that Jaeyun chose an item perfect for a dine-and-dash. But what could he do? He already did the hard part of bringing Jaeyun here. There was no way he was initiating another fight. 

Sunghoon ran the bell and an old ajumma made her way to the counter. As he was getting ready to order, Jaeyun suddenly tiptoed up to the counter and asked him to tell the ajumma to make it extra-sweet.

"Extra-sweet? Really?"

"If I'm wasting ten minutes of my time, I might as well get the daily sugar intake requirement." With that said, Jaeyun walked away to find a seat.

Sunghoon stood there alone at the counter like some kind of errand boy. He snorted at how ridiculous Jaeyun was, forgetting that the ajumma was waiting, fingers tapping, for him to order.

"Oh, sorry....uh, one extra-sweet latte and one extra-bitter americano, please." He made sure to emphasize the "extra-sweet" part. He did not want to face another of Jaeyun's verbal beratings, which told him he couldn't do even one thing right.

The ajumma then asked if that was everything. Sunghoon glanced over at Jaeyun, who was now preoccupied with his laptop. It might have just been a coincidence, but he was sitting at Sunghoon and his friends' usual table. He glanced over at the menu, pondering it before responding, "No."

After a short while, Sunghoon finally arrived at the table with two drinks in a cup holder and....a mountain of other snacks. He was hungry—that's all. Totally normal. It was nearly lunch time anyway.

"An extra-sweet latte for my savior." Sunghoon slid it across the table to Jaeyun.

"Savior? Is that another of your new, veiled insults?" Jaeyun took the latte and began chewing on the straw.

Sunghoon hummed a tune, his eyes and nose crinkling. "Where were you last night?" 

Jaeyun stopped chewing the straw and looked up from his laptop. "I was at my apartment. Studying. Not that it concerns you."

Why was Sim Jaeyun lying? Did he really not know that it was him on the motorbike? Sunghoon was intrigued. But no matter how many questions he kept throwing at him, Jaeyun was adamant in his answer. A wicked grin appeared on Sunghoon's face as he cooked up something in his mind.

"Okay......whatever you say. But I did get to the apartment safely without getting into an accident."

"I'm surprised. Especially when someone drives that fast at nigh—" Jaeyun bit his lower lip, realizing he had just fallen into Sunghoon's trap.

Got him. Sunghoon rested his chin on his hands and leaned forward, feeling rather puffed up that he had managed to catch Jaeyun off guard. 

"So it was you. How did you even know it was me?"

Sunghoon could see Jaeyun's brows knit into a frown as he squeezed his cup, his paper straw entirely chewed up. Sunghoon asked him again, but Jaeyun avoided his gaze, letting his eyes drift to the book right beside Sunghoon.

"Looking for Alaska is a great book. It's a shame it'll never be appreciated." Jake proceeded to sip his drink.

Looking to his right at the book, Sunghoon easily caught Jaeyun trying to change the topic. There was no harm in playing along.

"And why do you say it'll not be appreciated?"

"Let's be honest here, Park Sunghoon. You're never going to read that book," Jaeyun calmly stated.

Sunghoon raised a brow as the corner of his mouth twiched. "Did you know that that's the first time you've ever said my name? So you did remember me back at the game as well, huh? And for the record, I am going to read the book."

Jaeyun looked absolutely unimpressed.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Sunghoon scoffed. "Have you read it?"

"Of course I have. I've read all of his works."

Sunghoon hated that Jaeyun always seemed to one-up him in everything. Annoyed, he asked what was so interesting about the author that made Jaeyun read every single one of his works.

Jaeyun sipped his drink and pondered for a moment before answering. "I find it fascinating how John Green always kills off a character in the most beautiful way possible. The way he allows the concept of death to pair perfectly with the character's identity leaves a lingering sense of beauty in the reader's mind."

"That's some dark shit, man," Sunghoon remarked. "But tell me then, what's your favorite part about this book?"

"What's the point? You're never going to get to that part, or you might just cheat and flip ahead."

"I'm starting to wonder how low you think of me," Sunghoon muttered.

"Low enough for me to kick you in the face. And can you start sipping your drink? The table is getting wet because of the condensation," Jaeyun reprimanded him while wiping the surface.

"Geez....do you have to snap at me every time?" Sunghoon picked up his americano and began sipping it. 

He looked around the table, chuckling as he noticed that Jaeyun had eaten all the snacks he brought. For someone who seemed to eat just to survive, Jaeyun had an unusually big appetite.

Sunghoon felt nauseous at the amount of sugar in front of him. Since he always had to be in his best condition for his matches, he kept a strict regimen when it came to his diet. But somehow, it felt kinda nice to see someone genuinely enjoying their food.

"Does your brain even work after all that sugar?" Sunghoon asked with a look of concern.

"I'd rather have this than that cup of icky black stuff you're drinking."

"Icky? This is americano. In fact, this would do you much better than that extra-sweet latte. Try it. Have a sip." Sunghoon slid his cup towards Jaeyun just to tease him.

Sunghoon expected Jaeyun to push the cup away and make another snarky comment. But the smirk on his face fell when Jaeyun stared at him and leaned closer to the cup, nonchalantly taking a sip from the same straw Sunghoon was using.

Jaehyun scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue, remarking on the copper taste, entirely unaware of Sunghoon clenching his fists beside him to keep his composure.

Trying to distract himself, Sunghoon questioned how Jake even knew the taste of copper. Jaeyun casually remarked that once, while in the lab, he had miscalculated the amount of copper he needed to melt, causing it to blast everywhere and splash into his mouth.

"What!" Sunghoon exclaimed in disbelief. "Shouldn't you be checked for radiation or something?"

"Relax. Copper is not even radioactive. It's only harmful when it's consumed too much." Jaeyun said it so casually that Sunghoon wondered what type of crazy experiments were going on inside the lab.

Sunghoon wanted to go back to the topic of the book. As he asked Jaeyun the question, the bell suddenly rang for lunch break. Jaeyun immediately stood up at the sound and frantically packed his things, knowing that soon, hundreds of students were going to flood in.

"Hey! Wait up," Sunghoon yelled as Jaeyun walked away. 

As the student threw open the doors and rushed in, Jaeyun turned around and said something. 

"Page 270. That is, if you ever managed to get there. I hope never to see you again, Park Sunghoon."

Sunghoon tried to get Jaeyun to repeat it, but by then, his silhouette had faded into the rushing crowds making their way to the cafeteria counter. Sunghoon muttered the number to himself over and over so he wouldn't forget it. "270, 270, 270, 270....."

As he kept looking at the corridor where Jaeyun once walked in, Jay commented from behind on why the hell he was staring off into space like an idiot. He complained about why there were so many wrappers at their table and if it was Sunghoon who ate all that, because they all knew how strict his diet regimen was—with chicken breast and the dry-ass salad.

Sunghoon rolled his eyes and sat down with the rest of the group, who kept asking if he’d eaten all of that. When he answered "no," their curiosity was suddenly piqued. They pressed him, asking if he was on a secret date—since that was the only other reasonable explanation.

"Captain... is that why you ditched your class? Who is it? Is it someone we know? Oh my gosh... is it Karina? Or Wonyoung?" Ni-Ki bothered, trying to press further into it.

Even the others seemed quite interested in it. By then, Sunghoon was growing irritated and fed up with those two names.

"Shut up! I've had enough of those two names. It was Sim Jaeyun!" Sunghoon closed his eyes and massaged his temple.

The whole table went silent. It was so silent that Sunghoon had to add that they just met by chance, and that was all. But the rest seemed quite skeptical about it. Everything about it seemed way too suspicious.

"Don't you...hate him or something? Since when did you guys start going on dates?" Jay inquired, pointing a french fry at Sunghoon.

"What the fuck!! No one's dating anyone here! Are you out of your mind!" Sunghoon hissed and threw the fry Jay was holding.

Jay looked like a sad puppy when his french fry was flung away. He grumbled that it was just a question and that there was no need to go ballistic on him for that. And besides, Jake was way too nerdy for someone like Sunghoon.

For some reason, that offended Sunghoon. "What do you mean too nerdy? Don't call him that."

"Dude....are you seriously defending him right now?" Jay remarked.

Sunghoon licked his dry lips, wondering what he had just done. He leaned back in the chair and pursed his lips, spotting the John Green book lying at the edge of the table. He stared at it for a while before deciding to leave, offering a random excuse about needing to practice his skates. Who cared about some random book he was never going to read, anyway?

He stood up and walked toward the door, leaving the book behind. But just a few steps in, he came to a halt. He let out a long groan, threw his head back, and made a U-turn back to the table. Sunghoon marched right up, grabbed the book without another word, and exited through the door.

The ice rink was usually the only place Sunghoon felt at ease. Whenever stress built up and he needed to clear his head, he would skate. 

But for some inexplicable reason, today he kept botching every slide and turn. The ice felt unusually rough, the lights were far too bright, and even his earbuds kept falling out. It was a cascade of minor annoyances he had never experienced before, and it was driving him crazy.

Unable to continue any longer, he packed up and called it a day. He was shocked when he stepped out of the rink that it was already dark. He got onto his bike and quickly rode back to his apartment.

At the apartment, after taking a shower, all Sunghoon could think about was sleeping. He collapsed onto the bed face-first and sighed deeply as the weight of the day washed away. He turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of the library book peeking from the half-zipped duffel bag. He absent-mindedly stared at it as he listened to the ticking of the clock.

Sunghoon languidly dragged himself off the bed and picked up the book. Since his mind was fully awake, he figured he might as well read—if the book was boring, even better, as he could finally go to sleep. He leaned back against the headboard as he opened the book. 

Sunghoon was intrigued, because unlike other novels that started with chapter 1 at the get-go, this one began with a page titled "Before." Even the next page did not have a numbered chapter. It was simply a sentence in bold: "one hundred thirty-six days before."

Sunghoon began to read, though he occasionally felt disengaged since he struggled to relate to the protagonist, "Miles" who was pretty much a loser. He did, however, cheer for him when he finally got his very first blowjob from Lara on Page 158. 

He found the coincidence of Alaska’s boyfriend also being named Jake amusing, and wondered if Jaeyun saw the irony as well.

As he flipped to the next page, the days began counting down, stirring a faint unease within him. With each passing number, he knew exactly what awaited him at the end.

There were times when he was tempted to flip ahead to Page 270, but he controlled himself, wanting to prove that he could finish a book if he really wanted to.

Sunghoon yawned and checked the clock. Seeing that it was already 2 a.m., he decided to go to sleep since he had to wake up early for his workout.

                                          *

Sunghoon tapped his foot anxiously as he watched the professor enthusiastically pointing at the PowerPoint. No matter how hard he tried to focus, everything just passed right through him.

It had already been two weeks since he last saw Jaeyun. No matter how hard he tried to accidentally bump into him, he was nowhere to be found. He attended every party in those past weeks in hopes that Jaeyun might turn up, but to no avail. 

How could someone just disappear? It felt like Jaeyun really jinxed it when he said he hoped he'd never meet Sunghoon again.

He would ask Jungwon if he had seen Jaeyun in the student council room, but Jungwon always said the same thing: the papers were set out before anyone arrived.

Sunghoon was distracted as he made his way to the student council room with Jay and Niki to pick up the Ice Breakers' banner for their match the day after tomorrow. It was another friendly match against the Lumberjacks, played mostly to get familiar with their players. 

Because of this, Sunghoon had to pause his reading session, unable to reach the "After."

Once they arrived at the student council room, Sunghoon noticed the members huddled in a corner, frantically whispering. Jay's knock on the door jolted them, causing them to glance over warily.

"We're here for the banner," Sunghoon inquired, checking to make sure it was the right date.

The members all looked to one another before nudging Jungwon to the front. Clutching a rolled-up banner, he kept scratching the back of his neck as he handed it over to Sunghoon with a forced smile. Their behavior was alarming. 

Sunghoon was unfurling the banner, excited to see how it turned out, when Niki snatched it from his hands. Niki immediately burst out laughing upon seeing it. Jay also walked over and looked at it, his eyes wide in disbelief. 

"Oh shit! Whoever did this is so dead."

Frustrated at this point, Sunghoon snatched the banner back and looked at it. His face twisted, his eyebrows lowered, and veins throbbed in his neck. The volume in his voice rose as he demanded to know who did the banner.

When no one answered, Sunghoon slammed the banner to the ground and threatened to repeat his demands just one more time. Jungwon quickly stepped in to defuse the situation, noting that the student council was occupied with upcoming extracurricular activities, so Taehyun, a.k.a. the vice president had to find someone else to handle the banner.

"So tell me. Which fucking idiot did this? Cause clearly they were fucking with me!" Sunghoon spat, heat rising up his face.

Because the banner was designed to feature all six players as a group, two pieces of fabric had to be stitched together to fit them all. Sunghoon was naturally placed in the middle as the captain. Knowing exactly how it would turn out, why did the person proceed to print it anyway?

To justify his anger, half of his face was printed on one piece of fabric and the other half on a separate piece. When glued together, it looked ridiculous. His eyes were spaced too far apart and were misaligned, making his face look deformed. There was no way the person-in-charge saw this and thought it was perfect.

Sunghoon was on the verge of grabbing Taehyun's collar to choke the answer out of him when Jungwon finally cracked and blurted it out.

"Ugh!!! Fine! It was Jake!"

"What?" Sunghoon gritted his teeth as he turned to Jungwon.

Jungwon began to explain that two weeks back, while Taehyun was in the council room alone, Jake had come to hand over the corrected budget register as usual. Taehyun knew they needed someone to handle the banner and, at that point, was too tired to search for anyone else. So, after much insistence, he pressured Jake into doing it. Jungwon could not say anything, as the deal was already done while he was away.

As for the banner, they had no idea what happened. They hadn't seen Jaeyun since giving him the instructions, and like Sunghoon, they only discovered it this morning. It was left right in front of the door without any sign of Jake or any reason why it was left that way.

"I'm going to fucking kill him!" All reasonableness had left Sunghoon. 

Now that he knew it was Jaeyun, the chances of him doing this knowingly had gone up. He knew Jaeyun disliked him and berated him often, but he had crossed a line. It wasn't just about his face; it was the fact that the game was one and a half day away and there was no time to order a new one. It was an absolute disgrace to his team!

Jungwon tried to alleviate the situation, insisting that he knew Jake and that there was no way he had acted with ill intentions. But Sunghoon was in no state to listen to Jungwon defend the absolute spawn of the devil.

Unable to read the room, Niki checked his buzzing phone. He then casually made a comment he would soon deeply regret.

"Yo...I just got a text from one of my peers at the Chemistry department that they just got the whole day off! I'm so freaking jealous man!"

"What! Why?" Jay inquired, earning a sharp glare from Jungwon.

As it turns out, Professor Jeonghan had just arrived to give a special lecture to the Physics department, so the rest had to evacuate the conference hall for his class. This was incredibly important because Professor Jeonghan rarely visited the university, as he was usually busy with work abroad. He was one of the most sought-after physicists not only in South Korea, but internationally, so whenever he was on campus, students never missed the chance to attend his class.

"And how is that relevant to the problem at hand?" Jay asked.

"Oh, you didn't know? I heard that Professor Jeonghan is Jake's thesis supervisor. I'm pretty sure Jake's in the conference hall right now." Niki casually scrolled through his phone with not a thought in his head.

Niki should have shut up. No one knew why he even brought that up then. He was adding fuel not to a fire, but a bonfire! 

Sunghoon suddenly went completely quiet, which made everyone tense up. They were terrified. 

And then, without a word, Sunghoon grabbed the banner and started making his way out. Jungwon, knowing exactly where he was going, ordered Jay and Niki to stop him, but it was futile. Sunghoon flung both of them to the side like they were nothing, even though they were larger than the average person. Sunghoon's build and strength were simply on a whole other level.

The trek to the Science & Engineering building wasn't helping Sunghoon's case either. Why was it that out of all the departments, the Science & Engineering building was situated on a hill, far away from the others? Moreover, the constant tugging by Jay and Niki and the endless flight of stairs were making Sunghoon's blood boil even hotter. To make matters worse, out of all the days, the elevator was under construction!

The only saving grace was that the lecture was held in the 4th-floor conference hall and not the Physics Department, which was on the topmost floor.

The Science & Engineering building looked exactly as it sounded. With glass walls and the smell of disinfectant leaking out from the labs, it was eerily quiet. The atmosphere was likely due to the students—mostly nerds—who either had their noses buried in books or had already been dismissed for the day.

Finally, Sunghoon arrived at the conference hall. He stood in front of the door, ready to open it, when Jungwon stepped in front of him and tried to reason with him.

"Sunghoon! Are you seriously thinking of just barging in there? The students have been eagerly waiting for this lecture by Professor Jeonghan. You might get into trouble! Can't you just wait until the lecture is over? I'll fix the banner somehow. So, let's just get out of here before it's too late!" 

Jungwon tried to defuse the situation as he discreetly signaled Jay to pull Sunghoon away. But as Jay grabbed his arm, Sunghoon swung his fist and punched Jay right in the cheek, making him stumble backward. 

Shocked and worried for his boyfriend, Jungwon stepped away from the door and ran to Jay. 

But at that moment, Sunghoon slammed the doors wide open and walked in. All the students and even the professor stopped the lecture as he marched inside and scanned the hall.

The seats were arranged like a theater, sloping upward. Sunghoon's eyes started from the bottom and traveled upward, finding his target sitting at the very back of the hall.

"SIM JAEYUN!!!"

All the students turned to look at Jaeyun, who wore an unreadable expression. He remained seated, making no move to get up. Only after Sunghoon threatened to ruin the entire lecture did Jaeyun sigh and slowly stand.

Sunghoon knew there was no way to run, as he was blocking the only entrance to the outside. With every step Jaeyun took, Sunghoon kept thinking of what he would do to him for all the trouble he had caused. 

Jaeyun, on the other hand, did not seem scared or even guilty. It felt like this was just another normal day for him.

And this was where everything went to shit.

Jaeyun reached the bottom of the steps. For whatever reason, Sunghoon was quite patient as he came down. But instead of walking towards him, Jaeyun spun on his heels and walked to the window on the far side of the door.

It happened so quickly that no one had time to react. Without a word, Jaeyun opened the window and jumped out.

"Mr. Jake!" Professor Jeonghan screamed.

The rest of the students gasped in shock at what they had just witnessed. 

Sunghoon himself was completely thrown off.

"This crazy—" Sunghoon muttered as he, Jay and Niki, ran to the window, while Jungwon apologized to the professor.

Yes, Sunghoon was pissed and wanted to kill Jaeyun—but not, like, in actuality. Never in his wildest imagination did he even consider this an option. And now, he didn't even know if Jaeyun had survived the fall from the fourth floor. Thankfully, or maybe not, it wasn't the top floor....which should bring some respite, right? Right?

As they looked down from the window, they saw Jaeyun on the ground, slowly getting up and running away, limping.

"Dude, Jake is unhinged!" Jay glanced over at Sunghoon, the right side of his cheek all swollen from the punch earlier. "Just like you."

Here is where things got weirder. How would a normal person react if they saw someone jumping out of a window? The normal reaction would be to scream for help, dial emergency services, and check to see if the person was still alive. So, why was everyone in the Physics department just sitting there, chilling and scribbling things in their notebooks?!

Sunghoon could hear some of them debating whether the fourth floor was high enough to cause someone's death, while others disagreed, arguing that based on Jake's body mass, it would only result in a mild injury. Nearby, students were sketching a full diagram of the distance from the window to the ground.

Forget about Jaeyun; the whole Physics department was bonkers! Not one of them even took out their phone to call a nurse, a doctor, or anyone! The whole department needed therapy ASAP!

"Are you all out of your mind! Someone just jumped out of the window!" Niki shouted, speaking the words right out of Sunghoon's mind.

The students looked at Niki and then at one another, starting to whisper. One of them even asked Niki to estimate the distance between the window and the ground, which would save them some time since he was already standing right there.

Sunghoon raked his fingers through his hair, feeling dizzy at the level of absurdity packed in one room. He looked over to Jungwon, who was constantly bowing to the professor. The professor simply waved his hands, unfazed at whole situation.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Jungwon. This is the most exciting thing I've witnessed in my years of teaching. Just do me a favor and check if Mr.Jake is alright. Can't risk losing my only pupil." Professor Jeonghan gave a hearty laugh.

Sunghoon had heard rumors about Professor Jeonghan being pretty chill, but who knew he was this chill? Great. Even the teacher was out of his mind.

Sunghoon, Jay, and Niki apologized to the professor as well, then stepped outside to check if Jaeyun was actually alright. He was not ready to be the cause of someone's suicide today.

But what did they expect? They checked the entire ground floor for Jaeyun, but he was nowhere to be found. There were no records of him ever visiting the nurse's office as well.

The day was already coming to an end, and Sunghoon and his team really needed to practice. Jungwon assured them that he would keep an eye out for Jaeyun and fix the banner somehow, so they should go practice.

They were all reluctant, but in the end, Jungwon's commanding voice made them scatter to the ice rink.

At the practice, Sunghoon was extremely aggressive, releasing all his pent-up anger. There were so many emotions he was feeling that he decided to focus only on one—anger. He didn't want to acknowledge the twisting knot in his guts that kept whispering that he could have taken a more decent approach. One that did not involve someone jumping out of the window and possibly injuring themselves.

Sunghoon shook the thoughts away, forcing his focus onto the messy banner instead.

When he arrived at the apartment after the practice session, the first thing he did was throw "Looking for Alaska" into the trash. He didn't care if it was a library book; he could just pay for it when the deadline arrived. 

However, he wanted nothing to do with Sim Jaeyun.

                                        *

The next day, Sunghoon went to the student council office for an update on the revised banner. Strangely enough, Jungwon quickly brushed off the conversation, claiming everything was going well. He then pushed Sunghoon out of the room, refusing to show him the progress.

Sunghoon stood outside the closed door, alone. He scratched the back of his neck, thinking about Jaeyun for a split second before pushing the thought away, refusing to show empathy to someone who had messed up and refused to take responsibility.

With that, Sunghoon headed to practice. With the match only a day away, he needed to be in peak condition.

                 ☆Saturday: Day of the match☆

            The Ice Breakers vs The Lumberjacks

Sunghoon was a bit anxious as he waited for Jungwon outside the rink to give him the banner. Since their last conversation, he hadn't had a chance to ask Jungwon about it again.

Fortunately, just then, Jungwon came running from a distance, huffing and puffing as he crouched, trying to catch his breath. He handed the banner over to Sunghoon, apologizing because he had been caught up with something for a moment.

Sunghoon assured that he did not mind. Still, he was curious about how it turned out. He unflured the banner, his eyes immediately lighting up.

"Jungwon....how—how did you manage to fix it? It's even better than the original design! I thought there was no time to order a new one?"

Jungwon rubbed his shoulder as he chuckled nervously. "Uh....I'll tell you later, okay? The match is about to start anyway. Go! And good luck!" Jungwon pushed Sunghoon inside the rink, stating that he would be right there.

Sunghoon nodded as he ran inside the rink. While walking down the hallway, Sunghoon noticed someone walk right past him and into the next corridor. Immediately recognizing who it was, he chased right after him.

"Hey! You!" Sunghoon barked, the figure pausing as they turned around.

There he was again. Sim Jaeyun with his stupid glasses and stupid Ugg boots, staring at him with those chestnut doe eyes. 

Sunghoon saw the way Jaeyun's eyes trailed down to his hand that was holding onto the banner. Sunghoon scoffed as he lifted it up and waved it at Jaeyun.

"Why? Surprised that your plan to mess up my game has failed?"

Jaeyun remained quiet.

"You know, I thought for all your acts of superiority, you would at least have the decency to own up to your mistakes. But no....instead, you ran like a coward and let Jungwon clean up your fucking mess!" 

Sunghoon marched up to Jaeyun, his chest heaving with seething rage. He towered over him, jabbing a finger sharply into his shoulder. 

"Stay the fuck away from us! I don't ever want to see you stirring up shit you won't clean!"

Before Sunghoon could say more, his coach's voice echoed from behind, yelling that the game was about to start. Sunghoon kept glaring at Jaeyun before finally deciding to step away. As he was leaving, he muttered something under his breath as he passed.

"What a freak."

Sunghoon said whatever came to mind at the moment, but the way Jaeyun's face fell at his words suffocated him. 

Jake's expressionless face shifted for the first time into something so bleak that Sunghoon felt he had done him more harm than all the insults he had thrown at him before.

Jaeyun lowered his head and turned away, disappearing into the corridors.

                                         *

As Sunghoon skated inside the rink, he knew he should not think about it. He hadn't said anything wrong; he had simply stated facts that were already there. But he did regret saying that last thing. He didn't mean it.

The buzzer, however, pulled him out of his trance. He looked up at the new and improved banner, feeling rather proud of how good it looked compared to the other teams. He blew out his cheeks and put his helmet on, forcing himself to focus. He couldn't let his team down, nor Jungwon's hard work with the banner.

The game ended quite nicely with the Ice Breakers winning as usual.

Everyone had a moment of celebration at the players' bench before deciding to continue it at the bar. One by one, they started to leave until only Sunghoon was left. He leaned against the bleachers as he stared at the banner.

"Admiring the banner again, are you?" Jungwon walked towards Sunghoon, holding Jay's bag.

Sunghoon gave a lopsided grin as he turned to Jungwon. "President, you've really outdone yourself. You really did save our butts today. In fact, it gave me extra strength to do play even better.

Jungwon’s brows furrowed as Sunghoon continued to compliment him. He gripped the straps of Jay’s bag tightly, unable to hide his frustration.

"It was not me who fixed the banner, Sunghoon."

Sunghoon's lips parted slightly as he frowned at the revelation. "What do you mean by that, Jungwon? If it was not you, then who....?

"Jake. It was Jake who fixed the banner." Jungwon made direct eye contact with Sunghoon.

"Jaeyun? What—"

"Listen here, Sunghoon. Yesterday, when you came to the student council office to ask about the banner, Jaeyun had already stopped by and told me he could fix it. That's why I had to shoo you out—he was actually hiding in the closet. He worked on it the entire day and even stayed overnight at the university to finish it. He hand-drew the entire thing and even hand-stitched it himself." Jungwon sighed as he continued.

"That's why I was late delivering the banner to you; Jake had dozed off from exhaustion."

Sunghoon bit his lips until they bled and swallowed hard at Jungwon's words, but he shrugged it off, trying to justify his actions to make himself feel less shitty. 

"Well.....Guess he does know how to take responsibility for his own actions."

"Sunghoon."

"What? I'm not wron—"

"Sunghoon. I'm not done yet," Jungwon interrupted. "Our general secretary Soobin's girlfriend, while she was on her way to class, overheard Karina and her friends bragging about how they perfectly ruined the banner. It turns out, Jaeyun did deliver the right one. However, after he left it in front of the student council office, Karina and her friends sneaked up and messed with it. That is exactly how we ended up finding it."

Sunghoon felt the wind completely knocked out of him. He staggered backward, his back hitting the cold railing. "Why.....why didn't he say anything back then? Did—did he even know? And why would Karina do such a thing?"

Jungwon folded his arms and sighed heavily. "One of Karina's minions saw you with Jake the last time you were at the cafeteria. I think it was to get back at you for ditching her the night of her party. And.....I think Jaeyun knows what happened based on the way he asked me to give him the banner."

"Then why did he take all the blame? It doesn't make any sense!" Sunghoon exploded with frustration.

"Sunghoon....there's a lot of things we don't know about Jake," Jungwon said, giving a small smile as he made his way out, receiving a text from Jay that he was waiting for him. 

"But if you ever do see him, please be gentle with him. And thank him for the banner, okay? You coming? To the bar?"

If only Jungwon knew what an asshole Sunghoon had been to Jaeyun earlier, he would not have been smiling at him like that. Sunghoon had screwed up big time. It was the biggest miscalculation he had ever made. He asked Jungwon to go on ahead, using the excuse that he needed to pack up his stuff. 

And with that, Sunghoon was all alone in the stadium.

Instead of packing his stuff, he laced back up his skates and got on the ice rink. Sunghoon skated around the rink as a million things ran through his mind, and all of them had to do with a certain person. The ice did not seem to be helping him like it always did. 

How could someone take up every inch of his thoughts, making him forget how to breathe? He wished Jay were here to punch him in the face, knowing the other man would gladly accept the blow as payback.

It had been a long time since Sunghoon had done a jump after he retired from figure skating, but he thought it would be a good distraction to see if he could still pull it off.

Sunghoon circled the rink for a while to get the right momentum. Once he had it, he skated straight ahead, jumped, and twirled around, landing perfectly on the ice. He let out a breathless laugh, seeing that he still had it. He looked up at the empty bleachers for a second, forgetting there was no audience.

But there was one. 

One audience member sleeping in one corner of the bleachers. 

Sim jaeyun.

Sunghoon's muscles coiled tight as a tremor ran through him. He held his breath without even realizing it. The stadium suddenly became too big for him. Sunghoon had completely forgotten about his successful jump of a moment ago. He quietly glided back to the bench and removed his skates, eyes still fixed on Jaeyun.

As Sunghoon climbed the stairs, he kept trying to think about what to say. He didn't know where to start. Once he was just an arm's length away, he started to notice what he couldn't quite make out before.

Despite wearing glasses, Sunghoon could clearly see the dark circles under Jaeyun's eyes. Wrapping his arms around himself for warmth against the cold stadium air, Jaeyun revealed the cuts on his fingers, which he had carelessly covered with band-aids. He looked incredibly small, his face pale—likely from a lack of food.

If Sunghoon had been feeling a bit bad before, he was now consumed by overwhelming guilt. He could never make up for it. As Sunghoon kept thinking about what to do, his eyes kept lingering on the bandaids on Jaeyun's fingers—the yellow bandaids with brown teddy bears on them. 

And as if a switch had flipped, Sunghoon crouched down, his knees giving way beneath him at the realization.

The match with the Vikings wasn't the first time he met Jaeyun. He met him way before that—during the Summer League, in the locker room. Why hadn't he connected the dots before? There was no way there were two crazy people wearing those ridiculous Ugg boots.

Just then, Jaeyun sneezed, waking him up. His eyes widened when he saw Sunghoon crouched right in front of him. For a moment, neither of them moved. They just stared at one another, the air thick with tension.

Then, Jaeyun stood up, grabbed his bag, and walked past Sunghoon without even acknowledging him.

Sunghoon quickly stood up and tried to call out to Jaeyun, but Jaeyun simply ignored him. He hurried after him, desperately wanting to start his long-felt apology, but it was futile. 

Finally, after Sunghoon called out one more time, Jaeyun stopped in his tracks and turned around, his chestnut eyes going dark.

"Do you still have something left to say?" Jaeyun asked, his voice a rasp.

Sunghoon opened his mouth to say something but closed it, biting his lip as he searched for the right words.

"Stay away from me, Park Sunghoon. I'll do as you said, so do the same. Let's have nothing to do with each other. After all, what does a freak have to do with you anyway?"

There wasn't even a glare on Jaeyun's face, nor any sign of anger. It was as if his emotions had completely shut down, leaving him in a state of hollowness.

Sunghoon flinced at how cold and distant Jaeyun looked and sounded. Sure, in the brief time they had spoken, Jaeyun had been largely expressionless, but this felt terrifying. It was as if an invisible line between them had just been cut.

With that, Sunghoon watched Jaeyun leave the stadium, still limping.

That night, Sunghoon rode straight home in silence, not listening to his perfectly arranged playlist as usual. He just listened to the roar of his bike, speeding up until the wind drowned everything else out. The bar was completely out of the question.

When he arrived at the apartment, all he did was stand at the center of the living room, staring off into the distance. He didn't understand why he felt so bitter. This was what he had wanted all along: to pay no heed to Jaeyun. And he was finally getting it.

As Sunghoon turned off the lights in his apartment, the trash scattered across the floor came into view, and the "Looking for Alaska" novel sat waiting on his nightstand.

                                         *

After that incident, Sunghoon never saw Jaeyun again, not even by accident. He didn't seek him out, primarily because he was the one who had drawn the line first.

A week later, as Sunghoon was in the cafeteria drinking his usual iced americano alone, Jungwon marched right up to him and slammed his register on the table. Sunghoon choked on his drink at the unexpected interruption.

"Speak," Jungwon flatly demanded as he stared right into Sunghoon's soul.

"What— about what?" Sunghoon was puzzled.

"Sunghoon. Did you speak to Jake on the day of the match with the Lumberjacks?"

Sunghoon pursed his lips and darted his eyes away as he denied it.

"Because I know something did happen. After that day, Jake kept his distance from me. He still helped with the reports, but something about it just wasn't right. And I know you had something to do with it. I don't care what your problem is, but you better fix it! I don't like seeing Jake that way," Jungwon snapped.

Sunghoon bit his tongue as he put his head down, amazed that Jungwon had figured all that out. And it seemed Jaeyun was doing exactly as Sunghoon had told him to. That pinched his heart for a second. 

Jungwon let out a harsh breath as he stood up and picked up his register. But just as he was leaving, he turned back and whispered something to Sunghoon.

"You never thanked him for the banner, did you?"

With that, Sunghoon was left completely alone, the ice in his americano long melted. He was losing his mind and genuinely did not know what to do. 

Whatever Sunghoon thought of wasn't going to end well. Jaeyun had made it very clear to leave him alone, and he was doing exactly that. Now, however, Jungwon was pressuring him to fix whatever he had messed up, leaving Sunghoon torn about going back on his own words.

All day, until he reached his apartment, he kept thinking about it. Sunghoon was so preoccupied that he forgot about the frozen meal kit he had put in the microwave and went straight to take a shower.

The moment Sunghoon stepped out of the shower, disaster was waiting for him. He came out to find black smoke covering the entire apartment. Covering his mouth, he tried to look for the source of the smoke. After finally finding it, he managed to shut the microwave, but the damage was already done.

Sunghoon stood outside with the fire brigade as they hosed down the blaze; the entire apartment had gone up in flames. Embarrassed by his negligence, Sunghoon tried to cover his face with his hood as passersby stopped to watch the accident that had just occurred.

For the next few days, Sunghoon stayed at his parents' house until he found an apartment closer to the university. 

Staying with them was fine, considering how large the house was. It just sometimes felt suffocating with all the constant nagging about his post-graduation plans. His father wanted him to pursue a professional sports career, while his mother pushed for business, as he seemed to have a natural knack for it.

After a long wait, Soobin approached him like a godsend and mentioned that his aunt knew of a recently vacated apartment not far from the university. The only problem was that it was a bit below Sunghoon's standards. However, Sunghoon agreed at once, not wanting to stay at his parents' house any longer.

Soobin gave Sunghoon his aunts' number to discuss the rest with her. 

When Soobin said it was a bit below his standards, Sunghoon didn't think it was this bad. Okay....it wasn't that bad. Many of his friends stayed in similar apartments. Maybe it was just that he was accustomed to high-end, well-furnished places.

The apartment was in a five-storey villa with a small rooftop terrace. The villa was a little isolated, which made it rather quiet. Not that Sunghoon minded it, though. In fact, this was one of the reasons he chose to stay despite his high standards. He liked how private it was.

As they neared the end of the tour, the aunt finally wrapped things up. She informed Sunghoon that there were only three tenants on the top floor where he would be staying and that he would be living in Middle Unit 14.

The aunt explained that Unit 13, located on her right was owned by a businessman who rarely visited due to his busy schedule. 

She didn't have much to say about the tenant in Unit 15 at the far end. In fact, she sometimes wondered if anyone lived there at all because it was always so quiet. The only reason she knew it was occupied was that the rent was always paid on time, though she rarely saw the tenant.

The aunt then casually commented that Sunghoon was lucky to have such flatmates who kept to themselves. Sunghoon politely nodded as he glanced over at Unit 15. 

With that, the aunt handed him the keys and took her leave.

Sunghoon moved in the very next day. He plopped onto his new mattress in exhaustion and stared at the dimly lit ceiling. With everything that had happened, he hadn't had the chance to think about anything else. Talk about a good distraction.

By today, it had been 19 days since he last saw Jaeyun. It wasn't as if he was keeping track, though.

Sunghoon's eyes slowly drooped as he realized tomorrow would make 20.

                                          *

When Soobin's aunt told him about the other two tenants, Sunghoon thought she was exaggerating. However, three days had passed, and he had not seen either of them. He could somewhat understand Unit 13's situation, as he was a businessman, but Unit 15 was a complete mystery to him.

The aunt had told him that the tenant in Unit 15 was also a student, so Sunghoon decided to introduce himself. He brought some store-bought sticky rice cakes to share, as it was customary when moving into a new building. Sunghoon rang the doorbell and knocked several times, but the tenant never answered.

What a rude ass neighbor when he was just trying to be polite!

At times, Sunghoon was convinced that Unit 15 was completely vacant. This assumption was quickly shattered whenever he heard the door open and light footsteps tiptoeing down the hallway in the predawn darkness. Thanks to his sensitive hearing, he could easily detect them even while asleep.

And despite the fact that he never saw the tenant, it somehow gave him comfort to know he was not utterly alone.

Back at the university, Sunghoon couldn't escape Jungwon. Jungwon kept asking if he had talked to Jake, but Sunghoon kept making excuses—he was too busy with the move-in, and even if he had the time, he just couldn't find Jaeyun. Sunghoon swore that if Jungwon wasn't the student council president, he would have whooped his ass a long time ago.

Sunghoon had never been more thankful than when Niki interrupted them at that moment.

"What's up, guys? Beomgyu's having a party tonight. You two are coming, right? Captain, you can't bail on us this time again." Niki slung his arms over Sunghoon.

Sunghoon contemplated for a while, but ultimately decided to go, as it had been a while since he last went to a party and got drunk. And who knows, just maybe, Jaeyun would be there too.

Beomgyu's party was wild. The music itself was loud enough to burst eardrums. The smell of alcohol filled the entire house, and, as expected, there were more girls than male attendees—brazen Beomgyu and his harem.

Sunghoon had expected to get wasted—maybe even go home with a stranger. But after ten cups of the hard stuff, his mind was still frustratingly clear. Perhaps he didn't want to be a blur if Jaeyun actually showed up. But Jaeyun never came.

Sunghoon decided to go back to his apartment that day without hooking up with anyone, which was a very new thing for him. It felt like his entire sex drive had suddenly stopped functioning. He thanked himself for choosing to take the car instead of his bike, as there was absolutely no way he could ride a motorbike while drunk. 

Sunghoon knew better than to drink and drive, but what could he do? Beomgyu's place was too far from his apartment. Even Ubers refused to go there since the area was isolated and drivers did not know the road.

Sunghoon made it up the flight of stairs, gripping the railing for support with his right hand and holding his head with the other, finally feeling the aftereffects of the alcohol.

He walked past Unit 13, the door accumulating dust due to nonattendance, and before opening the door to his apartment, he glanced at Unit 15. Light peeking out from under the door let him know someone was inside.

Sunghoon didn't think much of it with the migraine he was having and entered his unit. The first thing he did was take a long, warm shower in an attempt to clear his mind.

Afterward, he rummaged through his refrigerator to fill his empty stomach, but there was barely anything inside. He really needed to go grocery shopping. He sighed as he settled for iced water.

He sat on the couch and scrolled through his phone. After an hour of doomscrolling, Sunghoon suddenly heard banging from outside.

At first, he thought someone was knocking on his door, but the sound seemed a bit too distant, so he assumed the tenant from Unit 13 had finally visited his apartment. He figured the neighbor was trying to pry his door open due to all the rust it had accumulated.

But then he noticed the sound was coming from the left side. Unit 15.

At first, Sunghoon just ignored it. After all, everyone liked to keep to themselves. But the thumping wouldn't stop, soon followed by muffled shouts between two people clearly screaming at each other. Sunghoon knew it wasn’t his place to interfere, but curiosity got the best of him.

Sunghoon got up from the couch and hovered right in front of his door, hoping to maybe get a sense of what was going on. Whatever it was, it seemed only one person was asserting dominance. For a while, it went completely quiet, so Sunghoon assumed the quarrel was over.

But the minute Sunghoon turned around, he heard a body slam against the wall, earning a loud groan from the person. The sound became louder, along with loud kicks and angry yelling.

Sunghoon was not one to interfere in a stranger's business, but he felt an instinctive urge to step in. He burst open his door and turned toward Unit 15, only to see a man aggressively kicking a person curled in a fetal position on the ground. The man showed no signs of stopping despite the victim's soft whimpers and proceeded to kick mercilessly.

Sunghoon didn't know what was going on. Maybe it was the remnants of alcohol in his system, but a burst of protective instinct just took over. He marched right up to the man, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him to the ground. Sunghoon then stood in front of the injured person and glared down at the attacker.

The attacker coughed and glared at Sunghoon, demanding to know who he was and what he was doing.

"I should be asking you the same thing. Leave. Now," Sunghoon calmly remarked as he ran his hand through his half-dried hair.

"This is none of your fucking business!" The man spit to the side and stood up, running towards Sunghoon with his fist in the air.

Sunghoon simply sighed as he easily dodged the guy's flimsy attempted punch. The attacker was somewhat tall and had an above-average build, but he was still no match for Sunghoon. Sunghoon clicked his tongue as he punched the guy right in the face, causing his nose and mouth to bleed.

The guy fell backward, screaming from the force of the punch. He stepped back, glaring at Sunghoon, and then at the figure on the floor.

"I'll be back for you," he muttered to the injured person before bolting down the stairs.

Sunghoon was baffled by the audacity of someone disrupting a public space and creating havoc. He even thought about running after him, but the sound of feet dragging behind him made him stop. He quickly turned around to check on the person. 

From the slightly opened door of Unit 15, a faint light from inside made it's way out, allowing Sunghoon to confirm that it was indeed a guy. What now? Should he call the police? The ambulance?

While panicking, the victim began to move, trying his best to crawl upward, holding his stomach. His head was lowered, probably because he was unable to stand after taking such a beating.

"Hey. Are you alright? Do you want me to call an ambulance or police or something?" Sunghoon cautiously inquired, not knowing the extent of the situation.

Sunghoon could hear the ragged breathing as the stranger tried to mumble something.

"I'm....fine. Leave me be."

There was no way the guy was going to convince him with that. Sunghoon wasn't going to leave an injured person out here alone. He tried to persuade him that he could take him to the nearest hospital, arguing that it wouldn't be a problem. It was already extremely late into the night, and the chances of catching a taxi were extremely low.

"I said I'm fine!" the guy spat as he finally looked up.

The moment their eyes locked, both of them froze.

Sunghoon's expression contorted as the faint light from the door illuminated the stranger's features.

"Sim Jaeyun?"

Why.....why did it have to be Jaeyun sitting on the floor in front of him, his face completely battered?