Chapter Text
Sunghoon didn’t like Sooha – that much was obvious, no matter how much Heeseung pointedly ignored it. While Heeseung did not share the same sentiment as Sunghoon, he certainly does understand where Sunghoon is coming from. That’s why he just tries to ignore the obvious distaste Sunghoon has for Sooha rather than address it – much the opposite of Jay and Sunoo. Speaking of which…
“You need to be more welcoming to Sooha,” Jay said bluntly to the face of a fuming Sunghoon. Before Sunghoon could even open his mouth to counter, Sunoo jumped in.
“Yeah! What are you? Jealous, hyung? That somebody might give you a run for your money on prettiest in the group?”
Heeseung winced at that statement.
Slowly, he turned his gaze from a smug Sunoo to look at Sunghoon, and… it was just as bad as he expected.
Sunghoon was past the point of slight irritation – dark red even more prominent on his abnormally pale skin even for a vampire such that is actually gave the impression he still had warm blood flowing through his veins that were straining on his neck from the anger quickly building.
Jake, god bless him, chose to remain silent on the side. While Jake was also rather enthusiastic to get to know Sooha better, he usually refrained from mentioning her to Sunghoon when they were alone – best friend intuition and loyalty probably. While Heeseung would love to just be like Jake in this situation, as the oldest, he had to step in to keep the peace before Jay and Sunoo pushed Sunghoon too far. As much as Sunghoon disliked Sooha, Heeseung knew he would never actually do anything. Heeseung would like to say he knows Sunghoon better than most, and he knows the rather shy (and lately pissy) beauty was much too passive to actually ever say his true feelings to Sooha or take action. Nonetheless, he knew that Sunghoon did not hold these reservations when it came to their group of seven, and it looked as though Sunghoon was close to exploding.
“Okay! That’s enough. Sunoo, drop it. Sunghoon doesn’t have to like Sooha, okay? He is allowed to have his own feelings, even if you nor I share them. That goes for you as well Jay. Leave it,” Heeseung finished with a pointed look at both Sunoo and Jay. Sunoo at least had the decency to look ashamed for being scolded, but Jay just scoffed and turned his head away from Heeseung.
Good enough for now, Heeseung thought.
And with that thought, Heeseung turned to Sunghoon to perhaps maybe once again gently suggest he just try to get to know Sooha, but when he turned, all he saw was Sunghoon’s back, walking away from them with a tight grip on his backpack.
Great.
This has been going on for a couple months now, Sooha having joined Decelis Academy back in September, and it now being November. While one might think Sunghoon should be the one to have been scolded just now, Heeseung would like to disagree.
Heeseung has thought about the Sunghoon-Sooha issue far too much these past months. At first, he, like Jay and Sunoo, was highly exasperated with Sunghoon’s stubbornness, pushing him to be friends with Sooha. Having lived the tension for two months since then, Heeseung came to a realization when talking to Jungwon.
~
“You can’t force him to like her, Heeseung hyung,” Jungwon said while tying his shoes, having caught him longingly looking over at Sunghoon, who had chosen to warm up with the second string nightball team rather than their group of seven, aka the first string. Heeseung knew it was because Sunghoon was avoiding them.
“But if he would just be friends with her, all this would be sorted out!” Heeseung whined to Jungwon, who just rolled his eyes at his supposedly ‘older’ hyung.
“That may be true, hyung, but Sunghoon has been pretty clear so far that he doesn’t want to be friends with Sooha, and you can’t force him to be. I know how frustrated it makes you, but you have to understand it from Sunghoon’s point. He’s already super shy and introverted, and you know how insecure he is after… our past, and especially his. He doesn’t want to open up to her, and you should respect that. Besides, it’s not like it’s honestly that much of a problem, it’s just you guys who are making it a bigger issue than it actually is.”
Heeseung frowned. “What are you trying to say?”
Jungwon sighed as he finally stood up and faced Heeseung, and even though Heeseung had quite some height and years on Jungwon, he was the one who felt small under his gaze.
“Listen. I’m going to be honest with you, hyung. Sunghoon’s not really the problem here. Yes, he refuses to get to know Sooha, and he has a piss-poor attitude sometimes, but that’s even in the past, and has he really done anything wrong besides being closed off? C’mon Heeseung hyung, you know how Sunghoon is. He avoids all conflict and is passive as hell. He never says anything mean to Sooha, and if you guys plan something with Sooha, he just doesn’t come. He isn’t friendly, but he isn’t mean either. He doesn’t protest or complain – you know he’d just be content to keep his mouth shut and pout in silence in the corner. The only time he ever speaks his thoughts or even acts is when you guys push him to.”
~
Oh, and doesn’t Heeseung know it. It was classic Sunghoon – holding everything in because he didn’t want to bother anyone, and it’s been an issue Heeseung’s been trying to crack ever since their childhood, but no success even now.
After his talk with Jungwon, Heeseung had changed his mindset and approach. He knew Jungwon was right – as he usually was. Sunghoon might not like Sooha, but he never acted on it. Thinking on it, Heeseung just decided to accept the situation for what it was: Sunghoon didn’t like Sooha, and they just had to accept that.
So far, it seems Jungwon, Ni-Ki, Jake, and himself have come to peace with this truth, but it seemed that Sunoo and Jay just couldn’t let it go. Now, technically speaking, it’s not like Jungwon or Ni-Ki was exactly best friends with Sooha either. While Heeseung, Jake, Jay, and Sunoo seemed to hang out with Sooha about every day, Jungwon and Ni-Ki usually did not. They weren’t like Sunghoon – they would still hangout with them if Sooha was there, and they were nice to her, usually trying to include her in conversations, but they never sought out her company, usually spending more time out on the nightball field.
And spending more time in Sunghoon’s single, Heeseung has noticed recently.
Heeseung didn’t think Jungwon and Ni-Ki were choosing sides per say. Yes, they didn’t seem particularly interested in becoming friends with Sooha, but he knew they were trying to provide comfort and company to Sunghoon, especially in gatherings Sunghoon abstained from because of Sooha, as he often does as of late, and Heeseung would be lying if he said that didn’t hurt him a bit – that Sunghoon couldn’t come to him for comfort anymore.
Jake seemed torn, Heeseung noticed. While similar to Jay and Sunoo near the beginning, Jake was much quicker to accept Sunghoon’s refusal to get to know Sooha. Heeseung didn’t know exactly what happened, but he assumes it had something to do with their whole soulmate shit and pledging to be by each other in everything, so Heeseung tried not to think about it too much.
But in the end, the situation ends the same: Jake quietly observing; Jay refusing to apologize; Sunoo slightly ashamed; Jungwon and Ni-Ki not even there and most likely at the nightball field; Sunghoon storming off; and Heeseung caught in between, always watching Sunghoon’s retreating back.
Just great.