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The sound of a phone vibrating wakes Gyuvin up from his long nap. He was drenched all over in sweat and his right leg was loosely hung over on one side of the bed. He sighs and tucks his arm beneath his pillow to feel around for his vibrating phone. He blinks a few times, trying to make out the contact name in the dark until he realizes it was just some scam call.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Gyuvin groans as he angrily turns his ringtone off, disregarding all the notifications on the screen. He rolls over to the other side of his bed, wincing at the sudden movement. He wished he could have slept for a few more hours since his head was pounding and his entire body hurt.
He picks up his phone once more and idly flicks through a number of notifications from different apps and group conversations. He was worn out. He glances up at the time, reading 2:00 AM in bold white letters. “That was the longest I've slept in a while.” Gyuvin thought as he thumbed away at a few responses to his friends to let them know that he was still alive.
The past few weeks had been extremely stressful. Gyuvin was beginning to feel that the number of all-nighters he'd been pulling would eventually cause him to faint and die. He didn't receive the highest marks in class, but he also didn't receive the lowest. He was fairly average. But for him, midterms meant the difference between life and death. They took up an unnecessarily huge percentage of your grades for no reason.
A huge part of the reason how he’d manage to stay sane was because of his dear best friend and senior, Sung Hanbin, whom he met the at a dance studio a few years back. The elder happily took him under his wing, teaching him everything he needed to know about dancing while also providing much-needed life guidance.
During Gyuvin's first year of college, Hanbin had kindly offered him a place to stay since, frankly, he was too poor to pay for dorm fees and because he offered to share the living wages with him. In addition, Hanbin often brought him food and made sure he took a break from his textbooks.
Until he could afford a nice house to move into with his boyfriend, Zhang Hao, he would share the apartment with Gyuvin. Gyuvin found Zhang Hao to be quite friendly and welcoming, so they grew close very fast. Zhang Hao would frequently stop by to hang out with them or tutor him.
Though, Gyuvin would really value not feeling like a third wheel whenever they were together. Or have them fuss over him like irate parents because of his occassional recklessness. And yet, Gyuvin wouldn't know what to do without either of them.
They had departed on a flight earlier in the day after saying goodbye to Gyuvin, traveling together all the way to Zhang Hao's hometown in China. It was to celebrate their anniversary.
“I don't even want to know what they do alone together.” Gyuvin hastily shook his head to rid his mind of the thoughts that were beginning to overtake him, shuddering in disgust. Fortunately, he's only ever caught them making out . If Gyuvin hadn't been persistently reminding them of his mere presence in the house, things might have already escalated further.
Gyuvin's stomach rumbled, jolting him back to reality from the trance he was caught up in. He decided that a quick bowl of Shin Ramyun from the convenience store across the street would be the greatest thing to eat on an empty stomach when he had no energy to cook.
Not expecting to run into anyone he knew this late at night, he threw on an oversized hoodie and a pair of joggers, not bothering to fix his hair or check himself in the mirror. He hadn't had time to visit the convenience shop, which was his usual go-to after school, and was just too exhausted to give it any thought.
The door rang as soon as he stepped inside, alerting the cashier, who glanced up briefly before returning their attention to their phone. Gyuvin smiled slightly, murmuring a swift "Hello" in a tiny voice.
Gyuvin approached the aisle containing all of the packaged food and carefully scanned over each item that was on display. He reasoned that he would get some other goods to go with the ramen first and finish it last. Taking this as an opportunity to reward himself for his hard work, he grabbed a box containing onigiri, cheesestrings, and gimbap.
He then strolled over to the freezer, slid up the top, and took out a plain iced cup. He picked up a peach tea packet on the opposite shelf, which he would later pour into the drink. After consuming an excessive amount of coffee the days prior to his midterm exams, it was pleasant to have a break without it.
Struggling to carry everything in his arms rather than bothering to get a basket, he didn't spot someone else walking down the aisle as he reached his hand out, mindlessly reaching up for a cup of Shin Ramyun with his free hand.
A second hand brushes against Gyuvin's, and he looks up to see another boy, who appears to be around his height, also clutching onto the Shin Ramyun. Gyuvin blinks, noting that it was the last one since they wouldn't restock again until the morning.
"Ah, I'm afraid I was here first," scowls Gyvuin, holding onto the last Shin Ramyun package on the upper shelf with a tight grasp.
With widened eyes, the other boy blinks at him, as if he was unable to believe that Gyuvin would speak up. Gyuvin peers to try and make out who the guy was under his mask and cap.
“We both touched it at the same time.” The other boy says, clearing his throat.
Gyuvin's brain malfunctions when he registers who the voice belonged to. He pinches himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and he in fact was not.
At precisely two in the morning, in a convenience store, at the same time as Gyuvin, it was Shen Quanrui. His all-black outfit was so similar to Gyuvin's that they almost seemed identical at the moment. The only difference between them was that he was wearing a black mask and cap rather than just a hoodie like Gyuvin.
Gyuvin had completely forgotten about Ricky the past few days, having been so immersed in studying for midterms, and now the boy he had been sporting a crush on since the start of the semester in his Economics class was standing right in front of him. If this was Gyuvin any other time of the day he'd probably be a stuttering mess and try his best to look good.
But at that point, Gyuvin was too worn out and dejected to worry about him, all he wanted was some noodles to eat. "The noodles are mines."
“What?” Ricky asks, refusing to let go of the noodles. In an attempt to show that he was serious, Gyuvin gives him a weak glare and states, "I said the noodles are mines."
Ricky lets out a small laugh, as if he was amused by Gyuvin's grumpy state. Gyuvin widens his eyes, heart rate picking up. Shit, He thought, That was so cute. This was one of the reasons why he liked him. He was always so damn cute unintetionally.
Gyuvin's gaze flickered over the packet of rice cakes, wafers, and strawberry-flavored pepero the other boy was holding in his hands, all of which he assumed was going to be consumed with the noodles.
Gyuvin sighed, determined not to give up because one, he was very hungry and two, he really needed the comfort of some cup noodles. The other boy merely stared at him as he opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say.
“You look like absolute shit,” Ricky remarks after a few moments, breaking the silence they had as he seemed to give up, retracting his hands from the noodles. He went and removed his cap instead, revealing streaks of blonde hair. He gentle raked through his hair with his hands. Gyuvin felt himself losing oxygen in his lungs by the second, curse Ricky for being so damn hot.
Gyuvin is quickly broken out of his trance once the meaning of Ricky's words settle in, not believing how rude he was, “You look like shit too!”
“I do.” Ricky acknowledges as Gyuvin takes in the full sight of him, getting a better look at his deep eyebags and messy state of his usually styled hair. Gyuvin thinks he looks better with his hair parted down.
“Thank you,” Ricky murmurs quietly, almost shyly. Gyuvin quickly covers his mouth with his hand. “Did I say that out loud?”
Now, Gyuvin felt like an asshole. He was making a fuss over wanting to hog some noodles all for himself. It made him feel selfish. If anything, the always cool-headed and collected Ricky appeared to be in the same awful shape as him. He wasn't the only one who was going through it.
“You can have the noodles.” Gyuvin whispers hurriedly, taking the packet and shoving it into Ricky's arms with a flush, “I'm sorry for coming off as rude, I'm just really tired right now.”
As Gyuvin turns to flee and pretend that none of this ever happened, Ricky grabs his wrist, “We can share,” Ricky says, drawing a suspicious gaze from Gyuvin, “Let's celebrate midterms ending together with all this food.” He slowly loosens his grip on Gyuvin's wrist.
Gyuvin nods, a grin on his face, “I'd love that.”
That was how Gyuvin found himself sitting on a park bench late at night next to his longtime crush. Gyuvin pinches himself again to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
“Are you going to eat or just stare off into the distance?” Ricky questions as he gets a yakult out, quickly shoving a straw into the center and popping it into his mouth.
Gyuvin shakes his head, “Sorry, I'm just out of it.” Ricky pauses to give him a concerned look. “Anything bothering you? Exams are finally over now.”
Gyuvin picks up the hot noodles quickly lifts a bunch of them up into the air using his chopsticks. He turns to face Ricky, who was breaking apart a wafer to give to Gyuvin. "Just tired, knocked out this afternoon right after finishing exams," he says to Ricky.
Ricky nods, sympathizing with him. “I've seen you at the library a lot recently.” Gyuvin's ears perk up at the mention of the library, “You were at the library too?” Gyuvin figures that the only reason he didn't notice Ricky was because one, he’s always covered up with a mask, two, the library is way too crowded during exams, and three, Gyuvin was too caught up in his own studies.
Ricky hums in acknowledgment, “I can't focus at home with a nagging roommate who's always on call with his boyfriend.” Gyuvin giggles, slurping his noodles at the familiar scenario. “That reminds me of my own roommate, his name is Hanbin.”
Ricky pauses, “Hold on, Hanbin as in Sung Hanbin? That's my roommate's boyfriend!” Gyuvin stares at him with his mouth agape, “Hao hyung?” Ricky nods his head aggressively, “I can't believe this.”
“We really do live in a small world.” Gyuvin exclaims in astonishment as Ricky giggles, “We could have actually gotten closer a lot sooner if we tagged by to go to the other’s house.”
“But I'm so sick of third wheeling everytime,” Gyuvin whines as he raises the noodles to Ricky's mouth, being a naturally affectionate type of person. “I've been hogging these for a while now, try some.”
Ricky blinks at him, a faint blush coming over his cheeks. Gyuvin gasps, realizing what he just did, “Shit, I'm so sorry I know we aren't close like that-”
Ricky slowly parts his lips, motioning for Gyuvin to feed him. Gyuvin's feels his own face heat up as he raises the noodles feed Ricky, smiling when he notices Ricky's eyes light up in delight.
“These are,” Ricky pauses, “Really fucking good.” Gyuvin laughs at him cursing, raising the chopsticks to feed him again. The other boy lets him, and Gyuvin finds himself continuing to feed him until the end. He finds himself shuffled closer to Ricky in the process, their thighs pressed together.
“Do you,” Ricky stares at him with a glint in his eyes, “Always feed people like this?”
“I do, I’m pretty affectionate,” Gyuvin answers truthfully. “But I don’t usually do it to people I’m not close with.”
Ricky looks at him offended, “Are you calling us strangers?”
Gyuvin lets put a hearty laugh. He counters back by asking, “Do you invite any person to eat together with you at two in the morning?” There was something about Ricky’s presence that made him feel at ease. Despite their very minimal interactions in class, Gyuvin had always wanted to get closer with him.
He was just a bit of a coward, not feeling as if he was able to hide his obvious attraction towards the other boy. It was hard when they were both always surrounded by people.
“I've always wanted to get closer with you,” Gyuvin confesses, “But this wasn’t what I had in mind.”
Ricky raises an eyebrow at him, “You almost fought with me over some noodles, you don’t hold me in high regards Kim Gyuvin.”
“Sorry.” Gyuvin murmurs an apology, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I was just super tired and hungry man.”
Ricky gives him a knowing look, “I'm cool headed for the most part so it's chill.” Gyuvin gives him a thumbs up of approval, nodding his head.
Gyuvin smiles cheekily, an idea coming over his head. He swings an arm over Ricky's shoulder, feeling bold. “I like you Shen Ricky, let's get closer.”
And if Gyuvin noticed the way Ricky's ears heated up, he didn't say anything. The way Ricky interpreted it was up to him, and Gyuvin would love to start off by getting to know him better as friends.
Gyuvin's phone suddenly vibrates, causing him to take his hands off Ricky's shoulder. He groans when he realizes that it was just some stupid notification from a game app.
Ricky briefly looks down at his phone and then taps on Gyuvin's leg to get his attention. “Can I get your number?” Gyuvin nods, a little fast, and he quickly unlocks his phone to open up his contacts.
Ricky saves his contact info as Ricky 🍓 and Gyuvin can’t help but let out an amused laugh at the strawberry emoji. “That emoji is so cute, maybe you have a softer side to you than I think.”
Ricky blushes, getting his own phone out to save Gyuvin's contact. “My cooler side is more evident.” He saves Gyuvin's contact name as Energy Pill, pondering on what emojis to add before inputting a puppy and light bolt emoji.
“I'm anything but energetic right now,” Gyuvin sulks, feeling embarrassed at how messy he looked. Ricky frowns, “You always seem so energetic in class... it's amusing sometimes.” Now it was Gyuvin's turn to fight back a blush.
“I thrive off of other people and their affection.” Gyuvin confirms, “But thank god it's Friday, I can sleep in tomorrow.”
“Well, it's pretty late so we should get going.” Ricky says, signaling to the time on his phone. Gyuvin tries to act as if he wasn’t disappointed at the lack of warmth when Ricky got up. He bends down to shove the discarded food wraps into the bags they came from. Gyuvin follows, and they both walk down together to the trash can in the corner.
While walking alongside each other, Ricky pulls out a lollipop midway and shoves it into his mouth. Gyuvin notices, “Is it true that you always carry snacks around?”
Ricky hums, rummaging through his pockets to pull out a few crinkled up jelly packets and a chocolate bar. He smirks at Gyuvin with a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Maybe.”
Gyuvin huffs, “Share some with me.” He makes grabby hands. Ricky hands him the chocolate bar, “I don't usually share but I'll make an exception.”
Gyuvin feels giddy. “So I'm special to Ricky Shen?” Ricky gives him a weak glare, hands reaching out to take the chocolate bar back but Gyuvin doesn’t let him. “I'm sorry!”
After walking for a while they arrive in front of Gyuvin's dorm, much to his dismay. He pauses in his steps, turning to look back at Ricky, and he can’t help but let his gaze trail down to Ricky's plump lips. He was still sucking on the lollipop. His lips were so glossy and Gyuvin can’t help but stare intently at them.
Ricky's darts his tongue out to graze over his wet lips before placing the lollipop back in his mouth. Sirens go off in Gyuvin's head. He looks up at the door, oblivious to Gyuvin’s inner turmoil, “Is this your place?”
Kim Gyuvin, you're much stronger than this—
“Can I kiss you?” Gyuvin blurts out in a frenzy, causing both him and Ricky to freeze. “What?” Ricky sputters, face turning as red as the cherry lollipop he was sucking on. “Sorry, I really don’t think before I speak—”
Gyuvin squeezes his eyes shut, giving Ricky an awkward side hug before muttering an, “Thanks for today!” He turns his back to Ricky and shoves his arms inside of his pockets in search of his keys.
Until Ricky suddenly grabs his shoulder, spinning him around and causing him to stumble back a bit.
“Ricky?” Gyuvin squeaks in a small voice. The next thing he knows is Ricky putting a hand on the back of his nape to pull him in and press their lips together, shutting him up from whatever nonsense he was about to spew next.
Gyuvin closes his eyes, tilting his head to deepen the kiss while his hands rest on Ricky's shoulders. Ricky's other hand wraps around his waist, pulling him in closer. He's a waist holder, Gyuvin's brain helplessly supplies as he notes the time one of his friends made a remark on it.
Ricky licks gently into his mouth, tasting off the mild cherry lollipop he had been sucking on. He traps Gyuvin's lower lip between his teeth, coaxing the other into opening his mouth for him while Gyuvin attempts to mimic his movements, desperation kicking in.
Ricky kisses him until he can no longer breathe, cold hands grazing up his loose hoodie and touching bare skin, causing Gyuvin to shudder. When they separate, a string of saliva is present. Ricky dives in for another kiss, this time slow and deep and Gyuvin can't do anything but take and take.
Gyuvin gasps when they part for the second time, knees buckling on the verge of giving up if it weren’t for the tight grip of Ricky’s arms around his waist. He didn’t even notice when another leg was slotted in between his. He felt so light-headed and it was all Ricky's fault.
“Wow,” Gyuvin says in awe, “You're a good kisser.” Ricky gives him a small shy-like smile, “I am?”
“Show off.” Gyuvin grumbles, a little sour at how well he was kissed just now, leaning in to give a quick peck to the corner of Ricky's mouth, “The last thing I expected today was making out with the fucking Ricky Shen on a Friday night.”
“But thank you for hanging out with me,” Gyuvin adds, hands moving up to cup Ricky's cheeks to give them a squeeze. Ricky doesn’t say anything but the tips of his red ears gave him away.
Ricky leans into the touch, letting Gyuvin mess with his hair after. Gyuvin's eyes sparkle, “Your hair is so soft.” Ricky looks at him with a frown, “Did you think it wasn't?” Gyuvin nods, excitedly raking his hands through it.
“I expected it to be damaged, if I'm being honest.” Gyuvin answers honestly and Ricky glares at him. Gyuvin thinks he only looks like an angry cat. “I take good care of my hair always.” Ricky defends himself.
“You're really like a cat right now,” Gyuvin giggles, watching as Ricky happily enjoys him massaging his scalp, “M' tired and your hands feel really fucking nice.”
“Well, go home and get some sleep.” Gyuvin says as he retracts his hands from Ricky's hair, pushing at his shoulders. Ricky groans, not wanting to leave but reluctantly getting off. He puts his cap back on and fishes his mask out of his pocket.
Gyuvin gives him a warm smile, coming forward to give him a proper hug this time. Ricky lets him, putting his head on his shoulder. “You're warm.” He mumbles into the crook of Gyuvin's neck, sleepiness laced in his voice.
Ricky gives him a wave after separating, raising his phone up, “Text me.”
“I will!” Gyuvin happily shouts, waving back at him and watching him fade into the distance. He turns back to his door, holding his burning face in his hands. Hanbin won’t believe any of this that just happened.
>> Ricky 🍓
> 8:45 A.M.
Kim Gyuvin
Stop waving at me like a maniac from the other side of class
Come over here then
I need help with something
please please please
Ask your friend for help
I'm busy doing work on my laptop
You're so mean
Can’t even spare me a moment
Do you hate me be honest
You wanna kiss me again so bad
Seen
Gyuvin looks up to see Ricky’s lips part in shock over his MacBook, glancing over at him with wide eyes. Gyuvin grins, winking at him and mouthing an “I love you.” Gotcha. Ricky averts his gaze and furiously types away on his keyboard, slamming it shut and getting up to walk over to Gyuvin.
“You're so annoying,” Ricky grumbles, sitting on the chair next to Gyuvin's and leaning over to see his notes. Gyuvin laughs, “Cat got your tongue?” He points at what he's confused with and Ricky explains it to him in a calm manner.
“You're a bigger nerd than I thought,” Gyuvin gasps, immediately apologizing when Ricky raises his fist at him. “I'm sorry!”
“Maybe I’ll reward you with a kiss if you help me ace the next exam.”
Ricky punches his shoulder so hard he almost falls off the chair.