#anywa specify character��

[danhang]

taps mic ahem ahem, i have returned and would like to write you starters 💞 so like for a starter!

[ddeonusbf]

AHHH WE BACK AGAIN LETS GET IT😭SORRY MAI MAI NOTHING WAS GONNA STOP ME FROM READING IT MWAHAHAH

also i saw your reblog and yeah! i was like "oh heeseung has something on y/n? how inch resting of him" 🧐AND CHEM JOKES ARE FUNNY LITERALLYSHUT UP 🤫 I like to hear chemistry puns periodically🤭🤭🤭🤭 AND I DIDNT FEEL PRESSURED IVE BEEN MEANING TOO FOR A HOT MINUTE AND I FINALLY HAVE TIKE SO LETS GET IT😴 NOW ON TO THE FIC

Y/N WAS SO SICK FOR ALL THE EXCUSES SHE WANTED TO USE LIKE DAMN WHY HEESEUNG HAD TO TAKE THE FALL😭😭HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY GO HEESEUNG‼️

“u-um, you just… you looked… tired.” art simping arc??? me and y/n real different i wouldve been throwing him heart eyes and shit giggling and whatnot😻😻AND NO HEESEUNG ITS NOT YOUR FAULT OKAY YOU WERE CONFESSING DONT APOLOGIZE BAE☹️☹️ and heeseung is such a sweetheart, art = triage! heeseung supremacist!!

also i love your writing style! its so descriptive and comfy, gonna have to binge all your other fics later🤭🤭

heeseung taking a photo of the sunset is so cute and feels so heeseung idk i just know he had a folder in his photo for all the sunsets and sunrises he catches. bro has me down tremendously in sixteen different ways help🥰OMG AND HE SHOWS THEM TO HIS MOM??? bro y/n move he's clearly met to be with ME! 🥴the delulu in me jumped out my bad😅BUT HE HANGS OUT WITH HIS MOM WE'RE SO SIMILAR😋i love my mom shes like one of my best friends

"LESSON 1 : if you look cute, 50% of the things you say don’t sound quite as dumb." looks like he's already got that one in the bag🤪 AND HEAR ME OUT RIGHT:.....bowties arent that bad. but they only look good on certain groups of people. no i will not specify. BUT BOWTIES ARE SO CUTE.....he does have an addiction though, and we must converse about it, effective immediately

HEESEUNG NEVER GOING ON A DATE BEFORE?? I CAN TELL THEIR CLASSMATES DONT HAVE TASTE HELLAUR????"it’s just an endless number of t-shirts with cartoon characters on them." what's that 'pose to mean?? quickly mai🤨🤨🤨 *shoves anime and cartoon character shirts in my closet* the people deserve to know!!

anyways as a glasses wearer y/n is right!! glasses either help your facial features but hide your best feature-your eyes-or they highlight your eyes but dim your facial features. for me its number one because i look fantastic with glasses on but you cant really see my eyes unless you're looking dead at me 🥸 but heeseung has super pretty eyes so glasses make him pretty, but he looks better without them🥰 and ugh taehyun😒sorry tae youve earned my disdain in this fic, you still have my heart tho😊anywas ynseung lowkey kinda cute?? y/n isnt that much a bitch as she made herself to be

“but… you’re my trash can. you’re supposed to eat what i can’t finish.” literally me and my older brother🫢i give him everything i dont want, like when my grandma makes pork, i give him all the fatty pieces🤞🏾ALSO RYUJIN YOURE SUCH A SNITCH UGH YOU DONT KNOW HOW TO SHUT UP?? WHAT IF WE DIDNT WANT TAE LNOWING? OH RIGHT, WE DIDNT. when i jump her she cant say a thing🤫ANYWAYS Y/N BOSSBABE FOR SNAPPING ON THEM HOES GET INTO ITTTTTTT🤪🤪🤪‼️‼️‼️ hater like: y/n didnt eat🥸 meanwhile y/n like:

ASYHDHDD HEESEUNG YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME HELLO??? ‘so pretty and warm, right?’ he writes. ‘kinda reminded me of you.’ SIRRRRRRRRR- and a nickname? miss sunset?? barking st the wall hehe

18374747/10 MAI THIS WAS SO GOOD‼️ I HAVE A CALL SOON SO I WONT READ THE THREE CHAPTER NOW BUT I WILL SOON THANK YOU THIS WAS SO GOOD

triage — ft. lee heeseung (chapter II)

you try to teach the nerd how to date.

synopsis: heeseung is not, by any measure, date-able. he’s dorky, he’s nerdy, and he does this weird thing where he snorts loudly every time he laughs. in fact, he loves everything that normal people are allergic to — computer science, collecting rare comic books, and birdwatching on the weekend.

given that you two have obviously nothing in common, you find yourself utterly flabbergasted when you receive a letter in your locker, on which heeseung has written, "hi. will you please teach me how to date?"

MASTERLIST HERE !

kayla’s playlist (@/miiiwaa) ♡ my shitty og playlist . tags : #.*triage .

TAGLIST

@jaeyummies @enhyflirt @kyleeanne @icedcoffeesunwoo @ssolari @skazoo @jjunis @heejake-en @koroktsuya @jeongwins @tinykoi-s @en-boyz @soobin-chois @blessed-sky @jhyunieee @kisswon @vbxrin @cosmicsunghoon @bloomedberry @jungwonielove @miiiwaa @jungwoniee @lhsng @missharubear @deonuism @sarahxy537 @bambisgirl @hrrhmay-primaryblog @yeonzzun @msxflower @sunsunu @acciomylove @sweetjaemss @seungstarss @tokyoflies @solelyenha @softforqiankun @goodforgyu @va1ry @taekbokki @luvishee @jalnandanz @person-standing @kissomen @auulraual @sonjuyeonnie @yunhowooyo @tomorrowbymoa-together @markleeisdabestdrug @aizzon @sosoa @seventeeneration @ashrocker123

chapter two

word count: 4.6k | navigation: previous / next / MASTERLIST warnings: swearing, (verbal) bullying

‎‎‏‏‎ ‎

detention.

you had both landed detention.

when you and heeseung had returned to mr lee’s classroom, it was the obvious punishment your teacher had to impose — heeseung’s crime was randomly abandoning class to confess his undying adoration for lia, and your crime was taking way too long to “search” for heeseung.

alas, your teacher was livid the instant you two had attempted to walk through the door.

as per your usual style, you were insistent on lying your way out of the punishment. you wanted to concoct some sort of elaborate (but totally believable) story about why it had taken you so long to bring heeseung back to class.

you had already brainstormed several fibs. “heeseung had broken his arm and was at the nurse’s office the entire time” was the first thing that popped into your mind, until heeseung mentioned that there would be no documentation of him ever being there if nurse kim was asked.

so, you thought you could say that “heeseung dropped and stepped on his glasses and literally couldn’t see his way around the school and had to crawl around like a dog”, but heeseung almost wept at the thought of you having to break his glasses to show real proof.

then, there was the story that “heeseung shat his pants and was too embarrassed to return back to class in fear that people would choke on the smell of his poop”, but heeseung had given you such a dark look that you thought his soul had left his body.

ultimately, heeseung and his dumb ass belief that “honesty is the best policy” triumphed, effectively forcing you to spend your afternoon perishing in detention.

“i told you!” you hiss viciously through gritted teeth, “i told you we should’ve just lied!”

with no intention to conceal your resentment, you glare at heeseung from across the vacant classroom. when his eyes meet your furious scowl, he squeaks in fright before quickly lowering his head to fervently scrub the desks.

tsk.

this annoyingly angelic goody-two-shoes isn’t even going to look at you?

stamping your lips into an unimpressed line, you dunk the mop into the bucket of water before fishing it back out again. ugh. being forced to clean the classrooms after school must be a crime — there’s no way this can’t be considered child labour.

though you’re no stranger to detention (in fact, you’ve been put on behavioural probation numerous times now), something about having to sacrifice a few hours of today’s afternoon is particularly annoying. perhaps it’s because you’re still exhausted from last night’s partying, and scrubbing away the classroom floors during detention is the last thing you want to do.

slapping the wet mop back onto the floor, you huff loudly before proceeding to polish it. five minutes pass as you return darkened stains and greyed flecks to their usual pristine condition, before you hear shuffling from across the room.

you try not to heed heeseung and his noises, until suddenly you feel somebody gently grab your mop.

it’s heeseung.

it’s heeseung that has a fist around the length of your mop, just above where your hands lie.

“what—” you snap your head up, gaping at him while he avoids your gaze.

“i-i’ll do it.” he mutters shyly, seemingly intimidated by your stare.

you straighten your back, narrowing your eyes at him. “what?”

“i-i said i’ll do it.” he repeats in a soft whisper, slowly peeling your fingers off the length of the mop. you watch with utter bewilderment as the boy turns away from you, now mopping the floor in your stead. he makes quiet, careful movements to manoeuvre into the corners of the desk legs, no further complaints to be heard.

“why? was i doing it wrong?” you frown, watching as heeseung does your job for you. he must be some sort of perfectionist, you guess.

“n-no!” he quickly shakes his head, glancing at you briskly. “u-um, you just… you looked… tired.”

oh.

your frown quickly dissipates while you stare at him blankly. he was watching you? he noticed you were tired? something about his close observation of you is somewhat touching, though you stifle down any burgeoning emotions with a clear of the throat.

“thanks.” you tell him awkwardly, rubbing the nape of your neck.

“no, it’s my fault we’re in detention after all.” heeseung mumbles. “s-sorry, i didn’t mean to—”

“stop apologising.” you brusquely interrupt. this must be the umpteenth time that you’ve reminded him of this today, though this apology doesn’t feel quite as infuriating. “i thought i told you to stop doing that.”

“r-right.” heeseung nods once, flashing you a soft, timid smile. “thanks for the reminder.”

you’re frozen, stunned by the sight of another pretty smile of his, allowing it to completely  dissolve any last speckle of your annoyance. forcefully brushing away your thoughts, you contort your lips into a contrived frown and watch as heeseung continues to clean the floor for you.

he’s a lot nicer than the people you know, isn’t he?

if you and ryujin had been sent to detention together, she would have slept at the back and forced you to do all the work. and if it had been taehyun, he wouldn’t have even showed up in the first place.

heeseung is far removed from the type of personalities that you’re frequently acquainted with, and truthfully speaking, it’s a little disconcerting. how can somebody be so nice? at times, you wonder if he’s faking his entire persona; until you realise you’re just a bitter pessimist, though you like to think that you’ve encountered far too many dishonest people to not be engineered to think this way.

it’s the circle of life.

“nice people” get chewed up and spat out like gum all the time. it’s nature — in fact, you should totally leave heeseung to clean the rest of the classroom so you can go home and take a nap.

though you try to convince yourself this, guilt begins to sprout inside your chest as you watch heeseung diligently complete your task. technically, it’s not exactly his fault that you’re in detention. since it was his first offence, mr lee was actually willing to let heeseung off with a warning.

it was you and your extensive history for breaking the rules that landed you with a punishment, and it was heeseung that had willingly insisted on doing detention with you so you wouldn’t have to clean the classroom alone.

damn it.

you feel bad.

sighing, you allow the conscience you didn’t even know you had to control your next actions — you shuffle toward heeseung and snatch the mop from him.

damn it. why are you doing this?

surprised by your action, heeseung looks up at you with a rapid blink. you roll your eyes, poking your tongue against the inside of your cheek. “i’ll do it. just clean the tables or something.” you grumble, gently shoving him away with your shoulder.

“i-it’s okay, i can—”

“it’s fine.”

heeseung vehemently shakes his head. “n-no, you’ll hurt your back! i can—”

“i said move, dweeb!”

by the time you and heeseung have finished, the classrooms are so clean that they could be used to perform a surgery. however, you’ve reached an hour so late into the afternoon that the sun has begun to set.

you both stand at the front entrance of your high school, accompanied by the ephemeral blend of a golden sunset adorning the sky. amidst the flush of soft, autumnal hues, you briefly glance over at heeseung, noticing the way he goggles in wonder by the sight. he even rummages through his backpack for his phone to capture a picture of the sky.

what a kid, you think, wondering how many sunsets you’ve seen in your life.

they’re frankly unspecial and common to you, but heeseung seems to appreciate it — and the reverse appears to also be true, given that the sunset illuminates all his best features and kisses his skin with a gentle radiance.

you stare at the gleam along the bridge of his nose and the soft flutter of his eyelashes. when he turns to you and smiles, you notice the way his mousy eyes glow like russet pearls.

“you act like you’ve never seen a sunset in your life,” you comment.

he grins proudly. “they’re just so pretty.” heeseung gushes, turning his phone toward you so you can observe the picture he’s taken. “don’t you think?”

hm. not a bad photo. “yeah, whatever.” you shrug, “they’re aight.”

heeseung pouts at your nonchalant response, admiring his phone’s screen briefly before tucking it away.

“what’s even the point of taking a photo?” you tease him with a lifted brow. “you can literally just wake up tomorrow and see it again. and the day after. and the day after.”

“i like taking pretty photos,” he answers with a soft beam, allowing the excitement to reach his eyes. “to keep them. you never know; one day you might wake up and the sun’s gone… and then it’s like, poof — no more sunsets.”

poof — no more sunsets?

jeez, for a guy so certifiably intelligent, he sounds real fucking dumb.

“tell me you’re a loser without telling me you’re a loser.” you remark sarcastically.

heeseung pouts again, tempting you with the urge to reach over and softly pinch one of his cheeks.

“i’m not a loser,” he whines. “you know, my mom appreciates them. i show them to her all the time.”

mom?

“oh god,” you groan loudly. he obviously doesn’t need birth control or other forms of contraception when his mouth does all the work. “stop speaking. please.”

“what?” he blinks cluelessly, seemingly perplexed by your reaction. “she’s my best friend. we… we play pokemon go and paint each other’s toenails on the weekends together.”

oh. sweet. lord.

“dude, gross!” you throw your head back and project your groan into the sky. “everything about that sentence is gross! and i literally just scraped old gum off taehyun’s desk!”

fuck.

how the hell are you supposed to turn this dorky weirdo into a date-able human being?

he’s not even a real person.

you’re convinced he’s some sort of sick human experiment.

“you know what?” you pinch the bridge of your nose. “i was going to wait until tomorrow, but i honestly think we need all the time we can get.”

in the medical field, triage is the process of categorising patients by level of priority. in this case, heeseung takes the utmost precedence — he’s the patient who needs the most medical attention; the boy who needs the most help. you’re never one to ever be self-sacrificing, but when you triage through your current responsibilities, this boy’s anticipated glow-up is at the top of your list.

it’s honestly painful watching him.

“t-time?” heeseung blinks. “what do you mean?”

“it means i’m coming over to yours.” you turn to him, planting both your hands on his shoulders.

“and i’m going to teach you the first lesson in how to be date-able.”

HOW TO DATE — LESSON 1 : if you look cute, 50% of the things you say don’t sound quite as dumb.

the first glance you take inside heeseung’s closet almost makes you stagger back in shock.

“heeseung,” your eyes bulge out your sockets while your jaw sweeps the carpeted floor. “what the hell is this? how many fucking bowties do you need to own?”

hundreds. there must be hundreds. all you see is a massive basket filled to the brim with them.

this isn’t just a collection — it’s a fucking addiction.

it’s the kind of addiction in which he requires an intervention — asap. he needs a couple of his close friends and family members gathered in the living room, exchanging heartfelt stories about how his obviously debilitating fixation on collecting ugly bowties affects all their lives. he needs his dearest friends to beg him to stop this insane addiction.

“what do you mean?” heeseung shuffles beside you, placing his hands on his hips as he cocks his head to the side. “you don’t like them? i… i think they look pretty good on me.” he tries to beam enthusiastically. he even puts in the effort to reach over and grab a small red bowtie with a white polka-dot pattern, holding it just between his collar bones. “see?” he coyly smiles.

“oh god, i don’t think i’m ever not going to see that.” you gape at the absurd situation. seriously, this is sick. this is so wrong and sick.

that’s when heeseung pouts before grabbing another one — this time, baby pink in colour — and holds it just between your collar bones.

“hey!” heeseung’s eyes twinkle when he smiles. “you look good in one, too!”

“stop it!” you half-whine and half-laugh, groaning as you shake your head. heeseung stifles a giggle before returning both his beloved bowties into his basket. the basket of sins, you’ve decided to call it.

“okay, moving on.” you squint, angling your neck as you attempt to browse what other sins he has stowed in his closet. “let’s say someone asks you out on a date, what’s your go-to outfit?”

“um…” heeseung hums, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck. “i-i don’t know… i’ve never been on a date before.”

“never?” you snap your head at him, gaping. “like, ever?”

“n-never.” he stares back with a small pout. “i-is that weird?”

you blink rapidly. you’ve probably been on the same number of dates as heeseung’s estimated IQ. “of course not,” you quickly reassure him, twirling back toward his closet. “that’s a good thing. we can start from scratch. i’ll give you a few pointers; you know, i’m the best at dates.”

“o-oh… are you really?” you feel his heavy stare as you lean forward and rifle through the various clothing items he has hung up on the clothing rack.

“hell yeah.” you answer, squinting at his clothes. oh god, it’s just an endless number of t-shirts with cartoon characters on them. you make a mental note to take him shopping next time. well, at least he has cute shoes?

“it’s all about first impressions,” you explain. “but to be honest, if you look cute, fifty percent of the things you say don’t sound quite as dumb, which is why i’m looking through your closet.”

“cute?” he mutters, “o-oh, i see. n-no wonder you’re the best…”

“i swear, when it comes to looking cute, boys just need to change their hairstyle and clothes. it’s really as simple as that.” you say, and it’s the truth; some boys really do be rocking up to school with the ugliest haircut you’ve ever seen and you suddenly feel all your initial attraction melt away like snow in the sun.

“r-really?” heeseung squeaks with surprise.

“yeah.” you nod, thinking about this from an analytical standpoint. “you shouldn’t be too worried, though. your face is really cute. you’ve got really pretty eyes and a cute nose. i like your hair, too. so all we really need to do is fix your fashion. by the way, what do you usually wear?”

you wait for his answer, only to find silence on the other end.

huh?

you turn around in confusion, only to see heeseung staring at you with an unexplainable expression. his face is incredibly red, almost like he’s blushing with the entire surface area of his face. your eyes circle in surprise, eyes bouncing between the scarlet shade of his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

subject.

you need to change the subject.

“u-um, this is really cute, by the way.” you say, flustered by heeseung’s reaction. hastily, you yank out one of his hoodies and hold it against your own body.

“i like this,” you plaster a smile on your face, though it quickly dissolves into a more genuine expression as you begin to explain why. “it’s cute. the blue is really nice, and the yellow text really pops, too. hoodies probably aren’t the best choice for a first date, but if you really like the girl, and you’ve hung out with her a few times, i think it’s a really great choice!”

he stares at you for a moment’s passing.

your eyes meet, while silence seeps between the seconds.

why is he staring at you like that?

“h-heeseung?” you blink, feeling the beat of your heart begin to echo in your chest.

“hm?” he absentmindedly mumbles, staring at you.

“uh… what do you think?” you nudge him with the hoodie.

“huh? wha– o-oh...” heeseung appears to snap into focus now, eyeing the hoodie carefully. “um… my mom bought me that. i-i like it... i think.”

you gently smile. “cool! then let’s donate literally everything else to goodwill.”

this is almost like playing real-life sims, but better.

in this case, you’re the omniscient god — you’re the divine-like puppet master that gets to determine what he wears, how he talks, and even what kind of personality he projects.

this experience has been a thrilling, nostalgic adventure back into your childhood. it’s a blast from the past because you’ve been propelled back into your favourite childhood game — dress-up. except this time, your barbie doll is lee heeseung — and truthfully speaking, you’re having way too much fun with this.

the two of you are seated cross-legged on his bed now (no comment on his iron man bed sheets), facing each other. you’ve successfully filtered through his closet and lectured him on the importance of choosing matching or complementary colours when it comes to choosing an outfit.

“okay, next thing — get rid of those glasses.”

heeseung pouts. “but… if i take them off, then i can’t see.”

“good,” you grin sarcastically. “then you won’t be able to see how ugly those glasses are.”

his frown sinks deeper into his face.

you sigh, reaching over and removing the glasses for him. he flinches at your touch, but once you remove the glasses and give him a few seconds to adjust to his new sight, you gasp with delight.

“heeseung, you look so good!” you laugh, reaching over and brushing back his hair to reveal more of his features. he blushes and dips his head in slight embarrassment, but you tuck your fingers beneath his chin and raise his head.

he does.

he really does look good.

it’s not that his glasses are ugly. it’s just that he uses them as an excuse to conceal his best feature — his eyes.

when you had called his eyes pretty earlier, you had really meant it. heeseung’s eyes are unlike anything you’ve ever seen — just when you thought you found cat-like eyes the most attractive, there is something ridiculously enchanting about his round, bambi eyes. they sparkle. they glint like hidden glitter beneath light.

“i-i look stupid.” heeseung lowers his head again and bites his bottom lip. “i-i can’t see.”

“well, i can see and i think you look great.” you scoff, gently whacking his head.

“you’re just being nice.”

“i’m not.” you say adamantly. “haven’t you met me? dude, i’m literally the biggest bitch in the school; i have no reason to be nice. i’m serious, heeseung, you look great. you should try to invest in some contact lenses or something. your eyes are so pretty.”

“y-you think?”

“for sure.”

he pauses. “th-thank you so much,” he mutters, finally succumbing to your compliments. you chuckle at his reaction, handing his glasses back.

“anyway, it’s getting late.” you sigh, glancing at your phone. “i should probably go home soon.”

heeseung slips his glasses back onto his face with ease, brushing his hair back so that they cascade down his forehead. “a-ah, i’ll drive you home!”

“it’s okay,” you shake your head. “taehyun’s picking me up.”

heeseung’s eyes widen slightly in realisation before he casts his gaze to the side.

“oh.” his shoulders slump. “right. taehyun.”

.

.

.

taehyun announces his arrival with a simple text message: ‘come out’, you read on your screen, before tucking it away inside your pocket.

“he’s here,” you bounce off heeseung’s couch, lifting yourself to your feet as you stretch your body.

“ah,” heeseung follows suit, shutting off the game console. “i’ll walk you to the door.”

you stifle a laugh, wondering what the need was for him to accompany you with just a few steps. however, you’ve surprisingly enjoyed his company a lot — taehyun had expectedly arrived much later than he’d promised, allowing heeseung to show you how to play super smash bros on the nintendo switch.

you’ve never really been the type to care much about video games, and yet heeseung had been incredibly patient in teaching you. he’s too nice for his own good, which you know because he was obviously pretending to fumble at a game you know he’s obviously very experienced in, and even let you win most games.

“hey, thanks for having me over,” you smile, slipping your handbag through your arm while your feet sink into your shoes. “maybe next time, i’ll get to meet your best friend.”

heeseung slowly bats his eyelashes in another confused expression.

“your mom?” you scoff with a short laugh, earning an instant smile from the boy.

“o-of course.” he cutely grins, “i bet she’d like you.”

“probably not,” you fasten your shoes around the back of your heels. “i’m not very parent-friendly.” you don’t think you can clearly recall the last time you had met a friend’s parents — other than taehyun and ryujin, you don’t often go to other people’s houses; you very much prefer existing in your own space.

“d-do you want me to walk you to the car?”

“nah, it’s okay.” you wink at him. “taehyun’ll probably flip shit if he finds out my friend”—you do little air-bunnies with your fingers—“is actually you.”

you’re not exactly dating taehyun (yuck, god forbid you’re ever tied down to another person), but you know the guy too well to not anticipate every toxic behaviour he has under his belt. you? hang out with another guy? taehyun would rage. it’s not really that you’re attempting to tiptoe around the guy — he just didn’t ask who you were hanging out with, so you didn’t really care to tell him.

heeseung’s eyes flicker toward the ground. “i-i see.” his head bobs gently. “well… safe trip home.”

while you’re ready to leave, you notice your hand merely hovers over his door knob. sensing your own hesitation, you turn around and glance at heeseung.

“i feel like i’m missing something.” you tell him, squinting.

“nope.” heeseung shakes his head furiously. “i made sure all your belongings were put back into your handbag.”

you stifle a laugh. “gee, thanks.”

“b-by the way…” heeseung awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. “um… y-you didn’t tell anybody about the letter, right?”

of course, the letter — the very reason you’re here in the first place. the one heeseung had written to you in a desperate plight to get a girl. to get ryujin. oh god, the thought of heeseung and ryujin makes you want to shudder.

“no, why?”

he flashes you a relieved smile. “i-i don’t know, i just thought… nevermind.”

“what is it?” you frown, facing him completely. “just tell me.”

“i just… thought maybe you and your friends would make fun of me for it. taehyun… doesn’t seem to really like me. i-it’s okay if you don’t want to help if you’re… embarrassed.”

that’s when your smile falters.

embarrassed?

why would you be embarrassed?

‘nah, it’s okay.’ you wink at him. ‘taehyun’ll probably flip shit if he finds out my friend’—you do little air-bunnies with your fingers—‘is actually you.’

“oh my god,” you quickly shake your head, recalling your earlier words. “heeseung, i didn’t mean you as in you,” you say, horrified by the implication, “i just meant like, since you’re a guy and all. he just gets jealous easily. don’t worry about it, heeseung. you’re not embarrassing; i’m not embarrassed. i had fun today. i really did.”

“you did?” heeseung’s face lights up. “so did i!”

“cool,” you say. “then we’re on the same page. see you at school, yeah?”

he blushes. “y-yeah, see you at school.”

if there’s any method through which students at your school like to segregate by social hierarchy, it’s the seating in the dining hall. you’re obviously at the cool table, though really that means you’re surrounded by a bunch of pricks. most of them, like taehyun, belong to the school’s athletic teams. you’re the exception, though, because you don’t really indulge in any extracurriculars.

“dude, lunch today tastes like literal ass.” jongseong groans, ungratefully stabbing his fork into his food.

“oh yeah, you’d know exactly what ass tastes like, wouldn’t you?” yeonjun snickers, earning him a quick smack from the former.

“shut the fuck up and get a girlfriend.” jongseong sneers. “the only ass you’re getting is what you see in your reflection.”

“weak comeback, dude. try again.” yeonjun snorts, though jongseong retorts by tossing various colourful insults in the air.

amidst the bickering between the two, you feel a slight nudge against your arm. toward your right, you face ryujin, who innocently bats her eyelashes at you.

“eat my veggies, please.” she smiles, shoving her food tray toward you. you scowl at her request, lifting your palm in a threat to hit her.

“get lost.”

she pouts. “but… you’re my trash can. you’re supposed to eat what i can’t finish.”

scoffing, you prop your elbow on the table and allow your cheek to sink into your palm. “bro, you’re giving me a headache, shut the hell up.”

“jeez, what’s with you? are you tired or something?”

“leave me alone.”

“oh, right.” ryujin straightens in her seat, eagerly clutching onto your arm. “are you mad at me ‘cause i ditched you yesterday? you had detention! what was i supposed to do? wait for you?”

she’s so loud. ryujin is just so damn loud.

“speaking of, how was detention? did that four-eyed dweeb try to talk to you or something?”

your lips instantly sink into a frown at her mention of heeseung.

“wait, what? you had detention yesterday?” taehyun kicks your leg from under the table. he’s seated right across from you, so you snap your head up and glare at him.

“yeah, she did.” ryujin snorts, humoured by what she considers an ill situation. “but worse, she had it with the headmaster's little minion. you know, lee heeseung.”

“oh, heeseung?" taehyun snickers, causing your fists to ball up beside you. “that dude? bro, i swear that guy is a new breed of human. probably virgin as fuck.”

heeseung was right.

he was so fucking right.

‘i just thought maybe you and your friends would make fun of me for it.’

maybe he knows your friends better than you do.

taehyun and ryujin’s comments only begin to pile, while input from the entire table begins to flood in.

“wait, who even is that?”

“i don’t know. some irrelevant dude, i guess.”

your nails pierce the skin of your palms.

“wait, heeseung? lee heeseung? bro, that guy literally does all my homework.”

“oh god, poor him.”

“are you kidding me? guys like that are so good. you can literally just push them around and make them do whatever you want—”

“shut the fuck up!” you snap, suddenly rising to your feet. your friends jump in surprise, though you quickly snatch your handbag and scoff at them before storming off. “you guys are a bunch of loud-mouthed morons. fucking losers.”

.

.

.

exactly twenty-four hours ago, you and heeseung had been standing at the school’s entrance, basking in the warmth of the afternoon sunset. you had truthfully been admiring heeseung’s rather pretty features, while he had been staring at something he also considered pretty.

and now here you are — home, lying on your bed, in which the only sunset you have is the ceiling light you’re staring up at.

heeseung’s words echo in your mind.

you didn’t tell anybody about the letter, right?

you didn’t.

but perhaps you should mention that ryujin knows about it.

upon recalling everything your friends had spoken about heeseung, you find your lips sink into a frown. guilt pricks your heart torturously, even though you know you hadn’t participated in their bullying. you’ve never loved your friends, but something about identifying yourself with them knowing how horrible they are feels equally as terrible.

like some sort of divine timing, you feel a buzz in your pocket. you quickly fish your phone out of your skirt’s pocket before realising it’s a text from heeseung.

an image.

he’s sent you an image.

it’s a picture of today’s sunset.

‘so pretty and warm, right?’ he writes. ‘kinda reminded me of you.’

pretty.

warm.

reminded him of you.

you feel your lips twitch into a smile.

it’s ironic, because most people seem to think you’re quite a cold person. most people don’t compare you to the warmth of an afternoon sunset; most people don’t walk you to the door even if it’s just a few footsteps; most people don’t pretend to lose at video games just to make you happy.

yet here heeseung is, showing you that he is a lot nicer than most people you know.

see?

50% of the things he says don’t sound quite as dumb anymore.

it’s working.

‘thanks.’ you text back. ‘by the way...’

you think of what your friends had said about him.

you know what? fuck them.

fuck.

them.

‘i'm going to show you how to date. for real. you can get any girl you want and all the guys are going to fucking hate you.’

you watch as the text bubble from heeseung begins to appear.

and then it disappears.

and then another text appears.

‘okay, miss sunset! ^_^’

you smile.

how.

fucking.

precious.

//

to be continued.

*taglist is open, just comment or send an ask :>

a/n: HALLOOOO welcome to triage chap 2 and thank u sm for readinggg :>> hope it was okay! i realise by tumblr standards that my chapters r hella long so i actually applaud you for reading this entire thing 😭 ill try make chapters a lil shorter ;-; but!!!! thank you so much for tuning in!!!! hope u enjoyed this chapter ehehe <3 actually, before i moved schools i used to feel like the loser people used to snicker at so it kinda made me feel sad for heeseung in this chapter,,, ltrly forced me to relive the fact that i used to eat lunch in the toilets bc i was scared for people to see me have no friends lmfaoo 😭 but uh a mega glow-up for hee is coming up guys... 👀 fuck taehyun! fuck ryujin! fuck all of y/n’s dumb ass friends! anyway thank u sm for reading !! pls do share ur love & support via liking + reblogging if u can <333