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Jungwon finished unpacking his week’s worth of clothes. It was around lunch time and he decided to walk to the convenience store right outside the Daegu hotel, his stomach yelling at him to give it some food. The cold air bit at his cheeks as he stepped outside and he regretted not grabbing his jacket on the way out, having only a long sleeve shirt on. Too lazy to go back up the stairs and grab it, he started on his way.
When he walked up to the counter he bought two instant tteokbokki bowls, one for him and one for his roommate who he has yet to meet. His eyes moved to look at the mirror above the cashier’s head and he momentarily met eyes with the boy behind him in line. He had a sharp jawline and a slight smirk. Jungwon felt his shoulder’s raise in embarrassment when his gaze on the handsome guy lasted a little too long to be considered an accident. He snapped his eyes back down to the counter in front of him and finished his purchase before walking over to the hot water dispenser to prepare his food. He was almost done filling the second bowl of tteokbokki with water when he sensed someone approaching him. He turned around and saw the handsome boy from the line holding two bowls of ramen. They bowed shyly to each other and Jungwon’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat when he saw the boy’s teeth through his smirk. “I’m sorry, I’m almost done.” Jungwon apologized, his cheeks burning red.
“Oh no, don’t worry, take your time.” the boy said back with a hint of amusement sneaking through his smile.
Jungwon finished mixing the rice cakes, sauce, and water and sealed the bowls to keep the heat in. His hands shook a bit, nervous to be talking to such a cute guy. Jungwon has always been shy in situations like these. “Alright, it’s all yours!” He smiled.
As Jungwon went to walk away the boy stopped him. “Where are you from? You sound like you’re from Seoul.”
“Yeah, I am. I’m here for a taekwondo tournament for a week in the hotel down the street.”
“Oh wow! Me too actually. While I guess I’m not actually doing taekwondo, but I came to take pictures for my school. I go to a school right outside of Seoul, I moved there a few years ago for my dad’s job.”
“We should walk back together.” Jungwon suggested shyly.
“For sure! My name is Jay by the way.” Jay was wearing a blazer layered over a sweatshirt, a watch clung to his wrist.
“Jungwon.” The boy smiled back. Jay felt his heart pick up speed, weirdly infatuated with the deep dimples on the stranger’s cheeks.
“I was born in ‘02. Am I your hyung?” The taller boy asked.
“Yeah. That obvious, huh?” Jungwon laughed, knowing all too well that he gave off a ‘cute dongsaeng’ sort of vibe.
“I wish I could tell you it was a lucky guess, but you’re too adorable to be older than me.” Jay couldn’t believe how forward he was being. Something about the boy just brought out this side of him.
“I’ll give you that. Good reason.” Jungwon giggled, sending butterflies to the older’s stomach.
Jay finished preparing his ramen and they went to leave. When they stepped outside, a gust of cold air stung Jungwon's face and hands, sending a shiver down his spine. He regretted not grabbing his jacket when he noticed his thin shirt wasn't providing him any warmth. He heard Jay speak from beside him, “Just a second.” Jay set his two bowls of ramen on the cement wall to his right and took his school blazer off, smiling as he placed it around Jungwon’s small, but broad shoulders.
“Oh no, won't you be cold now?” Jungwon asked with a deep crimson blush on his cheeks.
“Don’t worry about me, look at how much muscle I have keeping me warm!” Jay laughed and made a muscle man pose that made Jungwon laugh way harder than it probably should have, his eyes in the shape of cresents.“I’m glad you knew that was a joke because that would have been really embarrassing. Seriously though, don’t worry, My shirt looks a lot thicker than yours does anyways.” Although Jay was joking about having muscle to keep him warm, he really was bigger than the thin boy shivering next to him.
“Thanks Jay hyung, that’s really sweet.” After about a three minute walk they finally made it back to the hotel. Jungwon felt his heart rate speed up when they approached the elevator and Jay asked him what floor he was staying on. “I-I’m on floor six.” Usually Jungwon would just take the stairs to avoid having to face his fear of elevators but he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Jay. It wasn’t like he’d never taken an elevator before, but if there was an option to use the stairs instead, he would gladly choose to walk up six flights.
“By the way I never asked who your other bowl of tteokbokki was for.” Jay asked while they waited for the elevator to arrive.
“It’s for my roommate for the week. I haven’t met them yet so I hope they like it.”
“Doesn’t everyone like it,” he smiled, “that’s why I have another ramen too.”
The elevator doors opened and Jungwon felt his body tense up as he stepped inside. Jay, busy pressing the sixth floor button, didn’t seem to notice. The elevator started to move, but after a couple seconds, it came to a halt with a loud noise. It made Jungwon jump and he nearly dropped his food to the ground. He could tell that Jay was saying something, but he couldn’t tell what exactly. His ears felt muffled like he was underwater. All Jungwon could think about was the small size of the room and how far above the ground they were. “Jungwon-ah?” He finally heard Jay ask as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He met the older’s eyes and tried to open his mouth to say something, but no words came out. “Let me take these.” Jay said calmly as he took Jungwon’s food and set it on the ground.
Jay could tell that Jungwon was distressed. His chest was visibly expanding and contracting as he tried to let himself take in air. His whole body was trembling and he was frozen in his spot, unable to communicate to Jay what was troubling him.
As it got harder and harder for the younger to breath he started to stagger, his vision clouded at the edges and he felt light headed. “Sit down, Jungwonie,” Jay said and helped him to the ground before he could pass out. “You’re okay. The power just went out. See? The buttons aren’t lit up any more. I’m sure they’ll have it back on in a few minutes.” He was doing his best to console the boy, but it was hard to help someone through what appeared to be a panic attack, someone he’d just met at that. Jungwon was on his knees, one hand clutching his chest and the other on the floor, audibly gasping for air at that point. Jay felt helpless at the sight of the poor boy with tears in his eyes.
Not knowing what else to do, Jay leaned towards him and wrapped him in a tight hug, trying to distract the boy from whatever scary thoughts were running through his head. He felt the boy resist for a quick second before relaxing a bit into his arms. Jungwon managed to slow his breathing down a bit in the comfort of the older boy’s embrace. “C-can you call my hyung?” Jungwon managed to get out between his cries as he handed his phone to Jay.
“This one? Heeseungie-hyungie?”
“Y-yes.” Jungwon answered and started to cry again.
Jay called the stranger, “Hello, I’m with your dongsaeng and the elevator lost power. I think he’s having a panic attack and he asked me to call you.”
“Wonie,” the stranger said, “you’re fine Jungwon. Nothing’s wrong with the elevator, it’s just the power. Keep taking deep breaths, okay?” Jungwon shook his head yes and started to breathe more calmly. “I think the staff is fixing it now, just sit tight.”
When the elevator doors finally opened, Heeseung was standing there. He walked in and crouched down next to where Jungwon and Jay were sitting. “Jungwonie, are you alright?” Heeseung asked with his friend’s face in his hands, “Do you think you’re going to be sick?” He had witnessed a few of Jungwon’s panic attacks and if he wasn’t able to calm down fast enough, he’d get himself so worked up that it made him nauseous.
“No, I th-think I’m okay. Jay hyung helped me calm down.” Jungwon turned his attention to Jay as the two hyungs helped him stand up, “I’m sorry hyung. Not a very good first impression is it?”
“Don’t worry Jungwonie, My first impression of you was thinking about how cute you were staring at me in the mirror of the convenience store.” That made Jungwon giggle and Heeseung smile knowingly at his younger friend. Jay bent down to pick up Jungwon’s food from the ground. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
When they got to Jungwon’s hotel door, Jay quickly realized that it was his room too. A coincidence that had the boys’ cheeks dusted pink as they held four bowls of food.
- 3 YEARS LATER -
“That’s it Jungwon-ah!” Jay yelled from the stands. It was the 2020 olympic qualifying match for taekwondo men’s lightweight category. All of Jungwon’s friends were in the stands cheering him on. Jay sat on Jungwon’s grandma’s right side followed by Heeseung, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jake, and Riki. The game was tied at eighteen points and there was only 20 seconds left. Jungwon’s cheek throbbed from being kicked in the face and his muscles were aching. His friends, boyfriend, and grandma’s cheers were the only thing keeping him going. He could hear his couch shouting out how much time was left and he knew he needed to act fast. When his opponent leaned back on his foot to attempt a kick, Jungwon spinned around to dodge and kicked his opposite foot as high as he could as it flew backwards. Just seconds before the time ran out, Jungwon felt his foot make contact with his opponent’s head. He looked towards the scoreboard and saw that the timer had stopped. He did it. Winning by three points, Jungwon had qualified for the olympics. His mind went numb as the crowd clapped for him. He couldn’t believe it. His friends came down from the stands and mobbed him, everyone laughing and smiling like crazy, all grabbing onto Jungwon and shaking him in happiness. Jay was stroking his fingers gently across his boyfriend’s bruising cheek.
“Don’t worry hyungie, it doesn’t hurt too bad yet.”
“Want me to beat that guy up for you, baby?”
“I don’t know hyung, he’s not looking too hot right now.” Jay smiled at Jungwon’s response. The both of them were in a constant cycle of teasing each other.
“Seriously though, I’m so proud of you. Not everyone gets the privilege of dating an olympian.” Jungwon blushed hard at that one, giving his boyfriend a quick peck unashamedly in front of the large crowd. His anxiety clearly having come a long way with the help of Jay and his friends.
A few months later he would go on to win a gold medal from the olympics and a diamond from the boy with the charming smirk and crooked fingers.
“Not everyone gets the privilege of marrying an olympian.”