Work Text:
Juyeon doesn’t really get how things happened so fast.
Hereʼs the thing. He tries out a new game, right? He doesn’t have a lot of friends who like games, especially the competitive ones, save for Sunwoo and Eric. But even those two were a little more lax on gaming these days, what with their internships and all.
If he’s honest, Juyeon shouldn’t have gotten into the game. He lists the reasons in his head like a familiar routine, whenever he thinks back on it. One, it’s a competitive first person shooter to which Juyeon is decent at most. Two, he hates being yelled at by randoms in unmuted lobbies. Sure, he could always mute the overconfident assholes, but even the sight of a spammed chat history attacking his “horrible” play could sour his mood with ease. Three, he was in his final year. Entering another phase related to video games should not at all be at the forefront of his mind (his thesis should be), but there he was at three in the morning, queueing to match with other players for a quick game. Just one more. One more, he tells himself.
That’s how it starts, he supposes. His eyes feel heavy, but he’s determined to get it right this time. To know more, to really get the game. To do well and find himself at the top of the players list. Maybe get a gg or a Kudos thrown his way.
That was the plan. Until sleep catches up to him and he finds himself missing every shot, lagging behind his team, and undoing all the progress he’s made in learning the ins and outs of the game.
Well, nobody points out his shit play, but he’s frustrated enough at himself to accidentally send a bunch of keyboard smashes to chat.
[ljy1998] [03:19] gedrfvbtkj lc
[hyunjaehyun] [03:19] ? ;0
[hyunjaehyun] [03:19] u good?
Juyeon doesn’t expect someone to ask, but as soon as there’s a bit of time between the action, he hurriedly replies. Embarrassment colors his cheeks. He’s set to graduate next year with an unfinished thesis and he’s here pouring his emotions out in a silly shooter video game. He considers his life choices for a moment.
[ljy1998] [03:24] sorry guys. Bad day
Nobody replies until a lull in the game, when a round ends and theyʼre waiting for the next. Nobody makes fun of him, either, but the last thing Juyeon expected was some words of encouragement, is all.
[hyunjaehyun] [03:31] nah its fine, dont mind!
[jakeybae] [03:32] hope it gets better :)
He blinks. So people can be nice in this game. It gives him the boost of confidence he needs, and heʼs able to push through the rest of the game without a major fuckup ruining his and his teammatesʼ time.
It happens after. When the screen announces their side’s victory, Juyeon leans back and eases his shoulders. He only sits back up when the players list loads and he receives not one, but two Kudos, from the players—hyunjaehyun and jakeybae, he recalls—from earlier. He blinks once, twice, to confirm the notification on his screen.
It is almost five in the morning. Juyeon opens up his match history, clicks on both of their usernames, and types a perfectly fine and normal thank-you message. Something about being sorry for such a trashy first half, being a beginner, and having a genuinely bad day be combated by their simple words. Maybe a bit about how the community sucks which made them especially memorable to Juyeon, and how it needed more people like them. Type, copy, click on the other, paste. This is totally fine.
Juyeon gains way more than he ever expected, you see.
Jacob and Jaehyun are an interesting bunch.
If you told Juyeon he’d get to know two strangers better after the brief and odd 5 AM conversation he’d had with them on an online game, he’d laugh at you.
jakeybae and hyunjaehyun (he’d called them that for a bit, when he wasn’t knowing of their names just yet) add him to a group chat in-game. It’s a normal Sunday evening event that somehow tilts Juyeon’s world off its axis with ease.
hyunjaehyun, jakeybae, ljy1998
hyunjaehyun
hey! dk if u rmr us.
but we r friends actually n
wanted 2 know if u’d like
2 queue w us
jakeybae
hi ljy1998!
what he said. only if u wanna ^^
Okay. Okay. Juyeon is fine. Great, even. He’s never made any friends on this game. But this is his chance to make some, and nice ones at that. He takes a deep breath and begins to type.
The rest is history.
It’s sort of like… Jacob and Jaehyun take him under their wing. Their first game together reveals quite a lot about the duo. They’ve been playing for a long while now, for sure, apparent through all the helpful tips they were able to give Juyeon all throughout their sessions. Not to mention their in-game chemistry, making it obvious how they’d been playing together for a while now.
It continues on as some sort of routine. Juyeon learns their names through the little in-game chat they’ve created. Jacob and Jaehyun, he mouths to himself as he stares at his screen in the dark like a moth to the flame. They share their ages, and Juyeon is pleasantly surprised to know that they’re around his own. They invite him constantly to queues. Guides him through some games, which Juyeon accepts with no issue. They give him extra tips outside of it, and slowly, it starts to be about more than just the game.
It becomes Juyeon explaining why his only available hours were the way they were, with his final year and all. Jacob and Jaehyun’s own explanations come in the form of Juyeon finding out that they had graduated last year, and were currently living together. Juyeon has a question at the tip of his tongue about their dynamic, but he disregards it in favor of asking about their non-gaming hobbies. Jacob likes singing for fun. Jaehyun occasionally partakes in sports. Jacob loves guitar videos. Jaehyun loves Iron Man. They both love dogs. Normal things you can know about someone on the internet.
It’s conversations like those that eventually lead to—
They ask for Juyeon’s Discord handle.
Juyeon goes through a little crisis. Gaming was never that serious for him, nor his friends, so he didn’t… have one. But he’ll get one! He tabs out of the game and quickly makes an account. Sends his username. They send him friend requests within the next minute.
This is when things get a little silly, bear with him.
They make a server. It vaguely reminds Juyeon of E-dating 101, but he shakes those thoughts away to say hi. Jacob and Jaehyun are amazing texters, even when Juyeon carries all the awkwardness between the three of them.
The voice calls and streams begin, and Juyeon starts to feel a little more unhinged day by day.
Jacob has a nice, soothing voice. Juyeon is almost able to paint a picture of him, but when he sometimes talks in English for teasing remarks, his voice goes a little deeper than usual and Juyeon’s potential images of him in his head are all shattered in a millisecond. Jaehyun is a funny, funny guy. He gets a kick out of teasing Juyeon to hell sometimes, but his unique and infectious laugh is worth it, so Juyeon takes as many hits as he can.
They quickly become Juyeon’s refuge after tiring days spent at campus. He likes being able to sit back and just listen to Jaehyun ramble on to them while he streams some other game he’s playing, and Jacob humming along to whatever both of them say.
Juyeon lets himself ask some questions.
“You guys live together, right?” Juyeon asks, one day when they’re just chilling in a call, post-game. “I think you mentioned it once.”
Jacob hums in affirmation, and Jaehyun goes uh-huh! with pride.
“So, do you guys game together, or—” Juyeon swallows. “Wait, sorry, how do I say this? Do you… game in the same room?”
“Oh, I get it!” Jaehyun says. “We don’t, though. Jacob’s in another room. We decided it’d be better this way, you know, get some space away from each other and all.”
“He wouldn’t stop complaining about the arrangement for a week straight,” Jacob says, tone humorous. Juyeon laughs along while Jaehyun lets out a sigh. “He was the one who suggested it in the first place.”
“I’d take it back if I could,” Jaehyun says, and Juyeon is left to wonder what it all means.
Sometimes, Jaehyun plays this other game that intrigues Juyeon, and his questions must have made it obvious, because Jaehyun asks him to play with them sometime.
“You should play with us sometime, Juyeon-ah,” Jaehyun says, and Juyeon pretends he does not want to die on the spot.
“Oh, no, I mean—I’m not the best at this stuff, and you know it.” He lets out a nervous laugh.
“You’ve gotten so much better,” Jacob butts in. “You weren’t even that bad! I mean, you’re a fast learner, Juyeon. Come play with us if you want.”
“Thanks,” Juyeon mumbles into his mic. “But I also don’t have the game, so…”
Normal. Normal, normal things.
“We’ll get you a copy,” Jacob says. And it’s not a suggestion. It’s a statement.
Juyeon pauses for a moment, but once he takes in Jacob’s words, he feels his cheeks heat up. “Oh, no, it’s fine, I couldn’t bother you guys about that. You really don’t have to!”
“It’s on sale, Juyeonie,” Jaehyun points out. Nicknames. Nicknames, nicknames, nicknames.
“But still, I’d feel bad, and—”
“If it’s not your thing, it’s totally okay,” Jacob says, gentle. It shuts Juyeon up real quick. “But we enjoy playing with you, Juyeon-ah, so if you’d like to try it out with us, it’s really no problem.”
Jacob has some sort of magical aura that manages to pacify all of Juyeon’s worries. He swallows. “Okay. Okay, sure.”
“Our gift to you for putting up with us,” Jacob jokes. Juyeon holds back trying to say that these two are probably one of the better things that have happened to Juyeon’s life in recent times.
“We’ll talk you through it,” Jaehyun says, at the exact same time Juyeon receives a Steam notification of Jacob sending him a gift. Juyeon ignores the shiver that runs down his spine at Jaehyun’s extremely normal words.
The game is fun. It’s paid, so the community that comes with it is a lot more friendly than their usual gameʼs. He enjoys learning the ropes this time, especially with Jacob and Jaehyun by his side. It’s fun. It energizes Juyeon enough to get through the harder days of his final year.
It… it gets worse, if you can even call it that. Poor, poor Juyeon who has never used Discord in his life.
jaehyun
click on my icon u guys
Juyeon is sitting in his second afternoon class. He does it without a second thought.
Jaehyun’s little profile preview pops up, and so does a blue ocean wave, making its way across the little square. Juyeon’s eyes widen.
juyeoniee
Whaaaaat
jaehyun
hehehehehee
juyeoniee
Howd you doi that?
jacobcob
it’s nitro hahaha
Juyeon has no idea what that is. He expresses as much.
juyeoniee
Nitro?
jaehyun
u can do cool stuff w
ur discord profile w it.
like an upgrade
juyeoniee
Ohhh that’s cool
jaehyun
i can get you some if u want
Juyeon is constantly surprised by these two. He makes a weird noise in his throat. His seatmate looks at him weird.
juyeoniee
Oh nah it’s okay
I couldnt ask that from you
jaehyun
its fineeeeeeeeee
ill get u 2 months of the good stuff
Before Juyeon can further protest, he gets a notification about receiving a gift. He sighs.
juyeoniee
I’ll use it well, hyung
jaehyun
hehe
ur cute
It’s things like this that make Juyeon overthink a little more than usual.
Get this. Jacob starts to diversify his game library by exploring cozy games, specifically those of the farming genre. Juyeon isn’t too shocked when a few days later, Jacob announces his newfound addiction for Stardew Valley and its accompanying soundtrack. Makes sense that Jacob would like the music.
A few days after that, he gets Jaehyun and Juyeon their own copies of the game. Jaehyun doesn’t even thank him, only says he’s getting right to installing the game. He didn’t bother asking Juyeon, who hesitates, of course, but eventually says his thanks and proceeds to install, too.
Jacob likes the frustrating challenge of fishing. He lets out cute sounds even when extremely mad at his horrible catch-miss ratio. Jaehyun likes killing things in the mines. He dies a lot at first, needing the comfort of Juyeon and Jacob afterwards, but eventually gets the hang of it. Juyeon likes farming, organizing chests, cleaning the farm debris, and cooking. He spends the majority of his time on the farm, waiting for the other two to come back so they can all go to bed. One bed, actually, after they find out they can sleep in the main house without complication. It makes things easier, and this is a video game, Juyeon tells himself.
“Oh, wait. Before you two head out,” Juyeon says, shuffling through his inventory while Jacob and Jaehyun’s characters approach. He brings out two dishes of Complete Breakfast, gifting one to each of them. Jacob laughs and Jaehyun coos.
“Juyeonie! You’re so cute,” Jaehyun says, spamming his blush emote.
“Our Juyeon is quite the cook,” Jacob muses.
Okay. Sure. It’s true, though. Juyeon has the majority of the recipes unlocked. But for a moment, he forgets they’re talking about the game, and blurts out, “I make great tteokbokki, too.” In the back of his head while he tries to act absolutely normal: our Juyeon, our Juyeon, our Juyeon, our Juyeon, our Juyeon, our—
They laugh at him, amused, calling him cute and telling him they’d like to try his food someday.
Juyeon doesn’t know why they decide to keep him around, much less constantly gift him things.
They try out Raft because Jaehyun says so, and gifts it to both of them without hesitation. Jacob loves navigating and picking their next destination. Jaehyun loves trying to fight the sharks. Juyeon loves expanding their little floating home.
They try out The Forest. Jacob loves braving the caves, even with his hatred of horror. Jaehyun loves picking fights with the creepy mutants and getting revived by the other two. Juyeon loves cooking food and burning dead bodies.
“Juyeon! Our husband,” Jaehyun jokes one day, after he and Jacob come home to their base after a day of making progress underground.
It does not take Juyeon by surprise, not really. But it does make him think of the whys. He finds himself preferring the more calm games where you can do mundane things, but not on the same level of real life mundane, you know? Also, well, he likes taking care of Jacob and Jaehyun like this. Maybe… maybe because his gifted Nitro’s subscription somehow hasn’t ended yet, and his Steam’s game library has expanded at an alarming rate during the past few months of being friends with the duo.
But above all other reasons, he appreciates their company, as well as their reactions. (Their attention, if he’s honest.)
It’s when he’s gifted one of those very expensive games he’d mentioned during one of their calls in passing does Juyeon finally break, only being able to stare blankly at his phone notification. It isnʼt even a cooperative game, and the fact makes everything feel worse.
Sitting next to him on the couch, Chanhee squints at his phone screen from over his shoulder.
“The hell? Got yourself a sugar daddy, Juyeon-ah?”
“What? No.”
Chanhee leans back, narrowing his eyes at him. “A boyfriend, then?”
“No,” Juyeon says, but he sounds distant to himself.
“A friend?” Chanhee sounds doubtful.
“Two, actually,” Juyeon mumbles. “They like… gifting me games, that’s all.”
“That’s all,” Chanhee repeats, unimpressed.
Juyeon nods.
“Nobody who buys me Elden Ring for its full price would just be my…” Chanhee moves his fingers in quotes, “...friend.”
Juyeon sighs. “Well, Chanhee, that’s all we are. Friends. I met them on that game I said I’d try a few months ago, remember? We started talking and now we’re,” Juyeon shrugs, “friends. Good friends.”
“Are they together?” Chanhee asks, putting his feet up on the couch and scooting closer. This is classic ‘Chanhee is very interested in this situation’ behavior. “Like, romantically? Do they ever flirt with you? Are they hot?”
“I’m not sure, I’m not sure, and I don’t know,” Juyeon answers, prompt. It does not work.
“What do you mean? Juyeon, answer me.”
“I’m not sure if they’re together. It sort of feels like it, but…” Juyeon shakes his head. “I can’t be sure. All I know is that they live together.”
Chanhee hums. “Well? Do they flirt? Or one of them?”
Juyeon pauses for a moment. “They call me cute all the time, but I don’t think that counts.”
“I would’ve begun with the game gifting, but sure,” Chanhee says. “So, are they hot?”
“I don’t know,” Juyeon says, plain and simple. Chanhee stares. “We voice call all the time, but we haven’t seen each other’s faces.”
“Oh, Juyeon,” Chanhee says, sighing. “You’re growing up. I can’t believe you’re e-dating, of all things.”
“It’s not—” Juyeon leans his head back against the back of the couch, a little frustrated. At what, he doesn’t know. Not Chanhee, he’s just being helpful. He’s so much more assuming than Juyeon would ever allow himself to be. “Listen, it’s really not like that. I’m like—like their practice child or something. They just like taking care of me, okay?”
Chanhee looks at him in horror. Juyeon bites his lip, nervous.
“Not the best thing to say when you wanna fuck them, Juyeon.”
“I don’t wanna fuck them!” Juyeon says, hurriedly. “How do you even—fine, then Iʼm their practice boyfriend?”
“Boyfriends who have a practice boyfriend,” Chanhee repeats, unimpressed and clearly skeptical.
“I donʼt know if theyʼre together for sure. I mean, I don’t even know what they look like.”
“But you like them, don’t you, Juyeon-ah?”
Juyeon squirms. “I don’t know if it’s okay to.”
Chanhee nods in understanding. “You should find out, then.”
Chanhee proceeds to turn away in favor of turning the TV screen on. He starts scrolling through the available titles on their streaming service. Juyeon knows this means Chanhee has hit a brick wall, and is unsure about indulging Juyeon’s delusions.
“Do you think it’s weird, though?” Juyeon asks a moment after. “The gifts, I mean.”
Chanhee pauses the movie, humming in consideration. “Well, I don’t think you’re being scammed. But I’d definitely be confused if I were you, Juyeon. Especially if I have my suspicions of them being a couple.” He shrugs. “They seem to like you an awful lot.”
This is what Juyeon likes about Chanhee. He teases him for most of their friendship, but when it’s serious moments like this, it’s like Chanhee can flat out read his mind. Juyeon doesn’t need to struggle with his emotions as much.
“I should ask them about it,” Juyeon says, distant.
“You can do whatever you want,” Chanhee says, clicking play on the remote. “As long as youʼre happy, Juyeon-ah.” Juyeon watches along with him.
Juyeon puts it off for a while, sort of. The subject matter is odd, random, and could make or break their entire friendship, he tells himself dramatically, which is why he ends up preferring to wait for the perfect time instead of creating the conversation himself.
It goes like this.
They’re talking about an upcoming game, an interesting roguelike with visual novel elements to it. Its philosophical nature reminds Juyeon of an existing game, and he goes on a tangent about its themes of life and death. He thinks back to certain topics heʼd found interesting from his Philosophy elective.
He gets asked about playing the game itself, and he shies a bit and says he’s only ever watched gameplay videos of it—he’s never owned the actual game, he admits. The conversation moves on to something about Jacob’s day and maybe Juyeon shouldn’t have been shocked when he receives a notification mid-conversation about getting gifted the game he’d been talking about, courtesy of Jaehyun. He lets out a shaky breath and tells himself, this is the only time he can bring this up.
Jacob notices his demeanor and stops mid-sentence. “Juyeon? You okay?”
Juyeon cracks his knuckles and nervously speaks into his mic. “Oh, yeah, no, I was just thinking…” He clears his throat. He’s nervous. He’s not going to… lose them over this, but it feels like an admission of sorts. That he’s been thinking too much about this and their dynamic. “I really appreciate you guys.”
“We appreciate you, too,” Jaehyun says immediately, and the sentiment has Juyeon blushing and fumbling for his next words.
“Oh, I—thank you, hyung.”
Jaehyun sounds like he’s satisfied and smiling as he says, “You’re welcome!”
Jacob, on the other hand, is amused yet understanding. “What is it, Juyeon-ah?”
“Oh, I appreciate you guys, but… but I feel bad, I guess, about you buying me… things.”
“You feel bad?” Jacob sounds disappointed, and Juyeon panics.
“No! I mean… yes? I just—” Juyeon lets out a sigh. “I feel bad you’re spending money on me. I appreciate you guys because gaming has been a lot more fun with you around, but you don’t have to… get me things. Especially when I can’t repay you.”
There’s a small silence that follows Juyeon’s words, and the lack of a response makes him nervous. He plays with his fingers as he hears Jaehyun take a breath.
“Juyeon-ah, we’re sorry if you felt like you owed us something in return. We just wanted to get you some games as a way of showing our appreciation. But if you feel uncomfortable about it, we can stop.”
“No, I mean… I just don’t get it,” Juyeon says, a little exasperated. “I appreciate it, I really do, and I don’t feel uncomfortable. I just don’t think you should be spending your money on me. I’m just—”
“Really wonderful,” Jaehyun cuts in. “You’ve been a good friend to us for the past few months. Nothing else to it, we promise.”
“You don’t owe us anything in return,” Jacob adds.
A moment. Maybe he has all the power here, Juyeon realizes. There is nothing else to it.
“Weeell,” Jaehyun drags out, mischief in his tone of voice. “You owe us some time, maybe? We buy you games ‘cause we wanna hang out with you, Juyeon-ah. So, maybeee…”
“You are not obligated to hang out with us,” Jacob says, still careful.
“Definitely,” Jaehyun says, quickly.
Juyeon rolls his eyes, shoulders relaxing and a smile making its way up to his lips. “But?”
“We just want you around,” Jaehyun says, honest. “Think of it like tax, I guess.”
Juyeon gulps. “I just don’t know what to do with myself,” Juyeon admits, before he never does. “That’s it. That’s all. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Jacob says, gently. “Be yourself, Juyeon-ah. That’s all we want in return, nothing else.”
Nothing else. Nothing else to it.
“I love all the games, hyungs, don’t get me wrong,” Juyeon says, the atmosphere a little more lighthearted now. “But you don’t need to kill your wallet for my time. You can have it.”
“And we’ll take it,” Jaehyun replies, content.
And Juyeon means it. He really means it, and he hates the thought of having to unpack what that means.
Something shifts after the non-confrontation confrontation. Juyeon can tell. They’re a little more open with each other now. Even more than they were. They show each other pictures from their daily lives, often coming from being in the middle of a mundane task.
Jaehyun’s breakfast. Jacob’s gym equipment. Juyeon’s homework.
A picture of Jaehyun going on a grocery run and the Pokemon themed oreos he’d spotted on the shelf. A picture of a newly opened cafe that Jacob had found. A picture of a book in Juyeon’s hand as he sits on a park bench.
But then… the dog reveal happens.
Juyeon doesn’t know why it feels… lifechanging to him, somehow. All Jaehyun does is send a picture of two dogs sleeping against his legs, after all. A little chihuahua that has his tongue out adorably. A shih tzu that stares off into the distance while using Jaehyun’s bare thighs (some perfectly normal ones, if Juyeon may add) as a pillow.
Dexter and Darong, Juyeon quickly learns. Both equally adorable, tiny, and varying in their “care” for their owners. Dexter was originally Jacob’s dog, an affectionate and smart little fella. Darong was Jaehyun’s, a little guy who could care less about Jaehyun’s existence, Jacob jokes. Now, they were parents to both dogs.
Juyeon realizes, a few nights later, why the pictures were such a sudden shift in his mind. It’s a part of their life, he thinks. Well, all the pictures they’d been sending were, but not to this degree. Those are practically their kids. A meaningful part of their lives, Juyeon is sure of it.
It all gets dismissed as a silly thought when Juyeon begins getting glimpses of their faces.
The very first comes from Jacob.
It’s a picture from Jacob who sits across from Jaehyun at what looks to be a diner. First of all, oh lord. Is Juyeon supposed to be seeing any of this? They might be on a date. Jaehyun is mid-laugh in the picture, the diner menu obscuring a part of his face, which is all blurred from the motion. Juyeon can’t clearly make out all of his features, of course, but one thing is clear. Abundantly clear, really.
Jaehyun is handsome.
All his guesses are confirmed through the messages that follow.
jacobcob
<image attached>
he’s buying me dinner :p
jaehyun
help juyeonie!!!!
he’s holding me hostage ;(
Well. Juyeon can either begin crying or act completely normal about all of this.
juyeoniee
Lol hahahaha
It’s over for him.
It leads to a whole new world. Not that Juyeon hates being perceived, it’s fine and he trusts these hyungs, but it makes him nervous anyway. They begin sending pictures with their faces partially covered or conveniently blurred.
jaehyun
<image attached>
cobie fell asleep in front of the monitor hehe
juyeoniee
Haha thats cute hyung
Juyeon doesn’t mind. He really doesn’t. It just reminds him of how far they’ve come in terms of their friendship. How they were three strangers that happened to land in the same lobby together, and eventual friends that show each other bits and pieces of their lives.
So, he starts doing the same. Obviously.
He sends a picture of his outfit of the day. It’s normal. He’s got some jeans, his usual boots, and a black shirt under his open blue flannel. It’s a mirror selfie—his phone’s covering his face, and he tells them it’s the mirror from a newly-opened restaurant’s entrance. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, at least next to everything Jacob and Jaehyun have been sending him.
Well. The reactions aren’t really what he expected.
jaehyun
?
???????
JYUWEION1!!!!
juyeoniee
What?
jacobcob
woah
have you ever done modeling??
Juyeon blinks.
juyeoniee
No? Why
jaehyun
JUYEONIE
YUOU’RE SOHANDOMSE
HANDSOME
jacobcob
true!
juyeoniee
What? You cant even see my face hyung.. ㅠㅠ
jaehyun
IT’S VERY CLEAR
Juyeon brings the picture up on his screen. It’s not.
juyeoniee
It’s really not
jaehyun
juyeon.
ure handsome!!!!
jacobcob
you are :)
It takes Juyeon five minutes to say thank you.
Things shift between the three of them again. Juyeon overthinks himself to hell with each passing picture, which seems to edge towards anonymity less and less. It isn’t a bad thing, not really—Juyeon knows their last names, and they know his.
It just throws him off guard, is all, when Jacob sends a photo of Jaehyun in a white turtleneck shirt, the photo angled a little from the side. Jaehyun is focused on fixing the top’s long sleeves, his gaze not on the camera. They’re clearly out shopping for clothes, the door to a changing room directly behind him.
Jaehyun is handsome. If you ask Juyeon, Jaehyun was the real model around here. He’s the prettiest man Juyeon’s ever seen.
jacobcob
this suits him, right, @juyeoniee?
jaehyun
JACOB
WHYYYYYYYYYY
I WASNT LOOKING
juyeoniee
Wow!
It does, hyung.
Juyeon is silently thankful for how concealed one’s emotions can be behind text.
jaehyun
UGHHH
jacobcob
i told you juyeonie would like it
juyeoniee
You should get it for yourself
It suits you
jaehyun
juyeonieeeeeee
(⁄ ⁄•⁄-⁄•⁄ ⁄)
Juyeon spends a whole afternoon overthinking.
When his brain kindly shuts up, he sets some sample glasses down and takes a picture of himself with his new chosen frames. Next to him, Chanhee minds his own business, spinning through the display of glasses.
He sends it without a second thought, and leaves his phone on vibrate.
Chanhee gives him a weird look when his phone begins to vibrate for a minute straight.
Later that night, he gets another picture. It’s one from Jaehyun, of Jacob posing next to a wide patch of snow on the ground. ‘JUYEONIE ♡’ was written on it, but Juyeon barely realized it at first. How could he, with the way Jacob was grinning, all adorable and flashing a peace sign.
He barely sleeps that night, wondering how two extremely attractive people managed to find each other, and how they’ll eventually be the death of him.
They still don’t do video calls. But exchanging pictures becomes a normal occurrence for them and within their daily conversations, especially when Juyeon gets busy with his thesis and the gaming sessions lessen by necessity.
Things change, maybe for the worse, one night.
On a weekend, Juyeon finds himself on his desk, locked in on finishing a chapter of his thesis. He hears the Discord notification sound and switches his browser tab after a moment.
It’s a picture of Jacob. But it’s one of him under the warm lighting of a moody restaurant, looking real fancy and… well, maybe even romantic. Jacob’s looking at the camera with a look full of love, after all, and it takes Juyeon a moment to process who that stare is directed towards.
jaehyun
<image attached>
date with jacob!
wish you were here juyeonie
Juyeon doesn’t… really know what to say. He delays a reply when Jacob sends a photo of his own, but it’s one of Jaehyun seated across from him, except he’s looking at his phone with a smile. Probably when he typed out his messages, Juyeon realized.
jacobcob
<image attached>
yeah :p
wish u were here
Juyeon types out a response. Hits backspace. Closes his Discord tab, and chooses to focus on his chapter instead.
It’s a few hours later, an hour or so before midnight, when he gets another message. It’s a ping, this time, that makes his phone vibrate. Stretching his arms, he proceeds to open Discord up again.
jaehyun
@juyeoniee
wna queue for a raid?
Juyeon looks over at his progress, and decides, yeah, why not. He can try a little bit of exposure therapy to get over it.
juyeoniee
Sure
Queueing is painfully silent at first, and Juyeon has no idea why. Jaehyun is humming some sort of tune, and they can hear the tapping of Jacob’s keyboard while they wait. Juyeon is glad you can’t hear someone else’s heartbeat over a voice call.
After a round of proper communication resulting in a win, they bring it up.
“Juyeon-ah,” Jacob calls, and Juyeon hums in acknowledgement.
“We just noticed…” Jaehyun starts, and Juyeon’s heart skips a bit. “You didn’t reply earlier. Are you okay, Juyeonie?”
“Oh. I’m fine,” Juyeon says, and it isn’t a lie. “I was doing my thesis. And I just—” He considers for a moment.
“You just…?” Jacob encourages, gentle.
“I just thought I’d be intruding,” Juyeon says.
Jaehyun gasps dramatically. “Juyeon-ah!”
“You guys were on a date,” Juyeon reasons. “I didn’t wanna take up your time.” He thinks back to the photo of Jaehyun on his phone. If he had replied, he would have stolen Jacob’s time with Jaehyun.
“We were, but we wish you were—” Jacob pauses, humming. “Actually, I’m really sorry if we made you feel left out, Juyeon-ah. We did mean it when we said we wished you were there.”
Juyeon blinks to himself. He didn’t expect this conversation to go this way, but sure.
“Oh…” Juyeon mutters to himself. “I—oh. Actually, I thought you’d be too tired to play tonight. So, thanks for… inviting me, hyungs.”
“We wouldn’t be too tired for you. And you’d never be intruding, Juyeon-ah,” Jaehyun says. Then, he makes a noise of realization. “We should hang out sometime, actually. Jacob and I are only a train away, right?”
Okay, okay, hold on. This is too much for Juyeon’s heart.
He clears his throat. “That would be nice,” he says, and it’s as if the problem dissipates all on its own.
Jaehyun goes on a tangent about what their first meeting as a trio should be like, and Jacob adds to the imaginary itinerary. Juyeon can barely follow, mind still racing from the way they’d noticed his absent behavior and the implied confirmation of them being on a date—of them being together.
He has no chance, then, and Juyeon would love to sulk, he really does. But that’ll have to wait until after his semester. He ignores the nagging feeling in him for a little while. But it’s a little hard, with the way Jacob and Jaehyun somehow start a whole new genre of messages.
Ones where they’d actively involve Juyeon in compliments for one another. Things like…
jaehyun
<image attached>
isnt cobie cute when hes sleeping hehe
juyeoniee
Haha yeah
Or moments like…
jacobcob
<image attached>
jaehyun’s cooking tonight
ik itll be bad
but at least hes cute right?
jaehyun
HEY
juyeoniee
Lol yeah hyung
And in turn, they compliment him to hell. Well, they’ve always been that way. But more so now, ever since the (sort of) talk.
Juyeon sends them a picture of him at the library, and they call him diligent and the most hardworking guy they’ve ever known. A picture of him playing basketball with some friends leads to compliments about his muscles (over his shoulder, Eric goes, what muscles?) and his skilled play (they did not, in fact, get a glimpse of it). Any picture involving his face is met with an array of compliments, which all make Juyeon uncharacteristically squeak (Chanhee raises a brow every time he catches Juyeon making such noises) and go red (Sunwoo just smiles knowingly and doesn’t say a word).
In a way, it all blows over when Juyeon sends them the ugliest bed head selfie ever known to man, and he still manages to learn a new word or two from the list of adjectives Jaehyun utilizes to describe him and his beauty.
He sinks his face into his pillow and sighs.
It’s time to back off, Juyeon decides the next night. It isn’t good for his health, first off. He’s got a thesis to finish, too! He can’t be spending all his time internally moping over two beautiful men who are together and will never be with him.
The butterflies had to die at some point, he tells himself.
And then. And then.
They ask to call him one night.
jacobcob
@juyeoniee can we talk?
can we call real quick
juyeoniee
Sure, just give me a sec
jaehyun
take ur time~
Juyeon doesn’t know what to expect.
Well, he doesn’t expect this. It’s a recurring thought with these two, Juyeon realizes.
“As you know, Juyeon-ah, Jaehyun and I are together,” Jacob says. And Juyeon thinks, rub it in why don’t you. “Listen, we were thinking… and we could be wrong, but—” Jacob pauses, sounding like he’s having a hard time phrasing it.
Juyeon gets an inkling of what’s happening. Oh, no. Not now.
Jaehyun helps out. “Tell us if we’re reading this wrong, okay? But we were wondering, Juyeon-ah, if you like—”
Juyeon panics. He exits the Discord call.
Not the best decision, but he can’t just… waltz back in there and pretend like he didn’t just leave. He receives a message or two for the entire night, but he ignores them in favor of finishing his chapter. And when he finally does, he’s too tired to make up excuses—sorry, my Wi-Fi died, or sorry, my electricity went out because someone hit a pole outside—and decides to go straight to bed.
Juyeon sits on it. Admittedly, he hates that he does. But he has to, or he’ll implode.
While he ignores what could be going on in their shared server, he puts all his focus into his thesis and remaining units. For a few days, he does end up missing the pictures they exchange, the conversations, the late night gaming sessions.
He’s experiencing withdrawal symptoms, actually, just itching to play a game or two again. But every damn game in his library reminds him of Jacob and Jaehyun, and then it just makes him sad and miserable and just a little scared.
Juyeon begins to wallow in the fact that it might all be over once he comes back and faces them. He sighs, closing the front door behind him. It was a good run, he supposes. He’s learned a lot in gaming and in love—even though it ended up this way.
“Juyeon!” Chanhee shouts from inside. Juyeon walks in and spots him on the couch. Sunwoo’s right next to him, head resting on Chanhee’s shoulder and looking at Chanhee’s phone screen between them. It makes Juyeon tear up. Why is life so hard?
“What?” Juyeon says, walking closer.
Now that he was standing nearby, Chanhee… did not look pleased. He looks up at Juyeon with a scowl, shoving his phone towards him. Juyeon squints at the bright screen.
“Can you please tell me why two randos are messaging me on Steam, asking for a chance to talk to you and ask for your forgiveness?”
Juyeon’s eyes widen. “What?!”
When he gets handed the phone, he hurriedly scrolls through the chat messages on Chanhee’s Steam application.
jakeybae
Hello! I’m really sorry if this is weird, but
are you Juyeon’s friend in real life? We can’t
reach him, so if he’s willing, can you please
tell him we just need to talk to him? For just
a few minutes? If he doesn’t want to, it’s alright,
please just tell him we’re sorry. Thank you, and
have a nice day.
Okay. Really formal of Jacob, Juyeon thinks. He kinda feels bad.
He scrolls through the other messages and realizes that some other ones had been sent earlier that day, before Jacob’s own messages.
hyunjaehyun
hi are you juyeons friend irl??
sorry but can u tell him to look at our msgs
were worried n stuff but pls tell him were sorry
also sorry if this is wweird
A little less eloquent, but it’s Jaehyun. It makes Juyeon laugh. He hands Chanhee back the phone.
“Ah, seriously, this spam,” Chanhee says, annoyed.
Next to him, Sunwoo watches as he scrolls through hyunjaehyun’s game library. “Stardew Valley? We should play that together, hyung.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sunwoo-ya,” Chanhee says, rolling his eyes. “You wouldn’t last a day in the mines.”
Sunwoo huffs. “Is that a challenge?”
Juyeon doesn’t catch the rest of the conversation, because he’s too busy rushing back to his room and getting on his laptop.
He ignores all unread messages and types.
juyeoniee
Hyungs
I’m sorry
Can we talk?
Without any new messages, he sees Jacob and Jaehyun’s usernames appear on their voice channel. He follows, brave and all.
“Juyeonie, hold on a second,” Jacob says, and then he leaves the channel. Juyeon is confused for a hot minute, until he hears some chatter over on Jaehyun’s end and what sounds like a chair adjusting. Right, they live together, Juyeon realizes. It’s like heartbreak all over again, but he decides to focus on bracing himself for the impact instead.
“Cobie’s with me,” Jaehyun says, confirming Juyeon’s guesses.
“Okay,” Juyeon says. It sounds like Jaehyun’s about to say something, but he cuts him off. “Hyung, hold on. Can I say something first?” Before you guys decide to never speak to me again.
“Of course, Juyeon-ah,” Jacob says, soft as ever.
It eases Juyeon’s nerves, somewhat. He takes a deep breath. “First of all, hyungs, I’m really sorry about just leaving you guys the other night. I didn’t mean to. I—I just panicked. I should’ve approached you as soon as I calmed down, though, and that’s my fault. Life got busy, and I was also thinking a lot, and I wouldn’t blame you if you decide to end the friendship, especially since you know—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jaehyun cuts in. “You’re sorry, Juyeon-ah? Hold on, but we’re—”
“Juyeon,” Jacob says, “can we turn on our cameras?”
Juyeon’s heart practically dies in his chest. He can go into cardiac arrest. He hums in affirmation, anyway.
Jaehyun’s box on Discord loads for a few seconds, the webcam flashes to life, and suddenly, Juyeon is staring at the two people that he’s been crushing on for, well, months now and has been the main cause of his recent heartbreak.
What can he say? They look as good as they do in the pictures. Even better, somehow, if that even makes sense.
“You don’t have to turn yours on,” Jacob says. “But we wanted to chat with you to say we’re sorry, Juyeon. You donʼt have to feel sorry for how you reacted at all. In the first place, we shouldn’t have surprised you with that conversation, especially since you might have felt trapped about our… feelings for you.” He looks genuinely apologetic, and—
Huh?
“Yeah,” Jaehyun says, looking elsewhere. Then, he turns to the camera, eyes looking all sad. Like a sad, sad deer. Juyeon almost hates it. “We must have been obvious, and we’re sorry we approached you like that. We should’ve talked about it through text first. Or we should’ve given you a heads up beforehand.”
What?
Jacob hums, agreeing. “We were a little ominous, that’s for sure.”
What the hell?
Juyeon leans forward, turning his camera on. Jacob and Jaehyun startle at the loading icon, and at the view of Juyeon clearly looking alarmed and a little confused.
“Hyungs, wait. What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do we mean?” Jaehyun cries. “Were we not too obvious? Jacob says I was way too obvious. I’m really sorry if you were uncomfortable about all of it. I came on too strong, and I apologize for it. I really am sorry, Juyeon-ah.”
“Wait, stop. I don’t get it,” Juyeon says. The other two just blink at him, confused. He feels insane. “What do you mean… your feelings for me?”
Comically, Jacob and Jaehyun turn to each other, surprised looks on their faces. Juyeon bites his lip, nervous. What the hell is going on here?
“You didn’t know?” Jacob dares ask, and Juyeon opens his mouth. Closes it. Jacob takes that as a sign. “We really like you, Juyeon-ah. We thought…” he glances at Jaehyun, “...you figured out we were gonna confess, which is why you left the call.”
What?
“What?” Juyeon says, too loud for his own good. He lowers his voice, leaning forward. “What?”
Jaehyun grins, holding back a little laugh. “Well, if he didn’t know, he does now. The secret’s out, Juyeonie.”
“But I thought you guys—” Juyeon makes a confused sound. “I thought you guys were gonna confront me about my crush on both of you. And tell me to go away… because you’re… you’re together.”
Jaehyun makes a sound as if everything Juyeon had said was outrageous.
Jacob, on the other hand, giggles. Jaehyun turns to him in confusion.
“You have a crush on us, Juyeon-ah?”
Jaehyun realizes this, eyes widening as he points at Juyeon through the screen.
Juyeon wants to hide forever. “What? Can we focus on the conversation, please?”
“I think this has nicely solved itself, actually,” Jaehyun butts in. “What won you over, Juyeon-ah? Was it the gifts? Tell me it was the gifts.”
Juyeon groans. “No, hyung.” That definitely wasn’t it.
“Was it my charming personality?” Jaehyun says, grinning. “Or Jacob’s good looks?”
Jacob laughs, but then turns to the camera, entirely genuine in his smile. “Do you still like us, Juyeon-ah? We’re still sorry for how we approached you. But we hope you can still forgive us, and maybe we can meet. To talk. Or get to know each other better, however way you’d like.”
“I’d like to do that,” Juyeon blurts out. “Meet. To talk.”
Jaehyun cheers, and Juyeon catches Jacob breathing out a sigh of relief.
“But you’re sure?” Juyeon says, voice a little shaky. “You have… feelings for me? Seriously?”
“What’s not to love about you, Juyeon?” Jacob says, soft smile on his lips.
Oh.
Thereʼs... space for him. Thereʼs always been space for him. The thought brings relief to him, but most of all, it makes him smile. The smiles on Jacob and Jaehyunʼs faces grow in return.
“If you’re worried about the bed, there’s a lot of space left for you,” Jaehyun jokes, wiggling his eyebrows.
Ah. Juyeon blushes at that. Jacob lightly nudges Jaehyun, and the latter pretends to not have said anything that was currently causing Juyeon’s mind to malfunction.
“Okay, moving on, then,” Jaehyun says, looking at Juyeon through the camera. “Can we finally talk about how handsome you are?”
Juyeon is going to die. He shouldn’t have turned his camera on, damn it.
“Can we—” Juyeon sighs. “Can we just queue—”
“Right,” Jacob says, humming thoughtfully. “You’re very cute, Juyeon-ah.”
“He’s somehow both at the same time,” Jaehyun says, cooing, “Our handsome and cute Juyeonie!”
Juyeon covers his face with his hands, feeling his skin heat up.
Yeah. Way more than he expected, for sure.