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Jooyeon is often asked how someone so outgoing and talkative like him ended up with someone as quiet and reserved as Hyeongjun.
He's often thinking about it, especially when Seungmin, one of the new employees, asks him about it all the time. Hyeongjun and Jooyeon work together now, both being business associates with Gunil, one of Jooyeon's old co-workers who decided to open an IT startup after their old workplace closed. Even though that is very unprofessional of Seungmin, being so nosy and wanting to know about their lives like that, Jooyeon enjoys telling everyone about his story with Hyeongjun so it's not a bother at all.
In fact, he has the best time making a few things up here and there just to keep it interesting and saving the real one to himself.
Hyeongjun only scoffs and rolls his eyes whenever he overhears him going on about it. Jooyeon knows well enough that the rolling of his eyes and the disapproving shake of his head is nothing but fondness for his antics.
The movie about them in Jooyeon's mind goes a little like this:
Getting close to Hyeongjun always felt like a lost battle. The way he was always so evasive and brief in their interactions surely soured his mood since he tried so hard.
He has watched him from afar, wondered why he was never accompanied by a friend when he looked like he needed one so bad.
Thinking back on it brings a smile to his lips. Jooyeon remembers Hyeongjun's surprised expression when he sat down by his side at the university's cafeteria for the first time and started talking about the lecture they've just had. Hyeongjun didn't say a word but nodded a few times and it was enough to keep Jooyeon going.
At first, Jooyeon thought Hyeongjun hated him and almost gave up on trying, his muteness not very welcoming. But the small reactions he got as he talked showed Hyeongjun was paying attention and that he could go on.
His life as a student was busy though and Jooyeon often had to focus, something he hated greatly since going to university wasn't even his plan. It was only him complying to his parents' wishes of having a diploma with his name so they could boast to family and friends about their son's achievements.
Jooyeon wasn't good at academics and when it got the best of him, he barely paid attention to anything around himself since he had to worry about studying his ass off in order to pass everything. He even forgot about his attempts of befriending the lonely Hyeongjun from his programming class.
He still remembers the day Hyeongjun came to him after a lecture and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, asking if he wanted to have coffee.
Now, when questioned about it, Hyeongjun laughs and says Jooyeon looked so miserable he felt the need to cheer him up but Jooyeon knows best.
"I know you care," Jooyeon remembers saying. He also remembers the flustered look in Hyeongjun's face as he looked away and denied it.
It took Jooyeon a whole term to gather courage to confront his parents and announce that he was going to drop out. He wasn't completely disowned but his parents stopped sending him money and Jooyeon had to move out of the dorms, since he wasn't a student anymore, and find a job.
Having dropped out during winter vacation, Jooyeon didn't get the chance to talk to Hyeongjun - at that time, they weren't close enough to have exchanged numbers and only met for lunch once a week - but he couldn't just wait for the new term to begin, he needed to find a job as soon as possible.
Thankfully Jooyeon was good with computers, the reason why he was doing Computer Engineering in the first place, and it wasn't as hard as he imagined to find a decent job. Although, it did take him over three months to get one and he ended up living with one of his cousins who had a small apartment but a big heart and allowed him to stay there for free as long as he kept things organized.
In five months after getting a job as a junior programmer, Jooyeon put together the amount he had saved from small odd jobs he did as a teenager along with his current paycheck and managed to rent a very small apartment for himself.
In between all that, he missed Hyeongjun's quiet presence by his side, during lunch and other quiet moments of his day, and he often thought about going back to campus just to look for him but Jooyeon always forgot about it at the end of the day.
It was completely by accident that Hyeongjun and Jooyeon met again.
He can't quite remember how much time had passed since he dropped out but he remembers exiting the building the company he worked for had an office for meetings - he worked mostly from home - and being confronted by a familiar face.
"Where have you been?" Hyeongjun said and poked a finger at Jooyeon's shoulder.
Jooyeon, at a loss of words at the sudden encounter, followed him into the nearest coffee shop and was surprised at how much Hyeongjun talked.
"I thought you had died," he started and Jooyeon couldn't help but laugh. Hyeongjun looked so exasperated for some reason that it made Jooyeon concerned. "You were the only person who didn't judge me for who I am."
The subject never went further that day but later on, a few weeks after they established and kept steady contact with each other to the point of being able to call it friendship, Hyeongjun sent him an ominous message that had Jooyeon worried the whole day.
We need to talk it read and Jooyeon had invited Hyeongjun to come over to his apartment when he was done with his classes. Back then, Hyeongjun was close to graduating so Jooyeon assumed that he wanted to talk in person about decreasing the amount of times they met during the week for coffee - twice.
"This is going to sound weird and I hope you will not hate me after this," Hyeongjun said as soon as he sat down on Jooyeon's small and old couch. Hyeongjun was a few centimeters taller than Jooyeon but he looked rather small then. "But I thought a lot and I don't want to keep being friends with you while withholding this information."
"You have a criminal record and you're afraid I will not want to keep being friends with you once I know you're a murderer," Jooyeon said and Hyeongjun stared at him with a blank expression.
"No," Hyeongjun replied. "It's not something that dramatic."
"Go on then," Jooyeon motioned and crossed his legs.
Hyeongjun took a minute to gather all the courage necessary, a few deep breaths and a hand running through his short, jet-black hair before the words were tumbling out.
"I like you but like, in a more than friends kind of way? I was so sad when I didn't see you after break was over because you were the only person who talked to me and tried to get close and you were so nice and my awkward gay ass couldn't help but fall for you in between and I don't want to keep this friendship going without letting you know this because I hate the idea of living with these repressed feelings. I want to overcome them in case it is not mutual, which is pretty high, and hopefully we can still be friends," Hyeongjun had to put a hand on his chest after speaking, breathless and red in the face. For a person who communicates with as few words as possible, Hyeongjun babbled an awful lot and Jooyeon was at a loss, not having expected any of that at all. "I'm sorry."
"What?" Jooyeon mumbled and Hyeongjun looked at him with fear in his gaze. "I mean, I never stopped to consider any of this but I'm well aware that I do think about you more than normal."
Hyeongjun still looked scared but Jooyeon smiled and the tension in his shoulders seemed to melt away.
"This is not an answer to your confession yet because I don't have one but we can keep meeting up as usual and see how things go," Jooyeon offered and Hyeongjun's smile was filled with relief.
And after that, Jooyeon paid attention to every detail. The rush of happiness whenever he knew he was going to see Hyeongjun and the way he felt so comfortable around him despite knowing about Hyeongjun's feelings for him. It all felt so natural that after a few months with that dynamic going on, there was no doubt.
"You're graduating next month, right?" Jooyeon asked one afternoon and Hyeongjun, who was busy scooping up the whipped cream from his cappuccino, looked up at him with wide, confused eyes.
"Yes?" Hyeongjun replied, spoon in his mouth and Jooyeon chuckled at how cute he looked. "Why?"
Jooyeon pursued his lips and hummed, keeping Hyeongjun's eyes trained on him at those actions.
"I was thinking if you'd like to share the place with me now that you won't live in the uni dorms anymore," Jooyeon smiled and the spoon almost fell out of Hyeongjun's mouth. "I don't want my boyfriend to be homeless."
"I'm not your-" Hyeongjun paused and gaped at Jooyeon. "Is that your answer?"
Jooyeon nodded, biting his lips to hide the silly grin from taking over. Hyeongjun's hands were trembling and Jooyeon glanced around to check if anyone was paying attention to them before reaching out and holding Hyeongjun's hands into his.
"You still like me, right?" Jooyeon whispered and Hyeongjun looked at him shyly while nodding. "Because I like you too."
Hyeongjun stifled a laugh and Jooyeon squeezed his hands gently, comforting.
"How about we slowly start to move your things to my place?" Jooyeon offered and Hyeongjun agreed, both of them finishing whatever they had ordered before running to Jooyeon's apartment.
"Last time you told someone the story, a confession in the rain took place," Jungsu says and Jooyeon rubs the back of his neck. Jungsu is always good at calling him out on his bullshit, in fact he's like that with everyone, and that's why he's responsible for talking to the customers and not him or Gunil.
Seungmin's gaze goes from Jooyeon to Jungsu to Hyeongjun, who's busy doing something on the computer, and back to Jooyeon.
"When you told me the story, there was an arranged marriage in the middle of it," Jungsu says, adding wood to the fire, and Seungmin looks so confused Jooyeon feels bad for making things up.
Hyeongjun bursts out laughing from where he is and he exchanges a glance with Jooyeon before focusing back on his work.
Jooyeon smiles and ignores Seungmin's pleas for the true story, all he can think about is going home in a few hours and draping himself all over Hyeongjun as they watch whatever's on television.