optical ↠ the boyz

thirty nine

"Where?" Nari asked down the phone, hearing Jacob chuckle from the other end.

"I'm not telling you!" He exclaimed as the girl sighed. "Why is it bothering you so much?"

"I won't know what to wear," the girl pouted as though he could see her, staring at her wardrobe and letting out a puff.

"Something nice," he nodded slowly, as the girl huffed once again. "Something airy."

"So you can look up my skirt?" She joked, making the boys cheeks flush as he smiled to himself.

"Maybe," he shrugged as the girl let out a loud laugh. "I'm kidding, just be dressed for the outdoors."

The girl nodded, even though it didn't narrow much down, she had a rough idea. The two said their goodbyes as she flung her phone on the bed, no quicker than picking it back up again. "Hello?"

"Hi," Juyeon said as he smiled to himself, wiping it off shortly after he remember just why he shouldn't be smiling. Jacob. "Is now an alright time?"

"It is," Nari nodded, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"I found your dress," he chuckled, looking at the crumpled mess on his bed. "I was wondering if you wanted me to drop it off any time soon?"

"Whenever is easiest for you," she said, forgetting that in just a few hours she wouldn't be here. "When would that be?"

"After I finish work, so, in two hours?" He said, looking at his phone to figure out the time. "Is that alright?"

"It is," she nodded. "I'm going out around 6, in case you're a little late."

"I'd rather not hand over a dress to your parents or your brother," he chuckled from the other line as Nari did too. And funnily, they both had the same thoughts - that they'd much rather see each other. "I'll be there on time."

"Please," Nari said softly through a laugh as Juyeon froze a little. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Nari," he said before hanging up, looking back to the shop floor to see that they were quiet as per usual.

Until he saw the head of red hair that bounced from aisle three, making him look at his coworker in a way that suggested he should go on the tills instead of him, to which he shrugged.

The boys clocked eyes for the first time in months, and neither of them knew how to feel.

Sunwoo wondered if he should be angrier at the boy for taking what was his, but he knew that wasn't wholly his fault. He couldn't deny what he saw in her eyes, and that was on her, not him.

Juyeon wondered if he too should be angrier, but he realised that he wasn't the boy who had her after everything. He was just as deprived of the girl as he was, and that wasn't his fault.