Juhoon || Ddlc || Cortis

You were walking down the street, the usual, lazy yet peaceful walk to school.

At least it was peaceful... Peaceful until you heard Martin shouting behind you with way too much energy for 7 a.m.

"Yo!! Twinski! Wait for me!!" He called out after you, which instantly caused you to bite back a 'Don't call me that' or 'Stop embarrassing me'... I mean sure, he was your friend, your childhood friend, maybe that's why you felt comfortable enough to be visibly annoyed by his presence.

As Martin reached you, he flashed you an awkward grin as he rubbed the back of his head. "I overslept... Again.." He said before slapping you on the back "Anyway... Have you decided on joining a club yet? You re always just suck in your room, you gotta socialize a little!"

You brushed off his question, you guys continued to walk together to school, like you usually did, though for some reason Martin kept oversleeping lately.. Whatever.

---

Later that afternoon, Martin cornered you as if wanting to tell you a secret, only to reveal that he had promised his new club that he would bring a new member... Typical Martin behavior, making promises he can't keep, like waking up on time.

"Bro you gotta join! Literature club, it's gonna be fuuuun! He insisted, annoyingly shaking you by your shoulders.

"You? In a literature club?" You asked unimpressed.

Martin stopped the movement on your shoulders to look at you before looking to the side embarrassed.

"...One of the members keeps bringing cupcakes..Cupcakes bro, cupcakes! Do you even know how good cupcakes are?"

After more attempts to convince you... You finally agreed, though the idea of extra hours at school sitting with 3 other people not so different from Martin wasn't exactly how you wanted to spend your afternoons, but you felt bad...

---

So, as the amazing friend you were, you gave it a shot.

After school, Martin took you to one of the classrooms, where you were greeted by 3 other boys, who, to you surprise were nothing like your childhood friend, they were nice and welcoming, mostly because they needed a 5th member...

The first one to talk was Sean, who was holding a plate of cupcakes, though as soon as you introduced yourself, a frown appeared on his face.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted Martin to bring us a new member. You don't even look like you're into literature or poetry." Sean said with a slightly annoyed sigh before another member, James stepped in.

"Don't say that, Sean... You read manga..." James said with a disapproving shake of his head.

"Manga IS literature!" Sean insisted, raising his voice a little before the club president, Juhoon clicked his tongue and stepped between Sean and James, to stop their disagreement from turning into a real argument, looking like he has dealt with that before.

"I'm sorry for that, literature is for everyone, even people like Martin." Juhoon said with a kind, warm smile to which Martin huffed dramatically.

---

As the days went on, the literature club warmed up to you, even Sean did after he found out that you also like manga. You bonded with James through horror books and surprisingly continued to see Martin come to the club, even if it was for Sean's cupcakes and James's tea. Though you didn't really get the chance to get to know Juhoon better.

The time spent there even helped you advance your poetry skills because, every day the president, Juhoon made sure that everyone shared a self made poem before the other club activities began.

---

One day, after school, you went to the literature club, only by yourself this time even though you were used to going with Martin. But strangely, he didn't come to school today. Sure, he always overslept, but he also managed to come to school, even if he was late.

Noticing that it was quieter than usual, you gently opened the door, only to spot Juhoon alone in the room in his usual seat, staring at the wall blankly.

However, as soon as he noticed you he got up and smiled instantly, though his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I arrived early because I finished practicing piano earlier than usual, that's why I was here alone...Yeah..." Juhoon excused himself with an awkward chuckle though you didn't even ask why he was alone, he just felt like he had to explain himself?...

Before, you could say a word, he cut you off by changing the subject.

"By the way... The festival is coming up and the literature club is gonna share poems." He started, lefting you to wonder why he hasn't even asked the club before coming up with that.

"I have to make poetry pamphlets. Pretty hard work, isn't it? Sean is gonna bake cupcakes and James will make the decorations.. Dunno 'bout Martin, he's probably just gonna help James." He said as he tilted his head a little and gave you a handsome smile that didn't reach his eyes.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, as if suddenly getting shy.

"But I need help too... Would you mind giving a hand?" He asked calmly.

You wanted to say yes, it would be a chance to get to know him better, but you also wanted to go check on Martin since he didn't come to school today at all, so you declined.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

Huh?.. That's not what you said, you said no. You said no, didn't you?...

Juhoon's smile widened, turning into a shy, sweet, upside down smile.

"Ah, I thought so too..." He murmured with a faint, soft chuckle, his fingers finding the fabric of his sleeve as he toyed with the material, suddenly acting shy.