#lee david

Being roommates with Han Junhwi was not the worst possible thing that could have happened in Jiho’s life, but sometimes he realized just how different they were... Most of the time, actually. The thing that bothered Jiho wasn’t that Han Junhwi’s kindness extended to him, too, but that the other also expected him to reciprocate that kindness. He had never been a talkative person, his energy level definitely did not match Han Junhwi’s, and most of all, he had usually been left alone when he showed very few signs of any kind of interest in interacting with others. Yet some times (most times) Jiho did reluctantly return the favor. Why, that he had no idea about. He wasn’t socially experienced enough to try to manipulate or coax Han Junhwi into a false sense of security, so that was off the table. And it definitely wasn’t because he liked being around Han Junhwi. Jiho didn’t care enough about other people to feel positive emotions for them. Rivalry? Check (You can go ask Kang Sol B if you want). But friendship? Jiho wasn’t about making friends.

During the time of being roommates with Han Junhwi, Jiho had come to realize that Han Junhwi was about making friends. So when the latter came to him after reading the criminal complaint that Jiho had written about the older boy’s uncle, he wasn’t too concerned. Han Junhwi trusted people. Jiho, not so much. So when Han Junhwi tore up his complaint letter and claimed that the culprit could not be his uncle, Jiho, although momentarily surprised, stood up from his computer chair and turned to face the other. Maybe this was the opportune moment to let him know how different they were and how much Jiho didn’t care. But then Han Junhwi replied to his nastiness with his typical kindness and this is not how this was supposed to go. And despite his better judgement, Jiho ended up backing down and matching the older boy’s tone. While he didn’t care to become friends with Han Junhwi, there was no need to become enemies, either. Through his rivalry with Kang Sol B, Jiho already knew how emotionally straining artificial hatred could be, and he didn’t want that with his roommate, too. Because at the end of the day, Han Junhwi was a good guy. And if he was ready to give Jiho his space, the younger boy would do the same for him.

Ever since Han Junhwi had ended up finding out about Jiho’s father’s case, he hadn’t been so good at giving the younger boy his space. Whether it was because they were roommates, Han Junhwi had been there taking Jiho’s and his father’s side since day one and Jiho was slowly coming to the realization that maybe Han Junhwi wasn’t actually kind in the hopes of getting something out of it, but he was friendly because he wanted to be.

“That’s evidence,” Han Junhwi said in a laidback manner and drank out of the soda can that he had taken out of Jiho’s hands.

The younger boy returned his gaze to his phone screen, dumb-founded. Later on he would convince himself that the first thought that crossed his mind at that moment was “How did he find this evidence?”, although not before trying to shake away the thought that maybe he was a little bit thankful to Han Junhwi for helping him out. Or that he was not entirely against the idea of having someone to support him while he tried to get justice for his father.

“I obtained that recording illegally, so just know that.”

Jiho turned to look at Han Junhwi, completely at a loss for words. Did Han Junhwi literally have no sense of self-preservation? Jiho knew that people did illegal stuff sometimes to get ahead in the game, but he had sworn to never do something like that himself, so to have someone place their own head on the line for him in such a way seemed so stupid. Yet he knew how smart Han Junhwi was not only academically but socially, so why would he take a risk like that to help Jiho get further with his father’s case? Obviously Han Junhwi had thoroughly analysed the consequences. There was no way that the pros of getting the recording would have overweighed the cons. Hell, the only pro about it was Jiho benefiting from having the recording in his possession. And to Jiho, that wager just wasn’t worth it. His father’s case wasn’t worth Han Junhwi potentially losing his chance at a bright future, a good career... And yet, knowing how unbelievably selfish he was for thinking it, he didn’t hate having Han Junhwi’s help.

‘Sly’ had never been a word that Seo Jiho had used to describe himself. ‘Smart’ and ‘clever’, sure, but he didn’t find himself to be well-versed enough in the complexities of humans and human relationships to be able to navigate or, as in the situations that he seemed to find himself in with Han Junhwi, to manipulate them in order to destroy or use the careers of corrupt people to his advantage. While making a secret recording of those people for blackmail had not been at the top of Jiho’s bucketlist (or on it at all, for that matter), there was a certain level of confidence and one-upping that he felt at that moment. And to say that Han Junhwi had helped him to get to that point would be an understatement: If he hadn’t had Han Junhwi’s support the entire way, he wouldn’t even have had the courage to try and take things into his own hands. After years of people covering up the circumstances surrounding his father’s death, Jiho felt that he finally had someone who was on his side. And he didn’t think he could have asked for anyone better than Han Junhwi to be that person.