limerence ? han dongmin

( the late night loser )

Later that night, Taesan lay in bed, the room dark except for the soft glow of his phone screen.

He should have been asleep.
He had practice in the morning. Homework unfinished. A test coming up. His eyelids felt heavy.

But he was still staring at that selfie.

Minji, with her awful ramen and that ridiculous smile.
Hair messy. Socks mismatched. That sparkle in her eye like she was about to burn the whole kitchen down and blame it on the microwave.

Taesan turned his phone upside down on his chest.

Closed his eyes.

Opened them again two seconds later.

Peeked at the photo.

Groaned into his pillow.

He was hopeless.

Across the room, Riwoo stirred in his sleeping bag. (He and Sungho had crashed over after dinner because apparently "broship bonds can't be contained to daylight hours," whatever that meant.)

Riwoo rubbed his face, bleary-eyed. "Bro... are you smiling?"

Taesan immediately sat up straight, accidentally flinging his phone halfway across the bed.

"No," he said, voice cracking.

"You so are," Riwoo said, grinning wickedly in the dark. "You looked like you were about to marry your phone."

Taesan scowled. "Shut up."

"Wait, was it—" Riwoo gasped dramatically. "It's HER, isn't it?"

"No—" Taesan started.

Riwoo lunged for the phone.

Taesan yelped and scrambled to grab it first, nearly falling off the bed in the process.

From his sleeping bag, Sungho mumbled half-asleep, "If you two start wrestling at midnight again I'm throwing both of you into the street."

Taesan finally secured his phone against his chest like it was state secrets.
Riwoo collapsed back onto the floor, laughing quietly.

"You're whipped," Riwoo whispered smugly.

Taesan shoved his head under the covers.

"...Maybe," he muttered.

Way too quietly.

Riwoo grinned in the dark, victorious.

🍒

The next morning, sunlight leaked through the curtains, and the smell of burnt toast wafted in from downstairs.

Taesan stumbled into the kitchen, hoodie half-zipped, hair sticking up like a haystack.
He was still clutching his Galaxy Z Flip 6 like it was classified property.

Riwoo was already at the counter, shoving cereal into his mouth like it owed him money.
Sungho leaned against the fridge, holding a glass of orange juice, looking way too awake for a Saturday.

The second Taesan stepped into the room, Riwoo grinned way too wide.

"So..." Riwoo began, casually swinging his spoon like a microphone. "Have you proposed to your phone yet?"

Taesan glared at him. "Shut up."

Sungho raised an eyebrow. "Do we have to start calling you Mr. Galaxy Flip now?"