Chin-hwa's heart sank in a sudden drop, as Kang-woo's deep voice called out to him, the familiar nickname sending a shiver down his spine. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut, his breath itching at his throat.
Why did he have to call him that?
"Little hwa," Kang-woo called, his smile bright and warm as he slid into the empty seat beside Chin-hwa without even waiting to be answered.
He smiled at Chin-hwa who was rather uncomfortable with this new setting, brushing the back of his neck and darting his eyes away.
Yun-Tae stared at them, his eyes darting between Chin-hwa and Kang-woo. He was surprised but more or less speechless, just like the rest of the crew.
"You two..." He spoke up and they both looked up at him. "Do you know each other?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him, and the rest of them paid keen attention as they were equally curious.
They were all wondering the same thing because Chin-hwa had never talked about him and he didn't seem like he knew him when they were all chattering about Kang-woo a few minutes ago.
Chin-hwa wanted to make an excuse but Kang-woo beat him to a response.
Hd nodded, his eyes glued on Chin-hwa's face. "We grew up together." He said, sounding quite cheerful. "We were inseparable as kids."
Chin-hwa's face felt like it was on fire. He could feel his friends' gazes on him, their interest piqued. He tried to play it cool, to act like Kang-woo's sudden appearance wasn't affecting him in the slightest.
"Yeah," Chin-hwa said, his voice neutral, hiding all forms of excitement. "But we haven't seen each other in a while. He went to the States, leaving me behind, so..."
Kang-woo's smile faltered for a moment, and Chin-hwa felt a pang of guilt.
But it was true though. He left him. He left when he needed him to stay, so he had no problem voicing it.
Kang-woo could subtly feel that Chin-hwa was still mad. He thought he might've gotten over it by now but... That didn't seem to be the case. He hoped he could forget it.
He had no choice but to leave at that time.
The air around the table got a bit awkward with their silence.
Kang-woo looked at Chin-hwa with warm eyes, and Chin-hwa avoided his gaze by all means.
Anyone could tell there had been something going on between them, but if they chose to deny and play it out as being 'just' childhood friends, then there was nothing they could do.
To think there was someone even cute little Chin-hwa was uncomfortable with.
But no one could actually see the heart. While the others were thinking of a way to break the chilly and uncomfortable air, this cute, seemingly uncomfortable Chin-hwa was actually fighting a war with his heart, trying to bury the loud sound of his heartbeat.
It was embarrassing, knowing Kang-woo was sitting next to him and could possibly hear it clearly.
He was mad at him, yes, but his heart had a mind of its own.
"So, Little Hwa," Kang-woo called. "How have you been?" He asked, his expression smoothed out.
Chin-hwa shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "I've been good. Just busy with school."
Kang-woo nodded, his eyes crinkling at the corners with a little smile. "I can imagine. You were always a hard worker."
Hearing that, Chin-hwa's tone turned slightly sour as he gave his response, "Yeah, that's me. Always nose to the grindstone."
Kang-woo's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of confusion crossing his face. But he let it slide, his smile never wavering. "I'm glad to see some things haven't changed," he said, his voice warm.
Chin-hwa's irritation spiked, but he pushed it down, trying to maintain a neutral expression. What was wrong with him? Why was he reacting like this?
"So, you never officially introduced yourself." Dong-cha pointed out.
"Oh, my bad. My name is Lee Kang-woo." He said, "I
"Are you sure you're an Alpha? You're awfully polite." Beom said, adjusting his glasses and observing him carefully.
"Well," he tilted his head. "I have my parents to thank for that. They taught me well." He said, and they ended up gasping in disbelief.
"Wow, you're like the most friendly Alpha male I've ever met." Seoung-bo said, expressing her surprise and excitement. "Or are you just being nice to us because we're your little Hwa's friend?" She teased.
"How about both?" He said and they all laughed.
The conversation flowed easily after that, Kang-woo chatting with Chin-hwa's friends like they were old buddies and answering all their questions. Questions like his major, since they already knew he transferred to their school this semester.
Also, questions about Chin-hwa. How he was when he was younger. If he was a cutie-patootie like he was now, though he was trying to wade off his cuteness with his choice of clothes and intentionally smearing eyeliner underneath his eyes.
Well, it did the job just fine but they still knew he was very cute.
Kang-woo glanced at Chin-hwa, wondering what was on his mind, but he voiced his support for him trying to hide a fraction of his cuteness.
"Little Hwa always managed to steal everyone's attention when growing up." He said with a little laugh. "He probably got tired of being at the center of it all, so he decided to tone down his cuteness. He was simply too adorable."
'Yeah, if you know that then don't come crashing my dinner with my friends and dragging all attention to me.' Chin-hwa thought.
He tried to join in, but his mind kept wandering back to the past, to the memories he'd thought were long buried. Both good and bad ones.
Was it because he was drunk? He was sure he only drank a little. Yet, he couldn't stop having flashbacks.
"I bet you were equally the center of attention." Yun-Tae chipped in.
"Haha, of course." Kang-woo said, not trying to be modest in this aspect. "After all, someone has to take half the attention so Little Hwa doesn't get too overwhelmed." He smiled.
His smile radiated like the sun and was almost blinding.
"Besides, I went everywhere with Little Hwa, so wherever he got attention, I got equal attention. Like I said, we were inseparable."