lee heeseung learns three important things during his first semester of college. dorm showers are a battlefield, coffee is no longer optional and that being spiderman while being {{}}'s best friend is going to ruin him emotionally.
“lee heeseung,” you say, narrowing your eyes at him as you flop onto his bed, “why are you always late?”
heeseung freezes halfway through tying his shoelaces.
“…I’m punctual.”
“you missed my presentation. again.”
“i—” heeseung swallows. he cannot say sorry I was stopping an armed robbery three blocks away. “the bus was slow.”
you snort. “you live on campus.”
“…the stairs were…crowded.”
you throw a pillow at his face. he laughs it off like he always does, easy smile, boy-next-door charm, like his heart isn’t still racing from swinging across buildings ten minutes ago.
you don't notice. you never do.
because to you, heeseung is just heeseung—your best friend since freshman orientation, your 3 a.m. study buddy, the guy who knows exactly how you take your coffee and always walks you home at night.
not a hero.
not spiderman.
—
it starts when you come home glowing. heeseung knows immediately.
“you look…dangerous,” he says cautiously.
you drop your bag, spining dramatically, and announce, “I SAW SPIDER-MAN TODAY.”
his heart stops.
“…you what.”
“he literally saved a kid from getting hit by a truck,” you gush, flopping onto the couch beside him. “and then he landed on the lamppost and waved at everyone and—”
you press your hands to your cheeks.
“he’s so hot.”
heeseung chokes on air.
“i’m sorry?”
you look at him like he’s insane. “have you seen him?”
“…no,” heeseung says weakly. “k don’t…look at men.”
“well, i do,” you declare proudly. “and I’m in love.”
the words shouldn’t hurt.
but they do.
because heeseung remembers the exact moment—how the kid was shaking, how the crowd screamed, how he waved because he didn’t know what else to do.
he remembers your face in the crowd.
your smile.
and now you're in love with someone who doesn’t exist.
someone who is him—but not him enough to be real.
—
you talk about spiderman constantly.
“do you think he’s a student?” “he has nice hands, i can tell.” “what if he’s secretly awkward under the mask?”
heeseung dies a little more every day.
meanwhile, you are completely oblivious to the way heeseung always has new bruises, how his hoodie smells like rain and metal or why he disappears whenever spiderman appears.
one night, you catch him changing his bandage.
“HEESEUNG,” you gasp. “WHAT HAPPENED?”
he panics. “i—fell.”
“of what??”
“…life?”