"Hak, I got something for you." Jae-Ha's voice is already up an octave, already poised for teasing, and Hak isn't entirely sure he wants whatever Jae-Ha has, not even as Jae-Ha finally comes into view, hands folded over each other perfectly enough to hide whatever he has.
"I don't want it." Hak tells him, firmly, just to try to drive his point home. It works on some people, but those people clearly aren't Jae-Ha. Of course.
"It's to show you how important you are to me." Jae-Ha's smile is warm and composed and smooth which it shouldn't be, because Hak had already rejected the gift.
"You're just saying that." Hak tells him, even though as always there is a touch of truth to Jae-Ha that is very hard to overlook, a hint of sentimentality, a hint of earnest and genuine affection there. Clearly, Hak is someone that Jae-Ha does care for, a friend that he values so much.
"Why would I just say it?" And Jae-Ha's a master of acting, Hak swears that his friend is, because Jae-Ha's eyes go wide with a feigned innocence, and he looks at Hak as if he has all the love in the world and all the genuineness that such a moment should call for.
"Because you're you." And Hak looks away, pretends that his friend isn't actually trying to get his attention.
"Of course, I'm me. Who else would I be?" And Jae-Ha's too smooth at his lines, and sometimes Hak wonders if Jae-Ha practices what he'll say in a mirror; there's no way that he's just this good at acting, naturally.
"Whatever you're being right now." Hak tells him.
"I'm just being me, Mr. Thunder Beast." And his lips pull up teasingly, and Hak shoots him a look.
"Since when do you call me by title?" He asks, despite the temptation to once again tell someone that Hak is no longer a general.
"Since you were mean." Jae-Ha's still grinning, and Hak wonders if there's a way to make him stop grinning like he'd just somehow won the lottery.
"You said you had something for me?" Hak asked, finally opening the conversation back up to where it started.
"Not anymore." Jae-Ha told him as if he'd thrown it away, "'Bye, Hak." A sly wave over his shoulder, and Hak's more curious than he really wants to be.
"Wait!" He reaches out as if to touch Jae-Ha's shoulder but stops.
"So, you want to be my friend after all?" Jae-Ha turned around, and there's still a hint of mischievousness to him.
"I have no choice, do I?" Hak sarcastically retorts.
"If you're going to be that way..." Jae-Ha twirls back around, and Hak just stares him down.
"Please, I guess?" And sighs.
"Okay." Jae-Ha replied, letting Hak win or maybe lose this argument, "Here."
And Hak's hands suddenly have something semi-smooth and a little cool in them, and Jae-Ha's already gone.
It's green and small, and it's a friendship bracelet. Hak's a little lost.
People don't normally give out friendship bracelets, do they? But Hak can't help but stare at the little green braided material anyway. And yet, when he goes to slip in on, because he might as well, it doesn't fit. Jae-Ha had made it too small? On purpose? Maybe?
Hak just stares at the little gift and wonders what that means.
