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Hyunjae was breathless.
Well, not literally, but almost. He was chilling at his house with his friends, Jacob and Juyeon, after a tiring week of exams and essays.
Juyeon was the most drained of them since he was a med resident working part-time while having regular classes at college; Hyunjae thought he was a true warrior. Jacob had to complete about four assignments in a span of three days and if he closed his eyes, he still could see his computer’s screen on his eyelids. Hyunjae was like Jacob, his majoring in anthropology took a toll on him because he had two exams that he had written over two thousand words each, besides his three assignments as well. Sometimes they both really wanted to quit college, but they never did.
At least, Hyunjae had Jacob to brighten up his mood with his warm words and the silliest jokes ever and that’s why he was breathless. The three of them were watching a movie together to rest their minds a little, but it seemed like the plot really left him dissatisfied and as always, he made the best comments throughout it, making Hyunjae and Juyeon almost die of laughter. Thankfully, their vacation was approaching and they had less than a week until finally having a break from the mental torture of studying and working.
Juyeon, however, would still keep going to the hospital he was a resident at because he loved his major and he had nothing to do on vacations. He wasn’t going to travel and the only thing he did was hang out with his friends, which he could still do on days he didn’t have a shift. The kids at the hospital were truly captivating, earning Juyeon’s heart in a blink of an eye since he was a pediatrician major.
Hyunjae admired him since he met him. They were kinda close since they had the same group of friends, but both of them were closer with other people, like Hyunjae with Jacob and Juyeon with Changmin. The group consisted of five people, the four of them and Sunwoo, Changmin’s best friend — everybody knew they had something going on, but both of them were too oblivious to notice and the others wouldn’t point it out, since it wasn’t their place.
Hyunjae knew Jacob since they were teenagers. They were neighbors and, since their mothers were friends, they spent a lot of time together. Jacob got into university first as he was older, but when Hyunjae graduated from school he took a year to rest before entering uni, the same one as Jacob.
When Hyunjae got in, Jacob introduced him to his friends. He was a psychology major, so he knew Juyeon because of their department; Changmin, a dance major, and Sunwoo, a music production major, were like a package duo and they came along with Juyeon.
They were an odd group, but they worked well together. Hyunjae didn’t even have time to overthink and feel out of place for being the last one to enter the group because they were really welcoming and nice.
Changmin had a bright personality and was really cheerful. He was nice to talk to because he would make you instantly energized. Sunwoo was a funny person, but in a way that made people laugh and feel their chest warm because he was gentle and nice to have around. Then, there was Juyeon.
How could he describe Juyeon?
Even after two years, Hyunjae still was at a loss of words to describe him. Juyeon was a box full of surprises and Hyunjae discovered something new about him every month. To begin with, Juyeon was more of a listener, giving his full attention to whoever was talking in the moment, he was the most understanding person Hyunjae knew and that amazed him. Juyeon was hard-working, he was busy almost everyday with his college obligations, and yet he managed to have time for his family, his friends and his hobbies.
That was some of the many reasons why Hyunjae always tried to check up on him when he could. Checking up on people was something he did unconsciously. Most of the times, he didn’t notice the things he did for people until they pointed it out, and it was pretty rare for people to do so.
Hyunjae, Juyeon and Jacob were almost finished with the movie when Hyunjae’s mother arrived at their house, earlier than she had said she would. Hyunjae was sprawled over the soft carpet of his floor, his head on Juyeon’s legs who was sitting with back resting on the couch, where Jacob took over by himself. Hyunjae frowned when he saw the woman entering the living room with his grandma behind her. He had completely forgotten she was arriving today.
“Mom?” He spoke, confused seeing his mother drag his grandma’s suitcase through the corridor. “You got home earlier than I thought.”
The old woman was going to spend about a month and a half at his house because his older sister, Minhee, was getting married. The rest of the family who lived in another city or even another state were only visiting the town when the date for the wedding approached, but his grandmother was sick and wanted to spend every single minute she could with those she loved, she was going to stay for a while at his house. His grandfather had died six months before and that was enough to send the poor woman into a deep stage of depression in a short span of time, worrying all of the family members, since she had no one to live with anymore. They all agreed to weekly check up on her and to have her at their house for a while so she could distract herself and have some company.
Hyunjae loved his grandma, so he was excited for her arrival.
“Oh, yes, I got off work earlier today and I decided to pick her up, since we already knew she’d be ready to come by noon,” She answered with a sweet smile on her face. “Hi, boys, I didn’t even get to greet you well. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, auntie, we’re not strangers,” Jacob smiled at her and sat on the couch to make space for people to sit.
“Hi, Ms. Lee, it’s nice to see you,” Juyeon politely greeted, even though the woman had already dismissed him a thousand times and assured him that it was fine to call her by auntie or by her name.
“Juyeon, I’m not gonna even talk to you after this Ms.,” She frowned at him and the three boys chuckled. “It makes me feel old!”
“Hi, grandma,” Hyunjae cheerfully greeted the new person in the room. “How are you doing?”
“Hi, my love! Grandma’s fine, she missed you a lot, huh?” She replied with a big smile and sparkles in her eyes. “How’s my favorite boy?”
Jacob already knew her, since he and Hyunjae were friends for a long time. For Juyeon, though, it was his first time meeting anyone from Hyunjae’s family and he could understand better where the sweetness and fondness from Hyunjae and his mother came from.
“I’m fine! Luckily, I’m almost free from college and going on vacation,” He answered and he felt Juyeon laughing under him as his legs shaked a little under his head.
“Jacob, my dear, long time no see,” The old lady was sitting by the couch and messed with Jacob's hair, who seemed to be used to her behaviour.
“Hi, Sooyun, I missed you,” He put his hand over hers in his head and looked up to the woman, “Can’t believe I’ll get to eat your amazing brownies again. Did you know Hyunjae almost burned the kitchen while trying it last month?”
“Oh, C’mon, it wasn’t my fault,” Hyunjae whined.
“Don’t worry, he won’t get near that kitchen while I’m here,” She laughed at the exposed fact.
Jacob took that as a cue to bring the bowl they ate popcorn and the cups they used to the sink by the kitchen and he excused himself from the room.
“And won’t you introduce me to this young boy, Jaehyun-ah?” She said with an amused tone, wiggling her eyebrows and crossing her arms in front of her torso.
“Grandma, this is Juyeon. Juyeon, this is my grandma Sooyun,” He stubbornly introduced them and didn’t move an inch from Juyeon’s legs, still laying on the ground.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sooyun,” Juyeon offered his hand to the lady who was seated at the armchair beside the couch.
“The pleasure is mine, sweetheart. Jaehyunnie, is Juyeon your boyfriend? Will you bring him to Minhee’s wedding? You know, I was talking to your mom in the car about how it would be nice if you had a companion during the wedding. You’re too handsome to be alone at your age, your mother agrees with me,” Sooyun asked right in front of both of them, catching them off guard and making Hyunjae want to run away and hide his face on the ground like an ostrich.
The woman might have misunderstood them because Hyunjae was laying down on his legs and by the fact she never met him, she may have thought he was also new at being around the house.
“Grandma, it’s not like that,” He whined and hid his face in his hands. He could feel his ears burning in embarrassment and he was silently praying for Juyeon to not be weirded out by her nor by the situation. Hyunjae felt Juyeon tensing up under him as his thighs flexed by the question.
“What? I’m not lying!” She scoffed at her grandson’s reaction. “Don’t you also think our Jaehyun is handsome, Juyeon-ssi?”
“I will have to agree with you, Sooyun. He indeed is very handsome,” Juyeon answered and he carefully threaded his fingers into Hyunjae’s hair. Hyunjae was still hiding his face and frowned at his friend’s behaviour. What was he doing?
“See? Juyeon-ah, you’re one of a kind. I hope you take good care of my little boy, okay?” The lady smiled and looked fondly at the duo. Anyone could hear and feel the sincerity and happiness in her voice as she talked about Jaehyun. “Anything you need, you can come to me.”
“I promise you, I will take care of him.” He shot her with his blinding eye-smile that got everyone falling for him. “You don’t need to worry.”
“Now, if you excuse me, I have some brownies to bake, since someone can't.” The woman joked and left the room, leaving a whining Hyunjae and a laughing Juyeon behind. Jacob was washing the dishes and as soon as he saw the old woman entering the room to bake, he promptly offered to help her, which she gladly accepted.
“Ok… What-” Hyunjae was the first one to talk when they were left alone in the living room. “What was that?”
“I kinda panicked,” Juyeon looked at Hyunjae, who was now sitting beside him, and pouting, and said in a low tone so no one could hear them. “She looked so happy that you were ‘dating someone’, I could literally see stars in her eyes as she talked about you having a plus one. I couldn’t break her heart like that.” He explained with a small pout that Hyunjae was making sure to not notice.
Juyeon was surely too good for his own good.
“Okay, but you know what you got yourself into, right?” Hyunjae asked warily, trying to understand why Juyeon reacted that way.
“Hm? What do you mean?” Juyeon tilted his head in genuine confusion.
“That you may have to go to my sister’s wedding, but you’re kinda going as my boyfriend now,” Hyunjae slowly informed him, as if it was the most shocking news of the moment. However, Juyeon didn’t react at all. Minhee invited Hyunjae’s friends to her wedding as she liked them and it would be nice to her little brother to have company during a boring event like that.
“And… should I have a problem with that or…?” Juyeon trailed off.
“I mean, are you fine with pretending that we’re dating? Do you mind it?”
It was only after Hyunjae said it that his words might have sunk into Juyeon’s brain, fully understanding the situation they were in together.
“Ahhh, that. No, I don’t mind at all, actually. Do you mind?” Juyeon returned the question and the confusion on his face morphed into his normal calm and collected self.
“Uhm, no, it’s fine. I’ll try to prevent my grandma from dragging you into all the boring wedding things we have to do besides the actual ceremony,” Hyunjae assured him as his worry about Juyeon not agreeing to it dissipated from his back. “I promise I’ll pay you back for helping me out, don’t worry.”
Juyeon genuinely frowned and when he spoke, it came out a little more bitter than he intended to.
“You what? You don’t need to pay, I’m helping you out. That’s what friends do,” Juyeon almost shoved the other with a slap, making him surprised by such a reaction. “And I also don’t mind if I have to attend all that wedding stuff like the engagement party and church rehearsal. C’mon, we’ll be on vacation, we have nothing to do, so it’s fine.”
“Don’t even pretend that you don’t keep going to the hospital you work at even when you don’t have to,” Hyunjae accusingly pointed at him and narrowed his eyes as Juyeon laughed.
“ Touché , but it’s not my fault the kids have won my heart,” He defended himself with a wide smile.
Juyeon truly loved what he did and anyone could feel it by the way he talked about how he managed to make a little three-year laugh during his shift, even though he spent twelve hours wide awake at the hospital. He also didn’t always head back home to properly sleep as he had other things to do, and that was the reason they bickered endlessly most of the time.
Juyeon used to leave the hospital by 7 am and he grabbed breakfast at a little café near the hospital, coincidentally also near Hyunjae’s house, so they met quite often there. Hyunjae found the place really welcoming and both the food and the coffee there were fantastic, so he was a regular client, going there almost everyday before his morning classes.
“Ok, then, since you find hanging out in a suit a good plan to do during vacation,” Hyunjae teased him and opened his phone, going to his notes app. “I think we should put some boundaries with fake dating and stuff then. My aunties are very nosy and they will be a pain in the ass, that I’m sure, but I’m used to it anyway. However, you—” he poked Juyeon’s chest, and his eyes followed the movement, “—are not and I will spare you from that torture.”
Juyeon giggled at Hyujae’s dramatic explanation. “I guess I’m fine with everything, we’re pretty affectionate already with each other if you stop to think about it.”
Talking about affection, Juyeon was unexplainable when it came to it. He liked hugging, he was fine with stroking the hair and his favorite, hand-holding, but he never asked for it. He would never go around and say Jacob-hyung, can we hold hands? . Juyeon liked when it was something genuine, natural, without asking and surprisingly, Hyunjae was able to catch up quickly when he was introduced to their group.
That’s how they naturally gravitated towards each other most of the time. Hyunjae was always pulling him to walk together with their hands linked, he always rested his head on Juyeon’s shoulder or chest, whichever was more comfortable for them, and he also loved to poke Juyeon’s cheek.
“Ok, let’s define everything so we’re on the same page. Hand holding and hugging are fine,” Juyeon almost scoffed beside him, they did it on a daily basis, so pretending wouldn’t change a thing. “Are pet names ok?”
“Yes. I’ve always teased you with it, it’s not new either.”
“Cheek kisses are ok?”
“Sure.”
“Ok and… actual kisses, what about it? I mean, we won’t have to do it, but in case it’s reaaally needed, I want to make sure how you feel about it,” Hyunjae shyly asked and avoided actually looking at Juyeon, who pondered for a second before answering.
“I’m fine with them, it’s just a kiss and as I said, I’m helping you on this. I don’t mind at all,” He innocently said and the other hummed as he typed down on his notes. It was cute the way he wrote everything down like they were making a business deal and would have to sign anything. “We need to have a story, by the way.”
“Oh, right, I forgot about that,” Hyunjae craned his neck, hearing it crack and he sighed at the feeling. “I guess we don’t need to make up one. We can actually tell that we met because we were introduced at college because of Jacob hyung, as he was our friend and he wanted us to get along together, we got closer and eventually, we fell in love.”
“Sounds about right, convincing and fool proof.”
“Anything else?”
“Will your aunties ask about our first kiss and who asked the other out first? You know, small details,” Juyeon added and judging by Hyunjae’s reaction, a groan, yes , they would ask about it.
“I can’t take my family sometimes. Ok, I would like to think that our first kiss was when you were walking me home after having coffee together, the sun setting behind us, what do you think?” Hyunjae tapped his chin and glanced over at Juyeon, seeing the boy hold back his laughter. “Yah!”
“That’s pretty specific,” Juyeon chuckled.
“I know, it’s pretty self-indulgent. I’d like to be kissed in this scenario one day,” He informed, fingers hovering over his cellphone keyboard, waiting for Juyeon’s approval to type it down. “So, what do you think?”
“I think it’s good, it’s a pretty scene to imagine,” Juyeon made an unconscious mental note of it. “Who kissed the other first?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Aren’t you brave enough to kiss me first?” Hyunjae teased and Juyeon rolled his eyes. “Fine, and I was the one who asked you to date?”
“Yes, let’s pretend you’re romantic and had the balls to do it,” Juyeon bit back and smirked, earning a glare.
“I’m breaking up with you and we barely started dating,” Hyunjae scoffed and checked his note to see if there was anything missing. “Ok, I think we’re settled, we decided everything. I still can’t believe you’re doing this for me.” Hyunjae softly said, his hand flying over to rest on top of Juyeon’s, that was on the floor between them. “Thank you.”
“No worries, hyung. I hope I can be a good fake boyfriend to you,” They laughed together.
“I have no doubts,” The man said and at the same time, the heavenly smell of fresh baked brownies took over the living room, both of them inhaling deeply and closing their eyes, leaving a soft sigh when exhaling. “Time to eat?”
“Time to eat!” Juyeon cheerfully answered and got up, helping Hyunjae to get up as well and they headed to the kitchen.
It was settled. Juyeon was now Hyunjae’s boyfriend for the vacation.
(...)
Juyeon was reading a book when his phone buzzed beside him on his mat two days after.
hyunjae: can i call youuu
Juyeon placed the bookmarker on the page he stopped reading, sat up on his bed and instead of answering the text, he called Hyunjae right away.
“Hello, hyung,” He sing-songed when the other picked up.
“Juyeon-ah,” Hyunjae cheerly greeted. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, I managed to cook yesterday after a while. And you?”
Hyunjae knew Juyeon liked cooking, he said it was therapeutic and he liked to do it so he could enjoy himself. It was also undeniable his cooking skills were fenomenal and Hyunjae always thanked in silence when the boy took a lunch box of his homemade food to college and he managed to take a bite of it using the card of being ‘Juyeon’s favorite hyung’ — self proclaimed by himself, Juyeon never admitted it.
“I just played some games after a while and I’m thinking of picking a new hobby during vacation, what do you think?”
“Give me the options and then I’ll give you my opinion.”
“I’ll tell you later, for now I wanted to ask if you are available tomorrow at lunch,” Hyunjae asked.
“Pretty much, yes. Yes, I am, why?” Juyeon furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over the calendar on top of his table.
“Well, I have a proposal to make,” The manjoked in a fake serious tone.
“Already proposing to me? Hyung, we’ve barely started dating,” Juyeon answered, earning a snort from the other side of the line.
“I’m sorry to inform you that the person marrying is not me. Anyway, tomorrow is my sister’s engagement lunch to do all that cute stuff of exchanging rings with a photographer as if it was the actual proposal of them, etc. Good thing is: the fiancé’s family is kinda rich and will be paying for everything and as far as I know, it will be at a fancy restaurant, so…” Hyunjae trailed off, looking at his picked nails as he waited for Juyeon’s answer.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” He said and Hyunjae smiled.
“See! Being my boyfriend has its advantages,” The man scoffed as he was trying to prove his point. “You can come to my house by noon and we can leave together, is that fine?”
“Sure, I’ll make sure to make a good use of your future brother-in-law’s money!”
Hyunjae rolled his eyes. “Dork. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, see you,” Juyeon chuckled as he finished the call.
Juyeon accepted the fake dating deal for some reasons as he concluded to himself after thinking about it the previous day. The first and obvious reason was his altruism and willingness to help others no matter what. No wonder his major was medicine, chosen because he wanted to help people as much as he could and he thought the profession was perfect for that.
The second reason he agreed was because he didn’t think things would change between him and Hyunjae and the fact that he treasured his family a lot, so he wanted Hyunjae to have a good relationship with his own as well. It seemed that the existence of a boyfriend would make their relationship better and Juyeon was willing to help.
He wasn’t worried about how they would have to act in front of Hyunjae’s family. He slept peacefully on that day.
When Juyeon woke up on the next day, it was around 10 am. The boy yawned as he slowly opened his eyes, stretching himself on the bed before getting up. He walked towards his bathroom and brushed his teeth while he thought about what to wear for lunch. Even if he wasn’t worried, he still had to make a good first impression — not that it was hard because Juyeon was Juyeon and everyone liked him right away.
The man took his precious time while taking a shower, the knots on his back detangling as the hot and warm water ran down. It was like the water dissolved all of his problems and worries down the drain. He left the bathroom drying his hair with a towel and another hanging low on his waist, droplets of water running down his gentle skin. Juyeon decided to use a white dress shirt, tight black jeans pants and a simple pair of elegant shoes.
He styled his hair to the back with a little bit of gel after drying it, and he prepared a small and quick sandwich for himself as he didn’t eat anything for breakfast, but was going to eat properly soon. He was chewing silently on it when his phone buzzed on the table, signaling a notification.
hyunjae: hey there pretty boy
This wasn’t new.
Hyunjae began to call him pretty boy in a teasing way since Juyeon forgot his name the first time they met because he was sleep-deprived, and later on he asked Jacob who the new pretty boy was. Jacob, of course, couldn’t let him get away with it and he told all of their friends during lunch break that same week. Since then, Hyunjae calls him pretty boy.
hyunjae: ready to grab lunch with your cute boyfriend
However, this was new.
The light-hearted way Hyunjae was treating it all eased Juyeon’s fear of ruining everything in front of his family, even though he knew Hyunjae would have his back no matter what. He had never been a good actor and his friends always said he couldn’t lie to save his life, so he was pretty taken aback when Hyunjae’s grandma believed him when he said they were dating. This was something Juyeon made a mental note to self-analyze later.
juyeon: im already on my way baby
He smiled at his phone and locked it, shoving it in his pocket, and headed to the door after grabbing his wallet on the counter. Juyeon locked his apartment’s door and started walking to Hyunjae’s house, since it was a ten-minute short walk.
Once he reached there, there were some cars in front of Hyunjae’s house all parked across the street. Juyeon gulped down his nervousness and reached the stepdoor, pressing the bell like a normal person instead of texting Hyunjae that he had arrived and was at the door. He silently prayed that his friend would open the door, but his desires were in vain. He saw Hyunjae’s mother greeting him with a big smile.
“Juyeon, sweetheart, what are you doing here?” She hugged him and stepped aside so he could enter.
That was one of his doubts. Had Hyunjae told anyone they were dating besides his grandmother? Apparently, he didn’t.
“Uhm… Hyung didn’t tell you? I’m his plus one at Minhee’s noona wedding. He invited me for lunch today,” He explained, his cheeks with a faint tint of blush.
“Oh, right, sure. Jaehyun told me you were dating, but with all of the stress I forgot for a moment, sorry, sweetie. I’m really happy for you both, you and Jaehyun always forget things around you when you’re together,” She proudly congratulated him as she checked something on her phone. “He’s in his room, we’re leaving in a bit, so I’d appreciate it if you could call him for me.”
“Will do, auntie.”
“Now you call me auntie, huh?” She teased and pinched his ears as he walked past her, laughing.
Juyeon climbed the stairs and quietly knocked on Hyunjae’s bedroom door, receiving a faint ‘come in’ from him.
“Are you gonna eat inside your room or what?” Juyeon joked as he entered the room and found Hyunjae splattered over his bedroom in his clothes as well.
Hyunjae lifted his eyes from his cellphone to the person now standing in front of his door. He didn’t bother to hide his reaction as he eyed Juyeon from head to toe, taking in the way he was dressed as they had never seen each other like that before. Hyunjae gulped down and masked his expression with a joke.
“Not going out is a good option too,” He got up from the bed and Juyeon rolled his eyes. Hyunjae was dressed similarly to him, but his shirt was baby blue while Juyeon’s was white.
“Think about the free food,” Juyeon poked his forehead as they approached each other.
“I am! I heard the restaurant is good and not the ones where the plates barely have any food and it costs a million won.”
They started to go down the stairs and Hyunjae’s parents, his grandma and his baby cousin were in the living room, checking if they grabbed everything to leave. The rest of the family was heading to the restaurant and Minhee and her fiancé were already there making the reception for their guests.
Hyesun, Hyunjae’s little cousin, had just turned four years old and she was a bright and cheerful kid. She was really curious and smart for her age. Hyunjae's mother loved when she spent some days at their house so she could teach the little girl new things. Hyesun also loved Hyunjae, always clinging onto him whenever she could.
As soon as he stepped into the room with Juyeon by his side, the little girl cheered and ran to him, little arms up so he could pick her up and hold her.
“Sunnie, hi. How are you?” Hyunjae asked with a big smile with her in his arms.
“Jaehyunnie oppa, I missed you. I’m good,” She answered and hugged his neck.
Juyeon smiled fondly at the scene before getting startled by the eldest in the room.
“Juyeon-ssi, what lovely surprise to see you here,” Yoosun got his attention and he looked at her in front of him. “How are you?”
“Ms. Lee, hi. I’m pretty good. What about you? Excited about the wedding?” Juyeon politely tried to engage in a quick conversation as Hyunjae’s parents went to grab the car keys.
“I’m fine, I’m on cloud nine seeing my baby Minhee finally getting married. She deserves a nice man and I’m sure her fiancé is the right one.”
After that, Hyunjae grabbed the keys his mother handed him. They were going to split into two cars, Hyunjae, Hyesun and Juyeon in one and the other three in the other. The way to the restaurant was short, around fifteen minutes, and the boys interacted all the way with Hyesun, who, with attentive eyes, asked about things she saw through the window.
Hyunjae parked the car near the entrance and took Hyesun off of the child safety seat, she said she was a grown up already and wanted to enter the place walking like everyone else. Both boys giggled at her behaviour and Hyunjae grabbed her hand. Once Hyunjae’s parents reached him on the sidewalk, they headed inside the restaurant.
“Let’s go,” Hyunjae said as he offered his hand to Juyeon to take.
He one smiled at Hyunjae and intertwined their fingers as if they had done it a million times before. Juyeon felt a tingly feeling on his chest, but he supposed it was from anxiety from meeting Hyunjae’s family. People inside the restaurant if they saw them, they could swear they looked like a happy couple with their child. It was an endearing view.
“Hyesun-ah!” Minhee exclaimed as she saw them approaching the enormous table at the farthest back of the open area of the restaurant, with a beautiful garden a few meters from them. “You look like a princess.” She left a kiss on the girl’s cheek, who giggled.
“Thank you,” She thanked shyly and ran to her mother who was already seated in the middle of the table.
“Jaehyun-ah! …and Juyeon-ssi?” She didn’t hide her confusion. Last time she checked her little brother was still single and Juyeon was one of his annoying friends — she loved them. “What did I miss, huh? I’ve been away for only a month and a half,” Minhee raised her eyebrow and smirked, motioning her head towards their linked hands.
Hyunjae couldn’t help the faint blush that creeped onto his cheeks, especially when Juyeon brushed his thumb over the back of his hand in reassurance. “It was kinda always there, stop it.”
“Oh well, I noticed it before, but I didn’t know you both would act upon it anytime soon,” She pinched Hyunjae’s ear.
What she said was something that stuck onto the mind of both of them. They were confused deep inside, but they continued to pretend as they needed to. Also, neither of them knew how to approach that topic later on, so they kinda just brushed it off, however not forgetting it completely.
“I guess we can blame it on the caffeine,” Juyeon chimed in to help Hyunjae, who he felt was caught a little off guard by his sister’s statement.
“Anyways, we’re dating. Suck it up, I’m not alone anymore,” Hyunjae stuck his tongue out and he led Juyeon to sit with him at the end of the table, luckily far from his annoying relatives.
The food was going to be served soon as they made a special menu for the occasion and Hyunjae and Juyeon grabbed the extravagant menu on the table. They were sitting side by side and Juyeon kinda leaned way too close over his side to read the plates together. It was like they gravitated towards each other unconsciously and they just noticed it when someone pointed it out, in this case, one of Hyunjae’s aunt that was sitting in front of them, spoke first.
“Jaehyunnie, how long since we last talked! I’m happy to see you with someone, congratulations on your relationship. How have you been?” The lady softly said.
Haewon was his favorite aunt.
She was the infamous single and living-out-of-the country aunt. She was one of the few in the family who had the cognitive function to know how to discern when something was disrespectful and a nuisance to be said; when Hyunjae came out to his family, she fought some relatives who started to talk shit about the young boy. The woman worked with art restoration in a huge museum in Italy and she lived alone, only her and her pretty and lovely black cat, named Magnolium.
To sum up, she was kinda the pariah of the family and that’s what brought her and Hyunjae close.
“Auntie Haewon, gosh, I missed you so much. I’m fine, finally giving a break to my brain from the social science stuff from college.”His eyes lightened up as he acknowledged the presence of the woman close to them, sighing in relief. “And what about you? How’s Italy and its art?”
“Ah, Jaehyunnie, the same old thing. There isn't that much to tell you as the museum closed for a week to clean and rearrange the expositions. But, you tell me, huh? I kinda lost something, I see,” She wiggled her eyebrows and took a sip of her drink and Hyunjae flushed at the mention of his boyfriend.
“Err… Juyeon, this is my aunt Haewon and auntie, this is Juyeon, my boyfriend,” He introduced them and something twisted inside him when he said it out loud that he was dating Juyeon. It wasn’t real, yet he felt a wave of an unknown feeling that he decided to ignore for now.
“Hi, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Haewon-ssi” Juyeon smiled widely and offered his hand. Of course, Juyeon was the perfect boyfriend that all of your family would love and even years after breaking up, they would still mention him. Hyunjae gulped.
“Pleasure is mine, Juyeon. You can call me only Haewon, don’t worry about honorifics. I’m sure if my little Jaehyunnie likes you so much to the point of introducing you to us, to me, it’s because he’s serious about it,” Haewon sweetly added as she shook their hands and both boys got slightly embarrassed. “Would you mind telling me a little about you? If that’s not too invasive, of course.”
“It’s no problem at all, I see hyung cares about you as much as you do about him,” He replied and Hyunjae turned slightly to his side to watch Juyeon speaking, a small smile adorning his features. “I just turned twenty-one early this year, I’m a medicine major and I’m currently working with pediatrics at a hospital near hyung’s house. We study at the same university and we have friends in common, so that’s how we met each other.”
“Aw, so you work with kids? That’s so sweet! Can I ask why you decided to work in this area?” The woman asked excitedly, engaging in a full conversation with Juyeon as Hyunjae only looked back and forth at them, not saying anything.
“I have always liked to take care of people since I was young, so that’s why I chose medicine as my major. As in working with children, I guess the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction of being able to help them is better than helping an adult. They are little and have a whole life to live yet, it’s unfair that some of them have to spend a lot of the time of their childhood, when they were supposed to make good memories and make friends and play, inside a hospital.” Juyeon calmly explained and his answer also was a shock to Hyunjae. He never knew why he chose his major and hearing it was endearing, he always said Juyeon was like an out-of-books character, but this was like a confirmation. Hyunjae sighed unconsciously and his aunt eyed him briefly. “If they have to be there, I hope at least to make the experience a little enjoyable.”
“Oh, Juyeon, you’re so kind, I’m even speechless with this. You’re truly one of a kind,” She replied and before they could keep talking, Hyunjae’s sister called her out because they were going to start taking those family pictures divided by group and she was currently gathering all of her aunts first. “If you excuse me, boys, duty calls.”
They chuckled and she got up from the table. “I didn’t know you were that philosophical, Juyeonie,” Hyunjae joked with a sly grin.
“Surprise?” Juyeon said and they chuckled, “It’s not a good topic to talk about over lunch, so that’s why I never said it I guess.”
“Yet you’re talking about it over lunch.”
“You know what I mean!” Juyeon whined and elbowed the other one.
“I’m kidding, hey! I like hearing your thoughts, please, keep that in mind,” Hyunjae replied with sincere eyes, making Juyeon almost melt at the spot.
Juyeon loved to talk, but when he was with other people he tended to keep quiet and listen to the person first. It was like second nature for him and he didn’t actually notice he did that, but Hyunjae always saw how he was usually quiet when their group hung out together.
“It means a lot to me, really,” The younger answered and averted his gaze towards the spot where people were taking photos, smiling at the scene. “Why did you choose social science as your major, hyung?”
“Me? Well, I kinda find it pretty awesome to analyze society because that explains so many things from our behaviour and important decisions throughout history. It’s both shocking and incredible when I’m reading a text from over two centuries ago and it still makes sense and fits perfectly into nowadays.”
Before Juyeon could reply, Minhee appeared beside them shoving the duo out of the table towards the place they were taking pictures. Hyunjae whined to her to get away and be gentle with them, because they were already going. However, before he walked toward his sister, he felt Juyeon tense up by his side. Hyunjae looked into his eyes searching for any hint of the sudden behaviour change, but he couldn’t guess yet.
Hyunjae softly took his hand and walked to the side where no one was and no one could hear them.
“What’s the matter, Juyeonie? Is it because of something anyone did or said?” He asked worriedly, still holding the other’s hand, now gently brushing his thumb over the back of his hand.
“No, it’s…” Juyeon started and Hyunjae looked at him expectantly, nodding his head in encouragement for him to say. “I don’t want to appear on these pics, they’re from a very special moment and I don’t want to ruin it because of our fake relationship. I don’t want you to look back at this and regret taking pictures with a fake deal behind.”
His reasoning was understandable, he was thinking ahead to the future, maybe with Hyunjae married or something seeing the pics from his sister’s wedding and remembering he wasn’t together with someone he loved. Funny thing is that he was, but neither of them had discovered yet.
“Juyeonie, I get your point, but that’s not what I’m thinking. Even if we aren’t together, you’re still my friend and a person that I treasure a lot. I would never regret looking back at this because it’s a good memory we made together,” Hyunjae answered, staring deep into his eyes, hoping he could convey all of his sincerity through his words. “You don’t need to take photos with us if you don’t want to, I would never pressure you to do anything, but I really would like to have you by my side there.”
Hyunjae didn’t know if the glint in Juyeon’s eyes was due to tears or because his eyes shone like that always, but he felt him squeezing his hand and smiled. One of the prettiest smiles he has ever seen in Juyeon’s face; it was sincere, it was gorgeous, his whole face lit up and his eyes disappeared because of his wide smile and that made Hyunjae feel a little giggly. He smiled as well.
“Is everything okay?” Minhee carefully approached them, hoping she wasn’t interrupting anything.
“Yes, noona, Juyeonie was just worried I’d look prettier than him in the photos,” Hyunjae joked to ease the mood and they both laughed.
“It’s fine now, I’m confident I’m way more handsome than him, noona, don’t worry,” Juyeon retorted back and Hyunjae pretended to look offended by the comment.
It was a appealing scene to see
(...)
Two days later, Hyunjae was bored in his room.
He was alone. His family left by the morning to prepare things related to the wedding party and he said it was too boring, choosing to stay at home by himself, but after a while he was kinda regretting his own decision. He was tired of playing the same old games on his computer and on his console, he was also too lazy to keep watching the series he had to or start a new one. He also felt like his brain melted, he couldn’t think of anything to do, like his brain cells were still sleeping at 4pm.
Then, like straight out of animation movies, a lamp lit up on his head.
He knew Jacob was still travelling to his grandma’s house and wouldn’t be back for at least two days, Changmin and Sunwoo were probably too busy working on a new piece at their dance studio or they were on a date. So, it left him one option of someone he could hang out with — as if he didn’t think of him first.
Juyeon.
hyunjae: are u awake
He knew Juyeon was still working at the hospital until ungodly hours, but he didn't know which days he had a schedule. That’s why he asked. Juyeon would sleep a little during the day so he could keep up with the twelve-hour shift from 7 pm to 7 am.
juyeon: hi hyung
juyeon: i guess i am why
Hyunjae rolled his eyes and chuckled. Juyeon was funny without even trying.
hyunjae: do u wanna come over and watch a movie
juyeon: is it a boyfriend duty or
He frowned at the reply. He was genuinely asking the boy to spend time with him because he enjoyed his company. Hyunjae would never use him only because of his nagging family.
hyunjae: i will punch u
hyunjae: i wanna spend time with u idiot
hyunjae: theres no one at my house
Hyunjae pouted at the mention of their deal from Juyeon’s part because even with that, they were still close friends and Hyunjae loved to spend time with. He was Hyunjae’s favorite one when it came to watching movies because he always had deep and good perceptions of the content and they could talk about it for hours and hours straight.
juyeon: ill be there in 15
Hyunjae just shoved the phone in his sweatpant’s pocket and headed down to make some popcorn before the other arrived. He knew Juyeon liked popcorn with a little bit of butter and cold and fresh coke, having watched several films with him to know his order. He had already decided to watch a horror movie Changmin recommended to them, named “Midsommar”. Hyunjae had seen some reviews about it online and he was really curious to know the hype behind it.
Hyunjae was almost done serving coke into two big cups when he heard the doorbell ringing. He left the bottle at the counter and ran to the door so he could greet Juyeon. As soon as they saw each other, a wide smile bloomed in their faces and Hyunjae threw his arms around Juyeon’s neck, hugging him quickly before departing and giving him space to enter the house.
“Juyeonie, please, make yourself at home since you already know everything and bla bla bla,” Hyunjae said and he went back to the kitchen to finish his task. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
He turned his back to the door to put the bottle back into the fridge and when he turned back, Juyeon was standing there with the popcorn bowl in his hands.
“I didn’t know you had three arms, hyung,” He mocked his friend with a side smile as he popped one popcorn into his mouth.
“Idiot, I’m gonna really punch you,” Hyunjae rolled his eyes and grabbed the two cups, both of them heading to the living room.
“Oh, good point, why did you want to punch me via message a few minutes ago?”
“Because I wanted to spend some time with my nice and awesome friend Juyeon and you thought it was something from the fake dating deal,” Hyunjae pouted and slapped his arm as he dropped himself on the couch, close to him so they could eat the popcorn together.
Hyunjae hit the play button and the movie started.
It was truly a ride. Juyeon hated horror movies because he was scared and startled easily, but Hyunjae knew that and Changmin had also reassured it didn’t have any jumpscare. The movie deserved the hype it had, they had so much to talk about that Hyunjae even felt a little overwhelmed by how many things he wanted to talk about.
“Ok, before talking about this thing ,” He emphasized the word, “do you want to eat something while we chat?”
Juyeon chuckled, “Actually, it would be awesome.”
“We could bake some cookies, if that’s not a problem. You know I can bake them well,” Hyunjae defended himself before the other retaliated against him with the incident with the brownies.
“Please! Your homemade cookies are the best, I always tell you that,” Juyeon excitedly agreed and they walked towards the kitchen.
“Yes, but Jacob hyung forgot about it apparently,” He pouted as he grabbed the flour package from the shelf.
“As your boyfriend , I’ll always remind you they are amazing,” Juyeon joked and smiled lazily, resting his back by the counter as Hyunjae grabbed the ingredients.
However, before they could start, Hyunjae heard the front door opening and as soon as it opened, he heard his grandma’s voice through the hall. Apparently his family was back from their wedding duty sooner than they planned.
“Where is my Jaehyunnie? Is that you in the kitchen, sweetie?” The woman said loudly, making Juyeon slightly scrunch his nose. He hated loud noises.
“Yes, grandma, I’m here,” He informed her while grabbing a measuring cup from the cabinet. “How were things? Was it boring?”
“It was ama- Juyeon-ah, you’re here, what a pleasant surprise!” She interrupted herself as soon as she saw the man’s face at the kitchen beside Hyunjae. “What brings you here?”
“Hyung and I had agreed to watch a movie together, so I was hanging out with him today. It’s so nice to see you again, Sooyun,” He gently smiled at the old lady who wore a soft smile on her face as well.
“That’s so lovely!” The woman answered with heart in her eyes by seeing the two boys together. Hyunjae was slightly bothered by the sudden appearance because now Juyeon would have to act and he actually wanted them to have a nice time together. “I see our Jaehyunnie is following the family steps.”
“What do you mean, grandma?” Hyunjae asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“Winning Juyeon over by the stomach,” He flushed red at the reply, ignoring the amused look the said man gave him. “You know, a little before me and your grandpa started to date, I baked him a batch of muffins. They were messy, it was one of the first times I had ever baked, yet I thought they were nice and presentable to give them to the person I liked. I remember it vividly,” The woman walked until she could reach a chair by the dining table, “I spent the whole afternoon decorating them and oh God! They looked terrible! I used a bright pink icing on them with colorful sparkles and in two of them I still tried to make a beautiful coat of whipped cream, but it melted too quickly, leaving just a white mess on the plate.”
The duo chuckled as the woman recalled a fond memory. Hyunjae could see her eyes shining and he hoped someday his eyes could shine as hers when he talked about his significant other.
“Anyways, we studied together, so I wrapped them in a cute wrap, it even had a big red bow on it and I gave it to him at the school the other day at the end of the class. I was so shy and nervous that I almost shoved the wrap on his hands and ran away, but he held me back and said nobody ever baked anything for him and he kissed my cheek, thanking me for it. After that, it’s all history,” Sooyun finished her speech, finding both boys with fond smiles on their faces. “Oh stop that, go! You have things to do,” She dismissed them shaking her hands in the air and left the kitchen laughing.
After she left, they stared at each other for a second still smiling from the story before Hyunjae spoke up.
“I’m sorry we were interrupted, I really wanted to have a nice time with you, but then…” He scratched his nape and let out a groan, a little frustrated because of the situation.
“Hey,” Juyeon grabbed his hand and made the other look at him. “Anytime with you is a nice time. Besides, I love to cook, so there’s no problem.”
Hyunjae squeezed their hands and smiled a little. After that, work began. They washed their hands and both of them put on aprons to avoid dirtying their clothes. Juyeon had vehemently said that he was only going to follow Hyunjae’s order because it was his kitchen and his recipe, he was only an assistant. Hyunjae laughed at his silliness.
They started to cook by Hyunjae’s command and it went smoothly, until Juyeon threw flour on his face by accident, but then he took it to the heart and once the dough was ready he took a bit of it on his finger and wiped on Juyeon’s cheek. It was a playful scene to look at and Hyunjae’s mother and grandmother watched them with fond eyes and their chests warm. To see Hyunjae that happy with someone was indescribable and to get to see that as Hyunjae introduced Juyeon to them was extraordinary.
After a while, the women left the kitchen to let them be alone and at peace.
“I think we should try making a heart cookie,” Hyunjae promptly suggested as he got the first batch of fresh baked cookies from the oven.
“You like me that much, hyung?” Juyeon mocked as he took a glass of water from the fridge to drink.
“I would say it’s more of a love yourself concept, but if that makes you sleep at night,” Hyunjae retorted back and they laughed.
They took turns to check the oven so the cookies wouldn’t burn and they actually tried to make a heart-shaped cookie, but to no success as it became an undesirable shape. Juyeon patted Hyunjae’s back jokingly just to receive a pinch on his side. After finishing with the baking, they cleaned all the kitchen and left a plate with the warm cookies on the dining table, so anyone that wanted it could eat.
The duo went back to the living room and as soon as Hyunjae sat down, Juyeon right away laid his head on his lap, not even giving him room to complain about it.
“Are you comfortable there?” Hyunjae asked, irony dripping from his words.
“A lot, actually. I’m just sleepy, let me be,” He whined and Hyunjae could swear he looked like a cat as he closed his eyes and put his hands over them.
“Have you slept poorly? Or have you slept only a little?”
“I won’t answer that…” Juyeon knew Hyunjae would scold him and he didn’t want to hear any of that now, he only wanted to take a nap.
“You were at the hospital last night, right? You had a shift,” Hyunjae accusingly said, waiting for an answer that didn’t come, making him poke Juyeon’s side, who whined. “If you had told me, I wouldn’t have invited you over, you idiot. You need to rest well and take care of yourself, Juyeonie. I’m seriously going to punch you.”
“Will you take care of me if you punch me?” Juyeon grinned at him from his lap and Hyunjae only rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious… You’re already working during vacation when you were supposed to be resting, you know,” Hyunjae gently ran his hand through Juyeon’s hair locks, and he slowly closed his eyes, like sleep was taking over him. “When is your next shift?”
“In two days.”
“Ok, I’ll keep that in mind.” He continued to caress Juyeon’s head, but before he could fall asleep, he spoke up again. “Let’s go to my room, you can take a nap there and I’ll wake you up to eat dinner later.”
“Fine, hyung.”
Juyeon lazily dragged his body towards Hyunjae’s room and he walked first as he already knew each room of the house like his own. He was glad he was wearing comfortable clothes and as soon as he reached the bedroom, he laid down in the bed not even waiting for Hyunjae.
Hyunjae chuckled as he closed the door and sat down beside Juyeon, who was already drifting to sleep, his breathing calming down. Hyunjae began to caress his head softly once again and he didn’t even know what came to him to do it, but it was like his hand was attracted naturally to Juyeon’s hair, soft under his fingertips.
When he heard Juyeon’s soft snores, he laid down as well and decided to play any game on his phone to distract himself, but he also fell asleep without noticing.
Surprisingly, Juyeon was the first one to wake up.
He slowly opened his eyes, remembering where he was before he could move. When his vision focused, he saw Hyunjae’s soft face in front of him. He widened his eyes and frowned after, noticing they were too close and Juyeon felt that if he moved an inch, the other would wake up right away. He didn’t expect to see Hyunjae’s face first thing when he woke up after his nap, and his heart fluttered a little.
Juyeon didn’t dare to move and he took the time to watch the older’s features.
Hyunjae was gorgeous, that was a fact. His nose was sculpted by God, Juyeon couldn’t think of anything better to describe it than this; his small lips were charming and unique, harmonizing with his face; his eyes were Juyeon’s favorite part, he held an entire world on his gaze and even with them closed, he could still sense a hint of Hyunjae on it.
Juyeon’s eyes traveled around his face with no rush, but he was startled with the door opening a little, Hyunjae’s mother putting her head inside the room.
“Oh, hi sweetie, I didn’t know you were asleep,” She said in a low tone not to disturb them, “I just came to say that the dinner is ready and you can come down to eat.”
“Ok, auntie, we’ll be down in a bit,” Juyeon smiled at her and she left the room.
Hyunjae didn’t even move an inch.
“Hyung… Hyung, wake up,” He softly shaked the older’s shoulder as he whispered to not startle him to wake up.
“Uhm?” He slowly opened his eyes, lifting his gaze to meet Juyeon’s eyes. “Did I fall asleep?”
“I think so,” Juyeon chuckled while Hyunjae groaned.
“Ah, c’mon, I wasn’t even sleepy,” Hyunjae sank his head on his pillow and he half-screamed, making Juyeon laugh even more.
“Let’s go, dinner’s ready and your mother called us to go eat.”
Hyunjae got all the strength needed to get his body up from the bed in a dramatic way. Juyeon followed him, but acting like a normal human being.
After dinner, Hyunjae’s grandma insisted on him sleeping over, but Hyunjae soon intervened because he knew Juyeon. He never stayed over if he wasn’t previously invited and if he didn’t bring any of his belongings with him. That’s why most of the time they decided to sleepover at the last minute Juyeon scolded them all, but sometimes made an extra effort to spend time with his friends.
Hyunjae offered to walk him home, but Juyeon didn’t want to disturb him as he would have to go back to his house and it was already chilly outside.
“It’s fine, hyung, I won’t die in the way,” Juyeon said while he adjusted his coat around his body.
“Fine, but text me when you’re home so I know you’re safe,” Hyunjae wrapped his arms around Juyeon’s torso and rested his chin on the younger’s shoulder for barely a second before he stepped back.
“I will. See you soon, okay?”
And with that, Juyeon started to walk back home.
His mind was kinda blurry, he didn’t expect to feel what he felt when he woke up beside Hyunjae. They were friends and they had a deal, but that surely wasn’t included in the package. Juyeon was wondering if that changed his vision of his friend, it was like something shifted but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what yet. He saw Hyunjae in such a vulnerable state and that made him want to take even more care of him, as if he already didn’t do it on a daily basis.
It was overwhelming, even for Juyeon who was always in sync with his feelings and never ignored them.
He had to make a big mental note that most of the things they were doing were because of Hyunjae’s family. Sure they were friends, but there are some lines they were crossing and would still cross in the future that were beyond the friends line. Juyeon sighed, why was it so hard to deal with people and feelings?
As he saw his building entrance, he ignored his thoughts and went inside on autopilot. When he got inside the elevator, he texted Hyunjae. When he got inside his apartment, he pretended what he felt earlier never happened. When he laid to sleep, he dreamed of a certain someone holding his hand.
(...)
Two days later, Juyeon was at the hospital like he told Hyunjae.
It was nearing 4 am and he still had three hours left of his shift, tiredness starting to make its way on his body. He was filling out a report from one of the three patients he was monitoring when a nurse knocked lightly on the door. He was in the back room where all of the employees went when they were on a break.
“Juyeon-ah, your boyfriend is here to see you,” The lady softly said in a low tone as everyone in the hospital was fast asleep.
“What?” He widened his eyes. He didn’t have a boyfriend, what was she talking about? It couldn’t be…
Juyeon got up from the chair so fast it even made him dizzy for a second or two, making his way through the door as the nurse already retreated back and was coming back down the hallway. Juyeon found Hyunjae sitting at a nearby bench on the corridor, only a few steps from the room he previously was.
“What are you doing here?” It was the first thing he managed to say after his shock.
“Hi, Juyeonie, how are you doing?” He smiled widely, ignoring the other’s question.
Juyeon noticed he was holding a small bag with some boxes inside, he wondered what it was. Hyunjae had slightly puffy eyes, like he had just woken up, which made him feel a bit guilty even though he had no idea the older was going to show up out of nowhere; his hair was also a little tousled, the wavy fringe on his forehead. He had a thick coat wrapped around his body and Juyeon wanted to hug him.
Wait, he what now?
He shook his head dismissing the thought quickly.
“I’m fine, hyung. What about you?” Juyeon pouted as he sat beside Hyunjae. “Why are you here?”
“I’m good. I’m here because you said you were working today, duh,” He explained and Juyeon gave him a look, making him giggle before continuing. “I wanted to give you strength to work, I know you always leave the hospital drained and tired and don’t even eat when you get home or during your breaks here. That’s why I brought this!” He lifted the bag he was holding with a wide smile, showing his tiny bit crooked teeth that Juyeon loved.
Juyeon, only to begin with, was speechless. No one ever did anything of the sort for him, not even his best friend. He didn’t know how to react, what to say, what to do so he just stayed there, staring into Hyunjae’s eyes intensely.
“Are you on your break now or…?” Hyunjae prompted and it snapped Juyeon out of his own trance inside his head.
“Oh, yes and also I don’t have that much to do on today’s shift, my three patients are sleeping and out of danger, thankfully,” Juyeon sighed, like he had lifted a weight from his shoulders. “Come with me, we can eat at the employee’s room. I’m the only one working today.”
“Why?” Hyunjae curiously asked as he followed close behind him.
“Because I like working here and helping children out, you know?” He truthfully answered and Hyunjae felt a wave of pride washing him over.
It was touching to see someone so passionate about something, furthermore it being their job, when most people hated it.
They unfolded the packages and put the food boxes splattered over the table in silence, a comfortable silence with stealing glances and brushing of fingers where they didn’t point it out, but it had a meaning for both of them deep down. Once they sat, Juyeon began to talk again before eating a bit.
“One of the kids I work with gave me a drawing today, it was so cute! I had just started my shift and one of the nurses approached me to say the kid refused to sleep until they talked to the ‘good doctor who gave him free hugs’, it was so-” Juyeon just waved his hands around, not finding the right word to describe his feelings.
“Awn, that’s so cute! What did they draw?” Hyunjae asked and ate a bit of rice, waiting for Juyeon to finish swallowing to answer.
“It was us two, one of me holding his hand, and another one of us in a beautiful garden. He drew a lot of flowers and it was really pretty,” He answered with a shine in his eyes, fluttering Hyunjae’s heart for a second.
“It makes me happy that they like you. If a kid hates you, then it’s over.”
“It’s all about showing them that they can trust you and give them comfort and space to know that you won’t judge them. Everyone treats kids like they are inferior when in fact, they only didn’t live that much to be equal as us. It bugs me to an end when someone dismisses any child for being a child,” Juyeon rambled on, this time actually not censoring himself. Hyunjae listened to everything with full attention, like he was watching TV, eyes glued on him.
Juyeon was so endearing to listen to, he always had something useful and good to say and he had so many deep opinions of things that he would keep to himself. Hyunjae always loved to have these kinds of conversations with him, especially because almost every time they agreed on stuff and understood each other.
They continued chatting while eating, Juyeon talking about things from his routine, either from the hospital or from his house, Hyunjae talking about some stories from his family and a little about what he had done while on vacation. Surprisingly, he was trying new things to see if he could get a new hobby. They ate with no rush and thirty minutes later, they finished and collected all the things to throw in the trash.
“Hyung…” Juyeon started to say when they sat at the couch by the corner, “I just wanted to say thank you. Nobody ever visited me at my work, moreover brought me food over at damn hour in the night. You truly didn’t have to and I’m so so so grateful for that I can’t even explain,” Juyeon grabbed Hyunjae’s hand in the middle of his speech and started to trace soft lines with his thumb in the back of it.
“It was nothing, Juyeonie. You’re always taking care of me even if you don’t realize, so this is the bare minimum I could do,” He answered and they stared at each other.
Their gaze lasted for five seconds, but it felt like five minutes. It was strange, too confusing to be explained with ease. Before the tension between them could grow even more, Hyunjae spoke up.
“Your shift ends soon, right?”
“In about two hours, why?”
“I’ll keep you company until you finish, then,” Hyunjae replied and made himself comfortable at the couch — known as laying his head on Juyeon’s shoulder before he could even complain.
Juyeon just rolled his eyes, leaving Hyunjae to do whatever he wanted. He spent the rest of his shift filling some reports on his notebook and reading a piece of an article he found interesting on the internet, all that accompanied by Hyunjae’s soft snore on his shoulder. He fell asleep about five minutes before he said he wouldn’t sleep. Lies.
Once the alarm on Juyeon’s phone rang, Juyeon gently woke the other up so they could leave the hospital. He was quick to change his clothes and grab his things, not wanting to make Hyunjae stay any more time off his bed when he should be sleeping.
They watched the sunrise together as Juyeon walked Hyunjae home.
(...)
On the following day, Hyunjae got up in the morning, unusual for him during his vacation.
However, he was up for some wedding duties. They were going to the clothing store to choose their tuxedos and dresses for the ceremony. He also forgot to mention it to Juyeon on the previous day since he was too focused on taking care of him.
hyunjae: juyeonieeee
He hoped Juyeon had kept up with his healthy routine like always and had woken up early.
juyeon: hi hyung :)
juyeon: how are u
Hyunjae found it cute the way he sent the cute face on the text.
hyunjae: im fine and youuuu
hyunjae: i wanted to ask if u were available today
hyunjae: boyfriend and wedding duty :(
Instead, like the other day where he wanted to invite Juyeon to spend some time together and he thought it was for fake dating, today he wanted to make it clear that it was for their deal because he didn’t want to make Juyeon sad by not spending real time with him. Something about making Juyeon sad made Hyunjae’s stomach drop in worry.
juyeon: i am !!
juyeon: what are we doing and when
Hyunjae giggled and he sent all the details to Juyeon. He said they should meet at the Zach&Fair, a wedding clothing store very well-known around the city, by 2pm to get their tuxedos. It was supposed to be a quick appointment there, so he said that if Juyeon wanted to hang out after that, they could.
The clock ticked and by 2pm sharp, Juyeon was at the entrance of the shop, texting Hyunjae to know where he was. Hyunjae was already there since noon as he was accompanying his mother and grandma while they both chose their dresses and made all the adjustments they needed and wanted.
Hyunjae quickly appeared at the shop’s door to bring Juyeon inside. They hugged as soon as they saw each other, Juyeon leaving a faint kiss on Hyunjae’s cheek once they parted ways. It was a suffocating moment for both of them because there was no one from Hyunjae’s family around, they didn’t need to pretend anything yet they greeted each other like that.
Like they had forgotten about the fake dating.
The duo recovered from the moment like nothing ever happened and Hyunjae started to walk back to where he was previously, watching his grandma making the tailor work hard over a simple dress.
“Please, it’s the third one she asks to adjust and I think we’ll be kicked out pretty soon,” Hyunjae informed Juyeon as they sat at the chairs close to the full mirror they had on a wall.
“What were the other two options?”
“It was a deep purple and a green one,” Hyunjae informed with amusement in his words.
“Then I’m happy she’s making them adjust this one. Red suits her!” Juyeon gently remarked and the other looked fondly at him.
Hyunjae treasured his grandmother a lot and anyone could tell that. He had her as a second mother to him, even though she didn’t raise him when he was a child, but she felt like coming home to him. The boy always got giggly and excited when his mother told him they were going to grandma’s house to spend the day, he’d always eat delicious food and do something funny, like baking with her or painting a canvas.
That’s why he didn’t have the guts to tell her the truth and deep inside, as selfish as it was, he was kinda relieved Juyeon went along with his lie.
“She really means a lot to you, right?” Juyeon spoke beside him after Hyunjae stared at the old woman for a couple seconds.
“She’s literally the only one from my family I would fight for, besides my parents,” He said with sincerity all written over his face. “Also, Juyeonie, I would like to ask you something…”
Hyunjae got fidgety for a moment and Juyeon knew he was hesitating to talk because he was either embarrassed or nervous, which in this case seemed to be the second one.
“Say it, hyung, I’m all ears!”
“Do you perhaps feel used or anything like that because of the dating thing?” Hyunjae stared deep into his eyes, leaving no room for him to avert his gaze.
Their eyes wandered at each other’s face and Juyeon gulped down before answering.
“Hyung… I’d never agree to this if I knew it would make me feel anything remotely bad. So, no, the answer is no, I don’t feel anything bad nor do I feel used, okay? You can relax, if anything has ever made me feel uncomfortable, I’d tell you. Also, I’m happy I can help you with your family matters, you know I would do anything to help you.”
Hyunjae couldn’t ignore the way his heart skipped a beat because of his words. It was too raw, too sincere, too Juyeon for him. Their gazes stayed locked, the younger’s features softening after the sudden question. They both could feel it, there was something too tangible in the air between them for them to not catch up on it.
There were so many unspoken feelings that the air was kinda unbearable.
Their staring session was interrupted by an employee calling Juyeon to the changing cabinet to show him his suit options. They chose a dark blue, a burgundy and a white one for him; Hyunjae’s ones were dark purple, black and burgundy as well, the last one being his choice. Juyeon was quick to change and he chose the dark blue one, stepping out of the room to ask for someone else’s opinion.
“Hyung, what do you think?” He asked while checking himself out in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar.
Once again, it was hard to ignore the insistent thumping of his heart on his ears and resonating on his chest. He knew Juyeon was gorgeous, but fuck , this was completely different. Juyeon was absolutely stunning, like a straight-out-of-a-fairytale kind of stunning. The color he chose contrasted perfectly with his velvety, golden skin and the suit was like it was made to fit Juyeon’s body.
He had amazing body proportions and anyone could notice that from miles, but the suit accentuated it. The dress shirt he wore inside hugged his body, marking his tiny waist and his broad shoulders and chest; his arms also were on full display inside the fancy fabric of the suit coat.
Juyeon was drop-dead gorgeous.
But, how could Hyunjae tell him that without sounding whipped or like a fool?
“It looks amazing on you, Juyeonie. This was the one you liked better?” He opted for being honest, but also collected, keeping at a few words.
“Yes, the color is really pretty and I like the way the suit looks on my body. It doesn’t need any adjustment, this is fine.”
Thank God you know you’re gorgeous , Hyunjae thought. He shook his head to vanish any trace of those things on his mind.
“I agree, it looks really good on you.”
“I’ll choose this one,” Juyeon informed the employee with a gentle smile, the one he used with strangers.
The woman nodded her head, also with a gentle smile and she said to him to change back into his clothes and hand the suit to her so she could fill the reservation form and put it alongside with all the clothes for the wedding. Again, Minhee’s fiancé was paying.
Juyeon looked at himself in the mirror for the last time and so did Hyunjae.
He was really fucked.
(...)
Two days later he found himself in front of someone’s door.
“Oh my God, to what do I owe the honor of your presence?” Jacob mocked him as soon as he opened the door of his house.
“Haha, not funny,” Hyunjae said ironically and rolled his eyes as he entered the place.
“Yes, I missed you too, my dear.”
Jacob had extended his travel for a couple days and that left Hyunjae freaking out for a bit without his brain of the relationship best friend by his side. Jacob arrived on the previous day and their friend group agreed to meet on the weekend because no one of the busy trio — Sunwoo, Changmin and Juyeon — had to work. Hyunjae freaked out with that because things between him and Juyeon were weird, also known as there was a lot of tension between them and the others would quickly catch up on it.
So, that led Hyunjae to be at Jacob’s house by 2 in the afternoon still wearing his pajamas and with his hair messy to an advice session.
Luckily, Jacob’s parents were still travelling so he made himself at home, not even bothering to brush his hair, making his friend laugh as soon as he opened the door.
“Yeah, whatever,” Hyunjae dropped himself on the couch and laid on the padded, comfortable surface of it, Jacob sat by the armchair beside.
“Jaehyun-ah, I have known you since we were little. I know when you look for me to hang out or to ask for advice, and I know today is the second option,” He gently said with his usual calming and soothing eyes.
“Hyung,” Hyunjae whined and dropped his head on the pillow, letting out a muffled and silent scream. “Why am I so dumb?”
“Ok, before answering this, why do you think you’re dumb?”
Hyunjae pondered for a moment, trying to organize things in his head to speak. There were so many things to tell that he needed a moment to think. Jacob remained calm and gave Hyunjae time to think and process things as he already knew what it was about.
Fun fact is Juyeon reached out for him first to talk about feelings through the phone as he was too lazy to walk to his house. Basically, Juyeon was already aware of his feelings and he wanted to check up with someone if he was right about it or if he was confused due to the fake dating. Jacob was the wisest from the group when it came to advice so they all naturally came to him.
The way Juyeon told him about what he felt and how things got blurry for him was enough for Jacob to ease him and guarantee that what he felt was real. Besides, there was always a little tension unresolved between him and Hyunjae since day one that neither of his friends pointed out.
“I’m dumb because I developed feelings for Juyeon because of the fake dating,” Hyunjae began to say with a slight pout, Jacob hummed for him to continue. “I don’t know when exactly things changed for me, but I feel my heart racing when I’m with him and we do something couples usually would do, like holding hands, but I have to remember that it’s all for show just to trick my family into believing it and not get my hopes up convincing myself he likes me back. Also, my mom and my sister said they were happy for us because we ‘finally’ were together and I guess it makes me even more confused.”
“Ok, what else? Do you think things changed for Juyeon as well?”
“I really don’t know, I can’t speak for him, either. But, sometimes we stare at each other for a little longer than we should and there’s like an evident tension between us, but I wouldn’t say things changed just because of that.”
“Jaehyun-ah,” Jacob ran a hand on his friend’s head on the couch, “Have you ever considered you already had feelings for him? Even before this.”
Hyunjae stopped for a moment, his brain bugging a bit, and he didn’t move an inch, only blinking his eyes like a robot. That couldn’t be true for him, that was… Impossible? At the same time that it wasn’t.
Hyunjae was always aware of the soft spot he had for Juyeon, but he thought it was only because he cared for Juyeon, because Juyeon was a magnifique person to have around and not because he had romantic feelings for him. But, Jacob was right. Those feelings were always there, he just ignored them.
“Jacob, please know that I hate you,” Hyunjae whined, dropping his face on the pillow once again.
“Because I told you the truth?” He frowned.
“Yes.”
Jacob laughed at that and slapped the younger’s head. They giggled together and he eased some more of Hyunjae’s worries and they also talked about his own trip, how it was there, what he did while staying over and more stuff. Hyunjae was happy his best friend was finally back.
(...)
It was the wedding day.
The much awaited day for everyone has come faster than they noticed. All the arrangements were made by the company Minhee and her soon-to-be husband had hired and it was all settled with no worries or mistakes. The place the party would be held after was already decorated, and the buffet was preparing the food; the church was always filled with silky pieces of fabric over the benches and with the flowers they chose. It was beautiful.
Hyunjae was already dressed up for the ceremony and chatting about random stuff with Juyeon on his cellphone. He was dying from nervousness and anxiety for the whole situation and he was trying to distract himself a little. Juyeon and him had agreed to leave for the church from Hyunjae’s house by 7pm, but the older one was really considering asking for him to come sooner.
And like the universe listened to his interior request, Juyeon sent him a message.
juyeon: hyung can i come by 6:30 pm
juyeon: i feel like it would be good to go a little earlier
Hyunjae exhaled a bit louder than he intended to, but he didn’t care, sending a quick yes in no second.
Hyunjae’s father was already ready, but his mother and grandmother were still finishing their make-up in their rooms. They chose to get ready at home because if both of them got things done at a beauty salon, it would take too much time.
Quicker than Hyunjae thought, Juyeon was already ringing his doorbell.
Hyunjae opened the door and stood there for a good thirty seconds as he analyzed Juyeon from head to toe. He just stayed still, eyes scanning every inch of Juyeon who was dressed in the suit he chose a few days before.
As Hyunjae would say, Juyeon was gorgeous.
His black hair was styled up, showing his forehead and letting Hyunjae absorb the information that he had an undercut now; the sides of his head were shaved and he didn’t even tell Hyunjae about it, leaving it as a surprise.
“Hi, hyung,” Juyeon greeted with his trademark eyesmile. He had his hands inside the pocket of his pants and kept his posture relaxed.
“Hey, Juyeonie, how are you?” Hyunjae greeted back, trying to keep himself composed, but failing.
“I should be the one asking that, right?” He chuckled and hugged Hyunjae before stepping inside.
“I’m nervous, I feel like I’ll die,” Hyunjae answered, dramatically, earning an eye-roll from the other.
“C’mon, you’ll be fine,” Juyeon held Hyunjae’s hands in front of his chest and softly brushed his thumbs through it, trying to soothe him down a little. “I know it’s nerve-wracking because it’s your sister’s wedding, but she’s with someone she loves a lot and cares for her as much as she do for him,” He stared deep into Hyunjae’s eyes with such a fond gaze that Hyunjae truly could feel the knot of anxiousness on his stomach detangling.
He just exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding and nodded his head, making Juyeon shoot him a small smile.
Before they could keep chatting, Hyunjae’s dad appeared from the kitchen and handed Hyunjae the car keys so they could head to the church first. It was a fast twenty-minute way and when the duo arrived, Hyunjae laughed. His parents and his grandmother were the only ones missing.
They got out of the car and before they could step inside, Hyunjae stopped by the door, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He got startled as he felt a warm pair of hands holding his face, so gentle like he was made of porcelain. He opened his eyes, finding Juyeon’s beautiful orbs once again staring deep into him with such a calming gaze, trying his hardest to calm him down.
“Hyung, it’ll be okay. I’m here with you,” Juyeon whispered so only he could listen.
His fingers caressed over Hyunjae’s cheekbones and he felt like fainting right there at the spot. He mustered all the strength he had and put his hands over Juyeon’s, squeezing it gently. Hyunjae linked their hands and entered the church, heading to the bench of the front row reserved for his family.
Not so long after, his parents and his grandmother arrived, making the ceremony start.
It was like the traditional ones, following all the steps and protocols, yet it was beautiful. Minhee was stunning and glowing, happiness overflowing from all of her pores; her husband, Jikyong, was likewise, smiling so wide for so many minutes that Hyunjae commented lowly if his cheeks weren’t hurting yet, making Juyeon giggle.
The ceremony lasted for about an hour and half. It only took a little more than the planned because of their vows, which almost made Juyeon cry because it was really heart-felt.
After that, everyone headed to the place the party was going to be hosted at. Hyunjae’s friends weren’t invited to the church as they kept it only for family, something really intimate, but Minhee invited the others to the party. She always liked them and teased Hyunjae about stealing his friends from him; they were nice, funny and more polite than him, as she would say.
When Hyunjae and Juyeon arrived at the place, almost everyone was there, his friends included.
As soon as they appeared on the principal door, they could feel Changmin and Sunwoo’s eyes sticking into them, the younger of all whistling and smirking right after as Juyeon and Hyunjae approached them with their hands linked.
“Well, well, what we have here,” Sunwoo was the first one to talk with his usual teasing tone.
“Your two hyungs, dumbass,” Hyunjae flicked his forehead and the rest of them laughed as Sunwoo rubbed the place with a pouty face.
“And what’s that?” Changmin nodded towards their hands with an amused smile.
“Surprise?” Juyeon lifted his hands and chuckled afterwards.
“No surprise at all, actually,” Changmin rolled his eyes and the five of them headed to the food table to eat before anything else.
The buffet was serving a wide variety of grilled meat with side dishes and the group, as incredible and impossible as it sounds, kept their plates at a proper portion without exaggerating and actually looking decent in the middle of people. Juyeon eased Sunwoo’s pouty face again saying that if he wanted more he could come back after and repeat the process until he was satisfied.
The background music was soothing, just a good instrumental, classical music. Everyone around the place was eating as well before the party started, they were hungry and nobody would lose a chance to eat free meat. After about forty minutes or so, Hyunjae’s mother came to his table to call him and his boyfriend to take pictures with Minhee as they had already started the photo session before dancing.
Hyunjae flushed red by the use of the word and tried to hide it quickly getting up from the table, running from his friends’ teasing and amused eyes as he dragged Juyeon over the salon by his hand. Juyeon could only laugh at Hyunjae’s behaviour in front of their friends because it was completely different to pretend in front of people they didn’t know, like Hyunjae’s family, and in front of their friends.
This time Juyeon didn’t object to appearing in the photos and stood by Minhee’s side while her brother was on the other. They took one just with her and another with her husband as well. After that, Minhee called the other three over to take a photo with everyone, finishing the photo session with the goofy group.
The MC who was in charge of all the preparations of the party called everyone’s attention with a mic, informing that the first dance would be by the newly married couple. If Minhee was glowing by herself, under the lightnings of the dance floor she was a literal star. Her smile could literally heal the word and she let her husband sway her around the place, like they were the only ones there. They only had eyes for each other.
Everyone watched them with happy smiles and warm gazes, touched by their overflowing love for each other. The first dance came to an end and people started to shyly join the couple, Minhee pulling in some of her aunts and uncles to dance with her. Hyunjae remained standing near the tables chatting with his friends as they watched people dancing.
Suddenly, the music changed and another slow song started to play. They saw couples pairing up and Changmin, Sunwoo and Jacob headed to the bar area to catch some drinks, leaving Hyunjae and Juyeon by themselves.
“Juyeon-ah…” Hyunjae spoke, ignoring all of the flips his stomach did. “Do you wanna dance with me?”
They looked at each other, Juyeon with an unreadable expression only worsening Hyunjae’s anxiety. He seemed to be taken aback by the request and he guessed that’s why he took a while to answer, opening a wide smile, the one Hyunjae loved and that made his eyes disappear.
“I would love to,” Juyeon replied, taking Hyunjae’s hand gently into his own and walking towards the dance floor.
Juyeon placed his hands on Hyunjae’s waist, pulling him slowly closer, but at the same time leaving a considerate space between their bodies in case the proximity made him uncomfortable. Hyunjae laced his arms around Juyeon’s neck and put body even closer than Juyeon respectfully had pulled.
Hyunjae had never experienced that before. He was painfully aware of every tiny movement and sensation he was feeling. He noticed the way Juyeon’s thumb caressed him unconsciously by his waist, the way his eyes slightly dropped and had a dreamy look in them, the way he wet his lips with his tongue about three times in a row. Wait, was Hyunjae looking at his lips this whole time?
Like a spell being broken, Hyunjae lifted his gaze to Juyeon’s eyes who stared deep into his soul, with longing and something akin to passion that he would choose to ignore for the moment.
It was the most out-of-movie scene possible, the world around them was out of focus and in slow motion. They slowly leaned in at the same time and Hyunjae felt the air being knocked out of his lungs when he noticed the other mirroring his actions.
But before their lips could touch, the song ended.
And the moment ended as well.
They backed their heads in a swift move and pretended nothing happened, but still holding each other in their arms.
“Errr… I’m gonna head out to the balcony for- for some air, catch some air, yeah,” Hyunjae was the one who separated their bodies and rushed out the words, his heart beating like crazy inside his ribcage. “If you wanna come with me…” He added, throwing everything in the air and just following his guts.
Juyeon simply hummed and they headed towards the balcony, where no one was and no one could see them. The night air was chilly, neither hot nor cold, but cool enough to refresh them as soon as they stepped outside the room full of people. They kept in silence, just enjoying the whooshing feeling of the air hitting them as they leaned into the barricade looking over the town.
“Were you going to kiss me back then? On the dance floor?” Hyunjae was the one to break the silence, and also the one to break the bubble they put themselves in, ignoring the thick tension between them.
“I was, your family was around and-” Juyeon answered, not looking at the other, instead gazing forward to some buildings.
“No, I meant, did you really want to kiss me? No fake dating involved,” He retorted back, not letting the man even finish his answer.
Juyeon gulped down, feeling his chest tighten and his heart skipping a beat. Talking about feelings was always so overwhelming, he hated it even though he always said communication was the key for everything.
“I was, I genuinely was going to kiss because I wanted to. No deal involved,” Juyeon lifted his gaze and locked eyes with Hyunjae, who had an unreadable expression at the moment. “I would be dumb if I didn’t want to kiss you.”
Now Hyujae was the one who was taken aback by the honesty dripping from Juyeon’s face and words.
“How do you feel about us? No fake dating included? Please, be honest. I don’t want to make assumptions,” Hyunjae mustered all the courage he still had on his body and asked.
“Honestly, things got blurry for me at some point and I don’t even know when. When I realized I was already smiling at my cell phone when we were chatting and my heart was beating faster than normal when we were hanging out together by ourselves, and it wasn’t us acting like a couple, but it was only Hyunjae and Juyeon there. The day you came to the hospital basically in the middle of the night, was the day I was sure of the way I felt, because no one ever did that for me and the fact that you did and it was you doing it meant the world for me. I really like you, hyung…”
Juyeon didn’t even move an inch from where he was, it was like if he touched Hyunjae he would disintegrate in front of his eyes and this moment would end, all being a cruel dream of his subconscious. But it wasn’t.
It wasn’t a dream and Hyunjae was in front of him, mouth agape, a surprised expression on his face and hands claiming to take Juyeon’s on his own, which he did.
Hyunjae took the man’s hand and inhaled deeply before replying.
“Juyeonie, my dear Juyeonie, you don’t know how much this makes me happy. I could literally kiss you right at the spot,” He said faking a serious expression, making Juyeon giggle, “Really, I knew since the beginning you were the perfect person for being my fake boyfriend, but as days passed and we spent more and more time together, I was sure you were perfect for being my real boyfriend as well and that’s when I freaked out. You are so incredible, so gorgeous, so intelligent and so many more things that I can’t even believe you are real. I even went to Jacob hyung’s house to ask him for advice because I never felt this way before and I was nervous about it. But I know that if it’s you, then it’s fine. Everything when you’re with me is better.”
Juyeon was never one to cry in front of people so easily, but he felt his eyes watering as Hyunjae spoke, however refusing to let a single tear fall from his eyes. And he laughed. Juyeon laughed. First, because he was relieved the feeling was mutual and second, because he was inexplicably happy for that. He felt like his heart could literally burst out of his chest.
“I can’t believe we both went to Jacob hyung for advice,” He said while laughing.
“Wait, what? What do you mean?” Hyunjae asked with wide eyes, laughter bubbling in his stomach as well.
“Yes, I spoke to him to make sure what I felt was real and not just something because of the fake dating.”
“I’m gonna- We’re so fucking dumb. Poor Jacob hyung…” Hyunjae whined and Juyeon laughed again.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page, then. So… are you willing to try things out between us? For real this time,” Juyeon gently held his face as he walked closer, Hyujae leaning into his palm like a kitten and holding his wrist.
“I am if you’re willing too. We can make this work,” He replied with a sweet smile and looking at Juyeon’s fond eyes.
Juyeon smiled as well and leaned in, now that they were both aware of their intentions. It was a painfully slow path until their lips met, both of them almost sighing in relief and melting at the spot. Hyunjae lifted his hands and brought Juyeon closer, touching his neck, and they both tilted their heads so they could kiss properly. They started to move their lips in sync, one of Juyeon’s hand crawling around Hyunjae’s waist and pulling him in until their chests were glued together.
It was an indescribable moment for both of them, the infamous butterflies swimming around their stomachs. Hyunjae was impatient on a daily basis, but this time he let Juyeon guide him through the kiss. It was something calm and meaningful, their lips moving and their tongues mixing together trying to muster all of the unspoken love words that were yet to come.
They felt on cloud nine and they felt safe.
They both knew they were safe as long as they had each other.