Chanyeol liked hugs.

He liked giving them and he liked getting them.

He grew up in a loving family with loving parents and loving older sister. They showered him with love and affection. It was no wonder he grew up to be a very touchy feely person.

But not everyone liked being touched or hugged. After several (okay, many) trial and error, Chanyeol had finally developed a (somewhat) self restraint. He still liked to touch people, but he kept it to a more acceptable level.

A harmless punch to the shoulder, a fist bump, a high five, a light touch on the elbow. Every touch he initiated with people was like that, short and quick. Chanyeol wasn’t too pleased with it, but he had to make do. It was what his adolescent friends were comfortable with.

That was until he met Yifan.

Yifan was a transfer student from Canada. His Korean was very limited but he spoke English with better accent than their English teacher. He had lived in Canada after all.

Chanyeol was intrigued by Yifan because the slightly older boy was taller than him. And that was saying something, because before Yifan came, Chanyeol was the tallest among the entire student population.

Chanyeol was pretty good at English; Yura, his sister, was aiming to be international reporter so she took private English lessons. Chanyeol’s mom, being the reasonable and economical Asian mother that she was, forced Chanyeol to join in on Yura’s session.

It was a given that Chanyeol and Yifan would make good friends in no time. Truth be told, Yifan had no other choice but to warm up to Chanyeol. He was the only one who was eager to befriend Yifan. (And the only one he could have a decent conversation with.)

Chanyeol had tried to maintain his touching to a very minimum level, but after Yifan slung his arm around Chanyeol’s shoulder like it was no big deal, Chanyeol automatically pulled all stop. If Yifan was taken aback by the sudden increase of affectionate gesture from Chanyeol, he showed no sign of it.

Honestly, Yifan gave as good as he got.

For every punch on his shoulder, Yifan would retaliate with an elbow jab. Fist bumps and high fives turned into elaborate secret handshake that would make any street gang proud. Handshake that only the two knew how to do. For every touch on the elbow, Yifan would turn and grinned at Chanyeol before ruffling the shorter’s hair.

Chanyeol was glad Yifan transferred into his school.

One day while they were working on some assignments on the library. Chanyeol had a hard time concentrating on the books in front of him so he switched to doodling. Yifan had snorted from beside him but continued with his own studies.

Chanyeol huffed and slump forward until his face was squished against his notebook.

“I’m bored.” He said to Yifan.

“I’m studying.” Came the short reply.

Chanyeol pouted but he didn’t say anything else. He knew that he shouldn’t bother Yifan. The taller boy was still struggling with the Korean language, so he only half understood the lessons. He made up for the rest with self studying. That was why despite being naturally loud, Chanyeol always kept his quiet every time Yifan studied; he would hate to be the reason Yifan got a bad grade or God forbid, failed his tests.

As he let his mind wandered to nonsensical things, his eyes landed on Yifan’s big hands. He watched with rapt attention as the long fingers twirled the pencil around. Sometimes the ring finger would tap absentmindedly on the pages of the book. Chanyeol was fascinated at how long Yifan’s fingers seemed to be.

Without thinking, he reached out and touched Yifan’s right hand. He plucked out the pencil and turned Yifan’s hand palm up. He placed his own hand upon Yifan’s, pressing their palms and fingers on top of each other. He hummed when he found that Yifan’s palm was slightly bigger and Yifan’s fingers were slightly longer than his own.

YIfan paused when he felt Chanyeol’s hand on his, he was about to ask when he saw how pensive Chanyeol looked when he compared their hands. So Yifan picked up his pencil with his left hand and continued his studying. It was a bit harder to concentrate when he felt tingling sensations crawling up his arm from where their hands met. But he ignored it because he really needed to get this assignment done.

At first Chanyeol was surprised when he found out that Yifan was ambidextrous. He was even more surprised when Yifan let him played with his hand and fingers without making any attempts to pull away. But what raced Chanyeol’s heart was the fact that he loved touching Yifan’s hand. It had felt so warm and so right. Chanyeol thought that Yifan’s hands were meant to be held by his, but he kept that thought to himself.

*****

Since the day at the library, Chanyeol had gotten bolder. He had started to touch Yifan more, well more than usual anyway. He found himself pressed up against Yifan’s side even when there was plenty of space around them. More than once, his hand automatically reached out to twine with Yifan’s. He would lean closer whenever he talked with Yifan, unconsciously lowering his voice so Yifan had to lean closer too.

For his part, Yifan was mildly surprised at himself. He found that he didn’t mind Chanyeol’s clinginess at all. He responded to Chanyeol’s skinship with a casual attitude, like it was natural for him to be so close to Chanyeol. He even came to like it. Before, Chanyeol was always the one who first initiated any contact between them, but lately, Yifan found that he instinctually reached out for Chanyeol too.

Another turning point for the two boys happened on a packed subway.

They were preparing for the school festival and Chanyeol and Yifan were tasked with shopping for supplies for their class’ tea house. They decided to go to the shopping district by subway since it was faster, and return by bus, because by then they would be carrying their many purchases.

The train was already full when they got in, so they chose to stand near the door. It wasn’t so crowded at first, but as the train made stops at the subsequent stations, more and more people got on board. Yifan and Chanyeol were pushed from all side by the throng of people. Chanyeol was jostled so bad he almost stumbled several times.  With a groan, Yifan maneuvered them both to get better footing.

Chanyeol ended up leaning on the steel wall with Yifan hovering in front of him, forearms braced on the wall on either side of Chanyeol’s head. It occurred to Chanyeol that Yifan was shielding Chanyeol with his own body.

And the sudden electricity that ran through his spine when Yifan’s chest brushed against his own made Chanyeol aware of their proximity. They were standing really close together. Face to face. This had never happened before. They were usually pressed together side by side.

With a shudder, Chanyeol realize that their faces were also very close.  Chanyeol could feel Yifan’s breath ghosting across his face and for unexplainable reason, he felt his cheeks warmed and reddened. The train jolted and Yifan was pushed against him even further. Their chest met and Yifan grunted right into Chanyeol’s ear.

Chanyeol bit his lips and swallowed down a squeak. Not knowing what else to do, he gave in to impulse and let his head fell forward and buried his face onto Yifan’s shoulder. One of his hands was holding his bag while the other had curled around Yifan’s waist and clutched at Yifan’s shirt tail desperately.

“Hang on Chanyeol, two more stops.” Yifan whispered.

Chanyeol could only nod. He felt heady, but not because of the crowded train. It was because Yifan smelled nice and Chanyeol loved the musky scent and he could spend the rest of his life breathing Yifan in. He just hoped that he didn’t smell too bad.

Unbeknownst to him, Yifan was also having trouble regulating his breathing. Chanyeol smelled so sweet, Yifan had to remind himself not to sniff at Chanyeol’s hair.

When they finally reached their stop, they moved apart and exited the train with a small regret on their heart. They had wanted the ride to go on longer.

The ride back to school was less eventful. Their arms were full with bags and boxes to carry. But when they sat side by side on the hard plastic chair of the bus, Yifan purposefully nudged Chanyeol’s sneakers with his own. Chanyeol grinned at him and nudged back. Their thighs brushed, and if Yifan noticed how Chanyeol surreptitiously kept their knees touching, he didn’t say anything.

*****

After their not-quite-hug on the train, Yifan often found himself draped all over Chanyeol’s frame in a back hug. Chanyeol was the perfect height. Yifan found that he could easily slide his hands around Chanyeol’s waist and dropped his chin to rest on Chanyeol’s shoulder.

The first time he did that, was when Chanyeol wanted him to look at some funny video on his phone. Rather than taking the phone from Chanyeol’s hand, Yifan found himself moving to stand behind Chanyeol and peered over his shoulder. Chanyeol’s breath hitched ever so slightly, but after few seconds he leaned back against Yifan, bringing the phone to their eye level for easier viewing.

That first time, Yifan still kept his hands to himself. But somewhere between queuing for lunch at the cafeteria and watching the soccer club’s practice after school, Yifan found himself back hugging Chanyeol with his chin resting on the shorter man’s shoulder and his hands winding around Chanyeol’s waist.

Yifan had half the mind to pull back, but Chanyeol had one warm hand resting above his while the other was busy pointing at the random happenings on the fields. Chanyeol was chattering a mile a minute and Yifan kind of liked how the deep voice cascaded all over him.

*****

On the school trip to Jeju, Chanyeol and Yifan were automatically signed as roommate. They have two other roommates, Kyungsoo and Joonmyeon, but they were from different class. They stayed at a moderate inn, with small sized room, just enough for 4 young boys, but no bed whatsoever. The closet on one side of the room revealed a neatly folded blanket, pillows and futon.

 Chanyeol pulled two sets of everything and proceeded to claim spots for Yifan and himself. Chanyeol decided that Kyungsoo and Joonmyeon were okay, because they only smiled and let Chanyeol did whatever he wanted. Chanyeol ended up sleeping next to the wall with Yifan beside him. Joonmyeon took the spot next to Yifan and Kyungsoo slept next to the door.

The four boys spend their first night chatting with each other, even after the teacher made their round. They continued to chat in low voices, muffling their laughter on the pillows and hid under the blankets whenever they heard footsteps outside their door.

Joonmyeon and Kyungsoo were also good at English, so their conversation was a mix between Korean and English. Ever since Chanyeol and Yifan started hanging out together, Yifan’s Korean was improving day by day, so was Chanyeol’s English. Joonmyeon and Kyungsoo were amazed at the easy way Chanyeol spoke in English, and they laughed in good nature whenever Yifan made a blunder with his accented Korean. But they didn’t make fun of him and kindly corrected him afterward.

Chanyeol went to sleep with a smile on his face that night. He was happy that he got to spend more time with Yifan and he was also happy that he made two new friends.

But Chanyeol was the happiest when he woke up the next morning to find himself tightly embraced by Yifan’s arms. Chanyeol decided that he liked being the little spoon to Yifan’s big spoon.

When Yifan woke up with an armful of Chanyeol, he smiled and burrowed further into Chanyeol’s nape and returned to sleep.

*****

They returned to Seoul on a Friday, and Chanyeol had trouble falling asleep that night. He had gotten so used to have Yifan’s chest pressed up against his back and he terribly missed the other boy’s warmth. Chanyeol tossed and his bed, he only caught a few hours of restless sleep.

On Saturday morning, his phone rang early in the morning. Chanyeol groaned and searched around for his phone. He squinted at the screen with bleary eyes before answering.

“YIfan?”

“Can I come over to your place?” Yifan’s hoarse voice reached him.

“Uh, now?” Chanyeol peered at his alarm clock and saw that it was only a little after 7.

“Yeah. If you don’t mind…” Yifan trailed off.

“No, no. It’s okay. Come on over.” Chanyeol agreed.

“Good. Can you come down and open the door for me? I’m already in front of your house.”

“What?! Oh, okay. Be there in a minute.” Chanyeol bolted up from his bed and bounded down the stair.

He opened to the door to a haggard looking Yifan.

“I couldn’t sleep last night.” Yifan confessed as he took off his shoes and followed Chanyeol upstairs to his room.

“Same here.” Chanyeol murmured as he closed his bedroom door behind Yifan.

No other words were needed. Yifan dropped into Chanyeol’s bed and opened his arms. Chanyeol happily crawled into bed and into Yifan’s waiting arms. Within a minute, Chanyeol was safely nestled against Yifan’s body, his back pressed flushed to Yifan’s chest. With a contented sigh, both boys fell into deep slumber.

When Chanyeol’s mom opened the door to Chanyeol’s room, the last thing she expected to find was a sleeping Yifan spooning a snoring Chanyeol. But the sight was too cute and Chanyeol’s mom was a great mom. So she left the boys alone and closed the door quietly.

She did her best to hide her mirth when several hours later, an embarrassed Chanyeol led an equally red faced Yifan down the stairs for lunch.

*****

Yifan was happy with how things were between Chanyeol and him. They’ve been hanging out more on the weekends. Sometimes they would go out for movie or some gaming time on the arcade. Sometimes they would visit the bookstore and browsed through the comic section. Sometimes they would hang out at Yifan’s house, playing basketball on the driveway or shooting pool in the basement. But Yifan’s favorite was when he slept over at Chanyeol’s and they would just lounge around on Chanyeol’s bed with a box of pizza and the latest episode of One Piece playing on the laptop.

Yifan would lean against the headboard and Chanyeol would sit between his legs with the laptop propped up on his slightly bended knees. Yifan would rest his chin on Chanyeol’s shoulder and Chanyeol would lean back and rest his back against Yifan’s chest. When Yifan tilted his head a bit, his nose would brush Chanyeol’s neck and if Chanyeol concentrate, he could feel Yifan’s steady heartbeat.

It was so warm and comfortable and natural that they would always end up snuggling on the bed and drifted off to sleep, laptop carelessly placed on the floor, movie forgotten.

The weeknights were barely bearable, but they found a way to satiate their unspoken need of cuddles. They would eat their lunch in a record time of 10 minutes and spend the remaining 50 minutes of lunch break snuggling on the rooftop.

The amount and degree of skinship the two boys shared should be alarming, since they never really define their relationship. But Chanyeol and Yifan found it too easy to be with each other they didn’t bother to put a name to what they have. They were just Yifan and Chanyeol.

It was simple, basic and the absolute truth.

*****

Months passed and before they knew it, graduation was just around the corner.

On the final exams week, Chanyeol and Yifan spent whatever free time they have cooped up in the library, pouring over notes and books and exercise sheets. Chanyeol was close to losing his cool with the amount of formulae he needed to memorized, but Yifan was gently massaging his nape and Chanyeol thought that he would persevere just a bit longer.

Yifan almost ripped his Korean literature note, but Chanyeol was rubbing soothing circles in the small of his back and Yifan thought that he could read just one more poem written on the Joseon Era.

Finally final exams were over and instead of celebrating like the other third year students, Yifan and Chanyeol crawled into Chanyeol’s bed and slept and slept and slept.

Chanyeol’s mom was already used to seeing his soon sleeping together with Yifan she barely batted an eyelash. But she did bought two pairs of matching pajamas for the boys. She also bought a coffee mug for Yifan’s use. She kept it beside Chanyeol’s and whenever her eyes caught the two porcelains side by side, she smiled fondly.

The first time Yifan properly hugged Chanyeol, was on the graduation day. The ceremony had just ended when both Chanyeol and Yifan stood up from their designated seats and ran toward each other. They met somewhere in the middle and Yifan pulled Chanyeol against him, chest to chest. Chanyeol gasped because it was a totally new feeling altogether. He swallowed his manly squeal and responded in kind.

Chanyeol loved the way Yifan’s larger frame enveloped his own. He loved how he could bury his nose on the side of Yifan’s neck while feeling Yifan’s heart beating against his chest. He loved the warmth. He loved everything about this hug.

They were locked in the embrace for a long time, until their families came up to them and reminded the two boys of their presence. They broke apart sheepishly and proceeded to have a hug fest with the rest of their families.

Later, the two families went out to a celebratory dinner together with Chanyeol glued to Yifan’s side the entire time. They parted on the parking lot with forlorn looks and one last long hug for the night.

Chanyeol really loved hugging Yifan.

The next morning, Chanyeol was roused from his sleep when Yifan climbed into bed beside him.

“Your mom let me in.” He whispered. “Go back to sleep.”

And Chanyeol did just that. He buried his face on Yifan’s collarbone and nosed at the taller boy’s throat. He distantly felt Yifan dropped a kiss on the top of his head, but he wasn’t really sure. Sleep had claimed him again on the next second.

Chanyeol really loved being hugged by Yifan.

Afterward, they hugged each other without any reservations. Yifan, the more casual of the two, usually back hugged Chanyeol. But Chanyeol, the more touchy feely of the two, would always turned around and hugged Yifan back.

They garnered stares and whispers whenever they hugged it out in public, but Chanyeol was too busy hugging Yifan to spare any care.

*****

The first few months of university flew by in a flurry of introductory classes, new friends and stolen moments of cuddle time on the back corner of the campus’ library. Yifan and Chanyeol went to the same university but took different majors. Their clashing schedules cut back a lot of their time together, but Yifan had taken semi permanent residence on Chanyeol’s bed on the weekends so they were okay, except for Yifan’s mom who had lamented the lack of a son in her house.  They compromised by sleeping over at Yifan’s place every other weekend.

Their arrangement worked out well. Yifan had a drawer full of his clothes inside Chanyeol’s closet and Chanyeol’s books littered Yifan’s table. Chanyeol’s mom had learned to cook Chinese comfort food for when Yifan stayed and Yifan’s mom had a container full of kimchi in her fridge with Chanyeol’s name on it.

Still, they haven’t put a name on their relationship. Everything just flowed naturally. Sure, they didn’t always see eye to eye. Like any normal teenager, they bickered and fought occasionally. More than once, one of them would storm out of the room, slamming the door behind. They would ignore each other. Yifan would pull his face expression and Chanyeol wouldn’t even glance at Yifan’s direction.

But they would always gravitate back toward each other. Come Saturday morning, one of them would silently crawled to the other’s bed with whispered apologies and a demand for snuggle. And they would made up beneath the blanket, hands wound tight around waist, legs tangled together, Chanyeol’s nose on Yifan’s throat and Yifan’s lips on Chanyeol’s hair.

It took an innocent question from a mutual friend during lunch at the campus cafeteria to make Chanyeol and Yifan really thought about their relationship.

“So, how long have you two been together?” The friend asked.

Chanyeol easily replied. “Since high school.”

“Who confessed first? Yifan or you?” The friend asked again, a curious smile on his face.

Chanyeol and Yifan looked at each other and the gravity of their situation finally dawned on them.

“I think it was Chanyeol?” Yifan finally said to break the sudden tense silence.

Chanyeol threw him a pensive look. “I don’t know. I don’t think we ever talk about us.” Chanyeol pointed out much to the friend’s surprise.

“Hmm. Should we?” Yifan mused.

“Yeah. I think we should. After class?” Chanyeol inquired.

‘Sure. Your place.” Yifan nodded.

And later after class, Chanyeol and Yifan sat face to face Indian style on the floor of Chanyeol’s room. It was weird to talk about their relationship, because they’ve been on it for so long without defining anything, without pasting any label, without setting any clear boundaries, without really putting any thought of the image they presented on their outside.

Not wanting to be overly dramatic or over thinking anything, Chanyeol just said his honest feelings.

“I’m comfortable around you. I’m content when I’m with you. I don’t know what to call this feeling I have for you. I just want to be with you.”

Yifan smiled and ruffled Chanyeol’s hair. “Yeah, I feel the same way too. It’s so natural to be with you. I can’t imagine being with anyone but you. I’m not really good at expressing myself, but you always get me. And I like this, whatever this thing we’re having is. I don’t want to lose it.”

Chanyeol smiled back and nodded. “So we’re Chanyeol and Yifan.”

“Yeah. We’re Chanyeol and Yifan. Let’s just be us. We’ve been doing really well all these years if I may say so myself. No need to complicate things. Everything will come naturally to us, like always.” Yifan said.

And that was the end of it. But for the sake of convenience, they would say that Chanyeol confessed to Yifan whenever the same question was brought up again.

*****

They were halfway through their second year when Yifan’s father had to move to China. When he first heard of the news, Chanyeol felt a cold dread washed through him, afraid that Yifan would follow his parents and transferred to China. It was gone the moment Yifan asked him to go apartment hunting together. The relief was so palpable Chanyeol dropped to the floor because his knees gave out on him.

“Silly Chanyeol.” Yifan berated him. “Of course I’d stay. Why would I move all the way to China when you’re here in Korea?”

And Chanyeol didn’t care anymore, he let out a girlish squeal as he glomped Yifan and hugged the living daylight out of the taller man.

They found a nice small apartment near campus for Yifan. It has a small balcony and a breakfast nook that Chanyeol absolutely fell in love with.

Seeing the delight in Chanyeol’s eyes, Yifan asked without thinking. “Move in with me?”

Chanyeol looked at him with wide eyes before he squealed and glomped Yifan. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.”

Yifan laughed and twirled Chanyeol around the room. The realtor who came with them gave a polite cough but was promptly ignored.

Chanyeol was hugging Yifan, and he would keep hugging Yifan until he was satisfied.

Within two weeks, everything was settled. The lease was signed, the apartment was furnished and Chanyeol and Yifan had safely moved in. They spent the first day on their shared apartment arranging and organizing their stuff. They spent the first night eating take out dinner on the breakfast nook before climbing to bed and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The second day was spent laying down house rules and dividing chores. It went well; they were already half living with each other before anyway.

On the third day, they went to their respective classes and Yifan waited for Chanyeol to finish so they could go home together. Their hands twined for the entire 10 minutes walk. Once they entered the apartment, Yifan made for the bathroom to take a shower while Chanyeol prepared their dinner. After dinner, Chanyeol went to take a shower while Yifan washed the dishes.

They reconvened on the couch and snuggled up while watching T.V. It was both amazing and ordinary at the same time, and Chanyeol liked it so much he was extra clingy to Yifan. During one commercial break, he glanced at Yifan’s side profile and some strange but warm emotion came over him. Before he knew it, he had leaned and kissed Yifan’s cheek.

Yifan was mildly startled. He turned to fully face Chanyeol and Chanyeol could see a dark look he never saw before on Yifan’s eyes. Chanyeol was rendered breathless as Yifan tackled him to the couch and proceeded to give him a very thorough first kiss.

*****

The kiss opened up a new floodgate on their dynamics. Yifan would always kiss Chanyeol’s cheek whenever he happened to walk by the sorter man. Chanyeol would leave his own kisses on Yifan’s nape whenever Yifan was seated.

When they hugged, Yifan would kiss the side of Chanyeol’s head while Chanyeol’s would kiss the side of Yifan’s neck.

When they were safe under the blanket, Yifan would kiss the top of Chanyeol’s head while Chanyeol would kiss the small spot between Yifan’s collarbones.

They trade kisses without reservations. And by some mutual unspoken decision, they only kissed on the lips whenever they moved together between the sheets.

*****

Chanyeol loved to hug Yifan. It felt good to have his chest pressed against Yifan’s, to felt his heartbeat, to have his arms wrapped tightly around Yifan’s torso, to have his face buried on Yifan’s neck, to breath Yifan’s musky scent in.

But Chanyeol loved it even better when Yifan hugged him back. It was the best feeling in the whole world.