Summer 1999

Wu Yifan met Kim Junmyeon for the first time 15 years ago.

At the young age of 6 years old, Yifan was uprooted from his birth country of Canada and plopped into the unfamiliar land of South Korea with his prized possession, a stuffed cream-coloured alpaca named Ace, and his mum.

Yifan took a good look at his surroundings upon reaching his new house in Apgujeong-dong. The house wasn’t huge but it was very pleasant to little Yifan; a comfortable looking white two-storey house with a very neat, pretty garden. This was going to be his new home.

Maybe if he were a good enough boy, his mum would let him get a puppy (he had even thought of a name for it, “Rou Rou”)! Because, as much as he loved his mum, it was still lonely being an only child.

While his mum directed the movers, Yifan looked around to take in the sights of his new neighbourhood. Yifan’s house was at the corner of the street so he only had one neighbour, which was the house to his left. It was a light brown concrete house, with white ts and large windows. There were many potted plants placed in the garden, filled with colourful flowers. At the door of the house, Yifan noticed a small tuft of raven black hair peaking out from behind. Realising that he had been caught staring, the boy froze before slowly slipping behind his front door and discreetly trying to pull it shut.

Yifan felt a strange pull towards the boy, but brushed it off and focused back on absorbing his surroundings.

When Yifan’s mum had more or less settled the moving, the doorbell rang. Yifan followed his mum towards the door and hid behind her legs. The door swung open to reveal a fair, petite lady who looked to be around his mum’s age and a tiny boy with raven black hair behind her.

The same tiny raven-haired boy from the brown house next door.

Young Yifan, with his limited Korean, understood when the lady introduced herself as Mrs Kim and offered a plate of homemade kimbap as a “welcome to the neighbourhood” gift, before pushing the boy currently hiding behind her legs to the front.

“Come on now Junmyeon, don’t be rude.”

Junmyeon had stepped forward before he gave a deep bow, with a bashful smile (also the cutest smile Yifan had ever seen in his life) slowly spreading across his face. He was fidgeting a bit, weigh shifting from one leg to the other and rubbing his tiny fingers against each other.

Yifan instinctively moved from behind his mum and faced the mother-son pair in front of him. “Hello Mrs Kim and Junmyeon, my name is Yifan and I’m 6 years old!”

Mrs Kim let out a light laugh and bended down to pat Yifan’s head. “Hello Yifan. It’s nice to meet you!”

Yifan then turned his attention to the smaller boy and held out a hand. “Do you... want to play in the backyard? I saw a new swing there but I haven’t had a chance to try it.”

Little Junmyeon looked up at his mother who gave an encouraging nod. With that, he placed his smaller hand into Yifan’s larger palm, who flashed a gummy smile. Junmyeon’s cheeks turned pink before he let an excited Yifan lead him through the house to the backyard.

As the two boys ran to the back hand in hand, Mrs Wu turned to smile at Mrs Kim. “I have a feeling that they’re going to be great friends.” Mrs Kim sighed happily and turned back to her new neighbour.

“I have a feeling you most definitely are right.”


~~~


Fall 1999

During the course of two whole months they had spent together, Little Yifan and Junmyeon had pretty much decided in that period of time that they were going to be Best Friends Forever. An added bonus for the two was that living in the same neighbourhood meant that they were enrolled in the same kindergarten, which was a five-minute walk away from their homes.

For Yifan, despite learning some Korean before moving, he was still very much lacking in Korean and was thus pushed one grade down. Which he didn’t mind so much because it meant that he would be in the same class as Junmyeon.

So on the first day of kindergarten, accompanied by their mothers, Junmyeon skipped happily to school as he grabbed Yifan’s slightly larger hands in his tiny ones and pulled him along, their tiny backpacks bouncing from their excited movements.

But soon enough, the two boys realised that preschool wasn’t all it seemed.

Playtime was after their second period, and Yifan would usually accompany Junmyeon to the sandpit to build castles with Junmyeon’s favourite red bucket, which he would take from the box at the door leading to the play area. But one particular day, as the bell for sacred playtime rang, Yifan had a very full bladder and needed to go to the toilet.

After assuring Yifan that he’d be fine by himself, Junmyeon grabbed the red bucket practically flew towards the sandpit, already planning out what sort of castle he and Yifan would build today. Unfortunately for him, a group of other kids had a different plan. Noticing that a particular tall (and scary) classmate was not beside Junmyeon, they sauntered over to the petite boy, cocky smirks on their faces. 

Junmyeon vaguely recognised the group of three as from the year above. They were notorious for being spoilt brats and used their much larger stature to terrorise the younger kids, enjoying how the scared 5 year olds would wet their pants and cry.

Junmyeon was by no means stupid. He had noticed the predatory gaze of bullies, their actions only temporarily prevented by Yifan’s intimidating stature and cold facial expression. However, Junmyeon was a very easy target: he was kind and softhearted and wasn’t as strong as the other kids due to his small size, especially without Yifan beside him. But he was never one to let others frighten him. So with his head held high, he faced the approaching trio with defiance.

They stood in a line in front of Junmyeon, hands folded over their chest and arrogant expressions on their faces. Junmyeon tried to sidestep them, but was stopped by a firm hand to his chest before he was pushed slightly backwards. Junmyeon furrowed his eyebrows and met the gaze of the leader of the three, situated between his helpers.

“You have a very nice bucket there.” The tallest noted, his eyebrows rose with interest. “Why not you hand it over to me?”

Junmyeon’s grip on the bucket unconsciously tightened and he put on his most menacing expression. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give it to you. I took it out from the toy box. But you can have it if it’s still in the box during your playtime tomorrow.”

The bully scoffed and unfolded his hands before he reached behind Junmyeon to grab at the bucket. Unfortunately, Junmyeon couldn’t react fast enough, and so the two boys both hand one hand on the prized red bucket. “Hand it over, squirt. Now.”

Meanwhile, Yifan had just entered the yard. His eyes scanned the area full of running, excited kids for his best friend. But his eyes widened when he spotted what was going on.

“Junmyeon!”

Yifan dashed towards the gathered group, pushing through the bullies and standing beside Junmyeon. The bully was forced to relinquish his hold on the bucket as he stumbled backwards and righted himself again.

A warm hand wrapped itself around Junmyeon’s own and Junmyeon found himself pushed backwards, placed safely behind Yifan’s back.

The appearance of Yifan seemed to have shaken up the bullies. Junmyeon noted that his best friend was as actually as tall, if not slightly taller, than them. Yifan narrowed his eyes. “Scram. Before I hurt you.”

As the boys scampered away, Junmyeon spoke up. “But you wouldn’t REALLY hurt them, right Fan?” Giving a small pout, he continued. “There must be some reason as to why they’re acting like this.”

Yifan looked at Junmyeon incredulously; those boys harassed him and Junmyeon still wanted to be a saint?

But the combination of a cute pout, wide puppy eyes (and his very own Junmyeon-given nickname) was too much for Yifan to resist before his shoulders sagged and he looked down. “No Junmyeon, I wouldn’t hurt them.”

With that promise, Junmyeon leap forward into Yifan’s chest, wrapping his short arms, still holding his red bucket, around a warm chest. Yifan sighed and shook his head, one hand placed on Junmyeon’s back while the other reached upwards and ruffled Junmyeon’s hair before returning the tight embrace.

“Thank you for helping me, Fan.” Junmyeon snuggled tighter into Yifan’s chest.


~~~


Spring 2000

As you would expect, the duo moved to the same elementary school.

By some of luck, they had been placed in the same class, and immediately claimed the spot next to the other every opportunity (and lesson) they could. That’s not to say they didn’t make any other friends.

Junmyeon, ever bright and cheery, had made friends with a wide-eyed chubby boy called Minseok. Minseok had always sat in class by himself, everyone else didn’t seem to like him very much. But one Science lesson, where they were required to group up into threes for a project, had Junmyeon grabbing his belongings and plonking his tiny frame into the chair beside Minseok’s. Poor Minseok had looked so startled by the sudden intrusion, but Junmyeon’s beaming smiles and friendly nature soon got him to open up. From then onwards, the three boys could always be spotted together. During lunch break, the three boys would gobble down their lunch then head to the courtyard to play catch.

It was Junmyeon’s turn to be catcher. His ran as fast as his tiny legs could carry him, hot in pursuit of Minseok who had a wide grin on his face as he ran away. Minseok zipped through the courtyard and darted here and there in the hope of getting his friend off his tail.

Trees tall with age, roots far spread in the ground, lined the sides of the courtyard. Seizing the opportunity, Minseok flew through the row of trees in the hope that the shadows from the foliage would allow him to blend in. Determined to win, Junmyeon dashed towards Minseok. But before he could tag the chubby boy, his right foot hit something hard and he fell face first into the dirt.

“Junmyeon, are you okay?” Minseok ran to his friend’s side and helped him sit up.

The impact had Junmyeon feeling a little disoriented but he soon felt a stinging pain from his left knee. Turning his gaze to the spot, he was horrified to find his leg marred by a fresh scrape as bright red blood oozed out. Shock overcame Junmyeon, and his first instinct was to cry his tiny heart out.

Poor Minseok was scared and clueless as of what to do as he knelt next to Junmyeon, a hand patting Junmyeon’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. But it hadn’t seemed to stop his friend’s tears, and so he too began to cry.

Yifan, who had been hiding a distance away from them, was puzzled when he couldn’t hear the cheerful shrieks of the duo. He left his corner of safety and headed out until he heard the faint cries of the two boys. Dread seized him as he ran in the direction of the sound, heart banging loudly in his chest. He pushed through the low-hanging branches to find the two bawling boys and their tear-stained faces, hands slightly grubby from the soil and an alarming patch of blood on Junmyeon’s left knee. “Yifan, it hurts!” Junmyeon raised his hands towards his best friend and cried.

Immediately, he moved closer to the near hysterical boys and pulled Junmyeon into a hug before turning to Minseok. “I need you to calm down. Are you hurt anywhere?” Minseok shook his head as his sobs subsided. “Can you go to the General Office and tell Ms Kwon that Junmyeon injured himself? I’ll bring him there soon.” Minseok nodded furiously, determination in his eyes as he picked himself up and ran off.

By now, Junmyeon, who had his head buried in Yifan’s shoulder, was merely whimpering, the shock from the injury mostly gone. Yifan slowly rubbed his back before he lifted him up. He squatted before Junmyeon, turned around to face him and patted his own back.

“Hop on, I’ll carry you there.”

Junmyeon contemplated the offer before nodding shyly and hopping on. He wrapped his arms around Yifan’s shoulders and his legs hooked on to Yifan’s waist. Yifan stood up, adjusting the smaller boy by hoisting him gently before slowly making his way to the General Office. He felt the boy on his back relax slightly before hugging Yifan tighter and leaning his cheek on the back of Yifan’s neck.

The Sick Bay in the General Office was rather clinical. White walls with two small beds for kids who weren’t feeling well, a metal cupboard in the corner and a sink on another wall. A decal was pasted along all four walls of the room, of colourful animals with toys and balloons, but it didn’t really help much.
Ms Kwon was going to clean the wound and put a plaster.

“Yifan, you have to hold my hand okay? I’m scared that it’s going to hurt...” Wordlessly, Yifan grabbed Junmyeon smaller palm, the pad of his thumb soothingly rubbed up and down the back of Junmyeon’s hand.

And, of course, he didn’t let it go, even though Junmyeon had a death grip on his hand and nearly broke it in two.


~~~


Summer 2000

Everyday after school, the two boys would go to Junmyeon’s house. They took out their shoes before stepping into the house and making their way to the dining table. After their bags were dumped on the chairs, they would take out their workbooks and pens and spread them out on the table, run to the kitchen to grab an afternoon snack (which normally consisted of Mrs Kim’s chocolate chip cookies and milk), before finally starting on their work.

Junmyeon shoved his English workbook at Yifan with a pout. “Fan, can you help me check my homework?”

“Sure.” Yifan looked at the workbook intently for any mistakes Junmyeon could have made. His eyes swept the page, before pausing at one particular question. He turned to Junmyeon, a finger pointed at Junmyeon’s rather neat handwriting.

“Hmm, you see here? It should be ‘My favourite animal is a bunny’ because there’s only one animal, which is the bunny. But if you put ‘animals’, that means that there are more than one.”

“Oh, I get it now! Thank you Yifan, you’re very smart.” Junmyeon flashed a lopsided grin at the taller boy, which caused his cheeks to turn pink. “It’s okay Junmyeon,” he mumbled, “You’re always helping me with Korean. You’re really smart too.” At the compliment, Junmyeon covered his face with his two fists.

But the shy smile and red ears definitely did not lie.


~~~


Spring 2003

It had been weighing on his mind since the start of the week, when he had first caught sight of the recruitment poster. Yifan was mostly introverted and shy. If it weren’t for Junmyeon, he definitely wouldn’t have as many friends as he did now. So, frankly, meeting new people sort of made him nervous. But basketball had always been one of his (many) passions, and now that the opportunity had come by, Yifan desperately wanted to seize it.

Besides not being fond of meeting new people, Yifan was also afraid of disappointing Junmyeon. Basketball practice would take up at least 3 afternoons a week, which were normally spent with Junmyeon, whether it be studying or goofing around. And Yifan considered the time spent with his best friend as very precious, he was sure Junmyeon felt the same way. So during an after school study session, Yifan plucked up his courage.

“Junmyeon,” Yifan started, “I think I want to try joining the basketball team.”

Junmyeon looked up from his work, eyes lit up, a bright smile gradually widening on his face. “You should go for it, Fan. I think you’ll be great at it!”

“But then you’ll have to go home by yourself and I won’t be able to spend time with you as often because of training...” Yifan trailed off, lips unconsciously forming a little pout. Junmyeon let out a little sigh before he grabbed Yifan’s larger hand.

“Yifan, I’ve probably spent enough time with you these past 4 years to make up for the time we’ll lose to your training sessions. It’s fine. But thank you, for thinking about me.”

Yifan flashed at grateful smile at the smaller male and squeezed his hand before turning back to his work, excitement bubbling in his chest.

As predicted, Yifan got a lot busier after joining the basketball team. But instead of going home, Junmyeon would wait for Yifan at the bleachers, either reading a book or doing some homework, looking up once in a while to glance at Yifan. And when Yifan wasn’t occupied, he would look up and catch Junmyeon’s gaze and a soft smile directed at him. Yifan would beam right back before focusing back on the movement of the game. Knowing that Junmyeon was still waiting for him at the end of every session, Yifan never showered in school. He’d warm down, pack his bags and go straight to Junmyeon. Every single time, the latter would offer to help carry Yifan’s equipment, but Yifan would gently push his hand away and grab one of Junmyeon’s hands as waved by to his teammates and walked out of the gymnasium, pulling Junmyeon in tow.

The evening weather was cool, due to a downpour that had happened earlier, and the pavement was still wet from the rain. The sun was beginning to set, bathing the street in a golden glow. The walk home was quiet as usual, a comfortable silence enveloping the two after a long and tiring day. Yifan was swinging his shoe bag as he walked, Junmyeon clutching his books to his chest for dear life, fingers nearly disappearing under the sleeves of the sweater he was wearing. Junmyeon let out a soft yawn, a fist reaching up to rub his eyes, clearly tired from the day that was about to end. Immediately, Yifan felt bad.

“You know you don’t have to wait for me, right? You can head home first if you want to.”

Yifan’s comment (which he had already repeated a million times before) earned him rolled eyes and a smack on his right shoulder. He grimaced in pain, where did someone so small sized get the strength to hit so hard?

“I swear to God, if you tell me one more time that I should go home first, I am going to take it that you hate my guts and don’t want me around. Idiot.”

Yifan rubbed his now sore shoulder and gently shoved the smaller male. Once again, they walked home with warmth in their hearts and smiles on their faces.


~~~

Fall 2009

When Junmyeon was 15 and Yifan was 16, a certain ‘problem’ occurred.

Puberty had hit Yifan with the impact of a bullet train. But instead of looking ugly from the train wreck, he was drop-dead gorgeous. And poor Junmyeon couldn’t help but notice his best friend’s soft plump lips and striking side profile. 

Yifan’s baby fat had long disappeared, replaced by a sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones. Courtesy of basketball and good genes, he had also shot up tremendously and towered over Junmyeon by nearly half a head. Which was the perfect height for Junmyeon’s chin to rest comfortably on Yifan’s steady shoulders. While queuing up for food, Junmyeon would take advantage of this by leaning forward and resting his weight on Yifan supported by his chin. Yifan was steady and warm. And the arrival of fall also meant colder temperatures and more opportunities to make use of his portable heat source.

Saturdays were reserved for the two males to hang out but fall had slowly started to limit the amount of outdoor activities they could do. With that in mind, Junmyeon had decided on spending time in the park. The leaves were starting to change colour and the weather was much cooler, there would also be more piles of dried leaves to step on! Initially, Yifan vehemently protested the suggestion, nagging on and on about how Junmyeon could catch a cold and fall sick. But Junmyeon had used his secret weapon: kicked-puppy eyes and a small pout. Yifan immediately crumbled.

Which is how they ended up walking along the footpath with autumn leaves strewn by the sides, flanked by tall tress with yellow and orange and red. Junmyeon was snuggled in a large grey hoodie (Yifan vaguely recognised it as his own from a few years back) with the collar of his baby blue button up visible, and a red fleece scarf wrapped around his neck, hands deep in his pockets for some warmth. Yifan had thrown on and buttoned up his green varsity jacket, his flannel peaking out at the hem of the jacket. The two males walked in silence, enjoying the slight breeze and biting chill of the fall air.

As they passed by an old Oak tree, Junmyeon let out a giggle. Yifan turned to him curiously. At the questioning gaze directed at him, the former explained. “Remember when you were 10 and I was 9, we came to this park to cycle? But you weren’t very good at it, so you lost control and crashed into that Oak tree and cried non-stop because you were so embarrassed!” Junmyeon covered his widening smile with his hand as Yifan’s cheeks turned red in embarrassment. Junmyeon laughed outright, his heart doing a little skip, and hooked his arm around Yifan’s to drag his dejected friend along, the two of them reminiscing the memories they had made in that space together.

After they had walked along the path for a while, Yifan suddenly tugged at Junmyeon’s arm. He followed Yifan’s pointed finger to see an empty basketball court. An abandoned basketball sat at the side. Junmyeon lightly shoved him ahead, his face showing amusement. “Go on.” With permission granted, Yifan jogged ahead to the court, eyes alit like a child in a candy shop. Junmyeon made his way to an unoccupied stone bench, arms crossed over his chest for some extra warm.

It was mesmerising to Junmyeon, how the taller male shot hoop after hoop, large hands dribbling the ball with ease and long limbs flying through the air, his eyes were full of concentration but his smile was so wide and gummy and happy.

“Junmyeon-ah, come here. I’ll teach you.”

Junmyeon got up and walked towards Yifan, who passed the ball to him. He ended up before the hoop, feeling slightly awkward as to what he should do. Without a second thought, he threw the ball up and missed. Disappointed, Junmyeon trudged over to retrieve the ball and went back to his spot, pouting at the basketball hoop that seemed to taunt him.

From the back, Yifan chuckled and walked towards him. He wrapped his arms around Junmyeon’s shorter ones, holding onto his hands firmly. Yifan’s firm torso was pressed to his back, so secure and dependable, and Junmyeon got a whiff of his musky cologne (a present from Junmyeon himself 2 Christmases ago, Junmyeon remembered how he had written in his card that Yifan needed to ‘smell better’). 

Yifan guided Junmyeon’s hands to pull back, before sending the ball flying through the air, and cleanly into the hoop.

“It went in!”

“Yes, Junmyeon. It did. Now how about trying it from further back?”

Junmyeon walked backwards, further from the hoop. He recalled how Yifan had prepared the throw; steady and strong hands placed over Junmyeon’s own and arms wrapped around in an awkward half hug. Junmyeon took a deep breath and shook his head to clear those thoughts, before he aimed at the square on the backboard and took a shot. Unsurprisingly, it fell short. Determined to get it in, he made a few more attempts, of which none worked. Disappointed, Junmyeon turned to Yifan and whined. “It’s no use, I’m too short.”

Yifan walked in front of the shorter, turned his back to him and squatted down before looking back with a smile. “Hop on, I’ll carry you up.”

Junmyeon’s mind went back to when he was 6 and Yifan was 7, and Yifan had piggybacked him when he was injured. How he had clung to Yifan and buried his nose in the crook of Yifan’s neck and got some snot on Yifan’s uniform.

Except that Junmyeon was 15 and Yifan was 16, and they were a lot older and bigger than they used to be.

Nonetheless, under the encouragement of Yifan’s inviting smile, Junmyeon gently placed his hands atop Yifan’s mop of hair and carefully lifted his leg up. Yifan grabbed his ankle and guided it on top of his shoulder. When Junmyeon was safely seated on Yifan’s shoulders, he slowly stood up, hands placed protectively on Junmyeon’s shins. Junmyeon couldn’t help but let out a giggle: he felt so tall and free! A mischievous smile spread across his face before he pointed forward. “Onward, my noble stead!”

Yifan let out a hearty laugh, passing the ball up to Junmyeon, before grabbing the smaller male’s shins tightly and running towards the basketball hoop. Junmyeon readied himself before dunking the ball through the hoop, pleased when it swooshed through the net. Junmyeon gave a little whoop of achievement as Yifan ran around the court for a fitting victory celebration, a little winded but too exhilarated to care.

They spent the evening like that: Junmyeon atop Yifan’s shoulders as they played around, with the sound of their carefree laughs resounding throughout the court.

Junmyeon swore that, in that moment, he fell a little more in love with his giant of a best friend.


~~~


Spring 2013

But after practically being joined at the hip for over a decade, non-platonic feelings be damned, it was only natural that they move into the same university apartment. It definitely wasn’t a big apartment, there was a kitchen with one bedroom and a small living area, but it felt cosy enough for the duo. The kitchen led to the one room that the two boys would be sharing, and you could tell who took which side at one glance.

Junmyeon’s half had an organised chaos to it. Articles of clothing were strewn all over the floor, Star Wars posters decorated Junmyeon’s walls, shelves filled with comics and anime figurines, bed sheets a soft blue colour, and with a little potted cactus sitting on his desk.

On Yifan’s side of the room, there was a mini hoop over his bed, which had pastel green bed sheets, and his stuffed alpaca placed beside neatly arranged pillows and a folded blanket. His shelf was covered in trophies from the many basketball competitions he had taken part in over the years, with the exception of two photo frames: one of a picture he had taken with his mum when he was much younger. He had a frown pasted on his face while his mother laughed and pinched his cheek, adoration shown clearly in her eyes. Another was of him and Junmyeon dressed in their graduation gowns last year, arms wrapped tightly around each other’s shoulders and wide smiles on their faces (if you looked closely, you could spot Minseok tucked at the back attempting to jump into the photo).

On this day, seven boys were squeezed into the living room, the foldable table brought out so they all had a place to do their work. The sound of furious scribbling, the typing of keyboards and the occasional confused mutters could be heard as the boys focused on their assignments, eager to get them over and done with.

Kyungsoo was writing out a mind map for his essay, switching from biting the end of his pen with his mouth as he thought to quick scribing as an idea came to him.

Yixing and Minseok were huddled over their laptop finding research for their project work, occasionally consulting each other if whatever they had happened to find was relevant information.

Sehun and Jongin were staring at their Math homework, wracking their minds as they tried to recall what was taught in class (which was difficult when Jongin was sleeping half the time and Sehun was too bored to pay attention to the droning lecturer).

Meanwhile, Junmyeon and Yifan were seated next to each other (as usual) as Junmyeon transferred his lecture notes and slides into study notes for his revision. Yifan was finishing up his Astronomy report, gaze focused as he scanned through for any parts he may have missed out.

Junmyeon had met Kyungsoo on his first day of school. They were both Performing Arts majors and a large majority of their classes were together. Wide-eyed Kyungsoo was initially intimidated by Yifan when Junmyeon first introduced the two. But he soon realised that he was most probably scarier than 5 angry Yifans combined.

Yixing was someone Minseok had dragged along. He had met the Chinese male during their Business faculty orientation, and had shared their aspirations of opening a cafe and a bakery respectively. The two hit it off very well due to their quiet yet friendly nature.

Jongin and Sehun were Yixing’s friends from the university Dance Club. The two could get rather immature when Sehun came up with a dumb idea, so Yixing brought them in the group in the hopes that the two would be able to focus when they studied and could also get help from the rest of the boys. Yixing’s move had been right as they observed the boys grades increase steadily throughout the semester, though they still weren’t disciplined enough, in Yixing’s opinion. Nonetheless, the youngest boys of the group brought much spontaneity and joy to the rest of them and were a delight to be around.

With a sigh, Yifan stretched his back and took a deep breath to release the tension he had been holding in. His shoulder muscles were taut from staring at the screen too long and were starting to feel a little sore. Turning to his side, he watched as Junmyeon rearranged his notes, interchanging the use of pens and highlighters to emphasise certain points. His forehead was creased into a frown and his tongue stuck out slightly from his mouth, a sign that he was concentrating. Junmyeon could feel Yifan’s eyes on him and quickly finished the section of notes, reading through once to ensure he had conveyed the main points properly before turning to face his best friend.

Yifan was sheepish that his gaze had been noticed but still pushed over his laptop with a pleading gaze. “Can you help me proofread my essay?”

“Of course,” Junmyeon replied, immediately reaching over to bring the laptop closer to him. As he read through the essay, he would inform Yifan of any grammatical mistakes to correct and clarify anything he wasn’t sure about then suggesting a different sentence delivering the meaning in a clearer way. The two of them were leaning close to each other, exchanging whispers to make sure they didn’t disturb the rest. From this distance, Yifan noticed Junmyeon’s defined, elegant facial features, bangs left down which framed the fair, smooth face. He watched as Junmyeon ran a hand through his soft hair before rubbing his lower lip with the same hand, deep in thought. The sunlight streaming through the window left Yifan in awe of the beauty in front of him: sparkling eyes, round rosy cheeks and soft pink lips.

Kyungsoo raised his head to glance at the two, a soft smile spreading when he noticed how the two seemed to be lost in their own word. He nudged Minseok with his elbow and brought his attention to the two best friends. Soon, the whole group was blatantly staring at the two who were oblivious to the amount of attention they had gained, lost in their own conversation.

It wasn’t until they had finished their discussion that they noticed all eyes were on them. The two shot the rest a questioning look, movements frozen midway from the confusion. Suggestive smiles were spread over their faces before Sehun broke the silence.

“You two look like a lovey-dovey couple all over each other.”

With that, the five boys burst into chuckles. Junmyeon’s eyes widened before he averted his gaze back at his work, the tips of his ears turning red. Yifan tried to hold back a blush, hands awkwardly fidgeting as he cleared his throat. The two looked away from each other and stared blankly at their work, hearts thumping fast within their chest.


~~~


Fall 2013

Yifan had woken up to the smell of food being cooked in the kitchen.

“Good morning, sleepyhead! Food’s almost ready, then you can get changed and head to your class.” Junmyeon flashed an affectionate smile upon seeing how Yifan was only half-awake.

Yifan let out a smile at that (though it was more a grimace, but Junmyeon didn’t mind) and leaned against the kitchen counter. He lazily surveyed the kitchen: pancakes were stacked in a tower, cherry tomatoes and baby spinach washed and ready to be served. The sizzling off the stove caught his attention and Yifan noticed how Junmyeon was neglecting the eggs left to cook in a pan.

“Jun, your eggs are starting to burn...”

Junmyeon shot Yifan an affronted look and waved his spatula around. “Don’t tell me how to cook my eggs! I fry a decent sunny-side up!”

Yifan raised his hands in surrender, slowly backing away from the sharp glare directed at him.

For a fact, Junmyeon did fry a decent sunny-side up. He could also make simple dishes and cook rice (without burning it!). But what Yifan didn’t know was why Junmyeon decided to upgrade from having instant ramyun as his signature dish; he had merely chalked it up to an increased interest in cooking, 

But what Yifan didn’t know was that the real reason behind the revamp of Junmyeon’s cooking skills was actually due to Yifan himself.

Between lectures, revision and basketball training, Yifan didn’t really have the time or energy to do anything else. Quite often he wouldn’t even be bothered to eat because he was much too tired. Seeing an exhausted Yifan caused Junmyeon’s vast soft hard to ache, and he found himself wondering what he could do to make things easier for Yifan. Except for cleaning their shared room; Junmyeon knew how futile a task it was, what with him throwing his clothes all over the place.

It wasn’t until a careless remark made by Yifan about how he missed his mother’s home cooked food that Junmyeon figured out what he could do and sought aid from the Asian Food Channel, YouTube and Gordon Ramsey. (He had tried asking Kyungsoo to teach him once, but he felt bad for troubling the smaller male after nearly starting a fire and shortening the poor male’s lifespan by about 10 years.)

As Yifan stared at Junmyeon’s back, he wondered how it would feel to spend the morning to a sight like this; Junmyeon busy at the kitchen, the scent of a warm homemade breakfast and freshly brewed coffee wafting throughout the house, a little boy and a little girl running past, their carefree laughter lifting the atmosphere. Yifan would get up from his spot and walk towards Junmyeon, wrap his arms around that tiny waist and press a morning kiss to a fair cheek- Wait, what?

Junmyeon was smart and sweet and kind, and oh so loving. His forehead would crease when he was thinking, and his nose would crinkle when he was smiling. To Yifan, he was beautiful inside and outside.

But Junmyeon was just his friend, his best friend at that.

“Fan, time to eat! You can’t study properly if you don’t eat well.”

Yifan shook his head as a slow smile spread across his face, what would he do without Junmyeon?


~~~
 

Spring 2014

“Eat this now, okay? If not you won’t have enough time before training starts and I don’t want you running around and throwing balls on an empty stomach.” Junmyeon handed the lunchbox to Yifan, pink spreading on his cheeks. “I’ll be heading home first. See you tonight?” Junmyeon tugged his bag closer to himself, looking up to Yifan for confirmation. “Thank you Jun, I’ll get home as early as I can.” Yifan reached out and ruffled Junmyeon’s hair, a grin spreading on his lips. Junmyeon smiled back and turned around, walking away from the bleachers. When he was almost at the door, he turned around and gave Yifan a big wave and bright beam before adjusting his bag strap and leaving the university gymnasium.

Yifan watched Junmyeon’s retreating figure until he turned out of the gymnasium before settling on a bench and opening the lunchbox. There were two rolls of beef kimbap and a giant chocolate chip cookie, a box of chocolate milk at the side. Yifan silently thanked the heavens for the gift of Junmyeon. Lately, Yifan had been having extra lessons after school, which meant that he was cutting very close to his training time and didn’t have the time to get a proper meal. Junmyeon had somehow found out about this (Yifan didn’t tell him because the didn’t want the smaller male to worry) and began preparing lunchboxes for Yifan to have a quick munch before basketball practice. And Junmyeon’s thoughtfulness was making Yifan’s heart do funny flip-flops in his chest. Preoccupied with gobbling down his meal before training started, he didn’t notice a pair of curious eyes that had watched his exchange with Junmyeon.

The warm water hit his skin and soothed his aching muscles as he let out a content sigh. Coach had been especially brutal during training and Yifan’s body was suffering the aftermath of it. Drying himself off and getting changed, his mind was only focused on the thought of getting home so that he could see Junmyeon, flop on his bed, curl up and sleep. But then he remembered his forgotten pre-lecture reading for tomorrow. Yifan groaned.

A tap on his shoulder broke Yifan’s reverie, and he turned to meet Park Chanyeol, the team’s shooting guard.

“Hey Yifan, I was just wondering about your friend that came by today. What’s his name?”

Yifan narrowed his eyes, frown etched on his forehead. “Junmyeon? Why are you asking about him?”

“Honestly, he’s really cute. And I’ve also heard that he’s single, right? So since he’s your best friend, why don’t you introduce him to me and, y’know, set us up?”

The thought of another man holding Junmyeon’s hand, being on the receiving end of his adorable eye-smile, and watching Junmyeon geek out over anime and Star Wars infuriated Yifan. He harshly slammed his locker shut and picked up his gym bag, not even bothering to turn around.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Chanyeol. Junmyeon is off-limits.”

Yifan was beyond frustrated after the whole encounter with Chanyeol. Trudging forward to the path that led to the apartments, he froze when he felt a fat water droplet land on his nose. As he stepped back into the sheltered walkway, the rain started to pour. He dug his bag for his umbrella, irritation rising when he couldn’t find it. Great, just his luck.

An arm wrapped around his shoulder and he found Minseok standing by his side, a wide grin on his face. “Hey Yifan! How was training?”

Yifan frowned, reminded of his bad evening. “Coach decided to screw us all over today and my entire body hurts now and in the locker room, ChanyeolaskedifhecouldgooutwithJunmyeon,” Yifan mumbled and trailed off.

“From the sound of it, my football practice probably wasn’t as bad as basketball and—wait, what did you say at the end? Chanyeol asked if he could go out with Junmyeon?”

Yifan’s reply was a curt nod and a displeased frown.

“What’s wrong with Chanyeol? From what I’ve heard, he’s a really sweet guy, hardworking and all.”

Yifan remained silent and Minseok could feel the anger radiating off him. He started, softer this time. “Y’know Kris, sometimes I cant tell if you’re in denial or actually dense.” At that, Yifan turned to Minseok, a puzzled look on his face. Minseok sighed before continuing. “I’ve grown up with the two of you for the past 15 years, you think I can’t tell that the two of you are dancing around each other? You’re clearly completely into Junmyeon, as he is into you, I don’t understand why you two haven’t screamed it out and kissed yet. You’re acting out now against Chanyeol, not because you dislike him, but because you’re jealous.”

Yifan remained silent, mind slowly processing the Korean’s words. The gentle touches that caused Yifan’s heart to beat thrice as fast, the whispers that sent Yifan into overdrive, the smiles so full of love that they drove Yifan crazy. Junmyeon had unknowingly wormed his way into Yifan’s heart and built his own home there with a little garden and a wooden sign that said‘Junmyeon’s’ in black font. Just like how Yifan only displayed the picture with his mother, and the picture with Junmyeon.

“That felt great to say out. Anyway, I’m headed home now. Just think about what I’ve said, okay? If you need anything, I’m only a phone call away. Night, Yifan!” Minseok waved at a dumbfounded Yifan, holding his opened umbrella above his head and walking towards the student apartments.

Yifan decided to wait for the rain to clear before heading back, but he spotted a pair of headlights approaching and stopping in front of him. The window wound down to reveal the smiling face of Junmyeon, seated on the driver’s side.

“Hop in! I knew you’d be stuck in the rain without your umbrella, so I decided to offer my excellent, amazing driving skills to you.”

Yifan stared, amazed at the man before him. “How did you know that I don’t have my umbrella?”

“You’ve left it to dry in the laundry area for 2 weeks.”

Right. Yifan mentally slapped himself.

Without a second though, he pull open the car door and slid into the front passenger seat, shutting the door after ensuring everything (including his limbs) were safely in the car.

The short ride back was filled with the sound of Junmyeon humming along to the radio, fingers tapping the beat against the steering well. Yifan looked out the window as the campus rolled past them, still deep in thought over Minseok’s words earlier.

“You’re awfully quiet, anything the matter?”

Yifan looked over to see Junmyeon stealing glances at him, concerned etched on his face. “Just... thinking. I’m fine, don’t worry Jun.” He placed his hand atop Junmyeon’s thigh, patting it comfortingly. Internally, Junmyeon almost had a mini heart attack from the action. The rest of the night was filled with contemplative silence as the two reached home and gave into slumber.

Yifan was exhausted from the day that had just passed. He threw his gym bag to one side and stepped into his room, only to find Chanyeol holding hands with Junmyeon, with smiles that seemed sickening to Yifan. “You were too late, Yifan. Junmyeon is mine now.” Yifan watched as Chanyeol brought Junmyeon closer, arms wrapped around the small waist. “Junmyeon, no. Don’t do this please, don’t!”

Yifan opened his eyes, searching in the darkness to make out Junmyeon’s features.

“Junmyeon,” he breathed out, relief flooding him as he blindly reached for Junmyeon’s hand. Junmyeon’s cool stubby fingers gently caressed his hot, sweaty forehead and swept his bangs to the side. “Shhh Yifan, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.”

Junmyeon was completely knocked out and deep in dreamland until he heard soft whimpers. As he was forcefully pulled out from his sleep, he realised the whimpers were coming from the bed beside him and jolted awake, immediately getting up and going over to comfort Yifan. The soft cries he let out were like knifes in Junmyeon’s chest as he patted Yifan awake.

Yifan rubbed Junmyeon’s hand with the pad of him thumb, as he held it in a vice-like grip, afraid that if he let go, the smaller male would disappear.

“Can you... stay with me tonight? Please.”

Yifan’s shaky voice caused Junmyeon to cave in, lifting up and slipping under the covers. They hadn’t slept in such close proximity since early elementary school, and Junmyeon found himself craving the closeness after so long.

Yifan wound his hands around Junmyeon’s chest, pulling him closer, and Junmyeon buried his nose into Yifan’s chest, arms resting at Yifan’s waist. The bed was far too small for the two of them, legs in one tangled mess, but neither seemed to mind.

They fell asleep to soft breathing and the rhythmic beating of their hearts.


~~~
 

Summer 2014

When the two were much younger, Junmyeon would head over to Yifan’s house, giving 2 sharp knocks before opening the door to Yifan’s room. The two boys would then draw the curtains, switch off the lights and flop on Yifan’s bed, lying next to each other as they stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars that Yifan had stuck on his ceiling. During those moments, the two would talk about anything and everything.

In particular, after they had reached their teenage phase, the topic of romance had come up very often. And for some reason or another, Yifan had always remembered Junmyeon’s answer to “What is your dream confession?”

He never understood why it had stuck so vividly in his head. He supposed the reason was because of this, which had taken weeks and the help of many friends to coordinate and prepare. He had been planning this for a while, but increased basketball practice and the Spring Semester exams had delayed putting it into action.

But it was going to happen this time.

Under the pretense of a heart-to-heart talk (which technically wasn’t a lie), Yifan had invited Junmyeon out to the school fountain. It was quiet and cooling, and a comfortable sort of dimness to it.

Yifan had worn a black t-shirt and grey jeans and sat on the bench tapping his feet nervously waiting for Junmyeon to arrive. And at 8:05 PM, Yifan saw the person he had been looking out for. Junmyeon was dressed in a baggy shirt, blue jeans and a snapback perched backwards on his head, a bright smile on his face as he waved at Yifan. He sat down and turned to the side, giving the signal that he was ready to listen.

“I’ve been thinking recently, about how some people come into your life. And you don’t realise it, but soon they’ve wrapped themselves in and made themselves at home, and you probably couldn’t imagine what it’s like without them. Without loving them.”

Yifan looked directly at Junmyeon and grabbed both his hands, holding them in his grasp tightly.

“It’s the dream isn’t it: to fall in love with your best friend. And for me, I have you.”

Junmyeon merely nodded his head at Yifan’s words, before comprehension dawned on his face. His eyebrows shot up and eyes widened, and slowly turned his head towards Yifan. In Yifan’s eyes, Junmyeon resembled a startled bunny and he internally saved this expression for future reference.

“I’m sorry I took so long to realise how I felt about you.” Yifan brought his hand to Junmyeon’s cheek and caressed it, observing how the skin turned pink under his touch. Junmyeon opened and closed his mouth, seemingly thinking about how to phrase his words before he started. “Actually, I was going to tell you too, but I didn’t know if you like me. I didn’t want to risk ruining our friendship. I... I couldn’t lose you. No one can ever replace you.”

With that, Yifan pulled out a velvet box from his pocket. Hidden within the velvet box was a gorgeous ring with a small wing placed atop a silver band. Yifan gently picked it up and reached for Junmyeon’s hand before looking up. “Will you be my boyfriend, Kim Junmyeon?”

“Gladly.” With that, Yifan slid the ring onto his ring finger, glancing up to see Junmyeon’s eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Yifan dabbed at them with his finger before cradling Junmyeon’s face in his palms. The smaller male pouted. “Also, this better mean that you’re going to treat me super well. I have high standards for you, Wu Yifan.”

Yifan chuckled and pulled Junmyeon close before gently pressing their lips together, thankful that he had met the tiny raven-haired boy from the brown house next door.