Chapter 23

Maybe It Is Love

Eunhyuk pushed the door of their apartment building open. Peeking inside, he was met with the sight of a futon spread on the middle of the spacious roof where he could see a head full of brown hair resting on a pillow.

 

“Donghae? What are you doing here?”

 

The brunette sat up quickly hearing the voice, turning his head towards the door, “Oh, Hyukkie! Why are you here?”

 

He was sitting on the futon with a thick blanket wrapped around his body.

 

Eunhyuk scoffed and approached the younger boy, “The neighbor said that she saw you coming here. What are you doing on the rooftop so late at night? Isn’t it cold outside?”

 

The brunette giggled, hiding his face behind his small palm, “I am just planning to sleep outside tonight. It is kind of exciting! Oh, you can sit down if you want to.”

 

Donghae patted the space next to him, gathering the blanket to make space for the redheaded male.

 

“Sleep outside? Are you crazy? It’s freezing cold out here,” Eunhyuk muttered as he sat next to the younger boy, draping the blanket over his own legs.

 

Donghae shrugged, a little smile playing on his thin lips. He then lay down on his back, adjusting the blanket properly, “That’s why I brought this. I won’t feel cold if I sleep under this big fluffy blanket.”

 

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes, “Whatever, stupid. I won’t nurse you if you catch a cold.”

 

Donghae pouted cutely, “Why not? You took care of me last time.”

 

“It was a kind thing to do for a thick-headed idiot like you,” Eunhyuk snickered. I just don’t want you to get sick, silly.

 

“I’m sorry. I caused a lot of trouble, didn’t I?” Donghae chuckled, “Here, lie down and watch the stars with me. It is the least you can do for being a big fat meanie to me all the time.”

 

The elder boy rolled his eyes but nonetheless, lied down next to the younger boy, looking up at the night sky full of tiny shining stars. They stared at the beautiful view together, both of them enjoying the moment secretly, unknown to the other as the silence of the night calmed their mind.

 

Donghae suddenly talked, “Do you know? I am doing this after a lot of years.”

 

The elder boy hummed, “Doing what?”

 

“Lying outside like this to see the stars. I used to do it a lot with hyung when we were little. Then after hyung left me, I watched the stars by myself. But it felt so lonely to watch the night sky alone that I stopped doing this. Now that I’m watching them again with someone, it feels really nice.”

 

Eunhyuk watched as a genuine smile adorned Donghae’s beautiful face. He looked so handsome under the light of the night, gazing above as if he were a part of the nature. It was such a mesmerizing view that the redheaded male had to gulp because the brunette just took his breath away. Eunhyuk realized that he had never looked at the brunette properly. Or else how could he not acknowledge such beauty?

 

The elder boy faced the sky again, “With that childhood crush of yours?”

 

Donghae pouted, “How many times do I have to tell you? I did not have a crush on him.”

 

“Then what else do you call it? Friend complex?” he retorted with slight sarcasm in his tone.

 

Donghae shook his head, smiling a bit, “He was someone I could rely on. Someone who always protected me, cheered me up when I was sad, someone who wanted me in his life.”

 

If Eunhyuk had to admit, he was getting a bit jealous. Who was this kid that Donghae always talked about? Well, he was not a kid anymore, of course. But Eunhyuk wanted to see this person so badly. But Donghae himself didn’t know where that mysterious guy currently was. So, the redheaded boy had no possible chance to meet him.

 

“It’s getting late. Aren’t you going to sleep?” Eunhyuk decided to change the subject.

 

“Oh, right. You should go back, Hyukkie. You should also go to sleep,” Donghae smiled, looking at Eunhyuk with his wide round brown colored eyes.

 

The elder boy’s heart started thumping loudly in his chest. As he looked at the brunette’s smiling face, he got a sudden urge to hug him, to feel him close against himself, wrap his arms around his petite body. All this feelings were new to him but he decided not to ignore them anymore.

 

Eunhyuk didn’t reply to the brunette and just shifted a bit, wrapping the blanket around himself tighter. “I’m sleepy already. I’m going to sleep here,” he mumbled disinterestedly and closed his eyes.

 

“What?” the younger boy widened his eyes, “But what if you catch a cold?”

 

“If you don’t get sick, I’ll not either,” the elder boy shrugged with an indifferent expression.

 

“B-But how are you going to sleep without a pillow?”

 

“We’ll just have to share one pillow then.”

 

“Wha- won’t it be uncomfortable?” He tried to reason.

 

“It’s okay. It’s not a big deal anyway.”

 

“Can’t you go and bring another pillow?” the brunette was panicking. The thought of sleeping with his husband, sharing a pillow made him all excited inside and he was scared of the feeling.

 

“I’m too sleepy. I can’t,” Eunhyuk replied with his eyes still closed.

 

“T-Then I’ll go and bring one!” Donghae tried to get up quickly.

 

Eunhyuk groaned in annoyance and grabbed the younger boy’s wrist, yanking him back down onto the futon, “Didn’t I tell you that it’s okay? Why are you being so annoying?”

 

“B-But,” the younger boy tried to protest. But he was interrupted by Eunhyuk’s palm covering his mouth, “Shut up. Don’t you know that there are ghosts roaming around so late? Do you want them to push you down from the stairs?”

 

Donghae’s eyes widened in fear, lips trembling at the mention of ghosts. He gulped loudly, turning his head around to look if there was one of those scary creatures hiding in some spot to attack them secretly when they’d be asleep, “T-There are g-ghosts? R-Really?” His voice was shaky and eyes watering in fear.

 

Donghae had always been afraid of ghosts. They were so creepy and so scary that the brunette even got scared while watching horror movies. After watching those scary ghosts in those movies, he would always crash at one of his friend’s house and sleep in the same bed as them because he believed that the ghosts would come out of the DVDs at night to hunt him down in sleep. In this case, Donghae’s favorite friend was Ryeowook because the younger boy was almost as cuddly as the brunette and he didn’t mind being hugged to sleep. It was better to be safe than to regret later.

 

Eunhyuk was surprised at the younger boy’s sudden change of behavior. It took him a few seconds to realize that Donghae was afraid of ghosts. Eunhyuk had only said that randomly to make the younger boy give up but he didn’t really think it would work. He didn’t know what he should do at the situation because it was so funny but the genuine scared expression on the brunette’s face washed away the urge to laugh.

 

Eunhyuk wanted to coo at the younger boy and kiss his cheeks because he looked so cute like a little child who didn’t like scary stories and needed to sleep between his parents at night because he was afraid. The redheaded boy asked himself how he resisted this cute and adorable as hell boy for so long. Because to be honest, he was irresistible.

 

“J-Just lie down,” Eunhyuk averted his eyes, feeling guilty.

 

The brunette quickly complied without a protest.

 

As they were lying on their back side by side, eyes wide open to welcome the night sky, a silence grew. A couple of minutes passed before the elder boy coughed awkwardly, gaining the other’s attention, “So..... you don’t..... like ghosts?”

 

Donghae shivered in fear, “No.”

 

“Why?” the redheaded male tried to keep the conversation going.

 

“T-They are scary, you know. They have such weird faces a-and their laughs are really creepy. I don’t like them,” he scrunched his nose cutely.

 

Eunhyuk laughed at the endearing act, making the younger boy look at him with questioning eyes, “Why are you laughing?”

 

The redheaded boy shook his head, “Nothing.”

 

Another silence greeted them before Eunhyuk rubbed his forehead awkwardly, “Um......then. I’m going to sleep.”

 

“Oh, o-okay.”

 

Eunhyuk closed his eyes, a lot of thoughts running in his mind, keeping him wide awake. His mind went back to the time when he and Donghae used to be nothing more than classmates and Eunhyuk used to narrow his eyes in distaste whenever the brunette passed-by him. Then they had suddenly got married and Eunhyuk always thought of the other boy as a bad person. He had shouted at the younger male so many times and behaved so rudely. But seeing himself at this moment, so close with the younger boy, knowing the other’s face was just a few inches far from his own, having the urge to hold him; everything felt so different. Eunhyuk wondered what changed.

 

A lot of thoughts were lingering in his head and with some questions in his mind, Eunhyuk fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a few minutes past 1 am at night when Eunhyuk felt Donghae shaking him slightly, trying to wake him up.

 

He grunted in annoyance, refusing to open his eyes. The brunette didn’t stop shaking him though, calling his name with a nervous voice, “Hyukkie.”

 

“What?” the elder boy groaned, opening one eye slightly to look at the other’s face.

 

“Hyukkie, I’m s-scared. C-Can I hug you to sleep?” Donghae asked timidly.

 

Eunhyuk sleepily raised a brow in question.

 

Donghae stuttered, “I-It’s because of the g-ghost. I-I’m really scared. So, c-can I?”

 

Eunhyuk muttered a whatever, just do it, and tried to sleep again.

 

Donghae hesitatingly wrapped his arms around the elder boy, snuggling closer to his chest for warmth and protection. He was feeling so afraid that even though he was sleepy, he didn’t dare closing his eyes. What if a scary ghost dragged him away and killed him when he was deep in sleep. He was not ready to die yet.

 

So, he had no choice other than seeking assurance from his husband. Eunhyuk’s body was thin yet his arms were muscular and his chest was wide enough for Donghae to hide his face in there. The elder boy’s body was taller than the brunette’s, giving the younger one a promise of keeping him safe and secure.

 

Donghae was so tired that he needed sleep badly. He had nothing to be afraid of anymore. Because he knew that he’d be safe with Eunhyuk to cling to. His cheeks felt warm as he closed his eyes with a smile plastered to his face and before he knew it, his consciousness was slipping away.

 

 

 

Eunhyuk opened his sleepy eyes slowly and gazed at the peacefully asleep brunette next to him. The younger looked so cute, clinging to him as if really a ghost would appear to hunt him down.

 

The redheaded male grinned. Donghae had actually been afraid of ghosts. It was so amusing yet so endearing to the elder boy. Ghosts, really? he chuckled inwardly, observing Donghae’s calm and relaxed face.

 

He is so pretty, Eunhyuk watched in amazement, just like an angle. While he thought Donghae was pretty, he didn’t mean pretty as a girl. Because Donghae was not girly at all. In fact, he was very manly and handsome. But if Eunhyuk wanted to describe him, he preferred using pretty because the younger boy was pretty in a whole different level. Nobody could compare to his beauty. He had such beautiful eyes that gave away all his feelings, a small nose which Eunhyuk wanted to peck all the time and his thin pink lips that could make him go crazy.

 

He had slightly muscled arms that made his body look manly, but his body was petite enough to fit in Eunhyuk’s embrace. He was even scared of ghosts. The elder boy couldn’t hold in a chuckle as he admired the brunette. He smiled gently, admiring how Donghae hid his face in his chest adorably and slept so peacefully.

 

Eunhyuk bit his lip to hold in a loud chuckle and wrapped his strong arms around Donghae’s small body, bringing the brunette even closer and hugging him.

 

A slight red hue spread over the redheaded male’s face and he couldn’t help grinning widely. “Idiot,” he muttered with a hint of endearment in his voice before closing his own eyes.

 

With Donghae so close to him, right beside him and in his embrace, Eunhyuk felt complete. And he decided that he could spend the rest of his life, hugging and protecting him like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bell of the café jingled, gaining a few customers’ attention.

 

“Kyuhyunnie!” an overly hyper Sungmin screamed loudly as he jumped forward towards his boyfriend.

 

The part-timer boy just chuckled and caught his giggling boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his waist. He pecked Sungmin’s lips and grinned, “Didn’t I tell you to not jump around, Min?”

 

Sungmin just giggled happily, “Sorry!”

 

“Just wait a few minutes for me. My shift will be over soon,” Kyuhyun pecked the other boy’s cheek.

 

“Okay!” Sungmin happily agreed, “Oh! Hyuk came too.”

 

“Where is he?” Kyuhyun asked when he didn’t see the redheaded boy around. Sungmin turned his head to the main door and beamed, “There! Why is he still standing outside, geez.”

 

“Bring him in, I’ll be joining you guys soon,” the tall brunette smiled and went to a customer to take orders.

 

Sungmin nodded and then turned to look at his friend who had finally entered the café and was currently approaching an empty table. He skipped to the table and took out a chair for himself to sit as Eunhyuk made himself comfortable on the other side of the small table.

 

“What were you doing outside? Did you find a hot chick or what?” the strawberry-blonde boy snickered.

 

The redheaded boy rolled his eyes and changed the topic because he couldn’t really tell his friend that he was nervous to enter the café because he could meet Donghae here, “Where’s Kyu?”

 

“He told me to wait. I’m so excited! I wonder what type of movie we should watch. It’s our first movie date after all!” Sungmin was so happy that he couldn’t stop squealing and blushing.

 

Eunhyuk chuckled and shook his head in amusement. He was glad that all his friends were happy. Even Siwon accepted a girl’s confession which wouldn’t have been possible if he didn’t like her back. What was her name? So- no, Sa- never mind. I forgot.

 

“Hyuk, look, look! That girl is flirting with Hae-hae!” Eunhyuk snapped out of his thoughts hearing Sungmin’s almost yell-like whisper. He whipped his head towards the direction his friend was looking and found the most irritating scene ever.

 

Donghae was writing down a female customer’s order who was trying to impress and flirt shamelessly with the brunette. The girl was wearing overly thick makeup and bright red lip gloss. She was blinking her eyes repeatedly, showing her fake long eyelashes to the oblivious brunette.

 

Eunhyuk felt like he could murder that if she didn’t stop anytime soon. Surprisingly, Donghae didn’t notice the obvious flirting and just walked away after he wrote down her order.

 

Sungmin laughed, “Hahaha, poor girl. Hae-hae didn’t even notice her advances.”

 

Eunhyuk felt himself calm down but once his eyes met with the girl’s, he glared at her with murderous eyes. The girl flinched and looked away hurriedly, though she didn’t know why she received the scary glare that almost made her heart stop beating in fear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What happened?” Kyungsoo asked as he saw Donghae cursing under his breath.

 

“A customer was flirting with me. She was so obvious,” he shuddered. The younger boy laughed,

 

“It was not a surprise. She has been eyeing you since she entered the café two hours ago. I’m glad that she finally she decided to order.”

 

Donghae laughed too, “Am I that handsome?”

 

“I don’t know, are you?” Kyungsoo stuck his tongue out at the brunette who did the same. Then they broke out into a laughing fit.

 

“Hae, Min is here. I’m leaving now,” Kyuhyun who had just finished changing into his usual outfit suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

 

Donghae stopped laughing and turned to Kyuhyun with a curious look on his face, “He is already here? Okay, then go and enjoy your date now.”

 

The taller brunette bid the shorter goodbye and left.

 

Donghae checked his watch and noticed that his shift was over too. So, he quickly went to the staff room to change his clothes. After a couple of minutes, Kyungsoo appeared too saying that he was getting off early that day.

 

Usually Kyungsoo would work at the shop more time than any other employee because without him, the shop could not survive. They came out of the kitchen together while laughing and chatting with each other before they heard someone clear his throat.

 

Donghae was surprised to see the man standing in front of them, “Hyukkie?”

 

Eunhyuk glanced at Kyungsoo for a moment before replying, “I..... came with Min.”

 

“Oh,” Donghae nodded, “But why are you still here? They already left.”

 

Eunhyuk avoided eye contact with the brunette and smiled nervously, “Um, I was.... waiting for you?”

 

The younger boy raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner, “Why? Do you need something, Hyukkie?”

 

“I-I thought that w-we could go home together.” The redheaded boy smacked himself inwardly for stuttering.

 

Kyungsoo was watching them with curious eyes all this time. He grinned as a light flickered in his brain.

 

“Are you, by any chance, Donghae’s husband?”

 

“What?” Startled and dumbfounded at the question, Eunhyuk stared at the owl-eyed boy with a gaping mouth.

 

Donghae’s eyes widened in shock as Kyungsoo continued, “I’m glad that you guys are finally getting along. Donghae cried so much the other day; I was really worried for him. You guys look good together. You shou-”

 

“Kyungsoo, he is not my husband!” Donghae snapped, making the younger boy shut up.

 

Eunhyuk suddenly felt like he was punched in the face. Only one thought was running through his brain, messing up everything inside his head, Why did he......deny it?

 

Kyungsoo was surprised at the brunette’s outburst, “He is......not? I’m sorry! I thought he was your husband because he came to pick you up. I’m really sorry!” he kept blabbering in panic.

 

Donghae just shook his head with a small smile, “It’s okay, Kyungsoo. He is just,” he glanced at the redheaded male, “A friend from school.”

 

“I’m really sorry,” he sincerely apologized before looking at Eunhyuk, “I don’t know if you knew about it but please don’t tell anyone about this marriage matter.”

 

Donghae sighed, “It’s okay, Kyungsoo. He knows.”

 

“Really? Thank God!” Kyungsoo sighed in relief.

 

“We’ll be leaving then,” he smiled at the boy before gesturing Eunhyuk to leave with him.

 

Once they were out of the café, Eunhyuk took a deep breath, inhaling the evening air.

 

“Sorry for what happened inside,” the younger boy broke the silence by apologizing, “A few things happened and Kyungsoo was really persistent so I ended up telling him that I’m married. He doesn’t know more than that. I hope you are not angry.”

 

Donghae looked so nervous as if Eunhyuk was going to scold and yell at him for the matter. The elder boy frowned, he looks really scared. Why is he so nervous?

 

“You are sweating, Donghae,” he said in a worried tone, noticing small drops of sweat on the brunette’s forehead.

 

The younger boy quickly wiped his forehead with his sleeves and laughed nervously, “S-Sorry, I didn’t notice. Please, forget what happened today. I apologize if it made you feel uncomfortable-”

 

Eunhyuk shushed the younger by pressing a finger on his lips.

 

Donghae blinked his eyes cluelessly as Eunhyuk entangled their fingers, holding the younger boy’s hand securely, “It’s okay. Let’s take a walk.”

 

“Huh? Wha- Hyukkie, wait,” before he could protest though, Eunhyuk was dragging him along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“That boy earlier, um...” Eunhyuk struggled to remember the name.

 

“Kyungsoo?” Donghae helped.

 

“Yeah,” the elder boy nodded, “He said, you were crying. Was it because of me?”

 

Surprised at the sudden question, the brunette looked up, meeting the other male’s eyes.

 

There was a different emotion in Eunhyuk’s eyes. It was unknown to him because he never saw that expression before. They were walking hand in hand for almost half an hour. Donghae was really nervous at first but surprisingly, Eunhyuk started a conversation with him, asking questions about the brunette. He asked him about his preferences among foods, colors, books and many other things. The brunette was hesitant at first, pondering if he should answer freely or if he shouldn’t. Eunhyuk was acting so different from usual that it made Donghae confused. He felt like he was having a date with the elder boy but he didn’t really know anything about dates except for what he had seen in movies or read in books. If he was honest, he felt kind of happy. But the particular question surprised him the most.

 

“Yes,” the younger boy decided to say the truth.

 

Eunhyuk stopped walking and faced the brunette. He sighed, “Why?”

 

Donghae didn’t really want the other to know the reason. So, he thought he should change the topic. “Because I was wondering if I would ever have the chance to go on a date.”

 

“What?” Eunhyuk stared at Donghae with a dumbfounded expression.

 

The brunette smirked inwardly, “I am getting old but nobody ever took me on a date. I couldn’t even ask you because I really doubt your experience in dating.”

 

Eunhyuk looked offended at his statement, “I am very good when it comes to dates.”

 

“Really? I don’t think so,” Donghae argued.

 

“It’s true. Girls who have dated me even for a day will say that I’m the best date of their life,” Eunhyuk frowned, unimpressed at the acquisition.

 

“That may be true with girls. But I don’t think you can impress a guy with your dating skills,” Donghae shook his head.

 

“I can.”

 

“I don’t believe it,” Donghae stuck his tongue out at the elder boy.

 

“Well, then. I’ll take you on a date tomorrow. Be ready,” the redheaded boy stated with a serious expression. 


 


A/N: Yes!!! Yes!!! ing, finally!! Fluff!

Gosh! I love fluff. Fluff is just awesome. I was waiting so much to write this!

Thank you so much for loving this story. I suddenly realized that this fic has already got 700+ subs. You guys are lovely! Oh, did you notice? I finally made a poster for this story. It's my second poster made using photoshop. The first is the poster for 'Soon-to-be'. Tell me if you like the poster.

D\Thank you so much for commenting and subscribing! <3 <3 <333

 

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sujueh32
I'm THIS close to losing my . My head is exploding and anger issues are rising.

Comments

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flower__angels
#1
Chapter 43: nice story indeed , i keep rereading this ;) ,thank you for writing
Kethryveris
#2
Chapter 43: Merci pour cette histoire. 💙
cool_fire77
147 streak #3
Chapter 30: Forgot just how good a read this was.....enjoying the second time
HYUKNATION #4
Chapter 35: I love the omc reference
Daikordei
18 streak #5
Chapter 45: This story was great just the right amount of angst but I’m glad you got the plagiarized story taken down I really hope people can actually be creative & stop stealing someone else’s work
Shubha #6
Chapter 40: Just slap that bastered, who palagarised it, I am writer too, I know how hard to creat a story, but ppl are cunning,taking somebody work as theirs it's disgusting ppl
the_fictitious
#7
Congrats to u!!!! I'm getting good newz today!!! Something nice in 2020!!!
Hyukchuliee
#8
Chapter 45: Congrats, finally 💗
choimyuna
#9
Chapter 45: Congrats dear ❤️ i feel really happy for you.
Alantia
#10
Chapter 45: I’m so glad it got resolved! 💙💙💙
What a relief it must be!
Good luck with your studies. 😊