Chapter 26

Maybe It Is Love

Eunhyuk was sitting alone. With his head placed on his arms and elbows resting upon the table. Their teacher was absent and so all the students were doing whatever they wanted. Other students were chatting and laughing and having fun whereas Eunhyuk spent his time watching a certain brunette.

 

Donghae was sitting in a position similar to Eunhyuk. The brunette’s eyes were closed and he was breathing calmly, facing Eunhyuk who was watching him with amusement.

 

Eunhyuk could see that Donghae was sleeping. He was sleeping calmly in a classroom full of loud noises and chaos, the noises failing to create disturbance in his nap.

 

Eunhyuk chuckled lowly, how cute!

 

None of their other friends had this class at this moment except Yunho. But that guy was out of sight for the whole period. Eunhyuk didn’t want to know where Yunho was because he was glad that he could have this alone time to spend with his Hae.

 

The bell finally rang, indicating that the class was over, making all the students cheer loudly as they began preparing to leave. Donghae was still sleeping, unaware of the time and probably dreaming a very sweet dream.

 

Because Eunhyuk could see a sweet smile appearing in the brunette’s face as he sighed in his sleep.

 

Eunhyuk got up from his seat. It was time to wake up the sleeping prince. He rounded the table and crouched down on his ankles beside Donghae’s desk. Folding his hands on top of the desk, Eunhyuk stared at the younger boy’s face for a few seconds before he carefully reached out to touch the brown bangs and set them aside from the flawless face of his wife.

 

“Hae,” he called - almost cooed actually - shaking the brunette’s shoulder lightly, “Wake up.” Eunhyuk uttered in a tone that people normally used to chat with kids. Donghae whined in his sleep, nose scrunching and lips forming a small pout before he fell unconscious again.

 

Eunhyuk frowned slightly - not in annoyance but affection - and then caressed the soft cheeks of the lovely person in front of him. He stood up and then placed his hand on top of Donghae’s head, caressing the soft locks and bended forward to place a kiss on Donghae’s cheek.

 

The brunette sighed in his sleep, parting his lips to faintly utter a word in his unconscious state.

 

“Hyung,” the soft mumble uttering the word made Eunhyuk’s lips twitch into a smile. Hearing Donghae calling him hyung did something to his heart that he couldn’t comprehend. Eunhyuk thought that his heart might melt because of how sweet the word sounded coming from Donghae’s lips. It was the first time Donghae called him that but he wouldn’t mind being called hyung sometimes if it sounded so sweet and alluring.

 

Eunhyuk kept caressing Donghae’s head and chuckled when the younger boy leaned into his touch, eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face. This time, he shook the brunette with more force, “Hey, wake up. School is over.”

 

Donghae cracked his eyes open and looked at Eunhyuk sleepily. As his vision cleared, he quickly sat up straight, surprised to see the elder boy’s face so near to his own. “Is school over already?” he questioned in confusion as he finally noticed the empty classroom.

 

“Yeah,” Eunhyuk smirked, “It’s good to see the sleeping damsel waking up from his sleep. Was this prince charming helpful?” he pointed at himself, winking at the brunette.

 

Donghae rolled his eyes, “That was one of the lamest pick-up lines I’ve heard in my life, Hyukkie.”

 

Eunhyuk snickered, “But you surely liked it because your cheeks are red, hon’.”

 

Donghae flushed more at the term of endearment Eunhyuk used, turning busy to pack his books in order to hide his embarrassment.

 

“Did you have a good dream?” Eunhyuk asked, curious about the younger boy’s fantasies. They must have been good if they were able to put such a contented smile on Donghae’s face.

 

Donghae smiled, “Yeah, kind of.”

 

Eunhyuk squinted his eyes in suspicion, “And may I know who were you dreaming about?”

 

Donghae zipped his backpack and turned to face Eunhyuk, “Why should I tell you?”

 

The elder boy smirked with a hint of mischief in his eyes. The brunette made a noise of confusion as Eunhyuk took his hands and started playing with his fingers. He then yanked the confused boy forward so that their chests were pressed together and sneaked his arms around Donghae’s waist.

 

The latter gasped in surprise. There wasn’t even a centimetre gap between their bodies. He could feel Eunhyuk’s steady heart beating against his ribcage. The position was so intimate that Donghae didn’t dare to breathe because he could already smell the minty scent of Eunhyuk’s perfume tickling his nostrills. And he doubted his own ability in not to give into the temptation and bury his face in the crook of his husband’s neck to sniff him.

 

“So, who was the person in your dreams, hon’? Care to tell me?” the taller boy whispered lowly in his ear, making his body shiver.

 

Donghae stuttered, “It w-was hyung. M-My childhood f-friend.”

 

Eunhyuk frowned, So, I wasn’t the one he was calling for in his sleep?

 

Suddenly, the redheaded boy felt a fuming fire of jealousy creeping into his heart. This wasn’t the first time that he was getting envious of the unknown man who Donghae was so fond of. But this was the first time he was willing to admit that he was jealous. His grip around the brunette’s waist tightened possessively.

 

Donghae began to fidget, struggling to get free, “H-Hyukkie, l-let me go.”

 

Eunhyuk’s jaw was clenched, lips set in a thin line to control himself.

 

A sudden thud and a gasp from the door of the classroom made their heads turn towards that direction, finding a gaping Yunho standing there with shocked eyes. His bag had probably been dropped upon seeing the unexpected scene in front of him.

 

It was indeed a surprising scene because if anyone else had been in Yunho’s place, they would probably have the same reaction. Because Eunhyuk was straight and nobody had ever seen him with a guy before in such an intimate position.

 

Yunho blinked his eyes, “I don’t know what I should think but please, Eunhyuk, can you let Donghae-ah go?”

 

The brunette quickly pushed the redheaded boy from him, standing away by a large distance in between them, “Ah... it’s not what you t-think.”

 

Yunho ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the brunette with pleading eyes, “We’re going to talk about what I think later, Donghae-ah. But can we please, go now? Otherwise, we won’t be able meet Jae.”

 

Donghae widened his eyes, “Oh my gosh! I almost forgot.”

 

He then turned towards Eunhyuk, “I need to go now, Hyukkie. I’ll see you later.”

 

He then took his bag and ran out of the classroom in a hurry, following Yunho who was already gone.

 

Eunhyuk opened his mouth to call the younger boy but stopped himself. At least, he knew that Yunho was really just a friend and nothing more to his Hae. And that was enough to calm his heart for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Jaejoong hyung!” Donghae called the raven headed boy who was coming out of the library.

 

Thank God, he’s still here. Okay, the show begins now.

 

Jaejoong turned around, surprised to see Donghae running towards him with a big grin on his face.

 

“Jaejoong hyung! Thank God, I found you. I really need your help today,” Donghae said as he grabbed Jaejoong’s hands, trying to act nervous.

 

Jaejoong frowned in worry, “Help? Did something happen?”

 

Looking down shyly, Donghae began to play with his own fingers, “Do you remember my friend Yunho? The one that I like?”

 

Jaejoong froze, already being able to guess what Donghae was going to say next. “Y-Yeah, what about him?”

 

“W-Well, I don’t think I can..... k-keep hiding my f-feelings anymore.” Donghae palmed his face in embarrassment, “B-But you know..... how shy I am. I-I don’t think I can do it alone. So, hyung, please come with me to give me mental support.”

 

Jaejoong could feel his throat becoming dry, fingers forming fists and hands shaking. He knew that he and Yunho had already broken up. But he was still madly in love with the taller man. His Yunho. Even if he was not with Yunho currently, he would still not be able to see his love becoming someone else’s in front of his own eyes. It would be just too painful and he knew that he couldn’t handle it.

 

“D-Donghae, I-I don’t think I can...,” he tried to protest but Donghae stopped him with pouting lips.

 

“Please, hyung! You’re my only hope. My friends would only make fun of me if I tell them about it. You can’t say no, please,” Donghae insisted and started dragging the raven headed male with him.

 

Jaejoong badly wanted to say no but something stopped him. A voice within his heart told him to go with Donghae even if it would hurt. He didn’t know what he was hoping for. Maybe Yunho will reject Donghae. Jaejoong felt ashamed of himself for feeling glad about the chance of this cute boy getting hurt. But he didn’t know why his heart wanted to be selfish.

 

As Donghae led him along the corridors, he tried to protest again weakly but with such low resistance, he couldn’t even fool himself.

 

“There he is! Let’s go, hyung,” the brunette beamed and dragged Jaejoong towards Yunho who was leaning against the lockers, probably waiting for his friend.

 

“What took you so long? Didn’t we agree that I’ll walk you to the café?” Yunho furrowed his eyebrows.

 

Donghae rolled his eyes and secretly mouthed to his friend to act more impatient. Luckily His back was faced to Jaejoong so the raven-headed boy couldn’t see their little interactions.

 

“Yunho, I want to tell you something,” Donghae started with a nervous smile - or he was just pretending and Yunho had to admit that he was doing a pretty good job.

 

Yunho smiled a little, “What is it?”

 

Jaejoong stared at the beautiful smile on Yunho’s face. This handsome and charming man had asked him out once and they had become an item. Jaejoong still remembered everything - all the time they spent together, all the things they did together, the little smiles they gave each other and the special memories they created with each other. Jaejoong still hadn’t forgotten. But did Yunho remember?

 

Jaejoong watched with a broken heart as Donghae shyly smiled at his ex-boyfriend. It was almost ironic. When he was heartbroken, this brunette boy was the one who listened to all his sorrows, gave him a shoulder to cry on and helped him with encouraging words.

 

And at this moment when Donghae needed his help to seek his own happiness, he couldn’t do the same for the younger boy.

 

Jaejoong had always been persistent. He was possessive over the things he loved. He never gave them to anyone and never let go of them. Then why did he let Yunho go so easily?

 

Because he was afraid that Yunho wouldn’t stay. Yunho wasn’t some lifeless toy that he could keep in his toy box as long as he wanted. He was a living person and Jaejoong loved him the most. But he wasn’t sure if Yunho wanted to keep him by his side forever like he did. So, he ran away from everything.

 

But the thought of his love becoming someone else’s made him restless.

 

Donghae was a lovely boy and there was no reason for the taller man to reject him. And if he accepted the brunette’s proposal, Jaejoong’s love wouldn’t be his anymore.

 

At this moment, the raven headed boy wanted nothing more than claiming his man before he became someone else’s.

 

“Y-Yunho, I l-like you. I-I have liked you f-for a while now. Will you be my b-boyfriend?”

 

Before the taller male could answer, Jaejoong threw himself at him, hugging him tightly and shaking his head. “Don’t answer,” he muttered shakily.

 

“Jae-”

 

“No, don’t talk, please.” He hissed and without lifting his head from Yunho’s chest, he continued, “Donghae, I’m sorry. I love this man. I love him so much and I can’t give him to you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He started crying, sobbing into his lover’s chest while clutching the fabric of his shirt in his hands.

 

With a smile, Yunho slowly wrapped his arms around the crying boy, caressing his back to stop his sobs. He smiled at Donghae gratefully and the brunette grinned in response.

 

“So, I guess, you can handle the rest now?” Donghae snickered at Yunho who stuck his tongue out at him childishly.

 

Jaejoong confusedly looked up at the two boys, “Donghae, aren’t you..... angry with me?”

 

“Why would I be?” the brunette grinned widely.

 

“Because you like him,” the raven headed boy blinked with pure confusion written all over his face. He was still crying and sobbing pathetically.

 

“Like him?” Donghae and Yunho looked at each other.

 

Ewww!” they exclaimed in unison with disgust.

 

“I’ll die before falling for him,” Donghae gagged dramatically.

 

“Same here,” Yunho laughed and then caressed his confused boyfriend’s cheek, “We are just friends, Jae.”

 

Jaejoong was slowly getting a hold of the situation and then he glared at the taller boy, “You !” he cursed and began to sob again but this time his cries were more violent than before.

 

Donghae smiled at the scene. It felt so good to see his friends getting together again that he had to hold back his urges of hugging and congratulating them to death. He didn’t want to disturb them and so he decided to take his leave.

 

Donghae gestured with his hands to let Yunho know that he was leaving who, in return, mouthed a thank you.

 

And as Donghae was already at the end of the corridor, he looked back once to see Yunho cooing at his crying boyfriend and kissing his forehead. Yunho was wiping away the shorter male’s tears which kept falling without a rest.

 

With a genuine smile, Donghae adjusted his backpack on one shoulder and walked off. He was already late for his shift in the café.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loud chatters and laughter could be heard from table 6. All the other customers in the café were getting annoyed because of the noise. Not being able to endure the disturbance, the other customers began to complain.

 

Donghae set his lips in a tight line and shushed his friends for the nth time that day. Sungmin was the only one who was being polite because he could already see a vein popping on Kyuhyun’s forehead and wasn’t up for angering his boyfriend anymore. But the others were too hyper about the newly introduced couple and they kept asking Yunho and Jaejoong questions to know the full story. And they couldn’t stop the sarcastic remarks to mock Yunho because at first, they actually thought that he liked Donghae.

 

The reformed couple, after sorting out their thoughts and feelings to each other, had arrived at Merin’s café to have a small date. Also, after knowing that Donghae had been helping to rebuild their relationship, Jaejoong insisted on thanking the brunette.

 

Sungmin was already there for his boyfriend whereas Heechul and the others decided to make it a boy’s evening out. So, all of them ended up in the café - because their two friends worked there - occupying the largest table and became too excited when the renewed couple joined them.

 

Eunhyuk was actually there to make sure that no customer could flirt with his Hae but well; nobody needed to know that.

 

Heechul, who was sitting by his side caught him sneaking peeks at Donghae countless times and was giving him looks full of suspicion.

 

The shorter brunette’s shift was almost over so he went to the room for the staffs to change his clothes. As, Yesung was loudly uttering a sarcastic dialogue from a movie, Eunhyuk’s eyes quietly followed the petite figure of Donghae until he was out of sight.

 

All of them jumped in surprise when suddenly a hand slapped onto the table loudly. They looked up, only to see Kyuhyun glaring at them scarily. “Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here. Right. Now,” he hissed in a warning tone, scaring the out of all of the boys except for Ryeowook and Hangeng who had seen the youngest male’s anger before.

 

Kyuhyun was damn scary when he was angry. They had learned it the hard way and promised never to do something to trigger his anger again. But well, their plan just went into the drain.

 

It didn’t even take a minute for them to gather their things and dash out of the café. When Donghae came out of the staff room, he was surprised as well as confused to see the large table completely empty.

 

Wondering for a while where everyone was, he shrugged and draped his backpack over his shoulder before bidding his co-workers goodbye and exiting the café.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Was that really Cho Kyuhyun?” Heechul questioned with disbelief.

 

Hangeng laughed at his boyfriend’s expression. Wrapping an arm around the shorter man’s waist, he tucked a strand of Heechul’s recently dyed honey brown hair behind his ear and then kissed his cheek lovingly, “It’s nothing new even though it doesn’t happen often. He turns into a gorilla when he gets angry. Make sure not to do something to irk him again.”

 

Heechul smiled up at the taller man and took his hand in his own. Playing with his boyfriend’s fingers, Heechul softly agreed, “Okay.”

 

Hangeng pecked Heechul’s lips before pulling away to smirk at the shorter male who was biting his lips.

 

Heechul was staring at Hangeng’s eyes with a naughty smile, “Do you have any plan today?”

 

Hangeng smirked, “I believe not, babe.”

 

“Well, then,” Heechul entwined their fingers slowly, “Mind spending the night in my place?”

 

“It will be a pleasure,” Hangeng winked, sliding the hand on Heechul’s waist to his lower back sensually.

 

Eunhyuk coughed, interrupting their intimate moment, “Guys, please, go home if you want to .”

 

Heechul glared at the younger boy, “Guys, we’re leaving. Tell baby Hae to call me later.”

 

Then he dragged Hangeng towards the latter’s car so that they could carry on with their activities without any disturbance.

 

Eunhyuk snorted at the scene. His phone began to ring and so he took it out of his pocket. The screen was showing the name Junsu so Eunhyuk answered it, wondering why he was calling so suddenly.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Hey, Hyuk? How are you doing, man?” he could hear Junsu’s cheerful voice from the other end.

 

“I’m good. Is everything okay? Why did you call?” Eunhyuk asked.

 

“You’re still the same, dude. You don’t even ask me how I am. Anyway, we are holding a party this Monday at my place. You better come over or I’ll go over to your house, chop your balls off and drag you here,” Junsu threatened.

 

Eunhyuk chuckled because he knew that it was just an empty threat. When he looked up, his eyes fell on a familiar figure that was walking out of Merin’s café. Junsu was still blabbering about something Eunhyuk didn’t even bother to pay attention to as his eyes followed the petite figure walking tiredly towards the road which led to home.

 

“Junsu, I’ll talk to you later,” he said quickly, trying to end the conversation.

 

“What? wait-” he ended the call before Junsu could finish talking.

 

“Hey, I have something to do. You guys carry on. I have to go now,” he bid his friends farewell before running towards his car that he had parked earlier near the parking lot.

 

He hurriedly got in the driver’s seat and started the engine, driving the car towards their apartment. As he saw Donghae’s back, he slowed the car down. Eunhyuk honked, making Donghae stop walking and look at the car.

 

The window by the passenger seat rolled down, “Hop in. I’ll give you a ride,” the redheaded boy called the younger one from inside.

 

Eunhyuk was acting cool but in reality, his heart was beating crazily fast in his chest as something started dancing in his stomach.

 

Donghae looked surprised but without any protest, he opened the door and got in the seat beside Eunhyuk. He was grinning from ear to ear as a pink hue covered his cheeks.

 

“Seatbelt,” Eunhyuk reminded him, “You never remember.”

 

Donghae flushed and quickly reached for it, tying it to secure himself.

 

“Why are you acting shy?” the elder boy inquired, eyeing Donghae’s pink cheeks as he sped up the car. It was a pretty color and Eunhyuk decided that he liked it. He noted down to make Donghae blush more often.

 

Donghae scratched his neck in embarrassment, “Well, I’m intrigued. This is the first time that you have willingly offered me a ride.”

 

Eunhyuk shrugged. He didn’t know what to answer. He might have opened up little but he was still far from being a romantic all the time. After all, it was his first time actually trying to court someone.

 

“And...... you’re driving slower than your usual pace,” Donghae bit his lip, smiling sheepishly.

 

Eunhyuk suddenly felt embarrassed. He was caught but well, he wouldn’t let it be obvious.

 

“It’s because I know you’ll act like a scared whiny kitty. It’s better to drive slowly than listening to your whines later.”

 

Donghae just chuckled because he knew Eunhyuk didn’t mean what he said. He was just trying to cover up the fact that his ears had turned deep red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I’m so tired that I think I can fall asleep right here!” Donghae exclaimed loudly after collapsing onto the couch in the living room as soon as they reached home.

 

“Don’t sleep without eating. I’ll cook,” Eunhyuk chuckled. Messing the brunette’s hair affectionately, he walked towards the bathroom to freshen himself up.

 

“But you are the one who always cooks!” the younger boy complaimed, pouting to express his dismay.

 

“That’s because your cooking is ,” Eunhyuk snickered before disappearing inside the bathroom.

 

Donghae couldn’t agree more. But I want to cook for you too, he thought with a pout.

 

Donghae suddenly had an idea. He grinned, Well, I will cook a decent meal for you, just you see, Hyukkie.

 

“How about a birthday meal? I want him to eat dinner made by me at least once before I....,” Donghae trailed off, smiling sadly as the reality came crashing over him.

 

For a moment, he forgot that everything good that was happening was just temporary. He forgot that they were just pretending.

 

Pretending to be happily in love. Or at least, only he was the one in love.

 

Donghae chuckled at his own misery.

 

Yes, Eunhyuk was just temporarily his.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That night when they bid each other goodnight, Donghae stared at Eunhyuk’s back as the redheaded male entered the latter’s room.

 

He felt sad.

 

And before he knew it, he had thrown himself at the elder man, holding onto the waist of the fabric of his pajama top.

 

“Don’t go,” Donghae whispered almost pleadingly, “Sleep in my room tonight, Hyukkie.”

 

Surprised at the bold move, Eunhyuk only chuckled, thinking how cute Donghae was. Failing to notice the desperation in the brunette’s eyes, he led them to the younger boy’s bedroom.

 

At the middle of the night, Donghae was still awake, enjoying the warmth provided by the body that was hugging him from behind. He wanted to secure it in his memories because he was going to miss it once he would be gone.

 


 

A/N: Well, crap! I just noticed that even though the recent chapters are happy ones, the last scenes always end with Donghae reminding us that he is sad. And it breaks my heart. *sob sob*

Well, from now on, I’ll be trying to update faster because I want to write the happy ending so much but because my updates are so damn late, I can’t reach there yet.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please, comment and upvote if you like it!

I’m sad because Sungmin won’t be joining SJ’s comeback this October. I am so angry at those fans who bashed him! I don’t know if they forgot, guys, we are ELFs! Ever Lasting Friends!

But here instead of supporting Sungminnie like a good friend, ELFs are bashing him!

 

BTW, I joined the Eunhae Bonfire Fest 2017. Thos is the story I wrote. You can check this out if you want---

 

Then There's You to Love Me

 

I’m shamelessly advirtising, guys! Don’t mind me.

Like this story? Give it an Upvote!
Thank you!
sujueh32
I'm THIS close to losing my . My head is exploding and anger issues are rising.

Comments

You must be logged in to comment
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. 😊