The dorm was quiet, as per usual on their days off. Jonghyun had started to get into the habit of staying back in the dorm alongside Daniel ever since he realized that all the members went home just as much as he did. Daniel was the only one to ever not leave, but he’s always the one that has the most schedules, so it was understandable for him not to go home often, but Jonghyun didn’t like the idea of Daniel being alone so much.

Jonghyun had always had a soft spot for Daniel since their trainee days. Here came a scrawny kid, big lips and wide eyed, being instructed to follow after him. It wasn’t surprising when Jonghyun found out that the boy was older than him, but it made him want to bully him just a tad, because, after all, it’s eat or be eaten in the industry. He taught Daniel the dances, and even though he was purposefully being difficult, he quickly stopped when he saw how earnest Daniel was being.

Maybe it was also the fact that Daniel always kept an eye out for him and the few other younger trainees. He had gotten attached to the boy, and the attachment stuck into the present, and, unsurprisingly, it had blossomed into a very sincere affection.

Whether this affection was love or had lingered in his head, but he did know that he liked him and felt a strong attachment to him. Maybe it was a small love that had just blossomed and is waiting to be cared for to bloom into the one love that he wanted in this world. But then he came across a very peculiar question.

‘Am I gay?’

He often wondered about this and always had a nagging question of whether him liking Daniel meant that he was gay, or was he bi? The question didn’t actually hit him until the third year of their career, some time after his first kiss with Daniel, which he had realised, was rather pleasant and left a tingling sensation in his belly. He may have reacted with such outlandish screams and stares at the time, but never in disgust. It was at that moment in particular that he realized that his like was that type of like.

After the incident, he resigned and accepted the fact that he liked the older boy. He accepted it quite easily, only going over it for two days before accepting it. It was about a month later that he started questioning himself and what exactly did he like. Did liking Daniel mean that he liked men? Or was he a one time thing? Is he confusing his feelings for him because he hasn’t been around many women? DID he like women?

After much thought, he realized the easiest to answer first was to see if he liked women. There was always a strong affection for women, being raised by his mother and being extremely close to his sister, but apart from them, he wasn’t sure. He loved all of their Angels, and he admired many of them for their beauty, their energy, and their passion, but he had never found a sense of attraction towards any of them.

His roles in Sweden Laundry and Mak Girls cemented his suspicions of not having any romantic or ual interest in the opposite . He was comfortable and enjoyed the company of the women surrounding him, but he always felt a sense of intimidation, but the close proximity and skinship either left him feeling nothing or a slight tinge of repulsion, especially with the kiss he had to film.

It was then that he realized that he would stare at men more so than women, and that was when he realized that his admiration of their bodies and faces wasn’t of simple respect and admiration, but of ual attraction. It was never as strong as what he felt for his group member, but enough so that it had answered his questions.

But now the hard part came into play. Was he going to confess to Daniel? Was he going to let s know? Would this ruin their friendship and their teamwork?

The worst outcome that Jonghyun anticipated was losing everything and having it all fall apart. The best case scenario that he thought of was just a simple rejection and then going on as if nothing happened. That was his best case scenario.

He planned and thought and dreamt of how everything would happen, but he decided to just drop the bomb when he felt like it was okay. One thing was for certain, and that was that Daniel would be the first to know.

This is how they ended up in their room. Jonghyun was in Daniel’s bead reading their latest interview for their comeback and Daniel was on his computer playing a video game. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he was rather quiet as he concentrated on the game, and it seemed as best of a time as ever.

Jonghyun kept his eyes on the magazine and flipped the page before calling out to Daniel, his nerves surprisingly calm.

“Hey, Daniel.”

“Yeah?” He could hear him bite his lips as he pressed the spacebar continuously.

“I’m gay.”

“I know.” Not even a beat of silence followed Jonghyun’s words before Daniel answered back. It did catch Jonghyun off guard, but he would worry about that later.

“I like you.”

“Cool.” No reaction, just Daniel clicking the mouse and face close to the screen. Jonghyun was okay with rejection, but he was relieved to see that Daniel didn’t react like he was worried he might have.

“We still friends?” He called out, making sure that he didn’t make things awkward or weird about them. That Daniel would still be there for him.

“No.” Jonghyun’s heart sank in that moment, almost bursting through his chest before Daniel continued, “We’re dating.”

‘I’m about to pass the out,’ Jonghyun thought to himself. This was a turn of events that he had not been expecting...at all. Still, he wanted to try pressing his luck, just to make sure Daniel wasn’t just screwing with him.

“Cool...wanna make out?” This is the point where Daniel will take back his words is what Jonghyun presumed.

“Let me get to the save point first.” Jonghyun wanted to scoff at such an obvious excuse, but he just hummed and went back to the magazine. He always made sure to focus on Daniel’s answers especially, always liking to learn something new about him.

Maybe he hadn’t realized just how focused he could get, because the next moment, the magazine was yanked out of his hands and soft, plump lips were attached to his own. His eyes widened at the sudden contact, and he jolted back a bit, but the lips just followed along, nipping at his bottom lip, eyelashes feathered against strong cheekbones.

It took him a moment to realize just what was happening, but when it finally dawned on him, he closed his eyes and laced his fingers through faded orange locks. He vaguely felt two arms on either side of his head, one hand laced and gripping onto his own short locks as the other’s thumb slowly caressed his cheek. Slowly, Daniel’s body weight settled above him, legs intertwining and Jonghyun’s hands moving lower.

Their kisses were soft and slow, Jonghyun taking special care to in his bottom lip from time to time, but it was the foreign sensation of Daniel’s tongue that caught him off guard. Daniel pulled back a bit, forehead against Jonghyun’s, and looked down to him.

“Too fast?” Jonghyun was speechless at the moment. He was sure his face was probably red as hell, probably redder than Daniel’s was at the moment.

“I’m just not used it,” he whispered. His own breath overlapping his words, making him barely audible.

“I can tell.” A smirk accompanied Daniel’s comment, and Jonghyun wanted nothing more than for the bed to swallow him up, but that would mean waking up, and that was not what he wanted.

“It’s okay, I’ll get you used to it.” Daniel leaned back down, tongue slowly sliding out. Jonghyun thought for a moment that Daniel was illegally too good at this, but he could think later. Right now, he’s just focused on the man above him.

The next day Jonghyun would wake up to cake for breakfast bought from the other members with the neat message on the top:

“Congratulations on getting together!”

Right underneath it, in small writing was:

“About Damn Time.”

Jonghyun turned red from the tip of his ears to his toes as the other members and Daniel non stop.

“I walked in on you two making out,” Chanhee said with a mouthful of cake, Changjo only further getting redder and hotter, “But both of you just kept going at it.” Chanhee brought out his phone, and holding it just out reach, he showed a picture of them both on the bed, then another with the four of the other members posing at the entrance with them both in the background.

“I wanted to wait and see when you would notice,” started Byunghun, “But Daniel waved us off.”

“I thought you would have pushed him down, not the other way around,” said Changhyun. Minsoo just snorted at the mention as he off the last of his icing from his thumb.

Daniel said little in response and just had a smug smile as he held Jonghyun close, arm wrapped around his waist.

Only a few days later would a fan ask them, “What is your relationship?” And Jonghyun would proudly proclaim,

“We’re dating.”