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Taekwoon didn’t know how to face Jaehwan, so he avoided him for nearly a week. He went out of his way to change his usual routes and sometimes even left the building via the fire escape if there was no other way. It was a harrowing four-story climb, and the old lady from the second floor nearly got a heart attack when she’d first seen him… Still, it was not as scary as facing Jaehwan.

Several days after the decidedly disastrous party, Taekwoon was making yet another climb, having to concentrate harder because it was raining, pounding against the building with temper and not helping his mood at all.

The water was soaking into his sleeves, the metal steps were slippery and he was taking much longer then he usually would...

No, the rain definitely didn’t help his mood.

He was just passing the second floor, waving absentmindedly to the old lady and thinking about glancing downward to check the perimeters when someone cleared their throat, loudly and directly below him on the first floor. Taekwoon jerked in surprise, letting out a noise that he would deny for the rest of his life and landed ungracefully on the balcony of the first floor.

He didn’t really have a chance to panic, but his heart was trying to pound out of his chest as he leaned forward to catch his breath, hands shaking a bit as he held onto his knees.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you.’

Taekwoon froze, then scrunched his eyes shut because of course he lived on the same side of the building too. The rain began pounding harder then, hitting a jerky rhythm against his head as if even the weather itself was mocking him.

He considered jumping the rest of the way down, but decided against it – he was not wearing the shoes for that - and glanced up when he was sure this was really inevitable.

Jaehwan was sitting in the window, a mug in his hands as he disappeared into a long knitted jumper, paint splattered jeans hugged his lean legs and ridiculous bunny slippers stared back at Taekwoon. And he was smiling, one eyebrow tilting in a way that clearly inquired if perhaps he’d lost his mind.

Then he just put his mug away, reaching out a hand to help him stand straight again and Taekwoon accepted, because his hand was cold anyway.

Then their eyes met, hands still lingering between them - fingers not quite curled around each other but still touching, warm and damp from the rain - and Taekwoon had no idea what he was supposed to say, settling for an awkward thanks as he quickly averted his eyes.

He was about to pull his hand away too.

But Jaehwan didn’t let him go, grip tightening as he pulled Taekwoon between his dangling legs and kissed him.

Jaehwan tasted of smoke and coffee, and Taekwoon wondered if the dizziness he felt was the adrenaline from the fall, breathlessness from the kiss, or the novelty from the vague thought that kissing Jaehwan was similar yet so different from anything he’d experienced before...

Instead of figuring that out, his brain supplied him information about how awfully it was raining, the grimy water soaking into his shirt, and how it was a bad idea to hold onto the window frame instead of Jaehwan.

And really, it was not a very good kiss. Taekwoon’s lips were chapped and rough against Jaehwan’s smooth ones and he was squirming, half-distracted by the damp fabric clinging to his skin and the uneven surface of the window frame digging into his palm and the imp was a tad overzealous, pressing closer and sharing his wet predicament.

Then there was that failed attempt to deepen the kiss, when Jaehwan’s nose bumped into his and their teeth clacked, and it jolted them both out of the kiss entirely. Though Jaehwan didn’t let him go too far, and he could feel the imp’s comforting heat all down the lines of his body as the rain beat down against his back, cold and biting in contrast.

‘It figures, imp, that you’d be kissing whoever that appeared on your rusty fire escape.’ Taekwoon frowned slightly to try and cover up his deepening blush, a futile attempt since he was quite distracted by the rain droplets clinging to Jaehwan’s eyelashes and his vibrantly red lips.

Jaehwan’s grin was wide, voice slightly breathless from his continuous effort to kiss a mostly helpless case of a partner.  ‘I don’t know if that’s a jab at yourself, being a whoever, or at me and my adventurous love life.’

‘Adventurous love life, ha.’ Taekwoon sniffed. ‘So you are admitting it.’

Jaehwan’s eyes narrowed playfully, hands moving to grab Taekwoon’s damp shirt and dragged him a bit closer. ‘And what if I do?’

‘I might reconsider letting you continue to assault me at random intervals.’ Taekwoon deadpanned, trying to sound cool and aloof albeit his voice was a bit shaky and he failed eye contact several times in favor of stealing glances at Jaehwan’s full lips.

Jaehwan’s eyes crinkled then as he sagged into him, putting his head on Taekwoon’s shoulder and began to laugh.

Taekwoon just rolled his eyes, though he felt a traitorous smile tugging at his lips and peered down at the brat leaning against him and shaking from laughter. ‘What are you on, imp?’

‘Nicotine and paint fumes.’ Jaehwan answered promptly, then waved a hand lazily – and Taekwoon noticed it for the first time how graceful his fingers were, almost leaving a trail in the humid air. ‘And probably on you too.’

‘God, you really are an art student…’ Taekwoon sighed, and Jaehwan leaned back a bit to raise a brow at that. ‘What?’

‘You said something like that the second time we met too.’ Jaehwan reminded him, surprising Taekwoon that he remembered something like that and Jaehwan probably noticed his surprise, because it was his turn to blush.

‘You remember the oddest things, seriously…’ Taekwoon noted softly.

‘Well you are oddly fascinating, cat-hyung.’ Jaehwan teased, still blushing but impish grin back in place.

‘Brat.’ Taekwoon bit back with no real heat behind the word. ‘Also, why are you still home? You should have left the same time I did.’

‘Stalker!’ Jaehwan exclaimed, shoving at his shoulders but Taekwoon just answered that with a pinch to his nose. ‘Ouch, okay, okay! I will tell you. Look who is assaulting who now… ’

Taekwoon acted like he was about to move away, and Jaehwan was quick to hold him back.

‘Hyung, seriously.’ he huffed out a laugh. ‘I became worried when I didn’t run into you on Tuesday, when we usually meet so I went up and asked that old lady on the second floor who just knows about everything in this house.’ Jaehwan said, squinting upwards as if to see whether the old lady was listening in on their odd conversation.

Taekwoon was sure she was.

‘And she told me the most interesting story about how you’d been climbing the fire escape… I really couldn’t decide to be flattered or exasperated, so I choose to think that you did this to get your daily exercise.’ he added with a reprimanding smile, and Taekwoon felt obliged to duck his head a bit. ‘This morning was raining though, and since I think I figured out your schedule, I was worried you might hurt yourself. So I waited here to check on you.’

‘So you are the real stalker then, good on you.’ Taekwoon coughed into the back of his hand, unable to look at Jaehwan anymore.

Not when the imp was smiling at him, teasing curve of lips paired with a tender light in his eyes that made the bottom his of stomach abruptly drop out for reasons he’d rather not think about. And then one graceful painter’s hand came up, fingertips brushing the line of his jaw. And when Jaehwan leaned in, Taekwoon could feel the warmth of his breath against his ear, and he was dizzy again.

‘Besides, cat-hyung, I think you’ve forgotten. The fire escape runs directly past my window too, and I certainly appreciated the view.’

~*~

Jaehwan thought that too could have ended better, but as he looked up at his window from the armchair he landed in – because Taekwoon had been nice enough to push him back again in punishment, before stalking back up the fire escape with the cutest blush of all times  - he thought it really shouldn’t have ended any way else. That wouldn’t have been them.

So he just chuckled as water droplets fell from his bunny slippers onto his face and he grinned even wider as he remembered Taekwoon’s lips against his.

The next morning, Jaehwan got up at his usual time, showered, get dressed and fixed his morning coffee. He rubbed an absentminded hand against his back, because there was one book hiding between the pillows of that armchair and waited, like he had for the last week.

But no frowning cat graced his fire escape.

When Jaehwan opened his door days later, it was to a very upset Jung Taekwoon.

He didn’t bother to say hello, just stepped inside with a scowl as though he was looking for something particularly disastrous. That was confirmed when the first thing that left him was a very cold, very menacing question.

‘Han Sanghyuk, where is he?’

Jaehwan blinked, then raised a brow and closed the door, completely unruffled in the face of that mood. ‘I haven’t heard from him in weeks, cat-hyung.’ he said, wiping blue and gold paint on his jeans, and it was the real mark of Taekwoon’s anger that he didn’t react to the nickname. ‘Something happened?’

Taekwoon shoved an awful looking polaroid photo into his hands and he tried to not leave colorful fingerprints along it. Not that it mattered. The polaroid seemed to have gone through a lot already, water and a splash of coffee staining the edges. It was a photo of the locks around the Namsan tower and the handwriting on the back was definitely Hyuk’s.

And he was as informative as ever.

Hi, hyung! I’ve decided to go to Yongin to find Sungjae so don’t expect me back for a while. Keep out of trouble and if you decide to finally get together with someone, make sure you get pictures. See ya!

Jaehwan stared at it for a long moment, not really understanding and trying not to smile at the last part, but then looked up and realized that Taekwoon was just as confused and very, very worried –he could finally see the real emotion behind the cold anger clearly.

He had to stop a bit to take in that realization, because it was something new. Because he was allowed to see…

‘Yongin?’ he asked after a few seconds, because Taekwoon was still waiting for him to provide answers.

Taekwoon sighed, running a hand through his hair. ‘I don’t know. He travels a lot, but usually not for more than a week and this seems different… Have you heard about this Sungjae before?’

‘No, never.’

‘Of all times for him to decide to run off…’ Taekwoon mumbled. ‘We have to perform this weekend. And next weekend too…’

Jaehwan bit his lip in thought, and remembered just in time not to run paint-covered fingers through his hair. ‘I know you are worried, but I’m sure he is fine.’

‘I know just…’ Taekwoon sighed again.

‘He didn’t answer your calls and texts, right?’ Jaehwan guessed, because Hyuk was prone to do just that when he was on one of his trips.

‘He didn’t.’ Taekwoon confirmed and continued to pace around the room.

‘Do you know anyone who plays bass well enough to replace him?’ Jaehwan asked, trying to help Taekwoon focus on the more imminent problem.

Taekwoon paused in his pacing to glance at him, and then there was that thin smile that should be considered dangerous in Jaehwan’s opinion. ‘Not really, but you just gave me an idea.’

So Jaehwan, barely allowed to wash his hands and brushes, got dragged down to the bus stop. ‘Taekwoon-hyung, where are we going?’ he tried, opting to forgo nicknames.

‘To see someone.’ was Taekwoon’s answer.

‘Why do I have to come, though?’

‘Just because. ‘Taekwoon shrugged, dragging him on board and Jaehwan wasn’t really protesting, curious despite the situation.

The ride wasn’t long, just ten minutes from their apartment building across from campus. They didn’t talk much, but the silence was comfortable and Taekwoon was sitting closer then he should have, so Jaehwan was not complaining.

When they got off, Taekwoon got hold of his hand and pulled him towards a street full of cafés and restaurants and Jaehwan was only half paying attention, because he was sort of distracted by Taekwoon’s fingers around his. Then they reached a tidy café and Jaehwan managed to glance up to catch the name – Hot Pink – just as he was pulled inside.

The inside was all brick and chrome and dark wood with hot pink as the recurring decoration and it was an oddly welcoming mix. Jaehwan smiled as he spotted Hani behind the counter, green streaked hair pulled back into a ponytail as she pouted at an espresso machine in an apron that stated, I Like The Way U Pink It.

She looked up when the bell over the door jingled, and she broke into a grin. ‘Well, look what the cat dragged in! Hi, Jaehwan!’

Taekwoon released Jaehwan’s hand immediately and stalked towards the counter with soft grumbles. Jaehwan followed him with a chuckle.

‘I wasn’t expecting to see you until practice tomorrow.’ Hani noted, tilting her head in question.

‘Well.’ Taekwoon paused, offering the polaroid to her. ‘We have a bit of a problem. Is Hongbin in?’

Hani scanned the photo, eyebrows going up. ‘Is it sad that I am not even surprised?’ she asked with a knowing smile, then she turned to Taekwoon with a thoughtful expression. ‘…Hongbin, you say?’

‘Hongbin?’ Jaehwan asked, trying to catch up.

‘My fiancée.’ Hani nodded, her lips tugging up into a grin. ‘And professional photographer.’

‘And how does this help you?’ Jaehwan blinked, not sure he liked the matching look of evil glee on their faces.

‘He also plays the guitar.’

‘I actually don’t anymore.’ came the pleasant voice from behind them and they turned to see a young man about Jaehwan’s age with dark, styled hair and a handsomely dimpled smile. He eyed them with that lopsided smile, crossing his arms over his chest.

‘Well you will. Here look at this.’ Hani smiled back just as cheerily and Hongbin rolled his eyes as he read it.

‘Yongin? Sungjae?’ he sounded just as incredulous as everyone felt. ‘Now?’

‘I think he finally lost his mind.’ Taekwoon nodded.

‘Oh, I don’t think that’s right.’ Hani smiled airily, gazing at the locks of love on the picture. ‘But that still means we are down a bassist.’

‘I certainly don’t play bass.’ Hongbin frowned but Hani smiled relentlessly at him.

‘Well you will. And I do know you owe the right pants for the occasion.’ Hani teased and Hongbin turned an interesting shade of red. ‘Leather and tight, honey.’ she sang and Taekwoon thought it was the right time to leave them alone, steering Jaehwan away from the pair.

‘So you only came here to set Hani on the case.’ Jaehwan stated, because it was not a question and Taekwoon seemed quite smug despite not saying anything. It was quite an adorable look.

The girls who worked at the café made them nice cups of funnily named but really delicious coffee and Jaehwan was just thinking about asking, again, why he was there anyway when Taekwoon’s phone went off.

‘Is that Shinee?’

‘Don’t judge, imp.’ Taekwoon coughed, blush dusting his cheeks as he dug around for his phone, most definitely trying to ignore Jaehwan’s amused gaze. ‘Wonshik, come to practice.’ was his greeting and quickly delivered orders in one sentence. ‘Now. It’s emergency.’ a pause, and Jaehwan could just hear Wonshik’s exasperated voice. ‘At the café, get my guitar for me please.’

With that he hung up.

‘I’m impressed.’ Hani smiled, wandering towards them. ‘Are you really letting Wonshik touch Leo?’

Jaehwan blinked at Taekwoon, more amused than ever. ‘For one, Wonshik has a key to your apartment – which we’ve just left by the way? And for another, you’ve named your guitar?’

‘For one, shut up.’ Taekwoon bristled, hiding behind his cup. ‘For another, I was not completely sure we would practice after all. Besides Wonshik has a key to everything.’

‘He certainly has one for the café.’ Hani nodded. ‘But I gave that one to him.’

‘Well he stole mine.’ Taekwoon deadpanned.

‘To be fair.’ Jaehwan said mildly. ‘I managed to get into your apartment without a key, so…’

Hani burst into a giggle and had to hold back Taekwoon from pinching his nose.

Jaehwan leaned back and enjoyed the chaos, observing Taekwoon amongst his friends where he seemed at ease - despite the obvious embarrassment that usually followed his teasing words – and with his cold walls down.

He was sure that seeing him like that was an important step in their complicated relationship...

And he might have deserved that eventual pinch to his nose after all, because of that silly, sentimental smile that stretched his lips wide.

Wonshik arrived a bit later with a guitar case that had dents and a color invisible under all the stickers that covered it, and he seemed pleasantly surprised to find Jaehwan there.

‘So what’s up?’ he asked, as he sat on the armrest of Jaehwan’s chair and stole some of his coffee.

‘Hyuk ran off, but this time he doesn’t seem to be coming back for a while. So we are down a bassist.’ Hani offered, handing over the photo.

‘Well, damn.’ Wonshik managed. ‘So that’s what Yongin meant…’

‘You know something?’ Taekwoon asked, obviously masking worry with annoyment and anger again.

‘Not much, but he was down about a person in Yongin, mentioning something about needing to make sure about things…’

They all came to the silent conclusion then, that Hyuk was bothersome when he was chasing love.

‘I guess you guys have a plan already?’ Wonshik asked, breaking the contemplative silence.

‘I just got dragged along, don’t look at me.’ Jaehwan smiled up at the blond and Wonshik glanced between him and Taekwoon at that, a knowing smile appearing as he did so.

Jaehwan wanted to know what that meant...

‘But we do have a plan. Go set up, I’ll be along in a few minutes.’ Hani nodded with a grin before he could ask, wandering towards the back of the café.

The look on Wonshik’s face was priceless. ‘She is going to put Bin in leather pants again, isn’t she?’

‘Most probably.’ Taekwoon said, not mentioning how it was him that brought that fate upon him. ‘Come on.’

And as they walked towards the back, Wonshik was glad to share what made him smile- answering Jaehwan’s question about the reason why he was there.

He whispered it into Jaehwan’s ear with a grin, ignoring Taekwoon’s annoyed glance and his attempt to hit them with his guitar case when Jaehwan began to laugh accompanied by Wonshik’s wriggling eyebrows and wide grin.

He couldn’t help it, because it was so simple and silly and it made him deliriously happy.

And he sat through most of their practice with that happy smile, knowing for sure that it distracted Taekwoon but no one bothered him for it – they were busy teasing Hongbin anyway.

Because the reason why Taekwoon found him first when he was troubled, and the reason why he dragged him along and showed these parts of himself to Jaehwan was that he trusted him.

There was trust.

And Taekwoon probably didn’t even realize it yet.

But it was there, and Jaehwan felt confident enough to steal a quick kiss before he had to go back to his paintings, managing to doge the flying guitar case on his way out.

~*~

Taekwoon was on his way home after a long shift and an even longer practice, and it was that funny time of twilight when the sun had not quite set, too busy painting the sky gold and purple, but the street lights were already coming on – and if he was thinking in painting metaphors, then he really had been thinking too much about Jaehwan.

Speaking of Jaehwan.

Taekwoon paused at the end of the alley between their apartment building and the next, absently squeezing the handle of Leo’s case and blushing at the memory of their ungraceful and rainy kiss.

And then he saw a flash of bunny slippers as Jaehwan climbed out to the balcony, with a cigarette in hand and a surprised smile on his lips as he noticed him.

‘But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?’ he said, all dramatic and still grinning.

‘That’s Romeo’s line.’ Taekwoon pointed out, and even in the semi darkness he could see Jaehwan’s grin widening.

‘What should I say then?’ Jaehwan mused, tapping cigarette ash off the edge of the balcony. ‘Ah, me?’

‘You are no angel.’ Taekwoon deadpanned, but Jaehwan cut a dashing figure as the setting sun casted long shadows and warm lights on him, and he probably had no idea how ridiculously handsome and adorable he could be at the same time – and yeah, he was indeed thinking too much about the imp. ‘Also it’s a terrible story, stop quoting it.’

Jaehwan just chuckled, exhaling a cloud of smoke that gleamed golden in the last rays of the sun.

And Taekwoon had a fleeting thought about how that would taste on those full lips, but the old lady upstairs was opening her window and she was getting started on a long rant about Jaehwan’s terrible smoking habits and Taekwoon escaped then, chuckling all the way to the entrance as he listened to Jaehwan’s reply – his voice matching the old lady’s in quality.

Taekwoon was sighing, cursing, and sitting amongst crumbled chords and ruptured melodies.

He scribbled through more staff paper then he cared to count, but he couldn’t seem to write anything decent and it was annoying him. He’d been trying to work on his thesis, but draining shifts at the ER left him with no motivation to do that, so he turned to composing…

But it was another slump, and Wonshik would have told him not to worry because hyung, have you seen my place lately? but Wonshik was not there, so he was free to curse out his slump.

He hated writer’s block with passion, more than rain and more then bad coffee.

It made him feel like a failure, unable to write a single proper note much less an entire song – and listening to already perfected songs were just more demotivating, because he was not about to reach those heights…

It was raining again, but he decided to walk to the small bakery Jaehwan was so fond of, because that was better than sitting amongst wasted paper.

He wrenched open the door and took the stairs, too frustrated to bother with waiting for the elevator. He stepped out of the stairwell into the building lobby and stopped dead, staring.

Jaehwan was leaning against the wall near the front doors, wearing fashionable slacks and a shirt with absolutely no paint anywhere on it. His hair was pushed back from his forehead in a way that should be considered fatal, and he was wearing his long black jacket. Taekwoon just knew that meant one of two things. Either he was going to an art showing, or he had a date.

As Taekwoon watched, Jaehwan checked his watch, glancing out the window.

A date, then.

Something in Taekwoon's gut twitched at the thought.

Jaehwan looked like sin, leaning there casually like a snapshot, a painting. Almost perfect, but in a humanly flawed way, because there was paint left on his fingers and bags under his eyes... He made such a nice picture leaning there, waiting for someone with the rain pounding away at the sidewalk outside.

Without conscious thought, Taekwoon turned back into the stairwell - the last thing he wanted to see was the person Jaehwan was waiting for with that little half-smile on his face.

Upstairs, Taekwoon burned through a quarter of the staff paper he had in just under an hour.

None of it ended up crumpled.

~*~

Downstairs, Jungkook arrived a few minutes late, apologizing with a grin about Jin giving him a lecture about sharing an umbrella with people while walking in the rain. Jaehwan laughed away his apology, complimented his clothes and offered his umbrella so they could walk to the gallery opening.

Jungkook didn't stop smiling for hours and Jaehwan deemed the night a success.

When he told Taekwoon about it - gushing about details probably boring to him and about how quick Jungkook was growing up, using his tutoring to form his own opinion about art – there was a magically happy look in his eyes and if he got interrupted in the middle, because his favorite cat pressed a quick kiss to his lips, then who was he not to lean back to steal one in return.

~*~

There was paint on Leo’s case.

Taekwoon sat and stared at it, stopped dead in the middle of an all too automatic sequence of movements where he flipped the catches and threw the lid back.

He’s long since stopped paying attention to what the case even looked like, so it was startling to notice the smear of gold and blue, slightly rough to the touch compared to the smooth layer of stickers.

He could just imagine the details how it could have happened and he was surprised, because there were at least a thousand different ways... Jaehwan fending off an attack from him, Jaehwan stealing Leo’s case to skip ahead with it and force him to chase him, Jaehwan asking about Leo’s story and about all the stickers, Jaehwan pressing close to fit under his umbrella on the day he’d forgotten his own, Jaehwan deftly slipping the case out of his fingers, but not to run with him.

‘Here, you look like you’re going to drop something, cat-hyung. Let me carry him.’

He blinked at the vibrant, formless design before glancing up and around his apartment, wondering when it got so crowded.

His kitchen was far more used, packed to full capacity with equipment and supplies that Jaehwan and he would use to cook up things that would complement their mothers’ side dishes. There was an apron, pink, a present from Jin, but undeniably Jaehwan’s because Taekwoon was sure there was paint on it too. Then there was that bookshelf too that he cleared off, and contained all the books and little things Jaehwan had been leaving around.

And there was still that second toothbrush next to his, as though it was waiting.

Taekwoon sat there for a long time, staring unseeing at a swirl of gold paint on a part of his soul, in his apartment that grew to accommodate two.

~*~

Jaehwan sighed, eying the canvas in front of him and then the palette in his hand, as though trying to figure out which one was responsible for his current predicament.

He shifted and dropped the palette onto the table beside his easel, ignoring the paint that splattered on his jeans in revenge. His back was hurting, tingling and numbing and he stood to try to ease it as he threw another conflicted look toward the canvas.

It was supposed to be the focal point of his senior work, best piece of all, and it simply wasn’t.

For years he had worked on her, the embodiment of the country, wanting to present the very best and the very worst of his nation and its people through one emblematic figure. And he’d painted her beauty on canvas, and drew her ugliness in pastels and gave her a soul with charcoal covered fingers and yet…

He seemed to have lost her, unable to make her shine.

Jaehwan ran a frustrated hand through his hair, leaving paint and barely noticing, because the painting was due to be turned in to the review board in less than a month and he still had to write up his paper… If he ever managed to finish the painting, that is.

Very briefly, he entertained the thought of a change in career, but shook his head sharply. He just needed a break, too much stressing was ought to have a negative effect on his work too.

So he walked over to his beat up stereo, idly flipping through CDs that Sandeul deemed old school but Jaehwan thought music just sounded better on them then on his phone. Then he found one case that he couldn’t recognize, though it was faintly familiar.

‘For Jaehwan’ it said.

Curious, he played it and realized about three seconds into the first song that the CD must have been Taekwoon’s and that it was VIXXED’s music.

Jaehwan closed his eyes, letting the sound of Wonshik’s keyboard and Hani’s gentle vocal wash over him and there was one memory that came to the forefront of his mind – Taekwoon.

Taekwoon, leaning into the microphone like a lover, fingers caressing the strings of his guitar, coaxing out music with passion and he looked alive there, free.

Jaehwan in a sharp breath, because there was epiphany there as Taekwoon’s voice filled the room around him – passion and life, all in Taekwoon’s eyes.

He was grinning then, his maniac artist grin as Hakyeon usually called it, and he was reaching for his brushes again because there was passion welling up in him too as the melody crashed around him in waves… He could see her again, clear as day, and she had Taekwoon’s eyes.

~*~

The invitation came in a red envelope, slid under his door sometime in the early morning.

Taekwoon recognized the handwriting immediately, ignoring the slight pang of longing, because they had no time to meet at all with the end of the semester looming over them… The note inside was a printed invitation to the exhibition of the seniors of the art department. It was very stiff and formal, all the way to the bottom where Jaehwan added an extra line.

I’m sorry that I couldn’t give it to you personally, but if we are lucky it will rain and there will be a balcony around…

Taekwoon sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes, and then froze in place as he noticed another message on the back of the creamy paper.

He smiled then, brushing his fingers across those words softly.

I miss you.

He was supposed to have practice that night, but he finally understood then why Hani‘d been so insistent about rescheduling it and why Wonshik’d been grinning at him all through their dinner the day before…  Hyuk was still on his journey to love but at least began to answer his phone, and Taekwoon considered taking a camera with him.

Who knew, maybe he could send him those pictures after all.

He got dressed, opting for something casually elegant despite his initial thought of offending some snobbish artistic types by dressing in his VIXXED gear of leather.

The on-campus gallery was b with people by the time he arrived, mostly students and some professors and proud parents. It was crowded enough, that he couldn’t immediately see Jaehwan, but that was fine and he took his time looking at the artwork.

He met Sandeul at one point, standing among his pottery with a wide smile and enthusiasm enough for several people. Taekwoon just stayed for a few words, ignoring Sandeul’s obvious teasing about gallery-dates and such, before moving on in search of the imp.

He eventually found Jaehwan’s part of the exhibition, series of smaller sketches and paintings, leading up to a much larger oil painting.

Taekwoon had seen Jaehwan’s paintings of her before, but this one seemed somehow different. It took a minute of staring at the painting hanging on the wall before he realized what it was.

Her expression was intense as she stared out of the frame, passionate and determined, wind blowing her midnight black hair around and everything about her was sharp and strong and powerful. Then there were her eyes, bright and clear, and Taekwoon was struck by how much emotion could be conveyed in a smear of colored brushstrokes.

Her eyes were also brown.

Taekwoon became aware, then, that Jaehwan had stepped up beside him, looking up at the painting as well. They didn’t speak for a moment until Taekwoon found his voice again.

‘I thought her eyes were gray.’

Jaehwan chuckled in a way that made him want to kiss him and hit him at the same time. ‘Silly cat-hyung, she is just a part of my imagination no one really knows what color her eyes are supposed to be.’

‘Of course, but you gave her gray eyes didn’t you?’ Taekwoon asked again, because Jaehwan was clearly teasing while holding back something serious and important about the change.

‘Yeah, but I had something of a revelation while working on this one.’ Jaehwan smiled, still looking up at the picture.

Taekwoon just glanced at him, raising an eyebrow in question.

‘I painted her for years because I wanted to capture the very spirit of this country, the perfections and the faults, everything. I thought I achieved that, but I had just fallen into a routine of painting the same girl over and over again, like a character… It was not her spirit, just an outward appearance.’ Jaehwan explained and Taekwoon was entrapped by his passion, continuing to gaze at him.

‘What changed?’

‘I met you.’ Jaehwan said, finally turning to meet his eyes and Taekwoon was sure his heart was skipping beats.

‘And?’ he asked softly.

‘I’ve never met anyone like you, hyung. ‘Jaehwan’s lips curved up in a slight, secret smile. ‘I first realized it when I saw you perform, that you have the same passion she must have… Passion so strong, that it transcends time and creates the most amazing things in the world, like your music and your dedication to heal.’

Taekwoon knew he was blushing, but felt like pointing something out for Jaehwan too. ‘You are just as passionate about painting too, if not more. Really, you should see yourself when you create…’

‘Maybe that’s true, but it’s always easier to see it in someone else.’ Jaehwan chuckled softly, reaching one graceful hand out to trace his cheeks. ‘So let’s just say I realized what passion looked like and that I needed to change something about the way I painted her. So I gave her your eyes.’

Taekwoon was awfully red, he just knew, but was still unable to look away from Jaehwan’s eyes – open and beautiful and adoring in a way that made breathing a challenging task.

‘And that’s probably the most romantic thing I’ve ever managed.’ Jaehwan smiled bashfully, his words probably catching up with him then. But that just made his eyes glint brighter and Taekwoon didn’t care how many people were around as he leaned in to kiss him, softly and tenderly.

‘Thank you.’ he whispered against Jaehwan’s lips.

‘Well.’ Jaehwan cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘Good.’

‘Yeah, very good.’ Taekwoon chuckled, because it wasn’t often that Jaehwan was left without words. ‘I might even let you come to my graduation ceremony.’

‘Oh, how generous.’ Jaehwan grinned, his hands slipping down to curl his fingers around Taekwoon’s.

Taekwoon just smiled back, tightening his grip. ‘I missed you.’

‘Yeah, me too.’

And how easy it was to just smile at him, something indescribable swirling and burning in his soul, not yet tangible but growing stronger every passing second.

Taekwoon’s smile widened then and leaned in to whisper into Jaehwan’s ear. ‘It’s not raining, but how about finding a balcony, imp?’

‘I like that line of thought, cat-hyung.’

‘Good.’

‘Yeah, very good.’

Slowly carving you place into someone else's life, unnoticeably but irreversibly, can be the most beautiful way to start a relationship~
Also, fire escapes are good places to steal kisses ;D

There are two more chapters left, one episode and the epilogue, guys. I hope you will stay with me till the end.