Zico. The man always busy partying and getting drunk.

 

Kyung. The man always ignored by his childhood friend.

 

He didn't really mind, he mostly stuck around so Zico would survive his massive hangovers after a night out. At least, that's what Kyung told himself.

 

Zico had no idea why Kyung stayed by his side. He knew he was a jerk. A complete jackass. Especially to Kyung. It hurt Zico to know he caused Kyung pain but he wasn't sure if it hurt as much as why he did it.

 

Since they were kids Zico had felt a strong pull towards Kyung. At such a young age he thought he felt it because they were best friends and naturally liked each other more than they liked the other kids. In middle school he got a little suspicious of the feeling but continued to brush it off. In high school, however, he heard enough friends who were dating talk about this “pull” towards their significant other that Zico got an idea of what it meant. And it terrified him.

 

Love. The one thing he didn’t want to have for Kyung. Affection, sure. But this was different. Since he had realised his feelings Zico had become colder and meaner to Kyung. He didn’t want his feelings to become known and the best way he knew to hide them was to act like a jerk.

 

Kyung didn’t know what triggered the change in his best friend, but it was sudden and unexpected. Naturally his curiosity was piqued but when he asked what was wrong Zico had brushed him off and excused himself, pushing past Kyung on his way out.

 

Friends fighting. Pretty typical high school drama honestly, but it didn’t stop when they graduated. No, Zico was still a jerk and Kyung was still trying to figure out why.

 

One night after coming home completely wasted Zico had fallen onto the couch only to be met with a soft groan of pain and a shove. Kyung was laying on the couch, probably waiting there all night for Zico to come home.

 

This happened many more times after that. Zico stumbled into his house, noticed Kyung was already there, let his friend take care of him, and went to bed feeling like . It was a normal routine by now.

 

Zico always wondered why. Why did Kyung bother to take care of him? Why did he do it every single time Zico went out clubbing? Wait, why did he have a house key? He didn’t know the answer to any of his questions.

 

Kyung always wondered why. Why did Zico go out almost every night even though it made him feel horrible? Why did he become so cold towards him? Why, if he hated him so much, did he let Kyung take care of him? He didn’t have any answers either.

Their horrible routine of drunk Zico and helpful Kyung continued for many months until one night when Zico could barely stand up on his own. He had burst into his home noisily, waking the sleeping Kyung and plopping himself into a chair.

 

“Hey Kyung, wanna know something funny?” he slurred, swaying a bit as he raised his hand and pointed at his friend. Kyung sighed but came to sit beside Zico, nodding and saying a quiet “sure”. Zico laughed to himself before lowering his hand from the air.

 

“I…” he began, his eyes closing as he fought his alcohol induced drowsiness. “Love…” Another pause as he tried to stay sitting upright. “Yoouuu.” Zico finished, head dropping to his chest as he started falling asleep in his chair. Kyung, confused by the statement, stared at his friend before shaking it off and helping Zico to bed.

 

As Kyung lay on the couch after getting Zico into his bed he thought about what the younger had said earlier. He was drunk, so how seriously could he take that statement? Supposedly you tell the truth when you’re drunk, but was Kyung sure Zico knew what he was saying? He decided to ignore it for now and ask later, preferably tomorrow when Zico would be sober.

 

Morning came and Kyung woke up to make some breakfast for Zico, who stayed asleep until noon came. When he walked out of his bedroom lifelessly and sat in his chair Kyung set his food in front of him and drank a coffee himself.

 

“So,” he started, playing with the coffee mug absently. “How you feelin today?” Zico looked at him like he was stupid and poked at his food. “Not great. Thanks for breakfast.” he said as he pushed out his chair and stood, heading for his room again. He didn’t eat a single bite.

 

“Wait.” Kyung stopped his friend mid-step. “Do you remember coming home last night?” Kyung asked vaguely. Zico turned to look at him. “Yeah, I remember coming home. Don’t remember what happened after I actually got home though. Why?” Kyung sighed in slight defeat, discouraged by Zico’s loss of memory.

 

“You said something that confused me. Um you said you… love me.” Kyung got straight to it. Zico’s mouth opened slightly and his eyes widened in fear, his chest suddenly rising and falling more rapidly.

 

“Oh, did I say that…?” he chuckled nervously. Kyung nodded and stood to approach Zico, who backed up as much as Kyung tried to advance. “Was… it true? Is it true?” Zico got more and more uncomfortable and looked at the floor, stuffing his hands into his sweatpants pockets.

 

“Yeah, like a brotherly love. Or a best friend. We are best friends so…” he responded unconvincingly. Kyung kept advancing until Zico was against a wall, then he continued until they were only a few inches apart.

 

“So… you don’t like being this close to me? Because best friends don’t get this close.” he said cockily, sure he was getting to Zico. The younger gulped nervously and took his hands out of his pockets to push Kyung slightly.

 

“Get out of my face.” he said, trying to sound as strong as possible, but it didn’t work. “Why? Do you hate this? Do you hate me?” Kyung persisted. “No…” Zico practically whispered and Kyung took this opportunity to lean in even closer. Now Zico had no choice but to look him in the eyes.

 

“What was that?” Zico glared at the older for a second before repeating himself. “No. I don’t hate this, or you.” Kyung smiled and backed up again, still staying close. “So if you don’t hate me, do you love me?” he asked, voice becoming more gentle and bringing a hand up to rest on Zico’s chest gently. He felt the rapid heartbeat and smiled as Zico in a breath.

 

“Yes.” he breathed. The word was more air than sound but Kyung heard it clear as day. “Since when?” he asked almost as quietly, staring at the hand on his friend’s chest. “Always. I only realised it in high school though.” Kyung nodded in understanding. “Me too.” Zico raised his eyebrows at the confession.

 

“You… feel the same way?” he asked. Kyung smacked him with the hand on his chest and brought it back to his side, smiling. “Of course! Why do you think I stayed by your side when you treated me like ?” he half-joked. Zico looked down in shame at the words.

 

“Yeah, sorry about that. I didn’t want to fall in love with my best friend so I tried not to.” he confessed. Kyung put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. “It’s alright, I get it. Your way to cope was to ignore me, my way to cope was to stay by you.” Zico looked up again and smiled, pulling Kyung into a hug.

 

“And I’m glad you did.” The two separated after their quick hug and Kyung backed up more, giving Zico some room. “So… what does this mean?” Kyung asked with his hands in his pockets. Zico smirked and said, “Well, shouldn’t we date? I mean, we both like each other.” Kyung nodded in agreement.

 

“Alright, let’s date. It should be interesting.” he joked, making Zico scrunch his eyebrows and cross his arms. “What’s that supposed to mean? You think we won’t make a good couple?” Kyung shook his head. “No, we will. But it’ll be weird to get used to, ya know?” “Yeah, well we adapt fast.” Zico said slyly, smiling and making Kyung laugh.

 

They already knew it would work out just fine.