Youngjae awoke to find the space next to him empty. He scrambled out of bed and hurriedly slipped on the first pair of pants lying around. In his haste to get downstairs, he nearly tripped over his own two feet.

Even before the living room could come into focus, Youngjae recognized that familiar tuft of electrifying purple-blue hair.

"Jaebum!"

But Jaebum didn't respond.

"Jaebum!" No reponse. Why wasn't he turning around? Youngjae stretched his hand out to grab ahold of him when Jaebum made a noise akin to that of a squeak. Youngjae let his arm fall back down to his side.

"Youngjae, um, I... Well, there's something important JunJun and I have to ask you."

Youngjae looked taken aback. "Okay?"

Jaebum took a deep breath in before turning around. Youngjae shifted his attention from JunJun—whom was cradled in Jaebum's arms—to Jaebum's hand. He could barely just make out the color of the item he was fiddling with.

"So, well, I bought this-" JunJun yipped. "Yes, you're right. Sorry," he mumbled.

Youngjae cocked his head to the side. What were they up to?

Returning his attention to Youngjae, Jaebum said: "At the lodge, there was this earring I found." He presented the item in question. Three silver stars whose inner edges were rimmed in black hung from a plastic clip at the top. "I bought it thinking the three stars represent something. One for JunJun who'll be there to bounce us back up when we're feeling down, one for me who wants to be there for you and the last one represents you"—he rubbed the uppermost one—"If you'll be mine." A light pink tinge crept over his cheeks. "So we can be a family of three," he quickly tacked on in a blur of syllables.

Youngjae did not immediately respond. He looked to and from the earring and Jaebum. A family... A family? Yes. The Hoons wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. He could be with somebody who chose to love him down to his smallest faults. He could be with the person who carried his heart. He could be with Jaebum.

"Yes."

Jaebum looked visibly relieved. "Yes?"

Youngjae tipped his chin forward. "Yes."

Jaebum bridged the gap between them. With one shaky hand, he handed Youngjae the earring. "Could you put it on?"

Youngjae scoffed. "This is a clip-on. It's bound to fall off." He unclasped the plastic clip. "Why don't we get your ears pierced and ask them to change this into an actual earring?"

"Soon?" Jaebum asked. He fell back onto the planes of his feet.

Youngjae nodded. "Soon." He reached up to fasten the earring onto his earlobe. "But first let me see what it looks like on you."

Jaebum watched as his sprite affixed the earring to his ear. "Your fingers. They're so soft." JunJun wiggled around in his arms.

Before Youngjae could finish, Jaebum wrapped a hand around his lower back. Youngjae's heart skipped a beat. He kept his attention locked on the kitchen entryway. "Jaebum?"

"Look at me."

Youngjae pulled back. Jaebum drew him forward. Any closer and they would have been able to feel each other's rampant heartbeats.

Youngjae could see the beauty in Jaebum's bold, brown eyes. They belonged to the person he wanted to be with. Those same eyes that had captured his interest as a stranger now enthralled him as a partner.

Jaebum lowered his lips until they were a fraction of the distance away from Youngjae's. "I love you," he whispered before sealing the promise of a future together with a kiss.

Youngjae's body grew hot as Jaebum tugged his bottom lip into his mouth with each successive kiss. He drew his hands up to Jaebum's pectorals. A current shot through him as the warmth oozing off of Jaebum swelled over his skin.

Jaebum reached down and cupped the soft flesh of Youngjae's in his hand. Youngjae's lower half lurched forward. He blushed. His body was reacting so crudely to Jaebum's touches. Not to mention that JunJun was trapped somewhere between them both. JunJun! Youngjae gripped Jaebum's shirt in an attempt to get him to pull back but Jaebum must have taken the gesture as wanting more because he splayed his fingers over Youngjae's buttcheek and squeezed with an intensity that lighted his nerves. Youngjae gasped. Jaebum took the opportunity to slip his tongue deeper into Youngjae's mouth.

With controlled, sure-footed steps Jaebum guided Youngjae over to the couch as his tongue continued to the roof of his mouth. He plopped back onto the couch, dragging Youngjae down along with him. JunJun barely had time to squeeze through before Youngjae came down on top of Jaebum with a silent oomph.

Jaebum pulled away to let Youngjae catch his breath. But the thought didn't last very long. The sight of a disheveled Youngjae panting heavily drove him into a frenzy. His mind reeled with the idea of worshiping Youngjae’s body; of stimulating his nerves down to the featheriest touches. "Baby, I love you," Jaebum said as he pressed another kiss full of wanton desire to his lover’s lips. Youngjae whimpered. The sounds of the cushion crinkling under their weight added to the heat pooling in his abdomen.

Now that his other hand was free, Jaebum s both hands down the length of Youngjae's back. Halfway to his , he slid them back up to Youngjae’s chest. Frustrated with the inability to get a solid feel for his s, Jaebum pulled the fabric of his hoodie behind his back until the contours of his hardened nubs could be glimpsed through the thin material.

Youngjae let out a shaky breath, his hips bucking forward on their own accord. “Jaebum, what are you-” He didn’t have time to finish as Jaebum brushed the tips of his fingers over the protruding mounds of flesh. Youngjae jolted forward. He let out another breathy sigh into Jaebum’s ear. Jaebum grunted. "What a bad boy." 

His hands came to a rest on either side of Youngjae's . “Soft. So soft,” Jaebum said as he ran circles into the flesh with his thumbs. He trailed a litter of kisses along Youngjae’s jawline. "So hot.