“I’ll see you at lunch?”

Youngjae nods at Mark’s question, grinning at the senior as he walks away. Him, Jinyoung, and Mark have been hanging out more, and while at first, Youngjae thought it would be awkward to hang out with two of his hyungs, he finds that he’s enjoying the company of the two. He loves watching them bicker, mostly - Mark and Jinyoung can go from extremely “lovey-dovey” to extremely catty in a matter of moments.

It was really entertaining to watch… but also kind of gross.

“-stay away.”

The voice is faint, but Youngjae pauses when he hears it. He frowns, recognizing the voice and it’s slightly raised tone, is that Jinyoung-hyung? Youngjae bites his lip when the voice continues, creeping up to the end of the hallway and peering around the corner.

The adjacent hall is empty… Except for Jinyoung and Jaebum. And neither of them look particularly friendly. Jinyoung’s voice was a little frustrated, if not exasperated, and Youngjae knows (well at least he thinks) that Jinyoung isn’t the fondest of his boyfriend (the word still makes butterflies tumble in Youngjae’s tummy). Youngjae knows eavesdropping is probably looked down upon in today’s society, but… he’s really curious.

“Just stop causing trouble, Jaebum,” Jinyoung huffs, crossing his arms.

From where Youngjae’s standing, he can’t see Jaebum’s face but he can see the way his shoulders straighten through his blazer. “Why should I,” he hears Jaebum scoff like he’s offended, “It’s like you think I’m the devil or something-”

“Because you always do things like this,” Jinyoung almost yells, his voice raising in tone and octave, “Stay away from Youngjae!!”

M-Me? Youngjae freezes, his eyes glued to the scene as Jaebum steps closer, almost dangerously close to Jinyoung. He can’t see either of their faces now, but Jaebum’s fists are clenched at his side and they’re shaking. What the hell does this have to do with me?

“Make me.”

In any other situation, the way Jaebum says the words would have made Youngjae heat up on the spot, but  Jinyoung doesn’t reply, so Jaebum pushes past him, knocking shoulders. Jinyoung looks frozen, his jaw clenched and his eyebrows scrunched. Youngjae feels a little sick, what are they hiding? Does.. Does jinyoung-hyung…

“H-hyung?” Youngjae decides to step out from his hiding place, biting his lip.

Jinyoung jumps, obviously not expecting Youngjae to show up, “Youngjae-ah. What are you doing here? Did you hear…”

“Yeah,” he answers with a frown. He’s a little annoyed now, if anything. Is there some sort of secret thing going on between them? If that’s the case… well, Youngjae’s gonna be pretty disappointed.

“Listen-”

“Stop,” Youngjae huffs, hands on his hips. He needs to be firm - Jaebum is his man. “Look, Jinyoung-hyung, I don’t know what that was about but.. I really like Jaebum-hyung and… you can’t keep trying to push us away just because you’re jealous-”

Jinyoung’s hand is over his mouth suddenly, cutting Youngjae off mid-sentence, rude.  “Wait, wait,” Jinyoung shakes his head, sneering incredulously at Youngjae, “Jealous? What the hell is there to be jealous of?”

That wasn’t the reaction Youngjae was expecting, definitely not. Jinyoung starts to look a little grossed out the longer they stand there, if Youngjae’s being honest. “What?” Youngjae’s words are muffled by Jinyoung’s hand and the older boy takes it away quickly, wiping his hand on his pants, “I… I thought… That’s why you always get so mad when I’m with hyung, right?”

“No, no, no!” Youngjae jumps in surprise when Jinyoung flat out laughs (ing laughs), covering his mouth to muffle his chuckles. “NO, not even close, honey! He’s my brother, Youngjae.”

“What.” Youngjae holds up his hand. He needs a minute. Brother? Jinyoung… and Jaebum… brothers… Youngjae’s about 100 percent sure he made himself look like an idiot. Good going!

“Yeah,” Jinyoung is still giggling. “Our parents got married like, 10 years ago. I can’t believe you thought I was jealous,” Jinyoung’s sneer is back (it’s a little amazing how he can go from giggling to disgust so quickly). “Because of my brother.”

How embarrassing. Face flushing, Youngjae shakes his head.  “T-then why are you so-”

“Jaebum… I told you he has a reputation, didn’t I? He isn’t called the heartbreaker for nothing, Youngjae-ah.” Jinyoung rolls his eyes now, arms crossed over his chest, “he’s got a habit of 2-week relationships, and I don’t want you to get hurt because he can’t make a ing decision.”

The heat from before is back in his voice and Youngjae flinches a little, though it’s not directed at him. 2 weeks? He bites his lip, “T-things can change, hyung.” His words are weak at least, a little insecure. He’s not even convinced.

Jinyoung sighs, and with his breath goes the remaining tension in his shoulders. Youngjae can see him trying to hold something back, but before he can call Jinyoung on it, he starts talking again. “Of course, Youngjae-ah. Don’t take anything I say too much to heart, okay?”

He wraps his arm around Youngjae’s shoulders, but Youngjae can’t feel the comfort. 2 weeks…. Him and Jaebum have already been together for three, and they were “kind-of-dating” for a few before that too, so that should mean he’s got nothing to worry about, right? Jaebum’s not going to get tired of him…. Is he?

Stop it, Youngjae scolds himself, shaking off the doubt.

“So…” Youngjae leans against his kitchen counter, frowning up at Jaebum, “Jinyoung-hyung’s your brother?”

Jaebum startles, eyes widening in obvious surprise (it’s actually a pretty cute look… ). “W-What? How did you know?”

“Well, hyung,” Youngjae huffs, raising his eyebrow. “I heard yours and Jinyoung’s… uh, argument, this morning… Jinyoung-hyung told me you were brothers after I told him to stop being jealous ‘cause I was getting close to you.”

“Jealous? Jinyoung? Really, Jae-ah?” Youngjae giggles when Jaebum makes a face strikingly similar to Jinyoung’s, mouth curling down in disgust.

Youngjae shrugs, “Well… I don’t know… Jinyoung-hyung kept telling me to stay away from you, so I guess I thought… Whatever, it doesn’t matter.”

Jaebum frowns again, but this time it’s softer than the ones Youngjae’s used to seeing. “You shouldn’t worry about it too much, Jae. This is just Jinyoung’s way of showing he cares… I think.”

That pulls a giggle from Youngjae, and he rolls his eyes, leaning his head against Jaebum’s shoulder. “But I am worrying, hyung. Jinyoung told me that you only date people for 2 weeks, and I…”

“Of course he did,” Jaebum growls under his breath, annoyed. He sighs and turns Youngjae around, cupping one of his cheeks, “Hey, Youngjae. Don’t listen to him, okay? He doesn’t know the full story. I’m with you, Youngjae, and if I didn’t want… this… do you think I’d be here, right now?”

Youngjae’s heart leaps in his chest. Jaebum leans closer to him, the tips of their noses touching. Jaebum’s eyes look prettier up close, he notices - Jaebum looks prettier up close. Youngjae kind of wants to kiss the two moles above his eye.

“This… This feels right, Youngjae,” Jaebum murmurs softly, smiling at Youngjae with his breathtaking-heart-stopping-stunning smile (the same one that always makes Youngjae weak in the knees) as if he knows the effect it has on the light haired boy. “This feels more right than anything else. Don’t let my brother try to scare you off. I like you, Youngjae.”

The kiss is unexpected - actually, it’s barely a kiss (but he’s going to count it as you,  the rules). It’s his first kiss. Their first kiss. The brief brush of lips isn’t anything special, no fireworks or explosions or whatever-the--else the fairy tales and teen-romance movies make it out to have - but it does send nervous butterflies tumbling around in Youngjae’s stomach and the feeling kind of makes him want to puke (in a good way though!).

“J-Jaebum,” he whispers, a little (more like a lot) embarrassed at how easily Jaebum makes him soft and dizzy (again, in a good way, because Jaebum’s presence is so breathtaking and beautiful and , Youngjae really likes him). His eyes flutter closed.

“Are you still thinking about Jinyoung and his warning?” Jaebum asks, resting his forehead against Youngjae’s.

Youngjae can’t see him, can’t find it in himself to actually open his eyes in fear that this is nothing more than one of his many (wet) dreams. His heart's still racing in his chest, from nerves or something, but Youngjae shakes his head soft, curling his own arms around Jaebum’s waist. “Only thinking about you now,” he mumbles, shoving his head into the crook of Jaebum’s neck.

He should feel (even more) embarrassed when Jaebum starts to laugh, but Youngjae feels so warm and sappy that he can’t help but join in.