Of all the remote, small towns in all of Japan, these two landed in the same one.

Well, maybe Woohyun should’ve made a reservation at a place on the second page of the Naver search results instead of selecting it’s second recommendation, but then again…the snow had piled onto the dark hair, most of the face was hidden behind a chunky scarf, the tips of the ears were cherry red, and still Kim Myungsoo had never looked better, in Woohyun’s very biased eyes. 

What if this was where he was meant to be?

No, no, Nam Woohyun, being an over-sensitive friggin’ sap was what led you into this damned, sulphuric and soul-ripping affair. He still had enough time to turn tail, run away (which he was best at), and catch the next plane to Siberia. Myungsoo would never go there! No, wait, better yet Jakarta. The high humidity there would remove the power of Magic(™) and free the curls. Myungsoo would never ever go there!

“Hey, hyung! Whereeeee-yah! Oof! Aaaish!!”

Oh , Myungsoo tried to go after him and fell down the hill. He’d landed hard on his bum, grimacing in pain. Woohyun couldn’t leave him now. Even though he was trying to wash away this love, he didn’t want to be heartless.

He ran over as fast as his little legs could and he slid on his knees, right up to the other’s side. “Myungsoo, are you okay?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”

“No, not really, but…” he huffed and blew up his bangs. Myungsoo finally shook the snow out of his hair in frustration. He then shyly glanced up at the other. “What are you doing here?”

Woohyun sat down in the snow with him. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Myungsoo scoffed and shook his head. When their eyes met again, his had a sharpness to them. “Were you trying to run away from me again?”

Woohyun gulped. , he noticed (News flash: everyone did). Maybe it was time to stop. After all, Myungsoo had hurt his nice, firm bottom trying to chase after him. It was time to stop avoiding him. “Yes,” he admitted under his breath.

Myungsoo sighed, moved to face the other, and looked him all over, searching. “What are you doing here?”

“Running away,” Woohyun confessed. He then sheepishly gazed up at the other. “Aren’t you too?”

“What do you mean?”

“You ghosted me,” Woohyun grumbled. He was crushing the snow around him in his tight fists. “You ghosted all of us.”

“I wasn’t ghosting,” Myungsoo argued. He was quickly heated by the accusation. “I needed a break. I wrote in the group chat saying just that. I intentionally went somewhere with limited cell service so that I could be alone and just…think.” His voice lowered and slowed down at the last word. “I couldn’t have texted you even if I wanted to.”

“Did you?” Woohyun hung onto that. “Did you want to?”

Myungsoo glanced over at him, sighed, and looked away. Woohyun had pushed his luck, probably. He got up and dusted the snow from his soaked jeans. Well, if he ran away right now, it’d chafe his thighs, and it’d just be incredibly lame and pathetic. So it was time to stop running away and to finally face Myungsoo (and all of his uncontrollable feelings) head on, which he did physically. Whatever will be, will be.

Woohyun stretched out a hand to the other. Myungsoo gave a half smile and took it. “I did,” he Myungsoo admitted as Woohyun pulled him up. “I did want to message you. It’s lonely here.”

“I get you,” Woohyun remarked and pulled his hand away from the other. He turned away, facing the distance. His heart was shaking. His legs were itching to move, but he stayed still. “I could barely make it through today. I thought about going home. I was going crazy without anyone to talk to.” He glanced shyly back at the other. Myungsoo’s face was now mostly hidden behind his scarf. He seemed happy, but was he?

“Now you have me.” Maybe he was. Maybe he was genuinely happy to be there with Woohyun.

“Yeah,” Woohyun responded breathlessly. “I got you.”

Myungsoo then pointed past Woohyun. “Is that your hotel over there too?” Of course, of course it ended up like this: the both of them at the same hotel.

Woohyun let out a strained laughed. “Isn’t it like the only resort in town?”

Myungsoo nodded. “Pretty much,” his voice sounded more jovial than before. “Let’s go back together.” Woohyun would really rather not because he felt his heart bursting to confess again. ‘Let’s go together forever.’ ‘Never leave my side.’ Woohyun swallowed those words back down. He really really wished that he could be dry and sapless like Sunggyu. But he was Nam Woohyun, ‘Namu,’ and just like a maple tree in the spring, he was very sappy. 

He had to control himself. Sure, Myungsoo was single now, but obviously the man was going through something to remove himself all the way to Japan. Maybe he found that being around Sungyeol was unbearable. Maybe he couldn’t restrain his heart either.

Woohyun closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Calm down. Calm down.

Then he opened his eyes again, only to see Myungsoo struggling with collapsing his tripod, with his brows furrowed, and mumbling the gentlest of curses under his breath.

“, I love you.”

“Huh?” Myungsoo hadn’t heard it, thank you, Lord Messi. He was too focused (and still focused) on the task at hand.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing,” Woohyun tried to distract the other and laughed loudly. So fake, obviously fake. Myungsoo looked up at him, with that pointed glare again. “Do you want some help?” he offered.

Woohyun just ended up carrying the tripod as it was all the way back to the hotel.

“Daebak, Myungsoo ran into Woohyun in Japan.”

Sungyeol was sitting on his couch, playing with the hair of the creature in his lap, while he read through the email on his phone. Honestly, Sungyeol had not expected to hear from Myungsoo until he came back to Korea, but then the email suddenly rolled into his inbox, giving a short update to his family and Sungyeol. And Myungsoo, that slick bastard, really slipped in, “There’s internet in the hotel’s lobby. So I’m writing a quick email while Woohyun-hyung and I wait for our tea.” And then he proceeded to write about the food he ate and how many times he’s entered the baths. He hid the shocking twist under layers and layers of mundanity hoping that no one would notice.

But Sungyeol did. He had a sharp nose for sniffing out bull.

“What?!” Sunggyu rolled onto his back and looked up at Sungyeol (although he refused to get up from the lap). “Myungsoo went there too?!”

“You knew that Woohyun did?” Sungyeol asked. Sunggyu nodded, the best one could while laying down. “Why didn’t you tell me? And get up. This is hurting my neck, having to look down.”

“Fine, you big, tall, ing muscular baby,” Sunngyu muttered as he rolled himself up (and as if he wasn’t being babied moments earlier). “And what do you mean ‘why didn’t I tell you?’ Why didn’t you tell me that Myungsoo went to Japan?” As if that were the greater offense of the two.

“I just did,” Sungyeol was unaffected by that hyung’s deflection. He flashed the other a smile, who then was mollified. So easy. Yeah, these two might not have been the greatest communicators, but they spoke each other’s languages fluently. Hopefully the same could be said for the two bozos in Japan. “Do you think they’ll finally talk it out?”

Sunggyu let out a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair (tempted to pull it out in frustration). “Well, they’ll talk for sure, but…”

“They’re screwed.”

It was a short walk back to the hotel, and for Myungsoo, it went by even more quickly with Woohyun’s commentary. In all honesty, there was nothing inherently funny about what he said, just observations, but Myungsoo found it thoroughly entertaining anyways. He nearly tripped over himself from laughing.

Maybe it was good just to talk to a friend again after a week of isolation.

However, one thing that Woohyun had said was pricking at Myungsoo’s conscience, over and over and over again: ‘You ghosted all of us.’ He couldn’t deny it. He had. And he didn’t realize how much his isolation had affected others until Woohyun showed up with that sad and defiant face. It was selfish. It was rude. It was time to be alive again.

So he wrote an email on the hotel’s communal computer. It was connected to the internet by a cable. It was so old that Myungsoo half-expected dial-up sounds when he’d logged on. Fortunately, it was cable internet. Unfortunately, it was slower than a glacier. Writing the email to his parents (and Sungyeol) took faster than sending it.

Woohyun had enough time to order their tea, pick it up, and find Myungsoo in the hotel’s communal office.

“There you are,” Woohyun looked relieved. He was hovering in the doorway, as if he were afraid to breach Myungsoo’s privacy. Yeah, Kim Myungsoo had unintentionally frozen everyone out, including the warmest person that he knew. “You writing an email?”

“Trying to send one. It’s slow. I didn’t think it would take this long. I’m sorry,” he hoped to thaw the tension between them. It worked. Woohyun stepped into the room and handed him the tea. “Thank you.”

Woohyun pulled up a chair to sit next to the other, eyes on the screen. All there was was a progress bar, slowly, very slowly moving. So Woohyun had to ask, “Who did you write to?”

“Just my parents, and Sungyeol,” Myungsoo said without thinking. He blew on his tea before taking a sip. He finally felt warm again. With a satisfied grin, he then looked over to his friend. The chill came back.

“Oh,” Woohyun muttered, eyes still on the screen. He then blinked and shook his head as if it hurt. “Yeah, that makes sense.” Now he was rubbing his eyes. After a bit he sighed and faced the other, putting a hand on his shoulder. Such a friendly gesture. “How are you doing? With the break up and everything?”

Myungsoo’s gaze was fixed on his cup of tea. “Fine, I guess,” he mumbled into its steam. In all honesty, even though that relationship had been more of a friendship than romantic love, the time for them to be lovers was probably when they were both in college, when they were more inexperienced and hopeful. But the years had jaded them and experiences wizened them. They now knew what they wanted, and it really wasn’t each other. But the promise of maybe being able to recapture their youth and recover what they had lost (a first love), they deluded themselves thinking that they could have it again, that they were perfect for each other.

They weren’t.

But, BUT given all of that. Myungsoo spent several sleepless nights kicking his sheets after the break up. Why?

‘I like Sunggyu.’

What the crap was that? Aish, even hearing those words echo in his head made his jaw clench. It was one thing to break up. It was a whole other issue to be dumped for someone else.

Of course, Myungsoo had an earnest desire to be the bigger man and to wish for his friend’s happiness, to be okay with all of this…crap. But he wasn’t. He honestly wasn’t.

And that made him feel even worse.

All Myungsoo could do was remove himself and put up the front: everything is fine.

“But you ran off to Japan, so it can’t all be fine.” Oh gosh, Nam Woohyun just twisted the sword already piercing his heart (metaphorically, of course. It’d be hard to sit at a computer with a sword sticking out of one’s chest).

“It’s just…complicated,” Myungsoo had no desire to go into all of the details. He didn’t want Woohyun to think him petty. “I just needed to put some space between me and everything else.” He turned to face Woohyun, whose gaze was unwavering. Woohyun didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t say anything. He just waited. “You know?” Myungsoo prodded him.

“I’m sorry to be invading it then.” Woohyun moved to get out of his chair.

“It’s okay,” Myungsoo told him and held Woohyun’s hand down firmly onto the chair’s armrest. Woohyun plopped back down. Myungsoo put on a smile, feeling the forced tugs at the corner of his lips. “Do…Do you want to warm up in my room?”

Ding! The email finally sent.

The sound made Woohyun perk up. “O-oh,” he stuttered. “Just give me a moment. I should email my mom too.”

“Woohyun, he really loves Myungsoo,” Sunggyu practically shouted at Sungyeol. They were now in the kitchen. Sunggyu was sitting at the table, snacking on the leftover bits that didn’t make their way into the final dish. Being in their early stages of the relationship (although if you asked them, they weren’t dating, just seeing each other), they still wanted to impress each other. Sunggyu had bragged about jumping from the high dive, and after days of arguing ‘But if I wasn’t there then it didn’t happen,’ he did it again just for Sungyeol. And now Sungyeol was making Sunggyu the fanciest dish that he could think of. It just took ing hours to make, since neither of them were really ‘at home’ in the kitchen. However, the woosoo escapades provided fodder for conversation to last them decades. Sunggyu continued both talking and snacking without missing a beat, “But because of everything, he’ll be too afraid to make the first move. He overanalyzes . He probably thinks that Myungsoo still has lingering feelings for you.”

“Christ, I hope not,” Sungyeol muttered underneath his breath, eyes not straying from the oven, Woohyun’s oven. Somehow, out of the four of them, he was still the only one with an oven. So Gyuyeol graciously let themselves into his apartment, using the key hidden under the dead bonsai, and made themselves at home. 

Sungyeol finally removed his eyes from the oven and looked back at Sunggyu, who’d finally stopped eating and talking and was just gazing up at the other with stuffed cheeks. Sungyeol smiled. “He doesn’t, he doesn’t,” he hurriedly assured the other. “Like I said, Myungsoo likes Woohyun. I am sure of it. I am 75%...no, 80% sure of it…85?” he amended when Sunggyu even more concerned.

Sunggyu finally moved and swallowed his food. “Can’t you be 100% sure? You’re his best friend, aren’t you?”

“Myungsoo’s too shy,” Sungyeol said with a groan. He walked over and sat next to Sunggyu, leaning on him. Being friends with such fools was so draining. “I doubt he’d make the first move because he’s so ing shy. Heck, that guy can’t even admit to me that he has feelings for Woohyun.”

“Well, you guys are exes.” Sunggyu’s mouth sounded full again. Good, he was at ease.

“Friends,” Sungyeol corrected him and stood up straight. “It was amicable.” 

“You’re still exes,” Sunggyu pointed out. “It’d be a little itty bit ing awkward to admit to your ex that you like someone else.”

Sungyeol flinched, as if that point pierced right through him. “I told him that I liked you.” 

“True.” Sunggyu wasn’t about to deny that Sungyeol’s actions were bad because he greatly benefitted from it. So they both tacitly agreed to drop it and move on. “This is why you should let me text Woohyun. I’ll give them the push that they need,” Sunggyu argued. And Sungyeol just shook his head at the other, with a great big grin on his face. “Can’t I? Just a little?”

“ing hell no, baby.”

Then Sunggyu’s phone buzzed before he could react. And whoever it was really delighted Sunggyu because his face lit up. “Wah! I knew it! There he is now! Woohyun sent me an email too.” Sungyeol rolled his eyes. He knew it. Sunggyu was a bit jealous of Myungsoo’s email and being left out of the loop. Sunggyu was now giddy as he was relaying Woohyun’s message to Sungyeol, “Woohyun’s freaking the out, as usual.” He then yelled jokingly at Woohyun through the phone, “Shut up, you…oh.” He stopped and grabbed onto Sungyeol. “Oh!” he exclaimed louder and then put the phone in front of Sungyeol’s face. “Myungsoo invited him into his room!”

“Really?!” Sungyeol tried to read, but Sunggyu quickly removed the phone from his sight because he hadn’t finished reading. So he opted for putting his head on the other’s shoulder and reading along.

“Yeah but don’t get too excited. Apparently it’s just to look at Myungsoo’s photos,” Sunggyu’s voice lowered with disappointment. “Friggin’ nerds.”

Sungyeol groaned and pulled away from the other. “They’re screwed.” The timer then went off. Sungyeol’s culinary masterpiece was done. It was probably done for a while. The air smelled a little burnt. , he hadn’t really been paying attention at all. He got carried away by the conversation, by Kim Sunggyu. And because he was so carried away by the man, he was willing to give in, “If they don’t settle things during this trip, then we’ll meddle.”

“We’ll have to,” Sunggyu’s tone was more serious than it’d been all night. “Myungsoo is your best friend and Woohyun’s mine.” And as much as the two of them didn’t like to admit it, they were very reliant on their respective best friends. Hell, they were even in Nam Woohyun’s apartment right now. And it would be truly Hell if Woohyun and Myungsoo continued to be awkward with each other.

Sungyeol really, really hoped that he was right about Myungsoo.

“So what did you make again?” Sunggyu asked as Sungyeol plopped the dish onto the table.

“Lasagna, the pride and joy of Italia!” Sungyeol announced with a flourish.

Sunggyu looked skeptically at the dish then at Sungyeol. “Really?” he tried to hide his laugh.

“Well, it looked better when Myungsoo made it,” Sungyeol confessed as he tried to put the pasta onto a plate. It all fell apart. It didn’t look right. It didn’t taste right. Or maybe it did taste like this the last time. Honestly Sungyeol had been too drunk on wine that night to even remember what this was supposed to taste like. But tonight, he was sober. They’d only been drinking cider or water all night. So he could taste everything, down to the crunchy noodles. 

Sungyeol looked over at Sunggyu who was poking at the dish with a fork. When Sunggyu’d felt the other’s gaze, he immediately took a bite and flashed a thumb’s up before it hit his tongue. And when it did, he grimaced…and then smiled.

“It’s ing rubbish,” Sungyeol stated plainly. He then scratched at the remnants on the dish. “And I think I ruined Woohyun’s dish. This looks burnt on.”

“Eh, Woohyun only pretends to be a chef. He probably never used it,” Sunggyu added as he got up from the table to get some more water. “If we get him a new one, he’d never notice.”

“True,” Sungyeol replied and leaned back in his chair, looking at the other who was now guzzling down water while staring at his phone. “Well...should we order chicken?”

“Already on it!”

Woohyun took in a deep breath. Ah, moonlight, this scent was somehow cool yet warming, dark yet bright. It was Myungsoo’s. Woohyun was wearing Myungsoo’s clothes, layers of them, which meant he was now drowning in that scent. And to make matters worse, Myungsoo was on the other side of the room, turned around and waiting for him to finish changing. 

Why did he agree to this?

Oh, that’s right, because he ing loves Myungsoo, so much, too much. And he just couldn’t stop, especially when things like this kept happening. How could he?

Woohyun ruffled his hair in frustration. Nothing was going according to plan. He didn’t pack very many clothes because he had planned on spending most of his time bathing, cleansing his worries, steaming out his thoughts, nearly dying of heat exhaustion until he passes out and wakes up in a local hospital with an IV drip. Woohyun had gained an uncomfortable amount of weight stress eating, so he had sadly daydreamed of that last scenario. It would’ve been nice to lose some weight on this trip, but being in Myungsoo’s presence just made him want to stuff his face, keep his mouth busy so that he can’t say anything he’d later regret. Which kept happening time and time again.

“Are you done?”

Yes, Nam Woohyun was done, over, finished in more ways than one. But he just answered Myungsoo’s question with a strained, “Yeah.”

“Good.” He could hear Myungsoo walk towards him. “I brought up the pictures that I wanted to show you.”

“O-oh.” Woohyun still hadn’t turned around. He instead pulled the sweatshirt’s hood over his head and pulled at the drawstrings. Not seeing anything would help right now. It was already overwhelming to smell and hear him. Then a weight fell onto Woohyun’s shoulders. ! He could feel him now too! Oh…wait…it was just a blanket.

“Are you still cold?” Myungsoo asked.

“No.” Woohyun was honest. He was really hot right now.

“Good,” Myungsoo said while walking away. “Come sit by me over here. There’s a lot that I want to show you.”

Woohyun loosened the strings and shook off the hood. Calm down, calm down. Whatever will be, it’ll be. And Woohyun was supposed to be his friend. Time to act like it.

Woohyun finally turned around and scoped out the room. Myungsoo was waving to join him where there was the only clear space in the entire room “Woah,” Woohyun muttered. “Did you move here?” It seemed like Myungsoo brought everything: his whole wardrobe, some kitchen appliances, food, books, everything.

Myungsoo laughed. “No. I’ve just been here for a while,” he excused. “Now.” Myungsoo patted the space next to him and then aggressively waved at Woohyun to come over. “Come. Come.”

“I’m coming! I’m coming! I’m here!” Woohyun chirped as he plopped down next to the other.

Myungsoo gave his dimpled smile and then handed the camera over to Woohyun. “Scroll this way.” And while Woohyun did that, Myungsoo told the story behind each and every photo, essentially catching the other up on what he’d been doing in Japan as a ‘ghost.’ The stories weren’t extraordinary. They were very typical. But they were Myungsoo’s stories. And so, in short, they were the ing best.

Do you want to know what else was the best? Being together. They were starting to act like how they used to before this whole hellbent love triangle began. The conversation flowed easily. The laughter wasn’t forced. And Myungsoo casually rested his head on Woohyun’s shoulder as they scrolled through the digital camera. Woohyun had almost forgotten; they used to do skinship so easily with each other. Myungsoo always had a tendency to lean on, get really close, with his friends. But recently, there was as if there was a physical barrier between them. Touches had been light and fleeting, for the most part. And now…Woohyun nestled his cheek in the other’s hair. This was really nice. He was really enjoying himself.

Wait…should he be?

Before the fear could totally set into Woohyun again, Myungsoo spoke up, “Hyung, actually…” then he stopped. Maybe the fear had him too.

No, they had to get over this. “What?” Woohyun spoke softly and gently shook his shoulder. Myungsoo pulled away, his eyes downcast. “What is it? You can’t just start and then pretend like it never happened.”

The tips of his ears started to redden. “I know,” Myungsoo began. “But…since you’ve just warmed up, the last thing you probably want to do is to go outside in the middle of the night. So just forget that I said anything.” 

Woohyun couldn’t. “Why do you think that I wouldn’t want to go?”

Myungsoo still wouldn’t look at him. He just gazed distantly across the room “I don’t know,” he muttered with a shrug. “It’s cold.”

“Just ask me,” Woohyun encouraged. “Myungsoo, what do you want to do?”

“Well,” Myungsoo began. He pulled himself up and shifted. Then he finally looked at the other. “There’s supposed to be a meteor shower later tonight. The sky here is really clear. You can see, like, every single star. It’s amazing, really.” Myungsoo grew more excited the more that he talked. But then he stopped and lowered his head, gazing at the camera. “I am going to take pictures of it.” He wouldn’t be dissuaded of that, no sir. “Would you, I don’t know…like to come?”

“I would love to see it.”

Woohyun already followed Myungsoo into his bedroom. He’d follow him into the dead of night as well.

Meteor showers are best seen between midnight and dawn, and so they had dinner at a restaurant nearby. Woohyun became a less nervous with a bit of sake in him and a whole lot of food. They went back to the hotel to gather more warm clothes and warm drinks. Myungsoo had brought a couple of thermoses with him. The man was prepared for everything…except for the exceptionally bright and round Harvest Moon that plagues the sky every Chuseok, which was the entire ing point of the festival. The both of them had forgotten. Nothing else could barely be seen in the sky except for it. 

So the meteor shower would happen but neither of them could see it without an elite telescope. Myungsoo didn’t have that or a backup plan. He ran to Woohyun’s room, panicked.

“I am sorry. We can’t do it,” Myungsoo apologized as if he was the one to personally hang the moon in the sky. “I don’t know what to do.”

Whatever will be, it’ll be, but they could still make the best of it.

“Let’s still go,” Woohyun suggested. “We have everything ready. In fact, this is even better because we don’t have to stay up so late. Let’s just go and see what we see, okay?”

“Alright,” Myungsoo couldn’t hide his disappointment. But maybe they could put a smile back on that face.

“Let’s go!”

As it would turn out, even with a huge-, orange moon in the sky, in a remote town, one could see far more than these two Seoullites were used to.

“Wah!” Myungsoo exclaimed. The two of them were laying down on a thick blanket. “I can’t believe you can still see all of these stars.”

“Yeah, there’s a whole bunch.” Woohyun then nudged the other and pointed to a cluster of stars. “See that group of stars over there?” Myungsoo nodded. “That’s the Namu constellation. It’s shaped like a tree. Look. There’s the trunk and then the branches.” He followed the lines of the ‘constellation’ for the other to follow.

“I don’t see it,” Myungsoo responded, looking at the other with narrowed eyes. But he couldn’t keep it up and burst into a laugh. “But I know that one there,” Myungsoo said and gestured towards another place in the sky. “That’s ursa minor, and ursa major is right above it. Big bear and little bear.”

“Eh,” Woohyun now looked at the other suspiciously. “They don’t look like bears. I think you’re lying.” No, Woohyun was lying. He’d heard of that constellation before (who hadn’t), but he just wanted to rile the other up.

And it worked. Myungsoo popped up and looked down at the other. “It is a constellation! I swear! Look it up!” 

“I can’t. There’s no service,” Woohyun reminded him. He then put his arms behind his head. “But if you say it’s a constellation, then I’ll believe you. That’s mama bear and papa bear over there somewhere.”

“Big bear and little bear,” Myungsoo needlessly corrected. “And I swear that they are one.”

“Whatever you say,” Woohyun sang and a second later the laughter he’d been keeping down bubbled right up.

Myungsoo’s eyes narrowed on the other again. This time it was an authentic glare. “Yah!” he exclaimed. “You were just messing with me.” His foot dug into the other’s side. It didn’t hurt with all of the layers on, and Myungsoo didn’t mean it to. “You’re mean.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Woohyun wheezed through his laughter. He pulled the other to lay back down with him, to lay closer to him. Myungsoo did.

He then sighed. “You have a point though. They really don’t look like bears at all,” he reluctantly admitted. “Your tree constellation is better,” he added in a whisper.

And they were close enough that Woohyun felt it. He shivered but played it off like a shrug. “Isn’t it? I should be an astrologer.”

“Whatever you say,” Myungsoo mimicked the other from moments earlier. And Woohyun couldn’t even pretend to glare at him. They were laughing too much.

In addition to laughing, they were discovering new constellations together. They all and didn’t look like much of anything, but did real constellations? And even though it was bitter cold outside, it was warm at each other’s sides. That was until Myungsoo asked this question:

“Do you know what Sungyeol would say if he were here?”

Woohyun stiffened but still managed a gargled, “No.”

“He'd say that it was ing freezing out here and we should go inside,” Myungsoo did his best to match his friend’s intonation. And Woohyun had to laugh. It wasn’t often when Myungsoo let out a curse.

“Does that mean you want to go inside?” he was trying to see where Myungsoo was going with this.

“No, I'm enjoying it out here,” Myungsoo replied and snuggled up to the other’s side as proof. “How many chances do we get to see something like this? Discover new constellations?”

“Well,” Woohyun then tried to make a similar joke, “Sunggyu would say that you could see it tomorrow.”

“Aye, he would,” Myungsoo’s tone was odd. “That's why they're good together.”

Woohyun had to move away a bit from the other in order to get a good look at him. He didn’t quite know how to proceed with this. Maybe ignorance. Ignorance was bliss. “You think they’ll get together?” he asked as if he didn’t know.

Myungsoo grinned and looked at the other out of the corner of his eyes. “Aren’t they already?” he asked. And the expression on Woohyun’s face must’ve given it away. “I knew it!” Myungsoo exclaimed as he burst into a laugh. “Sungyeol has been trying to hide it from me, but I know they’ve been dating. So stupid.” He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “I don’t know why they bothered.”

‘Because we don’t want to hurt your feelings,’ Woohyun held that back. It was a pleasant night. He wanted to keep it that way. And the best way to do so was to make fun of their dumb best friends. “They like to think that they aren’t dating,” Woohyun revealed. “They bring me along so that they can say it’s a ‘gathering’ and not a ‘date.’”

“They do?!” Myungsoo then burst out into a shocked laugh. It was short lived and shortly morphed into sadness. He patted Woohyun’s coat, right over his heart. “Why are you always the third wheel?”

Woohyun grimaced. “I wish I knew. Then I could stop being one.”

“Hm, must be your destiny,” Myungsoo teased. He really enjoyed teasing Woohyun. Well, everyone did. Woohyun was an easy target. But Woohyun didn’t really mind, especially since Myungsoo was inching closer to him. “Cold,” he hissed under his breath.

“Do you want to go inside?” Woohyun offered. 

“No,” Myungsoo shook his head and rearranged his layers so that his face was barely visible anymore. Could he even see the stars like that? Maybe going star-gazing was never the point. “There's not many times that I can see something like this, with you.”

“That’s true,” Woohyun replied. He was determined to stay out here forever. He’ll freeze at this spot as a human popsicle. It’ll become a monument, a tourist attraction. His plaque would read: “The cold might’ve frozen his body, but it did not freeze the fire in his heart.”

“What about you?” Myungsoo asked. “You’re shivering. Aren’t you cold?”

“No,” Woohyun lied. “I’m just nervous.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m with you.”

“Eh hey,” Myungsoo responded. “Don’t lie.”

“Okay,” Woohyun would give in again. “I’m really ing cold.”

“Me too,” Myungsoo wasn’t going to say it unless Woohyun did, apparently. “Let’s go back inside. Come on!”

Myungsoo truly had everything in his hotel room. He even managed to warm up some sake for them to drink. And so here they were again, in Myungsoo’s hotel room. This time, they were drinking. This time, they were freshly showered. This time, they were only wearing robes. If Woohyun had been sober, he’d probably be panicking right now. But now the only thing that bothered him was Myungsoo incessantly poking at his cheek. Yet he couldn’t bat the hand away.

“You,” Myungsoo slurred. He gave one last poke and said. “You really need to stop drinking so much. It’s not good for your tummy.”

“Why are you enabling me then?” Woohyun argued. “You bought this.”

“Because...because I’m selfish,” Myungsoo admitted while slouching and hanging his head. “I want to drink with hyung, but I don’t want hyung to drink.” He leaned back against the wall and looked at the other. “I don’t know what I want. Not really. Except…”

Woohyun couldn’t bear to watch the other chastise himself like this, although it was awfully cute. Myungsoo’s tolerance was lower than his, and so his thoughts were more coherent. He knew what he wanted. And that was whatever Myungsoo wanted. He leaned over and whispered, “Then I’ll stop.” He gave the other his small cup, which Myungsoo drank before the other took it back. Woohyun laughed. He was a fool. There was now way this trip would ever wash away this love, not when Myungsoo acted like this. And since he was a fool trapped in this love, he was going to drink tea for the rest of the evening. 

And maybe Myungsoo should also make the switch. “I’m a bad person, aren’t I?” he still chastised himself.

“What? You?!” Woohyun couldn’t help but to laugh. “You barely even curse.”

“Then I’m a ing bad person.”

Woohyun choked on his tea. “Wha-what?” he sputtered.

“You don’t even know how bad I’ve been,” he said before flopping onto the bed and kicking his legs in the air. “I’m baaaaaaad!”

Woohyun walked over to the other and took both of the cups away. “Aaaaand I think that you’re done drinking too.” 

Myungsoo flipped onto his back and stared at the other. Uh oh, was he about to fight for the cups back?

No, he was going to fight for something else: “Date me.” He then sat back up and grabbed at the hem of Woohyun’s robe. “I’ll do anything if you date me.” He gave a small tug. “Please.”

Woohyun couldn’t watch this. “Don’t use my words against me.” He turned around to put the cups away.

“Do you not want to?” Myungsoo sounded upset. Woohyun turned around. Myungsoo looked upset too. He hung his head again. “Forget it. Just forget it.”

Woohyun walked over to stand in front of the other, arms crossed. “What would you do?” he challenged. He then sat down next to him. “You said that you’d do anything, so what will you do?”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Dance.”

“Huh?!” Myungsoo exclaimed and cocked his head.

“Dance for me,” Woohyun insisted.

Myungsoo quickly popped up and tightened his robe. “Okay, I’ll dance.”

Not only did he dance for Woohyun and made sound effects to go with it. He also sang. He rapped. He danced again. He did a couple of impressions of celebrities, all of which were horrible but made Woohyun laugh. And he danced again. For the most part, Woohyun joined in with him, turning things into a duet. But he couldn’t do the final dance, and Myungsoo could barely do it.

When he finished, he was propping himself on the wall, panting heavily. His robe was now loose and almost open. His shoulder (and other precious bits) were nearly exposed. Woohyun got up to fix it for him. 

“What else?” Myungsoo wheezed between pants. “What else do you need me to do?”

Woohyun tightened the knot at the other’s waist, making him gasp a little. “Nothing,” he murmured.

“Huh?”

“There’s nothing more that you need to do,” Woohyun insisted. This was more than enough for tonight. Anymore, and they both might end up doing something they’d regret later. They did say that drunk words were sober thoughts, but Myungsoo had many things on his mind these days. He still might have more people in his heart too. So it’d be for the best to end it here. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Myungsoo grabbed onto Woohyun’s tie too. “Will you join me?”

Woohyun had to slap that hand away. He backed away and sat onto the bed, head in his hands. “How can you ask that?” he groaned.

And the bed was the wrong place to be. Myungsoo went onto the bed and pulled Woohyun down to lay with him. His arm was slung over Woohyun’s chest. “Woohyun-hyung, sleep with me,” Myungsoo hotly whispered. His eyes were already closing.

Woohyun rolled over to face him. “You don’t really mean that.”

Myungsoo nodded, eyes still closed. “I do.”

“I don’t think you do,” Woohyun insisted. He rolled up from the bed and looked down at the other. “If you do, ask me when you’re sober, hm?”

“Okay, I will,” Myungsoo’s lips barely moved, and it’d be moments until they’d be opened in a snore.

Woohyun sighed. Myungsoo probably won’t remember any of this. And that would probably be for the best.

But Woohyun would. Kim Myungsoo had finally confessed to him…sort of. Too bad that it felt as real and as certain as a dream.

He hadn’t drunken much, but Woohyun still woke up with a slight throb in his head. He was tense again. How could he not be? At least a soak in the baths could surely loosen his muscles. And so Woohyun had gotten ready to go.

He wasn’t the only one. Myungsoo was about to knock on his door when Woohyun opened it. “O-oh,” he sputtered in shock, eyes wide. He was wringing his towel nervously in his hands. “I was going to take a dip in the hot spring, and I was wondering…” Myungsoo may be on the shy side, but he was always persistent. He worked hard for what he wanted. It was obvious that he wanted to spend more time with Woohyun. But how? Why?

Well, Myungsoo was at least sober now. Woohyun has no excuse to turn him down. “Wait a moment. I’ll join you in a minute,” he said. “I just need to do a few things.” And to avoid showering with Myungsoo before they enter the baths.

Myungsoo flashed him the dimpled smile again. Woohyun’s heart (and resolve) melted. “Okay, I’ll see you there.”

“I’m an idiot,” Woohyun mumbled into the rocks at the side of the hot spring. 

He’d spent a good 5 minutes putzing in his room in order to avoid showering with Myungsoo but somehow forgot that people bathe . ! Kim Myungsoo’s bare but was not that far away in this small pool. But it was as far away as it could be. They were at the opposite ends of the pool. Woohyun was facing the other way. Who knew what Myungsoo was doing? Woohyun groaned and pressed his cheek into the cool rock. The tension in his head and shoulders was getting worse.

“It’s really hot in the hot spring, isn’t it?” Myungsoo was a persistent one. This was his second time trying to make conversation The last time, Woohyun gave a one-word answer, but that was like running away from conversation, right? And Woohyun said that he wasn’t going to run anymore.

So he should give more of an answer: “This must be what a steamed bun feels like, huh?”

“You look like one too.”

Woohyun finally turned around. Myungsoo was facing him, acting like he hadn’t said anything. “What?”

“Huh?” Myungsoo was still feigning ignorance. “I didn’t say anything.”

Woohyun grumbled and turned back around, “You are a bad person.” He pinched at his cheeks. They did seem thicker. Great, now he felt even more self-conscious about his weight. 

“I am. I really am.” 

Woohyun sighed and turned around. “No, no you really aren’t.” 

“Hyung,” Myungsoo began but then he dropped it again. “Nevermind.”

“Myungsoo, just ask me,” Woohyun muttered, rubbing his face in his hands.

Myungsoo sensed Woohyun’s frustration and came out with it: “How do you feel about Sunggyu-ssi and Sungyeol dating?”

“You’re really close to Sunggyu, so you must’ve…”

This time Woohyun didn’t want him to continue that thought. “No! no!” he exclaimed and moved towards the other. “I never thought of Sunggyu that way. I mean, sure I like him as a friend . And I hang out with him a lot, but I never crossed that line with him.”

“Really?” Myungsoo doubted it. Why? Couldn’t two gay men just be friends? Couldn’t they just be bros?

Well, Myungsoo and Sungyeol had crossed that line. So Woohyun could see where he was coming from.

“Really,” Woohyun whispered. They were now sitting closer to each other. “We’re honestly more like brothers than anything. Except not really. I mean, he drives me up a ing wall sometimes. We fight with him too much on stupid . So I just ignore him sometimes for a while when he gets under my skin. We didn’t talk for three whole days once!”

That didn’t seem to cheer up Myungsoo. “So when you ignored me…” Oh .

“No, no, no!” Woohyun waved his hands, trying to wipe that thought from his mind. “I ignored you for a completely different reason. You know how I couldn’t stop…” Woohyun all the sudden got self-conscious of how loud his voice was. Was it echoing off of the rocks too? He lowered his voice, “I couldn’t stop confessing to you. That was just…so ing embarrassing.”

“Okay,” Myungsoo muttered, lowering himself into the water. His eyes were blank, but Woohyun was sure that his head was thinking all sorts of things.

Then a sudden thought occurred to him. “AH THAT!” Woohyun nearly stood up, but then he remembered where he was. He tried to sit back down, but his foot slipped. Myungsoo had helped to catch him before he could seriously injure himself. Myungsoo caught a Woohyun, luckily nowhere too naughty, but still incredi-ing embarrassing. “O-oh thanks,” Woohyun muttered. They both sat far apart again. Woohyun cleared his throat because he had to clear up this misunderstanding. “As I was saying…why would I confess to you, if I liked Sunggyu?”

Myungsoo shrugged, eyes still distant. “I don’t know. Maybe you changed your mind.”

“I didn’t,” Woohyun replied. “But did you?”

Myungsoo frowned and finally looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Do you still love Sungyeol?” Woohyun clarified.

“We broke up.”

“That’s not a real answer,” Woohyun hissed back. He then took in a deep breath. This hot spring must be flaring up his temper too. He had to calm down. “Look, I know that you loved Sungyeol forever. He was probably your first love. And some people don’t really get over that.”

“I did,” Myungsoo denied one thing but proved another. Lee Sungyeol was his first love. Woohyun’d just guessed. He turned to face the rocks again. Why was Lee Sungyeol everything to Myungsoo, first love, best friend, boyfriend…Woohyun’s jealousy flared up again. It wasn’t fair.

“Would I do what I did last night if I still was in love with Sungyeol?”

“Huh?” Woohyun didn’t turn around but craned his sore neck to see the other, who was moving closer. He then turned his head away.

But Myungsoo didn’t stop. He placed his head on Woohyun’s shoulder. “I’ll do anything, if you date me. I’m serious.”

Woohyun moved to face him, and that handsome face was really, really close. “You are?”

“Eung.” Myungsoo’s gaze was firm on his. “So what do I need to do?”

It was the one thing Myungsoo hadn’t done yet: “Tell me that you like me.”

“I like you, hyung. I’ve liked you for a long time,” Kim Myungsoo finally made a real confession. He dropped his gaze. “It just took me a while to realize it, with everything going on. We were never a triangle. It was always just a straight line.”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” Woohyun spoke breathlessly. “But you do like me romantically, right? Not as friends?”

Myungsoo responded with a kiss, a slow but sweet one that lingered. “I like you a lot.”

“Me too. I love you,” Woohyun spoke all too fast. Myungsoo could barely hear it before he was caught up in another kiss. But apparently, he was fine with that because Myungsoo was kissing him, again and again and again.

You know, for someone who tended to be shy, Kim Myungsoo was really persistent and passionate. The kisses were as hot as the water. Their heads were in a frenzied daze, yet their hands stayed clenched at their sides. Only their lips touched, well and tongues and…okay you get the point.

And although they were cognizant enough of each other’s , they’d forgotten the fact that the hot springs were public. They were interrupted by an old man hacking right outside of the entrance. The both of them fell into the water. 

“Maybe,” Woohyun began but stopped to catch his breath. “Maybe we shouldn't be doing this, in public, when we’re both , and hot.” Holy , he felt more lightheaded now than he did last night. Did he get drunk off the steam? The kiss?

“Right,” Myungsoo agreed. He was already moving for the entrance. “I’m getting out. It’s all going to my head.” Before he stepped out, he looked back. “Are you coming?”

Woohyun lowered his head. “I’ll follow you in a few minutes.” Although he felt dizzy, he needed to give himself a moment or two alone. Calm down. Calm the down.

“Okay.” Woohyun heard the water splash. Myungsoo had gotten out. “Come and find me, okay?”

“Okay, okay!” Woohyun replied but refused to look up.

He only did when the water splashed again. The old man came in. His old papery skin was sagging. It was so pale that it was almost translucent. Veins everywhere. And the steam was already making him hack again.

Yeah, now Woohyun was ready to get out.

Myungsoo had just finished changing into his robe when Woohyun came into the changing room. “That didn’t take long,” he remarked. “Do you want me to wait?”

“Please,” Woohyun said as he rushed to get dressed. “Do you want to get some food?” he asked and looked over at the other. How long had Myungsoo been staring?

His gaze drifted off to the corner and he cleared his throat. “It depends. Is it a date?” Ah, that persistence.

Woohyun chuckled. “Yes, Myungsoo, it’s a date.”

“Then yes. Let’s go on a date.”

Woohyun could hardly remember what they ate or if he ate anything at all for talking too much. But the conversation was amazing. As it would turn out, Kim Myungsoo really did like him a whole ing lot. Was it love, yet? Probably not.

But Myungsoo had been flirting with him when they met at the coffee shop all those months ago. It wasn’t just Woohyun’s grand delusions. Kim Myungsoo was interested in him all the way back then. 

Why didn’t they date? Well, it’s because some guy was so insistent that Myungsoo should give Lee Sungyeol a shot. Nam Woohyun was a ing idiot.

But now Woohyun was a ing idiot with a boyfriend, so things ended up just fine. Almost as if it were meant to be.

After their third dip in the hot spring that day, Woohyun proposed, “Do you want to come back into my room? You have too much in yours.”

Myungsoo frowned. “I needed all that stuff.”

“I know,” Woohyun replied. “But I want to see you dance again. My place has a bigger dance floor.”

“Very funny,” Myungsoo said without laughing. He then finished putting on his clothes. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.” He grabbed Woohyun by the shoulders and turned him around. “Go. Go!”

Sunggyu: Hello

(three hours later) Woohyun: Hi?

(immediately) Sunggyu: I heard someone got laid last night.

Woohyun: Hyung, I’m not in the mood to talk about your life.

Sunggyu: I’m talking about you. 

Sunggyu: I’m in Jeonju now. Can’t get laid :(

Sunggyu: Well, technically I can, but I am a taken man. I don’t cheat.

Woohyun: Good for you

Sunggyu: So are you and Myungsoo together now?

Woohyun: How did you find out?

Sunggyu: How do you think?

Woohyun: …

Woohyun: Are you spying on me? Did you bug me? Can you see me through this phone?

Woohyun: I put a sticker over the camera

Sunggyu: Stop it and answer

Sunggyu: R EWE N MONGSOO TOKETHA??

Sunggyu: ARE YOU AND MYUNGSOO TOGETHER?????????????????

Sunggyu: ARE YOU???????????????????????????????????????????????????

Sunggyu: HELLO?

Woohyun: On a plane. Shut the up!

It was an odd morning. Woohyun had woken up alone. When did the other leave? Well, early in the morning to catch his flight, apparently. In his groggy morning mind, Woohyun had forgotten about it the night before. Myungsoo probably didn’t want to disturb him and snuck out. He had a lot to pack up after all.

So the odd morning put him into an odd mood for the rest of the day. Sunggyu’s harassing messages didn’t help. Although they did give him some solace, yesterday wasn’t just steam-induced delusion. It’d actually happened. Myungsoo told Sungyeol that they were together…that was what he’d said right?

What did he say?

Woohyun could probably message him, but Myungsoo didn’t message him either.

This was going to be a long flight back home.

It felt like a very, very long flight. Woohyun had tried everything that he could to distract himself, but instead just replayed the events from the day before in his head. They did happen. They really did happen.

And Kim Myungsoo was really standing there, waiting for him at his gate. “Hyung!” he called to Woohyun as soon as he came up the gangway. “Over here!”

Right, like Woohyun would never be able to notice him. “Oh, Myungsoo, what are you doing here? Oof!” Myungsoo had wrapped him up in a tight hug. Woohyun held him tightly right back. “Why did you leave without saying goodbye?” he whined.

Myungsoo pulled away, confused. “But I did,” he insisted. “You were awake. You told me ‘Have a safe flight. You keep flying even if those arms get tired.’”

“Oh,” Woohyun muttered. “I don’t think I was fully awake.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you were,” Myungsoo replied and took Woohyun’s bag. “I got a cart for us. Let’s go.”

“So,” Woohyun began as he followed the other. “You told Sungyeol about us?”

“Eung,” Myungsoo chirped as he placed the bag at the top of the pile on the cart. “I told him that we went on a date.” He then looked up at the other, worried. “Should I not have?”

Woohyun should’ve known that Sunggyu jumped to the extreme (not like he was wrong, but it wasn’t what he was told). “No, it’s fine,” Woohyun said and took Myungsoo’s hand in his. “It’s just Sunggyu’s been pestering me about it. Look.” He removed ‘airplane mode’ from his phone, and after a second, his phone kept ringing again and again and again. Just how many messages did Sunggyu send?

Well their eyes only could read the last one:

Sunggyu: I saw that your plane landed. Do you still need a ride home?

Woohyun and Myungsoo looked up at each other. “Do you want to ghost them one last time?”

“Yes!” Myungsoo empathetically agreed and pulled out his phone to turn it off. “Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know,” Woohyun muttered, quickly typing out one last message. They were both walking quickly too towards the exit. The cart’s wheels could barely keep up. “Anywhere but here.”

“Okay, then, I know a place.” Myungsoo spoke lowly. “A place where they’d both never look.”

“Great, let’s go there! Hurry!” They both broke into a sprint.

Woohyun: Have a ride. Thx. See boo tomallow.

Where they went wasn’t all too exciting, but it was close. And it was a place that they’d never think to look. After all, why would they go to Myungsoo’s office building when he had the day off? They hid at the cafe there, then at a nearby restaurant, and later a hotel. For all they knew, those two fiends could be lurking by their apartments. 

They weren’t. Sunggyu was still in Jeonju, and Sungyeol had a life.

But it was fun to pretend and to sneak around. They’d even bought ‘disguises’ from a clothing store. Myungsoo wore glasses and parted his hair. Woohyun slicked back his hair and drew on a mole (hey, it worked in that one drama). They even tried to speak differently, but neither of them could keep it up for long. It was too funny.

And they were the most conspicuous couple on the entire city block.

But they didn’t care. They were just happy to be a couple at all.

However, after the holidays, Sunggyu came back from Jeonju and called ‘a family meeting,’ at the Lee’s place, of course. He still had a chicken addiction and no restaurant could beat its service. However, none of the four looked at all pleased. None of them even spoke. A complete silence had fallen over the table already lasting for a full minute, going on two. Their eyes were all downcast, refusing to look up, even when Myungsoo sneezed. It was tense.

Then a phone rang. Woohyun cheered and pumped his fist. It’d been his phone that rang.

“Right?! See! I knew he’d call me first. I’m not paying tonight!” he showed it off to everyone at the table. “Dongwoo-yah!” he answered the call and walked away from the table. 

“How is it that we all know Jang Dongwoo?” Myungsoo muttered as he watched his boyfriend talk on the phone.

“I think Dongwoo is just like that. He just somehow knows everyone on the planet,” Sunggyu replied. He then nudged Sungyeol. “How did you meet him?”

“College,” Sungyeol answered and nudged back. “You?”

“Honestly,” Sunggyu drawled out as he thought about it. He paused long enough for Woohyun to finish his conversation and slip back into the booth. “I can’t remember. I met him a long time ago, I think.” He was eager to get the attention off from himself, “What about you, Myungsoo?”

“I met him in college too.” 

“Oh right!” Sunggyu sounded embarrassed. Maybe he should’ve remembered that. “You guys went to school together.”

Myungsoo nodded but then turned towards the man beside him. “How do you know him, hyung?” something about the tone of his voice sounded sharp yet casual.

“I did my service with him,” Woohyun replied and then saluted. The whole table followed suit.

“Poser punk, you weren’t in active duty, like the rest of us. How could you act like that when your boyfriend was a ing Marine?” Sunggyu sneered. Myungsoo just covered Woohyun’s ears from all the shouting, while shaking his head. Sunggyu then snapped his fingers and told Sungyeol. “That’s how I know him! I met him through Woohyun.”

“Good job remembering,” Sungyeol humored him, but then he picked up his phone with a frown. “I’m kinda bummed that he didn’t call me. We were close in college.”

“He was going to call you, but then got suspicious that we all texted him at the same time. So he called me to be funny,” Woohyun revealed. 

“Clever kid,” Sunggyu muttered. Yeah, there was no way he’d ever win that contest. He was nothing to Jang Dongwoo. In fact, the ‘clever kid’ lost his phone number.

“Eung,” Woohyun hummed. He was ecstatic. “And he’s coming by here later with his date.”

“Date?” Sungyeol perked up. “Who is his date? I didn’t know he was dating anyone!” He was still butthurt about not being called and now took everything as an offense.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Woohyun replied. He then stretched and put his arm around Myungsoo. “But it can’t be better than mine.”

“What?” Myungsoo’s face burst into a broad grin. He then reined it in. “I think mine is better.”

“No, mine!”

“You two are gross,” Sungyeol interjected before it got out of hand. He was already retching.

Sunggyu too. He was looking at the couple as if they just landed from space. He then snapped out of it and pointed between himself and Sungyeol, “Yeah, we aren’t ing gross and cringey like you two. We’re cool.” 

“Yeah, what he said,” Sungyeol said, coolly . He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Sunggyu smiled at him, but then it fell. “Hold on, you got something right there,” he murmured, pointing at a spot on his face.

“Where?” Sungyeol tried to wipe it off.

“Right...there,” Sunggyu tried to wipe it off for him, but it wasn’t working. “Wait...why isn’t it coming off?”

“A-ah! Stop! STOP!” Sungyeol had enough of his cheek being rubbed raw. He pulled away and put a hand over it. “I think it’s a mole.” 

“Oh,” Sunggyu muttered and pulled Sungyeol’s hand away just enough to see it. “Oh, , it is. You need to wear more sunscreen. You didn’t have that before.”

Sungyeol scoffed. “You can’t remember how you met Dongwoo but you know the exact location of all of my moles.”

Sunggyu sputtered into an embarrassed laugh. “Apparently.”

From the other side of the table, Woohyun was clicking his tongue. “And they call us gross.” He then held up some food for his boyfriend to eat. “Here. I know you like this.” Myungsoo laughed but still ate from his chopsticks anyway. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Myungsoo answered after swallowing. He then picked up some food to feed the other. And as Woohyun was eating, Myungsoo patted his head. “It’s nothing. You’re just really cute. That’s all.” He then whispered. “I love you.”

Woohyun swallowed hard. “Well, that’s not nothing.” He leaned in and whispered right back. “I love you too.”

“Boooooooooo!”

The other side of the table was jeering at them and giving them thumb’s down.

“What of it?!” Woohyun snapped. “You guys love each other too!”

“Yeah but in a cool way,” of course that was their comeback, in unison. They even hi-fived afterwards.

Woohyun rolled his eyes. He muttered under his breath to Myungsoo. “There’s no ‘cool’ way to love. Love is inherently cheesy. And I swear that those guys are way worse than us.” They both glanced over at the other couple. They were also whispering intensely to each other, probably sweet nothings…no, wait…they were trying to rig the next game in their favor.

“I agree,” Myungsoo whispered back. “They’re way worse.”

“So,” Sungyeol suggested as he cleared his throat. “How about rock-paper-scissors for the next game? Losers pay for the second round.”

Myungsoo and Woohyun looked at each other. Myungsoo shrugged. It’d be less of a hassle to let them win this round. So Myungsoo and Woohyun let them win because they were truly the cooler couple.

And Nam Woohyun had nothing to be jealous of anymore.