A/N: Happy New Year! Hope 2018 is good to everyone :> 

“Donghae~” Heechul sing-songed.

Donghae raised an eyebrow as he watched his hyung sauntering to him slowly with a purpose. Hearing Heechul’s sing-song-y voice was never a good thing, and he had a good mind to ignore him.

Heechul slapped a bright yellow post it on the folder that Donghae was working on, and it wasn’t like Donghae could ignore that. Heechul did know how to get Donghae’s attention.

“What?” Donghae squinted at the note, and then looked back up at his hyung.

“I’m just the messenger.” Heechul shrugged before turning on his heel and leaving.

Then, he stopped and turned back with a hand on his hip. “Some advice, if I may, Donghae. Eunhyuk is really a good catch.” Heechul let out an eerie cackle, before he continued on his way.

Donghae shuddered. He looked at the post it again.

My number is xxxx-xxx-xxx in case you forgot.

Give me a call.

Don’t keep me waiting for too long.

Hyukkie

Donghae cheeks heated up with embarrassment at the nickname that he coined for Eunhyuk. To be fair, he hadn’t meant to call Eunhyuk that. He thought that Eunhyuk was Hyukjae from his dream. Donghae crumpled up the note and was about to throw it into the wastepaper basket when Eunhyuk’s twinkly eyes flashed in his mind. There was just this strange uncanny resemblance between Eunhyuk and Hyukjae.

I promise to love you for eternity; a kind of love that surpasses lifetimes. Wherever you go, I will always find you, and love you the same.

His hand stopped midair. It couldn’t be. That was his, no, the Donghae in his dream, which was really him, but not him… In any case, he was probably meant to find Hyukjae, no, Eunhyuk, in this lifetime?

Donghae decided that he might just give Eunhyuk a call after all.

He folded out the creases in the yellow post-it, and stuck it on the glass divider of his cubicle. Eunhyuk’s handwriting was pretty. Eunhyuk’s determination was admirable as well. Donghae was stubborn by nature, and he was amazed that Eunhyuk never relented despite his efforts to avoid him.

_

Donghae remembered stumbling out of the bed and falling onto the hard parquet flooring that fateful morning. That left a horrid bruise on his thigh. He was startled once again by the sight of the blonde peering over at him from the comfort of the double bed, as though he could not understand what Donghae was doing on the ground and away from him.

Donghae was so embarrassed. Firstly, he had no recollection of last night as all. He was drunk to bits. Hell, he didn’t know if they had ual . He assumed so, since Eunhyuk mentioned something about screaming the whole night. Secondly, Hyukjae, no, Eunhyuk’s hair was blonde. How did that even happen?! Thirdly, he couldn’t believe he called Eunhyuk ‘Hyukkie’. Apart from the blonde’s twinkling eyes, there was nothing about him that resembled his Hyukjae.

“Come back to bed.” Eunhyuk said calmly. “Bring the blankets with you.” Then, the blonde flipped over to face the other side.

Donghae just stared at the blonde’s back, wondering how he could be so calm in such a situation. The situation wasn’t going to change with him just lying on the ground, so he decided to place the blankets back on the bed, covering the blonde’s shoulders, and then snuck out of the apartment just like the coward he was after he made sure that the blonde was fast asleep.

Donghae decided to forget everything about that night. It was a mistake, after all. Evidently, Eunhyuk did not think the same.

_

Donghae stared at the number that he had keyed into his phone. He had read it and reread it again so many times that he probably would have memorized it by heart. However, his fingers all felt too heavy and he wasn’t going to push the call button anytime soon. He was scared… nervous even. Maybe… maybe he shouldn’t call. He should text Eunhyuk instead. But the note clearly said to call him.

“How long are you going to keep him waiting?”

Donghae jumped, hearing the voice near the nape of his neck.

Alas, it was only Heechul, being the sneaky little that he was.

“Stop creeping on me like that, hyung.” Donghae pouted.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Heechul tilted his head and looked at the number on Donghae’s phone screen. He noticed that the younger had been staring at it for ages, and then sighing and then staring at it again while twiddling his thumbs. Was talking to Eunhyuk really such a Herculean task?

“I don’t know.” Donghae confessed.

“Well, how about going to this New Year Eve’s party with me while you’re still waiting?” Heechul gave him an expectant look. That was certainly a cue for Donghae not to reject Heechul outright. Donghae couldn’t think of an excuse not to go either. He had no plans for the night, and he definitely didn’t want to spend it thinking about whether he should call Hyukjae, no, Eunhyuk, or not.

“Fine.” Donghae acquiesced.

_

Donghae felt severely underdressed next to all the other invitees. Even Heechul had a sparkly red jacket on, which made his red hair stand out even more. He glanced down again at his slightly rumpled black dress shirt and pants. At least he could blend into the crowd. His eyes raked the large living room for something that resembled a bar, contemplating that he could get a drink and then make a quick exit when Heechul didn’t have his eyes on him.

Donghae slid his pinky finger around the rim of the glass of sparkling white wine. Everyone seemed to have the sparkling wine in their hands, so it seemed like a safe choice. Instead of mingling with the guests, Donghae chose to escape the crowd by slipping outside into a balcony tucked away from the boisterous festivities. He sighed, tapping his fingers against the glass, thoughts drifting to that uncanny dream. A love that surpasses lifetimes, huh? He wasn’t sure if love could be sustained in a single lifetime, much less surpass lifetimes.

He took a sip of his wine, wrinkling his nose as it ran down his throat. Maybe now would be a good time to give a call to Eunhyuk. No, he rebuked himself. The last time he and Eunhyuk interacted, he was probably half drunk. Calling him while he was indulging in wine was just asking for trouble.

The door to the balcony opened and Donghae sighed internally. He hoped that it wasn’t a couple wanting to make out in the dark, or worse, someone who was looking for a chat. He wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone.

“And I thought I might miss you at my own party.”

Donghae almost let go of the stem of his wine glass when he felt two arms snake around his waist, a breath tickling the nape of his neck.

“Wha–” Donghae’s words were caught in his throat as his assailant ran his nose against his neck, taking a huge sniff.

This was probably worse than either of the scenarios that he envisioned earlier; having a stranger back hug him and sniff him was definitely the last thing he wanted on a balcony when he was supposed to be alone and contemplating his dream (even though that was not supposed to his intention when he made the decision to attend the party) over a glass of wine. Strangely though, he hadn’t felt as violently opposed to contact as he imagined he would be. It was familiar as it was distant; it felt like a home that Donghae had never been.

“You smell so good, Hae.” His little back hugger snuggled up to him even more. Oh, Donghae’s heart skipped a beat and his facial expression softened. The voice clearly expressed so much want, as though it was for something he could never have.

That voice! It didn’t sound as cool or calm or collected as it did that morning, but there was no mistaking it. It was annoying how long actually Donghae took to recognize the owner of the voice.

“Hyukjae?” Donghae said softly as he turned around.

“It’s Eunhyuk.” The blonde in front of him childishly hit him in the chest and pouted.

Oh, Donghae cringed internally. It was a slip of the tongue truly. But if love really surpassed lifetimes, Hyukjae and Eunhyuk were probably the same person. In any case, he was more surprised by Eunhyuk’s cute actions. What happened to that cool dude?

“Hyukkie.” Donghae whispered.

The blonde’s twinkling eyes were so beautiful that Donghae couldn’t look away. Those lashes that fluttered up and down were very entrancing. The blonde seemed slightly inebriated, though. Somehow, Donghae felt that Eunhyuk in his proper state of mind would still have approached him in the same way as he did earlier.

“Bring me to bed.” Eunhyuk his lips slowly.

Donghae couldn’t refuse. He held the blonde steadily as they made their way through the foray of people and to Eunhyuk’s room, ignoring catcalls from a certain Heechul. Maybe Heechul had planned this all the while, the little sneak. In any case, Donghae didn’t want to think about what Heechul had planned when he had the blonde right in front of him. The blonde that made him feel like his heart was bursting out of his chest even though they barely knew each other.

“Sleep with me.” Eunhyuk fluttered his eyelashes again at Donghae.

Donghae had to draw the line at that. They already slept with each other, Donghae assumed, once, and Donghae couldn’t remember a single bit of it. He would be damned if they slept again together with one of them not having any memories of it.

“No, not when you’re…” Donghae mumbled.

The blonde smirked. “Having dirty thoughts, aren’t you? Just lie beside me, for the night. I don’t want to be alone.” Eunhyuk tried to his shirt because it would be terribly uncomfortable to sleep in it, but his fingers kept slipping.

Donghae stared with his mouth open for a bit. Eunhyuk couldn’t his shirt but could formulate three whole sentences that made a lot of sense.

“Help me.” The blonde whispered, and Donghae’s hands immediately flew over, nimbly undoing the buttons. He undid the blonde’s belt as well, and ed his pants. He wasn’t going to go to the extent of taking off his pants though. ing it would be as comfortable as it could get. Any more and the entire situation would turn uncomfortable for Donghae.

Eunhyuk obviously had other ideas because he started shimmying out of those pants. Donghae had to turn away to give the other man his privacy.

“You’ve seen it all before, though.” The blonde stated, tossing that pair of tight pants on the floor once he had wiggled out of them.

Eunhyuk fell into a deep sleep immediately after Donghae pulled the blankets to cover his bare shoulders.

Donghae pursed his lips, not wanting to dignify that earlier statement with an affirmation. He lay on the bed beside the blonde, his hand reaching to brush those fair strands. “It’s pretty.” He murmured to himself. The blonde purred a little in his sleep, and snuggled more into the blonde.

_

“Hyukkieeeeeee–”

Eunhyuk felt something brush his nose and he tried to swat it away.

“I can’t believe you fell asleep too. You promised to wake me up in a bit, not hours later! It’s already dawn, so wakey wakey!”

Eunhyuk rolled over onto this stomach. It was too early to wake up, really. He rarely got up before noon, and who sounded so enthusiastic in the morning?

Then, there was a pinch on his , which made him yelp.

“That hurt!” Eunhyuk yelled, jumping up immediately, his hands flying to cover as much of his behind as possible.

“What are you covering? I’ve seen it all before, you know.” A voice said teasingly.

Donghae was standing in front of him, already dressed in traditional wear, for some unfathomable reason, and was sticking out his tongue at him. How childish!

“I’ll do your hair for you.” Donghae’s expression softened when he noticed that the other man was frowning because of the pain. He hadn’t intended to pinch that hard at all. It was just a way of teasing the other.

Why would his hair need doing? Eunhyuk gingerly reached up his hand to his head. This was unfamiliar… his hair was tied into some sort of man bun. Surely his hair wasn’t that long… he had just got a fresh cut the day before and another dye job for his roots.

He looked down and almost gasped at his exposed body. Then he looked back at Donghae with a scandalized look. But Donghae’s facial expression revealed nothing, as though this was something that was normal.

“Get dressed first.” Donghae suggested, handing Hyukjae a purple robe and white underclothes. He didn’t understand why Donghae was wearing a hanbok, of all things, but why did he have to wear one too? He had an expanse of clothes in his walk-in wardrobe. Surely, he didn’t have to resort to wearing something like this. Was it a special occasion that he had no knowledge of?

“Don’t I have other clothes?” Eunhyuk tried, hiding the disdainful way he eyed the clothes.

Donghae gave him a funny expression. “You do, but we have to go back home to get them.”

“We’re at my home.” Eunhyuk was confused. They were in his room, weren’t they? Then, he took a good look at his surroundings, which were really a far cry from what his room looked like. “Oh my fu—” Eunhyuk almost swore. They were at some dilapidated pavilion which was furnished somewhat with duvets and some decorations, but it could hardly be considered a room, much less his room. What was going on?

Donghae looked at him impatiently, ing the clothes into his hands. “Hurry up and change so that we can get lunch by the time we get to my home. Then, we can sleep more.”

Eunhyuk was so shocked by the events that he quietly obeyed Donghae without question. He was surprised that he actually knew how to put on those clothes. It was as though his hands had some form of muscle memory that eluded his own.

Donghae had fished out a strange looking comb as Eunhyuk tied the last of the strings of his hanbok together. He gestured for Eunhyuk to kneel down and knelt down behind him. Eunhyuk felt his hair cascade down his back. It was strange, because he never had such long hair before. Also, combing hair felt intimate to him, but Donghae acted as though he had been doing this his whole life. He slept with the guy once, and asked the guy to sleep over again, but wasn’t this going a little too far?

The comb teeth gently Eunhyuk’s scalp. Donghae praised Eunhyuk’s hair for being soft, and Eunhyuk’s heart almost burst from that compliment.

“It’s pretty.” Donghae said as he ran his fingers through the glossy strands. His hands deftly swept up Hyukjae’s hair and twisted it into a bun, securing it with a silver pin. He bought the pin for Hyukjae as a gift for one of his birthdays, and Hyukjae had worn it everyday ever since.

“All done.” Donghae patted a strand in place, and beamed. “Let’s go to my home and get something in our tummies. After all, we did do a lot of exercise last night.”

Eunhyuk gaped at the innuendo. Since when was Donghae so forward?

Donghae gave him a deliberate wink and held out his hand for Eunhyuk to take.

Despite it all, Eunhyuk was certain that he should the hand that was offered to him.

_

“Say, Donghae, why are you being so bossy?” Eunhyuk grumbled as the plates containing delicious food was served to the pair in the lavishly decorated dining room that was supposedly Donghae’s home. Eunhyuk decided that it was better not to question why he had entered an alternate reality. He came to that conclusion because real Donghae wouldn’t have planned such an elaborate performance involving hundreds of people. Maybe it was all a dream, a dream that seemed too real to be a dream, but a dream nonetheless.

Donghae had ordered the servants to bring clean clothes and prepare a bath and then serve them lunch immediately. In comparison to Donghae in real time, this Donghae was way more mouthy. He was like the master of the house or something… Maybe he really was. Eunhyuk pondered quietly as Donghae picked up several pieces of meat and placed them on Eunhyuk’s bowl of rice.

“Eat.” The other spoke, and then started digging into his own meal.

This Donghae was… different.

Eunhyuk hollowed his cheeks. His question had not been answered. He picked at his rice with his chopsticks. While he was hungry, eating with Donghae was unexpectedly awkward. He hadn’t eaten with the other before, and he was hesitant.

He heard Donghae sigh, and his eyes lowered to his bowl, still picking at the grains of rice and deciding if he should eat a mouthful of rice first or taste the meat first.

“Hyukkie.”

Eunhyuk looked up. Why was Donghae calling him that again? Surely Donghae knew his name by now. It was a cute nickname, but really, Hyukkie?

Donghae was holding a spoonful of rice with a juicy piece of meat and kimchi placed atop it.

Eunhyuk looked at it, not sure how to react.

“Say ahhh, Hyukkie.” Donghae cajoled.

Eunhyuk reluctantly opened his mouth.

He chewed his food slowly, watching Donghae return to eating his own meal. What just happened, really?

“Are you getting huffy with me?” Donghae mumbled between chewing his food.

“Stop talking with your mouth full. It’s not polite.” Eunhyuk sighed as he slowly ate a piece of meat.

“You are huffy with me.” Donghae swallowed his food and looked at Eunhyuk in earnest. “I knew it. First, you called me by my name, and then you go on again about talking with my mouth full.”

“But your name is Donghae!” Eunhyuk retorted.

“Aw, what happened to Hae Hae then?” Donghae grinned as he propped another spoon heaped with rice and meat in front of Eunhyuk.

Eunhyuk thanked his lucky stars that he didn’t have any food in his mouth in the moment because he would have either choked on it or spat it right into Donghae’s face. What was Hae Hae supposed to mean? Since when had he called Donghae that?

He quickly ate the spoonful that was proffered, because he wanted to avoid answering that question, if it could even be considered a question.

“I’m not being bossy.” Donghae gave Eunhyuk a meaningful look. “It’s just that I know that you’re hungry and tired and you probably want warm food and a hot bath before taking a nap. That’s why I told the servants to draw water for a bath quickly and to make a quick lunch. I don’t want to keep you waiting, Hyukkie.”

Oh. Eunhyuk poked at the grains of rice in his bowl again. Donghae was being considerate of him. He shouldn’t have questioned Donghae, really.

“Hurry up and eat, then we can take a nap.” Donghae gave Eunhyuk a bright smile.

_

Eunhyuk scrunched his nose, waking up from his nap with Donghae, expecting it to be dark out since it would probably be in the evening. Quite the opposite, the sun rays were shining brightly into his room. Had he not slept at all? He wondered.

He ran his fingers though his hair, and he was surprised when he realised that his hair was a lot shorter than expected. He analysed the longer strands of his bangs. They were blonde. He looked down at his chest. He was no longer clothed in those ivory satin pajamas. He was just simply clad in his boxers, his tight jeans strewn somewhere on the floor.

He looked to his left. Donghae was sleeping there, exactly in his dream, but this Donghae wasn’t wearing ivory satin pajamas either, and he had short hair. Eunhyuk ran his fingers through Donghae’s hair gently. He barely knew Donghae, but his heart always felt full when he was near him.

“Happy New Year, Hyukkie.” Donghae mumbled, drool at the corner of his mouth. He was half asleep, and cuddled more into the pillows.

Right, it was the new year indeed. There was no better way to start a new year besides waking up beside the cutest guy from his dreams.

“Happy New Year, Hae Hae.”

[3.4k words]