“…and he-” Minseok peeked into the glass of soju in his hand and sobbed when he found it was empty. He slammed it drunkenly onto the table, making the bottles scattered on the table rattled then he looked up to the boy sitting in front of him teary-eyed, his lower lip quivering.

Why did it seem that nothing went right in his life?

The boy looked positively panicked and even though it was amusing to see the expression from his blurred vision but it didn’t do anything to stop the sudden wave of sadness he felt in his heart. Minseok gave up trying to hold back the tears that it caused and started bawling his eyes out.

“I will make him pay!” he cried, loud enough to draw attention but thankfully, the people around them were either too wasted or simply didn’t care. The boy looked relieved for one second before went into full panic mode when Minseok started banging his fists against the table.

“Sunbaenim, let’s go home-”

Minseok paused to throw the boy the scariest glare he could muster drunk, the attempt making his eyes feel sore so he quickly screwed them shut. “If...you want to go…then go, Baek-”

“It’s me Siwoon- sunbaenim?” the boy, sighed when he saw Minseok started nodding off. Siwoon flew out of his chair to prevent Minseok from crashing face-first onto the table and knocking off all the bottles.

Siwoon vaguely recalled what Baekhyun (also an upperclassman, Minseok’s best friend) said about a drunk Minseok and winced. He didn’t expect to experience it so soon, though.

So, of course, he was in pinch because 1) it was late and he had no idea where in the world Minseok’s house was. They weren’t close enough to know about personal matters and he only agreed to come because how much he respected the man. 2) That made him simultaneously unable to make use of Minseok’s motorcycle to take him home.

The only solution he could come up with was calling Baekhyun to come and fetch his best friend and he did just that. He gave himself a permission to access Minseok’s phone and heaved a massive sigh of relief when it wasn’t password protected. He quickly went to press the #1 on speed dial.

“Sorry to disturb you, sunbaenim. It’s me, Siwoon. I called to say that I need your help to take Minseok sunbaenim home because he’s too drunk to drive the motorcycle home and it’s dangerous. We’re in the xxx street market. Then I’ll give you the time to get ready, sunbaenim. I hope you’re quick. Thank you. Bye.”

Wait. Did he just say those in one breath and hit the red button once he was done? He didn’t even get to hear Baekhyun’s response. He practically just hung up on him. He was screwed…even more now that the ‘supposed’ Baekhyun arrived. Had he been panicking for that long?

“I’m sorry but who are you?” Siwoon eyed the tall man standing in front of him. He was definitely not Baekhyun unless Baekhyun got taller and did plastic surgeries. It was the first time he saw him so he was certainly not someone that went to their university.

The man looked like he belonged on the cover of magazines.

“You called me and I happen to know this guy,” the man replied with a shrug. “Although you probably should check the caller id first before making a call,” the man added while patting Minseok’s pocket for the keys.

Siwoon knew he had called the wrong person but he felt like he would get in trouble for it later. He somehow felt like he had done a bad thing but the man didn’t look like he was a bad person that could put Minseok’s life in danger. He might be a lot closer to Minseok than he was.

He watched the man pocketing the keys before bending down to pick Minseok’s up from the wobbly plastic chair. “Do you need any help?” he offered but the man shook his head. He glanced at the bottles scattered on the table and then at him.

Siwoon saw the question in his eyes then immediately answered, “He already paid for these,”

The man nodded and turned towards where Minseok parked his motorcycle without words which confused the hell out of Siwoon.

What the hell just happened?

---

Minseok stirred awake, gradually becoming aware of the warmth surrounding him and the softness of the bed under him.

Wait. Bed.

Minseok’s eyes flew open and were immediately blinded by the sunlight coming in from the big glass window without anything like blinds to filter it. Damn. It was familiar. The window, the room, the bed, everything and his heart started racing.

“Do you want to stay for breakfast?”

A voice from the doorway asked and Minseok stiffened. How drunk was he last night to end up in this place? He was too shocked that the hangover didn’t feel too extreme even if he passed out drunk on Siwoon.

Right. Siwoon. He must’ve been the one who called Sehun.

Minseok attempted to get up on the bed, “No I’m-” but failed. The headache came full force and he could feel the bile rising in his throat. “,”

When he turned his head, Sehun was watching him with an amused expression on his face. It looked like he enjoyed this. Well, he didn’t and he wasn’t about to give him the amusement of watching him suffering. Minseok got up from the bed as fast as he could and ran to the toilet in Sehun’s room and surprised himself by how familiar he was still with it.

He retched into the toilet bowl and felt the pressure of headache at the back of his head. Tears streamed down his face and his nose was running. He felt like utter and he didn’t want Sehun, of all people, to find him in this state. Give him and his heart to be prepared, at least.

“Are you okay?” he heard Sehun’s voice and felt a hesitant cold hand on his nape a few seconds later.

Minseok turned his head to glare at the younger man weakly before emptied the rest of his stomach out in the bowl once more. He sat on the cold bathroom tiles for a few minutes, panting and cursing his life. It was tiring and now his stomach is growling like mad, the headache pounding like no tomorrow. Minseok wanted to rip his hair off.

“You should stay for breakfast, Hyung,” Sehun crouched down next to him, still watching him but the amusement had long gone, replaced by something close to pity but really, what did he expect from an ex-boyfriend, anyway?

It was probably just his imagination but Sehun’s gaze turned softer when Minseok turned his head to look at him. He immediately regretted it because he knew he probably looked as much ty as he felt. He looked away and hummed and then a second later he felt Sehun’s hands slipping under his arms before he pulled him up to stand.

Why is he treating me like a child? Damn it, Minseok thought.

“Fine,” Minseok huffed, stepping away to maintain a respectable distance with Sehun. It somehow irked him that he didn’t need Sehun’s direction to the dining room because he basically had mapped the entire house for all those times they were still together.

---

The water felt like heaven to his burning throat and he couldn’t get enough of the sandwich Sehun went out to buy while he was asleep.

“I told you to start learning how to cook,” Minseok said before he could stop himself. The grip on the glass of water in his hand tightened. “Sorry,” he mumbled and looked away. The painkiller had started doing its work but he could still feel the mild pounding of the headache.

“Do you want to teach me?” Sehun asked seriously and Minseok choked.

“Do you think I can do it?” Minseok glared and Sehun just shrugged.

Minseok watched as Sehun washed the dishes for lacking of something else to do and it was silent the entire time. He still felt like and it would take a while for his body to regain the strength to get the out of here and never comeback.

“So, you go out to drink with anyone now?”

“He’s in the soccer team,” he replied without looking at Sehun, hoping he would drop the subject and move on because he was embarrassed as hell but he was really curious about how he ended up here.

“Isn’t that great?”

Minseok looked at Sehun in disbelief. “Baekhyun couldn’t make it and there were two more people but they left!” there was something in the way Sehun said it that irritated him.

“Oh, I see,” Sehun nodded absently and went to take a seat across from him then he proceeded to do something in his phone that Minseok wasn’t curious of at all.

It was silence between but then Sehun’s voice startled Minseok.

“Hyung, do you still have my number on speed dial?”

Minseok’s face flushed red at the question because he couldn’t be sure about it so he stayed mute as Sehun showed him his phone screen, recent phone call history pulled up and there his name was at the top of the list. Minseok wanted nothing more than to make himself disappear right there and then.

“Huh?”

“Of course, you wouldn’t know,” Sehun chuckled. “You passed out and I think that kid was panicking because he didn’t know where your house is so he did what anyone else would do, honestly,”

Minseok gulped. “H-He…called you?”

Sehun nodded with a smile. “He probably thought it was Baekhyun Hyung he called,”

“And you went to pick me up?”

Minseok was positively flustered now.

“What do you think?”

“Why? You could’ve hung up and saved yourself a lot of trouble,”

He wanted to know what the stare Sehun was giving him meant. He hated now that even after years, Sehun was still so secretive and careful about his feelings while he had been so easy to read like an open book but he had adapted so well to it.

“Do you really want to know why, Hyung?”

Minseok nodded stiffly and followed Sehun as the man went out of his chair to walk over and took a seat next to Minseok.

“I was worried,” was what he said.

Minseok turned his body towards Sehun. “Really?” he felt his heart speeding up and started noticing how Sehun’s hair was shorter than the last time he saw him, probably the shortest it had ever been.

“You were out with a guy,”

“Yeah, and?”

“All men are wolves, Hyung,” Sehun said matter-of-factly.

“Even you?” Minseok snorted.

Sehun grinned and leaned closer. Too close for his comfort but before Minseok could lean away, a hand on the small of his back stopped him.

“Can’t blame him. You attract them,” the younger man whispered.

“What are you trying to say, Oh Sehun?” he asked with seriously through gritted teeth and that made Sehun moved at least two inches away but Minseok still could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

“I’m saying,” Sehun paused to look down on Minseok’s lips. “He would’ve taken advantage of you,” then back to his eyes, “And I won’t allow that. Even if it’s highly impossible for him to compete with me,” he said and Minseok noticed the finality in his voice.

“Really? Do you think you still have the right to say that?”

Minseok closed his eyes almost as soon as he felt the press of Sehun’s lips on his, as if on instinct. He couldn’t help but feel hatred towards himself but at the same time, he could take a break and just let everything happen. It was just a press of lips, after all. But then, what would happen to him after?

Two years. He had been trying to forget, erase and escape everything for two years but it was all destroyed in a single moment and Minseok thought, how could life be so unfair? He had let Sehun go without so much as an explanation and when he thought he was over him, fate decided to remind him that he wasn’t.

It was like all the blood rushed to his face when he realized they were kissing and Sehun definitely had another idea than just pressing his lips to Minseok’s. Sehun’s gentle hand on his nape—much like a few hours earlier—took him by surprise. He was encouraging him to lean forward so the position wouldn’t tire him out so much and Minseok let himself be guided as the younger man deepened the kiss. All Minseok’s resolution flew out the window.

He reached out to seek purchase, small hands gripping Sehun’s shoulders tightly as the younger man into his mouth. Minseok sighed.

He had missed this. He had missed him.

“I missed you, Hyung,” Sehun said when they pulled away, his hands moved to pull Minseok closer by the waist.

Minseok looked down on his lap, trying to avoid eye contact with the man in front of him, his heart was thundering in his ears.

“Would you forgive me, Hyung?”

“I have forgiven you a long time ago, Sehun,” he mumbled, “At least I’m certain of it,”

“Then would you give me a second chance?”

 “I- I don’t know,” he said at long last. “I’m afraid you’ll leave…again,”

A hand tipped his chin upwards and their eyes met. Sehun’s eyes were gentle and full of affection and for the first time, Minseok could see Sehun’s hearts reflected in his eyes. Whatever the reason was, Minseok was at least certain that it wasn’t because of him or because he hated him.

“If you pull the same thing, I’ll kill you,” Minseok said with a pout.

A grin split Sehun’s face as he put his palm over his heart and held up another one in the air. “I won’t run away and even if I did, I’d always come back to you,”

“How would I know?” Minseok raised an eyebrow.

Sehun’s smile was playful as he nodded towards his phone on the table.

“My number on your speed dial.”

The End.

a/n: there's a new iu fic fest called iuniverse i might participate :))))