It was another one of those afternoons...

To the average person, nothing was special about sitting by the river. Most people are racing to get home after a long day and watching the nighttime creep didn't seem like a worthwhile activity. But to Jinki, it had always been the best part of his day. He takes a deep breath as he watches the sunlight dance on top of the water. The tiny flashes of light shone on his face and welcomes the cool breeze coming towards him. It never failed to surprise him how utterly beautiful this sight was. There was only one thing he could think of that was more beautiful than this and he could already see him walking closer in the distance.  

"Hyung!" 

Jinki whips his head toward the direction that the voice came from and smiles. Seeing Taemin was always the perfect way to end his day.

"What did you get me today?" he asks, with a twinkle in his eyes that could always rival the ones in the night sky. He sits down next to Jinki on the bench, with a soft thump. 

Jinki holds up a bag of mini donuts, and immediately ellicits a squeal of glee from his younger companion. In an instant, Taemin snatches the treats from Jinki's clutches and stuffs his face with five donuts all at once. 

"Thanks, Hyung," he says, the muffled sounds almost not making their way out of his mouth. 

Jinki scoffs at his best friend, who never failed to show him how much he appreciated every snack that he had given. 

"It really that you aren't in school anymore," Taemin says. "I really have no one to talk to. All of them are just jerks."

"Is there anyone bothering you?" Jinki asks, his concern rising. He had always looked after Taemin since they met in the playground that day, almost six years ago. 

"Get out of there, you twerp. I'm going to use that swing," a tall kid shouts.

"But I got here first..." 

The way the timid voice responded made Jinki take notice. It didn't seem like an equal fight at all, and he had to make sure that no one was going to get hurt. He runs towards the swings and takes a closer look at what was going on. 

"Get out or get yanked out, loser!" 

A group of big kids had now surrounded one play set in particular, with a frail kid sitting on one of the swings. The bangs of his hair were so long that Jinki could have sworn that it covered his entire face. He moved from where he was standing to get a better look at the frail kid, but he wouldn't look up from the ground--not even for one minute. 

"Taemin is a weirdo! I saw him dance like a girl in gym class! Take him out, Chanyeol!" another kid screams. 

Taemin puts his arms up to cover his head and holds his ground, not getting up from the swing that he was occupying. 

"You really think you can mess with me?" the tall kid asks, taking Taemin's collar in his hand and recoiling his arm back to prepare to punch him. 

"STOP!" Jinki shouts. "I really wouldn't do that if I were you. Let him go."

The big kids look over at Jinki staring straight at them with absolutely no fear in his eyes. He was twirling a yellow whistle around his index finger and had the smuggest of all smirks on his face. These kids may have been big, but Jinki knew how to get them. 

" out, Lee. This isn't any of your business," Chanyeol says. 

"Interesting... As the school's Security Officer, I say it is absolutely my business..." Jinki says. 

Chanyeol lets go of Taemin's collar and turns his attentions on Jinki. 

"Hey. Before you and your group of brutes step to me, maybe I should tell you exactly what this whistle does. You see, gentlemen, when I was elected by the student body, I was also given the right to use this here whistle. The sound will immediately call the attention of our on-site security guards and have you sent to the Principal's Office, where they will promptly give your mothers a call. I'm sure you guys don't want to bother your sweet Eommas with your daily bullying agenda, do you?" Jinki says, batting his eyelashes.

Chanyeol stares at him for a few seconds before realizing that there was no way that he could ever go up against Jinki. He huffs, and signals towards his friends. "Come on, guys... These idiots are a waste of time." 

As the bullies walk away, Jinki makes his way closer to Taemin. He just wants to make sure that the young man was alright, and found him nervously wringing his hands together.

"Thanks..." Taemin says shyly, his bangs still covering his eyes. 

"No problem... My name's Jinki. Just let me know if those guys ever give you a rough time again."

"Really?" the young man asks, his voice filled with wonder. He finally looks up at Jinki and flashes him one of the most genuine smiles he had ever seen in his life. "I mean, thank you. And of course I know who you are. My name is Lee Taemin, Jinki Hyung."

Ever since, Taemin had always held his place in Jinki's heart. There was something about his gentle spirit that made Jinki want to make sure that he would always be alright, and protected. Jinki had always had a gaping hole in his heart that nothing and no one else could fill, but not for lack of trying. He had practically joined every club, and every sport, and every clique... But when he laid his head down at night, the feeling was still there. Being with Taemin had finally given Jinki a sense of purpose. In Taemin's eyes, he could see that someone desperately needed him; someone finally saw his worth. 

"Hyuuuuung," Taemin says, waving his hands across Jinki's face. "Hellooooo? Did you hear what I said?"

"Oh, sorry... I zoned out. What is it?" 

Taemin rolls his eyes adjusts the way he's sitting so that he can face Jinki on the bench. "Hyung, this is important. We're moving away in a couple of months."

"What?" Jinki says, in total shock. "I think I heard wrong... Can you say that again?

"Appa got promoted, and we have to move away for him to be able to take it. I'll about six hours away from from here, and eight hours away from your campus. I'm sorry... There's really nothing I can do."

"Come on, man... We haven't seen you in so long," Minho whines, over the phone. "Just come out and play soccer with us. Everybody's waiting for you. It's summer!"

"I don't know..." Jinki says, uneasy that he's even been on the phone for this long. He had been waiting for Taemin's call for weeks. The younger man went on holiday to his Eomma's hometown, a remote fishing village. They knew that there was no cell service to speak of and the only way that they could get in touch was through a regular landline. The older man hadn't stepped out of his house since then. 

"Okay, fine. I won't pressure you. But let me know if you change your mind, okay? Bye, Hyung."

The click of the phone brings Jinki back to the place where he had spent all summer... Beside the phone, in complete silence. 

He didn't even know why he was feeling this way. Sure, Taemin was the friend that he had spent the most time with, but he was pretty popular on his own accord. Lots of people were always vying for his friendship, and he had no shortage of those who asked him to hang out. But there was really only one person that he wanted to see. 

Jinki sinks into the couch again, burying his face in a six-month old magazine, when he suddenly hears a knock on the door. 

"Just a minute," he shouts, begrudgingly placing his feet on the floor, walking towards the front door. It was probably another one of those three thousand won packages that were being delivered to his online shopping-addicted Eomma. The shock of his life was waiting for him on the other side of that door.

"Surprise!" a smiling Taemin says as Jinki swings the door open, He had his hands in the air and the most beautiful smile on his face. "I know you missed me!"

Jinki could hardly believe his eyes. After weeks of waiting, Taemin was finally in front of him. It was really hard to hold back the tears of joy.

"Hyung, come on!" Taemin takes his hand and pulls him outside. "I found this really nice spot by the river. We can buy some treats and hang out over there while you tell me about all the things that you didn't do this summer."

"Hyung? Are you alright?" Taemin asks, extremely concerned.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I am. It's just that... The last time you were away, we almost didn't get to talk..." Jinki says. 

"Yeah, I remember that," Taemin says, laughing. "Hey, maybe I can keep surprising you like I did the last time too! It's not gonna be so bad, with internet and chat apps... We'll still get to talk often..."

The thought of his life-altering conversations with Taemin being reduced to text in a small screen was killing him. He couldn't handle the thought that he would have no choice anymore but not to see Taemin everyday. He had to do something. Jinki knew that he wouldn't be successful anyway, but he had to do something. He could never forgive himself if he didn't. 

"Taemin... Don't go," Jinki says, as he tries to hold back the tears that are forming in his eyes. 

"Hyung," the young man laughs. 

"I'm serious, Taemin," the older man says, lifting his eyes to meet the object of his affection. "Stay."

Taemin is taken aback by the tears in his Hyung's eyes. In all the years that they had known each other, the young man had never seen him cry before--not even during that freak accident in the tree where he broke his own finger. 

"Hyung, wha--" 

"I need you to listen to me, okay?" Jinki says. He casually wipes his sweaty palms on his thighs as the beating of his heart starts to increase. This was it. It's now or never. 

"What is it, Hyung?" Taemin says, his eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and concern. 

"Taemin... I... You're my best friend," Jinki says, staring out onto the beautiful river in front of them.

"Sure, Hyung, and you're mine... Is that it?" the young man asks. 

"No, will you let me finish? You're my best friend... And I love you." 

"Aww... I love you too, Hyung," Taemin says, smiling happily and stuffing the rest of the donuts into his mouth until it was filled to capacity.

"No, Taemin... You don't understand. I love you. I'm in love with you," Jinki says.

Taemin's breath catches in his throat as he slowly turns his head towards Jinki. The young man's eyes were wide, and his mouth was full but it didn't stop him from responding to his Hyung's shocking confession. 

"Huh?"

"Haven't you ever wondered why I make such an effort for you, Taemin? I go to college two hours away, but everyday, we meet here and I bring you a different snack. I call you when I can...  I always ask about how you are... I always want to be with you and when I'm not, all I can think about is the next time I'm going to see you. I even went to another town in fargone province just to get a birthday video for you from your grandparents... Look, I don't mean to make a list of everything I've ever done for you but I was pretty sure you would have figured it out by now. I love you, Taemin. I've always been in love with you."

The silence in the air was almost unbearable.

"Taemin... Say something," Jinki says, almost in a panic. 

Taemin furrows his eyebrows and points to his mouth as he furiously chews the treats he had just put in there. Jinki had no choice but to sit there and wait until Taemin was ready to talk. 

"I know..." 

It was Jinki's turn to have his eyes grow wide in surprise. "What?"

"I know, Hyung. I've known for a while... You're not doing a very good job hiding it, if that was what you were aiming for," Taemin says, laughing. 

This just confused Jinki even more. He knew? How did he know? Has he known for long? All these questions and a million more were running through the older man's head but there was only one thing that came out of his mouth:  "I'm sorry."

And he was... He was sorry that he had ever caught feelings in the first place. Sorry that he didn't have the courage to tell Taemin sooner. Sorry that he had to tell him now that it might be too late. 

"I'm in love with you, too..." Taemin says, the twinkle in his eyes shining more brightly than ever before. "I was just waiting."

But the joy that Jinki wanted to feel was cut short by the realization that even if they felt the same way, distance was going to be one big challenge. 

The young man's face softens as he recognizes what Jinki was thinking about. "Don't worry about it, Hyung. I was just kidding; we're not moving, Only I am."

"I don't get it," Jinki says, scratching his head. 

"I got into your college, Hyung. I'll be studying there in the fall. We can be close to each other again, like it was in the beginning," Taemin says, taking Jinki's hand. 

"So why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Jinki replied, smiling. He had never held Taemin's hand this way and it felt so comforting that he never wanted to let go. 

"Because I know you wouldn't tell me you love me unless you thought there was something big going on... And I really wanted you to say it already. It's been waaay too long," Taemin says, laughing. 

"You brat," Jinki says, taking Taemin's chin and drawing it nearer to his. 

"Your brat," the young man whispers, as their lips meet gently.

*****