When Jongwoon was 17 years old, he read a book. It was your typical rich, domineering CEO who suddenly entered the main protagonist’s mundane life and turned it upside down kind of story. He would pamper the girl, shower her with gifts, bring her on overseas dates, settle her debts for her, send her ‘have you eaten?’ texts, nag at her to take care of herself, tell her to stop hanging out with other guys cause it will make him jealous — you get it (don’t ask him why he was reading books like this). It was cliché, it was grossly sweet and at that point in time, even though Jongwoon’s teenage heart did flutter at the thought of having a suave prince charming swooping into his boring life to treat him like a princess, a part of him was also a little conflicted about it. Wouldn’t the relationship be one-sided? Wouldn’t the girl be a dependent loser? Wouldn’t the girl be a gold digger? What did the guy even get out of the relationship? Teenager Jongwoon thought long and hard about those questions so much that his head started to hurt. And eventually he gave up on thinking of possible answers since it wasn’t like he was ever going to land himself in such a situation.

Right???

Yeah, Kim Jongwoon, you dumb .

Fast forward 15 years later, there Jongwoon was, curled up in a ball on his bed, wondering about the exact same questions that mind-boggled his younger self. Wasn’t he too old for this kind of ?!!

Little did he know, that now, he was the little commoner-turned-sugar-baby-princess, all thanks to one Cho Kyuhyun.

Jongwoon hugged his knees closer to his body and stared at the set of expensive legos, expensive bracelet, expensive coffee beans, expensive film camera, expensive everything, that sat innocently in an elegantly-wrapped box at the end of his bed. When Jongwoon answered the door and was greeted with a courier guy handing over a heavy box to him, the last thing he would have expected was for it to contain presents that he would only save in his favourites list and never cart out.

And when Jongwoon confronted Kyuhyun about it, because who the else would be such a charming show-off, Kyuhyun simply replied with a Just thought of you when I saw them :-) Do you like the gifts? Join me for dinner tomorrow? :D

Of course, Jongwoon liked the gifts! Stupid Cho. But what did all of these even mean? Was he a sugar baby now?? So he responded with You can’t just spend so much money on me!!! I’m not your sugar baby!!!!! How can I ever repay you for all these?!? And fine! What are we eating? I’m paying btw.

Jongwoon immediately started scouring through the internet for some classy dinner options that will not break his wallet completely, but at the same time, would be a decent ‘thank you’ treat to the younger. Not even a minute later though, his phone buzzed.

Who said you’re my sugar baby? Do you want to be my sugar baby? I don’t mind <3 Jongwoonie my baby, that sounds nice right? And don’t people give presents to people whom they like? I like you, Kim Jongwoon.

Also, I’m paying for dinner, because I asked you out. If you want to pay, you need to ask me out ;) I’m looking forward to that~ Jongwoonie my baby~

Jongwoon absolutely did not scream into his fist and start beating up his pillow to fight down the butterflies in his stomach upon reading those messages. He did not. It took a grand total of five minutes for him to sober up and stop feeling like his face was going to combust from all the heat, when he curled into himself and leaned against his pillows — i.e. his current predicament.

He wondered, just what can he offer to Kyuhyun, someone who has everything? Someone who is so good at everything? He loved spending time with other man, he loved the attention, he loved having someone that can take his sardonic humour and (literal) punches in stride. But was it fair to Kyuhyun? To always be a step ahead of Jongwoon? Both in terms of his stature and how he always seem to be giving, while Jongwoon just took, took, and took.

Does he like Kyuhyun? Yeah, no . Does he want to be with Kyuhyun? Errrrr. Does he deserve to be?

Jongwoon swallowed thickly. But then, it hit him. When did Kim Jongwoon become such a ing coward? Because that absolutely hurt his pride. So with a sudden rush of adrenaline and determination, he threw on a jacket and left his house.

-

Kyuhyun was tidying up his study after a few rounds of gaming when suddenly, there were loud, consecutive poundings on his door. His heart skipped a beat in worry — he wasn’t expecting anyone and it was literally almost midnight. It was only when the knocking resumed, with a familiar, muffled voice whining, “Cho Kyuhyun, open the door, I’m tired from running here!!!”, did Kyuhyun rush to the door.

It was almost as if Jongwoon’s presence alone was a magic spell, because the younger immediately brightened up at the sight of his hyung, who showed up unannounced at his house no less?!?!

“Hyung? What are you doing here? You ran here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming, I would have fetched you!” Kyuhyun ushered the other man in quickly and dragged him to the couch. He tried to push Jongwoon down to take a seat so that he could get some water from the kitchen, when Jongwoon grabbed onto his shoulders and made him stay in place. Kyuhyun could only stare back, enraptured by the sudden closeness.

“Jongwoon hyung?”

“Cho Kyuhyun.”

“I’m here.”

“Cho Kyuhyun. Tell me now. What do you like about me?” The way Jongwoon said this with a face of seriousness made Kyuhyun worry. Was Jongwoon upset with him?

“Hyung, what is this about? Is it the message I sent? I was just—”

Jongwoon only stepped even closer, now both of his small hands warm on Kyuhyun’s neck instead. Kyuhyun swallowed, and realised that Jongwoon could feel his throat moving with how nervous he was. Tentatively, the younger moved to rest his hands on his hyung’s waist too.

“No, Kyuhyun. It’s not about that. Just tell me, why do you like me?”

“I— hyung… I…”

Noting the other’s hesitance, Jongwoon’s determination faltered a little. His grip on Kyuhyun’s neck loosened instinctively. “So you don’t like me?

“No!” Kyuhyun looked up in alarm and tightened his embrace, pulling the older closer to him.

“Hyung… I… If I told you all the things I liked about you, we will be here all day, and it’s embarrassing, because you make me feel like a schoolgirl falling in love with her longtime crush everyday. I like so many things about you, so I don’t even know where to start. Right now, I like how you fit so nicely in my arms, I like your face that is right in front of me — do you know that you’re so handsome? I like your smile, because when you smile, the corner of your eyes crinkle so prettily. I like your heart, I like how you care for me and the people around you, even though that makes me jealous sometimes, because I want to be the subject of all your affections, hyung. I remember when you showed me the song you wrote to your ex-girlfriend for her birthday last time — you have no idea how that made me wish I had met you earlier, just so that I could maybe be in her shoes instead, to receive all that love from you. The love that you give, it’s so genuine, Jongwoon hyung. I just want to bask in it.”

“The day I was sick and you showed up without me asking for you, you took care of me so well, you ditched all your plans, you stayed with me the whole day even though you could have spent time with your family, which was something you’ve been wanting to do for awhile already, and yet, you still stayed. Whenever I ask for something from you, you would either drop whatever you are doing to come to me or rush over as soon as possible. And I know you are always complaining about me paying for our dates, me buying you gifts, but you do realise that you’re always doing the same for me, without me even asking for it, right? You would buy me penguin keychains, you bought me new headphones because I casually said mine was spoilt, new pajamas because you saw that my old ones had holes on them, you even queued for hours to get me that limited edition signed game because I complained that I would be too busy for it! Most of the times, when we meet, you would have a small muffin or a drink for me too.”

“So hyung, can you tell? That there are so many things that I like about you? That I really, really like you? I’ve never felt this way before, you know? With everyone else and all my past relationships, I’ve never felt so light and infatuated.”

Was that a lump in his throat? Jongwoon thought that he might need maybe an hour to recollect his thoughts and calm his racing heart, because , he really wished he had photographic memory so that he could replay Kyuhyun’s sweet confession to him, over and over again forever. There were a million things running through his head, and miraculously, none of them was about the questions of self-doubt that were bothering him earlier.

Caught up in his own thoughts, Jongwoon didn’t realise that he had been staring at Kyuhyun in silence for a good minute already. And for the man who had just bared his heart, he started wondering if everything he said was a mistake.

“Uh… Jongwoon hyung? Can you say something? I—”

Jongwoon simply surged forward on his tip-toes, wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun’s neck, and pulled the younger in for a deep kiss. Kyuhyun overcame his surprise almost immediately, and reciprocated the kiss enthusiastically, like it was something he had been waiting for ages for, because it really was.

The whimpers from Jongwoon and the hot, heavy breathing from Kyuhyun drove each other crazy. It was like there was a magnetic pull preventing them from physically parting from each other — every time their eyes met when they separate for air, they would dive back into each other’s mouths again. Their hands didn’t seem to stray away from their neck and waist either, as if both of them simply wanted to focus on and savour their liplock, and nothing else.

But Kyuhyun wouldn’t be Kyuhyun if something didn’t try to him, because Jongwoon’s phone suddenly rang in his back pocket.

However, to Kyuhyun’s surprise, Jongwoon simply reached for it, turned off his phone, and threw it to the side, all the while still kissing Kyuhyun passionately.

The couple only parted when the giddiness from being lightheaded really started to get to them. Yet, they stayed close to each other, their hot breaths intertwining together in between their faces.

“Cho Kyuhyun.”

“Kim Jongwoon?”

“I like you so much, Cho Kyuhyun.”

Kyuhyun’s heart soared. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Like, so very much. I always have. Since we first met, I liked you already. And the more we spent time together, the more I got to know you, I liked you even more.” Jongwoon leaned forward and pecked the other’s lips. “But I was scared that I didn’t deserve you, because you’re Cho Kyuhyun and I’m nothing like Cho Kyuhyun. You’re so many good things put together and I didn’t think I deserve your time and effort and love. And I didn’t want you to think I liked you for your money. But… I realised that it was even more unfair to you if I keep making you wait for me. So I will try my best, okay? I will make up for how different we are by trying my best to give you everything you want from me, and in whatever ways that I can. You just have to tell me, and I’ll give it to you.”

The younger could only shake his head, while looking at Jongwoon like he was the silliest thing in the world — the wide, loving smile never leaving Kyuhyun's face the whole time Jongwoon was speaking. He placed both his hands on Jongwoon’s cheeks, thumbs gently caressing the soft skin.

“No, Jongwoon. You don’t even need to try. You’re already doing everything for me, everything is enough. You’re so much more than enough, hyung, you’re everything I ever wanted. No, you’re even everything that I didn’t know I wanted.”

“Even when I punch you?”

“Even when you punch me.”

Jongwoon could only pull the younger down for another kiss in reply. When they parted, Kyuhyun started dragging him towards the bedroom. “You’re staying over tonight, hyung. It’s not a question.”

The older simply replied easily with an indulgent, “Okay”, and the most breathtaking smile bloomed on Kyuhyun’s face. Even as the two went through their night time routines, they couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other, with random touches and fleeting caresses here and there. It was as if the air was thick with sweetness, the new couple just wanting to prolong the moment more.

And when Jongwoon had finally fallen asleep in his arms, Kyuhyun, still wide awake from happiness, whispered with his lips against Jongwoon’s temple, “I can’t believe you’re finally mine.”