Two teenage boys ran across the beach, one chasing the other with fake anger. While the one being chased audibly laughed, looking back over his shoulder once in a while. He thought he’d gotten well ahead and the other was getting tired, slightly jogging backwards he turned to .

“Yah~ Hyukjae-ah, give up already, I didn’t push you into the water, it was your own fault!”  Donghae yelled with the widest grin he possessed. Hyukjae in his wet clothes suddenly powered back up, dashing straight towards his pray. Caught off guard, Donghae got tackled to the ground, in an instant lying in the sand with a wet Hyukjae on top of him.  They both laughed lightheartedly as Hyukjae hugged Donghae, rolling them both in the sand, which stuck to any wet or damp part of their clothing. With Donghae so distracted, Hyukjae took the chance to plant small kisses all over the other’s flushed cheeks.

“Hey, hey stop it~ someone might see us,” Donghae halfheartedly tried to push himself away.

“You said it yourself that no one knows about this part of the beach. Besides, the weather isn’t even warm enough to be going to the beach …don’t try to get away from me.” Hyukjae stopped, placing his face on the other boy’s chest.

Donghae kissed the top of his head in reply and slowly got up on his elbows. “Come on, we should go, you’ll catch a cold wet like this.”

“Well maybe if you hadn’t pushed me into the water…”

“Stop trying to blame me for your clumsiness.” They laughed at each other, not rushing as they made their way home. Walking so close by each other’s side, they even gave wind trouble getting in between them.

Hyukjae’s eyes shot open, as he could not recall the last time he remembered about that day. Somehow, his heart felt like it was being squeezed unbearably hard, a couple of tears made their way to his cheeks.

 Next to him lay a silhouette of a woman he barely recognized.  No, she didn’t mean anything and she wasn’t special. Sadly, she wasn’t the only one like this. He didn’t even care enough about her to remember her face, but she helped him relieve emotionally. She was only a single being of an uncountable list. This sort of event probably happened more often than it was acceptable, but Hyukjae stopped caring long ago. He knew he was being an idiot, letting someone carry his worries away just for a couple of moments of physical joy. At first he felt bad, for every time his heart hurt he’d turn to a stranger, but somehow he let go of that feeling.  It was all about meeting someone one night and knowing well that you won’t be spending time together the next morning.
Did he break any hearts this way? He didn’t know, and he didn’t care much to find out.

Now it was only 4 in the morning, but he didn’t plan on sticking around. Quietly grabbing his things, he made his way out of some woman’s apartment. He called a cab and patiently waited in the breezy air of a dark morning.

What surprised him the most was that, apparently, he wasn’t the only person awake when he entered the apartment building. There were voices echoing down the stairwell. Before making his way up, Hyukjae stopped to listen, but all he heard was someone slurring his words, evidently drunk, and another person shushing him. He only sighed at someone else’s situation and walked towards the elevator, only to find it not working. Loudly, he sighed once more, knowing well he’d have to cross paths with a drunk.

It was between the third and second floor where he found the source of the noises. Heechul, one of the few people he knew from the building, and surprisingly, Donghae. Heechul was sprawled on the ground, and what it seemed like, Donghae was trying to convince him to get up. Or maybe just to pry him off of the floor. They both turned to look when they heard Hyukjae’s approaching steps. No one spoke for a moment, until Heechul decided to be loud again. “Yaah~ little dongsaeng has been late night partying again?” It was amazing how the man could tease someone the same when he was drunk or sober. Hyukjae ignored this completely and turned to Donghae, asking if help was needed. Just like that, they scooped up their hyung off the ground, balancing him from either side. In this formation, they walked the rest of the way up.

Only after placing the not-so-sober older man into his bed did Hyukjae realize Donghae had been the one to unlock the door.

“Wait, you guys live together?” Hyukjae’s question really did sound dumb just then, Donghae had already been living there for slightly over a month and only now did he find out where exactly.

“Yes… this whole time.” Donghae responded with a slightly amused tone.

“Right. So, why were you up at this time anyway?”

“I wasn’t, someone dropped Heechul off at the front of the building and he somehow managed to call me. Apparently the elevator’s broken. Great thing to find out at this hour.” Donghae spoke as he led the other to the door. “Where……uh where were you coming from this late…or early?” he asked carefully, not knowing if it was ok, or rather if he even wanted to know.

“Just met up with someone, nothing special.” Hyukjae’s answer was awkward and stiff, but there was no way he could talk about what he had actually been doing. That would be too shameful to admit, especially to Donghae. Of course, Donghae caught on that whatever the reason was, it probably should not be discussed. The atmosphere became slightly uncomfortable as they both lingered at the doorframe.

“You owe me for helping you carry your drunk roommate.” Hyukjae joked, lightening up the mood.

“Fine, what do you want?” The younger’s face cracked into a small smile.

“Not sure, but I’ll make sure to let you know when I figure something out.”

“Fair enough,” They bid each other good night and as Donghae was about to close the door, Hyukjae just had to add something.

“Oh, and I’m going to assume you’re not going to ignore my existence from now on. See you around.” The door was shut promptly after the end of the sentence, leaving two smiling idiots on either side of it.

Maybe not all is lost Hyukjae thought as he made his way up the stairs.

A battle broke out within his mind that early morning. Donghae’s image would not leave his head, making him smile to himself. However, the thought of what he had done just a few hours ago would float back in. He lost shame in that long ago, but this one person was making him feel so guilty and disgusted at himself. Why did it even matter, it’s not like he had those same feeling he had for Donghae five years ago, that’d just be crazy. And so what if he even did, Donghae wouldn’t care.  He would have no reason to.

With that, the sleep was tossed out the window. The rest of the morning he spent drowning in his thoughts. 

at least I can update this fast lol