After the first few uncomfortable minutes of Baekyeol giving Jinho the evil eye and Luhan being oblivious to everything, Sehun couldn't be more thankful when the pair eventually got over it (whatever it was) and went back to being themselves – which really meant playing around with Luhan.

Sehun watched as they splashed around with the older boy, none of them caring that the other guests were looking at them funny (judging them). When Baekhyun decided to imitate an overbearing koala bear and attach himself to Chanyeol's , the other guests got up and left, all looking highly disgruntled. A few of them were probably cursing at Baekyeol for being so disruptive and inappropriate and Sehun couldn't blame them.

The image of a Baekhyun clinging on to a Chanyeol would surely ruin anyone's day.

“They're not the shy type are they?” Jinho asked.

Sehun shook his head.“No. Definitely not.”

He prayed that Baekyeol would continue to keep their bottom halves underwater.

Sehun frowned when he overheard Baekhyun asking Luhan to get on top of him, to see if Chanyeol could handle both of their weights. What is wrong with those two?

To his relief, Luhan refused. Thank goodness.

“They're rather close to Luhan hyung,” Jinho stated, his eyes also glued on the trio. Luhan was busy trying to push Baekhyun off of Chanyeol, repeatedly telling them that they looked indecent. The couple merely laughed and swam away with a red face Luhan following right behind.

“You have no idea. If Luhan wasn't legally an adult, they would adopt him – that's how much they love him.”

Jinho smiled. “That's understandable.”

Sehun turned around to look at his friend, eyebrows furrowed. With his heart beating a tad faster, Sehun had no idea how he was supposed to respond to that. What did he mean by that?

Jinho, noticing the uneasy look Sehun was giving him, cleared his throat. “Well, I think I'm done here. I'm going to the steam room. See you, Sehun.”

“Wait. I'll join you.”

He went over to Luhan and told him that he was going to the steam room with Jinho. Luhan had given him a little pout, so Sehun asked if he wanted to join, but the boy declined, stating that he didn't like the stuffiness of the steam room. Upon hearing that Sehun was going to leave, Baekyeol came over and suggested that they go to the bigger pool with the water slides. Luhan quickly agreed, his pout replaced with an eager smile.

Normally, Sehun would warn Baekyeol that if anything happened to Luhan, he'll be after their heads, but since he felt that they should already know that, he left the trio with a simple wave and made his way to the private steam area with Jinho.

He wanted to take this opportunity to have a little talk with Jinho. Hopefully, this goes well.

******

Jinho didn't know when it happened, but he no longer felt at ease around Sehun. Being alone with his friend no longer felt like before. The carefree innocence of simply enjoying each other's company had disappeared.

It was replaced by something much darker – guilt.

All Jinho felt whenever he was with the other boy was guilt, guilt, guilt.

Sometimes he asked himself why he felt that way towards Sehun, but the answer was always the same. Luhan.

Being with Sehun reminded him of Luhan. It's sick and twisted, but it was how he saw them. That's was how he thought of them. They were connected – can't have one without the other. When he's with Sehun, the thought is like a thorn in his side, pricking him, nagging him that what he was feeling was wrong. On the other hand, when he's with Luhan, the thought becomes this mind numbing ache he knew he couldn't suppress no matter what he does.

So he welcomed it. He welcomed the pain. The ache.

He thought that it might be appropriate punishment for being in love with his friend's lover. To constantly be reminded that Luhan was Sehun's.

When Sehun took off his tank and exposed his back to Jinho, he immediately caught sight of the tiny scratch marks despite the steaminess of the room.

It was safe to assume who was responsible for the marks.

Doing his best to not clench his jaw, Jinho turned his attention to the wall in front of him.

“So how are things?” Sehun asked.

The question was simple enough, but Jinho was caught by surprise because from Sehun's tone, he could tell that the other boy was trying to lighten the air between them. That must mean Sehun felt it too – this suffocating tension between them.

“Good,” Jinho replied, choosing to not look Sehun in the eyes.

“How are you adjusting?”

“I'm adjusting well. School is nice. Keeps me busy. And the people I've met are all great.”

“Cool. I'm glad....”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Sehun spoke again.

“How are things with that guy?”

Jinho's heart skipped a beat. T-that guy?

Luhan.

With them, Jinho realized that it will now always be about Luhan.

For a split second, Jinho wondered if Sehun knew exactly who he was asking about. He pushed that thought out of his head though because there was no way Sehun could know. No way.

Because he did nothing for Sehun to suspect that the guy in question was Luhan.

With a deep breath, Jinho answered, “Fine. We're good friends now.”

Sehun nodded. “I see....” He turned to look at Jinho, his expression unreadable. “Do you wish to be more?”

The million dollar question.

Jinho turned to look at Sehun, who was eyeing him curiously, eager to hear his answer.

With a calm voice, Jinho said, “There's nothing I can do.”

The honest reply was his sad attempt of dodging the question.

Judging from Sehun's face, Jinho could tell he wasn't satisfied with the answer, but Jinho couldn't possibly answer truthfully because he does – he wish things were different. He can't even recall the number of times he sat alone in his apartment and thought about what it would be like if he was the one that had Luhan to come home to, not Sehun.

“Why don't you just tell him how you feel?” Sehun asked. “Who knows? Maybe things will come out differently.”

Jinho doesn't catch the way Sehun's voice faltered at the end.

“I can't.”

“Why not?”

Because you're my friend.

Jinho turned to look away, the sight of a clueless Sehun was fast becoming unbearable. He sighed. “Because things will change if I do tell him, but not in the way I want them to. Not for the better.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I do. I just do.” He gave Sehun a weak smile. “Can we not talk about this?”

“I-I'm sorry. It's just that it's weird to see you like this --”

And here comes the overwhelming guilt...

“I hope you understand that as your friend, I'm just worried about you.”

The word “friend” coming out of Sehun's mouth hit him harder than he had anticipated. With his fists clenched, Jinho said, “Thanks man, but I don't need you to worry about me. I'm fine.”

“What happened to the Jinho that would do anything to get what he wanted? The Jinho that stopped at nothing.”

“He's still here, but he's not going to jeopardize a friendship just to get what he wants,” Jinho said, voice steady unlike his heart.

Sehun doesn't say anything else and Jinho wondered what was going through his mind.

He hoped Sehun didn't catch the double meaning of his words because it wasn't just his friendship with Luhan that he was referring to.

They sat there for another few minutes, each of them looking anywhere but at the other.

“It's really steamy in here,” Sehun said.

Jinho chuckled, happy to have the topic changed. “Yeah.”

“You want to leave?”

“No. Do you?”

“N-no.”

Jinho laughed. “You don't sound so confident. You sure?”

Sehun scoffed. “Yes, I'm sure.”

“Not too steamy for you?”

“Nope.”

Their eyes finally locked and Jinho instantly recognized the fire in Sehun's eyes. Without even saying it, they entered a contest to see who could last the longest in the steam room. And like always, neither of them were willing to lose.

Thirty minutes later when both of them are dripping in sweat and breathing heavily, Jinho said, “If you can't take it anymore, you can just go. No one is stopping you.”

“Pfft. I'm fine, but it looks like you're struggling.”

“Yeah, but I'm not going to lose.”

“You know it's okay to lose to me.” Sehun gave Jinho a playful nudge.

“Sorry, but that's not something I'm okay with.” Jinho nudged him back and both of them laughed.

A small part of Jinho was glad that they could somehow still joke with one another. I guess some things never change.

They were suddenly interrupted by Suho, who looked relieved to have found Sehun.

“There you are.”

“What's up hyung?”

“Luhan hyung was looking for you.”

At the mention of Luhan's name, Sehun abruptly stood up. “Is something wrong?”

Suho smiled. “Nothing's wrong. He was just looking to have lunch with you.”

“Oh. Where is he?”

“Somewhere around here. He's checking the other rooms. I just found you before he did.”

“Oh. Okay.” Sehun turned around to face Jinho and smirked. “I guess today's your lucky day because I gotta go.”

“So I win?”

Sehun nodded. “Yes. You win.”

Jinho smiled. “I expected that much.”

Sehun laughed. “Yeah yeah.”

“Do you want to join us, Jinho?” Suho asked.

“No. It's okay. You guys go on ahead. I'll be fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

Even though he lost, Sehun left the steam room with a smile on his face. Jinho felt his chest tighten painfully.

Jinho knew the reason behind that smile and it honestly didn't matter if he had won their little contest because he lost where it mattered most.

Ultimately, Sehun was the real winner.

He has Luhan.

******

“You look sticky,” Luhan said as soon as Sehun met up with him. The older boy's eyes were scanning his entire body, and Sehun couldn't tell if he was disturbed by the excessive amount of perspiration or by the fact that Sehun was shirtless and glistening.

Judging from how Luhan bit his lip, Sehun decided that it was probably the latter.

“Where's your tank?”

Sehun held up his top. “Here. It's completely soaked in sweat since I was using it to wipe myself the whole time I was in there.”

“You were there for an hour??”

Sehun shrugged. “I didn't want to lose.”

Before Luhan could ask what he meant by that, Sehun took Luhan's hand and smiled. “So, what do you want for lunch?”

“Anything, but before we go, do you mind putting on a shirt?”

Sehun laughed and wiggled his brows.. “Why? Are you afraid other people might like what they see?”

Luhan rolled his eyes. “No. It's because they don't let people into the food area without a shirt. Besides, you're not exactly the hottest thing around here, I doubt anyone would look.”

“Keep on telling yourself that, Bambi.”

“I will!”

When they walked past a group of teenagers who all started squealing, “Waaahh. He's so hot!!” Sehun had to tighten his grip on Luhan's hand or else the boy would have flung himself at the girls. With Sehun restraining him, Luhan resorted to giving the girls murderous glares.

“Still doubting that anyone would look?” Sehun asked, grinning proudly.

“Shut up,” Luhan hissed, dragging him towards the elevator.

“Where are we going?” Sehun asked, amusement in his voice.

“To get you a freaking shirt!”

When they got back to their room, Sehun realized that when Luhan said “shirt” he actually meant hoodie.

“Why do I have to wear this? It's warm here.”
 

“Because it might get chilly later.” Luhan brought the hoodie over his head and was in the process of tugging it down, when Sehun held his wrist.

“You sure this isn't your way of keeping the others from looking at me?”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” He batted Sehun's hand away and pulled the hoodie down.

“Having me wear a hoodie while everyone else is wearing sleeveless shirts will only make them look at me more.”

“But at least they won't look at you like you're a piece of meat they can't wait to have a taste of,” Luhan countered.

Sehun laughed and pulled Luhan closer to him. “You're even cuter when you're jealous.”

Luhan's eyes widened. “I'm not jealous!”

“Why not? I'll have you know--” Sehun leaned in to nuzzle Luhan's face. “I'm a really tasty piece of meat.”

“Sehun-ahhhh,” Luhan moaned as Sehun hook his fingers around the waistband of his swim shorts.

“What?”

“T-that w-was the lamest thing I've ever heard,” Luhan said, slightly out of breath as Sehun brought their bodies closer.

“Whatever. You're practically shaking with excitement.”

“Am not!”

“Tch. Denial.”

Not wanting Luhan to argue, Sehun pressed his lips against Luhan's, effectively distracting the smaller boy while subtly pushing him towards the bed.

When the back of Luhan's knees hit the bed and he fell backwards with an “Umph!” Sehun grinned. Mission accomplished.

“Sehun-ah, stop. We're supposed to meet with Suho and Lay for lunch,” Luhan said in between Sehun's eager kisses.

Sehun would have believed he was serious if it weren't for the fact that his arms ended up tightly wrapped around Sehun's neck.

“They can just order without us.”

“But I'm hungry.”

Sehun stopped what he was doing and stared at the boy underneath him. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Luhan raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”
 

“Devour me,” Sehun said simply, doing his best to keep a straight face.

“W-what?” Luhan stuttered, the color of his face close to resembling a cherry tomato.

Sehun leaned in so that their noses touched. “This tasty piece of meat is yours, so come on, have a bite.”

He flashed his boyfriend a teasing grin.

Luhan blinked a few times before squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head the other way, exposing his beautiful neck. “Sehun-ahhh. Stop with the meat talk. You're embarrassing me.”

Sehun doesn't hear him though – his mind too occupied with the sudden need to give Luhan's neck his undivided attention.

Upon inspection, Sehun decided that his boyfriend's pale neck needed a little color, so he gently pressed his lips on the sensitive skin, earning a gasp from Luhan. He trailed his lips all over the area, marveling over how incredibly soft Luhan felt against his lips. And when Luhan didn't push him away, Sehun pretty much took that as a sign to continue, so he began planting open mouth kisses on his boyfriend's neck, leisurely it, skillfully marking it.

When Luhan started melting into his touches, Sehun decided that lunch can just wait. There were far more important things that had to be done.

Besides, who needs food?

Certainly not Sehun, who had his mind set on indulging his favorite Bambi. 

~~~~~~ AHHHH. GAH. I CAN'T. Too many feels. Hunhan ♥♥ The jealous Bambi. The meat talk. The marking. The ugh everything. And then we have koala Baekhyun. Lol. They're so carefree and spontaneous, it's hilarious. Apparently, making everyone else uncomfortable is Baekyeol's mission in life. 

First off, I want to apologize for taking so long to update. Originally, I was supposed to finish and upload the chapter over the weekend, but I kept getting distracted. And when I did sit down to type the chapter, I was hit with writer's block. Extreme writer's block. It took me forever to get this part done. 

Next chapter will be INTERESTING - as in OMGGG. Cliffhanger ending. I'm warning you now. It's a crazy cliffhanger. One that involves Jinho. Oooo. Are you excited? 

Thanks for reading and subscribing! To my new subscribers, heyyyy!! I hope you like the story so far :)