With a noisy yawn Seunghyun opened his eyes and obliviously stretched his arms out, he stopped stretching and jolted in surprise when he felt his hand connect with something doughy. A soft groan abruptly filled the room and Seunghyun turned in horror, he had quite literally just punched the love of his life in the face. He shuffled from his back onto his side, quickly remembering where he was, and watched as Jiyong mumbled some gibberish as he awoke.

“Morning~” Seunghyun tried to act cute about the whole situation and swept his hand across Jiyong’s cheek as if he’d planned the touch. Jiyong could only look at him with foggy eyes

“Did you just punch me?” He asked his voice all rugged and heavy from sleep.

“Nope” Seunghyun managed to choke on the very air that he was trying so desperately to inhale. “I was you” He tried to contain a smile which threatened to burst from his lips and give the game away. Though he couldn’t help it, the way Jiyong languidly rubbed the sleep from his eyes was just so, undeniably, sweet.

“Is that what they call it nowadays?” Jiyong weakly smiled whilst shuffling into a seated position and stretching his arms out over his legs, Seunghyun watched him propping his head on his upturned hand and digging his elbow into the nearest pillow.

“Maybe…” Seunghyun shut his smile down by biting his bottom lip, his eyes trailed along Jiyong’s side particularly noting the way in which his tightly fitted white vest crinkled upwards pretty much revealing the whole lower half of what looked like a very toned back. Seunghyun shook his head and tried to look away, of course he failed miserably and ending up gawking like some beady eyed weirdo. And to add to his bittersweet misery Jiyong noticed

“See something you like?” Jiyong asked as if the question was just a casual part of their everyday conversation. Seunghyun blushed at his own idiocy at being caught and rolled away opting to look at the non-judgemental ceiling instead. “Seunghyun?” Jiyong’s head suddenly popped into view, he was grinning with a dizzying amount of happiness radiating from his eyes.

“Yes?” Came the rather vague response from the man in question, he was transfixed by the beautiful sight of Jiyong’s bright brown eyes and glowing smile. Seunghyun just wanted to stare at him forever…

“It’s alright you know” Jiyong answered in some sort of cryptic code of which Seunghyun couldn’t understand.

“What’s alright?” Seunghyun shyly questioned in reply whilst trying to avoid Jiyong’s inquisitive gaze for a moment, he couldn’t and his eyes were constantly attracted to Jiyong’s like they were magnetised or something. Damn Jiyong and his stupidly perfect face.

“Well” Jiyong started as Seunghyun felt two weights land either side of his neck, hurriedly looking to identify the weight he noticed that Jiyong’s hands were there. “Staring” The word sounded never-ending but, the way in which Jiyong spoke it, it didn’t sound as embarrassing.

“Staring at what?” Seunghyun dumbly replied honestly stumped.

“At me” Jiyong’s cheeks exploded like little fireworks and he had to look away this time.

“Oh…” Seunghyun’s mouth hung open in shock when he suddenly realised what Jiyong was saying and his brain clicked up a gear.

“I mean, if you want to, I mean, you don’t have to, but you, you don’t have to feel uncomfortable around me, and I-” Jiyong tried to explain himself more thoroughly but before his words could develop into some long lecture Seunghyun reached up and pulled him down into a rather awkward but giddy hug. Playful laughter lit Jiyong’s bedroom although before the hug spiralled into a mischievous tickle war there was loud knock on Jiyong’s bedroom door.

“Yes?” Jiyong just about managed as Seunghyun locked his legs around him, causing Jiyong to fall onto Seunghyun’s front.

“This package just arrived for you Ji, you should come out here and open it” Bae’s voice called from the other side of the door.

“But” Jiyong tried to pry Seunghyun’s hands from his ticklish sides. “I’m busy!”   

“Jiyong it’s important” Bae sounded strangely worried which caused Seunghyun to lax his grip.

“Fine, fine, fine” Jiyong huffed and slid out of Seunghyun’s clamp-like arms. Before Jiyong could climb out of the bed though his bedroom door swiftly opened and in stepped Bae.

“You” He pointed at Seunghyun. “Stay put” He then pointed at Jiyong. “You. Get dressed” Like clockwork both Seunghyun and Jiyong let out a soft disapproving grumble, Bae merely shrugged it off.

“I’ll be as fast as lightening” Jiyong chuckled as he angled his head downwards and granted Seunghyun one last kiss. He then climbed out of the bed whilst Seunghyun reached his arms out, cheekily making grabby hands at Jiyong. “Here” Jiyong bent down, scooped up Yoshi from the floor and threw it at Seunghyun. “I’ll be right back” He reassured Seunghyun as he shoved Seunghyun’s hoody on and followed Bae out of the room. Seunghyun only sighed then yawned, he speculated about what the package could possibly be this early in the morning but shrugged the thought off, it felt way too early for thoughts and Jiyong’s bed was beyond comfortable. Seunghyun drew Yoshi closer to his side then rolled onto his front and proceeded to bury his face into his pillow, he should probably check on Jiyong in a minute, he should probably get up and dressed, he should do something…

Seunghyun must’ve fallen asleep again because when his eyes opened he realised that his face was still pressed against Jiyong’s pillow and he may have well… dribbled.

“That’s attractive” Seunghyun huffed under his breath as he shuffled onto his knees and impatiently smudged his mouth against his arm, rapidly blinking he glanced around the room; where on earth was Jiyong? “He said he’d be as fast as lightening” Seunghyun huffed again and rolled off the bed. Still sleepy the morning zombie, who had no idea whether it was actually morning or not, sluggishly walked to Jiyong’s bedroom door and opened it. His feet somehow navigated him down the hallway and into the living room.

“Jiyong?” Seunghyun called out followed by a yawn, for some reason he felt more tired now than what he had done when he first woke up with Jiyong earlier. “Yongie?” He called again lazily stretching his arms out into the air. When Seunghyun approached the sofa his heart stopped, Jiyong was sat there clutching at a shoe sized box, his hands and skin as pale as the white cardboard “Jiyong what’s wrong?”

“It’s a box” Bae’s voice sounded from the direction of their recliner, Seunghyun could just see his feet again, he had to admit that Bae had nicely shaped toes – hang on that didn’t sound weird in the slightest.

“Of?” Seunghyun looked back to Jiyong roughly shaking his head.

“Photos” Daesung decided to chime in from what sounded like the kitchen, Seunghyun looked sideways and there he was, leaning over the counter and pitifully staring at Jiyong.

“Photos of what?” Seunghyun carefully sat down beside Jiyong on the sofa and peeked into the box, he gasped at the sight.

“Me” Jiyong sniffled then lifted something from the box and handed it to Seunghyun. The latter accidentally read the note aloud causing Jiyong to cry harder:

“To Jiyong,

It appears that you have made your choice. We wish you the best in life. In this box is every single memory that we have of you, we no longer wish to be reminded of our dead son.

Good luck, Mr and Mrs Kwon”

“What the” Seunghyun didn’t have a chance to finish his question because before he could utter another word Jiyong had fallen into his side and that’s when he overflowed with tears. Seunghyun wrapped a reassuring arm around him and shifted the box onto his own lap, he heard a sigh from Bae and he looked over to Daesung who had turned back to face the cooker. Jiyong’s parents really were the scum of the universe. “Don’t cry Jiyong” He tried rubbing up and down the guy’s stunning back.

“Yah Ji! Don’t waste your tears on them!” Daesung nearly shouted from the cooker, frightening the life out of Bae whose legs jolted halfway up into the air then slowly fell back down again.

“Could you shout any louder?!” Bae hollered back “But the idiot has a point Ji” He added simmering back down to his relaxed self. Jiyong didn’t respond but his tears did quieten down. Seunghyun didn’t know exactly what he should say to Jiyong, of course he could turn around and say “Oh you don’t need them when you’ve got me and your friends” but that would sound awfully arrogant and Jiyong did need them even if they didn’t want him. Or Seunghyun could say “Don’t worry we’ll fix this” but that would be lying and he wondered if there was any point in trying to reconcile them as Jiyong’s parents had definitely crossed the line with this one. All Seunghyun could do was hold Jiyong and just be there for him, with a free hand he fumbled through the contents of the box. There were a few whole pictures of Jiyong although most of them looked as if they had been cut or hacked away from much larger family photos, Seunghyun sighed.

“Seunghyun” Jiyong quietly called after a few minutes of more sniffling and unknown silence.

“Yes?” Seunghyun instantly replied.

“Do you know Dami very well?”

“Yes, I do. I was in a toy shop about a month ago and I found her Son who I returned to her. At the time I was missing you and she was missing her Husband so we kept each other company, I’d say that we’re pretty close and I know her Son, Yonghyun, very well” Seunghyun honestly replied, not knowing how this could help Jiyong.

“And she definitely thinks, thinks that I’m” Jiyong sharply gulped followed by an even sharper hiccup.

“Yes but she’ll be so relieved to find out that you’re not-”

“I don’t want to meet her” Jiyong heavily exhaled then leaned out of Seunghyun’s embrace. “I’m going to stay dead” He wiped his watery eyes on a green cuff “Excuse me. I just need some time to myself, I’m tired” And with that Jiyong slid off the sofa and shuffled off into his room.

Seunghyun was stunned and all he could do was stare after Jiyong, he wanted to reach out for him and pull him back but it was no use his arms wouldn’t move. Suddenly all the remaining eyes in the room were fixed on him

“Well what are you waiting for?” Bae was now laying on his front which meant that Seunghyun could just about see his eyes over the cushioned seat. Seunghyun silently nodded and lifted the lid of the box from the coffee table, glancing from Bae over to Daesung.

“Keep these somewhere for me please” Seunghyun slipped the lid onto the box then left it on the table for Bae.

“Sure” Bae answered without questioning the other’s motives. Slowly Seunghyun made his way back to Jiyong’s bedroom and when he opened the door to see that Jiyong was lying on the bed with his back to the door, an idea clicked within Seunghyun’s mind. He didn’t say a word as he wiggled onto the bed, slid behind Jiyong and scooped the smaller guy up into his arms. Jiyong merely sighed at the contact but didn’t try to escape it. As time ticked by Seunghyun nestled his head beside Jiyong’s and gradually held him as close as possible, even wrapping his legs around the rigid guy. He just wanted Jiyong to feel warm and most of all loved. Saying that Jiyong was loved, repeating over and over his thoughts, it was all pointless if Jiyong couldn’t feel it.

They laid that way for a while Seunghyun thought he counted nearly fifty of Jiyong’s breaths before he spoke

“Do you ever just wish that you could be somebody else?” Jiyong asked with what must’ve been his twentieth sigh.

“No” Seunghyun answered a little too fiercely. “I mean, I used to wish to have certain qualities but I never wanted to be someone else”

“What do you mean?” Jiyong asked absent-mindedly playing with the tips of Seunghyun’s fingers which were holding one of Jiyong’s shoulders.

“Well” Seunghyun breathed. “I used to wish to be stronger, like my Sister, or wiser, like my Mother. I’d wish to have certain traits which I never thought that I could possibly have”

“I see” Jiyong nodded causing his hair to tickle the side of Seunghyun’s head, now was not the time to laugh. “I wish I was stronger” He sighed again.

“But you are strong” Seunghyun gently squeezed him “And I wish that I could be as strong as you”

“Really?” Jiyong didn’t sound convinced.

“Well you live with your friends, you have a life of your own, even if you didn’t choose it, and you’re so much more in tune with the world than what I am. I wish I was more independent like you. And you’re undoubtedly strong because of what you’ve been through” Seunghyun squeezed him again. “To add to that, you must be physically strong after all the shelf stacking you must’ve done when you worked at that hellhole of a shop” Without any sort of warning Jiyong burst into tears and Seunghyun panicked trying to peek at Jiyong’s face.

“Hey don’t cry” He tried to soothe Jiyong but the guy shuffled out of his grip, only to lie on his back so that Seunghyun could see him. The latter almost punched Jiyong for what he saw. Instead of his previous upset crying Jiyong was currently sort of laughing, sort of snorting, and he couldn’t even look at the source of his amusement. “What. Was. That?” Seunghyun asked between ripples of Jiyong’s loud laughter.

“The-look-on-your-face!!” Jiyong barely replied, still streaming with the most intense laughter that Seunghyun had ever witnessed. Seunghyun pulled away a little as Jiyong’s legs started to kick about, at this rate he looked as if he was mess his pants up or something.

“And what’s wrong with my face?” Seunghyun pouted, realising that he preferred this beautiful sound of Jiyong’s musical laughter. Apparently he couldn’t quite pull the aegyo off which caused Jiyong to only laugh harder “Hey! You’re not supposed to laugh at me…” He faked a stroppy huff before rolling away from Jiyong. Once Seunghyun’s face was out of Jiyong’s sight he smiled, Jiyong’s laugh was so full on and unrestrained, the sound made him happy.

“Hyunnie~” Jiyong wheezed, still laughing.

“Nope, only nice people get to call me that” Seunghyun pretended to huff again and folded his arms up. When he felt Jiyong move to get closer to him Seunghyun stuck his behind out, making his back unreachable for the hug that was surely coming his way. He snickered when Jiyong stopped moving “I have a weapon and I’m not afraid to use it” Seunghyun tried to say between smirks.

“But” Jiyong actually huffed though he was still laughing.

“Exactly” Seunghyun cut in before Jiyong could finish his sentence. A second later Seunghyun felt a swift pair of feet connect to a rather squishy, sensitive, spot and without any sort of protest he was kicked out of the bed. Falling to the floor Seunghyun finally let out a gruff bellow of protest when the gravity of the situation literally hit h and he greeted Jiyong’s blue carpet with a stupid smile. “Owwww…” He hummed into the carpet and turned his head sideways to look up the bed, there was no Jiyong but he could hear giggling. Right that was it, Seunghyun rolled under Jiyong’s bed and slid out the other side. When he stood back up Jiyong was looking over to the side of the bed where Seunghyun had fallen off and that’s when the latter pounced, jumping onto Jiyong and tickling him until he cried out an apology.

“I’m sorry!” Jiyong pleaded between tickles “Please!” Seunghyun shook his head and rolled Jiyong onto his front, bringing his tickle war to what he assumed was Jiyong’s breaking point – his underarms. “Noooooo!” He found it and Jiyong screamed. He tried to kick Seunghyun away but it was no use, Seunghyun was much taller than him meaning that he was able to hold Jiyong down with both his knees and legs.

“How does laughing feel now?” Seunghyun asked raising an eyebrow at the crying, laughing, beautiful mess of man beneath him.

“Not-good-!!” Jiyong panted and tried to swat Seunghyun away with his hands, didn’t work. He saw that coming and ducked.

“Do you fully apologise?” Seunghyun smirked lowering his tickles to Jiyong’s abdomen.

“Yes-Yes!!”

“I don’t believe you” Seunghyun shrugged but was knocked a little off balance when one of Jiyong’s hands successfully grabbed a handful of Seunghyun’s hair. “Ow!” He stopped tickling Jiyong and instead grabbed the guy’s bony wrists, pinning his fighting arms against the bed. “That hurt!” Seunghyun huffed.

“Neh!” Jiyong childishly replied emphasising his lack of maturity by sticking his tongue out. “I win!”

“I don’t think so” Seunghyun leaned down and closer to Jiyong’s face, now they were so close that they could feel the other’s breath. Seunghyun slowly moved in to kiss Jiyong and the guy’s eyes momentarily widened at the unexpected kiss. Jiyong’s mouth was still open from sticking his tongue out at Seunghyun which meant that this was their first deep kiss, although before Jiyong could enjoy himself Seunghyun nipped Jiyong’s tongue in between his teeth then abruptly pulled away. Jiyong’s face was flushed and his eyes were closed making Seunghyun chuckle before saying

“I win” At the sound of Seunghyun’s low voice Jiyong’s eyes snapped open and he loudly huffed. However, being on the receiving end of Jiyong’s scrutinising gaze suddenly made Seunghyun’s heart burst into embarrassed flames and he jumped off Jiyong, attempting to hide the blush on his heated cheeks.

“Just” Jiyong lightly laughed as he sat up and punched Seunghyun in the arm. “Now can we call it quits?” He crossed his skinny legs over and Seunghyun laughed a little.

“You still haven’t told me whether we’re equal yet” Seunghyun shuffled over the bed and folded his own legs over, mimicking Jiyong’s position. “I think I’m still making up for lying to you about drinking tea quickly and then making you dive into… those shelves” Seunghyun cleared his throat when he remembered the many embarrassing moments which he had inflicted on the poor supermarket boy.

“That feels like such a long time ago” Jiyong pointed out with a sigh whilst reaching for Seunghyun’s hands and threading his own through them.

“Oh it was only about… what just over a month ago now?” Seunghyun frowned trying to think of the date though back then he wasn’t too good at telling the different days apart. “We’ve come a long way” He added lightly squeezing Jiyong’s hands.

“Yeah…” Jiyong sighed again and it was obvious to Seunghyun that he didn’t agree. “How about we go back to sleep?” Jiyong quietly asked loosening the grip of their hands and turning around so that he could snuggle into Seunghyun’s chest.

“Sure” Seunghyun wrapped his arms around Jiyong, practically lifting the guy up and shuffling back to rest against his pillows. Once they were comfortable Jiyong slid onto his side and used a hand as a small barrier between his head and Seunghyun’s chest. Seunghyun let out a long breath and watched as his broken yet still utterly beautiful Jiyong fell asleep. Running a gentle hand through Jiyong’s velvet locks, whilst his other arm held Jiyong close, Seunghyun wondered about what he could do to help. He knew that he had to tell Dami, no matter what Jiyong said, and he had to come up with a plan.

Seunghyun did that and then some as Jiyong slept soundly.

A phone rang and rang and Seunghyun carefully slipped from Jiyong’s embrace, allowing the still sleeping beauty to land against his soft pillows. He reached over to his previously worn clothes which were still hung on Jiyong’s desk chair and quickly fumbled through his pockets until he answered the phone.

“Hello?” Seunghyun whispered as he quietly crept from Jiyong’s room.

“You should thank Daesung!” It was Mihyun and she sounded furious.

“What?” Seunghyun gasped wandering down the hallway a little, he peeked around to the living room and thankfully there was no one there.

“Well at least he bothered to let me and our worrying Ma know where you are, you dirty stop out!” Mihyun almost had Seunghyun tricked until she said “dirty” and started laughing.

“You!” Seunghyun wished he could send a slap down the phone. “I’m sorry” He sighed “You’re right”

“Of course I am” Mihyun’s tone lightened up. “So dish all the details?”

“Err no” Seunghyun sat down on the sofa “All you need to know right now is that Jiyong and I are happy”

“YES!” Mihyun squealed down the phone almost blasting Seunghyun’s ear off.

“Although…” Seunghyun raised a hand to his brow and started to instinctively rub at it.

“What?” Mihyun was sure eager to know everything.

“Well Jiyong’s parents sent him a box with basically every single photo that they have ever taken of him in it” Seunghyun could only sigh some more.

“That’s horrible!”

“I know but I have an idea, I mean it’s not much but I can’t really think of what else to do…” Seunghyun looked towards the coffee table and saw that the cardboard box hadn’t been moved. “I was thinking maybe…” He explained a small idea to Mihyun whilst eyeing up the box. By the end of Seunghyun’s idea Mihyun couldn’t contain her excitement down the phone and he could just hear her approval without her actually vocalising it.

“I think that’s a lovely idea” Mihyun beamed, all fuzzy from the idea. “I’ll tell you what, Ma and I will cook a huge dinner and you can invite all the guys round. That way we can give you some time to put the wheels in motion because we can keep an eye on Jiyong, plus Ma wants to meet your mystery bloke in the flesh”

“Oh god” Seunghyun’s face lit up like a red buzzer. “Ma wants to meet Jiyong?!” The thought hadn’t crossed his mind and now he was totally embarrassed by the idea.

“Of course she does Babo! And don’t worry I’ll take some of the pressure off you guys when I tell her about me and Daesung” She laughed at her Brother’s bashful response.

“Fine” Seunghyun sighed “I guess it was bound to happen anyway” He already dreaded the idea of his Ma keeping Jiyong preoccupied.

“Exactly, so I’ll explain everything to Ma and you just bring the guys round, O.K?”

“O.K” Seunghyun hummed, he’d have to get over his embarrassment because he knew that Mihyun was right and Seunghyun couldn’t pull this off on his own.

“Great! Oh and make sure Bae comes too even if he is a single pringle” This made both siblings laugh.

“He’s gay and would so not be interested” Seunghyun pointed out as if he could hear Mihyun’s thoughts. “And he’s way too young so stop that” He firmly added.

“Alright, whatever you say boss, so we’ll cook the dinner for say four o’clock this afternoon? You guys can come over way before that though, Ma’ll be soooo pleased!” And with that Mihyun hung up. Seunghyun let out one last sigh and clicked his phone shut.

Two o’clock rolled around and before Seunghyun knew it he was sat in the back of Daesung’s car with a sleepyhead firmly pressed into his side. Jiyong had insisted that he was “just fine” and that he “wasn’t in the slightest bit tired” but as of right now Seunghyun knew better. Originally he’d coaxed Jiyong out of his room and at the same time explained to all three housemates what his Ma and Sister had planned. At first it was only Daesung who seemed to be excited by the idea although after some serious grovelling Bae came around and then, well, Jiyong had no choice in the matter. Seunghyun pretty much had to dress Jiyong and the guy was so weak Seunghyun wondered if he’d even make it through the day. Of course he would, Seunghyun would look after him and so would his family.

It didn’t take long for the familiar sight of Seunghyun’s house to crop up in their view and Daesung announced it by singing “We’re here~” Seunghyun looked down and gently shook Jiyong from his sleep, the guy slowly opened his eyes and yawned.

“This is going to be so much fun!” Daesung was still singing and he started bobbing his head, Seunghyun couldn’t help but like him a little bit more. He seemed to be so enthused by anything and everything.

“Yeah I’m looking forward to meeting the gang” Bae turned in his chair and smiled at both Seunghyun then Jiyong, his eyes disappeared into two cute little half-moons so Seunghyun returned his smile.

“They’ll love you” Seunghyun realised that he was rubbing Jiyong’s shoulder so he stopped “All of you” He added after receiving a wary glance from Jiyong. The car finally came to a stop with Daesung and Bae getting out of the car in lightning speed. Just as Seunghyun reached for the door handle though he felt Jiyong tug at the back of shirt. “What’s up?” He asked turning on seat to face Jiyong

“I’m just” Jiyong stopped to think of the right words “It’s just”

“Don’t be nervous” Seunghyun could read him like a book “And don’t worry, you’ll be fine” Gradually, whilst he spoke, Seunghyun reached for one of Jiyong’s shaking hands. “They’ll love you and I hope you’ll love them. Jiyong, this really means a lot to me but if you feel too uncomfortable just let me know and I’ll take you back”

“No Seunghyun” Jiyong cleared his throat which brought some strength back into his once tired voice. “I’m not worried about that” Seunghyun frowned but urge Jiyong on with a small of his thumb against their held hands. “I’m worried that I’ll like them”

“What?” Now Seunghyun really had no idea what Jiyong meant, he’d never felt so puzzled. “What do you mean?” He rephrased the question adding a little more care.

“Well what if they like me and I’m just some stupid disappointment, what if I mess everything up?” Jiyong looked away and out of the window which was behind Seunghyun’s head.

“You can stop that right now” Seunghyun used his free hand to sweep Jiyong’s face back into his direction. “You could never disappoint them, you hear me?” Jiyong didn’t respond his eyes simply struggled to look downwards. “Jiyong” Seunghyun let go of his hand and brought the other up to Jiyong’s face “The only problem that you’ll run into is that they’ll love you so much they might not let you leave” He smiled and softly pinched at Jiyong’s cheeks. “Seriously, I’m not joking when I say that they might kidnap you” It took a minute but Jiyong reluctantly laughed at the idea of being kidnapped. “But you see” Seunghyun leaned closer to Jiyong “They’ll have to get through me first” His voice lowered to a delicate whisper and he fondly pressed their lips together. Jiyong made a tiny hum of approval but Seunghyun didn’t continue the kiss, he smoothly pulled away and took Jiyong’s hand.

“Come on, let’s go”

“JIYONG!” Mihyun hurled herself at the poor guy before he even had a chance to take his shoes off. Seunghyun laughed and embraced his Ma who shortly followed behind.

“Youngbae and Daesung are already in the living room” Seunghyun’s Ma informed her Son as they hugged.

“Thanks Ma, for everything” He replied with a loving smile as they pulled away.

“No problem! Now Mihyun get off the poor boy and let me properly greet him” Seunghyun’s Ma snapped into hostess mode (quite possibly her favourite mode) and before Jiyong could find his feet she swept him up into a bone crushing hug. Seunghyun chuckled at the sheer of shock which pulled Jiyong’s mouth apart. “You’re so thin and delicate, you might snap like a twig” Seunghyun’s Ma airily laughed as she lowered Jiyong back to the ground.

“No Ma” Seunghyun stepped in taking a firm hold of Jiyong’s hand “He’s just perfect” He looked to Jiyong who radiated nothing but a pure smile, the shock from earlier subsiding, causing Seunghyun’s heart to skip a beat.

“Sure he is now come on I’ll make you all a tea or something, Jiyong do you like tea?” Jiyong soundlessly nodded and looked as if he might faint. As soon as Seunghyun’s Ma and Sister disappeared off into the kitchen Seunghyun knelt down in front of Jiyong and carefully removed the guy’s slip on trainers.

“Are you O.K Yongie?” Seunghyun asked placing Jiyong’s shoes right next to his own.

“Yeah” Jiyong sighed “Just surprised” He added when Seunghyun returned to his feet.

“See I told you” Seunghyun held Jiyong’s hand again. “They’ll love you but not as much as I do” He winked before he led Jiyong through the kitchen and into the living room.

This was by far the best Sunday of Seunghyun’s entire life and he knew that he would always remember this day for the foreseeable future. Once he and Jiyong had settled onto the sofa (the two men took up one corner of the sofa with Seunghyun sat like a normal person whilst Jiyong sat sideways on his lap leaning his back against the arm of the sofa and dangling his legs in between Seunghyun’s, the position seemed to calm Jiyong down or so Seunghyun figured) Mihyun appeared in the living room and offered everyone some small treats to keep them going until the food had finished cooking. Although these treats came with a price, the rest of the room could only watch as Mihyun ended up feeding most of the plate to Daesung and Bae quickly excused himself saying that he was going to help Mrs. Choi cook.

Seunghyun definitely felt sorry for Bae, if only there was someone he knew that he could set Bae up with, the guy was so nice and polite it was sad to see him hide his upset so obviously. Seunghyun swore that if he ever met a nice enough dude he would quite happily send him in Bae’s direction.

“What are you thinking about?” Jiyong faintly asked toying with a strawberry lace in between in fingers.

“I feel bad for Bae” Seunghyun honestly answered with a light sigh. “He’s such a nice guy”

“Yeah” Jiyong breathed. “I just wish he could meet someone decent for a change”

“Me too” Seunghyun nuzzled the side of Jiyong’s lowered head with his nose. “He’ll find someone though, he’s a good guy so I’m guessing it won’t be too difficult for him” When Seunghyun pulled back Jiyong nestled deeper into his chest. “Ji if you play with that sweet much more it’ll melt” Seunghyun pointed out which caused Jiyong to only lift the laced hand in Seunghyun’s direction. “Ew! Get that sticky thing out of my-” Without much protest Jiyong managed to stick one end of his lace to Seunghyun’s lips and he sat up so that he could flash Seunghyun the most devious smile he had ever witnessed. Jiyong seemed to lighten up so Seunghyun rolled his eyes and started to eat the lace. That’ll teach Jiyong, Seunghyun smiled in triumph as he’d managed to consume half of the lace. However, the smile was soon wiped from his face when Jiyong slipped the other end into his own mouth and started to furiously nibble as much of the strawberry lace as he could. Of course their lips collided once they’d both reached the middle and now it was Jiyong’s turn to smile as he kissed a rather dazed Seunghyun.

“I win” Jiyong giggled as he pressed a thumb to Seunghyun’s chin. There was such a fiery wave of energy which seemed to drain the dazzled man and Seunghyun had no idea what it was or what it meant, he made a mental note to maybe ask Mihyun later.

“Dinner is ready!” Seunghyun’s Ma called from the kitchen just in the nick of time. Both Seunghyun and Jiyong awkwardly laughed whilst Mihyun and Daesung vanished

“It might be an idea for you to get off me” Seunghyun said once their heated laughter died.

“Yeah…” Jiyong sounded strangely hesitant and that’s when Seunghyun realised that Jiyong had fully turned to sit on his lap properly, they were so close that their bodies were pressed together. “I’ll just” Jiyong coughed as held Seunghyun’s shoulders and pushed himself off. “Um…”

“Yeah…” Seunghyun replied in the same gasping tone. He could feel that tightness in his chest but it was a thousand times more painful than what it normally was, making it near enough impossible to breathe. He shook his head and tried to regain the use of his legs though they felt too heavy.

“Here” Jiyong’s light voice called holding out his hands to Seunghyun who quickly grabbed them and eventually managed to haul himself away from the sofa.

Dinner ran so smoothly that Seunghyun wondered if he was actually dreaming. He was sat in the middle of their compact dining table which was originally only built to house four people, and sat on his left hand side was Jiyong who ate a lot more than what he probably should but that wasn’t his fault it was Seunghyun’s Ma’s (She enjoyed overfeeding people in a typical mothering fashion). Then on his right side, on the end of the table, sat Bae, opposite Bae and down the other end of the table was Seunghyun’s Ma and opposite Seunghyun and Jiyong were obviously Mihyun and Daesung. Although the only annoying thing was, Mihyun sat opposite Seunghyun and whenever his eyes idly wandered over to Jiyong’s pleasant direction she kicked him under the table and forced him back to reality. Darn woman.

When they’ve just about finished what feels like a mountainous load of Italian style Spaghetti Bolognese (Memo to Seunghyun: Must ask Ma what in the heck she was thinking cooking such a messy meal) and after quickly wiping the orangey residue with the nearest tissue the household piled back into the living area. This time Seunghyun and Jiyong sat next to each other on the sofa keeping a polite distance and looking at the other when they thought that the receiver of their stare was busy, both were caught on several occasions. Before the situation could get any more awkward (though Seunghyun had no idea why he felt so nervous and sweaty) Seunghyun’s Ma suggested that they play some games and swiftly plonked herself next to her Son on the end of the sofa.

Seunghyun’s sort of dislike for Daesung returned when he suggested that they play charades, apparently his family used to play it all the time during the holidays, and everyone here would find it fun. Seunghyun rolled his eyes and started to nervously play with his hands, he didn’t want to play a game where everyone’s attention would be on him. Although to his surprise Jiyong sprang up from the sofa and offered to go first, Seunghyun could’ve broken his neck by the speed in which he snapped his head up to confirm what he had just heard. Everyone else seemed to notice and now they were all laughing at him, just great…

“Seunghyun doesn’t like to have fun” Mihyun giggled from the other sofa burying her stupid laughing face into Daesung’s shoulder.

“Aw” Jiyong huffed “Hyunnie~” He whined in that ridiculously adorable way, Seunghyun’s face burned brighter than the sun at this current moment and he wondered how it was possible for Jiyong to act so happy. He sighed when he realised that Jiyong might not be acting though, he was happy at the thought, Seunghyun felt too humiliated to do anything else.

“Just go on” Seunghyun waved his hand in the air then fanned himself.

“O.K!” Jiyong nodded after gaining what seemed like Seunghyun’s approval. The latter just watched as everyone joined in the game, Seunghyun’s Ma was practically bouncing on the sofa yelling out the most random things that Seunghyun had ever (or never) heard of. Bae seemed to jump to his feet and offer some acting assistance when Jiyong started to get frustrated by the amount of wrong answers which everyone (apart from Seunghyun) seemed to throw at him. Whilst Daesung and Mihyun were holding hands and their held hands rose higher in the air with every answer they shouted, this place was pure chaos for Seunghyun. He unenthusiastically watched as Jiyong started acting as if he was swimming and even though Seunghyun hated the game he slowly felt himself grinning at just how silly Jiyong managed to look. Though this silliness was a side of Jiyong which Seunghyun cherished, it made him want to join in and be just as foolish. It didn’t take long for Seunghyun to lose his inner battle and when he started shouting random film names at the wonderful clown in front of him Jiyong’s smile only widened and his laughter deepened.

“I give up!” Daesung huffed “You’re swimming but you’re not a person…”

“And you’re a film…” Mihyun added looking just as deflated as Daesung, the pair leaned back into the sofa. Jiyong at this point was on his knees and still pretended to swim

“Are you a Korean film?” Seunghyun’s Ma was on the verge of giving up but she was too proud so she’d probably stick it out to the end. Jiyong shook his head. “American?” Jiyong nodded.

“And you’re swimming but why are you touching your ?” Daesung huffed once more.

“Are you a mermaid?” Bae knew the answer so he was trying to give the rest of the group subtle clues. Jiyong shook his head for the millionth time.

“But that’s close…” Seunghyun finally spoke up, noticing Jiyong’s slightly happier smile and shuffling to the edge of his seat. Jiyong nodded. “Hmm…”

“Is it a boat? Are you boat?” Seunghyun’s Ma tried once more and Jiyong shook his head again.

“It’s not Titanic is it?” Daesung sighed fidgeting restlessly in his seat.

“Just how exactly is a boat close to a mermaid?” Mihyun laughed and shook her head. Jiyong went for one last swim and crawled over to Seunghyun staring at him as if he could telepathically send him the answer.

“I don’t understand” Seunghyun puzzled over the pleading stare “Are you a fish or something?” He guessed when Jiyong started to open and close his mouth. Jiyong happily nodded. “Right so you’re a fish and you’re touching your ? Hang on…” Seunghyun an invisible beard before he continued his answer. “You’re not lost are you?” He smirked when he thought he had the right answer. The mime below eagerly nodded tapping Seunghyun’s knees with the palms of his hands

“OH MY GOD I’VE GOT IT!” Mihyun dived up from the sofa and nearly ripped Daesung’s arm from the rest of his body. “YOU’RE A SHARK, ITS JAWS, I’M SO WINNING THIS!!” Jiyong let out a noiseless sigh and shook his head yet again. “Oh…” She fell back into her chair and raised her hands up in the air “I give up”

“Me too” Daesung mumbled wrapping his arms around Mihyun. Seunghyun glanced back at Jiyong who was still looking at him intently, for a minute Seunghyun could’ve sworn that Jiyong tried to mouth the answer to him but he had no idea what it meant. Or so he pretended.

“O.K” The sound of Jiyong’s voice caused Seunghyun to almost jump from his skin. “I give up, it’s Finding Nemo” He sighed again and climbed back onto the sofa to sit beside Seunghyun.

“Ah I knew it!” Daesung lied with a pathetic grumble which made everyone laugh.

“’Course you did…” Bae rolled his eyes and returned to his seat beside Daesung, briefly ruffling up the other guy’s hair.

“I really did know it” Seunghyun admitted once he’d received a rather painful slap on the arm from Jiyong. “What?! It was funny…” He couldn’t help but laugh at the evils he was currently on the receiving end of.

“You’re so lucky that you’ve got the rest of your family here to protect you” Jiyong sort of growled as he kicked Seunghyun’s wandering foot away.

“Oh honey if you need to slap him some more we don’t mind” Seunghyun’s Ma nipped her Son’s closest arm just for extra emphasis.

“Ma!!” Seunghyun whined pushing her hand away “That hurt! You traitor”

“Don’t worry Mrs. Choi I’ll get him back when he least expects it” Jiyong purred before his lips and smiling at Seunghyun’s focused by hazy reaction to the sight.

The rest of the day flew on by and after a few more (quite excruciating) rounds of charades Mihyun decided that it would be a good idea to end the lovely day with a relaxing film. Everyone agreed, completely drained by their silent shenanigans, and Seunghyun shifted to the floor when the occupants of the other sofa decided to cram into theirs. According to Mihyun they could only see the corner of the television from that sofa but Seunghyun didn’t mind that much, it felt sort of nice to have everyone he loved so close. And yes he even loved Daesung, they all felt like family now, even if he never wanted to vocalise this feeling.

Seunghyun was sat on the floor resting his back against the arm of the sofa, Jiyong’s hands loosely hung over Seunghyun’s shoulders and as the film started to play he massaged them. Sat beside Jiyong was Bae, who was contently pulled into a side hug by Seunghyun’s Ma, then sat on the end of the sofa was Mihyun, with Daesung echoing Seunghyun’s floor position. They were watching some film about a werewolf boy and Seunghyun tried to pay attention, apparently it was a really good film (again according to Mihyun) with some well-known actors in it, although after a while he was reduced to nothing but fleshy mush. The deliberately soothing circular motion which Jiyong’s hands were making caused Seunghyun to lose all his strength and he closed his eyes, soaking up the feeling. His head gradually fell back against the sofa, sleep peacefully shadowing his eyes, though just as that curtain of sleep fell someone called Seunghyun’s name instantly waking him back up.

“Yes?” A quick turn of his head allowed him to see that the call was from Mihyun.

“Don’t fall asleep” She glared at him as if her stare had some ulterior motive then he remembered his sneaky plan.

“Ah, I’m just going to the washroom” Seunghyun spoke over a vital part of the film causing everyone to make a “hush” noise at him as he escaped the room, even Jiyong was giving him a wary glare. Never mind that, Seunghyun shrugged the feeling off as he walked upstairs and entered Mihyun’s bedroom. Just like he’d asked Mihyun had left her laptop on, ready for him to use, so Seunghyun keyed in her password which was “love” and opened up the worldwide internet.

Soon it was time for the Choi’s guests to leave, Seunghyun had managed to return just as the film ended and he simply smiled at Jiyong as the credits rolled. Actually the whole return to the living room was pretty hilarious and as Seunghyun sat back down he shook his head, everyone was crying/pretending not to cry. The film must’ve been sad, Seunghyun tried to calm his smile as a hand latched onto his shoulder. He glanced up and cupped Jiyong’s hand, out of everyone he was probably crying the most and he was totally unashamed of the slight strangled noises that were currently escaping his throat. The music from the credits faded and the room fell into a sniffling silence, Seunghyun took that as the golden moment to say something in his typical smart arse fashion

“So was it a relaxing film?”

“No!” Was the general snappy response

“Daesung love me like that forever!” Mihyun dramatically slid down to the floor and scooped the snivelling blonde into the tightest hug known to man.

“I gotta find me a guy like that…” Bae sighed

“Me too” Seunghyun’s Ma agreed which caused her kids to glare at her. “I mean, no” She gulped before blowing into a tissue which just seemed to magically pop out of thin air.

“Well it’s getting late” Seunghyun stretched and stood up turning around to look at Jiyong who had buried his face into Seunghyun’s green hoody which he was still wearing. Seunghyun shook his head, he had to get another hoody for Jiyong to switch between, seeing as that couldn’t be healthy.

“Yeah” Daesung agreed easing himself out of Mihyun’s embrace “I don’t want to have to drive back too late.”

Seunghyun’s Ma and Mihyun had already said their goodbyes, it warmed Seunghyun’s insides to see that his Ma made Jiyong promise that he would come back and visit them regularly. Now it was just Seunghyun and Jiyong stood outside the front door, Daesung and Bae had gone back to the car to give them a minute of privacy.

“Are you busy tomorrow?” Jiyong had fully recovered from his film driven cry and smiled as if he was happiest person in the entire world.

“Yeah I am” Seunghyun sighed slipping his hands to the small curve in Jiyong’s back. “I’ve got a job interview”

“A job interview?!” Jiyong’s eyes widened and he frowned.

“Yeah I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t important” Seunghyun explained “It’s at 9:30 tomorrow morning at a bookshop”

“Seunghyun!” Jiyong’s smile changed into a look of slight annoyance. “Of course it’s important! I’ve-I’ve been so-”

“Don’t you dare say that” Seunghyun cut him off. “Don’t you dare Jiyong!”

“I just- what I mean to say is, I want to know everything…” Jiyong stepped backwards and out of Seunghyun’s embrace. “I’ve missed so much of your life” He sighed lowering his perfect head to examine his feet.

“Jiyong” Seunghyun leaned down and reached for one of Jiyong’s biceps, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. “You didn’t miss much, if anything at all, so don’t worry about it. Let’s just look forward to the future hey?” That did the trick Jiyong peered up and smiled at the thought of having a future. Seunghyun smiled at the thought of having a future with Jiyong. “All you need to say is good luck, I love you, I’ll still love you even if you don’t get the job then I get to kiss you goodnight”

“Well” Jiyong took a step closer “Good luck” A tender hand rested against Seunghyun’s beating chest. “And I love you, I’ll still love you even if you don’t get the job” At that Jiyong reached up and finished his sentence with an incredible kiss. Seunghyun just stood there like a dummy, all the components of his brain spiralling into a meltdown, and he sighed when their lips parted. A dull ache for more caused Seunghyun to reach out but he didn’t get the chance to react because before he could Jiyong skipped off to the car. He climbed into the black vehicle and joyously waved at Seunghyun

“You win” Seunghyun slowly returned the wave watching helplessly as Daesung’s car drove off. He watched it until the backlights faded into the navy blue night.

Seunghyun lifted the white cardboard box onto his bed and removed the lid, he started with the smallest photos spreading them across his duvet then moved onto the bigger ones. From behind he pulled out an A-4 sized black book and slipped a note from it, reading the note back to himself he smiled.

“To my dearest Son,

One day I hope you will put this book to good use and understand that the most valuable things in life need not be expensive. I know the future you will figure it out.

All my love,

Pa, Your loving Father.”

The book he had in his hands was given to him a few years ago by his Father, it was a last minute Christmas present and at first Seunghyun was frustrated that he got such a crappy present when that very same year Mihyun had been given a laptop.

Folding the note back up and placing it on his bedside table, Seunghyun knew that he would put it to good use now. He reached out for one more item which sat to the side of his bed, Jiyong’s portfolio, and opened it up. As well as having kept Jiyong’s photography safe the folder now housed all of Seunghyun’s photos from their perfect day out.

It took him all night to plan the first page of his little black book and once he’d pasted the pictures in Seunghyun came up with another idea. Fishing his phone out of his pocket Seunghyun went into his text messages, then into the drafts section and opened up the first message which read:

“Dream”, “Live”, “Hope”, “Love”, “Runaway”, “Courage”, “Song” and “Belief”

Seunghyun lifted a plain notepad from his bedside drawer and wrote down the different words, once he was satisfied with how they looked he cut the words out and stuck them into the book being extremely careful about where they were being placed (taking note of which words would look good with images and what ones wouldn’t).

After a while Seunghyun had filled half the book and before sleep could fully call him he cautiously placed everything back into the cardboard box. He would use all of the different fragments of Jiyong’s life and piece them back together.