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A familiar smell wafted through his door and woke him up before his alarm rang. Opening his eyes Heechul realized the sun had not risen yet, but there were sounds coming from the kitchen. Heechul couldn’t really sleep well. After the sudden revelation the night before, his brain just wouldn’t stop working.

He left the comfort of his bed and sneaked out of his room. As he had expected, Sungmin was again in the kitchen, busy with something on the stove. From the smell, it was pumpkin soup, his specialty. Heechul remembered clearly Sungmin had cooked it in his first night in the apartment, he also remembered how he had laughed at Sungmin’s soup. Out of politeness he had accepted Sungmin’s offer for a bowl of the recipe, and since then Heechul had never laughed at Sungmin’s pumpkin soup anymore. It was good. A bit to the plain side, but it was creamy and smooth and warm and there was this hint of sweetness that always reminded Heechul of Sungmin—hence his nickname for the pumpkin-lover.

“Why are you up so early?” Heechul asked as he approached the cooking guy. Heechul could hear Sungmin curse under his breath and then followed by a hiss.

When Sungmin turned his head to look at Heechul, he had his forefinger in his mouth and was at it with teary eyes.

Heechul could only stare at the way Sungmin was on his finger.

The finger slid out of that pretty mouth with a faint pop and Heechul was brought back to reality.

“Why do you always suprise me like that, Hyung!” Sungmin protested as he wrung the wounded finger about. Only then Heechul realized that Sungmin had slightly burnt his finger on the hot pan because Heechul surprised him (again).

“Oh, sorry about that,” Heechul absentmindedly said. He distracted himself from the weird thoughts growing in his head by peering over Sungmin’s shoulder to sniff at the pumpkin soup. “Hmm, can I eat that now?”

Sungmin pushed Heechul away with his elbow and signaled him to sit down. “It’s almost done. Anyway, that should be my question, why are you up this early?”

Heechul shrugged and told Sungmin the general truth, “I couldn’t sleep, somehow,”

“Huh? You’re still upset about… that guy?” Sungmin asked while he kept stirring on his soup.

“No,” Heechul shook his head even though Sungmin couldn’t see him. “I’m not upset about him anymore. My moping week is over, remember?”

“Hm,” Sungmin turned off the fire and proceeded to take a big white bowl with a cat print on it (it was Heechul’s), and then poured a generous amount of soup into it. He put the bowl with steaming content on the table right under Heechul’s nose, and sat across Heechul again. Somehow Heechul felt a strong sense of deja vu, from the previous night’s scene.

“So what, meeting out of town?” Heechul asked as he eyed Sungmin’s formal attire behind his yellow apron. Sungmin worked in a national trading company, so it was normal that he went out of town every once in a while.

“Yeah, in Daegu,” Sungmin answered as he took off the apron and fixed his tie. “I have to be in the airport before eight. Oh hey, Heechul Hyung?”

“Yup?” Heechul responded while he put his attention on his early breakfast. He slurped at the soup and made a contended sound as he appraised the familiar taste.

“I’m sorry about last night,”

Another spoonful. “It’s alright, Pumpkin. You were right in some points, so I forgive you,”

Heechul only didn’t say that he was thankful and relieved that Sungmin wasn’t mad anymore. Their serious fights, even though very very rare, always ends with Sungmin apologizing first, and it never lasted more than twenty four hours.

Sungmin chuckled at Heechul’s outward indifference.

“Oh, and Hyung?”

“Hmm?” another spoonful of creamy pumpkin soup.

“Have you seen my necklace? You know, the one with a locket. You gave it to me a few years back,” Sungmin asked tentatively.

Heechul could’ve sworn a portion of the soup shot up his nose as he tried not to choke.

“Y-yeah, I picked it up last night. You dropped it by the sink,” Heechul decided to pretend not to know anything about his picture inside the locket. He took it out from his pants pocket and handed it back to Sungmin. “I didn’t know you still wear it, I’m honored,” he said cheekily, trying to mask his nervousness.

Sungmin carefully put the necklace in his jacket’s inside pocket. Heechul noticed how Sungmin eyed him suspiciously, trying to find out whether Heechul had seen the photo inside or not, without actually asking the question out loud. Heechul just kept pretending. He knew he was good in pretending. He had done it for years with all those people he dated anyway—pretending to really like them (except for the last one, because he was serious with him; he had honestly liked Jungmo, although Sungmin was right about forcing himself to try to fall in love).

“Um, okay then. Enjoy the soup. Leave some for Hyukkie and Hae, okay?” Sungmin stood up and was about to leave the table when Heechul made a frantic hand movement to tell him to sit back down.

“Sit with me for a few more minutes!” Heechul demanded.

“What? Hyung, I can’t be late! I will miss the bus!” Sungmin protested, even though he sat down again. “What do you want? Hurry up,”

Heechul shook his head, “Just sit here with me. Forget the bus, I’ll drive you to the airport,”

Sungmin gaped at him.

Heechul sighed at the look of disbelief in Sungmin’s face. Well, he might not have been the best hyung in the world, but was it really surprising for him to offer to drive his dear younger flatmate to the airport?

Sungmin was still gaping.

Heechul tssk-ed and continued with his soup, “I’m serious, so will you please stop giving me that look?”

“…okay, then… Thanks, I guess. You being this nice is a very rare occurrence so I might as well take advantage of it,” Sungmin snatched the spoon from Heechul’s hand and helped himself with some of his own cooking.

Heechul chose not to retort to that, and instead watched Sungmin as he slurped the soup. The bow-shaped lips, the sharp and smooth nose, the pink tongue peeking out to quickly some excess soup from the corner of his mouth, the adam apple bobbing when he swallowed.

“You eating from my spoon is like an indirect kiss,” he blurted out unthinkingly. Sungmin dropped the spoon back into the bowl with a clang and a few specks of orange-colored liquid landed on both of their faces.

“Heechul hyung. What.” Sungmin looked at him, surprised, with his round shining eyes and raised eyebrows.

Heechul cursed inwardly. Overnight, everything about Sungmin has become a strong stimulant for his brain (and his freewheeling heart). The little things, the casual everyday happenings around him that was related to Sungmin, he never really paid attention to them before. Now they all stood out so vividly, Heechul wondered how did he ever manage to ignore all those things before last night.

“I’m just saying. Why should you be so surprised,” Heechul said airily (even though mentally, he was berating himself for saying it so thoughtlessly) as he lifted a hand and casually wiped the soup  from Sungmin’s soft cheek with his thumb.

Heechul actually expected Sungmin to blush or stutter because of his gentle actions. He was determined to start paying attention to Sungmin’s little reactions from now on, if only to further prove that his feelings for Heechul was true.

Unexpectedly, Sungmin swatted his hand away and to Heechul surprise, he started to raise his voice at him.

“Look what you’ve done to my shirt!” he screeched and pointed at a few orange spots on the chest area of his white shirt, also some on his right cuff.

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who dropped the spoon!”

“Yeah, but you were the one who suddenly talked about kissing!”

“Indirect kiss!”

“Whatever!”

“Well it was true anyway. It’s not my fault that you got so surprised at it!”

Sungmin already opened his mouth, ready to throw another retort, but it seemed that cat got his tongue this time.

“Geez, okay it was my fault. Go get your car key, Hyung, I’m going to change my shirt,” Sungmin said even as he left the kitchen.

Heechul snickered triumphantly.

.

“You’re weird this morning, Hyung, but thanks for driving me!” Sungmin said as he unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over the gear stick to give Heechul a tight snuggly hug around his neck. For a moment Heechul could feel his heart stop beating, only to resume pumping blood to his head twice as hard. The warmth he felt gathering on his cheeks was the prove.

“Hm, yeah, see you tonight,” Heechul patted Sungmin’s back briefly before Sungmin pulled away.

“My plane should arrive here at 10 p.m, so maybe you could pick me up straight after your work? You’re going back to work today, right?”  he asked hopefully.

Heechul couldn’t say no to that eyes. So he nodded.

Sungmin smiled brightly, shouldered his bag and exited the car.

As he watched Sungmin walk quickly toward the entrance, his accelerating heartbeat gradually returned to normal. Only then he realized that it was actually quite common for Sungmin to hug him like that. Sungmin was always the hugging type when feeling thankful, and the cuddling type when he needed comfort. It was always like that and Heechul had always known it. Sungmin was still the usual Sungmin, but Heechul had changed.

His feelings for Sungmin had changed.

.

When he returned to the apartment, his other two flatmates, Donghae and Hyukjae, were already up and about. They’re twin brothers from Mokpo, two years younger than Heechul and only a few months older than Sungmin. They had come to Seoul to open a small dance school for little kids, while also back dancing for some young idols’ performances every once in a while.

“Hey Hyung,” Donghae greeted him from the living room while he ate his share of pumpkin soup. “Where have you been? Out so early,”

“Driving Sungmin to the airport,” Heechul answered as he observed Hyukjae get a big trunk out of his room. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Um, Minnie hasn’t told you?” Donghae put his spoon slowly, suddenly looking a little awkward.

Heechul frowned. “He hasn’t told me anything about you two,” he said as he sat beside Donghae on the couch and waited.

Donghae then put the bowl onto the coffee table and sat straight, facing Heechul. He had a very serious expression on his face.

“Hyung, we’re leaving. Hyukjae and I, we’ve decided to go back home, to Mokpo. Mom has been lonely since Dad’s gone, so after a lot of thinking we decided it’s best to keep her company. We’ve told Minnie about this a few days ago, when you’re… you know,”

Heechul nodded quietly. He was, to be honest, quite surprised. Donghae and Hyukjae had been his flatmates for almost two years now. They were the most long-lasting flatmates he’d ever had (after Sungmin). The others never stayed more than a few months because most probably, they couldn’t stand Heechul’s frequent y attitude and his many many romantic escapades. Heechul sighed, it would be troublesome to try to find rare people like Sungmin and these twins again.

“I understand. I’m going to miss you guys, but… well… When are you leaving?” he asked, draping an arm around Donghae’s shoulder to give him a little hug. Even though he might seemed indifferent about it, but Heechul really cared for these boys a lot.

“Hyukkie still has a few things to take care of, so maybe in two or three more days?” Donghae said. “I’m glad you’re okay now, let’s have a party tonight, okay Hyung?”

Heechul smiled and nodded, “Yeah, sure. Let’s make Hyukjae drunk,” he added in a whisper.

Donghae laughed. His twin brother didn’t take alcohol very well, and once he’s drunk, hilarious things would ensue.

Sure, watching a drunk Hyukjae would be fun, but Heechul also had a little plan for Sungmin.

Just wait for it, Lee Sungmin.

.

Heechul taught piano lessons for a living. He worked in a small music school not too far from the center of the city. It was where he met Jungmo. Jungmo, who were a guitarist in a quite famous indie band, taught electric guitar there. They had been good friends for two years, with the last couple of months spent as a couple. Heechul wondered what he would say to Jungmo when he met him again, because their last meeting the week before didn’t end in a good note (considering Heechul throwing an ashtray at his chest and yelling profanities when Jungmo decided they wouldn’t be able to continue their romantic relationship).

Before Jungmo, Heechul never had to deal with his ex-boyfriends (and ex-girlfriends, before he realized his ual orientation) because they were just from different world, different part of the city. Once they broke up, they disappear and Heechul had never seen them again (and it spare him the awkwardness of a post break-up). Jungmo was a different case and now he’s confused on how to act around him when they would eventually meet at the music school.

Taking a deep breath, Heechul left the comfort of his car and entered the school. He took a quick look around the hall area and sighed in relief when he didn’t find Jungmo lounging around in the seating area like usual. Maybe he was in the faculty room. Heechul remembered his own schedule well, he didn’t have to enter the faculty room so he could still avoid Jungmo, at least for the day.

“Hey,” he greeted Sooyoung, the receptionist. “Is my 1:30 student here yet?”

“Hi, Heechul oppa,” Sooyoung greeted back with her lovely smile. “Um, 1:3o for you should be Jino-sshi, right? I think I saw—”

“Jino is waiting upstairs,” a voice cut Sooyoung’s sentence and answered for Heechul instead.

Heechul could feel his body tensed. He slowly turned around and lifted his face up a little to face the person he had been trying to avoid.

“Jungmo,” he said, trying to keep his voice void of emotion as their eyes met. Surprisingly, when they looked at each other, he didn’t feel angry anymore at Jungmo for ending their relationship. Just faint traces of annoyance and the offended feeling of being rejected. Like when your friend did a mistake to you and even though you’re pissed off but you still forgave them because, well, you’re friends.

Yes, they’re friends. Jungmo was one of his few good friends, and somehow, Heechul was relieved to find that he could still consider him a friend even after what happened. Maybe it’s because there was never something quite that serious between them in the first place. Heechul sighed internally. And to think that he had thought he was really on the verge of falling in love with Jungmo. It was probably a good thing Jungmo had been able to sense that they weren’t working together and that he had been brave enough to face a y and absolutely angry Heechul.

Jungmo seemed to be able to read these thoughts through his eyes, because the next moment he was ruffling Heechul’s hair and laughed that horrible laugh that Heechul found aggravating.

“So we’re good now?” Jungmo asked.

Heechul hissed and elbowed Jungmo hard on the side of his stomach, causing the taller man to bent over and gasp at the sharp pain.

“Dude!” Jungmo protested, wheezing.

“We’re good. Just stay away from me for a couple of more days if you want to be physically unhurt,” Heechul threatened. It was just a bluff, and he was sure that Jungmo knew it.

“Alright, alright,” Jungmo raised both of his hands as a sign of surrender. “Still, you could’ve at least picked a spot that isn’t already bruised, man,” Jungmo rubbed his stomach slowly and hissed when he touched the tender spot.

“Huh?” Heechul raised an eyebrow at this, “You’re hurt? What happened? Did you fall off of the crowd-surfing or something? I didn’t… I didn’t hurt you, that time, did I?”

Jungmo shook his head, “You didn’t, it’s your pumpkin soup who did,”

“Excuse me?!” Heechul shrieked, and Sooyoung ssssh-ed at him. Heechul ignored her and grabbed Jungmo by the elbow to drag him to a quiet corner (away from Sooyoung’s sharp ears). “Did you mean Sungmin?!” he demanded.

Jungmo chuckled. “Yeah, Sungmin, who else? I never knew he had a powerful kick. He threw me onto the trashcans at that alley beside your apartment, dude, like a freaking action movie,”

Heechul couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping. “What? How? When?!”

“That night we broke up. Apparently he was in the kitchen when our war in the living room began, so when it ended and you lock yourself in your room, he came out and told me he needed to talk to me. I just followed him to the side alley, you know, I wonder what’s so important that he had to bring me there, but then he said to me that he was angry beyond words at me for hurting you, and that he was sorry for what he was about to do. And then he showed me some kind of cool wushu thingy and the next thing I know I was on top of the trashcans and my side tummy hurt like hell,”

“You’re kidding, Jungmo,”

“And then he accompanied me to the nearest clinic, told the doctor he accidentally kicked me in the middle of training,” Jungmo continued, shaking his head as if he still couldn’t believe that it had happened to him. “But I was okay, just a bruise, the doctor said. So Sungmin took my car keys, drove me home, helped me to my room, and then he went  home without a word. Seriously, he’s a weird guy, but he has his heart in the right place. He really cares for you,”

Yes, Sungmin was weird, Heechul agreed in his mind, but still he felt that warmth enveloping his heart as his mind processed what Sungmin had done for him, and how much Heechul’s happiness and sadness affected him. He felt his throat constricting again at the thought of how he had never realized Sungmin’s feelings before. Heechul felt stupid. All along what he was looking for was right there by his side, and like what the younger man had said, he just kept looking in the wrong places.

“Heechul-ah,” Jungmo called, jerking him out of his reverie.

“I gotta go now, my student is waiting,” Heechul smirked as he left Jungmo, “and Sungmin’s my pumpkin, without the soup, you dork,”

.

When he saw Sungmin come out of the arrival gate, not noticing that he was there, he waved and called out, “Yah! Lee Sungmin!”

Sungmin raised an eyebrow at the familiar voice and his expression brightened as he found Heechul. He hurried to Heechul’s side, a big plastic bag that wasn’t there this morning swinging by his side.

“You’re here!” Sungmin said happily.

“Of course I’m here. I told you I would. I sent you a text in the afternoon, didn’t you read it?” Heechul put an arm around Sungmin’s shoulder and steered him to the parking lot.

“I read it, but it’s still… I mean, don’t you realize it? Today is the first time you actually escorted me and picked me up, like, two times in a day, Hyung, this is an achievement! I feel so happy,” Sungmin shoved his new plastic bag to Heechul as they walked leisurely toward the car.

“Hm, from now on I’ll be doting on you so much you would soon yell at me to stop,” Heechul said while he peeked inside the plastic bag, “What’s this? Smells like food,”

“It is. I bought a lot of food after the meeting was finished,”

“Huh? Why? I thought you’re still on a diet,”

“It’s for you, Hyung! Did you even look at yourself? You’re so thin. I told you your habit of eating less when heart-broken is bad! I’m going to fatten you up again,”

“Well, like it or not, you will fatten up together with me,” Heechul smirked, reaching out a hand to pinch Sungmin’s side.

Sungmin yelped and jumped a few feet to avoid more pinches, and laughed. “My diet can wait,” he said, with a smile so beautiful that Heechul just couldn’t keep his eyes off it.

.

“So we’re having a party?” Sungmin asked when he entered the car and saw a few six-packs of beer sitting on the back seat together with some snacks.

“The twin’s goodbye party,”

“…oh,”

“You never told me about the two of them moving out,” Heechul accused as he backed the car out of the parking space.

Sungmin fastened his seat belt and shrugged, “I was going to tell you tonight. No, I was going to tell you a few days ago but you were too busy avoiding us, you know,”

Heechul snorted at this, “Yeah I know. Look, I ditch Jungmo and his invitation for his band’s live tonight to pick you up, so cut me some slacks okay?”

Sungmin tensed at this information and it didn’t escape Heechul’s eyes. He mentally rejoiced.

“You’ve talked to Jungmo hyung?” his voice was a little shaky, but he covered it well. If he weren’t the awesome Kim Heechul, he wouldn’t have been able to hear it in Sungmin’s voice.

“Yeah. Well, I met him in when I went to teach, so of course I’ve talked to him. I know one thing now, Jungmo is different than my other exes. I cannot stay angry at him. We’ve talked, and we’re good now. Everything’s okay.”

“Different? O-oh, so you’re indeed really in love with him? And what… what do you mean you’re good now? Back together?” Sungmin’s voice was getting smaller and smaller.

Heechul didn’t answer right away, and Sungmin turned his head away, choosing to look blankly at the colorful store signboards outside. Heechul held back a chuckle when he saw how Sungmin reacted in the corner of his eyes.

“We’re not back together, pumpkin,” he said firmly. He thought he heard a soft cracking sound when Sungmin whipped his head around so fast. “I mean he’s different because he’s my good friend. And we’re good because there was really nothing serious between us, so there’s nothing to be so upset over. Well, I’ve only realized this after I talked to him earlier today. You were right, I was forcing myself to fall in love, that’s why it didn’t work out. For now I’m just going to enjoy this freedom and I would listen to you for once: I would give the right person a chance to make the first move. Happy now?”

Heechul took his eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at Sungmin earnestly. The younger man was smiling softly at him, as if he was proud that Heechul could finally open his eyes and stop so desperately trying to fall in love.

“I’m glad to hear that, Hyung. I just want you to be genuinely happy, you know that,”

Heechul only smiled back and nodded.

.

Half an hour after a drunk Hyukjae finished his funny yet touching babble about how he and Donghae had loved staying with Heechul and Sungmin and how they wouldn’t forget them even after they got back to Mokpo, Donghae managed to drag his intoxicated brother to his room, then retreated to his own room, leaving the other two in the living room, leaning to each other on the small couch.

Heechul had a good alcohol tolerance level and Sungmin had only drunk three cans of beer since the start of their little party, so actually they were both only slightly tipsy.

At first Heechul wanted to make Sungmin drunk to force him into confessing, but then he thought it wouldn’t be a romantic memory if they were looking back and remembered the drunken confession. Nah, a sober one was definitely more preferable.

To be honest, Heechul would have loved to confess to Sungmin first. Afterall, he only needed so many hours to realize how much Sungmin meant to him and how Sungmin had always been by his side all these years. Looking back and remembering everything Sungmin had done for him—with him, Heechul could feel how his heart reacted in a completely different way than how it had reacted to his previous relationships.

Unfortunately,  if he claimed he loved Sungmin right after he had a broken relationship, Sungmin would only think that he’s using him as a rebound. It was also possible that if Sungmin knew he only realized his own feelings after he found out about Sungmin’s, the younger man would mistaken his love as pity. No, Heechul wouldn’t want that. So even though Heechul was already sure with his feelings for Sungmin, he would give it a little more time, if only to appreciate every gesture Sungmin did, every part of his personality, from his kindness down to his weirdest antics, just everything about Sungmin, and see him in a different light.

Heechul could already tell how he would only fall deeper and deeper after that.

Also, he had promised Sungmin that he would give ‘the right person’ a chance to make the first move, so the least he could do was to give a little pull so that Sungmin would stop hiding his feelings.

So Heechul’s plan for the night was not to make Sungmin confess immediately, but more to coax a few honest answer from the guy. Being a little tipsy would let Sungmin lower his usually strong guard, and if he acted drunk, he could throw a couple of bold questions without Sungmin suspecting him too much.

First step.

Heechul emptied his beer can in one last big gulp, and exhaled in an exaggerated fashion. Slumping sideways into Sungmin’s body and putting his head on Sungmin’s shoulder, he called out.

“Pumpkin~”

“Hmm?” Sungmin hummed an answer as his hand wriggled through the space between Heechul’s back and the sofa’s backrest, fingers gripping Heechul’s waist softly and pulled the seemingly drunk man closer to him.

“Have you ever been in love?” Bold question number one. In completely sober condition, Sungmin would definitely find a way to elude this question. Heechul had never actually asked this to Sungmin (and for that, he could only blame himself), but somehow Heechul just knew how Sungmin would react.

Sungmin sighed, but Heechul cheered mentally when he answered, “I have. Why do you suddenly ask me this?” then he leaned his head onto Heechul’s head.

Heechul shook his head, causing his hair to brush against Sungmin’s cheek, and the younger one chuckled at the sensation.

“My latest and longest romantic relationship, you know… just ended, and I realized… that… that I’ve never been in love with any of them. Now looking back to some… memories… I think I’ve found love somewhere along the road and I didn’t even notice it, so… I’m just asking…” Heechul explained with a little (fake) slur here and there. “Tell me about your love story, pumpkin,”

Sungmin was quiet for a few moments, but he continued nonetheless. “You already know, Hyung… I mean, there’s nothing to know about. It’s as clear as daylight. I haven’t been in a relationship for years now. Had a girlfriend back in middle high, but it’s only because she was a very kind noona and I wanted to know what it’s like to have a girlfriend. Another one in senior high, but later I knew she was more like a little sister to me. My first boy crush was in my first year of college, a senior of mine, but I didn’t do anything about it and he got married right after he graduated, so I moved on. And then I went out with a few people, but nothing serious… and after I started sharing apartment with you, somehow the urge to date is just… gone.”

“Hmm,” Heechul put this information into his memory shelves. “So there was really no one, since you knew me?”

Sungmin flinched a little. Heechul could feel it when the muscle where he rest his head on twitched.

“If you put it that way, yes… no one since I knew you,” Sungmin said the sentence so slowly, that it was almost a whisper.

“Do you think my relationships have anything to do with it? I mean… Did you lose faith in love… and relationship, because of my countless failures?” Heechul asked.

“…it’s a complicated answer, and I don’t want to answer it,” Sungmin said, “But no, I never lose faith in love,”

Heechul felt warm hearing those last words. He turned his head a little so he could snuggle even closer to Sungmin’s unclothed arm. He silently thanked whatever reason that made Sungmin choose to wear a sleeveless shirt for his sleepwear that night. Feeling even bolder than a few moments ago, Heechul pressed his lips to the skin of Sungmin’s upper arm, and gave it an obvious smooch.

“Hyung!” Sungmin jerked away immediately, but he could only went so far because Heechul had a firm grip on his arm.

Heechul pulled Sungmin closer again, and looked up at him with what he hoped to be a slightly drunken and dreamy look. Sungmin didn’t say anything and just stare back into his eyes. Still not breaking off their eye contact, Heechul lowered his head and landed another peck on another spot on Sungmin’s arm.

Sungmin was very tense, but he was no longer trying to distance himself. Heechul diverted his eyes and focused into peppering Sungmin’s upper arm and shoulder with more soft kisses. It continued further, but when he reached Sungmin’s collarbone, he paused, not sure if he should continue. If things did not end well tonight, he could always pretend to blame it on the alcohol or for the worst case scenario, he could pretend to forgot everything (and still blaming it on the alcohol) in the morning.

Just a little more until he could reach those inviting lips…

Sungmin suddenly laughed, though, making Heechul pull back and raise an eyebrow involuntarily. That was not what he had expected.

“Oh, hyung,” Sungmin’s laughter subsided into chuckles, “If I didn’t know you, I’d say you’re trying to flirt with me.”

“Huh?” Wasn’t that what he was really doing? Heechul frowned.

“But I do know you, and I know you’re not really drunk. So quit the act and stop making fun of me, okay?” the amusement in his voice gone, Sungmin’s voice sounded bitter now.

“Huh?” Heechul felt so stupid for the succession of his unintelligent respond.

Sungmin finally pulled his arm free from Heechul’s grip. “I know you’re making fun of me because I have been single for so long, yet I still believe in love, like a stupid teenage girl,” Sungmin snorted, but it sounded pathetic that Heechul didn’t know what to say, but he tried anyway.

“Pumpkin, I didn’t—”

“Yeah, you’re just joking, it’s okay. I’m just…” Sungmin sighed, and then he stood up. “I’m not in the mood for this kind of jokes. Let’s just sleep, okay Hyung?”

Heechul fell silent. He pondered a few options of ways to make Sungmin felt better, but he really couldn’t come up with any. Sungmin’s reaction was too unexpected for him. He had thought Sungmin would either push him away and be terrified, or let him continue and… well, he hadn’t thought Sungmin would think of it all as a cruel joke on his love life.

He felt guilty, so he just nodded and let Sungmin pulled him up from the couch, and they went to their own separate rooms.

.

It was six in the morning, and despite the amount of beer he drank a few hours prior, Heechul couldn’t sleep. That feeling of guilt wouldn’t go away, and somehow he knew this time he should not wait until Sungmin apologize to him first, especially since it wasn’t really anyone’s fault and they weren’t even really fighting.

Unable to ignore the little voice in his head that kept telling him to go to Sungmin ‘right now!‘, Heechul slid out of his blanket and off his bed.

Heebum escaped outside once Sungmin’s door was opened. The feline rubbed his warm body to Heechul’s ankle before he went somewhere else. Heechul kept the door slightly open just in case Heebum would want to go back resting in his cot, and he proceeded to approach Sungmin’s bed. The younger guy was a heavy sleeper, so Heechul didn’t think twice before he climbed onto the bed under the covers and snuggled close to the sleeping man. The faint reddish-yellow mix of the sunrise and fading city light breached through the window blinds, enough to illuminate the room and more importantly, Sungmin’s features for Heechul to take his time and observe every part of Sungmin’s sleeping face.

Sungmin was lightly snoring, his mouth opened a few millimeters and he was wearing a slight frown in his sleep. He must have been very exhausted. Sungmin had woken up very early the previous morning, gone out of town for a meeting, participated in that little goodbye party once he got home and also, the talk with him afterward. Heechul massaged the frown gently with two of his fingers until Sungmin relaxed and the frown disappeared. Sungmin moved his head a little, mumbling in his sleep. Heechul heard his name somewhere in the middle of the jumbled words, and he couldn’t help but to smile at that cute gesture. Lifting his head, Heechul kissed the tip of Sungmin’s nose and then he put an arm around Sungmin’s torso.

He finally fell asleep with the regular breathing of the still soundly sleeping man beside him as his lullaby.

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tbc.

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