{Yongguk’s POV}

I don’t regret a thing, even if those lips would refuse me in the most hurtful way.

I regret nothing.

I wait for the words to come but the silence seems to last forever.

I open my eyes, braced for the expression that would break me into pieces but it isn’t there.

Those lips are smiling.

And that’s all I need to know.

Those delicate arms wrap around my waist in the most endearing way and his hands tug on the back of my shirt. I love the way he smells and I think I have the rights to bury my nose into his hair and take in all of him.

I think I’m about to lose conscious.

My arms find their way up his back and wrap around him gently, softly, delicately as if his porcelain skin would break under my touch.

I smile against his velvet strands.

There’s nothing else I’d hope for at this moment.

“I miss you, Hyung.”

“I miss you too, Zelo.”

Nothing else matters, right?

“Hyung,” Zelo’s voice is muffled in my shoulder but I hear him clearly, clearer and more vivid than anything else. “I was so lonely. Do you know?”

“I was lonely too.”

“You looked happy.”

“Really?”

“That’s what I see.”

“I… wasn’t happy at all. Not without you.”

“I miss you so much Hyung.” The wetness spreads on my shoulder. “I miss you…”

“I know, Zelo. I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you. I…”

“Hyung, I’m sorry too. I didn’t want to… kiss Sunhee… but I was so…”

“So what?”

“I don’t know, Hyung. I was so… angry.”

A surging warmth bubbles inside my chest as I smile to myself. “You’re jealous Zelo.”

“I am?” His voice came out only vaguely more than a whisper, quietly, like a windchime tingling in the distant.

“Yes. And I was too.”

I hug him tighter, caging his skinnier torso between my own and the wall. The feel of his body heat is a calm wave, cleansing me of all the ache I’ve had.

“Hyung… where did you go…”

“I… Many things happened, Zelo.”

He says nothing but sobs into my shoulder and I gladly welcome the warm wetness. I’ve never really held Zelo so closely before. We were never this intimate. It’s extremely close, the way we’re touching but it feels nothing close to dirty. Purifier, Zelo’s my purifier.

And I’m afraid to taint this angel.

“Zelo, if Hyung’s…” I can’t find the right words, so I start over again, my voice breathy beside his ear. “Would you still be with me if Hyung’s a bad person?”

“What are you talking about, Hyung. You’re never a bad person.” Zelo turns his head, his eyes staring up at mine as he rests the side of his face on my shoulder. His hair is ruffled, bangs falling down to cover his forehead like the way he looked before. I run a hand through his hair, bringing his fringe down the way I like it. Now, that looks more like the Zelo I know.

His eyes twinkle the same way they always do and I find myself enchanted by those malted orbs.

“Is it alright if Hyung likes you, in more than just a friendly way?”

“Hyung…”

He slides his arms from underneath mine and leans back against the wall, eyes transfixed on mine.

“Hyung… is it alright if I like you, in more than just a friendly way?” He smiles at me. The sunset glow reflects on the tears in his eyes, about to spill over. “I should be the one asking.” His trembling lips speak cracked words and his hands reach up to clutch the front of his shirt as if holding his heart. “I… I’ve liked you since the start. The day I first saw you, I already like you. But I was scared you would be— disgusted so I kept quiet about it…”

I dash down the memory lane, trying to trace back to the very first moment between me and Zelo. What I thought to be growing friendship turned out to be blossoming romance to him.

“Until… until the day you disappeared. I was so scared, Hyung, I was scared you won’t come back, that you don’t like me anymore. You disappeared, Hyung. You disappeared.” His sobs grew more violent as he pours out to me, the tears trickling down his face endlessly and I grab his arms as if to support his trembling body.

“I thought you didn’t want me anymore, Hyung.”

My chest feels a dull pain at the sentence. I put a palm at the back of his head and push him forward to rest his head on my shoulder again. I hug him tightly, hoping that I still have enough warmth to calm his trembling self. He shakes like a frightened animal in my arms and I hold him like a delicate child.

“That’s why you did all this?” I whisper into his ear as if a louder voice would shatter him. “All this… it hurts.”

He buries his face deeper into my shoulder at my last word and his