Hyukjae dreads the following Monday when they go to school and he has to see Donghae. After that kiss, Hyukjae practically ran away, stammering nervously as he made a break for who-knows-where-as-long-as-it’s-away-from-Donghae-right-now. He didn’t turn around to see Donghae’s obvious let down expression.

You see, Hyukjae thought he had everything figured out. He thought he was starting to understand the feelings he was having. He thought he missed Donghae because Donghae is becoming a bigger part of his life, another best friend practically. After all, he definitely missed Junsu when he left, and he would miss Sungmin as well. And those butterflies? Just anxiety because he wanted to see Donghae come back soon.

Then Donghae kisses him.

Even if it’s just on the cheek, a friendly expression that even Sungmin has done to Hyukjae which he treats with disregard, the dancer can’t stop freaking out over it. When Sungmin kisses him, nothing happens. He just pushes Sungmin away, laughing. But when Donghae kisses him, he wants to…

“You’re such a ert,” Hyukjae groans to himself, practically pulling his own hair out.

“I know,” a new voice says. Hyukjae looks up and almost groans again upon seeing Sungmin. Even though Sungmin’s his best friend, he tends to be a pain in the when it comes to Donghae and Hyukjae’s relationship for some reason.  

“How did you get in?” he asks, frowning.

“You know how,” Sungmin replies coolly. “Your mom let me in. She said you looked distraught, by the way.”

“I am distraught,” Hyukjae admits, falling back onto his bed with a sigh.

“Does it have anything to do with Donghae kissing you?” Sungmin asks, sitting on the chair beside Hyukjae’s desk. He says it so casually Hyukjae almost ignores it altogether.

“How’d you know?” he asks, leaning up on his elbows to narrow his eyes at said best friend with mystical abilities to foresee things he did not actually see.

“Siwon told me.”

Or maybe there are no mystical abilities.  “Oh.”

“So when are you two going to finally get together?” Sungmin asks with a sigh.

“What do you mean?!” Hyukjae exclaims, his eyes widening. “We’re not going to get together! We’re just friends!” He doesn’t know why Sungmin is trying to joke about a very serious matter at a time like this.

“You know,” Sungmin says a little thoughtfully, staring at Hyukjae very seriously. “I thought you were just trying to act stupid about this, but apparently you really are stupid.” Hyukjae just frowns, not fully understanding his best friend.

Sungmin, frustrated at this point, stands up and walks over to Hyukjae, grabs his shoulders, shakes them, and yells, “You like Donghae!”

“O-Of course I don’t!” Hyukjae stammers, falling back suddenly. “Only as a friend! Only as a friend…”

“The fact that he kissed you means nothing?!”

“It was just a peck on the cheek!” Hyukjae defends. “That’s normal…” he says, although he seems a bit unsure himself.

“Not really,” Sungmin says, rolling his eyes. “Even if it’s just skinship and stuff, it was the look in his eye. It’s the look that’s always there.”

“… you mean that blank stare of his?” Hyukjae asks.

“Blank?! It’s full of love and care and – are you really this stupid?!” Sungmin raises his fist and Hyukjae flinches, actually thinking Sungmin will hit him. But Sungmin just sighs and falls beside Hyukjae, practically pulling his own hair out. “I didn’t want to interfere with your feelings, because I thought you’d eventually get them, but I guess I have no choice.”

Hyukjae just stares at Sungmin, not understanding where Sungmin is getting at quite yet.

“Donghae likes you… as in, likes likes,” Sungmin says.

“He-He told you that?” Hyukjae asks quietly, his eyes averted.

“No,” Sungmin says. “But it’s so obvious. I still don’t understand how you caught on when I liked Kyuhyun, but you can’t even…” He sighs. “Anyway, everyone’s seen it, except you. Even Siwon knows!”

“But –“

“Don’t you dare argue with me now, Hyukjae,” Sungmin warns, and Hyukjae just shuts his mouth. “Now, what are you going to do now that you know?”

“What am I supposed to do?” Hyukjae asks with a groan, frustrated with the whole situation. Whatever happened to girls and their problems? When did this start applying to guys all of a sudden? “I’m strai–“

“When Donghae kissed you, what happened?”

Hyukjae frowns. “I ran away,” he replies.

“I mean, how did you feel?”

Hyukjae doesn’t want to explain the feelings even he’s not sure about, but he reluctantly tells Sungmin about the butterflies in his stomach that appear when Donghae smiles or touches him, about that silly grin he smiles when he sees the younger boy, and that light feelings he has when the two are together, as if the world and its problems don’t exist.

“You’re scared, aren’t you,” Sungmin says, and it’s not even a question.

Hyukjae smiles sadly. “I just don’t know when I became… gay.”

Sungmin laughs a little, both happy and sympathetic for his friend. “At least you’re admitting it,” he says. “That’s a step at least. Now, how about you actually talk to Donghae about this?”

Hyukjae frowns, but nods. “I guess that’d be the right thing…”

Sungmin pats his friend’s back. “I’m glad I made progress,” he thinks aloud. “Honestly, where would you be without me?”

“Without bruises,” Hyukjae deadpans.

Sungmin smiles. “Tough love.”

 Hyukjae snorts. “Tell me about it…”

-

Hyukjae quietly slips into the room, expecting to see Donghae dancing, but instead Donghae is just sitting down, slowly stretching, seemingly in deep thought. Hyukjae almost laughs because a serious Donghae tends to be rare, but he stops himself.

“You showed up,” Donghae says softly when he sees Hyukjae. Hyukjae smiles a bit, that look of relief in Donghae’s eyes making him want to squeeze the younger boy.

“Yeah…” Hyukjae replies quietly. “We have stuff to talk about, don’t we?”

All Donghae does is smile softly, not sure if he should be happy, scared, sad, or what. He nods and the two sit together, both ready to finally talk.

---------

A/N: Where would we all be without Sungmin? Seriously, Sungmin gives away so many Eunhae moments. You just have got to love that boy... Ahem, so this story will probably only have two more chapters left, I guess. Three to four at the most. YAY! Almost done! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed :)