Graduation arrived at a pace that was both fast and slow. Every morning, Daehyun would wake up and have maybe a thirty minute period to chat with Youngjae as he got ready for school and the other got ready for bed. Then again just after school ended and, if he was lucky, he could catch Youngjae on before he went to sleep. The times that he went days without a message from his friend were the longest, as Youngjae trained from dawn to dusk, immersed himself in the American culture, attended workshops and bonded with his team. Daehyun, who had refrained from downloading Snapchat for the longest time, finally caved so that he could send picture updates of what was happening around the school, strange things that he saw, and lament about his workload. In turn, he received snaps of foreign cities, sweaty clothing and empty dance rooms. Youngjae also sent tons of selfies and he noted that, after the first few months, he lost most of the baby fat on his face, toned down into smooth muscle, and wore a more self-confident grin.

Over the months, he had grown closer to Yongguk. They hung out after their respective classes had finished, explored Seoul together, and went on dates. The elder showed him things that he wasn’t aware of, like every Friday afternoon there was an impromptu concert in the courtyard, and a restaurant where they could create their own pizza together. Sometimes he slept over at Yongguk’s house and other times they stayed at his. It was everything he imagined; waking up beside the person that he cared for, cooking breakfast (albeit badly), stealing kisses as they studied together, holding hands when they walked down the street. People noticed and although there had been an initial shock, people had gradually learned how to accept it. The rappers, who he had been slightly apprehensive about, were the first break out into cheers and start congratulating Yongguk, terribly embarrassing him.

The sun was shining through his bathroom window as he fussed with his hair. His parents and brother were in his living room, having come to Seoul to celebrate his musical graduation. It still surprised him that he had made it through the years of academy, and was now graduating.

“Daehyun!” His brother yelled, banging on the other side of the door and almost frightening him into dropping his eyeliner. “Hurry up. Yongguk is waiting for you.”  

“Yeah, I’m coming. Tell him to wait a little bit longer.” Steadying his hand again, he finished lining his eyes and added a layer of Chap Stick to his lips. Straightening out his suit, he critically looked at himself. He had grown in the last month, just the tiniest bit more, and his face had sharpened so his nose and jawline was more pronounced. Being in the sun had given him a more golden tan, and he had recently dyed his hair a light blue, which his mother found terrible but his father and brother liked. Fixing his tie a little bit, a black colour laced with strands of gold, he exited the bathroom with a nervous huff.

His parents were sitting on the couch, nursing hot tea, while his brother and Yongguk lounged in the other chairs. Everyone was dressed formally, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of the elder. He wasn’t wearing anything too spectacular, just dress pants, a waistcoat and a white button down shirt, but he looked stunning. Perhaps it was the fact that he had also changed up his hairstyle, dyeing the front ends of his hair a light brown and then gelling it up, but Daehyun suddenly felt giddy.

“Aaaaah!” His mother interrupted his gawking by tottering over, holding her purse in one hand and the camera in the other, vigorously shooing him towards his date. “A few pictures. You two look so handsome. Yes, put your arm around him…Daehyun, smile a bit more…okay? One, two, three…”

About a hundred photos later, complete with different poses and uncomfortable staring, they were ushered outside. His parents and brother took one car and he rode with Yongguk, staring out the window silently while a warm thumb ran over his knuckles.

“Are you nervous?” Yongguk asked finally, glancing over when they halted at a red light. He had been asked to sing a final song at the ceremony, the last one he would do for his academy, and it was a big honour.

“Not really. I mean, they can’t fail me even if I totally screw up, right?” Laughing a little, he squeezed Yongguk’s hand and then shrugged. “I just…it’s hard to believe. It’s been four years. And I always thought that I would graduate with Youngjae with me…”

“Things don’t always turn out the way that they are supposed to, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful. That’s the great thing about life. You can’t always anticipate what will happen, but things will work out in the end.”

“Like us?” He asked, rolling down the window so that he could feel the wind tear through it, ruining the perfectly coiffed hairstyle that his mother had fussed over.

“Exactly like us. If someone had told me a few years ago that I would end up with a beautiful singer that eats more than a hippo and talks more than a parrot, I wouldn’t have believed him.” Daehyun hit the elder for that, sticking out his tongue and pouting as if he was insulted.

“Well, if someone told me that I would end up with a handsome rapper that looked like a gangster but was actually as soft as a teddy bear, I wouldn’t have believed him either!”

They were still laughing when they pulled into the academy parking lot, grabbing one of the last slots. The entire building had been decorated in white and purple ribbons, and their pictures from recent concerts and showcases lined the walkway.

“Oh, look! They have a picture of me with my blue hair.” Daehyun exclaimed, pulling the elder towards the large place card. It was taken about two weeks ago, at a small concert to generate interest in their academy. He was looking out, probably at the crowd, and the camera had captured his side profile. “Ew. I look sweaty.”

They found Yongguk’s next, taken from two days ago when the elder had been invited to open for a national group. He, too, was looking out in the distance, sunglasses hiding his eyes. Dressed in a plain black tshirt and a faux leather tie, Daehyun had to admit that he looked pretty badass.

“I look weird.” The elder stated, standing behind him with a hand on his waist.

Before Daehyun had time to debate, he was called over to a photo booth where his friends were already gathered. The next half an hour was spent taking photos, talking about their future plans, and stealing what they could from the banquet setting without any adults noticing. Half an hour later, the parents and friends began to file in and fifteen minutes after that, they all took their seats. There were a few cameras around, since a few of their students had already been picked up by prominent entertainment companies, but they had been instructed to stay at the back. First, their director went up and talked, then a few of their coaches, and then the event staff. Two people went up to sing and then it was his turn. His performance went without a hitch and after he returned to his seat and the applause stopped, they were called up onto stage to be recognized.

It went by alphabetical order, as always, and Daehyun cheered loudly as Yongguk stepped up to shake hands with their director and pose for pictures. Most of the dancers found a way to make their entrance and exit interesting, some of them moonwalking across the stage or doing complex flips back to the ground. By the time J rolled around, he was fidgeting and sweating in the heat, wondering if it would be inappropriate for him to remove his jacket.

Then Jung Daehyun was called and he stood up, making his way up the small flight of stairs and crossing towards the five adults. Each student could request two of their coaches to be on stage when they received their recognition, and he had asked for two of his vocal coaches that had encouraged him through his time at the academy. Shaking hands with his director, the event manager, the head coach and his two teachers, he posed for pictures, grinning happily as his mother snapped several shots. When he turned towards the exit stairs, however, he found that they were blocked by someone.

“YOUNGJAE!” He screamed, stealing the attention from everyone and nearly startling the girl behind him into tripping back down the stairs. His friend was standing at the bottom of the landing, dressed in jeans and a leather jacket. His hair was dark blonde, a snapback shoved over it, causing strands to stick up everywhere. Barely conscious of the crowd watching him, he flung himself down the stairs and straight into the waiting arms, almost knocking them both to the ground.

“Hey, Daehyun!” Arms wrapped around his waist and he squeezed around Youngjae’s neck, clinging to him. His friend had become far more solid and taller, so that Youngjae had to look down on him when they finally parted.

“You didn’t tell me that you were coming! I missed you sooooooooo much!” They ended up walking one of the trails behind the academy, not wanting to interrupt the rest of it. Fingers intertwined, shoulders brushing, Daehyun felt giddy with joy that he was seeing and touching Youngjae again.

“You didn’t think that I wouldn’t come and see you graduate? I asked and they gave me a week off.” Youngjae explained, turning his face towards the sun with a deep inhale. “I missed this place. America is great, but it’s all new and we don’t really stay in one place for a long time. And I still haven’t completely learned the language.”

“Show me pictures! How are you getting on with your team mates? Have you seen a lot of cool things? Is America like Korea?”

Daehyun felt bad for missing the rest of the ceremony, but they talked until they heard music start, signalling the end of the event. By that time, they were sitting in the grass, side by side. They were close enough that if he shifted over an inch, their sides would be pressed together, but he didn’t and Youngjae didn’t either.

“The food looks so nice,” he sighed wistfully, scrolling through Youngjae’s pictures that he had taken of their meals, “even the ice cream looks great. I want to eat that. And that. And that.” The next photo, after one of a giant bowl of fries, was a picture of Youngjae and a girl, both wearing bathing suits with the beach in the background. They were grinning at the camera and, in the corner of the shot, he could see that Youngjae’s arm was around her shoulders.

“Wait-“ The other, seeing what he was gaping at, made an attempt to take back his phone, but Daehyun smacked him in the chest.

“Who is she?” He demanded in excitement, shoving the screen into Youngjae’s face. “Is she your girlfriend? How did you meet her? Are you dating? What’s her name?”

A heavy weight knocked him down and he squirmed as Youngjae wrestled the device from his hands. Finally, once the other had secured his phone, he sat back and let Daehyun scramble back into a sitting position.

“Her name is Nahyun,” Youngjae growled, glaring at him, “and she’s part of our sister group. We’ve been travelling together for a few weeks. She’s just a friend. We aren’t allowed to date.”

“But do you like her?” He persisted, scooting closer and forcing Youngjae to move back.

“No. Even if I did,” A palm shoved his shoulder, “we can’t. Sooooooo.”

“But you do like her. I can see it. Youngjae likes a girl!” Squealing gleefully, he did an impromptu dance, including a lot of flailing and attempting to get his friend to join in. “I want to meet her. You have to put her on when we Skype, okay? Just so that she knows who’s first in your heart.”

“Really? And who’s supposed to be first in my heart?” Youngjae teased back.

“Me, of course. Your best friend. Your soul mate.” Exaggerating his pout, Daehyun was about to shake the other again when he heard a throat being cleared. Twisting around, he shielded his eyes and looked up to see Yongguk standing behind them. The elder had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, a cap shading his eyes from the sun.

“Oh…I’ll leave you two alone. I should catch up with everyone else.” Youngjae looked at them and then scrambled to his feet, using Daehyun’s head to leverage him into a standing position. Winking at Daehyun and awkwardly waving at Yongguk, he shoved his hands into his pockets and ambled off in the direction of the music. With the help of the elders hand, he scrambled to his feet, sheepishly dusting off his crumpled pants and dusty palms.

“You created quite an upset when you screamed.” Yongguk chuckled, pulling him closer until he could hold him with one arm and threat his fingers through the strands of his hair with the other.

“I didn’t expect Youngjae to be there,” he protested, “he can’t just spring that on me.”

“I did wonder how you would react.” A deep chuckle was pressed into his hair as Yongguk kissed the top of his head, rocking them from side to side in time with the music wafting from the academy.

“You knew? That Youngjae was going to come?” Gasping a little, he pulled back, narrowing his eyes at the elder. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“He contacted me about the ceremony details.” Yongguk admitted, nuzzling against his ear. “But he asked me to keep it a secret, so that he could surprise you. Plus, you were so busy with other things, so I didn’t think you needed extra stuff on your mind.”

Grudgingly agreeing that the knowledge would have only stressed him out more, Daehyun rested his head against the elders shoulder, one arm wrapped around the other side of his neck. Yongguk’s hand reached for his and they started to clumsily waltz in circles, stumbling over each other’s feet and laughing as they made a tiny square pattern.

“You’re supposed to be letting me guide,” Yongguk observed, looking down at their feet, “and stop leaning all your weight on me. We’re going to fall over like this.”

“I never learned how to dance. And neither have you. We’re literally stepping from side to side.” He pointed out with a laugh, tilting his head up and kissing the elder. They stopped dancing for a minute so that they could kiss properly, Yongguk’s hands coming up to cup his face while Daehyun’s flattened on the others chest. It was gentle and sweet, with no attempts to deepen it, and they couldn’t even kiss properly because Daehyun was smiling too hard.

“I’m kissing your teeth, not your lips.” The male complained, pecking his nose and then both sides of his mouth.

“God, you’re never happy, are you?” Daehyun complained back, throwing both his arms around the others neck and pulling him down for another, overly enthusiastic kiss. When they parted again, Yongguk was breathing heavily and Daehyun’s cheeks were pink. Resting their foreheads together, he inhaled and gently touched their lips together again, revelling in the way they were so close. “We’re still going to be together, even though academy is over, right?” He asked suddenly.

“Of course,” the elder chuckled, “that doesn’t change anything. In fact, I have something for you...” Pulling back, Yongguk reached behind him and pulled something from his waistband. A red rose, a little crumpled and squashed, but beautiful all the same. “Red,” Yongguk said, handing it to him with a flourish, “is for love.”

Cheeks flushed even darker, Daehyun accepted the rose, bringing it to his nose and inhaling deeply.

“So, love?” He asked, suddenly shy. “That means that…you know…”

With a sweep of Yongguk’s arm, he was brought closer and kissed again, gentle and sweet and loving.

“I love you.” The words were whispered against his ear and Daehyun shivered, a grin spreading over his lips. Reaching up with one hand, he caressed the side of Yongguk’s face and brought him down for another kiss.

“I love you too, Yongguk.”

______

awwwwww this fanfic is finally over ;3; it took way longer for me to write than it probably should, because i'm lazy, but i'm thankful for everyone that read and subscribed and commented and upvoted on this. i can't say that this is one of my best pieces, but it really has helped me improve my writing and you guys have also proved to me that it is, in fact, possible to write fics that are not purely or mature. i hope you guys continue to support me and read my other stories and yeah ;3; please check out my newest (revamped) story the kings game (if you want to beta it for me pls message me omg i need help). 

THANK YOUOUUUUUUU

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