The first thing Daehyun noticed when he woke up was that Youngjae was no longer beside him, but sitting on the floor reading a book from Daehyun's bookshelf. The second thing he noticed was that he was no longer in his -inducing pyjamas, but in a pair of skinny jeans and a red drop-sleeve tank that had the same effect on Dae as everything else Youngjae ever wore. Daehyun pouted and sat up in bed.

“You aren't in my bed,” he stated, the sound of his voice making Youngjae look up. “Why?”

Youngjae shrugged and put the book back on the shelf.

“I woke up really early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up. I had a shower and read a bit to pass the time; I didn't want to wake you.” he gestured to the bookshelf. “I hope you don't mind.”

“Not at all.” Daehyun smiled at how adorable his boyfriend was. “I'm going to have a quick shower, and then we'll go downstairs for breakfast, alright?”

“Sure,” Youngjae said getting up off of the floor and walking over to Daehyun. “But first...”

Youngjae's arms s around Daehyun's neck to pull the elder into a kiss that sent both their hearts soaring.

“Mmm,” Dae hummed, “I think I’ll make it a cold shower.”

Youngjae blushed and stammered, but Daehyun gave him no chance to reply before he left for the bathroom.

Breakfast was bacon, an assortment of eggs, pancakes and waffles – cream, strawberries, syrup and honey were optional toppings. Daehyun complained that his mother had gone overboard, but she insisted that only the best was acceptable for her gorgeous son and his lovely boyfriend. Youngjae thanked her at least ten times, polite as ever, as Daehyun just stuffed his face – repeatedly.

Over the course of the morning, Daehyun found himself looking at Youngjae more than ever, and with every look, every glance, he found something new to admire about the younger boy. He was able to admit that Youngjae was rapidly stealing his heart, but Daehyun didn't mind because he knew Youngjae would take care of it.

X x X x X

“Jae, just breathe. It's okay; they'll never know!” Daehyun calmed his boyfriend, running his hands through Youngjae's blonde hair.

“But what if they just know? My umma is very good at reading people!” Youngjae argued. He was having second thoughts about having Daehyun over for dinner. At first, he thought it was a great idea – it would give his parents a chance to warm up to Daehyun as Youngjae's friend before they drop the 'boyfriend' bomb – but now, Youngjae was thinking that it wasn't the most fool-proof plan. “What if I reach for your hand or kiss your cheek or call you 'jagiya' just out of habit? What if I give us away and they force me to never see you again?”

“Well then we'll be like Romeo and Juliet – without the double suicide thing, because that's just not romantic. I don't know what Shakespeare was thinking when-”

“Daehyun! This is serious and you're complaining about Shakespeare’s storylines? Can you take this seriously for one second, please? If this ends badly, we'll...”

Daehyun kissed Youngjae's forehead in an attempt to comfort him. He felt Youngjae relax and pulled back to look into his boyfriend's pretty brown eyes.

“I am taking this seriously. But, trust me, I know it doesn't seem like it, but I can control myself around you when I need to.”

“I know,” Youngjae sighed. He reached up and cupped Daehyun's cheek tenderly. “I know. I just don't want to lose you because of some stupid rule that has no reasoning behind it. You've made me so happy, Dae.”

He punctuated the sentence with a chaste kiss. Daehyun's hand came to rest on Youngjae's lower back, pulling him as close as possible.

Dae let out a tired sigh and backed away from his boyfriend.

“Come on, we should get to your house.” he said, squeezing Youngjae's hand one more time before he had to pretend he felt nothing more than friendship for the boy that plagued his thoughts and feelings.

X x X x X

Mrs Yoo Sun Hwa was waiting in the foyer for her beloved son to get home with his new friend. Sunhwa was excited, to say the least, to meet another friend of Youngjae's. As far as she knew, Himchan and Junhong were Youngjae's only friends. While that was fine with her, she couldn't help but wish Youngjae only had more friends. It's only natural for a mother to want the best for her only son, after all.

She saw them approaching the street from the front window – it's not like she was spying, she was just watching them for intelligence purposes. She wanted to have some idea about this boy before he entered her house.

You can tell a lot about a person just from watching them walk with someone, you know. Youngjae, for example, walked with good posture, but his head hung and his hands picking at the edges of his t-shirt. What Sunhwa gathered from this was that Youngjae, while aware of the way he presented himself, didn't want attention. He didn't walk with his chest out and head held high; the signs of a confident man, but his face towards the floor; the signs of someone who would rather shy away from the spotlight than bask in it's light.

Daehyun, on the other hand, had all the makings of a very confident man. He walked with shoulders back, chin up, chest out, arms swinging strongly by his side. He looked at Youngjae a lot while they walked, showing Mrs Yoo a good sense of manners considering he and Youngjae were engrossed in a conversation. He wasn't shy about nudging or tapping Youngjae to get his attention, either. Just from this display, Mrs Yoo knew one thing; this boy would change Youngjae. For better or for worse, she wasn't sure yet.

As the boys came closer to the house, Sunhwa retreated back into an armchair, picking up a magazine and flipping to a random page so to look casual. Not a minute later, the doorbell rang.

As she walked to open the door, she heard Youngjae speaking on the other side.

“...ealise I live here, therefore we don't need to ring the bell, right?” he said.

“I know that, but it's the polite thing to do. I don't want your mother to think I wasn't raised properly.” Daehyun replied.

His response brought a smile to Sunhwa's face. Maybe it will be for the better.

She opened the door and was met with the sight of an amused Youngjae, and a boy standing up straight, hands folded politely behind his back and a thousand-watt smile on his face.

“Good afternoon, Mrs Yoo. My name is Jung Daehyun. It's a pleasure to meet you.” he said and bowed.

“Good afternoon, Daehyun. It's lovely to meet you as well. My name is Yoo Sunhwa.” she smiled back at the two. “Please, come in.”

She stepped back and allowed the boys to enter the house.

Daehyun was in complete awe. His own house was bigger, but Youngjae's just seemed better. The Yoo house was only one storey, but it was all white walls, high ceilings, marble skirting boards and polished wooden floors.

“Youngjae, dear, why don't you show Daehyun to the dining table while I get your father; he's in the study.” Sunhwa suggested.

Youngjae, ever the dutiful son, did just that. He gestured for Daehyun to follow him and led the elder through a hall, past a games room, living room, a bathroom the size of Daehyun's bedroom, and through the kitchen. The industrial-style dinner table was already set and ready for four people.

“Just sit anywhere,” Youngjae said. “There's no seating plan, or anything.”

Daehyun sat down in the seat closest to him and put his hands in his lap awkwardly.

“What do you think?” he asked as Youngjae took the seat beside him. “Do you think she likes me?”

Youngjae shrugged. “It's hard to tell just yet, but I think you made a very good first impression.”

Youngjae's smile was all Daehyun needed to re-boost his confidence. At least, until Youngjae's father entered the room.

He was a tall man, towering over even Junhong, and he was solid as a rock. There were frown lines on his forehead, but he was smiling all the same. Daehyun guessed they were from work rather than actually being an angry man.

Swallowing visibly, Daehyun stood up and bowed to his boyfriend's father.

“Hello, my name is Jung Daehyun. It's a pleasure to meet you.” he introduced himself, just as he did with Sunhwa, although with nowhere near as much confidence.

Youngjae's father held out a large hand. Daehyun shook it, despite being afraid of having his hand broken.

“I'm Youngjae's father, Yoo Jaeho.” he seemed friendly, in Daehyun's opinion, but no less intimidating.

Mr Yoo and Daehyun sat down as Mrs Yoo went into the kitchen to get dinner. Daehyun smelt it before it even reached the dining room, and already he was salivating over the aroma.

“So, Daehyun, how did you happen to meet our Youngjae?” Jaeho asked as Sunhwa was placing the chicken casserole on the table. Her ears perked up, also wanting to hear the story.

“Well, it's quite a boring story, actually.” Daehyun said, charming as ever.

'Uh-oh.' Youngjae thought, wondering how Daehyun was going to spin it since saying “Oh, I was new and I saw Youngjae and thought he was beautiful so I introduced myself and flirted non-stop until he defied your only rule and went out with me.” wasn't going to go down well.

“I was new to TS High when the year started, and when I walked into my first class the only seat available was beside a boy who had the exact same hair colour as me. I thought it was a pretty funny coincidence, so I introduced myself.” he told Jaeho.

When he finished his story, he looked at Youngjae, and just that was enough to make Sunhwa's heart leap into .

“Must have been fate.” she commented dryly. Then, before anyone could react to the comment, she cleared , sat down and served out dinner.

They ate in mostly silence, Sunhwa's fate comment spinning different thoughts into everyone's mind. Every now and then, Jaeho or Sunhwa would ask Daehyun a question, and every time, Daehyun was careful to answer it properly, glancing at Youngjae every time to make sure he was doing okay.

When it was over and it was time for Daehyun to leave, Youngjae walked him to the door.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Youngjae asked. Daehyun shook his head. “I'm sorry that was so awkward, but I really don't think they suspected anything.”

Daehyun let out a heavy breath and whispered; “You have no idea how much I’d like to have you shoved up against that wall while I kiss you right now.”

Youngjae bit his lip to suppress the smile that was pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Believe me, I have some idea.” the younger boy replied. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” Dae agreed.

“Goodnight, Dae.”

“Night, Youngjae.”Daehyun said before he left, although he couldn't help but look back at the beautiful boy he called his as he walked away from the house.

Youngjae couldn't help but smile as he walked back to his room.

X x X x X

Youngjae, after having showered and putting on his pyjamas, was sitting at his desk finishing off his trig homework when there was a knock at his bedroom door.

“Come in!” he called out.

Sunhwa entered her sons room warily and sat down on Youngjae's bed.

“Hey umma, what's up?” Youngjae shut his textbook and turned to face his mother.

“I just wanted to talk to you.” Sunhwa patted the bed beside her, urging Youngjae to sit with her. He did so, asking what she wanted to talk about. Her answer made Youngjae's blood run cold. “I want to talk to you about Daehyun.”

“W-What about him? Didn't you like him?” Youngjae could feel his heart beating so hard it shook his whole body.

“Sure I did. He's very sweet, polite; he seems like a lovely boy.” she assured Youngjae, but he wasn't convinced.

“But?”

“But... I saw the way he looked at you, Youngjae.” she said, her eyebrows furrowing. “And the way you looked at him.” Youngjae looked down at his lap, suddenly his previous happiness was lost and he was only left feeling ashamed. “I'm not stupid, Youngjae. I know that what you feel for each other is deeper than just friendship. Now, I want you to tell me the truth; are you and Daehyun just friends?”

Thick silence hung in the air. What should he say? He could lie to her and tell her yes, they are just friends, but Youngjae can never lie to his mother. Besides, he knows her almost as well as she knows him. There is o point lying; she already knows – she just wants Youngjae to confess to it.

“No.” he said after a pregnant pause. “We're... more than that.” finally, he looked up at her. “He's my boyfriend and I know you don't want me dating boys, but I really, really like him, umma. He makes me happy.”

“We only have one rule, Youngjae. Your father and I expect you to obey it. We aren't strict, we don't yell, we let you go out even if it's a school night. We're good parents; the least we expect is for you to do the one thing we ask of you.”

“Are you mad?” he asked in a shy, innocent voice that Mrs Yoo hasn't heard since Youngjae was six and he accidentally broke a vase Sunhwa got from her grandmother.

“No,” she stood up and headed for the door. “I'm just disappointed.”

Youngjae felt like an icy hand had reached into his chest and dug it's fingernails into his heart. Blinking back tears, he fell back onto his bed.

Quickly he sent Daehyun a text.

To: My Dae <3
From: Youngjae Jagiya <3
Meet me in our cubicle ten minutes before classes tomorrow.

His thumb hovered over the 'x' before deciding on sending the message without one; it didn't feel right in this situation.

To: Youngjae Jagiya <3
From: My Dae <3
Alright, I can't wait to have you all to myself xxxxxx Good night jagiya <3

That message was all it took for Youngjae's tears to spill over.

His parents knew, and they weren't mad... just disappointed.

And to Youngjae, that was so much worse.