“Yeol, you never told me, how did you and Myungsoo meet?” 

Once again, they were in the cafe where Sungyeol worked. The only difference was that Sungyeol was not working, and Woohyun was seated with them, sipping his dark chocolate frappe and people watching. Myungsoo was at work and Dongwoo was hanging out at the cafe during his lunch break. It was a Wednesday and Howon was having lunch with Jieun again. 

Sungyeol stole a glimpse at Dongwoo, whom he’d noticed had been quiet the entire time they’d been seated. He quickly glanced at Woohyun and the two shared a look of agreement. 

“Why do you wanna know?” 

“I’m just curious.” 

Woohyun lifted his lips from his chocolate frappe and instead leaned into the table to stare into Dongwoo’s eyes. 

“You’re lying, hyung. Lying!” 

Dongwoo looked at him in mock astonishment. Then he looked to the side, slightly over Woohyun’s shoulder before he leaned forward on the table and rested his head on his hand. He stared right into Woohyun’s eyes.

“What does a man have to do around here to get a romantic story? I mean, Woohyun, we haven’t watched a drama in weeks!” 

Listening to his answer, Woohyun narrowed his eyes, promising the older that this wasn’t over.

“Well, hyung, Myungsoo and I actually met in high school. Myungsoo was my desk mate for my junior year and we were best friends after that faithful day.” Sungyeol’s dreamy expression made Dongwoo want to coo and pinch the younger’s cheeks, “It took us a while, about 6 months before we both realised we were in love with each other and one night of lustful activities later, you have yourself the myungyeol you know and love today!” 

Sungyeol threw his arms up at his last few words to create extra pizzaz, accidentally flicking Dongwoo’s iced mocha onto his pants. Dongwoo had a rather delayed response, before he suddenly jumped up and yelled about how cold the drink was. 

“! I’m so sorry!” 

Dongwoo just laughed as he picked the glass up from his lap and placed it back upright onto the table. After excusing himself, he left to go to the restroom. 

Without turning back, Dongwoo already knew his two friends were talking about him. Dongwoo wasn’t dumb, he knew that they were genuinely curious as to why Dongwoo would ask about Sungyeol and Myungsoo’s relationship all of a sudden.

The truth was that since the last 2 weeks, which was when Howon had had his first date with Jieun, Dongwoo had been watching Howon differently from how he usually did. The problem was that while Dongwoo was still “checking out” other people whenever he went out or was walking alone, he would inevitably compare them to Howon, even if they were female. 

Some really stupid comparisons had surfaced over the past few days, with stuff as ridiculous as: 

They don’t move as gracefully as Howon.

Her hands are not as big as Howon’s, I only want hands as big as or bigger than Howon’s. 

Wow, I love his hair colour but Howon’s is a slightly better shade. 

It was often that Dongwoo didn’t even realise the stupid comparisons he had made until he had unlocked the front door to his apartment and had stepped in. Then he would think about his day briefly and feel like flinging himself out the window because what has he become? 

Although Sungyeol and Myungsoo and Woohyun and Sungjong all seemed to think that Howon had ditched them for Jieun, Dongwoo knew it wasn’t even half true. They were still texting almost everyday and Howon snickered over the phone as he told Dongwoo that he wanted to see how angry their friends would get if he tried not to see them for as long as he could. 

The joke was actually funny, until they were now 2 weeks in and Dongwoo’s birthday was tomorrow. He knew his friends were going to try to surprise him with a party at a- less- dodgy- looking club than the one Woohyun had first invited him to. Dongwoo honestly wasn’t even half as deaf or blur as his friends thought he was. 

He was sure that Howon wouldn’t miss his birthday celebration, even if he didn’t show up at the club. As he slept at night, he would stop himself as he fantasised about the younger appearing at his studio and surprising him with a cake or a back hug or even a kis- Promptly, he would put a stop to all those thoughts by imagining a brick wall and trying his best to fall asleep thinking of other things.

Dongwoo had, had an amazing day so far, with almost every class he was teaching surprising him by breaking out into a simple choreography as they sang happy birthday in as many languages as they could manage. He was pretty sure his face would split in half, with how much laughing he had been doing. 

Now he was back at his apartment, still waiting for a call from Howon, that he denied the importance of. There was still no text, no call, nothing since last night when they’d wished each other good night as usual.

After loitering around in his living room for a while, flipping through the TV channels and rifling through the various books that were stacked on the coffee table, Dongwoo finally decided he needed to get ready. He was going to a club, that Woohyun had described as “cool and very casual, with lots of young and hip teens”. So he was sure a loose tank under a light knitted hole-y jumper was casual and cool. 

Grabbing his phone after checking the screen for the time- definitely not to check for missed calls- and shoving his wallet into the back pocket of his trust washed out jeans, Dongwoo started on his walk to the train station. 

As expected, when he got there, the club was bathed in lights and he was pleasantly surprised when the bouncer called him out just as he was about to line up. The bouncer asked for his ID and let him in with a gracious smile after examining it. He could hear a couple groans from behind him and although he wouldn’t admit it, he had to fight off a smug smile. 

When he had finally gotten into the building, he was pleasantly surprised by how mellow it was. Although it seemed like it was a total mess from outside, with the lights and miles-long line, it was actually a pretty classy place. The music was currently a very atmospheric electro beat with the DJ occasionally adding little spins or synths. The club-goers were dressed just as casually as Dongwoo was and were either draped over the tables and chairs or were just chilling on the open spaces. 

“Dongwoo- hyung!” 

Turning his head, he immediately saw Sungjong’s handsome face quirked into a happy smile. Sungjong was dressed in a fitted linen button- down and even more well- fitted slacks. He used a thumb and pointed at a curtained area Dongwoo hadn’t noticed before. 

“Hyung, I didn’t know you came to this club? Who would have guessed?”

As it would turn out (and again, as Dongwoo had expected), his friends were all seated in a booth and around a wooden table. There was a pitcher of beer and various tall glasses of colourful liquid placed haphazardly around the table. All 5 of his friends were there and just as Dongwoo was about to feel disappointed about Howon’s absence, more people burst from the darker corners of the private room. 

There wasn’t even a single word of surprise uttered before they all started shoving drinks into Dongwoo’s hands. Many of his colleagues were in attendance as well as a couple of old friends and fun acquaintances Dongwoo wasn’t sure how his friends got ahold of… Either way, he knew this was going to be an incredibly fun night, if not from all the dancing and fun memories, then just from the sheer effort of his friends alone. Feeling incredibly lucky (and glad that his friends hadn’t planned anything too over the top), Dongwoo took a quick and big swig from the light pink drink in his hand. 

It was about halfway through the night when Dongwoo felt another pang of disappointment at Howon’s absence. He knew that Howon wouldn’t miss his birthday celebration as his friends would definitely have invited him and reminded him several more times, so why wasn’t he here? Eventually, Dongwoo got a bit tired from the dancing and decided to just take a break, digging into a random sandwich someone or other had ordered to their table. It was pretty good and he loved that his friends were having just as much fun or more than he was.

Sungyeol and Myungsoo were only a few dance moves and inches short from starting another lustful activity right on the floor, Woohyun was putting on all levels of charm directed at one of his old friends, Xiumin, and Sungjong was currently laughing like a little schoolboy at a joke Dongwoo only caught the punchline of. He loved his friends so much. 

Just as Dongwoo felt ready to dive right back into the dance floor (where their curtain had been drawn back to reveal an amazingly alive and electric dance crowd), he heard a familiar voice. Howon grinned as he held a relatively large white box in his hands. Dongwoo stood and couldn’t help the huge, face-eating grin he knew was all over his face right now. He was finally here! And it looked like he brought cake! 

It seemed like everybody noticed Howon at the same time because before he knew it, everybody was crowded around their tiny table trying to look into the box without damaging any of its contents. Howon stayed by where he was, at the end of the group but he kept looking at Dongwoo. 

“You missed half of my party, Lee Howon.” 

“I didn’t know you knew it was a party!” 

Howon had on a sly smile as he reached for Dongwoo to give him a hug, Dongwoo, of course, welcomed it and gave Howon the tightest squeeze he could manage. Howon laughed into his ear and above the music and the noise of the other club- goers. Turning back to their table, Dongwoo could see that his friends had prepared the cake, which looked like it wasn’t really a cake at all, but a series of waffles stacked on top of each with fluffy white frosting in between each of them. There were candles lit on top of it (they had somehow shoved them through the first waffle) and they all stood back to start singing Happy Birthday. 

Clapping along happily (and not awkwardly at all), Dongwoo blew everybody a big kiss before he made a quick wish and blew out the candles. Dongwoo tried not to let his gaze linger on Howon for too long after he looked up, relishing in how simply handsome and great he looked. Sungjong sliced the waffle-cake while Sungyeol and Myungsoo tried their best to distribute it to everybody in their group. Woohyun simply ate a dollop of the cream and waffle before proclaiming his utter devotion to his new diet, known as New Me. 

It was a delicious cake and the waffle wasn’t even half as soggy as he thought it would be. The chocolate and caramel drizzle as well as the fluffy frosting made Dongwoo think of all those great evenings in that dessert cafe with Howon. He knew that that was probably his aim anyways. Looking at him now, as Howon tried to teach Sungyeol how to roll his body in a semi-seductive way, Dongwoo felt even more lucky and grateful than he had the whole night. He wasn’t taking his friends for granted but, he just loved Howon so much for all the things he’s done for him. Dongwoo almost couldn’t believe that he went this long without realising his romantic feelings for him. his spoon, he knew that he didn’t really stand a chance with Howon though. 

His younger friend was the life of the party, and he had definitely noticed all the other club-goers and members of his group taking an immediate interest in Howon. He was wearing extremely simple clothing, just a grey linen blazer over a plain white shirt and tight blue jeans. He was a little overdressed, in Dongwoo’s humble opinion, for the club but that just made him stand out so much more. His hair was done up perfectly and he looked so happy as well. Dongwoo wondered how him and Jieun were doing, as he hadn’t gotten a chance to ask about it for a couple days now. 

One part of him hoped they were doing well, maybe they’ve even kissed and held hands already, but another part of him also wished that Howon would tell him it just wasn’t working out. The latter part could just go and die in a hole though because Dongwoo just wanted Howon to be happy. As much as he was (almost) sure he liked Howon as more than just a friend, he wanted him to be happy first. After all, it wasn’t that long since he had gotten out of his short relationship with Amy, or even from his long relationship with Sunggyu. He had enough love for now to keep him going, perhaps enough to keep him going long enough to forget about these nonsense feelings he had for Howon and find someone whom he could really love and have love him back. 

At the end of the night, Woohyun was more than a little tipsy and everyone was the definition of wasted, except Sungjong and Howon of course. The two of them chatted amongst themselves as Dongwoo received the gifts from all his old friends and acquaintances. He said goodbye to them and promised them that he would love and cherish their gifts (which he would because he could feel that most of them were funnily shaped knickknacks- which he loved). Giving everybody one last hug, Dongwoo was left with his 5 closest friends, well 2 since the other three were as good as gone. 

“Hey guys, could you help me out with these babies?” 

Sungjong and Howon chuckled at Dongwoo’s choice of words before they obediently got up. Howon offered to take Sungyeol and Myungsoo back to their shared appointment with Dongwoo so Sungjong would be responsible for Woohyun. Rolling his eyes and muttering something about being stuck with the greasy one, Sungjong just pulled Woohyun effortlessly off his chair before slapping him lightly on the cheeks. 

Soon, Dongwoo and Howon just watched as Sungjong tried to keep Woohyun awake long enough to cart him into a taxi. 

“Shall we get these two lovebirds back to their nest?” 

Howon smiled down at the two of them as he said that, as the couple were complete entwined with each other, snoring lightly. Dongwoo nodded as he tried to untangle their arms first but realised that even subconsciously, they really did not want to be separated. Almost wanting to die from the cuteness of their relationship, Dongwoo and Howon worked hard to pull them apart long enough to half-carry-half-shove them towards the entrance. 

“Thanks for the cake, Howon. It tasted great and I think everybody loved it, but don’t tell me that’s why you were late…,’ Dongwoo raised his eyebrows and gave Howon a stern look before he broke into giggles. They had finally dumped their 2 friends onto their bed and took off their shoes before locking the apartment door and shoving the keys through the mail slot when Dongwoo spoke up. They were walking back into the chilly November night, and Dongwoo wrapped his coat over him a little tighter (almost regretting deciding on the hole-y loose sweater, almost). 

“Hey! I looked really hard to find the cake! I had to make sure it was fresh so that the waffles weren’t soggy and I had to journey really,’ he stressed on the really, ‘really carefully so I didn’t ruin it. Don’t I deserve some credit?” 

Howon looked down slightly at his cute (calm yourself Howon) friend who seemed like he was ready to get into his warm shower and PJs. As cold as he looked though, Dongwoo also looked extremely happy and content. Dongwoo scoffed at his answer before he gave Howon a quick side hug and softly said that he would forgive Howon for everything, including being very late to his party. 

Just like old times, Howon walked Dongwoo to his apartment and had to restrain every muscle he had not to kiss Dongwoo on his doorstep. Grinning up and him before saying goodnight, Dongwoo gave him one last tight squeeze before closing the door behind him, saying he’ll see him tomorrow at the studio. 

The next morning, Dongwoo was surprisingly full of energy considering they had reached his apartment around 2 am in the morning. Myungyeol took ages to crawl through their apartment and into their bed. They were such children but Dongwoo saw them as his younger brothers anyways, so he would still love them no matter what. His morning class was extremely fun as they had finally learnt the whole choreography and today was the first day they would practice the whole thing altogether. It was an amazing feeling to watch his students dance with such passion and precision! 

Sending a quick text to Howon, he hoped the younger hadn’t already made lunch plans. He wanted to ask about Jieun! He had seen the bubbly girl earlier today during a coffee break and she seemed as happy as ever, if not more and Dongwoo hoped it was because of Howon. Receiving the reply from Howon that he was free made Dongwoo finish his class with a new (more enthusiastic if that was even possible) energy. 

They met at a new restaurant this time, which was a place serving just noodles. As they sat down, Dongwoo took the time to admire how great Howon looked today too. He never seemed to have a hair out of place, while Dongwoo was pretty sure he had forgotten something in his morning routine today. 

“So, Howon- ah, how’s everything with Jieun? I saw her earlier and looked great! I hope it’s cause of your great boyfriending skills!” 

At that, Howon let out a small laugh but just looked at Dongwoo with a very bemused expression before he replied. 

“To be honest, I don’t think Jieun and I were meant to be anything more than friends. I really like her, she’s a great person to be around but I just don’t think it’s gonna work out.” 

Although Howon gave a kind of i’m-just-as-confused-as-you-are-as-to-why look, he knew perfectly why any relationship with anyone, not just any girl, would never work out. How could it, when the only person he’d ever loved and the only person who made him want to dress well and improve himself was still here? Dongwoo was the only person who had ever cared enough to make sure he was always comfortable, the only person he would probably cry in front of. 

“Is it because she’s too bubbly? Is it the accent? Wait, no you have the same accent. Maybe I should introduce you to my friend, Amber, or maybe you actually like guys more, cause I can also introduce you to my friend Yixing! I know so many great people Howon,’ Dongwoo took a break to take a spoonful of noodles into his mouth, “I’m sure I can find someone you can love as soon as you meet them!” 

Truly, Howon wondered how on earth Dongwoo could be so dense. 

“Okay, how about this, I’m having a get-together with a few friends from other dance studios, and you should meet them! There’s a really cool guy, Jongin, and there’s also Hyuna who’s just amazing at choreo by the way-“

“Dongwoo-hyung, I don’t really want to date anyone right now.” 

Dongwoo looked perplexed and if it was at anything else, Howon would have pointed it out and made fun of him for it because he looked absolutely adorable. But right now, Howon just wished that Dongwoo could have some kind of telepathic sense so that he would stop setting Howon up on dates. The only person Howon wanted to pull chairs out for was Dongwoo, the only person he wanted to kiss goodnight was Dongwoo, the only person he wanted to celebrate his birthday with was Dongwoo and the only person he wanted to ask out on dates with was Dongwoo. 

“My junior who is typically incapable of sharing his feelings said what?” 

“I don’t want to date anyone.”

“But why noooooooooooottttttt? You’re so handsome and you’re at peak dating age! You have a stable job and you’re also moving up and oh my lord, everybody would love you Howon. I just want you be able to go through the great feelings of being in a loving relationship!” 

“I just want that with you hyung.” 

“My junior who is typically incapable of sharing his feelings said what?” 

Howon wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. Did he unwittingly fall in love with a parrot? Dongwoo was repeating what he said earlier and Howon was honestly wondering if he even heard that confession. All last night, Howon had struggled with himself not to confess to the older man. Once they were alone (after dropping off Myungyeol), Howon wanted to just take Dongwoo’s hand and tell him everything that was in his heart. But he was and still is struggling with deciding whether it was the right thing, whether there was even a 40% chance that Dongwoo returned those feelings or whether he was even good enough for Dongwoo. Knowing that Dongwoo wouldn’t stop setting him up on dates wasn’t enough to confess but he just needed Dongwoo to know. He needed him to know that the only person he wanted to experience a loving relationship with was him. 

“I really like you Dongwoo.” 

"I think this is the best birthday present I've received so far..." 

gif credit: tumblr user strawburri (http://strawburri.tumblr.com/post/112499678145)