Taewoon opened the door and kicked off his shoes, stifling a soft yawn and pushing his hair off of his face. His day had been long and he’d ended up out studying even after class had ended, which left him coming home alone. He had no doubt that his brother had beaten him home, and he also had no doubt that Jiho hadn’t made anything for dinner and had just snacked when he got there. A glance into the kitchen proved that he was right. He rolled his eyes.

“Jiho, you gotta be kidding me,” he mumbled to himself, shaking his head and instead walking up the stairs. He knew that his brother was probably in his room listening to music and avoiding his homework for as long as he could, so he made his way there, tossing his backpack into his room on the way. “Jiho, you home?”

The house was mostly dark, his parents currently out of town and expecting the two of them to housesit for them. Taewoon knew it was going to be mostly him watching the house but he didn’t mind. Instead of waiting for an answer, Taewoon just opened up his brother’s door.

“Jiho, what do you want for dinner?” he asked, though his question fell on deaf ears.

He hadn’t been expecting his brother to have guests over.

He also hadn’t been expecting to walk in on Jiho with his tongue in someone else’s mouth.

When Taewoon spoke Jiho looked up, brows raised in surprise and cheeks red. He opened his mouth to say something but instead he just stuttered out a few syllables and stood. His current situation was a bit obvious, as he had been in someone else’s lap and it had clearly gotten him a bit excited. Jiho pulled his shirt down to cover it and bit his lip, brows furrowed. Once more he tried to excuse himself but Taewoon just rolled his eyes, looking at the other person in the room and expecting it to be his brother’s girlfriend. That was when he was surprised for the second time that day.

What he saw was someone he had never met before, and that someone was male. Even Taewoon blushed a bit, now firmly grasping what he had walked in on when he saw the boy sitting there grab a pillow and force it over his lap. He looked to his brother once more.

“Our parents didn’t want guests, and we need to have a chat,” he said sternly, Jiho staring at him for a second before nodding. With that Taewoon looked to the other boy in the room, sighing slightly and ruffling his hair. “You should head home.”

With that he turned and slipped out of the room, heading straight back down to the kitchen and pouring himself a bowl of cereal. He didn’t have the mental capacity to make actual food after that, and he didn’t know what he was going to say to his brother. How was he supposed to react to that? He had just walked in on his little brother on top of another man, and Taewoon hadn’t seen it coming.

In the back of his mind he registered hearing the front door slam but he didn’t react, instead just taking a bite of his cereal and mumbling a few curses under his breath. After a while Jiho slipped silently into the kitchen, following Taewoon’s example and pouring a bowl of cereal for himself as well. He sat down in silence but didn’t even bother taking a bite. Instead he played with the food, swirling it around with his spoon and trying to ignore the extremely awkward tension that had just come over the room. He took a deep breath.

“Have you ever been walking down the street and you see a chick and you’re like ‘yeah’,” he started, Taewoon immediately finding his cereal intensely interesting, “and then five minutes later you see a guy walk down the street and you’re like… ‘yeah’?” Jiho made a gesture with his hands though it was an unsure motion. He bit his lip.

There was a long pause and Taewoon finally looked up at his brother, still chewing on a mouthful of cereal as he let out a sharp breath through his nose.

“So are you telling me you’re gay?” he asked, and Jiho looked at him with an expectant expression, then shook his head.

“No. I’m telling you that I like men and women.” Taewoon was silent, going back to looking at his cereal. Jiho could do nothing but frown, sinking into his seat slightly. “I like both and that’s okay. It’s just as natural as you liking women. I just… think girls and guys are pretty ing great.” Once again he was greeted with silence and he sighed, looking down. “You’re allowed to say something,” he added, looking to Taewoon with drooped brows.

Taewoon shook his head, swallowing and opening his mouth to respond but deciding against saying anything. Jiho frowned deeper.

“I just… want you to be proud of me. Please don’t hate me because of this,” he mumbled softly, pushing his bowl of untouched cereal into the center of the table and standing. He walked quickly from the room and Taewoon heard his door close from his spot. The sound made him flinch and he sighed shakily, looking up at their rooms and frowning.

Glancing down at his cereal, he tried to take one more bite but eventually he shook his head, clearing the two bowls from the table and walking back upstairs. He stood outside his brother’s door for a moment before knocking quietly, slipping in without any word from Jiho. He sat down on the bed, his brother lying face down with his head in his pillow.

There was a quiet tension between them before Taewoon rested his hand on Jiho’s shoulder, massaging it gently.

“Jiho… Hey, I don’t hate you,” he said softly, and he saw Jiho shake his head but he didn’t look up. Taewoon sighed. “It’s just a lot to take in. You have to understand that I just walked in on my baby brother on top of another man; it wasn’t something that I was prepared for.” He heard Jiho let out a stifled snort of a laugh and Taewoon smiled a bit. “Jiho, I am very proud of you.”

Jiho rolled over in bed, a soft but happy smile on his face.

“Yeah? You are?” he asked, and Taewoon nodded.

“Yeah. You accept who you are and are completely okay with it. I’m very proud.” Jiho sat up, grabbing his pillow and curling around it slightly. “So… Who was that?” he asked, and Jiho blushed, looking down.

“A friend from school. Kyung,” he mumbled, and Taewoon nodded.

There was a silence but it wasn’t awkward, Taewoon just watching Jiho blushing and getting embarrassed. His grin widened and he reached over, ruffling his little brother’s hair and standing.

“Wow, I’ll leave you alone to act cute over your boyfriend,” he teased gently, standing and walking toward the door. Jiho immediately hurled the pillow at him and Taewoon dodged it, laughing loudly.

“He’s not my boyfriend!” he yelled, though his voice cracked halfway through the statement and Taewoon laughed louder.

“Be safe!” he sang from outside the door, and Jiho groaned loudly, banging on the door as Taewoon ran off toward the kitchen. He stood at the sink, washing out the bowls and setting them to dry before leaning against the counter, pushing his hair back.

Maybe tomorrow he’d let Jiho have his friend over anyway.