KissTheDream: Woah! After months of no inspiration, this huge chapter simply exploded out of me. O.o

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It felt like Monday had arrived in a matter of seconds. During the weekend, Jaehwan did exactly what he always did – went out with friends and laughed till he got stomach cramps, visited his family, did some research for his next assignment.

But no matter what he did or where he went, he was always trying to reach Hongbin, to the point where the phone seemed to be permanently glued to his hand. Seeing Jaehwan using his cellphone every ten seconds, his friends got some pretty… imaginative ideas.

“I’m telling ya, our Jaehwanie’s got a girlfriend.” accounced Ravi that Saturday, leaning back onto the park bench. Before Jaehwan could protest, Ravi draped a hand over his shoulders, winking. “I know ya’re excited, but ya gotta play the game, ya know.” Ravi took a huge gulp of cheap beer. “Yah, Cha Hakyeon! When will you stop buying crap like this??” he complained, making a face and throwing the can at a figure lying on the opposite bench. Having low alcohol tolerance, Hankyeon had fallen asleep hours ago. He rolled over, making unintelligible noises and kicking the bench backrest for no reason.

“Guys, have you seen Hongbin lately?” asked Jaehwan tentatively, almost dreading the answer.

 “Come to think of it, he was unavailable when I tried to call him.” said Hyuk, confused. “Why do you ask?”

“… Nothing.” muttered Jaehwan.

He couldn’t even explain to himself why he said nothing to his friends.

There was also no way to explain why he suddenly started shaking in the middle of the family dinner. Out of the blue, he dropped his chopsticks, and stared, wide-eyed, into space.

 “Jaehwanie, are you okay?” piped his younger sister, smiling and showing her baby teeth.

“… Yeah.” Jaehwan answered, grinning widely, doing his best to put his family at ease.

Strange as it was, he hadn’t told anyone about the extremely unusual contract he’d made with his equally peculiar roommate, or even about Hongbin’s message. Those were things that didn’t bear thinking about, and Jaehwan rather enjoyed his weekend of careless freedom. Even if I did tell someone, is there anything I could have done? Perhaps there was. That thought sent a chill of guilt through his body.

Monday had come way too soon. With Hongbin’s bone-chilling message and the guilt he felt, Jaehwan didn’t feel up to outsmarting Leo right now. He was truly beginning to doubt whether this roommate thing was such a great idea. Freezing to his bones, Jaehwan stood before the entrance to his new apartment, jumping from foot to foot and cursing himself for opting to wear the fancier jacket, rather than the warmer one. Not that he would ever admit it, but a part of Jaehwan was trying to compete with his roommate, even in such a trivial thing as fashion sense.

But as soon as Leo walked up to him, wrapped in a tight black leather jacket that emphasised his broad, masculine shoulders, Jaehwan knew he’d lost that fight. But I won’t lose the real game, he assured himself, greeting Leo politely and watching him unlock the building.

“Your keys.” were the first words Leo said that day. Without so much as a greeting, he tossed a ring with two keys at Jaehwan, who nearly dropped them in surprise.

Hurriedly, he followed Leo through the gray, half-lit hallway, to the last door on the first floor. Surprisingly, Leo opened the door for Jaehwan and held it there, signaling him to enter first.

Let’s see what kind of a dump I’ve rented, thought Jaehwan, bracing himself for the worst.

What he saw made his eyebrows jump up in confusion.

After a short corridor, where they left their shoes, the door opened right into the living room. At first glance, the place seemed as modern as can be. The bright, matte colours, the minimalistic design – everything was simple and functional. But there were details that were completely the opposite. A candle holder right out of an antique shop; a decorated wooden table that might’ve been a hundred years old; paintings on the walls that were old and traditional in style.

“Um, did you decorate this place yourself?”

By now, Jaehwan had already learned not to expect an answer from Leo – since Leo seemed to speak only when he wanted to. So when Leo spat an almost aggressive “Yeah”, Jaehwan couldn’t help but jump up in surprise.

“It’s very… unique. I like it.”

In a matter of seconds, all stubborness had vanished from Leo’s face. “They all… they all said it was… mismatched.”

Jaehwan could hardly believe that he was having an actual conversation with Leo. Even more, a conversation that wasn’t about their contract or a some similar technicality.

“Well, yeah, it is totally mismatched. And kinda weird too. But I like it.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Jaehwan realized they made zero sense and laughed it off.

Whatever Leo thought of that, Jaehwan would never know, as Leo abruptly turned his head to the side as soon as he heard the reply.

“Err, okay… You mind if I take a look around?”

Taking Leo’s silence as a yes, Jaehwan roamed around the apartment. Somehow, it seemed bigger than it ought to be. To Jaehwan’s huge relief, all the appliances were fairly new and in working order. No damp patches in the bathroom, no nests of bugs or similar insects (at least where he could see them), and the peach-coloured walls were freshly painted. The peculiar style that had marked the living room spread throughout the apartment, all the way to the ornate mirror in the bathroom, which was right next to a small, modern cabinet.

“You know what? I really like this place!” chippered Jaehwan as soon as he returned to the living room. Leo was on the far side, next to the huge windows and the balcony beyond.

Only then did Jaehwan realise something was definitely off about his roommate today.

As if he’d just got out of bed, his midnight hair was tousled and messy. Bloodshot, his eyes stared tiredly into space, suggesting he probably didn’t sleep much the night before. Even his clothes weren’t as perfect as they’d seemed at first – underneath his jacket, which he didn’t bother to take off, there was something like a wine stain on his knitted grey jumper.

“Had a good time last night, huh?” suggested Jaehwan. Exactly why he bothered trying to be friendly, even he didn’t quite understand – but talking always helped him relax.

Leo stared at him as though he’d seen a ghost. “How… did you know that.”

It was the first time Jaehwan saw Leo truly interested in anything.

“Hey, I know a hangover when I see one.” Jaehwan boasted, with a grin and a wink.

For some reason, Leo let out a long sigh, as if deeply relieved, and sank into a sofa, throwing his head back.

Despite himself, Jaehwan couldn’t help but chuckle. At that moment, his roommate looked so… normal.

“I’m gonna go see my room. Make yourself some soup, they say it’s good after a wild night. Stops your head from pounding.”

Leo just lay there unmoving, so Jaehwan excused himself once again. Much like the rest of the apartment, his room was clean and spacious, traditional but modern, combining elements that would seem incompatible. What Jaehwan loved the most was the huge, soft bed, and he jumped right into it like a child.

How much time he’d spent just lying there and staring at the ceiling, Jaehwan didn’t have a clue to. When he returned to the living room, Leo was waiting for him.

A silence echoed in the spacious room as Jaehwan waited for Leo to speak.

“… Yes?” Jaehwan had to prompt.

After a few more seconds, Leo finally spoke. Somehow, his eyes lacked that dark determination from their first meeting. If anything, he looked a little sad, and lost.

“Do you… you know… it’s your cleaning duty every third week?”

Jaehwan had a feeling that wasn’t what Leo really meant to say.

“Yeah, it’s in the contract.” Jaehwan carefully replied.

“… Yeah.” Leo concluded, unnecessarily. Jaehwan could hardly believe his ears. Leo didn’t seem to speak even when a reply was expected and needed, therefore this random “yeah” sounded extremely odd coming from Leo’s mouth. Leo walked, slowly, to the door to his room, only to stop in his tracks when he reached it. He turned around, eying Jaehwan like the latter was an especially confusing puzzle.

“Yeah.” he repeated, completely uselessly.

Having opened the door slightly, Leo suddenly stiffened. His back turned rigid. His hand clutched the door handle so hard that, even from a distance, Jaehwan could see blue veins popping beneath his skin.

“Right. I almost forgot.”

 All of a sudden, an animal instinct was screaming at Jaehwan to run, but before he could, he found himself practically thrown at the wall.

Apart from mint and lemons, Leo smelled of danger. Before Jaehwan could move a muscle, he felt a sudden warmth on his cheeks, as Leo gripped his face, nails dripping into the soft flesh.

A faint, yet foreign warmth was on his lips as well.

“You. Won’t. Lie. To. Me.”

With a jolt that spread like freezing water through his body, Jaehwan realised that, with every syllable spoken, his own lips were moving as well. Practically, Leo was speaking the words into his mouth, lips brushing, slightly yet noticably, against Jaehwan’s own. In that way, Jaehwan, unwillingly, was mouthing out the words too.

What the hell is he DOING??!

Hands trembling violently, he tried to push the other boy away, yet Leo didn’t bulge an inch. If anything, his body now pressed even harder against Jaehwan’s, who had no idea what on Earth was going on, or why. After all, Leo was just a stranger, someone whom he had met only a few days ago-

As suddenly as he’d leaned in, Leo drew back, disappearing into his room with a violent slam of the door.

When he’d sunk down the wall and onto to the floor, Jaehwan couldn’t recall. Trying to calm his own shaking, he stayed there hugging his knees.

“What do you even WANT??” he yelled at the door. Predictably, there was no reply.

Truthfully, Jaehwan knew exactly what Leo had wanted to – and managed to – accomplish. However, that didn’t mean Jaehwan was in any way pleased about it.

During those few seconds he’d been pinned to the wall of his own apartment, Jaehwan’s genius plan had been shattered to pieces.

His best bet, the reason he was so confident about winning the “game”, all of it was gone in seconds, just like Leo had, no doubt, intended.

Because when Jaehwan remembered those hands digging into his skin, hot breath blown in his face, the fear that grabbed and tore at his insides was almost overwhelming.

What was the scariest was not the prospect of Leo beating him into a bloody pulp. No, the fear was deeper, more ancient than that.

It was the foreign feeling of Leo’s skin, the alien scent of his breath – the fact that, undeniably, Leo was so different. There was no knowing what lay beneath the vacant stare in his eyes.

And that kind of fear, fear of the unknown, was far worse than any threat Leo might had made.

One thing Jaehwan knew for sure – that he would not, ever, under any circumstance, be able to lie to Jung Leo. Never.

With a shaky sigh, Jaehwan threw his fist against the hard wooden floor.

What the hell did I get myself into…

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KissTheDream: I'm writing this huuuuuuge Hyuk-centered fanfic (already 15 chapters in! D:) but I'm not too sure about uploading it... >.< Would you be interested in that sort of weirdness? :O

As always, please subscribe, comment & upvote! ^.^ Leo really want you do to that. He just phoned me. He said he's not gonna smile unless you do