Communication is Key
Tell Me You ExistIndex:
(YJ) – Young Jae speaking
(DH) – Daehyun speaking
(HC) – Himchan speaking
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Time was ticking by and so far, Young Jae seemed to be coping well with the loss of his grandmother. Well… as well as one could be. He still had moments here and there where he would seem like he was about to break down, but Daehyun always made certain to console him as best as possible. After all, Daehyun wanted to always see Young Jae’s smile.
Now that Christmas was a few days away, Daehyun felt like he had to come up with the perfect idea for a way for them to celebrate Christmas, or at least Christmas Eve. Daehyun knew that Young Jae had already prepared a gift for his grandmother, so the very first thing that they had to do was visit Grandma Yoo’s grave to deliver the present. After that though, Daehyun had no idea what they could do. Neither one of them didn’t exactly have the funds for everything, which meant that Daehyun was going to have to do a bit of research.
Besides all that, they’ve somehow been managing to survive on their own. Young Jae wouldn’t be receiving his inheritance for a few months, so they’ve had to rely on his mother’s money. After hearing about Grandma Yoo’s passing, it seemed like Young Jae’s mother was sending more money than usual in order to help out. Young Jae had hoped that his mother would be here instead, but again, he knew that his mother was working hard.
“Hey. You wanna go for a walk? It looks pretty outside.” (DH) Looking out the glass doors, Young Jae took note over the snow currently gently floating towards the ground. He didn’t know if he wanted to walk through that or not, but as long as Daehyun was with him, then maybe it would be alright. “What do you say? It’ll do you some good to get some air every now and then.” (DH)
“O-Okay... But um… it looks cold outside.” (YJ)
“Of course it’s cold! But I’ll try my best to keep you warm. It’s a pretty good deal, right?.” (DH) Young Jae looked up at Daehyun, not really certain if enduring the cold would be a good trade. After all, Daehyun usually seemed to have his arm around him often, so it wasn’t all that different from everyday life. Of course… he did like having Daehyun hold him like that. It was comforting and it technically would warm him up at least.
“M-Mhm… Y-Yeah…” (YJ)
“Hey… Did you just hesitate?” (DH) Young Jae’s eyes widened as he quickly shook his head. Daehyun narrowed his eyelids though, very suspicious about Young Jae’s answer. However, instead of continually asking Young Jae about it, he merely shrugged as he turned and began walking towards the bedroom. “Well, get ready then!” (DH)
Young Jae let out a small sigh as he took one last glance out the window. Would it be alright to go out? Maybe he really did need some fresh air. Technically, he hasn’t been outside since the funeral. Sure, there was grocery shopping to be done, but since he hadn’t wanted to go out, Daehyun had to go out on his own to buy the groceries. Young Jae felt bad, especially since Daehyun had to lug all of the groceries home on his own, but Daehyun seemed okay with it.
“Come on! Clothes won’t put themselves on!” (DH) Young Jae quickly jumped to his feet before fast walking towards the bedroom. It might not turn out all that well if he ended up making Daehyun wait any longer, so it was best to quickly change. Even if Daehyun didn’t do anything to him, which was usually the case, Young Jae couldn’t help but worry that it might change at any moment.
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“Hehe…” (DH) Young Jae looked at Daehyun, noticing the amused smile on his face. Why was he so happy all of a sudden? Actually, it wasn’t all of a sudden. Instead, Daehyun had been like this since they left the apartment complex. It confused Young Jae a bit and he wondered if he would tell him.
“W-What is it…?” (YJ)
“Hm? Oh… Nothing.” (DH) Daehyun hummed innocently as he held a huge smile on his face. Young Jae frowned a bit. He’s known Daehyun long enough to know that he was hiding something, though it was rather obvious by his actions also. Still, he wasn’t going to back down just yet. Young Jae was going to get the answers that he wanted somehow.
“Is it really nothing…? You can’t… tell me?” (YJ) Daehyun looked at Young Jae, whom had a very adorable pout on his face. This was against all rules of going back and forth with playing hard to get! Yes, Daehyun already saw Young Jae as a very cute and attractive male, but the fact that he was pouting just seemed to increase his cuteness factor but a thousand more! How was he supposed to resist something like this, especially since Young Jae’s his boyfriend!? Letting out a quiet whine, Daehyun looked forward as he tilted his head downwards and rubbed the back of his head. It seemed like Young Jae was a much more competent at getting answers than he thought he was.
“Alright, alright! I’m just reeeeally happy because we’re wearing our sweaters. It shows that we’re a good couple.” (DH) Young Jae blinked a few times before looking downwards. They both had coats over their sweaters, but their sweaters were still out on display for the whole world to see. His face turned a little red, but he couldn’t help but smile as he gave a slight nod.
“I… I hope we’re a good couple.” (YJ)
“Of course we’re a good couple!” (DH) Young Jae looked up at Daehyun as his smile grew a little. If Daehyun believed that they were a good couple, then Young Jae wanted to believe in his words as well. Daehyun chuckled a bit as he ruffled Young Jae’s hair before taking hold of Young Jae’s pinky and ring fingers with his own. “Hey… I forget, but did we promise that if we can hold each other’s hands completely, we get to kiss?” (DH)
“I-I… I don’t remember…” (YJ) Young Jae turned a slightly deeper shade of red as he looked away. With the cold delicately caressing his skin, his blushing was much more evident. Even when he was looking the other way, Daehyun was still able to see Young Jae’s face just enough to grin with satisfaction. Could he help it? He liked Young Jae’s embarrassed faces… to an extent of course.
“Alright. Then instead I’ll… just kiss you when it’s the right moment.” (DH) Young Jae’s eyes widened as he instantly looked at Daehyun, his mouth unintentionally hanging. When Daehyun noticed this, Daehyun chuckled as he nudged Young Jae slightly with his elbow. “Why are you so surprised? Isn’t that when a kiss is supposed to happen?” (DH)
“I-I know, b-but…” (YJ)
“Don’t worry! I’ll ask if it’s alright right before I do it. It’ll be our first kiss after all!” (DH) Young Jae didn’t know exactly how he felt about this, but he nodded regardless before turning his head forward. He kept his gaze downwards, his free hand fumbling with the hem of his jacket as he tried to calm himself down. Sure, he’s had a few daydreams of him and Daehyun kissing and sure, he’s even had a few… wet dreams… about Daehyun and him, but the possibility of it actually happening just continued to feel like a dream. Heck, he was still surprised that he had a wet dream about them so early! “Hey, you wanna go to the park?” (DH)
Young Jae looked up to see that there was a playground near them. It did confuse him a bit, but then again, they have been walking for about fifteen minutes now. Getting past his confusion, he did wonder what it would be like to play at a playground again. The last time he had played at one was when he was about eleven or twelve. Ever since he left primary school, there hadn’t been any chance to play at a playground. “Um… okay.” (YJ)
“Great! Tag, you’re it!” (DH) Daehyun lightly slapped Young Jae’s arm before he began running. Young Jae frowned a bit as he began running after Daehyun, finding it rather unfair that he had to be the one chasing first. He was also certain that Daehyun was faster than him, mostly because he wasn’t closing the distance between them all that quickly. Either way, he was determined to tag Daehyun at least once.
A few minutes ticked by before Young Jae finally gave up. Sitting at the bottom of the slide, Young Jae panted as he tried to regain his breath. He disliked having to breath heavily in cold air. It always felt like his lungs were under attack by the cold air, so he didn’t want to try to catch Daehyun any further. Noticing this, Daehyun walked up to Young Jae before crouching down in front of him with a worried look on his face. “Are you okay?” (DH)
“M-Mhm.” (YJ) Young Jae nodded as he spoke, or rather, hummed. Daehyun chuckled a bit as he got up moved over to the empty slide right next to Young Jae. As they sat there, Daehyun hummed a bit as he leaned forward a bit with his hands tightly packed underneath his thighs while remaining on the outside of each leg. Young Jae looked at Daehyun a moment before playfully slapping Daehyun’s arm and running a small distance away. When he turned around, he could see Daehyun staring up at him with a confused look on his face. “Tag! You’re it.” (YJ)
“Wha-… Woooow… This kid.” (DH) Daehyun laughed a little as he looked off to the side while scratching the back of his head. When he looked back up at Young Jae, Daehyun smirked a bit before he began running forward. Young Jae’s eyes widened and he was about to start running, but he hadn’t exactly moved far away enough to give him the head start he had been hoping for.
In an instant, Young Jae found himself falling. He didn’t understand how this was happening, but it may have something to do with the fact that someone was currently holding onto him in an embrace of sorts. The second they landed, Young Jae let out a small groan, thankful that they were currently lying on snow… or was it sand? At the moment, he was just thankful that something had cushioned their fall. “I gotcha. Do I win?” (DH)
Young Jae opened his eyes before he stared up at Daehyun, whom was currently staring down at him with a smile. His eyes widened a bit and his face reddened as they stared at one another, the moment either becoming more awkward or… becoming something else. “M… Mhm… Y-You win.” (YJ)
“Really? So… I can claim my prize now, right?” (DH) Young Jae bit his bottom lip, attempting to hide his smile as he slowly nodded. As Daehyun slowly began to close the distance between them, Young Jae shut his eyes as he waited for whatever it was that Daehyun was going to do. He was certain that this was going to be their first kiss and in a way… he was okay with this. However, just as he was certain that he could feel Daehyun’s warm breath against his cold skin, he suddenly heard Daehyun let out a pained grunt as the weight on him was lifted off.
Opening his eyes, Young Jae pushed himself up a bit to a sitting position as he looked to his right to see Daehyun holding his stomach while curled into a ball of sorts. Looking to his left, he saw Himchan standing there with his eyebrows furrowed and his hands on his hips. “What do you think you’re doing, trying to take advantage of Young Jae like that?!” (HC)
“H-Himchan…!” (YJ) Himchan looked at Young Jae, his gaze remaining stern as he nudged Young Jae’s legs with his foot.
“And you! Get up! What do you think you’re doing, not fighting back like that?! It’s almost as if you WANTED him to take advantage of you!” (HC)
“B-But I-” (YJ) Before he could get anything said, Himchan bent over and took hold of Young Jae’s wrist before pulling Young Jae up onto his feet. Young Jae stumbled a bit and just as he had managed to stabilize himself, Himchan had begun walking, pulling Young Jae away from their current spot. Young Jae frowned a bit, turning his head as he looked at Daehyun, whom was currently attempting to get himself up onto his feet. With a small whine, Young Jae came to a stop, pulling his hand a bit and causing Himchan to turn around with a bit of surprise. Keeping his head down, Young Jae took in a deep breath as he shook his head. “I-I… was playing with Daehyun and um… me and him are… um….” (YJ)
“We’re dating!” (DH) Young Jae gasped as he suddenly felt an arm wrap around his waist before pulling him closer to the other person. He looked to his left, seeing a rather annoyed Daehyun still holding his stomach. When he looked back at Young Jae, he was surprised to see the look of surprise and disbelief on Himchan. Young Jae could tell that Himchan was trying to process this bit of information that he received, but it seemed like he wasn’t computing it well.
“H-Himchan…?” (YJ) Himchan’s gaze shifted towards Young Jae a bit, but he remained speechless. Young Jae didn’t know whether he should be worried or not, so he took a step forward in an attempt to get him to snap out of it. However, just that step alone had gotten him to quickly pull himself together before closing his mouth and clearing his throat.
“W-When did this happen, exactly? Why was I not informed? I thought we were best friends!” (HC) Before Young Jae could say anything, Himchan raised a hand up to stop him. They stayed like there for a second or so before Himchan raised his head upwards and to the side before covering his eyes by his free arm. “Oh, to be left in the dark by my own best friend! I’m so hurt, so full of pain!” (HC)
“H-Himchan…! I-I… I’m sorry, but u-um… we can go to my apartment a-and have… um… hot cocoa…” (YJ) Himchan stayed in that stance for a brief moment before he slightly peeked his right eye open. He looked at the two for a moment, mostly Young Jae, as he took note of the guilty look he currently had. When he was satisfied with the amount of guilt he had instilled into Young Jae, Himchan closed his eye again before letting out a long sigh.
“Alright, alright. I think that you truly feel bad for keeping in the dark for such a long time. Let’s go! That hot cocoa better be delicious.” (HC) Himchan instantly turned before he began walking towards Young Jae’s apartment. Young Jae’s gaze had been following Himchan before he found himself making eye contact with Daehyun. He could see the slightly annoyed look on his face, but after they stared at one another for a brief moment, Daehyun let out a small sigh before the two began walking. When they spoke, they made certain to speak low enough for only the two of them to hear.
“Why’s Himchan a party pooper?” (DH)
“A… party pooper…?” (YJ)
“Yeah! He stopped us before we got to the good part.” (DH) Young Jae took a moment, but once it finally clicked, his face turned a slight shade of red as he kept his head down. He did admit that he was a bit disappointed that Himchan had interrupted them before anything else could occur, but it’s not like Himchan meant anything bad by it, right?
“I-It’s alright… um… Hot cocoa is really yummy, so isn’t this a good thing?” (YJ) Young Jae looked at Daehyun, whom still looked a bit grumpy. He mumbled a bit under his breath and Young Jae didn’t really understand what he said, but he assumed that Daehyun would be alright with it for the time being.
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“Young Jae! Hurry up! I’m so cold and thirsty.” (HC) Himchan was laying on the couch at the moment, his arm covering his forehead with his eyes closed and his head leaning backwards. He was being dramatic in an attempt to further cause Young Jae to feel guilty, which usually always worked. Daehyun, however, was getting quite a bit annoyed by Himchan’s actions.
“What the heck are you doing?” (DH)
“What? None of your concern! Don’t worry about it.” (HC) Daehyun narrowed his eyes as he heard Himchan letting out obnoxiously loud sighs. He was about to say something, but Young Jae had soon emerged from the kitchen holding a tray with three mugs comfortably on top. Walking up to the coffee table, Young Jae knelt down by it before setting the tray carefully on top of the table. Once Young Jae had handed a mug to Himchan and Daehyun, Young Jae took his own before he took his seat next to Daehyun. Just as Himchan was about to take a sip of his drink, he paused before looking around. “Hey, where’s your Grandma? Isn’t she usually home around this time baking those really delicious cookies I like?” (HC)
Daehyun looked at Young Jae, whom had lowered his head. A look of sadness had crossed his face, but it seemed like he was trying to hold in his emotions. Just as Himchan was about to look over at Young Jae, Young Jae had set his mug back onto the tray and gotten to his feet before clearing his throat. “I-I can bake those cookies too… U-Um… please wait.” (YJ)
Before either of the other two could say anything, Young Jae quickly made his way into the kitchen. Daehyun instantly glared at Himchan, whom was still staring at the kitchen doorway in confusion. When Daehyun’s glare seemed to finally affect him, Himchan felt a shiver down his spine, causing him to sit up and shiver in response. Taking a quick sip of his hot cocoa, Himchan looked at Daehyun before noticing his glare. “What?” (HC)
“Nothing. I just forgot that you don’t know a thing.” (DH) Himchan furrowed his eyebrows as he set his mug back down onto the tray before looking at Daehyun once more. Daehyun leaned back, a slight smirk appearing on his face as he held his mug with both hands. “What? You know it’s true.” (DH)
“What don’t I know then if you’re mister know-it-all?” (HC)
“You’ll have to wait until Young Jae tells you.” (DH) Daehyun would have told Himchan, but it may have been more important for Young Jae to tell him. After all, Young Jae’s friends with Himchan and his grandmother’s death hit him the hardest. It may have been easier if he said it, but he didn’t know if Young Jae would be alright with that or not. “Anyway, I’ll go help him out.” (DH)
“H-Hey wait, you punk!” (HC) Sadly, Himchan’s attempts to get Daehyun to stop seemed to go completely unnoticed as Daehyun successfully entered the kitchen. Coming to a stop, Daehyun’s gaze fell on the back of Young Jae’s form, noticing Young Jae moving his arm upwards every now and then to wipe his face.
With a frown and a sigh, Daehyun quietly walked up to Young Jae before he put his hands on Young Jae’s shoulders. This made Young Jae jump a bit and just as he was about to turn around, Daehyun began sliding his hands down Young Jae’s arms before he wrapped his hands around Young Jae’s hands. Even as he pressed his body against Young Jae’s, Daehyun found himself turning red as he contemplated his next move. “H-Hey… Are you… okay?” (DH)
“D-Daehyun…! I-I… um… I-I’m okay… W-Why do you ask?” (YJ) Young Jae sniffled a little and the tone of his voice had given him away rather easily, but he didn’t want to give Daehyun a reason to worry. Still, it seemed like his efforts hadn’t exactly worked all that well if Daehyun seemed to be worried anyway.
“Because I know you were crying… See? Your cheeks are wet.” (DH) As if to add truth to his words, Daehyun reached up and wiped Young Jae’s right cheek with his sleeve. Young Jae looked down a bit, his eyes landing on the wet marks that were currently on Daehyun’s sleeves. “Hey… how about I help you out with those cookies. Does that sound good?” (DH)
“O-Okay…” (YJ) Although he didn’t sound happy, Young Jae was glad that Daehyun was here with him. Once Daehyun had moved to where he was now standing next to Young Jae, the two began working on the cookies together. Young Jae made certain to give clear instructions, so the creating process was rather simple. Just as they had gotten the first two batches of cookies into the oven, a voice broke the rather happy atmosphere that they had.
“Hey! I want more hot cocooooa!” (HC) Before Young Jae could respond, Daehyun yelled his response first.
“HEY! GET IT YOURSELF!” (DH) Young Jae looked at Daehyun and gave a small frown, though Daehyun was more focused on their current task as opposed to Young Jae’s disapproval. Even if he had turned to see the look on Young Jae’s face, Himchan had soon entered the kitchen.
“Who do you think you’re talking to?!” (HC)
“Mister lazy bum, that’s who!” (DH) Himchan scoffed before making his way over to the two. Since Daehyun seemed to just be standing there, Himchan bumped Daehyun out of the way with his hip before lifting the lid off of the pot that was currently on the oven. Daehyun probably would have done something in retaliation, but lucky for Himchan, Young Jae had been holding him back during this time.
“So, where’s your grandma anyway? Is she sleeping?” (HC) Young Jae’s hold on Daehyun loosened a bit, causing Daehyun to calm down a bit as he looked at Young Jae. Himchan turned to look at them, though he was fairly surprised to see the sort of reaction they seemed to currently have at the moment. “What’s with you two? Something wrong?” (HC)
“U-Um… G-Grandma’s… Grandma she…” (YJ)
“Yeah, she’s sleeping. So be quiet, eh?” (DH) Himchan narrowed his eyelids and he noticed the uncertainty on Young Jae’s face, but he gave a small nod before he walked back to the living room. Once Himchan was out of hearing range, Young Jae looked at Daehyun before frowning a bit.
“H-How come you didn’t tell Himchan the truth…?” (YJ) Daehyun looked at Young Jae, though he himself didn’t really know why he didn’t. What had been running through his mind when Young Jae was trying to get himself to tell Himchan the truth?
“I dunno… I just said it without thinking. Do you… want me to tell him the truth?” (DH) Young Jae thought for a moment and as much as he would have preferred having someone else telling other people the truth, he knew that it was important for him to say it. After all, Himchan’s one of his best friends and he deserved to hear the truth from him at the very least.
“I… I’ll tell him. Can you… watch the cookies until I come back?” (YJ) Once Daehyun gave a nod, Young Jae made his way to the living room. Daehyun smiled a bit, walking up to the kitchen archway before leaning against it and folding his arms. It was probably weird for him to feel proud for Young Jae, but at least Young Jae was being able to gather his strength to continue forward. Sure, Young Jae would cry every now and then, but he was still trying his best. The fact that Young Jae was alright with telling Himchan the news on his own shows just how strong Young Jae can be. It was also surprising to see that Young Jae hadn’t started crying again. Whether that was a good thing or not, Daehyun would just have to wait and see how things turned out.
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A few hours had passed before finally, Himchan left the two alone in the apartment. They sat there with the television screen on, though they both weren’t necessarily paying much attention to it. While Young Jae was lost in his thoughts, Daehyun was constantly glancing over at Young Jae, wondering what he was thinking about. He hoped that Young Jae was alright, but he didn’t want to say anything for whatever reason.
When the two made eye contact with one another, Daehyun quickly looked off to the side, trying to make it seem as though he was innocent. Young Jae didn’t necessarily understand, but he smiled a bit as he pushed himself away from the center of the couch and leaned against Daehyun. Daehyun looked at Young Jae, a bit surprised by Young Jae’s actions, but he couldn’t help but smile a bit as he wrapped his arm around Young Jae’s shoulders.
Instead of giving that usual embarrassed look that Daehyun liked, Young Jae gave a small smile before looking back at the television screen. Daehyun kind of missed seeing Young Jae look embarrassed, but he knew that this was possibly a step forward in their relationship. After all, if he wasn’t embarrassed, then that must mean that Young Jae was getting used to being with him, right? “Um… Daehyun…? I um… I have to go to the bathroom…” (YJ)
Daehyun looked at Young Jae, whom currently refused to make any eye contact with him. Why, exactly, was Young Jae telling him this? It didn’t really make any sense unless Young Jae wanted to be treated like a child and receive permission to go, then that was a bit… well, weird. “Huh? Why are you telling me?” (DH)
“Um… y-your legs…” (YJ) Daehyun looked down and just now realized that he had his legs wrapped around Young Jae’s. When did that happen? Well, either way, he laughed a bit as he unwrapped any limbs currently wrapped around Young Jae, allowing Young Jae the chance to get to his feet. “Thank you.” (YJ)
Soon, Young Jae was up and off to the bathroom. Daehyun laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his head as he leaned against the armrest. Maybe he was getting used to it too. They seem to be comfortable around one another and in a way, Daehyun was a little nervous. Could he help it? This was his first relationship ever and… well, he didn’t want to move too fast and scare Young Jae away.
Still… Daehyun was certain that everything would turn out alright.
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[[ My Own Thoughts:
Young Jae’s becoming stronger >3<
Hopefully everyone didn’t wait too long for the next chapter ._.
Comments are loved x3!
I love talking with everyone >3<
I would also like to know how I’m doing with each of these chapters. X3 ]]
So... I don't know if I should edit Ch. 18 & 19 or not. It's pretty angst and I cry.
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