Sanghyuk was rather surprised when Hakyeon called him to tell him that they were going to the cinema that evening, the tickets booked courtesy of him. It had been two months since he promised taking Sanghyuk to the cinema so Sanghyuk tried not to sound too enthusiastic about it, but sadly, Hakyeon was hard to trick.

Sanghyuk closed his umbrella and took the steps down to the subway. He couldn’t help being excited even if he was miffed at Hakyeon for dragging it out so long—it was the new Avengers movie they were going to watch, after all.

Even the rain couldn’t spoil his good mood and that was something nowadays what with the upcoming final exams he was definitely going to suffer from after neglecting his studies for so many weeks. Jaehwan was going to distract him, he was sure of that, even though he swore that he would let Sanghyuk study in peace (little did he know that Sanghyuk would happily get distracted by him). And Hakyeon would tell him to stop whining and “get his out of the house” when he would be longing for a mango smoothie or whatever he would come up with while Sanghyuk would be studying until he’d feel like his brain started rotting inside his skull, but it was easy for Hakyeon to speak: he’d graduated quite some years before, and he was naturally smart whereas Sanghyuk had to be grateful for having the patience he had for studying, otherwise he never would have got where he was now. Being a nerd was hard.

He took the turn towards the metro entrance, but as soon as he wanted to step onto the escalator, he realized that he had seen something just a second before.
He hurried back to the bottom of the steps, and stopped abruptly when he noticed the pile of clothes on the floor, the entire heap shaking.

“Jaehwan?” he asked tentatively like he was speaking to a stray dog that might attack him any time.

The heap of clothes emitted a small noise, something like a whimper, and Sanghyuk crouched down in front of it, putting his hand onto what he thought was a left shoulder.

“Jaehwan,” he called softly, looking around to find some people staring at them, but most of them didn’t care. He remembered Jaehwan’s words from the afternoon they spent on the playground: ‘people walk around with earphones to block out noises and their own thoughts, and they don’t even bother to blink at me’. He had never known they would be so true. “Jaehwan, what are you doing here?”

Jaehwan slowly lifted his head like it was heavier than what his neck could deal with, and Sanghyuk almost recoiled at the sight of his face. Jaehwan’s incredibly handsome features were distorted by the redness and tears that covered them, his eyes puffy and bloodshot, nose snotty and an expression so sorrowful Sanghyuk almost physically felt his heart shatter to pieces.

“Hey,” Sanghyuk croaked, panic rising inside his chest, and he wondered, for a moment, how far he had got himself into caring about Jaehwan, but it wasn’t the time for him to start pondering about his silly feelings. “Hey, are you— no, you’re not okay. Jaehwan, what’s wrong? What are you doing here? God, you’re… you’re soaked to the skin.”

Jaehwan just looked him in the eye for such a long time Sanghyuk felt himself blush, and when he moved to take his jacket off and wrap it around Jaehwan, he felt five icy, wet fingers on his wrist.

“You’ll catch a cold,” Jaehwan said so quietly it was almost a whisper, the tears welling up in his eyes again.

“I don’t care!” Sanghyuk snapped, and when he realized just how loud he was, he changed back to a softer tone: “You’re scaring me.”

"I’m sorry,” Jaehwan replied, a tear sliding down his face.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Look, I don’t know what you’re doing here and I don’t want to force you to tell me, but you have to get out of here before you freeze to death, and you can come up to my place, okay? Let’s go, okay?”

Sanghyuk stood up, reaching out his hand to Jaehwan who looked at him like a small child that had got lost. He worried his lower lip between his teeth, looked like he was trying to draw blood, and then took Sanghyuk’s hand, wobbling a little and sniffling as he stood up.

“Here,” Sanghyuk said, giving him a tissue and Jaehwan murmured a ‘thank you’ before he blew his nose. They walked up the steps, Sanghyuk opening his umbrella again, putting his arm around Jaehwan’s shoulder to pull him close, trying to protect him from further soaking in an almost paranoid way.

It was strange seeing Jaehwan so broken and taciturn, like it was something that was against the laws of the universe. It was a hundred times worse than back at the pond; Jaehwan wasn’t just sad, he was clearly wounded inside. It was frightening in the most uncomfortable way, especially that Sanghyuk didn’t know what had caused it, but he didn’t dare to push Jaehwan to tell him.

“It was Taekwoon,” Jaehwan said suddenly as if he could read Sanghyuk’s mind.

“Taekwoon?” Sanghyuk asked, a strange hotness starting in his stomach like he had eaten hot soup, but this one was caused by anger and hatred for Taekwoon. It had been only jealousy before, but it was outright loathing now—the kind that makes your hands clench into fists and you just really want to punch the subject of your emotions in the face until they lose one or two teeth.

“He… said it wasn’t right that you and I…” Jaehwan took a deep breath. “That we spend so much time together. I didn’t tell him anything about you and me, nothing worth to be upset over, but he was angry because I’m with you more often than with him, and I told him it wasn’t my fault he had to work so much and that I was not going to give you up, because I like you a lot and you’re my only real friend, and… and he just laughed and said that you weren’t— that you were just some misfortunate soul that was going to disappear just like all of my other friends and… and I told him that I wouldn’t let you go even if you tried to leave and…” Jaehwan’s voice cracked, and he let out an involuntary sob that resembled a hiccup, at which Sanghyuk instinctively started rubbing his back, feeling the drenched sweater under the palm of his hand. “He was furious and told me to get out of there, and I did, because Taekwoon looks like a huge ing bat on an average day, but when he gets angry, he becomes even scarier.”

Sanghyuk suppressed a smile, because no matter how ridiculous that imagery was, every single syllable of it was true, but he knew Jaehwan didn’t say it to make him laugh.

“It’s okay,” Sanghyuk said, mentally rolling his eyes at himself for saying the most cliché thing that came to his mind. “You can sleep at mine. You can stay as long as you want. We’ll figure something out, okay? I wouldn’t let you go either.”

Jaehwan let out a shaky sigh, his head lolling to the side and resting on Sanghyuk’s shoulder as Sanghyuk typed in the code for the door of the apartment complex. 

They took the lift upstairs, Sanghyuk taking Jaehwan’s hand into his in a weak attempt to warm it up, but his own hand was gradually losing its healthy temperature as well.

Sanghyuk opened the door to the apartment, almost tumbling over the shoes next to it as he kicked his own off, trying to turn the lights on, but before he could find the switch, there was a nudge from behind his back, and in the next moment he was pushed up against the wall, dropping the umbrella as a pair of warm, plush lips pressed to his, waterdrops landing on his face and streaming down to his mouth as Jaehwan kissed him, making it taste like rainy summer nights. It only took him a few seconds to realize what was going on, but when he did, a sigh escaped him like he had been waiting for this for weeks, months, years, maybe his entire life. It was liberating in a way; Jaehwan finally letting his guards down, not tentative and timid and Sanghyuk not having to contain himself anymore, not having to refrain from moving his hands up to Jaehwan’s curly hair for his fingers to get lost in the locks, even if they were wet. Jaehwan angled his head to the other side, arms sliding behind Sanghyuk’s back and grabbing his waist, pulling him as close as they could, and Jaehwan felt so warm against him, so alive despite everything—the way wet bodies tend to feel.

“Holy , oh God!”

Sanghyuk pulled back so fast he hit his head against the wall, and Jaehwan’s fingers sank into his flesh from fright.

“I’m sorry!” Hongbin yelled, looking away as if he had seen them . It was exaggerated, but it set Sanghyuk’s cheeks ablaze nevertheless. “I couldn’t hear you, I’m sorry!”

“I thought you weren’t home?” Sanghyuk squeaked.

“I’m going over to Wonshik’s right now,” Hongbin said, finally looking up, glancing at Jaehwan’s arms around Sanghyuk’s waist that quickly fell down.

“Yeah, uh,” Sanghyuk closed his eyes for a second. “Yeah. This… this is Jaehwan.”

“Hello,” Jaehwan said in a nasal tone.

“Hey,” Hongbin lifted his arm and waved at him. His voice screamed of awkwardness. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’m… glad?” Jaehwan looked at Sanghyuk (blushing, embarrassed, on-the-verge-of-crying-from-frustration Sanghyuk) with the ghost of his happy smile around his lips.

“I’ve got to go now,” Hongbin mumbled and stormed past Sanghyuk and Jaehwan, stopping on the porch for a moment to say: “See you later.”

He really didn’t want to see them later—that was clear for all of them, but, Sanghyuk thought, at least he would notify Hakyeon about the cancellation of their movie night as soon as he reached the bottom of the staircase.

Sanghyuk stood unmoving for a second, and then closed the door. Jaehwan took his shoes off, avoiding Sanghyuk’s eyes.

“Come,” Sanghyuk said, taking Jaehwan’s hand and turning on the lights, making his way towards his bedroom. “Sorry for the mess.”

Jaehwan looked around the clothes on the floor and dirty dishes all around, open textbooks lying here and there.

“I’ve seen it in a worse condition,” he said with a half-smile.

“You should… take your clothes off,” Sanghyuk mumbled, rummaging through the towels, pulling out one, and then looking for some sweatpants and a T-shirt.

When he turned around, Jaehwan was still just standing, his head hanging, letting out tiny sighs, sounding like he was trying very hard not to start crying again.

“Jaehwan,” Sanghyuk said, stepping closer to him. “I will literally beat the out of Taekwoon if you get pneumonia.”

Jaehwan wiped at his face with his hands, and then took his sweater off, tugging up his shirt afterwards. With great effort, he managed to pull down his jeans as well, and then reached for the towel, but Sanghyuk didn’t let him take it. Jaehwan looked surprised as Sanghyuk wrapped the towel around him with his cheeks turning even redder than before, and started drying his arms, shoulders and back, moving on to his stomach and then his legs, deliberately looking down onto the floor when Jaehwan’s crotch got to eye level. When he was done with that, he stood up again, rubbing the towel over Jaehwan’s hair, paying a lot more attention to it than he would have, if Jaehwan hadn’t been staring at him so intensely.

There was a second when his eyes met Jaehwan’s, and suddenly he dropped the towel, because Jaehwan kissed him again, arms snaking around Sanghyuk’s neck, his body still too warm against Sanghyuk’s. Only God knows how Sanghyuk found the time to take his jacket and shirt off, because Jaehwan seemed hungry for kisses—he nibbled on Sanghyuk’s lower lip with every turn of his head, his tongue knew every single move of Sanghyuk’s, and he didn’t bother pulling back even when he tugged at Sanghyuk’s trousers, urging him to get out of them.

It was only logical for Sanghyuk to pull Jaehwan down on the bed and hover over him, he didn’t think about it much. It was just right.

Jaehwan was skinny, bony even, more than Sanghyuk himself, even though he didn’t have much to be proud of either. Still, Jaehwan was soft under him, his skin milky and almost liquid as Sanghyuk’s hands roamed over his body, fingertips touching the waves of Jaehwan’s ribs, lips pressed to the boy’s throat, a peck to his chest just above his heart, and Jaehwan caressed him with trembling hands, tugging and pulling at Sanghyuk’s back like he was a blanket Jaehwan tried to cover himself with.

“Sanghyuk,” he breathed into Sanghyuk’s ear, pecking his cheek tenderly. “Sanghyuk.”

“Yes, yes, I’m here,” Sanghyuk replied, looking into Jaehwan’s beautiful eyes, feeling himself fall deeper than ever before. How many nights had he spent imagining this, how many hours had he spent thinking of Jaehwan and how it would feel like to kiss him again, and how wrong all those images were! It was a million times better in reality; Jaehwan was falling apart, but Sanghyuk hoped he could put him together again.

“I never want to let you go,” Jaehwan mouthed against Sanghyuk’s lips before sealing them with his own again.

Sanghyuk was not going to go further, not now, even though his body was aching; he was not going to take advantage of Jaehwan’s mental state, and Jaehwan didn’t seem to force him either.

Sanghyuk’s lips were sore; he felt that thing you feel when you’d been kissing too much, the new, tender, sensitive skin coming to the surface, all of it blood red. His lips were undoubtedly swollen, but he’d be damned if he was going to stop now, only for his lips to hurt less the next day. He didn’t even care if there was no tomorrow, Jaehwan kissed him like that anyway; his own hands felt like they found the right place to be at, and it was on Jaehwan’s body. Everything was flawless with his stomach in knots, his body trembling and Jaehwan in his arms. If his life had been a book, this is what its ending would have been. He was living the Happily Ever After.

“Did you know,” Jaehwan asked when they broke away from each other, Jaehwan lying on his back and looking up at Sanghyuk who supported himself on his right elbow, “that you look like the mixture of a cat and a teddy bear when you have that -eating grin on your face?”

Sanghyuk raised his eyebrows, trying to suppress his ‘-eating grin’ and finding that he couldn’t.

“Should I take that as a compliment?” he inquired.

“It was an observation, silly.”

“Well, my observation is that you are…” Sanghyuk cut himself off, feeling the tips of his ears burning with a new blow of embarrassment.

“I’m what?” Jaehwan asked, his tone curious and maybe a little worried.

Sanghyuk couldn’t bring himself to say it; he just stared down at the sheets where the fingers of his left hand brushed against the skin of Jaehwan’s waist. Jaehwan arched up then and kissed him again, for the millionth time, all of it still feeling anew on Sanghyuk’s mouth, still refreshing, still Jaehwan—and that was the only thing that mattered.

Jaehwan grew tired after what felt like an eternity; his lips moved languidly against Sanghyuk’s, the pads of his fingers pressed weaker into the skin of Sanghyuk’s back. He pecked Sanghyuk one, two, three times more, and then scooted lower in the bed, pulling the duvet over both of their shoulders and snuggling into it, the tip of his nose touching the base of Sanghyuk’s throat as they lay next to each other.

“You’re gorgeous, Jaehwan,” Sanghyuk said softly, his fingers carding through damp locks, twirling them around his fingers every now and then.

“I don’t understand why you hesitated; that’s obvious.” Jaehwan murmured in a raspy voice, his hot breath hitting Sanghyuk’s chest in the most pleasant way possible. He let out a small laugh, the wave of it running through Sanghyuk’s body as well. “No, really. Thank you. I don’t deserve you.”

Jaehwan pressed a kiss to Sanghyuk’s skin, leaning into the touch of Sanghyuk’s fingers in his hair afterwards.

Sanghyuk wanted to say something like ‘no, you deserve better’, but the entire situation was cheesy enough already and he would have retched if he’d seen all of this on film, but it was Jaehwan and him now which made reality feel like the most beautiful dream he’d ever had. Still, he didn’t want to scare Jaehwan away with a sappy comment—he didn’t have to know how euphoric Sanghyuk was feeling, not yet.

He nuzzled into Jaehwan’s hair, breathing in summer breezes, sunshine, warmth and starry nights, pulling Jaehwan closer, their legs entangling under the duvet. He was feeling content, happy, and something more that wasn’t quite tangible for him, even though Hakyeon had already decided that the L-word was the most accurate one. He couldn’t be sure.

But all of it was perfect.