Hyukjae frowned as Donghae kept looking at him with a smile on his face. “What?”

 

“I just thought of something.” Hyukjae took a sip of his latte, waiting for Donghae to keep talking. “We need to write the lyrics for the song, right? I’m thinking about this guy that is so in love.”

 

“Mh.”

 

“And he imagines all these things he wants to do together. With the girl. Like telling her that he loves her, or hugging her or kissing her forehead.”

 

“Sounds like a clingy person I know.”

 

Donghae smiled at him, knowing Hyukjae was referring to him. “It’s just someone who has a lot of love to give. And he’s pretty confident too, about his feelings. And hopes she feels the same.” Hyukjae nodded. Donghae grabbed a napkin from the center of the table and took out a pen from his backpack. “Something like this...” he handed it to Hyukjae after he finished.

 

I’ll whisper to you that I love you

I’ll kiss you on your forehead

 

 Hyukjae read it and nodded. “That’s the chorus?”

 

“Mh. It goes like...” he started humming the melody. “Right? Then goes ‘You, you, you…’”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It’s sweet and light-hearted so I thought of something like that. Like directed at you. I mean, not you, but a 'you'.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled.

 

“It’s cute. I like it, it fits the vibe.”

 

Donghae nodded. Hyukjae took Donghae’s pen from his hand and started writing as well, making sure that the metric was right and comfortable to sing. Donghae waited patiently as he finished his coffee.

 

“This is for the beginning.” He let Donghae read the opposite corner of the napkin. “I prayed to the night sky that she will accept my heart,” he pointed to each syllable with the pen as he sang, then hummed one part he hadn’t written yet, “I’m going crazy.”

 

Donghae laughed at that part. “I like that last bit. We can add something like ‘ah, I keep hoping she texts me’.”

 

“Please text me on KakaoTalk?”

 

They both laughed. “Yeah, something like that.” 

 

Donghae kept writing on the blank spots Hyukjae left to complete the verse. As he worked on that, Hyukjae took out his phone and his earphones from his pocket. He lent one of the earbuds to Donghae. “Here.”

 

“Wait.”

 

Donghae finished the verse. Hyukjae couldn’t help but laugh when he saw the messily written words. “What is that handwriting...”

 

Donghae pouted as he received the earbud. “It’s difficult to do it here.”

 

Hyukjae played the song for both of them to listen to. While waiting for the melody to start, Donghae scooted closer to Hyukjae. They read the lyrics together as the song began.

 

I prayed to the night sky

That she will accept my heart

Kakao talk me, I can’t sleep because of her

I’m going crazy these days

 

Donghae murmured the lyrics so it matched the timing. Hyukjae was smiling. He paused the song and looked up, only to find Donghae looking at him expectantly. He laughed and then nodded, letting him know he liked the lyrics. 

 

“It sounds really nice. You’re smart.”

 

Donghae grinned at him. He looked around and realized the cafe was almost empty. “You finished?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“The coffee.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Can I sleep in your room?”

 

Hyukjae raised his eyebrows, not wanting Donghae to disturb his sleep yet again, but wanting to spend time with him. They stared at each other with narrowed eyes for a few seconds until Hyukjae gave up. “Ugh. Alright. Just because I wanna finish this.”

 

“Mh-hm.”

 

Once in Hyukjae’s bedroom, Donghae put on one of his pajamas. Hyukjae took the napkin out of his pocket, it was neatly folded in half.

 

“Can you write that on your phone?”

 

Donghae nodded. “I’ll text it to you.” He lay face down on Hyukjae’s bed. Hyukjae sat with his legs crossed, resting his back on the headboard.

 

The rest of the night they spent working on the lyrics, trying hard to make their ideas fit into the short lines. They wrote a first draft and kept making little changes to it. Donghae explained the feeling they had to convey, Hyukjae made sure to use concise, natural-sounding sentences.

 

Hyukjae smiled as he read the last part of the lyrics Donghae had sent to his phone. 

 

I hope this song reaches you

Turn around, I hope you know me

I’ll be waiting, I’ll leave your spot empty

Some day, when we meet

After everything stops

I will confess that I love you, baby

 

Donghae shifted on the bed. He mirrored Hyukjae’s position, sitting up, legs crossed, in front of him. “Sounds a little simple. I don’t know. What do you think?”

 

“It’s simple, I guess, but that’s not bad. It reminds me of teenage love. Or young love. Like innocent and intense.”

 

“Yeah. That’s it.”

 

They smiled at each other. Donghae looked down at his phone, trying to see what could sound better than what he had written. Hyukjae always agreed to his choices. He supported all his ideas and tried to help him find solutions if he wasn’t satisfied. That just made Donghae want to work even harder. 

 

“Stop thinking so hard,” said Hyukjae, who noticed Donghae’s constant frown. “We can continue tomorrow, now you need to rest.”

 

Donghae nodded. “We need to rest,” he corrected him as a yawn escaped his lips. “What time is it?”

 

“Like 3 a.m.?”

 

“Oh. Okay, let’s sleep.” He quickly hid under the covers and invited Hyukjae to join him. 

 

“Why are you inviting me, it’s my bed...” Donghae giggled. Hyukjae turned off the lights before he lay on his back on the bed. Donghae rested his head on his shoulder. “Good night,” said Hyukjae softly.

 

“Hm. Dream of me.”

 

Hyukjae chuckled.