Hold My Hand - Jess Glynne

Darling, hold my hand.

Oh, won't you hold my hand.

'Cause I don't want to walk on my own anymore

won't you understand?

Wonwoo was 17 when he first met Jihoon. Well, not really, since they had lived on the same street for all their lives but it's not like they had ever so much as said hello to each other. Wonwoo had always been the pale, dark haired kid with a somewhat murderous resting face so most kids avoided him like the plague. It didn't help that he was often too quiet because of his crippling shyness. He had tried to make friends but the other kids would just look away nervously as soon as he approached them so he had stopped trying long ago.

Then came the day when he was walking home from school and passing by a familiar alleyway when he heard sounds of a struggle and like the idiot he was went in to investigate. What he saw was a split lipped Jihoon crouched down with his uniform torn at the shoulder, surrounded by three kids he had seen at school. They were taunting him, hurling insults with venom. Just as he was about to go help Jihoon the smaller boy kicked out, delivering a measured blow to one boy's kneecap making him tumble into another fellow bully who fell to the ground and hit his head. The third boy hurled himself on Jihoon's back but the smaller boy was prepared and aimed his elbow at the bully's diaphragm. Jihoon sneered, dusted himself off, picked up his rucksack and walked over to Wonwoo.

"Unless you're looking to get your beat I'd move aside if I were you."

Jihoon glared at him and Wonwoo didn't understand how someone the size of an ant could be so intimidating. It excited him. He cracked a shy smile at the thought and Jihoon took a hesitant step back in confusion. "The are you smiling about, you creep?"

The words snapped Wonwoo out of his little world and he blushed several shades of red. He lowered his head and moved aside, only continuing with his walk home once Jihoon was a good few steps in front of him so as to give the smaller boy the space he wanted. There was a problem with that of course because they lived on the same street and Jihoon's legs were so much shorter than his that he had to stop for a beat every few steps. It didn't go unnoticed by Jihoon who, after 5 minutes, stopped and turned around.

"Are you a stalker or something?" Jihoon asked him straight out. "If you're trying to be subtle it's not working."

Wonwoo's eyes went wide at the accusation and the corners of Jihoon's mouth twitched into a small smile.

"Hey, it was a joke. You live on the same street as me, right?"

Wonwoo lets out a sigh of relief and steps forward awkwardly. "Uh. Yeah. I didn't know you knew that."

Jihoon chuckled. "Of course I know. You're the vampire kid everyone talks about. Not that I've ever believed that."

Wonwoo's eyes doubled in size again. No one had ever talked to him for this long, except his parents, and everything Jihoon was saying was a constant surprise. The shorter boy let out an easy smile.

"You're quite shy, huh?"

"Uh. Yes. Sorry."

"No need to apologise. People think I'm shy but really I just like my own company more than most. Most folk are just untrustworthy s."

Jihoon turned around abruptly and commenced walking home, leaving Wonwoo was confused about what to do. He wanted to follow this short boy who seemed oddly similar to himself, but he didn't want to intrude. Thankfully, Jihoon paused after a few steps and looked over his shoulder. "Are you coming, or what?"

Like that their friendship was born. It took a little while for Wonwoo to adapt to the thought of someone wanting to hang out with him and talk to him, but eventually he let his walls down for Jihoon. The shorter boy was guarded himself, being a victim of frequent bullying about his height. Wonwoo realised how nice it was to have someone who understood him and he found himself smiling more, talking more even when Jihoon wasn't next to him. It made others start to warm up to him and within a year Wonwoo and Jihoon's life was invaded by a giant called Mingyu and the walking sunshine couple otherwise known as Seokmin and Soonyoung. From then on their circle of friends grew bigger and Wonwoo could see Jihoon change little by little too; the boy was becoming more relaxed and trusting and it warmed Wonwoo's heart to a degree he couldn't really fathom.

It took a while for Wonwoo to really cotton on to his own feelings. At some point his fondness for Jihoon had turned from friendly to romantic. Jihoon's smile had become the most precious thing to him and he desperately wanted to be the source of it. Unfortunately for him the realisation made him more shy around Jihoon which of course didn't go unnoticed by anyone. His shyness of course made Jihoon touch him more in reassurance, which made him even more flustered. Their other friends about it mercilessly while also encouraging him to make a move. They finally all got fed up with the pair and decided to help fate along a little.

That's how Jihoon and Wonwoo found themselves locked in Soonyoung's closet during their graduation after party with a bunch of illegally drunk teenage friends hollering at them outside.

"If you don't let us out of here Kwon Soonyoung, so help me I will cut holes in the crotch of your ballet leotards!" Jihoon shouted at the door and Wonwoo couldn't help but smirk a little. Fiery Jihoon was his favourite version of Jihoon.

"You're all bark, Lee Jihoon. Besides, there's no breaking the rules of seven minutes in heaven. Tough luck, lovers." Soonyoung retorted and they all filed out of the room.

Jihoon groaned and turned to Wonwoo, an apologetic look on his face. "I tried."

Wonwoo smiled. "Yeah, I know. I'm not sure I'll survive seven minutes in here, it smells like crotch."

Jihoon chuckled. "And it's not big enough either."

It didn't need to be said; Wonwoo was acutely aware of how close to him Jihoon stood. Their knees bumped together every time they tried to move and he could hear Jihoon breathing. His heart was making its presence known with every passing second.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Jihoon's hand on his elbow startled Wonwoo out of his thoughts so violently that he jumped a little and accidentally stepped on Jihoon's toes, making the shorter boy yelp in pain.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Jihoon." Wonwoo tried to step back but lost his balance as his foot landed on a ball and his ankle rolled painfully. In his panic he grabbed a hold of Jihoon and they went crashing against the shelves in a cacophony of shouts and bangs.

"Ouch." Jihoon moaned against Wonwoo's chest.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Wonwoo tried to straighten them both out but they were tangled against each other and the shelves and it was painful and awkward. He realised he was holding Jihoon by his hips and his hands flew away like they had been burnt which in turn made Jihoon look up abruptly and his lips brushed against Wonwoo jaw.

"I'm fine." Jihoon whispered. "You?"

The proximity of Jihoon was intoxicating to Wonwoo, the accidental brush of lips against his skin left him feverish and he wanted nothing more than to feel it again. Jihoon went to pull himself away and something inside Wonwoo snapped. His hands returned to Jihoon's hips, locking him in place, and he could feel the boy tilting his head in question. With one final nervous breath Wonwoo leaned forward in search of Jihoon's mouth. He felt Jihoon shiver and melt against him as their lips touched and Wonwoo's heart was attempting to punch out of his chest.

He broke the kiss to whisper against Jihoon's mouth. "I think I love you."

The shorter boy smiled and the back of Wonwoo's neck. "I know. I've been waiting for you."

Wonwoo was about to voice his confusion when the door was yanked open and they were assaulted with wolf whistles. The light streaming in was too bright but when Wonwoo glanced down into Jihoon's eyes all he could see there was fondness and he ignored everything else as he swooped down for another kiss. The wolf whistles turned into a chorus of gags and coos and Jihoon's reached blindly for the doorknob, slamming the closet door shut again.

They giggled slightly as they heard Soonyoung's muffled shouts as he was dragged out of the room.

"If you despoil my closet I will never forgive you!"

It dawned on Wonwoo, as Jihoon pulled him into another kiss, how weird it was that he had never felt more at home than here in this criminally small, crotch smelling closet of Soonyoung's. And he burst out laughing.