Several weeks and several exhausting exams later, Spring had drawn to a close and Summer had arrived. Wonshik had always looked forward to the Summer, but he was looking forward to it far more than he usually would. After all, it meant he had far more spare time to spend with Taekwoon.

He sighed dreamily as he thought about his crush, taking a seat at one of the empty picnic benches in the park. Wonshik stretched his arms, letting out a content sigh. The bench was located by a number of trees, which meant he was sat under the pleasantly cool shade. It was a welcome change from the warmth of the sun.

"Hakyeon-hyung~" Wonshik called out, waving at his friend once he had noticed him.

"Hey Wonshikkie~" Hakyeon waved back as he walked up to the picnic bench to join the younger boy. "You look cheerful," he remarked, smiling as he slipped his messenger bag off his shoulder and sat on the bench opposite Wonshik. 

"I'm so relieved we don't have uni again for a while," he admitted with a smirk on his face.

Hakyeon chuckled. "Yeah, exams were pretty rough this time round," he sighed. "Got any plans~?"

"Well... actually, I was gonna ask you for a favour," Wonshik smiled sheepishly, itching the back of his neck. "I... If I tell you something, you have to promise you won't be mad."

"...I'm listening," Hakyeon raised his eyebrows, intrigued. "What's up?"

"I... I kinda have a crush on Taekwoon."

"Oh, right."

"Hey, you said you wouldn't be mad-"

"No, no, I'm not mad," Hakyeon smiled, hiding his jealously. He already knew Taekwoon had feelings for Wonshik, which hurt. However, hearing that his feelings were reciprocated really hurt. "So, what's this favour?"

"Well... I kind of wanted to ask him out..." Wonshik bit his lip. "...But, honestly, I'm a bit shy. I was gonna ask, what do you think about the three of us going out instead? I thought it might give me a chance to test the waters a bit, you know? Plus, I think it'll be fun anyways."

"Well... I dunno... What did you have in mind?"

"Oh! Well, since Taekwoon really likes animals, I was thinking we could go to the zoo?"

"That's... That's a really sweet idea, Shikkie," he smiled, trying his best to not let his sadness shine through. He'd never seen either of his friends so enthuasiastic or happy before. However desperately he wished it was him that Taekwoon liked in that way, things were unlikely to change. He sighed, faking a smile to try and pass it off as a yawn. "Sorry, just a little tired from work. Well, if you really want to go... do some aegyo!"

"Eh?"

"I think aegyo will convince me, Shikkie," he smirked, enjoying the rare opportunity to see the younger boy's cute side. "One aegyo pose and I'll say yes!"

"....Hyung... Seriously?" 

"Well, I guess if you're not going to do it, you must not want to go~"

"F-fine!" Wonshik frowned, rolling his eyes at his hyung's request. After a moment of hesitation, and a moment spent internally cringing about what he was about to do, Wonshik pulled a double peace sign pose. Hakyeon grinned, clapping and reaching over the table to pinch his cheeks.

"Ah, Shikkie~ So cute~!"

"You're so annoying," he mumbled, swatting Hakyeon's hand away. "So is it a yes?"

"I guess so," he smiled. "I'll set up a group chat. Should I say it was your idea?"

"Uhm... Y-yeah, I guess," Wonshik mumbled, itching the back of his neck shyly. 

From: Hakyeon

Hey guys~~!! ❤ ❤ ❤ 

So, Wonshikkie came up with a great idea^^

He said we should go to the zoo~ *_*

Let's do it~ \o/

From: Wonshik

How does Friday sound?

From: Taekwoon

The zoo?

It sounds really fun^^ Friday works for me

From: Hakyeon

Friday^^ lets meet at the bus stop at 10am ❤ 

From: Wonshik

Yah, thats earlyT_T

but

Okay, friday at 10

From: Taekwoon

Okay^^

I'm excited

"Hey, thanks, bro. It means a lot to me," Wonshik smiled, touched by Hakyeon's generosity. "I know it's probably hard for you-"

"Don't mention it~" Hakyeon interrupted.

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Wonshik groggily emerged from his room, exhausted from another one of his restless nights. He stretched his arms behind his head as he walked into the kitchen for the food. He turned the kettle on, ready to make coffee when he found himself distracted. He could hear water, and decided to follow the noise.

Wonshik found out that sound he could hear was the shower. Much to his surprise, the bathroom door was open. Taekwoon had left it open so that he could go straight back to his room to get dressed once he had showered, not expecting Wonshik to be up so early.

Wonshik's eyes widened as he noticed Taekwoon's silhouette.

Mesmerised, he gulped, backing up slowly - as silently as he could - and taking a seat on the couch. Wonshik watched his hyung’s wide shoulders, his toned arms as they reached out for shampoo, and the way they ran through his hair.

He was beginning to feel like a creep, but he couldn’t help but watch. Imagining the details behind the curtains, what Taekwoon's body must look like... he quickly grabbed a cushion to cover the tent that was emerging in his pyjama bottoms.

Without taking his eyes off Taekwoon’s silhoutte, he neglected to notice that he had knocked a cup off the coffee table and alerted Taekwoon to his audience.

Taekwoon was visibly startled by the sudden noise and peaked around the shower curtain, panicked, only to find Wonshik's dopey face gawping at him. His eyes narrowed as they locked on to Wonshik’s, who was suddenly shook back into reality by Taekwoon’s piercing stare.

Wonshik panicked, nervously scratching the back of his neck as his other hand assured the cushion was firmly placed over his obvious . His quickly turned away and whistled casually, pretending he wasn’t completely caught in the act of spying on his hyung.

Taekwoon turned the water off, knowing his voice wouldn’t be heard over the sound of the water. He coughed, demanding Wonshik’s attention.

Wonshik’s face was bright red as he glaced over at his hyung guiltily. He looked like a guilty puppy, and Taekwoon couldn’t help but find it adorable. As he noticed the cushion on Wonshik's lap, his eyes widened, his chubby cheeks turning pink as he realised why it was there. 

Taekwoon bit his lip as he reached for his towel, wraping it around his waist before stepping out of the shower. He decided it'd be fun to see Wonshik become even more flustered.

Still dripping wet he walked towards Wonshik quietly - so quietly that the younger boy hadn’t even noticed his hyung was now stood in front of him until he felt drops of water fall onto his feet. Wonshik looked up and flinched, turning an even deeper red as he caught sight of Taekwoon’s wet torso.

“Wonshik,” Taekwoon said softly, as he lifted the younger boy’s chin up to make sure his wide eyes were focused on his face whilst he spoke. He made absolute sure he and Wonshik were making eye contact before continuing. “Why is there a cushion on your lap?”

“I, uh...”

Wonshik was at a loss for words. His mind was so preoccupied with a mixture of embarrassment and intense desire to see what was hidden underneath Taekwoon’s towel that he couldn’t even form a coherant sentence.

His heart was beating so fast as his eyes studied his hyung’s body, relishing every detail he could make out in his hazy state. After several attempts of muttering, the otherwise awkward silence was finally broken by Taekwoon’s adorable sudden laughter.

“I’m gonna get dressed,” Taekwoon announched quietly, smiling at the younger boy. "You should probably get ready too."

As soon as he was out of sight, Wonshik shot up, also retreating to his room. He found himself panting as soon as he slammed his bedroom door shut, not realising he had been holding his breath the entire time Taekwoon was near him.

After finally regaining a steady breathing pace, he went over to his desk and took a seat, pulling out the notebook he scribbled his song ideas in from his rucksack. Inspired by the encounter with his crush, he scribbled down some lyrics that came to mind, naming the work in progress Whisper.

Once the impromptu song-writing session had finished, Wonshik found that he was still struggling with a very specific problem in his pyjama bottoms. He picked up his phone, taking note of the time and concluding he had some time to try and resolve his problem before they had to leave.

With the image of Taekwoon's wet torso fresh in his mind, Wonshik slipped a hand into his pyjama bottoms...

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Taekwoon couldn't seem to stop smiling. He would be lying if he said he wasn't somewhat proud that his silhouette alone was enough to turn Wonshik on. It was adorable how flustered Wonshik had become, but Taekwoon doubted Wonshik's feelings were the same as his.

Why would someone as perfect as Wonshik like someone broken like me?

Taekwoon shook his head, having decided it were for the best if he didn't dwell on his self hatred. He had been so excited about going to the zoo with Wonshik that he wasn't about to let his thoughts ruin that.

Taekwoon dried himself off, fixing his hair and putting on boxers and a set of long dangling earrings before looking through his drawers of neatly folded clothes to find out an outfit. He spent longer than usual picking out his outfit, wanting to dress nicely and impress his crush.

After some careful consideration, he settled on a floaty white blouse partially tucked into his tight denim jeans, and some pretty rings that matched his earrings to pull the look together. 

He made sure he had his essentials put away in the pockets of his jeans - phone, wallet and keys - and then left his room, a smile on his face as looked forward to spending the day with Wonshik. He'd almost forgot that Hakyeon was going to be there too.

"Wonshik~" he smiled, knocking on the younger boy's bedroom door.

"F-!"

"...Wonshik? Are you alright?" he asked, hesitantly reaching for the door handle. "Should I come in?"

"N-no!!! I-I'm good! Don't come in!"

"O-oh, okay..." he mumbled, biting his lip. "I-I'm ready to leave, anyways. I'll wait for you, okay?"

"A-ah, okay," Wonshik replied, letting out a relieved sigh. "I won't be long."

Wonshik opened the little drawer on his bedside table, pulling out a couple sheets of tissue to clean himself up. As he cleaned up, he checked the time on his phone and realised how much time he had wasted .

Concious of being late, he rushed through his drawers and threw on some shorts, a tank top and a zip up hoodie. He quickly styled his fluffy blonde hair and threw on whatever random earrings he had laying out before picking up his rucksack and slinging it over his shoulders, slipping his phone into the pockets on his shorts. 

"A-alright, let me just wash my hands and- ....w-wow," Wonshik's jaw droped as he noticed how handsome Taekwoon looked. Clearly, the extra effort put into his outfit had worked. Wonshik gulped, his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink as he checked his hyung out. "T-Taekwoon, you uhm... You look really nice."

"A-ah, t-thank you...." he replied shyly, looking down at his feet out of embarrassment. His cute chubby cheeks turned a similarly faint pink as he bit his lip, returning the compliment. "You look good, too..."

Wonshik grinned to himself, finding the way Taekwoon got so embarrassmed by compliments adorable. However, aware of the time, he shook his head, scuttling over to the sink to wash and dry his hands fast. "Alright, let's go."

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The boys grabbed a quick breakfast at the cafe before making their way to meet up with Hakyeon at the bus stop. As they arrived at the bus stop, they were both greeted by their overly enthusiastic friend.

"Woonie~ Shikkie~ Good morning~!" Hakyeon sang, demanding a hug from both of them. Wonshik noticed that the hug between Hakyeon and Taekwoon lingered a little longer, but he tried his best to not get too jealous over it. "Are you guys excited~?"

"Yeah..." Taekwoon admitted shyly, looking down at his feet. "I've been really looking forward to it, actually."

"Well that's no surprise. You love animals, right Woonie?"

The boys made small talk as they waited for their bus to arrive. It was going to be a fourty minute ride, and Taekwoon was determined to spend it sat next to Wonshik. As they spoke, he kept staring at Wonshik, smiling to himself as he recalled their encounter earlier in the day. 

Maybe it means he likes me..

Taekwoon desperately hoped that this was the case. However. despite how hard he tried, he couldn't shake his dark thoughts.

No... Wonshik wouldn't like someone like me. He's perfect. I'm nothing.

He frowned, looking down at his feet.

"Taekwoon?" Wonshik whispered to him, noticing his change in demeanor. Hakyeon was too busy talking about what a nice day they were going to have that he hadn't even noticed neither of them were listening. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" Taekwoon glanced up at his crush, smiling weakly to try and stop him from worrying. "I'm fine. Just tired."

Unconvinced, Wonshik frowned. Before he had a chance to pursue the conversation, their bus had arrived. The three managed to get seats at the back of the bus, which allowed them to sit together. However, Taekwoon didn't get his wish. Hakyeon had sat inbetween the boys, but this didn't stop them from stealing glances and smiling at one another every now and then.

Wonshik had noticed how different Taekwoon was around Hakyeon. The two were best friends - practically brothers - but Taekwoon was so quiet and withdrawn. He offered the ocassional comment, but the majority of his time was spent listening instead of speaking. It striked him as a little odd, considering how talkative Taekwoon was when the two of them were alone.

Wonshik had no idea that it was because Taekwoon liked him back.

------------------------------------------------------- 

Once they arrived at the zoo, Wonshik paid for their tickets; since it was his idea, he insisted on paying. Although he didn't have a job, Wonshik was decently well off - his parents sent him money every month, but he saved most of it, rarely ever spending it. As a result, he had more than enough to treat himself and his friends every once in a while. 

As they walked around the zoo, Wonshik couldn't take his eyes off Taekwoon. He was so excited about seeing all the animals that it was simply precious. He lead the way, enthusiastically reading all the signs on the enclosures and taking photo's of all the animals on his phone. His enthusiasiam was infectious - Wonshik liked animals too, but he had never been so excited about seeing them before.

Hakyeon watched the two together, and although he tried to ignore his jealousy it was becoming almost impossible. He wanted Taekwoon to be happy - he truly did - but seeing him smile so brightly because of someone else was more difficult than he had anticipated.

"Woonie, look. There's lion's over there~" Hakyeon pointed out, knowing Taekwoon had a soft spot for the majestic beast. He took Taekwoon by the hand, leading him over to the lion enclosure whilst ignoring Wonshik. He smiled to himself, enjoying the time he spent holding hands with his beloved Taekwoon. "Ah, Woonie! Look! There's a baby lion~!"

Wonshik frowned as he caught up with the two, noticing that they were holding hands. Taekwoon thought nothing of it, since he was so used to holding hands with Hakyeon - he had forgotten that it made Hakyeon's heart skip a bit. Wonshik was a little frustrated with Hakyeon for leaving him behind, and couldn't help but feel that he had grabbed Taekwoon's hand to try and make him jealous.

It was working.

"Wonshikkie, look~" 

Taekwoon's gentle voice and sweet smile immediately quelled whatever anger Wonshik felt. 

"What's up?" he asked with a smirk, as he followed Taekwoon's pointing finger and saw the baby lion cub playing happily with it's mother. "Ah, so cute~"

It was an adorable scene, but Taekwoon's smile as he watched the animals play was far more adorable.

As Hakyeon noticed Wonshik smiling dreamily at Taekwoon, he released his hand, sighing from frustration. He knew that his behaviour had been petty, but he hadn't expected himself to be as consumed with his jealousy as he was. It was beginning to take a toll on him.

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“Here~” Wonshik smiled, handing Taekwoon his ice cream. After walking around for an hour, the boys had decided to take a break. It was a particularly warm Summer, so ice cream seemed like the perfect idea. 

“T-thank you,” Taekwoon mumbled shyly, glancing over at Wonshik and offering him a soft smile.  He wasted no time away at his ice cream, completely unaware that Wonshik was watching him with intrigue. He just couldn’t get his eyes off Taekwoon’s lips, watching them curiously. The way the ice cream began to melt, dripping down his plush lips and the way his tongue looked as he slowly it all up made Wonshik’s mind drift off into less than innocent territory.

“Wonshikkie~!”

Hakyeon’s voice and the sudden cold he felt on his lap jolted him back into reality, as he realised his ice cream had slipped off the cone and landed on his lap. “...” he mumbled under his breath, standing up to brush the ice cream off of him. He was so embarrassed, realising he had made himself look like an idiot in front of Taekwoon.

“Hey...” Wonshik felt a gentle tap on his arm, and turned to find Taekwoon looking up at him with an understanding smile. “Take this,” he mumbled, passing Wonshik some tissue to clean himself up.

“T-thanks,” Wonshik mumbled, smiling at Taekwoon gratefully as he took the tissue and cleaned the melted ice cream off his shorts. After throwing the tissue away, he sat back down and was surprised as Taekwoon suddenly burst into laughter. He’d never seen him laugh so loud before, and it made his heart beat a little bit faster. “W-what’s so funny?” he smirked.

“Y-you~” Taekwoon giggled, looking over at Wonshik with a bright smile. Wonshik didn’t even care that Taekwoon was laughing at his misfortune - seeing him smile so brightly warmed his heart, and he couldn’t help but smile too. Taekwoon’s cute laugh was absolutely infectious.

“S-shut up~” Wonshik chuckled, gently pushing Taekwoon’s shoulder. Hakyeon rolled his eyes, looking away so he didn't have to watch the two laughing together so happily. After Taekwoon and Hakyeon finished their ice creams, Wonshik had an idea and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“Hey, Hakyeon-bro~?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you take a picture of us?” he asked, handing Hakyeon his phone. “Is that okay with you?” he turned to Taekwoon, nudging him to get his attention. Although Taekwoon was initially hesitant, not being a huge fan of being in front of a camera, the idea of having a picture of himself with Wonshik did sound really nice. After a moment to think about it, he nodded hesitantly.

“Okay...” Hakyeon mumbled. He’d never seen Taekwoon smile as brightly as he did when he was around Wonshik, and althought it hurt, seeing his best friend happy did make him happy. He gritted his teeth, smiling in order to hide how envious he was. He stood in front of them both, gesturing for them to pose.

Wonshik smirked, putting an arm around Taekwoon’s shoulder and pulling him closer. With his spare hand, he pulled a peace sign, and smiled happily for the photo. Shy, and a bit taken back by the sudden physical contact, Taekwoon blushed and offered a shy smile as his pose.

“Cute~!” Hakyeon announced as he took the photo, checking it was a nice one before handing Wonshik his phone back. “Should we get going, then?”

“Yeah, just give me a minute,” Wonshik mumbled, smiling like an idiot as he stared at the photo. Taekwoon leaned in to get  a look at the picture too, and his blush deepened as he thought to himself how handsome Wonshik looked.

“C-can you send me that?” he whispered, biting his lip shyly.

“S-sure~” Wonshik smiled, texting the picture to Taekwoon before secretly setting it as his wallpaper. He slid his phone back into his pocket and stood up, stretching his arms and yawning. “Let’s go, then.”

Taekwoon nodded, standing up to walk with his friends but still on his phone - he'd also set the photo as his wallpaper. After another moment spent admiring Wonshik’s handsome smile, he put his phone away and speeded up his walking pace to catch up with his friends.

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The boys spent some time in the gift shop, purchasing matching keyrings of their favourite animals from the zoo to remember the lovely day they had. It was getting late, but Taekwoon insisted they look around some more. Unable to cope with his jealousy anymore, Hakyeon made an excuse to leave early. Taekwoon and Wonshik walked him to the bus stop, recieving hugs from him before saying their goodbye's.

After another hour of wandering around, the boys finally decided it was time to leave. It was getting dark out, and the warm Summer air was turning cold. Taekwoon had always been esepcially sensitive to changes in temperature, and began to shiver a little. Noticing the way his hyung was rubbing his arms to try and warm himself up, Wonshik removed his hoodie without a second thought and placed it over Taekwoon's broad shoulders. Taekwoon flinched.

"S-sorry," Wonshik mumbled, taking a seat next to Taekwoon. They were the only people waiting in the bus shelter, but Wonshik had only just decided to sit down. "You looked cold, so-"

"Thank you," Taekwoon smiled, taking Wonshik's hoodie and putting it on properly. It was warm, but more importantly, it smelled like Wonshik. An intoxicating, strong cologne that make Taekwoon feel weak. He let out a content sigh, enjoying Wonshik's scent. As he looked over at the younger boy, he found himself focused on his well defined arms. He wished those tattooed arms were wrapped around him. “Wonshik...?"

“Yeah?”

“I... I had a really nice day, today,” Taekwoon announced with a smile as he fiddled with his earrings. “T-thank you for inviting me...”

“Hey, I’m really happy you had fun,” Wonshik grinned, pleased with how the day had gone. He regretted the fact that it wasn't a proper date, but regardless, he had an incredible time just being around Taekwoon. "I had a lot of fun too."

“Wonshik... Can... Can I do something?”

“Do what?”

“Can I... Uhm...” he bit down on his lip in his usual shy fashion, cheeks slightly flushed. He looked up at Wonshik innocently, trying his best to make and maintain eye contact. ”...Can I hold your hand?”

“W-what?” Wonshik stumbled over his words, surprised by Taekwoon’s request. Knowing how nervous Taekwoon was when it came to being touched, he was really taken aback by how often he had been initiating physical contact with him lately. He gulped, hesitant but excited. “I... Y-yeah, I guess you can,” he stuttered, offering out his hand nervously.

“Thank you, Wonshik,” Taekwoon smiled, tentatively taking Wonshik’s hand and interlocking his fingers with the younger boy’s. Wonshik’s skin was slightly rough yet comfortingly warm, contrasting pleasantly with Taekwoon’s delicate and cold skin. The pink painting his cheeks deepend as he gently squeezed Wonshik’s hand. Taekwoon smiled at his feet, becoming far too shy to look at the younger boy whilst they were holding hands. “This... this is nice...”

“Yeah...” Wonshik mumbled, staring at Taekwoon in awe. He's so beautiful. Wonshik had really fallen in love with Taekwoon's smile, and all he could think was that he wanted to see him smile like that forever. “This is really nice,” he grinned, squeezing Taekwoon’s hand back.