“Woohyun? Where are you?” whispered Sunggyu as he padded across the hall, opening the doors to rooms where he thought the said man could be in when the younger male was not waiting for him on the couch with a warm smile like he usually did. Sunggyu had opened almost every door in the apartment, yet he had not seen Woohyun.

He can’t be in bed, right? It’s too early for him to be asleep. But he’s not in the other rooms? Sunggyu finally headed towards their shared bedroom and gently turned the doorknob.

True enough, there Woohyun was—lying on the bed, curled up in a foetal position. Sunggyu strode towards the bed and gently shook the figure. “Hyunnie?”

There was no reply.

“Hyunnie, I know you’re not asleep… Just because it has been years since we roomed together doesn’t mean that I have forgotten about your sleeping habits. Get up and tell me what’s wrong?” Sunggyu ran his hands along the arms of his lover, trying to rouse him from his sleeping position.

Woohyun, finally irritated by Sunggyu’s insistence, huffed as he sat up but turned his back away from Sunggyu and refused to speak.

Sunggyu sighed. This was not how he had expected to spend the night. The bed dipped as he sat down and wrapped his arms tightly around Woohyun’s waist, inhaling the heady mixture of the younger’s natural scent and the cotton-scented body lotion that they both love. Woohyun struggled in his embrace and only relaxed in his hold when he rested his head on the younger’s shoulder and started dropping soft kisses along his neck.

When sniffles and muffled sobs filled the room after several minutes of silence, Sunggyu loosened his hold as he jolted up in surprise, gentle hands now caressing Woohyun’s back in an attempt to pacify him. “Woohyun? Is anything wrong? Is it your family? You know I’ll always be willing to hear you out and help in any way that I can…”

“Y-you ,”—Woohyun stuttered as he turned around and pummelled Sunggyu in the chest with both fists as he uttered each syllable—“not everything is about my family.”

Sunggyu winced and captured the younger’s wrists together with one hand as he used the other to tilt the latter’s chin so that their gazes met. “What got you upset then?”

“Yah! Are you really that thick in the head?” Woohyun pouted.

Sunggyu quickly locked an arm around Woohyun’s neck, pushed the younger back down onto the bed and rolled on top of him. “Yah? You little brat! See how I’m gonna teach you a lesson!” With that, Sunggyu started tickling at Woohyun’s sensitive spots.

“Hahaha... S-stop it... Hahaha… H-hyung… Hah. I’m sorry. Please… S-stop,” panted Woohyun as he tried to catch his breath in between laughs.

“Good, you’re laughing again. Care to share what’s wrong now?” asked Sunggyu as he stopped his tickle attack but he was still sitting on the younger in case he tried to escape.

Woohyun became solemn and averted his gaze away from Sunggyu’s as he muttered under his breath, “GirlSpirit.”

Everything made sense to Sunggyu now. To be honest, he was so tired that he had totally forgotten about it. It was reported this morning that he would be the co-MC to a new JTBC music variety program featuring lesser-known female idol groups who will showcase their skills and be pitted against one another in the hopes of being rediscovered.

“Hyunnie, you know by now that we always sign a contract of non-disclosure so I am not allowed to tell you anything about it before this right?”

Nodding, Woohyun mumbled as he continued to look at anywhere except Sunggyu. “That’s not what I’m upset about though…”

“Then?” Sunggyu probed.

“Well, why did you even agree to it? We already don’t spend much time together as it is with your rehearsals and upcoming musical schedules. Now you have to film for this programme too? I won’t even get to see you then. What if you fall sick? And how would I know that you will not ogle at any of those female idols or—”

Sunggyu leant down and planted a firm kiss on Woohyun’s lips, interrupting his ramblings. “Or what? Do you not trust me at all?” retorted Sunggyu sternly.

“Or that they will come on to you even if you don’t approach them,” whispered Woohyun as he let his worst fear out, both eyes shut tight and his breath held while waiting for Sunggyu’s response.

“I see…” was the grim reply Woohyun received before the room fell silent again soon after.

“Gyu hyung?” Woohyun called out before peeking an eye open when he could no longer withstand the silence. To his relief, Sunggyu was grinning down at him.

“So you’re just worried and jealous, huh? And”—Sunggyu smirked, eyes sparkling with mischief—“you miss me a lot?”

“Well, can you blame me?” Woohyun huffed in mock anger and tried to push Sunggyu away but to no avail. The older male laughed. “It’s not funny! Get off me, you’re heavy! Better yet, sleep on the couch tonight!”

Sunggyu only chuckled more loudly at that. “Are you sure? I was looking forward to a cuddling session tonight…”

“Aha! I knew it! You have always loved our cuddling sessions but pretended not to!”  

Oh god! Now he knows! Sunggyu mentally groaned.