Sunday afternoon found Bobby walking the streets with Jiun. After church that morning they'd played a few rounds of basketball together (Bobby had gone easy on him, but he'd still beaten him in the end) and now they were wandering in and out of shops. Hanbin's birthday was coming up and Bobby had no idea what to get him.

“How did you decide what to buy Jeeyoung for her first birthday with you?” Bobby asked, desperate for some advice.

“Ah, that was easy, actually. She had just started expressing an interest in making jewelry then, so I signed her up for a course in it. Mom said it was a terrible idea, told me I should be buying her jewelry instead of having her go make it herself. Begged me all week before the day to cancel my gift and buy her something instead. I stuck to my gut feeling though.”

“What happened?” Bobby asked, amused to hear that Jiun had ignored their mother's advice. She said it hurt her feelings when they refused to listen to her, and the guilt trip usually worked on Bobby. Jiun was tougher.

“Well, the day came and I went to her family's place for dinner. She opened everyone else's gifts before mine, and as she opened each one I'd never felt more nervous in my life. Everyone else got her nice clothes, accessories, her parents got her a really nice expensive purse she wanted. I came so close to saying I was sick and leaving suddenly, mom's words got to me in the moment.”

Bobby grinned as Jiun recounted it, easily picturing the scene in his head. It must have had a great outcome, though, if they were still together.

“So I'm sitting there, sweating and feeling sick to my stomach because I was sure that my gift was going to seem so miniscule compared to everyone else's. She saves it for last, then laughs at me because she can see how nervous it made me.”

“That's why I like her, hyung.” Bobby interrupted, and Jiun shoved him into the wall for it.

“So I had the bright idea to put the gift certificate in a jewelry box, which made me feel even worse. Everyone was making a big deal out of it when she took off the wrapping paper, I swear her mother thought it was an engagement ring she was so excited. Then she opened it, saw the paper, took a moment to read what it said. And then she started crying.”

“Crying? I thought this was going to have a happy ending!” Bobby replied.

Jiun just grinned at him. “She wasn't crying because she was upset. She said it was the most thoughtful present she'd ever gotten, that she couldn't believe that I'd been paying so much attention to her every time she talked about wanting to make jewelry.”

“What did mom say when you told her?” 

“She told me that I'd better not screw up with Jeeyoung because I'd probably never find another woman like her again.” 

“Well she's not wrong about that.”

Jiun grinned and laid his hand on Bobby's shoulder before looking him in the eye. “So that's my advice to you. Sometimes gifts aren't about the actual gift itself, but the thought behind the gift. It would have been easy to just buy her a necklace or bracelet, I wouldn't have had to think about it. She would have loved it. But deciding to pay for lessons was something that I thought about more. I wouldn't have known it would be a good present if I hadn't paid attention to her.”

Bobby nodded, but it still didn't really help him. He wanted to get Hanbin a thoughtful gift, but he was having trouble figuring out what would be thoughtful enough. The only thing he could think of wasn't even a tangible gift itself, it was just a simple sentence, said out loud for the first time.

That wasn't enough, though. He needed something more than that.

“Don't stress yourself out over it, Jiwon. You'll know the right gift when you find it. Even if it's not even super thoughtful, I'm pretty sure Hanbin will be happy with anything you decide to give him.”

It was so easy to say that when you weren't the one giving the gift.

Just then he looked across the street, his eyes falling on two very familiar figures standing outside a store. It was Hanbin's dad and Hanbyul. Bobby stared at them for a moment before looking around for Hanbin. He was supposed to be at home studying, though, and Bobby wondered if he should go and say hi on his own. He was nervous about seeing them without Hanbin around.

But then Hanbyul spotted him, and Bobby's stomach did a little flip when she smiled and waved at him. She'd warmed up considerably to him over time, and it made him happy to know that she wasn't afraid of him anymore.

“Is that Hanbin's little sister?” Jiun asked, and a second later Hanbin's dad spotted him too.

“Yeah, I need to go say hi.” Bobby crossed the street to meet them, and he was surprised when Hanbyul ran up to him.

“Oppa! Hi.” She stopped right in front of him, smiling shyly at him. He reached out and patted her head softly.

“Hi, Byul-ah! Are you shopping with your dad?” She nodded and looked back for her father, who was standing just behind her now.

“Look who we found! Hello Bobby, nice to see you.”

Bobby shook his hand. “Mr. Kim, this is my brother, Jiun.” They greeted each other amiably.

“And this must be little Hanbyul!” Jiun greeted, kneeling down to speak to her. “You're even prettier than my brother said you were. It's very nice to meet you.”

Hanbyul hid behind her father's leg, but still poked her head out to smile at Jiun.

“Listen, Bobby, it's actually good that I ran into you. I wanted to invite you over next weekend. We have a family birthday dinner for Hanbin, some extended relatives you haven't met. It's family only, but I know Hanbin would like it if you were there. Actually he'd probably whine if I said you can't come.”

Bobby was shocked at the invitation. Family-only birthday. Did that mean that even Junhoe wouldn't be there? Could he really accept such an invitation? Maybe he owed it to Hanbin for the whole church thing, though. “Thank you for the invitation, I'm really touched by it.”

“I don't want you to feel pressured, I know it's asking a lot with a bunch of family members you don't know. They've all heard about you, though, so your presence would be very welcomed. I'll tell Hanbin to officially invite you around mid-week, in case you need a few days to figure out how to decline the invitation if you're too nervous.” Mr. Kim grinned at him in a way that put Bobby at ease. He liked Hanbin's dad a lot. Despite how successful he was as a business man, he always went out of his way to make Bobby feel at ease whenever they spoke. Not once had he ever gotten the impression that Hanbin's dad was judging him, or that he thought that Bobby wasn't good enough for his son.

“I'll come, I'm not turning that invitation down.” Bobby answered before really giving himself a moment to think about it. Was he making the right choice?

“Well, that'll make Hanbin very happy, so I appreciate that. You'll be happy to see Bobby there too, won't you princess?”

Hanbyul met Bobby's eyes and smiled before suddenly giving him a hug. Bobby knelt down to hug her properly, surprised when she kissed his cheek without prompting. “Thank you, Byul-ah!”

Mr. Kim watched them with a smile on his face. “Alright, come on, let's get back to shopping. It was good to see you, Bobby, and nice to meet you as well, Jiun. Have a lovely rest of your day.” Hanbyul took her father's hand and they took off back down the street.

Bobby took a deep breath after they left, suddenly looking at Jiun with fear in his eyes. “What did I just agree to?”

Jiun laughed at him. “Ah, don't worry about it! I like Hanbin's dad, he's very warm. No wonder Hanbin turned out the way he did.”

Bobby nodded, but it didn't do much to abate his nerves. “Seriously, hyung! His whole family's gonna be there. I don't know if I'm ready.”

“You owe it to him after he came to church.”

Bobby knew Jiun was right, but he still felt like it was too early. “Ah, I don't want to screw up, though.”

“Jiwon, I don't think Hanbin will let you screw anything up.”

Bobby leaned against his brother, whining into his shoulder. “I'm ed, now I really need a good birthday gift.”

“Honestly I think just showing up counts as the thoughtful gift this time,” Jiun laughed, “don't stress over it.”

“It's just, family dinner. It's so serious. This whole thing is just happening so fast. Usually I wouldn't get invited to an extended family dinner unless we were engaged.” He'd always found it a bit weird that they'd introduced each other to their families so early on. It wasn't the typical Korean way to go about things.

“True, maybe take that as a sign that you're just meant to be.” Jiun teased. “This is God's way of telling you that Hanbin's yours for life.”

Bobby swallowed nervously. He knew Jiun was just teasing him, but still. He didn't think it sounded so bad. There was some truth to what Jiun said at least, wasn't there? If God was against the relationship, he wouldn't be letting this all happen, would he? Was it all in His plan for Bobby?

He liked to think so.
 

“Wow, you got them all right, I'm impressed.” Hanbin finished marking Junhoe's mock history test, drawing a big smiley face on top of the paper before handing it back to him.

“Thanks. I'll bring it home so mom can hang it on the fridge,” Junhoe joked back as he grabbed the paper. “Too bad you got one wrong.”

Hanbin frowned as he reached out for his own paper. “What? I did not get anything wrong, which one?” He scanned over the paper, flipping to the second page. There, at the bottom of the page, written in Junhoe's own hand writing, was a new question. Hanbin kicked him.

“If you're going to add a question, make it relevant at least.”

“It is relevant! It's a history question. About history.”

“What's the best thing that's ever happened on March 31^st? I certainly hope you're not talking about the year you were born. National disaster.” Hanbin kicked him again, but Junhoe just laughed.

“How about we take a break for a bit? I think we deserve a break.” 

Hanbin folded his paper up and stuck it in his textbook before laying down on his bed. “True, you're doing well. Might have to reward you with another double date.” Hanbin teased, grinning when Junhoe lashed out and smacked his arm.

“Honestly, quit it with me and Jinhwan, okay? Nothing is going on between us. You should be grateful we're friends at all, after the crappy way you chose to start things.” Junhoe replied, dodging the topic and bringing up the past instead.

“Excuse me? I only lied to you at the start because you would have wrung my neck had I told you the truth about Bobby.” Hanbin thought back to the beginning, amused at the way things had turned out. He really was lucky that Junhoe had taken to Jinhwan the way he had.

“Friends never lie, .” Junhoe teased back, hoping he could successfully evade talking about Jinhwan. Ever since the stupid double date he hadn't been able to stop thinking about him. Of course Jinhwan had been an at the end, nearly causing him a heart attack in the stupid haunted house. But he'd been nice before that. The familiarity of holding hands was actually what he found himself thinking about the most.

Hanbin regarded him silently for a moment, eyes narrowed in concentration. He still didn't believe nothing was going on there. They'd been too close at Lotte World, too physical. “Are you sure you're not just trying to hide a relationship from me? I know I've been teasing you a lot, but if something really was going on between you two, I promise I won't bug you about it.”

Junhoe scoffed at the offer. “That's a load of and you know it, if you knew what was going on you'd never let me hear the end of it.”

“HA! Something is going on! I knew it!” Hanbin crowed in delight, sliding down off of his bed to sit next to Junhoe on the floor.

“What? I didn't say that.” Junhoe panicked at Hanbin's response. What the hell had he said? Had he let something slip?

“It's exactly what you said. You said, and I quote, if you knew what was going on you'd never let me hear the end of it. So what is it? What's going on?” 

Junhoe felt like kicking his own . How could he have slipped up like that? Stupid. “I meant to say if something was going on. I'm just sick of you harassing me over it all the time.”

“I thought you said friends never lie?” Hanbin teased, unwilling to drop it now that it was in conversation.

“Why are you so obsessed with the idea, anyway? Getting bored with Bobby?”

Hanbin just grinned and shook his head. “Why can't you just admit to me that you like him?”

“I never said I didn't like him,” Junhoe replied.

“I don't mean as a friend.” Hanbin said. “I can see you're not willing to admit anything, though, so let me tell you why I think something is going on.”

Junhoe rolled his eyes and tried to look uninterested, but he was curious to hear what Hanbin would have to say.

“It all started back after the concert that Jinan and I went to,” Hanbin said, “remember when we were out and Donghyuk said he wanted to hear about it, but then you started complaining and saying you were sick of hearing about it? But I'd barely even said anything to you. So if you weren't sick of me talking about it, clearly you must have been talking to Jinan.”

“Wow, you got me. Hyung and I had a conversation about a concert. Don't tell my mom or she might start planning the wedding.” Junhoe tried to sound as though he thought it was ridiculous, but he was a little concerned that Hanbin had kept that first slip up in his head all this time.

“You always sit next to him when we're in a group, even though you and Donghyuk are close now.”

“Wow Hanbin, super sleuth over here. You should consider a career as a private detective.” None of it was damning evidence so far.

“When Bobby and I came out from Sindbad, I noticed that Jinhwan had his head on your shoulder. He did it a few times during the day, actually.”

Okay, now that was cause for concern. He didn't realize that Hanbin had seen them cuddled up like that. “Your point? He's like you, he likes touching people.”

Hanbin grinned back at him. “Of course he does. The thing is that you don't. You hate it when people touch you. It took me years before you'd stop flinching every time I hugged you. I know you like to blame your physically tame past relationship on how religious and pure your ex was, but it was really a cover for you, too. You're not comfortable with people being clingy with you. But you never flinched once when Jinan touched you. You didn't even seem like you noticed when he'd lean on you or grab your hand. Yeah, don't think I didn't notice that, by the way. You guys held hands a few times.”

“Because I was terrified of the damn roller coasters that my best friend made me go on!” Junhoe replied, panicking because god... Hanbin was right. Junhoe was not a physically affectionate person at all, but he actually enjoyed it when Jinhwan touched him.

.

Hanbin leaned against him, lying his head on Junhoe's shoulder. “Are you just afraid that he's not into you? You don't want to take the bait he's laying because you think he's not serious?”

“That's not it, okay? I know he's into me--” . Twice now, Hanbin had managed to trick him into giving something away!

Hanbin tried to hide the smile on his face. Junhoe was crumbling. “Oh yeah? You seem pretty convinced of that. Did anything happen in the dark in the haunted house? You guys did take quite a bit longer than us.”

“Yeah because he was an and kept pranking me.” . Hanbin was really backing him into an admission. Would Jinhwan be upset if he spilled the whole thing to Hanbin? It was always going to be a matter of time, really, especially since Jinhwan kept initiating all of these damn intimate moments.

“Ah, so the fear was the only thing that had your heart racing?” Hanbin needled, looking up at Junhoe's face.

“Why are you being so annoying?”

“Oh, you know something else I find kind of weird?” Hanbin waited for a moment, grinning when he saw Junhoe's expression darken.

“Your face?”

“After Sindbad, again, when Jinan was asking Bobby about what exactly we'd done. You didn't react at all. Jinhwan said right in front of you, and you didn't even blush.”

“Well yeah, I'm not ten, Hanbin. I can talk about .” Junhoe felt like shoving Hanbin face first into the wall, but he somehow managed to restrain himself. Hanbin had him so close to an admission.

“Yeah sure, now you can. A month ago and you would have been blushing furiously and telling him to shut up about that sort of stuff in public. You can't even talk about it in private conversation. But you actually made jokes yourself. It's like you're suddenly comfortable with the topic, and I'm just wondering why.”

“Maybe Donghyuk and I talk about it.” Junhoe replied defensively.

“Maybe, but I highly doubt it. Donghyuk would have told me.”

“So you think that just because I can hear the word and not blush it means Jinhwan's my ?” That really was the reason. Oh god. It was like he'd gift wrapped the whole thing to Hanbin. Of course he'd noticed everything different!

“I didn't say anything about him your ,” Hanbin replied, “but since you're trying to say he hasn't, I think that means that he has.”

Would it even be possible to throw Hanbin off of this now? Should he just come clean and admit it all? Would Hanbin even understand their arrangement, though? Would it make Jinhwan look bad for suggesting it?

“Junhoe? Why won't you just tell me? Honestly, are you that uncomfortable with the idea of talking to me about it? We're best friends, aren't we? We should talk about this stuff.”

Junhoe couldn't take the guilt trip and found himself talking before he really had a chance to think about it. “Okay, fine, yes. There's kind of, something, going on between Jinhwan and me.”

Hanbin was surprised at Junhoe suddenly giving in and making the admission. He just stared at him in silence for a moment, as though he expected Junhoe to say he was joking.

“Don't make a big deal out of it, okay? We weren't going to say anything, and before you say anything it's not even a relationship, really. It's just, it's just something for fun, okay. It's not serious.”

Not serious? What did he mean by just for fun? “So you're what, like, friends with benefits kind of thing?”

“Yeah.” Junhoe could practically feel the heat rushing to his cheeks at the admission. Why was it so embarrassing to admit that out loud?

Hanbin was floored. Never in his life would he have expected it of Junhoe. He sat up and looked at him, curious eyes taking in his expression. “Who suggested it?” 

Junhoe shrugged, hating that he felt suddenly vulnerable talking about it with Hanbin. “Jinhwan.”

“And you agreed?” Hanbin couldn't help the surprise. It felt uncharacteristic of Junhoe.

Junhoe felt self-conscious at Hanbin's question. It almost seemed like he disapproved. “Do you think I should have said no?”

“No, it's not that,” Hanbin was quick to reply, “it's just kind of weird. I wouldn't have expected you to go for something like that. You're not really the most trusting person in the world, after all. It just seems a little out of character for you.”

It did, didn't it? Hanbin had a point, but Junhoe didn't really know how to respond to it.

“I know you said it's not serious, but, you really like him, don't you?” Hanbin had a feeling that there was more to Junhoe's decision than what he'd told him. Junhoe didn't just give in to things like this.

Junhoe was feeling panicked again. What was he supposed to say? Should he tell Hanbin the truth, but make him promise not to say anything? Would Hanbin even do that? Or would he try to get involved and push Jinhwan into an actual relationship? There had to be a reason why Jinhwan hadn't broached the topic of them actually dating yet. It had to mean that despite Jinhwan continually being intimate with him, he probably didn't like him that much. Junhoe couldn't stand the thought of Hanbin trying to be helpful and potentially ruining everything.

“Do I like him? Yeah, sure. I'm honestly not looking to date him seriously, though. I know it seems weird to you, but well, he's just good at teaching me things. Like it started out because we started training in jiu jitsu. He found out that I, uh, had zero experience and then just offered to give me some. Which is good! When I find someone I actually want to date, I won't be some inexperienced loser who doesn't know anything. It's good preparation.” He knew it sounded pretty defensive, but what else was he supposed to say?

Hanbin was quiet at the explanation, still floored by it all. He wasn't convinced that Junhoe's feelings were that simple. But he'd pushed him for a lot of information already, should he just let it go for now?

“Okay. Thanks for telling me.”

“I mean it Bin, don't make this into some big thing, okay?”

“I won't.” Hanbin wondered if Bobby knew. Jinhwan seemed like the type who would admit things like this more easily.

“Don't say anything to Jinhwan, okay? We didn't want to tell you guys, so I don't want him to know that you know. At least not without hearing it from me.” Jinhwan wouldn't be mad at him for divulging their secrets. At least Junhoe didn't think he would be. He needed to warn him that Hanbin knew.

“I promise. I won't say anything.” It was going to be tough, though.

Junhoe looked him in the eyes. “I'll kill you if you mention it.”

Hanbin grinned, amused that he was so nervous about it. “Not if I kill you first.”

“I could take you any time, anywhere.”

“No chance. One good hit is all I need. I'll hit you so hard your jaw will have to be wired shut, and then you won't be anyone's for months.” He couldn't help himself, and when Junhoe pounced on him and wrestled his arm under his chin to choke him Hanbin didn't even bother struggling.

“You're so annoying, how does Bobby put up with you?”

“My superior ball handling skills.” Hanbin would have been laughing if he'd been able to breathe.

Junhoe huffed in disgust before releasing Hanbin and shoving him again the wall. “Speaking of balls, I think Yunhyeong's gay.”

Hanbin looked back at Junhoe in surprise, his hand massaging his throat. “Really? Like, you have actual evidence?”

Junhoe grinned back at him. “Kind of, I just realized that I never told you about what happened at the game last week. So Donghyuk and I were sitting there watching together, and at one point Yunhyeong came over to say hi. Kept smiling at Donghyuk. Some homophobe friend of his came over too, told him he shouldn't be talking to guys like us. Hyung basically told him to shut up and leave, which was pretty impressive.”

Hanbin was surprised to hear it. “Wow, that is pretty ballsy for a guy in his social circle. Good for him.”

“Yeah well, right before he left he told Donghyuk that he liked his new haircut. But he was actually kind of shy about it, like he said it as he was turning away. Which is weird, he always makes eye contact when he gives compliments.”

Hanbin looked contemplative at the news. “That is telling for him, you're right about the eye contact.”

“Right? I told Donghyuk how weird it was, but he's still in disbelief that Yunhyeong might actually like him.”

“So let me guess. You're telling me this because you want me to forget what I know about you and Jinan, and instead try to help you to get Yunhyeong to admit he likes Donghyuk?” Hanbin wouldn't put it past Junhoe to do exactly that.

Junhoe shrugged. “I'm just saying, I think they need your help more than anyone. We can't let Donghyuk continue to be the odd guy out, right.”

Hanbin grinned. “Yeah. Can't have him being the lonely single.” At that Junhoe pounced on him again, putting a laughing Hanbin into an armbar and not letting go until he made him beg.

“Sorry, couldn't help myself.” Hanbin said as he sat up, massaging his shoulder.

“Well quit it, alright? I don't want to hurt you before your basketball final. You have to kick Bobby's .”

Hanbin groaned at the thought. “Yeah, thanks for reminding me. “

“Are you guys doing a loser buys the winner dinner bet again that we'll need to crash?”

Hanbin shook his head. In truth he was trying not to think about it too much because the nerves were hitting him harder. “Not this time. I just wish it wasn't happening so close to my birthday.” 

Junhoe didn't respond right away, wasn't sure if Hanbin just needed to talk or if he was actually looking for a two-way discussion. So he'd just go the safe route and . “We can always postpone your birthday. I still have to get you a present after all.”

Hanbin grinned at Junhoe's comment, latching on to it so he didn't have to think about the competition. “Why am I not surprised.”

“I mean, really, I've been busy, haven't had time to go shopping.”

“Too busy doing what? Messing around with Jinhwan?”

Junhoe glared at him. “Okay, one more comment and I'm not buying you a gift at all.”

“That's fine,” Hanbin replied with a gleam in his eye, “you don't have to buy me anything. Just give Jinhwan a kiss for me.”

“I'm gonna give you a kiss,” Junhoe threatened, “with my fist.”

“Hmm, sounds .” Hanbin teased, and without fail Junhoe lunged at him again, wrestling him into another submission move that Hanbin was too lazy to defend himself from.

“Why am I still friends with you? I have Donghyuk now, I should dump you.” Junhoe threatened, keeping Hanbin locked up.

“Then you can go on double dates with him and Yunhyeong.” Hanbin teased, crying out in pain when Junhoe tightened his hold.

“You won't have any friends except Bobby. I'll sabotage your basketball game so you lose, then even your teammates will hate you.” Junhoe grinned as Hanbin squirmed underneath him. He kept the hold firm but just loose enough that he wasn't doing him any damage.

“Bull, they'll know it was you. You'll be a social pariah, I mean you kind of already are.”

Junhoe finally let go and pushed Hanbin away. “That's just a taste of what these arms could do to you if you get out of line again.”

Hanbin laid on the floor and rubbed his arm, laughing over the whole thing. “Besides, Donghyuk would pick me over you any day, are you kidding me?”

“He would not! I taught him how to Moonwalk and gave him a really hot makeover. I got Yunhyeong to compliment him.”

Hanbin shook his head in disagreement. “You made him change himself for potential romance! You made him a fake.” He tried not to laugh, tried to keep his expression serious.

“Bull! He's still the same. Just upgraded.” Junhoe grinned back at him.

“He trains at my boxing club, I could make life hell for him.”

“Well you already make life hell for me, so he can join my club.” 

“I'm serious! If you break us up it'll have bad implications for him. He needs me, Junhoe.”

“I can't believe you're threatening Donghyuk. You're such a bad person.”

“I'm not threatening Donghyuk, I'm threatening you! Stay away from him, he's my friend. You didn't even like him at first.”

“Yeah well, don't tell anyone, but I never liked you either. In fact I still don't. I'm just too lazy to find another friend.” Junhoe was still grinning, and finally Hanbin's composure broke and he laughed, which made Junhoe laugh too.

It was all bull, of course. The truth was he'd drop anyone for Hanbin. Not that Hanbin would ever ask for that, though. That rash sort of behaviour had always been Junhoe's forte.

Not anymore. Jinhwan was proof that sometimes Hanbin was right.

Okay, most of the time he was right.

His phone dinged with a message, then. Jinhwan had sent him a selfie, frowning with red chapped lips, captioned 'been blowing too many horns lately' and Junhoe couldn't help but smile.

Okay. All the time. Hanbin was right all the time.