Eunki and Youngjae pairing, alternate universe.
Featuring appearances from: Takada Kenta, Kim Samuel, Kim Daehwi, Kang Daniel and Ong Seongwoo.

Falling in love with Eunki was the easy part, Youngjae thinks.

He's the one constant in his life, and Youngjae's grateful for that. He's been everything Youngjae's ever needed. A mother, a father, a brother, a best friend. But he's never been the one thing Youngjae's wanted.

A lover.

It's hard not to fall in love with Eunki. Youngjae falls in love with him every single day, all over again.

The older male wakes him every morning without fail, before making him breakfast and accompanying him to work.

Youngjae thinks that sometimes Eunki looks at him with adoration, that he does everything they way he does, because he's also in love with Youngjae.

But Eunki doesn't. Youngjae knows the feeling all too well.

As soon as they get to the cafe they opened together once they both finished high school, Eunki breaks away. He breaks away and immediately wraps his arms around Chaewon, his girlfriend of almost two years.

Youngjae's left alone. He sometimes wonders if Eunki will ever look at him the way he looks at Chaewon.

The entire cafe erupts into cheers when Eunki and Chaewon kiss, fully supporting the cute couple.

Youngjae plasters on a fake smile and tries not to pretend he's dying inside.

--

Youngjae wants to hate Chaewon.

He wants to, so badly. But he can't.

She's beautiful, if Youngjae was attracted to women, she would probably be at the top of his list as well.

She's kind, she may be the nicest person that Youngjae's ever met.

She's got the most amazing voice. She and Eunki tend to frequent a lot of karaoke places together, a combination of her singing and his dancing, it's a perfect match.

Instead, when he looks in the mirror, he hates himself instead.

He's not that good looking. Other people say his teeth are part of his charm, but he just sees them as another flaw.

He's not as kind as she is. He would rather sleep at home in bed than hang out with any of his friends.

He's definitely not as good a singer as she is. Youngjae thinks back to the time when they were singing a duet in a karaoke room and his voice cracked, but hers floated throughout the room effortlessly.

It's always been Eunki and Youngjae.

But now it's Eunki and Chaewon.

Youngjae's never hated a name so much in his life.

--

Everything happens so fast.

He's suffocating. Everything feels so much smaller and he can't take it anymore.

Youngjae's going to finally confess.

He drives back their shared apartment and throws the door open harshly. Eunki's lounging around on the couch, flipping through the channels.

But when Eunki turns to him and smiles, Youngjae's mind goes ablaze. He can feel all of his negative feelings melting away at the sight of his best friend's smile.

Memories run through his mind of their childhood.

Watching a horror movie together, and the feeling of Eunki's arms around him. Running to the bus stop with their hands linked, but then walking to school with their hands clutching each other tightly. Spending late nights at Eunki's and helping the older male study. Falling asleep next to each other, Youngjae listening to the older male's heartbeat.

Eunki's opening his arms and Youngjae slowly smiles.

He takes a step forward, but Chaewon zooms past him into Eunki's arms.

Youngjae doesn't confess.

--

"I love you," Youngjae utters with a tear streaming down his face.

His bags are packed and he's going to the face the world for the first time on his own. Eunki wants to say something, anything, that will convince Youngjae to stay, but he can't.

Youngjae understands, giving him one last smile before closing the door and disappearing.

--

Youngjae's tired.

It's funny, he thinks. He first met Eunki on a train during a school trip, and now he's leaving Eunki on a train.

He spends the entire train ride thinking about what could have been before shaking the thoughts away.

Youngjae steps off the train on to Daegu soil for the first time, the wind's running through his hair, and he feels strangely content. It's different to the air back in Seoul, he feels lighter, like his heart isn't as heavy as it used to be.

The music on his phone has changed as well. He's not drowning his sorrows in ballads anymore, instead he's singing his heart out to light pop songs.

He feels like he's in a much better place.

He feels good about Daegu.

--

It's not as hard as he thinks, restarting his life.

Sending in his resignation to Kenta, the manager, was heartbreaking. But shaking hands with Daniel, his new boss, feels like a new beginning.

It's so similar to being back in Seoul that it slowly starts to feel like home again.

He's left his heart behind in Seoul with Eunki, but he feels like he's recovering bits of his mind in Daegu.

--

It's weird, not being in Seoul. It's been so long since he's seen anything other buildings and urban areas.

It's refreshing, walking through the botanical gardens and spending time with his new friends, Daehwi and Samuel.

It's different, compared to being with Eunki and Chaewon. Daehwi and Samuel don't make him feel like a third wheel, instead excitedly including him in everything.

Even encouraging him when a cute boy by the name of Seongwoo stumbles their way, nervously askin