[1/1]

That morning was as normal as any other morning. Waking up to an opened curtain and an empty space on the other side of the bed was as natural as watching the sun rise from the eastern part of earth's horizon. Yawning a little, the lithe figure on the bed moved to sit on the edge of his bed. After doing a little stretching, he let out another yawn and stood up. To freshen up a bit, he decided to go to the bathroom and wash his face. When he looked into the mirror, he saw his usual stoic face and sharp glare that could intimidate people even from a small glance. He swore it's just his face because inside he's just a fluffball with a weird sense of humor.

The man smiled at his own reflection and rubbed his face softly with a dry towel. He'd just leave brushing teeth for later, now he had to eat breakfast because it's important and a certain someone would be mad if he skipped it. So he made his way to the kitchen slowly, almost excited because he knew what he was to find there.

He stepped inside the kitchen area and his eyes immediately fixated themselves on a tall and lean figure in front of the stove. His face stayed blank as ever, but his heart got warmer from just seeing said figure. Before he could utter anything, the figure turned around, showing a really nice face, beautiful jawline, and canines peeking out from between lips because of a smile.

"Good morning, Wonwoo hyung," the figure greeted ever so softly.

Wonwoo smiled and greeted back, "Good morning, Mingyu."

"Please sit down sir, your breakfast will be ready within five minutes!" Mingyu announced cheerfully, making Wonwoo's smile widen.

Silently, Wonwoo took a seat on the kitchen isle, watching Mingyu getting back to his business of cooking breakfast.

Today's a Monday, and Mingyu had a work to go to, meanwhile Wonwoo had the day to himself since it's his day off. But Mingyu had always been the one to cook between the two of them. Wonwoo had tried cooking one day and Mingyu said that it was not exactly that bad, but of course Wonwoo couldn't trust Mingyu since he knew Mingyu was lying only not to make him feel bad. Mingyu knew better that it wasn't the reason why he had said so.

If anyone were to ask what their relationship was, Wonwoo would shrug and say "Friends, roommates." but Mingyu would overdo it with a beam too cheery and a "We're soulmates for all eternity! But get this, Wonwoo hyung doesn't want to admit it." Truth is, they had known each other since high school and had been living under the same roof since college because they were both broke and neither could afford a flat for themselves. Many would think that they were dating and their circle of friends would love to say that they were married. Mingyu didn't mind, but it would be nice for Wonwoo if he could find some new friends.

Truth be told, they had been friends for a pretty long time. Everyone knew that Mingyu had a stock of overflowing love for Wonwoo, but it was almost like Wonwoo didn't want to acknowledge that. The way Mingyu looked at Wonwoo was already an evidence that his love was real. He could stare at Wonwoo for days on end without getting tired because Jeon Wonwoo was the love of Kim Mingyu's life and he could never get bored of seeing his fox-like eyes and thin lips.

The way Mingyu spoke of Wonwoo was another thing. He would tell everyone about Wonwoo being the best person in the whole world or he could utter his compliments about Wonwoo to an unsuspecting stranger. Also there's this guy called Kwon Soonyoung, one day he was paying attention to Mingyu telling a story of Wonwoo and he swore he could feel the love spilling softly, almost willingly from his words alone.

There's a third evidence of Mingyu's love for Wonwoo, but Wonwoo was the only one who could tell about this one (or not?). Sometimes they would hold hands and maybe without Mingyu realizing he would always intertwine their fingers together. Other than that, Mingyu really couldn't keep his hands to himself whenever Wonwoo's in a close proximity. Usually, he would put an arm around Wonwoo's shoulders. On other occasions, Mingyu would rest his head on Wonwoo's shoulder or even go as far as burying his face on Wonwoo's neck when they're watching TV together. There were also those hugs where Mingyu would hold Wonwoo too tightly and stay a second too long for it to be normal.

The last part of the evidences, however, was the most decisive of all. I mean, a confession from the defendant should close the case, right? Well, not exactly, but on one winter evening, that happened.

It was Christmas Eve, a few months ago. The both of them were walking side to side, hand in hand, in the harsh cold of winter. Mingyu never had to worry about the cold though, Wonwoo was always more than enough to keep him warm even on the coldest night. That night they were only looking to spend time before Christmas and maybe buy some forgotten last-minute gift. They ended up walking to a pretty crowded park, but they didn't mind. They took seats beside each other on a bench on the side of a frozen lake where people skated.

The both of them talked for a few minutes before someone said that there was a shooting star. Mingyu turned around to see it and his eyes lit up as he told Wonwoo to pray. A smile adorned Wonwoo's face before he obliged and closed his eyes to pray, only to satisfy Mingyu. The latter also did the same thing and we all knew what he wanted to wish for anyway. Wonwoo opened his eyes first, followed by Mingyu, who shrieked because apparently snow was falling again that day to cover up more grounds.

"Hyung, look!" Wonwoo remembered Mingyu saying that with so much excitement he sounded like a little kid seeing his first snow.

At that moment, Mingyu looked at Wonwoo and felt dazed. Because Wonwoo used to look beautiful and now he looked even more beautiful with a small smile plastered on his face and snow falling around him. Mingyu could say that he had fallen for Jeon Wonwoo all over again, but that happened every seconds anyway. Just to make everything more perfect, Wonwoo turned around to look at Mingyu with a questioning gaze because Mingyu said nothing to elaborate on his previous statement.

With full consciousness, Mingyu lifted his left hand to cup Wonwoo's cheek with a feathery soft touch. Wonwoo didn't flinch because it almost felt too natural to him.

"Jeon Wonwoo," Mingyu called out instead of his usual 'hyung'.

"Yes?" Wonwoo answered with his usual deep voice.

Mingyu had opened his mouth to voice out some cheesy love confession, but he closed it again and opted for a warm smile for a few seconds. Wonwoo had always reminded Mingyu of every pretty thing in this wicked world and Wonwoo was always the prettiest in his eyes. However, Wonwoo was the epitome of simple beauty. Everything about him was simple, yet so special. So Mingyu decided to keep his confession simple, but pretty.

"This person in front of you wouldn't mind if he could spend the rest of eternity holding you in his arms."

Okay, maybe Kim Mingyu alway overdid things.

Wonwoo never pulled away from Mingyu's longing touch, neither did he ever answer to that statement. He only offered a smile and placed a kiss on Mingyu's cheek. Mingyu's face burned from the fire that was Wonwoo's little kiss, but he never dared to think about what it meant.

Jeon Wonwoo was a mystery and Kim Mingyu didn't mind having to wait if that was what he had to do for all eternity.

They got home right when the clock 12 at night.

"Here's your breakfast, hyung!" Mingyu's voice brought Wonwoo out of his reverie.

Wonwoo blinked a few times and shook his head before checking what's on his plate for breakfast. "Thanks, Mingyu."

The said male nodded and sat across Wonwoo to eat his own breakfast. They both ate in a comfortable silence, accompanied by the clanking sound of steel cutleries against plates. Fifteen minutes passed before Mingyu finished eating, while Wonwoo was still chewing.

"I'll go get changed, okay?" Mingyu said while standing up.

"Yeah, just leave your plate on the sink, I'll clean it along with mine later," Wonwoo mumbled.

"Thanks, hyung!" The tall male put his dirty plate on the sink and made his way to his bedroom.

Wonwoo took the last bite and stood up to clean all the plates, cutleries, and pans Mingyu used for cooking. He hummed to an old song he and Mingyu liked, then found himself smiling.

A few minutes passed when footsteps were heard and Mingyu was rushing to get out.

"Bye, hyung! I'll see you later, don't wait up until I get home, text me if anything happens, okay?" Mingyu said a little loudly on his way out.

"Okay, Mingyu. Take care," Wonwoo yelled back as a response.

A few seconds later, he heard the door being opened and slammed back shut. He sighed and finished doing the dishes. If he remembered correctly, there's something he needed to finish for an upcoming collaboration project with his friend Junhui. So he walked to his room, before he heard the doorbell ring.

He wondered who could be visiting so early in the morning, then he half-ran to the door. He didn't even bother to check through the peeping hole and opened the door. Kim Mingyu stood there with an innocent face and a little shallow breath.

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow at him and Mingyu just smiled sheepishly.

"I forgot my keys," Mingyu said quickly.

"Oh." was the only response Wonwoo got before he turned back to retreat to his room and let Mingyu get his keys.

Before he got the chance to do so, a hand caught his wrist and turned him around. Of course it was Kim Mingyu. Wonwoo raised an eyebrow at him once again.

With a quick move, Mingyu placed his lips on Wonwoo's forehead. The latter was caught off guard but stayed still nonetheless. It didn't even feel like a kiss, because it felt too feathery and Mingyu didn't even put any pressure in it. Mingyu let himself stay like that for a while before he pulled away, leaving Wonwoo standing awkwardly with an erratic heartbeat in his chest. Mingyu smiled widely.

"What was that?" Wonwoo whispered with a choked voice.

"I said I forgot my keys." Mingyu smiled cheekily.

Wonwoo frowned when he caught up to what Mingyu was getting at.

"That's not even what keys mean," Wonwoo argued with a frown still visible on his face.

"Then I think you should teach me about vocabulary because I'm stupid-," Mingyu paused for a second before continuing, "-ly in love with you."

Wonwoo had known that for a while now, but his heart never ceased its uncontrollable beating since a minute ago. He didn't have any comment about that, or rather his throat felt dry and he couldn't say a single syllable. In the end, Wonwoo opted for looking at Mingyu's eyes. He looked so lost Mingyu had to stifle a laugh.

When Wonwoo didn't say anything again, Mingyu sighed. "Don't mind me and the slip of my tongue hyung."

But Wonwoo stayed silent, a cue for Mingyu to frown.

"What's wrong, hyung? I'm sorry." Mingyu looked a bit panicked but he tried to compose himself.

"I-I- no, don't say sorry," Wonwoo finally said, blinking as if he had been on a trance before.

Mingyu jutted out his bottom lip and proceeded with wrapping his long arms around Wonwoo's slim waist and pulling him flush against his chest.

"Gyu, what are you doing?" Wonwoo asked without even attempting to escape from Mingyu's embrace. It's not like he wanted to, because it felt like in Mingyu's arms he belonged and he could never get bored of Mingyu's musky scent.

The next words that came from Mingyu's mouth, Wonwoo never expected. "Why do you keep rejecting me, hyung?"

"W-what?" Wonwoo was once again caught off guard.

"It's not like you reject me with words, but whenever I tell you or show you that I love you, you seem to always brush it off," Mingyu explained, tightening his hold around Wonwoo even though the latter let his own arms stay on his sides.

Wonwoo really wanted to stay silent, but it's probably time Mingyu knew.

"I-"

"No, hyung, you don't need to explain anything, I understand."

The thing is, Mingyu was always too scared to hear the truth. He didn't understand anything about Jeon Wonwoo, and he's scared. He always wanted to understand, but when he got a grip on some things, Wonwoo just made everything seem more and more complicated.

"I love you too."

"What?"

The thing is, a part of Mingyu had always hoped for something like this to happen, but he never dared to ever dream of it.

"You ... heard me."

"But, why?"

"I don't want to lose you. I don't want to let go of what we have now. What if you get bored of me and decide to leave one day? Or what if I can't love you enough? What if-"

Mingyu decided to cover Wonwoo's mouth with his hand and leaned back from the hug to look closely at Wonwoo's face. The face that he adored so much, now was filled with fear. Fear of what could be, fear of what would become of them in the future.

"So what? So what then, hyung? That's exactly why we should try. Because we will never know what will become of us in the future if we never try." Mingyu locked his gaze on Wonwoo's eyes, piercing through his soul as Wonwoo felt his own resolve crumbling, almost replaced with a new one.

It was all up to Wonwoo to decide, and Mingyu was the one to let him. He held his breath, hoping that at least it wouldn't end with them being awkward around each other.

A pair of small arms around Mingyu's neck, however, felt almost like the last thread of hope sewing itself into place, making everything feel like a dream come true.

Mingyu wanted to say something but his voice got caught in his throat and he almost choked out a sob, because finally. 'Finally, Jeon Wonwoo is mine.'

"Who told you I'm yours, you ?" Wonwoo said with mischief dancing in his eyes.

Mingyu jutted out his bottom lip and whined. "Hyung is so mean!"

"Why do you even like me then?" Wonwoo snorted.

Mingyu stayed silent for a second, wanting to retort with a cheesy line, but he thought of too much that he settled with something that was actually simple this time.

"Because you're you. And the thought of you sounds just about perfect."

Okay, maybe Kim Mingyu could never say simple things.

Wonwoo stared at Mingyu's eyes, trying to see if there's anything that would show that he's lying, but all he saw was pure love and sincerity. He could feel his face burn from how embarrassing it was to hear Mingyu saying that.

Mingyu chuckled. "Hey, your face is red."

"Shut up." Wonwoo glared.

"Why don't you shut me up?" Mingyu raised an eyebrow as if challenging Wonwoo to do something.

Wonwoo gave Mingyu a smirk and before Mingyu could panic about that, the former stood on his tiptoes and leaned in closer. Mingyu shut his eyes tightly, not daring to move an inch and even held his breath. Even though he had kissed Wonwoo a few times, it was never on the lips.

The warmth of Wonwoo's lips never came, and Mingyu tried to open a bit of his eyes, only to see the older's face a few centimetres in front of him, his lips still showcasing that scary smirk.

"What are you doing?" Wonwoo asked, almost taunting.

"Uh- um- I-" Mingyu was left stuttering and he looked panicked because he thought that Wonwoo would kiss him, but he didn't.

"You're actually an idiot," Wonwoo said before leaning in again to close the gap and actually crashed their lips together this time.

Mingyu had his eyes wide opened because of the sudden feeling of another lips latching onto his and he panicked. He would've pulled away if not for the strong pair of arms wrapping themselves more tightly around Mingyu's neck. He let his eyes flutter close and enjoy the feeling Wonwoo's lips were giving him.

Mingyu let his arms slide around Wonwoo's waist again and moved his lips against Wonwoo's. Mingyu didn't like chocolate, but Wonwoo's lips tasted like chocolate and it tasted like the most amazing thing in the world. The kiss wasn't anything hurried, nor was it too rough or forced. The way Wonwoo had his lips against Mingyu's was perfect. It was soft and longing, a feeling the two of them had recognized for so long it almost felt like a second home. It didn't last too long, however, since Mingyu accidentally bit Wonwoo's lip with his sharp canine and the latter yelped, causing their heads to collide and they both stumbled apart.

"I-I'm s-so sorry!" Mingyu rushed to Wonwoo's side and rubbed the latter's head while also checking his lips.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? Can I see your lip hyu- Oh My God it's bleeding! I didn't mean to hurt you I'm so sorryyy," Mingyu whined with wide eyes and Wonwoo was wondering how the hell did Mingyu change from an extremely good kisser into a whiny little kid in the span of five seconds.

"Gyu, hey, I'm okay you idiot." Wonwoo swatted Mingyu's hands away and his lip to wash away the blood. "See? Nothing to worry about."

Mingyu was about to protest again, but Wonwoo was faster.

"You better shut up now or I will shut you up again." Wonwoo glared.

Mingyu blinked innocently and he just had to say, "I don't mind." and Wonwoo had to hold the urge of throwing Mingyu off a cliff or just pinching his cheeks and scream because Mingyu was too adorable.

Then, Wonwoo suddenly remembered and his eyes widened. "Mingyu, you have work to go to!"

Mingyu slapped his palm on his forehead, but he seemed to remember something.

"Wait hyung, I only need to deliver some files today and I should be done," Mingyu said.

"You still can't show up late, Gyu, you should go," Wonwoo replied with a stern look and arms crossed in front of his chest.

Mingyu jutted out his bottom lip and Wonwoo snickered.

"Hyung is so unfair! I still want to be with hyung," Mingyu whined again.

"The sooner you leave, the sooner you will come back."

"But-"

"No buts, Gyu."

Mingyu sighed and fixed his work attire. After that, he styled his messy hair and made sure that he's got everything he needed (including the keys he actually meant to get earlier).

Wonwoo walked Mingyu to the door and stayed there. Mingyu stood in front of Wonwoo just to appreciate his face for a few moments until Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. Mingyu smiled sheepishly.

"See you later, hyung," Mingyu chirped.

"Stop wasting time and go already. I don't even usually walk you to the door, I'm making an effort here," Wonwoo said, still with his arms crossed.

"You're the reason why I'm taking longer to go," Mingyu mumbled.

"Then I'll just go back inside." Wonwoo almost closed the door but Mingyu's shoe blocked the door's movement.

Wonwoo rolled his eyes "What?"

Mingyu didn't say anything, he only leaned in closer to Wonwoo and planted a soft kiss on Wonwoo's forehead for the second time that day. The only difference was that now Wonwoo could feel a part of the love that Mingyu had been burying for a while. A part that he had been keeping to show only when Wonwoo was his. That was saying something.

After a few moments, Mingyu pulled away with a dopey smile and mumbled a small "bye!" before closing the door to their shared flat and placed a hand over his own heart.

He was wondering why it was beating so fast even though it felt like he had been doing these kinds of things for a while. But maybe it's because now Wonwoo decided to acknowledge his feelings and even returned them.

Whatever it was, it got Mingyu smiling all the way to his workplace.