Being young was infinitely simpler, and summer break was always the highlight of his youth. All Jihoon needed in the months of warm glow between his elementary and middle school years was Woojin and their treehouse, because if everything around them changed, they knew they never would. But the season always flutters by before they even have a chance to savor their freedom, and they’re back in a world that’s no longer just the both of them.

 

Jihoon has never liked a world with other people—other people would call Woojin out on the way he’d act and laugh at the way he looked. Jihoon always thought Woojin was the one shooting star in a sea of constants. Woojin always seemed to be the fire that people could never smother, but Jihoon was always ready to match his flame if it ever came to it anyways. Maybe fire next to fire looked odd to people, maybe they thought that splitting them apart with their buckets of water was their way of looking out for him. And sure, there’s no denying that he was often times frustrating, maybe he’d even called him a pain in the a few times. Woojin always liked to be in charge, even when the adults didn’t tell him he was. That’s where the clash would occur, but they wouldn’t be them if they didn’t heads. They would always be on opposing sides until someone else stood against them. Jihoon didn’t need looking after—he didn’t need people to tell him to be ignorant if it only meant he’d be without bliss.

 

Change is a constant in every other aspect, and with time came realizations. It didn’t take long for those same people to discern how weird became quirky, and average became charming. That’s exactly how Woojin grew up.

 

And that’s exactly what drives Jihoon crazy.

 

How insults turn into flattery, how quick people are to listen to a pretty face from the same ordinary person. And Jihoon would say that Woojin deserved the admiration and attention, if only it wasn’t from the same people who neglected him from it all these years. But as he watches all of these people throwing themselves at a chance to be his friend he wonders how people could be so fake. He decided immediately that Woojin needed his protection, and not just from the people crushing on him. From everyone who thought Jihoon would have forgotten everything they had said about Woojin in middle school. These people didn’t deserve to have the pleasure of knowing Woojin as everything he is, and always was.

 

“I was thinking maybe we could go to that party on Friday.” Woojin tells him as they’re lounging around in Jihoon’s room—Woojin on the floor, resting his back against the edge of Jihoon’s bed, and Jihoon hanging upside down from the mattress, head falling just next to Woojin’s shoulder.

 

Jihoon rolls onto his stomach, nose scrunching up at the suggestion, “Since when do you want to go to parties?”

 

Woojin shrugs, closing his history textbook and shifting to face Jihoon. “We’re halfway through our senior year and we haven’t been to one high school party. Don’t you think that’s a little lame?”

 

Jihoon shakes his head, frowning, “I think lazing around and playing Xbox games is a lot more enjoyable than being a room swarmed with annoying teenagers.”

 

Woojin snorts, rolling up a pile of papers and hitting Jihoon in the head with it. “Newsflash, you’re also an annoying teenager.” 

 

Jihoon smacks Woojin’s hand away and grabs the roll of paper from his grasp, retaliating instantly, “You wish you were as wonderful as me.”

 

“I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.” Woojin retorts, dodging out of the way before Jihoon can swing at him again. “Why are you so against these parties anyways? It’s not like you never get invited to them.”

 

“I don’t.” Jihoon lies through his teeth even though he knows Woojin can read him like a book. It’s not that he hasn’t received invites before, in fact, just yesterday he had a junior named Daehwi come up to him and invite him to one of his friend’s parties and told him to bring his ‘boyfriend’ (Jihoon didn’t exactly confirm it, but he didn’t correct him either). But he thinks that staying at home with Woojin is a lot more pleasant, and it’s not exactly plain sailing trying to protect Woojin among an entire crowd of people.

 

Woojin tilts his head, giving him a disbelieving look, “Come on. You can’t tell me people haven’t asked you to stop by at their party when you’re this gorgeous.”

 

“That’s exactly why people don’t ask me, because every time they try to get close to me they’re blinded by my beauty.” Jihoon shoots back concisely, ignoring the way he can practically feel himself color pink. Gorgeous. Jihoon doesn’t know how that word even managed to slip into Woojin’s vocabulary.   

 

“O, Great One, please teach me your ways.”

 

Jihoon pulls a pillow from the head of his bed and whacks Woojin in the chest. Then says without thinking, “I don’t need to teach you.”

 

Woojin catches the pillow as he’s lowered into a crouching position, the force causing him to fall onto his . He sighs, mouth set in a grim line, “You’re right, people like me have no hope.”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes, but keeps himself from commenting on the remark, slightly relieved that his words hadn’t worked to inflate Woojin’s ego. Instead, he rolls off of his bed, slipping the hood of his sweater on and pulling on the strings until his face is almost completely covered by the fabric. “Let’s go eat, I’m starving.”

 

“You look like an egg.”

 

“Shut the up.”

 

 

+

 

 

Jihoon doesn’t do petty.

 

That’s why when he sees someone walking up to their table in the cafeteria with their gaze directed towards Woojin, he slides his chair closer and drapes a hand over Woojin’s shoulder, fixing strands of the hair falling into his eyes until said person changes directions and he smiles in victory. It’s not being petty, it’s being protective.

 

“Do I have something in my hair?” Woojin asks absentmindedly as he continues to rewrite his biology notes.

 

“Nope.” Jihoon says, “Just trying to see if there’s any way I could make you look like less of an atrocity.”

 

“A true best friend.” The younger’s voice drips with sarcasm, elbow coming out discreetly to jab at Jihoon’s side.  “Maybe if you cared more about studying than everything else you’d be more than just a pretty face.”

 

Jihoon huffs, sliding his chair back to its original position, “Don’t discredit my effort! I’m the full package, get over your jealousy. Not everyone can be a stale straight A student like you anyways.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so stale if you would just take me to that party tomorrow.” Woojin quips, pressing his lips together into a cynical smile.

 

Jihoon sighs, leaning his elbow onto the table and resting his cheek against his palm. “You’re really stubborn, you know that?”

 

Woojin tight-lipped smile turns into a grin, “I could take crown away from you if you gave in.”

 

Jihoon purses his lips, considering the idea thoughtfully. He never really liked the idea of being in a crowded house full of people he’s barely ever spoken to, but Woojin seems adamant on getting him to concede, and he’s nothing if not a er for Woojin’s happiness. “We could go for like an hour—“

 

Woojin’s smile widens, then turns into a smirk. “Aw, you love me.”

 

“I’m not doing this for you,” Jihoon explains, maybe a little too defensively judging from the way he rises up to sit straight in his seat, “I’m doing this for me so I don’t have to put up with your whining anymore.”

 

Woojin snorts, clearly just as unconvinced as Jihoon is, “Right.”

 

Jihoon scowls, “Just be grateful that I’m giving up a nap for you.”

 

Woojin looks up from his notes at him and gives him a tired, lazy smile, “Love you.”

 

The brunette leans his head on Jihoon’s shoulder, nuzzling to show his appreciation and Jihoon snorts, “Of course you do. Now get off me, I need to talk to Ms. Nam about my last test grade before class.”

 

Jihoon flicks Woojin’s ear and then presses a light kiss onto his cheek before swinging his bag over his shoulder and walking away from the table.

 

“Go get that A!” Woojin yells at him from behind and Jihoon throws a hand up in the air to wave at him without looking back, a smile gracing his face. 

 

 

+

 

 

Woojin’s genuine excitement to be going to his first high school party would be the most adorable thing (to be fair, it’s adorable regardless) if it wasn’t for the fact that Jihoon was filled to the brink with worry about how naïve Woojin could be when it came to people, especially people who tried to break his spirit when he was younger.

 

If there’s one thing that momentarily relieves Jihoon’s regret, it’s when Woojin shows up at his door right before the party in what is probably the most delectable outfit Jihoon has even seen Woojin in. Jihoon has always had a thing for all-black outfits (liked seeing them just a little more than he liked wearing them), but seeing Woojin in a black button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up with a watch circling his wrist and a long dangling earring on one ear he’s forgotten the basics of breathing. And then he’s throw back into a spiral of concern when he realizes he’s not going to be the only one seeing him in this outfit.

 

“Damn, I thought I looked good.” Woojin says as he steps into Jihoon’s house and gives him a once over. Jihoon raises a brow, confused because he should be saying this to him. Jihoon looks down at his own outfit—it’s nothing special, just a slightly loose black sleeved shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans so he’s not too sure what Woojin is going on about.

 

“What are you talking about? I look the same as always.” Except he doesn’t say that he’s spent just a little more time on his hair today, pushing the blonde off of his forehead.

 

“That’s the point, you’re unfair all the time.” Woojin complains, and then gasps really loudly, raising a finger to point at Jihoon, who’s not entirely sure what had prompted Woojin’s bewilderedness. Jihoon looks around his surroundings apprehensively, “What?”

 

“What’s around your neck?”

 

Jihoon looks down, looping a finger around the fabric, “It’s a choker.”

 

“Oh my god,” Woojin breathes out, “That’s hot.”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes, punching Woojin lightly and then bringing up his fingers to massage the parts of his ears that had started to feel like they were burning, “Geez, I thought it was something serious, you scared me.”

 

“Are you trying to pick someone up tonight?” Woojin questions, narrowing his eyes, “Because no one at our school is good enough for you.”

 

“I’m not trying to find someone, Woojin.” Jihoon attests, “If you’ve forgotten, the only reason I’m going to this party is because of you.”  

 

“Good,” Woojin stands up straight, sticking his chin out and making a show of fixing his collar uselessly, “Cause I’m the only one you need.”

 

Jihoon scoffs, but he finds himself grinning anyways, “Of course.”

 

 

 

 

 

By the time they reach Doyeon’s house, the entire street is filled with cars, so they end up parking quite far. Even halfway down the street, Jihoon can hear the loud thumping of the music and wonders how their neighbors haven’t called the police for late night disturbances. But it is a rather wealthy looking area, and he’s not too sure how rich people deal with their neighbors’ house parties.

 

When the enter the house, a bunch of their classmates greet the both of them, asking them to join in their small group games, though they decline all of them and head towards the kitchen, where Jihoon finds a close friend, Haknyeon, waving him over.

 

“You’re here! What happened to your never-going-to-parties streak?” Haknyeon asks him as Jihoon pours him and Woojin drinks.

 

“Well,” Jihoon turns to lean on the counter, then gestures towards Woojin, “This one over here wouldn’t stop bugging me until I took him to one.”

 

Haknyeon gives Woojin a grin, “Finally cracked him, hey?”

 

“Yep.” Woojin says proudly, placing a slice of pizza on his plate, then points at Jihoon, “He loves me.”

 

Jihoon watches as Haknyeon looks him over with a look that he can’t quite decipher until he speaks up, “Oh, I’m sure he does.” He lifts a brow at the boy, waiting for some sort of explanation to his ambiguous tone but Haknyeon just ignores him. “Have fun guys.”

 

Haknyeon leaves to find his friends and Jihoon glares holes into the back of his head as he walks away. Jihoon and Woojin eat and chat around for a while, watching everyone else get drunk and do things they’ll probably regret in the morning. And then one of their classmates, Jinyoung, comes up to them and greets them. “Hey, Jihoon! Woojin! You came!”

 

“You see how lame we are?” Woojin turns to him, “Literally everyone we’ve seen tonight were all ‘hey! you’re actually here having a life for once’!”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes, downing the rest of his soda.

 

“Listen, I know we don’t talk as much anymore but I kind of promised my friend I’d introduce her to you.” Jinyoung says to Woojin, sending a surge of worry and another efflux of something through Jihoon. “But then someone I know told me that you two were already dating and I must not have gotten the memo so I just wanted to double check if it was true.”

 

Jihoon and Woojin exchange looks, and the younger opens his mouth, “I—oh, we’re not—“

 

“Yeah.” Jihoon pipes up, gripping Woojin’s arm and pulling him closer, “Tell your friend sorry, but he’s taken.”

 

Jinyoung doesn’t look as surprised as he should be, “Oh.”

 

Just then, a girl Jihoon recognizes as Kang Mina comes up from behind Jinyoung, who pulls her aside after casting them both glances. Jihoon can just barely make out their conversation, “Uhh, hey. Um, about the whole introducing thing, I don’t think it’s gonna work out?”

 

She looks confused, “What do you mean?”

 

Mina spins around to look at them and in a moment of uneasiness and maybe jealousy, Jihoon places a finger on Woojin’s cheek, turning his face towards him and brings their lips together in a brief kiss. What Jihoon doesn’t expect is for all of his nerves to tingle with the contact, almost taking away the strength in his legs. When he pulls away just slightly, they both linger there, and Jihoon is almost scared to open his eyes for fear of the consequences of what he had just done would be. When he can finally bring himself to flutter his eyes open and looks towards Jinyoung and Mina, who are both looking at them. Her lips form an ‘o’ and Jinyoung pulls her away from them, disappearing in to the crowd and leaving Jihoon alone with Woojin.

“Um,” Woojin brings him back, peering at him though Jihoon doesn’t look into his eyes because he doesn’t want to be able to read them, “W-what was that for”?”

 

Jihoon fakes his composure easily (though it maybe isn't as convincing to everyone else as it is to him), “Hello? Do you not realize you’re really ing hot and everyone here wants a piece of you? I’m trying to save you from the phonies.” He places a hand on Woojin’s shoulder, “You’re welcome.”

 

Woojin narrows his eyes, “Sounds fake but okay. Why did you kiss me?”

 

Jihoon realizes he hadn’t actually had time to think of a plan for how he’d explain himself after his impulsive act, and he’s definitely not prepared in the slightest—not even his master bullting techniques are saving him right now. “I—uhhhh, you had something..” Jihoon points at his mouth, “on your lip..”

 

Woojin snorts immediately, “Yeah, okay.” Woojin pushes himself from off of the wall he’s leaning on and steps in front of Jihoon, “Why did you kiss me?”

 

“Kissing is a platonic thing too, okay!” Jihoon shrieks, pressing his back against the wall to cower away from Woojin who’s bent on interrogating him. His eyes widen when he feels Woojin’s arms snake around his waist, pulling him towards him and leaning in to kiss him again. It’s longer this time, and Jihoon’s arms instinctively trail up Woojin’s arms to rest on his shoulders. Woojin breaks away slowly, whispering lowly, “Was that platonic enough for you?”

 

Jihoon breathes heavily, feeling dizzier with every passing second Woojin hold him in his arms, “Yeah, um,” He feels the lump in his throat, “Maybe you should do it again, for verification purposes.”

 

Woojin grins, claiming Jihoon’s lips again. They kiss until Jihoon becomes aware of everyone around him, and simultaneously does Woojin because he breaks the kiss, muttering against his lips, “Wanna get out of here?”

 

Jihoon smiles, “I didn’t like anyone here anyways.”

 

 

+

 

 

(Later that night the two of them are lying down on the bean bags in their treehouse. Jihoon thinks about how much they’ve grown, but it’s still the same treehouse, and they’re still Jihoon and Woojin.

 

“So,” Woojin starts, rolling onto his side and propping himself up on his elbow, “I’m, quote unquote, ‘really ing hot’ hey?”

 

Jihoon groans, throwing his blanket over Woojin’s head, “I like you better when you don’t have an ego.”

 

“So you like me?” Woojin prods as he pulls the blanket off of him, wrapping it around himself.

 

Jihoon scrunches his face up, it’s so Woojin to ruin everything by being a pseudo-oblivious little brat, “I think that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

 

Woojin snorts, clearly unconvinced, “Let’s talk about this.”

 

“Or we can talk about the time you called your mom my mom.”

 

“Listen,” Woojin cuts in defensively, “twelve-year old Woojin didn’t have much of a brain.”

 

“Yeah and eighteen-year old Woojin doesn’t exactly have one either.”

 

The brunette contorts his face, scooting closer to Jihoon. “Let’s talk.”

 

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

 

“We’ve literally been making out for like the last hour.”

 

“..Fine, I like you.” Jihoon admits begrudgingly, taking back his blanket so he can bring it up to cover his face.

 

“You have terrible denial issues.”

 

The blonde yanks the blanket from off of his head, shooting the younger a glare, “Do you want me to take it back?” 

 

Woojin shakes his head, “No. Because I like you too." 

 

Jihoon bites his lip, “I just don’t want things to go wrong if we try to pursue this. It’s always been you and me.”

 

“And it’s always gonna be you and me.” Woojin assures him, tugging Jihoon towards him so they older can rest his head on his chest, “We’re partners for life. You can never get rid of me, Park Jihoon.”

 

“That’s both relieving and terrifying.”

 

 

 

 

 

Seasons change, but they never will.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A/N: yes i know my quality is deteriorating blame university 

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