A knock on the door ruined Dongyeol’s plans to sleep away his problems. He sighed quietly, contemplating whether he should just ignore it. He decided against it, though. “Come in...”, he said. His father stepped into the room. “Hey...want to tell me what got you so upset?” he asked carefully. Dongyeol shrugged.

His Dad sat down on the side of his bed and looked at him. “Did you have a fight with your friends?” he questioned. Dongyeol sat up in his bed and sighed. “It’s Hwanhee...” “Hwanhee? You two never fight”, his Dad pointed out. Dongyeol shook his head. “It’s all we’ve been doing lately. You don’t know what was going on here while you were gone”, he replied. “Well, tell me, then”, his father offered.

Dongyeol hesitated a moment but then he gave his father a summary of everything that went down three months ago; Kogyeol’s accident, Hwanhee’s feelings of guilt, the confession (he left out the part where Hwanhee drunk-kissed him. His father didn’t need to know that). He told him about Hwanhee’s rejection and how he started dating Wooseok after Kogyeol woke up. Lastly, he told him about what Hwanhee had said to him today. His Dad listened attentively without interrupting.

“...and now I don’t know what to do...”, Dongyeol finished. Mr Lee hummed in thought. “Well, forgive me for asking, but are you entirely sure that your feelings for Hwanhee are gone?” Dongyeol nodded. “I’m sure. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to lose him. I made everything weird by confessing to him in the first place. This is practically all my fault...”, he said.

Mr Lee patted his son’s shoulder. “None of that is your fault. You couldn’t have known that he would end up liking you.” “But what am I supposed to do now? I mean, can Hwanhee and I even still be friends? Do I tell Wooseok what happened today?” Dongyeol asked in a slightly desperate undertone. He knew that Wooseok would be furious at Hwanhee if he found out and their friendship had already suffered enough.

“I think you should be honest about it. I may not be an expert in relationships, but honesty is something your Mom and I never had and look where it got us. I want something better for you”, his Dad advised him. Dongyeol looked at him. “So, is the divorce final this time?” he questioned.

His Dad hesitated but then answered: “We wanted to tell you at dinner tonight, but I guess it’s safe to say that this is the end...don’t worry, though. We’re separating on good terms”, he assured his son who nodded in understanding. “Okay. Um...where am I going to live?” he questioned. His dad chuckled.

“We’ll talk about it in the morning, okay? We made reservations at a restaurant for tonight, are you coming?” he questioned. Dongyeol shook his head no. “I want to call Wooseok...I don’t want to push up telling him...”, he replied. His father got up from the bed. “Alright, order something to eat, though...”, he said before he took his leave.

Dongyeol reached for his phone and texted Wooseok, asking for him to come over. The older was confused, considering Dongyeol was supposed to stay at Hwanhee’s tonight but he agreed nonetheless.

~

Wooseok was already confused that Dongyeol called him over so urgently but the confusion only increased when his boyfriend opened the front door for him, greeted him with a kiss and then reached into the flower pot to get the spare key out.

“What’s going on?” Wooseok questioned as the younger shut the door. “Why are you taking this inside?” Dongyeol shrugged and threw the spare key onto a small cabinet in the hallway. “Don’t want any unwanted guests...”, he said and reached for Wooseok’s hand, leading him to his room.

“Okay, what is going on, Dongyeol? You’re acting weird”, Wooseok pointed out once they’d sat down on the younger’s bed. “How’s your ankle?” the younger questioned. “Fine, I have my final checkup tomorrow. Now stop ing around and tell me why I’m here”, Wooseok said, not letting Dongyeol stray off the point.

The younger sighed. “Alright...so, you know how I was at Hwanhee’s tonight?” he began. Wooseok looked at him. He somehow got a weird feeling in his stomach. He scooted away from his boyfriend and faced him with his whole body. “Did something happen between you two?” he asked carefully, not sure if he really wanted an answer to that. Dongyeol was alert immediately. He closed the distance Wooseok had brought between them.

“Of course not. I would never do that to you”, he assured him, putting his hands on his boyfriend’s thighs. Wooseok lowered his head. “I’m sorry...I just thought that maybe you realized that...”, he trailed off. Dongyeol cupped the older’s cheek and leaned in to kiss him. “You’re the one I want to be with”, he said as sincerely as he could. Wooseok believed him.

“But...this actually isn’t about my feelings...it’s about Hwanhee’s...”, Dongyeol continued. Wooseok furrowed his brows. “I called you because I wanted you to know. I shouldn’t keep this from you...” “Keep what from me?” the older asked. Dongyeol took a deep breath. He knew that this was going to end ugly one way or the other.

“Hwanhee-” He was cut off by his phone buzzing. He reached for it, shooting Wooseok an apologetic glance. When he checked the screen he saw that he had received a text from Hwanhee.

'I’m sorry about tonight. Can you not tell Wooseok, please?'

Dongyeol put his phone aside. “What is it?” Wooseok asked. “I...”, Dongyeol started. He was conflicted. On one side, he was still mad at Hwanhee and Wooseok had to know. On the other side, he couldn’t just rat out his best friend like that, could he? Wooseok gave him an expectant look and it reminded him of the time when Dongyeol had kissed him for the first time at the hospital. The day he first realized that he was in love with Wooseok. 

Wooseok deserved to know.

“Hwanhee confessed to me and he tried to kiss me, that’s why he’s been acting so weird lately. Apparently, he has feelings for me now. But before you say anything, I didn’t let him kiss me and I love you, so please don’t be mad at me”, he explained hastily.

“Why would I be mad at you?” Wooseok questioned. “I don’t know...”, Dongyeol replied. Wooseok looked at Dongyeol’s phone which lay next to him on the bed. “Was that him just now?” he asked. The younger nodded. “He wanted me not to tell you”, he admitted.

“I’m glad you did...”, Wooseok said. Of course, he was angry that Hwanhee had tried to hit on his boyfriend and then cowardly asked him to keep it a secret. But it was also nice to see that he could trust Dongyeol. He would deal with Hwanhee later...