Kibum sighed.

Sunlight danced across his frame, falling over his shoulders and casting a silhouette beside him. The autumn breeze whistled through his hair and stung his eyes, causing him to bite his lip in a grimace. Against the evening glow, Kibum looked like an angel; pale skin radiant, soft palms resting against the balconies edge. But he felt far from it.

His thoughts were troubled; they had been doing this often lately. Usually he wasn’t one to think so hard about things.

But this time was different.

His gaze fell upon the tops of the buildings before him, then to the golden sky, wishing with everything he could that he could just fly away. Everything would be easier that way, if he was free. A bird, perhaps.

Kibum was imagining what it was like to be a bird when a voice sung from behind him.

“Yeobo?”

Oh no.

A shiver shot down his spine, causing him to tense up and clutch at the railing. That voice, that sublime, weightless tone, warmed Kibum’s ears at the very touch. At the same time, his stomach churned. He had escaped out the back door in fear that the voice would follow. That he would follow.

It had never been like this before. Kibum usually craved his presence, craved for him to be near. Usually, he sought him out, confining in him like he hadn’t with anyone else before.

But this time was different.

The voice was closer now, footsteps audibly coming closer to Kibum.

“Key-yah?” He called. “Yeobo?”

He grew even more rigid, his eyes going hard and his lip starting to tremble through his bite. His heart thumped away against his ribcage, causing his stomach to flip and flutter.

Yeobo, humph . . . Kibum thought to himself. Why does he call me that?

With one hand, he dug his palm into the rail and let it push against his skin. With the other, he gnawed on his nails nervously. His heated blood ran around his veins as if it were in a race, making his cheeks blush a light pink. It was the strangest thing in the world; Kim Kibum, blushing.

The figure shadowing behind was closer again, now leaning on the raining beside him. Kibum didn’t dare look sideways. He knew the look he would be getting right now; head tilted, mouth parted, lips curved upwards and eyes wide. But he didn’t dare turn his head, afraid of what he might say if he fell into the magic of those beautiful eyes.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Jonghyun uttered, his cheeky manner slipping into his words. Through Jonghyun’s eyes, he chose to ignore Kibum’s solid posture and cold glare out towards the city. As confused as Jonghyun was, he chose to ignore it.

Kibum stayed silent.

“Yeobo?” Jonghyun tried again.

Kibum’s cheeks burned red now. Not from discomfiture, but from fury.

“Don’t call me that,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

Jonghyun blinked, standing up straighter against the rail and eyes widening even more in shock. But after a few seconds, he disregarded it as one of Kibum’s bad moods and smirked again.

“Call you what?” He teased, chuckling to himself. “Yeobo? Kibummie, my yeo-“

“Leave me alone, Jonghyun.”

This didn’t seem like one of his regular bad moods. In his usual bad mood, Kibum would whine, not snap. He would pester the four of them about the chores they hadn’t done or the food that needed to be cooked. This wasn’t an Almighty Key tantrum, this was Kibum pissed.

And pissed at Jonghyun, apparently.

Jonghyun’s brow furrowed, giving the younger a look of confusion. Without hesitation, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around his petite waist from behind. Kibum stiffened from the sudden contact, his heart beating ten times as fast. Jonghyun had always been in tune with his skinship. It was times like these that made Kibum feel nervous. Jonghyun rested his head against Kibum’s shoulder, his ear pressing against the fabric on his shirt. Kibum glanced down at the hands around his stomach, stunned speechless.

“What’s wrong, Kibum?” Jonghyun spoke carefully, saying his real name for the first time. He shuffled even closer, turning his head so his face was buried in his back. Kibum pleaded soundlessly that Jonghyun’s couldn’t feel his pulse or the beads of sweat forming at the base of his neck.

Why am I like this? Kibum thought.

Why is he being like this? Jonghyun wondered.

The two of them were silent for a while; Jonghyun holding him and Kibum trying to calm his racing heartbeat. Both of their minds were muddled with different thoughts.

When Jonghyun couldn’t stand it anymore, he put his hands on Kibum’s shoulders and turned him around to face him, gaze darting directly to his face.

The first thing he saw was the tears.

Kibum hadn’t realised that they had welled in his eyes and he hurried to wipe the evidence away. But as astonished as he was, Jonghyun was fast. He caught Kibum’s wrist before he hand the chance, staring at the moisture on his bottom eyelid.

Jonghyun was even more confused now.

Key never cried.

“Kibum,” he tried again, softer this time. His heart lurched at the sight of him, lips chaffed from the wind, hair tousled and wild, face pallid and eyes watering. “What’s wrong?”

Kibum made the mistake of staring into Jonghyun’s eyes, and instantly all thought was lost. They were so beautiful . . . so real . . . .He pulled himself from the daze before he became trapped, focusing on something behind Jonghyun rather than him.

Jonghyun expected an answer, but nothing like the one Kibum gave him.

“You.”

The way he said it, carelessly, without hesitation, surprised Jonghyun more than anything. He was taken back, his words stuck in his throat and his hand loosening around Kibum’s wrist. Something burned inside Jonghyun, something like shame. Kibum slipped his hand away from the grasp as soon as he could, putting it beside him and staring him down.

“W-what did I do?” Jonghyun stuttered, unable to say anything different. Fear clasped him, spinning his mind into a moment of pure dread. What could he have done to upset Kibum? He would never in a million years want to see him cry, let alone be the cause of it.

It bubbled up inside Kibum, all the wrath, hurt, betrayal. Until he exploded.

“I saw you flirting with the co-ordi noonas. Or should I say, shamelessly flirting. Right in front of me.” Kibum growled, his attitude harsh. He shook his head angrily, causing the tears to spill over and fall to the ground, one hitting Jonghyun’s frozen hand still in the air.

Flirting? Jonghyun thought, dazed and distorted. Since when did he notice?

Kibum glared furiously as they stood in those few beats of silence.

Since when did he care? Jonghyun thought again.

“Wha-“ he started, but couldn’t speak fast enough before Kibum interrupted him.

“I like you, okay?” He grumbled darkly. “I mean, I really like you. But you don’t even care. I see you flirt every day, it’s so annoying! It’s so stupid that I’m getting jealous when you’re not even mine to be jealous over. I ca-‘

This time it was Jonghyun’s turn to silence Kibum. But he didn’t use words. He inched closer, so close that Kibum could feel his hot breath on his cheek. So close that he could count every eyelash that framed his eyes. So close that he had to stop thinking.

“You like me?” Jonghyun whispered.

Kibum swallowed hard, realising he had just confessed everything. It was all out now, Jonghyun knew everything. Kibum tried to turn away, but was held in Jonghyun’s gaze. His eyes held so much, so much power, so much emotion. The emotion was unreadable, but it was still there.

He nodded meekly, his head dropping to his feet in mortification. Something warm touched his chin; a finger. Jonghyun moved Kibum’s head back up so he could face the younger directly, not moving his hand. He leaned forward, eliminating space between them in seconds. Their faces were so close . . . and their lips . . .

“Well . . . I love you,” Jonghyun said, leaning in more and kissing him.