Hey everyone!

I'm back with a new hyunsung because I still love them too much. This time I'm going for a kind of Enemies to Friends to Lovers au because I've wanted to write one in forever. This thing turned out a lot longer than expected and officially became my second longest hyunsung after 7000 miles. 

Warning: someone's going to get outed and there's going to be homophobia and homophobic slurs, as well as someone getting beaten up...just putting it out there, just in case. 

Anyways, I hope you guys will like this one! (I'm already planning the next lol)

 

No high schooler would describe their time in school as perfect.

Jisung definitely wouldn't go anywhere near perfect but he figured he was doing well enough. His grades were good, he wasn't unpopular, though he wouldn't really call anyone his actual friend, and he was working for the school newspaper.

Oh, and he had the best boyfriend in the world – which nobody knew about.

Hwang Hyunjin was the school's star football player, and everyone adored him, not just for his skills but also for his good looks. However, the junior wouldn't look at anybody the way he looked at Jisung and he took a healthy amount of pride in that. Neither of them was out of the closet yet, though, which was why they had agreed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone.

It wasn't ideal, but it was still somewhat exciting; sneaking kisses after practice in the boys' locker room or under the bleachers, hidden away from everyone's sight. Jisung had even been over at Hyunjin's house a few times – as his 'friend' or 'study partner' – since his parents were never really around anyways and they had locked themselves in the older's room playing video games, watching movies and, more often than not, making out until breathlessness.

However, all good things came to an end sooner or later, as Jisung would soon find out rather painfully.

~

The last thing Jisung had expected was to get a confession first thing in the morning. He was just getting his books out of his locker, shutting it close and jumping about three feet into the air when he was met face to face with Lee Dasom from his class. She was looking at him intently, not saying a word.

"U-uh... hi, Dasom. Can I help you?"

Dasom was what most people would describe as intense, though Jisung had no problem with her personally; he barely even knew her. She knew what she wanted which seemed to intimidate most people. Today, she didn't seem very talkative, though. Instead, she wordlessly stretched out her arms and held out a stuffed teddy bear which he hadn't even noticed before.

"What's this?" he questioned. He took the bear into his hands. It was holding a red heart in front of its chest which read the words 'I Love You' and his eyes widened when he realized just what exactly was happening here.

"Han Jisung," she spoke up, "please accept this bear as a token of my love!" Jisung's eyes widened. Had he heard that correctly?

He needed a few seconds to process what she had just said. Love? Even if he were into girls, which definitely wasn't the case, he hardly even knew Dasom and he couldn't imagine what she possibly saw in him that caused her to fall in love with him. Jisung cleared his throat awkwardly and gave Dasom a sheepish smile. He handed the bear back to her.

"Listen, I'm sure you're a really nice girl, Dasom... but I'm already dating someone," he told her with an apologetic expression on his face. Dasom stared at him for a good 10 seconds.

"What do you mean? I never see you around with anyone! You're lying!" she finally exclaimed, attracting the attention of a few students around them. Jisung frantically shook his head, not wanting to attract more attention than they already had.

"I'm not lying! I really am dating someone. We just don't really have much to do with each other at school and-"

"Never mind!"

Dasom threw the bear to the floor and stormed off without further words. Jisung's gaze followed her until she was out of sight, still beyond surprised by what had just happened. He ignored the people around him, giving him weird glances and went to his first class.

When he arrived at the classroom, he spotted Hyunjin, who was sitting in the front row next to Kim Seungmin, their class president. The two of them were animatedly talking about something but Hyunjin still met his eyes when he came in. He shot the older a tiny smile which Hyunjin returned, as Jisung walked past him to his third-row seat by the window.

Jisung let himself fall into his seat and propped his elbow on the table, resting his face in his palm. He found himself looking at the back of Hyunjin's head, admiring him and thinking back to eight months ago when it had all started.

Quite frankly, he never would have dreamed of dating the school's top football player but after some stolen glances, shy smiles and subtle touches here and there, Hyunjin had slipped him his number one day. At first, Jisung had thought that it was some kind of prank. He knew some of the baboons on the football team that Hyunjin hung out with, so it really wouldn't have been a surprise. He'd been scared that Hyunjin had caught on to his more-than-friendly glances and was going to make fun of him for it.

It had taken him a whole week before he had finally gathered enough courage to text Hyunjin. The older hadn't been too shy about the whole thing, at least it hadn't seemed that way to Jisung. He'd told him right away that he liked him and that he wanted to take him on a date. Jisung had asked him if his football friends knew about that and Hyunjin had replied that nobody did. Since Jisung was still in the closet himself, he had agreed to keeping their first date lowkey.

Needless to say, one secret date had turned into many and the rest was history. They didn't spend much time together on school grounds since they were ran in different circles, but he was happy with Hyunjin. He loved Hyunjin. And Hyunjin loved him too. He liked to think that nothing could come between them...

~

They were set to meet up in the boys' locker rooms after everyone had left. Jisung killed some of the time watching the older play. He was a natural on the field, handling the ball with practice and ease. He wasn't the school's star player for nothing. Some girls sat on the bleachers a few rows down, gushing over the boys and Jisung almost wished he could join in.

Sometimes it was hard to keep his feelings for Hyunjin hidden.

Practice ended and Jisung waited an extra 20 minutes before he made his way to the locker room. Once he was sure that everyone was gone, he peeked inside the locker room where he found Hyunjin rummaging around in his locker. He cleared his throat, causing the older to turn around and give him a bright smile.

"Hey babe," he greeted the younger, opening his arms for Jisung to hug him. "I saw you watching us practice," Hyunjin told him, leaning down to peck Jisung on the lips. The younger smiled.

"I was watching you practice," he corrected the older with a grin. "You were good out there."

"It's because I play twice as good when you're around," Hyunjin said with a chuckle. Jisung laughed and wrapped his arms around Hyunjin's neck. He stood on his tip toes and brought their lips together for a proper kiss.

The older let out a content sigh, melting into the kiss. Jisung pulled back and looked up at him. "I missed you today..." he mumbled. Hyunjin gently pressed him against the lockers opposite from his own. They had only shared one class today, so Jisung barely got to see him all day. Hyunjin caressed his cheek.

"I missed you more, baby," he muttered against his lips before reconnecting them with his own.

Jisung's hands tangled in Hyunjin's damp locks, as the kiss deepened. He let Hyunjin take control for once, while losing all sense of time. He loved being with Hyunjin like this. If anyone asked him, he'd tell them he could spend all day kissing Hyunjin.

Unfortunately, Hyunjin did have to get home, though. After what felt like hours, but actually had only been a few minutes, Hyunjin pulled back. Jisung loved seeing him so out of breath, his cheeks flushed, and his lips swollen. All because of him. He grabbed the front of Hyunjin's shirt and pouted.

"Don't go, yet..." he whined. Hyunjin chuckled and pecked Jisung's lips again.

"I have to, love. My folks are going to kill me if I'm late again," he told the younger.

"I know..." Jisung trailed off. The last thing he wanted was to get Hyunjin in trouble. "Call me tonight?" he questioned.

Hyunjin smiled and nodded. "You bet." He pulled Jisung close for one last kiss and a muttered "I love you" before he left the locker room. Jisung leaned back against the locker with a dreamy sigh and a goofy smile on his lips. Why did Hyunjin have to be so damn sweet all the time?

He left after a few minutes but kept the smile on his face the entire way home.

~

A few hours later, Jisung was doing some homework on his bed, when his phone rung. He grinned and picked up. "Hey, babe," he said cheerfully.

"I miss you," Hyunjin whined dramatically. Jisung laughed and rolled onto his back.

"We saw each other four hours ago," he pointed out, even though he couldn't deny that he missed Hyunjin as well.

"Well, we only got a few minutes together. I barely even got to kiss you properly," Hyunjin argued and Jisung could practically hear the pout in his voice. His lips still felt tingly from their make-out session earlier, so he wouldn't exactly agree with the older's statement.

"I could come over tomorrow after class and you can make up for it," Jisung told him with a smirk.

"Sounds good," Hyunjin answered giddily.

"Alright then, I'll see you tomorrow. I still have some homework to do," the younger said. Hyunjin let out a disgruntled mumble that only caused his boyfriend to laugh.

"Blowing me off for math, I see," Hyunjin joked.

"Math is my true love, baby, you can't compete with that," Jisung played along. The older laughed.

"I'll leave you two be, then. See you tomorrow," he said.

"Can't wait. I love you," Jisung said.

"I love you, too," Hyunjin replied before they hung up. Jisung's heart was rapidly beating in his chest and he had a hard time focusing back on his math stuff. He was beyond whipped.

~

"There he is..." 
"I never would have expected that from someone like him..."
"It's sad, really..."

The next morning, Hyunjin came to school to be greeted by wary glances and nasty glares. People were whispering and pointing in his direction as he made his way to his locker. He ignored them, despite the weird feeling in his stomach. Something wasn't right and he had the feeling that it was about him.

"Dude!" one of Hyunjin's teammates, Jihoon, suddenly roared from somewhere to his left, slamming Hyunjin's locker shut just as he was about to open it.

"Hey, what's going on? Everyone seems to be staring at me... and not in the usual way," Hyunjin said, trying to sound nonchalant, but he noticed how angry his teammate looked.

"Explain this!" Jihoon snapped and held out his phone to him. A video was playing on it and Hyunjin's eyes widened when he recognized himself in it. It was from yesterday when he'd met up with Jisung in the locker room. The video showed the two of them making out and exchanging sweet words that luckily didn't get picked up by the camera.

"U-um... there's an explanation for this..." Hyunjin stammered, panic rising in his stomach. This couldn't be happening! Had the whole school seen that video? Who had taken it in the first place and why would they spread it? Jihoon looked at him expectantly. Hyunjin felt nauseous. He opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn't come out.

He needed to get away.

He pushed past Jihoon and headed for the bathroom. On the way there, he saw Jisung, trying to approach him. "Hyun-"

"Don't talk to me!" Hyunjin snapped before he finally reached the bathroom and locked himself in one of the stalls, trying to calm down his breathing.

~

Jisung had already been met with several shouts of very nasty words that he didn't care to repeat when he had entered the school building this morning. It didn't take him very long to figure out the reason. Someone had apparently secretly recorded him and Hyunjin in the locker room yesterday and spread the video throughout the entire school. He watched the video in shock, his eyes wide and his hands trembling.

People regarded Jisung with glances so nasty that he almost wanted to drop dead on the spot. He needed to find Hyunjin and make sure that he was okay, despite wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out again. If it was already like this for him, how bad would it be for Hyunjin; the most popular boy of this school?

Finally, he spotted Hyunjin who seemed to be in quite the hurry to get away. "Hyun-" he called out but was interrupted by a cold and panicked "Don't talk to me!" from his boyfriend. Jisung stared after him as he disappeared towards what seemed to be the bathroom, unable to ignore the undeniable sting in his chest area.

Class was horrible to get through that day. Jisung wanted nothing more than to go home but he needed to speak to Hyunjin before that. Unfortunately, he didn't see the older around all day. Maybe Hyunjin had decided to skip class for the rest of the day. However, Hyunjin would never miss out on practice for anything.

With a sigh, Jisung stared out of the window onto the football field as his math teacher talked about something he absolutely couldn't care less about. Who had taken that video? Who was cruel enough to post something like that for everyone to see?

~

Hyunjin was this close to skipping practice. He had never willingly missed one before – he had even attended when he had broken his arm last year, even if it was only to watch and support the others – but today's events were about to break that streak. A text from Jihoon was what made him go in the end. '

Come to practice or you'll regret it'.

Sure, the threat wanted to make him run away even more but he needed to face them. With a racing heart he approached the locker room where his teammates awaited him. He didn't want to look at them, scared of what they might say. It wasn't until someone harshly pushed him against the lockers that he made eye contact.

"So, you're a now?" Sungbin from his grade snapped at him. The guys seemed to close in on Hyunjin, and he wouldn't be lying if he said that he had never felt this scared in his life before.

"And on top of that you're into scrawny losers like Han Jisung?" Jihoon added. The need to defend Jisung bubbled up in him but he knew that that would only make things worse.

"It was just a bet!" he blurted out.

Sungbin scoffed. "Sure, it was," he mocked him.

Hyunjin put on a false façade of confidence. "I'm telling you. Changbin made a bet with me the other day because he was sure that I couldn't get a guy to fall for me. I don't know why he was so obsessed with it, but Han Jisung was... an easy target... there's nothing more to it. I barely had to do anything."

"You expect us to believe that?" Jihoon questioned.

Hyunjin shrugged and silently prayed that he was able to stand his ground here. "Believe what you want but I'm not gay," he lied. "I don't know who stalked me and took that video, but it was taken completely out of context and I'm still the same guy I was yesterday. Take it or leave it."

With that he turned around and opened his locker, letting out a shaky breath. He felt tears b in his eyes at the thought of talking about Jisung like that and denying his feelings for him.

"It looked really wrong, bro," Sungbin told him, his tone significantly less venomous.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't really something I signed up for in the first place. But Changbin was being cocky and you know I don't back down from a bet," Hyunjin told him, still facing his locker. "Anyway, are we gonna practice or not?" he exclaimed with fake cheerfulness.

A few of his teammates cheered and patted him on the back before they proceeded to change and head out onto the field. He couldn't help but look in the direction of the bleachers where Jisung sometimes watched him practice.

Today, he wasn't here.

His heart clenched together painfully when he thought about the lies, he'd just told his teammates. Jisung was so much more than a stupid bet. He shouldn't have lied...

~

"Han!" a voice called out to Jisung when he was just exiting the library, trying to get his mind off things by studying. It hadn't helped one bit. He just couldn't help but wonder why Hyunjin would be avoiding him. He'd left him several messages, all of which Hyunjin didn't even bother to read.

He turned around and froze. Yoon Sungbin, Oh Jihoon, Park Jaehyun and Lee Minhwan, four of Hyunjin's teammates were approaching him, looking anything but pleased. Jisung noted that Hyunjin wasn't with them but that only unsettled him more. Somehow, he had a feeling that they weren't just going to have a friendly conversation with him.

"You got some nerve!" Oh Jihoon hissed, giving Jisung a rough shove that sent his books to the floor. They surrounded him with identical glares on their faces.

"I-"

"You think you can ruin Hyunjin's reputation with your ways?" Yoon Sungbin questioned, accompanying his words with another shove. He fell into the guy across from him and was pushed back. "You're disgusting!"

Jisung tried to break free out of their circle and get away from their vicious words but they closed in on him, trapping him in their midst.

"I-I don't know what Hyunjin told you but-" He was cut off by a punch to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"He told us that you were part of a bet. But that bet almost ruined his reputation!" Yoon Sungbin snapped.

"How is that my fault?" Jisung questioned. One of the guys, he didn't see which one, scoffed and next thing Jisung knew, he landed on the floor, a sharp pain pulsating on the left side of his face.

"Whose fault would it be if not yours, ! I'm sure you threw yourself at him, huh?" Jihoon spat. Jisung was on the verge of tears by now, not just because of the punches.

"He told us all about it," Park Jaehyun said, as he was picked up again, followed by another punch to his face and another one to his stomach. They pushed him to the floor again and Minhwan even spat on the floor next to him before they took off calling him a "disgusting " and warning him to stay the hell away from Hyunjin "or we'll knock your teeth out next time!"

Jisung remained laying on the floor for who-knows-how long, finally letting the tears spill. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Hyunjin would send his teammates after him after feeding them such lies. He had never felt so betrayed in his entire life. A bet? What kind of ty excuse even was that? Was Hyunjin really that desperate to get out of this situation unharmed that he would let Jisung take the fall?

Eventually, he got up with some trouble and started limping out of the almost empty school. He ignored the weird and partly concerned looks he got on the subway and just tried to drown out the pain, that seemed to course through his entire body, until he got off the train. Luckily, his mother wasn't home from work yet. He really didn't want her to see him like this, even though he was aware that he couldn't hide from her forever.

Finally, Jisung reached his room and crawled into his bed and under the covers. The heaviness of the situation hit him full-on. Hyunjin had let him take the fall for that video because his reputation was more important to him than his boyfriend. He sniffled, not even trying to keep the tears in anymore at this point.

He felt stupid, betrayed, and lonely. He couldn't believe that he had trusted Hyunjin and let himself fall for him only to be stabbed in the back like that. He had thought that the sweet angel that was Hwang Hyunjin would never do something like that. His heart felt like somebody had used a sledgehammer on it. Had the past eight months meant nothing to Hyunjin at all? Had Jisung only made a fool of himself?

The familiar sound of his window opening made Jisung perk up. He didn't have to check to know that Hyunjin had just climbed into his room through his window. It wasn't exactly a rare occurrence. He didn't move and tried to keep his choked-up sobs in. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep, the older would leave again.

"Jisung..." Hyunjin carefully called out. Jisung felt his heart painfully clench together again.

"Go away... I don't ever want to see you again!"

He felt the bed dip, showing him that Hyunjin had ignored his demand. "Jisung, please... I'm sorry, really. I didn't think-"

A surge of anger ran through Jisung's still aching body. He sat up, revealing his face to Hyunjin for the first time since he'd entered the younger's room. He ignored the older's shocked gasp at the sight of his bruises.

"So, you lied! You blamed it all on me. Because you didn't think I was called horrible names today. Because people like you don't think, people like me get attacked for ruining the star player's reputation! Do you realize how this whole thing makes me look? Did you ever stop to think that your actions might have ing hurt me?!" he all but yelled. Hyunjin reached out for his face but Jisung flinched away.

"I didn't mean for you to get beaten up..." the older said, almost pleading.

"I'm not talking about my damn face, Hyunjin! I loved you and you betrayed me as soon as things got serious! I never asked you to come out. You know I never would have asked you to do that. I understood that you weren't ready, because neither was I. But considering we were both outed, I at least expected you to stand by me!"

Hyunjin looked like he wanted to say something and Jisung almost felt bad for the way his eyes were b with unshed tears. But he couldn't feel bad for him. Not when he had betrayed him like this. "Just get out!" Jisung snapped.

"I-"

"I don't want to hear it! Get out!" the younger interrupted him, swatting at him and making Hyunjin get up from his bed.

He went over to the window and turned to face Jisung once more. "I still love you..."

Jisung couldn't help but huff. "You should have thought about that before you threw me under the bus. I never want to see your face ever again! We're done, Hyunjin. Now get the out and don't think about coming back here."

For a few seconds, Hyunjin kept looking at him, his bottom lip quivering just the slightest bit, but Jisung averted his gaze. He couldn't look at Hyunjin anymore or else he would break down. After a few seconds, he heard the older open the window again and when Jisung looked over, Hyunjin was gone. Along with a piece of his heart.

He brought his knees to his chest, starting to cry again. He had wanted to speak to Hyunjin all day, but after the encounter with his oh-so-nice teammates, he was done. Hyunjin was ashamed of him. He didn't want to be associated with him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made up that ridiculous lie. At this point, he wasn't sure if the older ever truly loved him in the first place.

A soft knock on his door made Jisung jump and quickly wipe his bruised-up face – to no avail.

"Jisungie?" the muffled voice of his mother sounded through the wooden door. "Sweetie, are you alright?" When he didn't answer and instead just buried his face in his arms which rested on his knees, his mother carefully opened the door.

She came over and sat down on his bed, putting an arm around his shoulders. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" she questioned softly, pulling him into her side, as he clung to her, continuing to sob quietly.

"I n-never want to go back to school," he croaked out. She pulled back to look at him and let out a gasp at the sight of her son's face.

"What happened to you? Who did this?" she asked in an alarmed tone of voice, examining her son's face. Jisung sniffled and tried to pull himself together. His mother didn't even know about Hyunjin, let alone his uality. He figured that now was the time to tell her, since his whole school already knew anyway.

"There's something I need to tell you..." he said, sounding choked up from all the crying.

She still looked concerned, but nodded and replied with a: "Sure, go on..." It took him a few more moments to say the words. He had pictured this moment differently, but it was now or never. He just hoped that she would react differently than his classmates.

"I'm gay."

He avoided her gaze, in fear of what she was going to say. A few dreadful seconds passed in which he expected her to call him disgusting or something equally as awful. He certainly hadn't expected her to give him a tight hug.

"I know that, sweetheart..." she told him softly. He pulled back to stare back at her, wide-eyed.

"Y-you knew?" he questioned in disbelief.

She patted his hair, brushing some of his bangs aside. "Okay, I shouldn't say I knew, but I had a feeling. But what matters is that you're my son. I love you no matter who you love," she told him.

Jisung lowered his head, fists clenching into the fabric of his blanket. "Everyone knows, mom... the whole school knows..." he told her.

"You mean you were outed?" his mother asked in a shocked tone. He nodded. "Is that why your face looks like that? Did someone hurt you because of your uality? Does mom need to square up?" The seriousness in her voice as she said the last sentence made Jisung smile a little bit. His mother was the best. He couldn't believe he'd doubted her for even a second.

The thought of what had happened at school today caused his smile to drop again, though. He knew he had to tell her...

"There... there's this boy..." he began. His heart painfully clenched together again at the mere thought of Hyunjin. "We were dating... secretly, because neither of us had come out, yet. Anyway, somehow this video of us surfaced and he's managed to get out of the situation just fine but now the entire school hates me..." His mother looked even more shocked.

"Jisungie... when you say video, you don't mean..." she trailed off.

Jisung's eyes widened at the implication. He shook his head frantically. "No! Nothing like that, oh my god..." He quickly explained the contents of the video to her, not without an occasional sniffle at the mention of Hyunjin. Though, he didn't even speak his name and just called him "the guy."

"So... this guy, your boyfriend..."

"Ex-boyfriend, I'm done with him," Jisung pointed out, even though it hurt to think about the fact that it was really over.

"Right... so was he the one who beat you up like that?"

"No... but he might as well have been. It was a few guys from his football team. They kept calling me a... a and said that I ruined Hyun-... his reputation..." His mother reached out to wipe a stray tear off Jisung's face. "Mom, I don't want to go back there. Ever."

She seemed to think about his words for a while. "Alright... you can stay home tomorrow, and I'll see what I can do. But we're going to talk to your Principal about this. I can't let this slide. Just look at your face!” she fussed.

Jisung waved off. "Could be worse..." he muttered.

"True, but it's already bad enough as it is. Come on, I'll take a look at that and then I'll make you something to eat," she told him. He let her gently drag him out of bed. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he probably couldn't eat a bite if he tried.

For now, he was just thankful that she was here.

~

Jisung stayed home the following day. He received exactly two texts from Hyunjin. ('Good morning' and 'I'm sorry') before he decided to block him. This wasn't going to be fixed with a simple 'I'm sorry'. It couldn't be fixed at all in Jisung's opinion. His mother tried to coax him to eat something and leave his room, but he refused, not feeling up to any sort of human interaction.

At the end of the week, Jisung's mother had an appointment scheduled with Principal Shin. Jisung accompanied her there, even though he dreaded having to set foot in that school and then telling the whole story again. The principal announced that the four football players would be facing serious consequences and Jisung wished he could feel genuinely happy or relieved about it. But nothing about this situation made him happy.

"I'm really sorry this happened to you, Jisung," Principal Shin told him.

"Well, that's high school, I guess," he mumbled.

"I want my son to feel safe in his learning environment and I don't want to have to worry about sending him to school. Since he was outed, I don't feel comfortable with him going here anymore," Jisung's mother explained.

"I understand. The person responsible for taking and sharing this video will be found and is facing expulsion. Rest assured that I won't let this go unpunished!" Jisung's mother seemed satisfied to hear that.

"I will contact you to discuss the details of his transfer," she said, getting up. Jisung followed suit.

"Very well," Principal Shin replied. She regarded Jisung with a small smile. "I wish you the best at your new school," she said, extending her hand for him to shake.

"Thank you..." Jisung replied.

He was beyond glad when they finally made their way out of the Principal's office. He went to get his stuff from his locker while his mother waited for him in the car. On the way out, he saw Hyunjin standing in the hallway near the Biology classroom with some of his friends – luckily, none of the guys that had used Jisung as a punching bag.

Hyunjin and Jisung made eye contact for a second or two before Jisung averted his gaze, stubbornly staring ahead as he left this school behind for good.

If today was the last time he would ever see Hwang Hyunjin, he sure wouldn't mind.

At least that was what he tried to convince himself of.

 

FIVE YEARS LATER

 

"So, are you ready?" Chris asked over the phone. Jisung grinned and shouldered his bag before grabbing his coffee and making his way out of his apartment.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. I mean I'm starting in the middle of the school year, after all. But I'm up for the challenge," he replied.

"You'll do great. I've seen you work with kids, you're a natural," Chris assured him. Jisung got into his car, taking a sip of coffee before putting his cup in the cup holder.

"Let's hope so," he replied. "I gotta go. I'll call you later and tell you how it went," Jisung said.

"Don't forget. I know where you live," Chris joked.

Jisung chuckled and bid his goodbyes to his cousin before hanging up. He took a deep breath before he started his car and driving off. He was nervous, to say the least. Today was the first day of his first real job as a high school music teacher.

While spending his senior year in Australia, where he'd been staying with his cousin Chris' family, he'd re-discovered his passion for music. The older had come back to Seoul with him when Jisung had started college here and was now a producer under JYP Entertainment.

Jisung, however, had felt more drawn to teaching. Though that didn't mean he wasn't fascinated by the art of producing music.

He pulled up in front of the school and into the parking lot. He checked his appearance in his rear-view mirror, fixing his hair and adjusting his tie. He contemplated it for a second before he decided to get rid of it; he figured the tie looked too stuck-up for his first day.

Jisung took one more deep breath, emptying the last of his coffee before getting out of the car. A few students eyed him curiously when he passed them. He quickly made his way to the teacher's lounge where he would briefly meet his colleagues before heading to his first class of the day.

He grew more nervous with each step. His experience as a student at this very high school hadn't always been the best, so he hoped that he would do better as a teacher. Jisung entered the teacher's lounge, where he was promptly greeted by a short, excited-looking woman. She didn't look much older than him with her shoulder-length straight black hair and bangs.

"You must be Mr. Han! My name is Park Jimin, but you can call me Jamie. I teach English here," she introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you... uh, just Jisung is fine, though," he answered.

She grinned. "Just Jisung, it is then!"

They were the only ones here so far, so Jamie gave him a quick tour around the teacher's lounge. ("So, here's your seat and um... over there's the broken coffee machine. That's kind of it, already...")

"Are you nervous?" Jamie questioned.

"A little..." he admitted.

"Well, you can come to me, if you have any questions. The... riper teachers can be a little condescending towards the fresh meat sometimes. There's another new teacher around, so you're not alone. He started at the beginning of the year and teaches PE. I'm sure you're going to get along just-"

She was cut off by the door opening and a figure stumbling inside. "Jamie! Sorry, I'm so late. I wanted to welcome the new teacher!" he exclaimed. Jisung froze.

"Speak of the devil!" Jamie said, grinning. "Jisung, this is-"

"Hyunjin?" he exclaimed, staring at the PE teacher.

Hwang Hyunjin was staring right back at him, not any less surprised.

"You two know each other?" Jamie asked, seemingly oblivious to the sudden tension in the room.

"I-I have to get to my classroom!" Jisung said and stormed out of the teacher's lounge before they could question him. He was glad he'd arrived at school so early because now he had enough time for a proper breakdown in the next best bathroom.

It had been five years since he had last seen Hwang Hyunjin in the hallways of this school, but it hurt just like it had been yesterday. Jisung steadied himself on the sink, trying to calm down. He was glad he'd chosen not to wear the tie. He already felt suffocated enough.

Five years.

Five long years, in which he couldn't forget about Hyunjin, no matter on how many dates he went with different people. Nobody ever made him feel like Hyunjin used to. This could not be happening. The universe wasn't that cruel, right?

Apparently, it was.

The bathroom door opened and Hyunjin came in. Jisung felt like he was 17 again at the sight of his ex-boyfriend.

"Can we talk?" Hyunjin asked. Jisung stood up straight, trying to keep his composure by shooting Hyunjin an icy glare.

"I don't want to hear it. I don't know what kind of sick game the universe is playing right now, but I'm not gonna let you ruin this!" he snapped, trying his best to ignore how much Hyunjin resembled a kicked puppy at the sound of Jisung's harsh words.

"Please, Sung-"

"Do not call me that! As far as I'm concerned, I don't know you. Now get out of my way!" Jisung spat. He didn't wait for a reply and instead just pushed past Hyunjin, heading to the music classroom in order to wait for class to start.

~

Despite the fact that Jisung had just encountered his ex-boyfriend, formerly known as the love of his life, he was doing surprisingly well with his first class. The students seemed to like him, and he'd loved every second he'd spent inside that classroom. He could definitely get used to this! If only it weren't for the voice in his head repeatedly shouting: "Hyunjin is here! Hyunjin is here!"

He couldn't get him out of his mind. He looked all grown up now, his black hair was a bit longer than it used to be. Hyunjin was still the most beautiful human being Jisung had ever laid eyes upon. And then there was the way his name had sounded on Hyunjin's tongue earlier; his invitingly plump lips, the adorable mole underneath his eye. He still looked exactly like his Hyunjin...

All those things aside, though, Jisung still vividly remembered the video of the two of them kissing in the locker room. He remembered Hyunjin's cold voice, snapping at him. "Don't talk to me!" And most importantly, he remembered the punches and the awful words he'd had to endure from Hyunjin's football teammates.

No matter what he'd felt for Hyunjin in the past, that day still followed him all the way to his dreams sometimes.

He couldn't believe he had met Hyunjin again here of all places.

~

Lunch came around and Jisung considered just staying in the classroom. He hadn't packed any food, though, so he figured that he had to get out. He couldn't hide in there forever, anyway. He got up and made his way to the cafeteria, getting a tray and some food. He felt a little anxious about meeting more of his colleagues and any of them possibly catching on to the certain tension between him and Hyunjin.

"Jisung!" Jamie's voice ripped him out of his thoughts. He turned and found her waving him over from a table with four seats, two of which were occupied. He walked over there and sat down across from Jamie. Next to her sat a middle-aged man, regarding Jisung with a nod. Jamie introduced him as Mr. Lee. The man didn't seem very talkative, but Jamie talked enough for the both of them.

"So, how's your first day been going?" she asked.

Jisung smiled a little. "It was alright. The students all seemed nice," he answered.

"Don't get used to it," Mr. Lee mumbled. He had finished eating and excused himself.

"Don't mind him, he's a bit grumpy," Jamie said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to ask: You seemed a little off this morning after Hyunjin showed up. Are you alright?" Her concerned expression reminded him of his mother when she'd talked to him right after he and Hyunjin broke up.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to start preparing for class..." he half-lied.

"But you and Hyunjin know each other, right?" she inquired. Jisung nodded reluctantly.

"You could say that..."

"So, what's the tea? Were you rivals? Friends? Enemies?" Jamie questioned. Jisung couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"How about you get us some more pudding and I'll tell you what you want to know," he joked.

She jumped to her feet. "Deal!" She scurried away and Jisung quietly laughed to himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that she was going to become a great friend.

Suddenly, someone plopped into Jamie's seat across from him. It was Hyunjin. Jisung's face darkened. "Can you please hear me out?" the older male pleaded.

"No."

"Fine, then can we at least start over?" Hyunjin asked, sounding almost hopeful. Jisung stared back at him blankly for a few seconds. Was he for real right now?

"Start over?"

"You said you don't know me. So, hi... I'm Hwang Hyunjin. I've been teaching PE here since the beginning of the year and I'm gay," Hyunjin said with that beautiful smile that Jisung totally had not missed, at all! He even had the nerve to extend his hand for Jisung to shake.

"As lovely as it is to see that you're finally embracing your uality, I can't just sit here and pretend to be friendly with you after what you did to me!" Jisung announced before rising from his seat and storming out of the cafeteria without looking back.

~

"You're in my seat, sweetie," Jamie said, as she sat down next to a defeated Hyunjin. "Where's Jisung?" she questioned, looking around for him. The younger sighed.

"Gone. It was my fault, I'm sorry..." he told her. She placed a chocolate pudding on the table in front of him and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"I don't know what your story with him is, but I'm sure he'll come around," she said reassuringly. Hyunjin sighed.

"I'm not so sure about that. I ed up pretty bad..." he admitted.

Even five years later, there was not a single day Hyunjin hadn't thought about Han Jisung. The guilt and regret had followed him ever since the day he'd betrayed his ex-boyfriend. He kept telling himself that he should have known better. And he kept promising himself that he would somehow make it up to Jisung someday.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jamie asked him.

Hyunjin shook his head. "What's the point? He hates me and I can't even blame him..."

"If there's anything I can do..." the older girl said.

"Thanks, Jamie. But I don't think there is. I have to go..." he said defeatedly and got up, trotting out of the cafeteria.

~

Jisung was glad when his first day was finally over. He'd met the rest of his colleagues, most of which seemed friendly enough. He'd also seen Hyunjin once or twice, not missing the looks the older was giving him.

He had promised to tell Chris about his first day, so he gave him a call on his way home. Chris knew all about the Hyunjin thing, since he'd spent most of Jisung's senior year, trying to cheer the younger up and get him to stop moping.

"Jisungie, how did it go?" Chris' cheerful voice immediately sounded through the phone, after the second ring.

"Quite okay, I guess... but..." he trailed off.

"But what?" Chris questioned, sounding slightly alarmed.

"I saw Hyunjin..." Jisung said.

Chris spluttered. "What? Where?"

"At school... he's a PE teacher and, apparently, he only started a few months ago..." the younger explained.

"Did you talk to him?" Chris asked.

"I tried to avoid him, but he kept trying to talk to me. I don't know what to do," Jisung muttered the last bit.

"Well, maybe you should talk. I mean, you loved him once and-"

"And then he broke my heart. No thanks, I'd rather leave the country again!" Jisung interrupted his cousin. Chris sighed, but the younger spoke up again before he could retort anything. "Look, I have to go. I'm having dinner at my mom's tonight. Talk to you later..." he said.

"Okay, sure. See you, Sungie." They hung up and Jisung quickly drove home to change before heading to his mother's place.

~

"You've barely touched your food, Jisungie. Is everything okay?" Jisung's mother questioned, sounding concerned. "Did your first day not go well?" Her son shook his head.

"It was okay..." he answered. He decided to quickly fill his mother in on his run-in with Hyunjin. She seemed no less shocked than Chris had. Unfortunately, she also seemed to have the same piece of advice.

"I admit this situation isn't ideal, but you've wanted this job so badly. And who knows... maybe he's changed. You said that he was open about being gay, right?" she asked. Jisung just shrugged. He didn't really know what to make of all of this. His mother gave him a smile and put her hand on top of his.

"Jisungie, you know I support you 100% and I'm always on your side, but maybe you should give Hyunjin a chance," she suggested carefully. Jisung shook his head, mentally cursing himself for being on the verge of tears again. He'd thought he was done crying about Hyunjin, but apparently not.

"I can't, mom. The past five years, I've missed him so much. No matter who I've been with I couldn't forget him. But seeing him again reminded me of what happened so harshly. I don't know if I can ever forgive him for it..." he tried to explain himself. She nodded in understanding.

"You need to do what you think is right. But you should also consider the fact that people do indeed change..." He sniffled and wiped his eyes before he actually started shedding tears.

"We'll see," he muttered.

"How about some dessert to cheer you up?" his mother switched subjects, already getting up from her seat. And who was Jisung to turn down dessert?

~

Jisung could say against Hyunjin what he wanted, but the older surely didn't lack effort. Throughout Jisung's first two weeks, Hyunjin had made it his duty to sit with him and Jamie during lunch every time. Jamie mostly did the talking, with Hyunjin sometimes joining in and Jisung just letting out hums or grunts whenever they addressed him.

At least, his classes seemed to go great. He had three different classes to teach. His students seemed to enjoy his way of teaching and his first test was coming up already. He was almost excited to see how they would be doing.

One morning in the teacher's lounge, Jamie told him that she wouldn't be having lunch with him today since she had an appointment during lunch period.

"You okay?" he questioned, noticing her distressed expression. She waved off.

"It's nothing," she muttered, but he didn't quite believe her.

"Are you sure? You look really out of it," Jisung insisted.

Jamie sighed. "I'm getting a divorce and we're meeting with the lawyers today. It's just very stressful," she told him. Jisung was surprised to hear that. He hadn't even known that Jamie was married. Then again, he had only made the older woman's acquaintance two weeks ago. She was only a few years older than him, so it still came as a surprise to him that she was already in the middle of a failed marriage.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?" he questioned. Jamie gave him a half-smile.

"That's sweet of you, but no. It's just my first time seeing my husband after I moved out of the house, you know. I can handle it. It just... stresses me out," she said. Jisung nodded slowly.

"I think I understand how you feel..."

She eyed him knowingly. "Something tells me you're talking about Hyunjin..." she stated.

Jisung exhaled and nodded. "But we're not talking about me, right now-"

"No, please. Let's talk about you! I could use the distraction. It doesn't even have to be about Hyunjin..." she interrupted him. 

Jisung chuckled bitterly. "You really want to know what happened between us, though, don't you?" She gave him a sheepish look. Jisung sighed. He figured if it really distracted her from her stressful divorce, he might as well give in. "We dated in high school," he told her.

Her eyes widened before she fist-bumped the air. "I knew it!"

He laughed, glad to see her back to her old enthusiasm. "Yeah, well I guess it was a little obvious, huh," he mumbled.

"So, what happened? Did he cheat on you? Did you drift apart because of college?" Jamie asked.

Jisung shook his head. "Nothing like that. I'd rather not go into detail about it," he told her.

Jamie hummed in understanding. "Well, I hope whatever it is that made you so mad at him can be resolved. You two would look very cute together," she said.

"We did," a new voice suddenly spoke up. Jisung froze again, like every time Hyunjin just appeared out of nowhere. "We looked really cute together," he added.

"Too bad you had to go and ruin it all," Jisung spat, getting up, the familiar urge to flee from the man who had broken his heart taking over again. "Good luck later, Jamie. I have to go," he said, excusing himself before storming out of the teacher's lounge. He'd barely made it out into the hallway when Hyunjin's voice called out to him again.

"Jisung!" He wanted to keep walking, but he stopped, surprising himself. "I'm sorry about what happened in there..." Hyunjin said when the younger turned to face him. "I just... I miss you." Jisung shut his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath in order to compose himself. He wouldn't have thought that those words had such an impact over him. But he couldn't let himself be swayed with sweet words and apologetic looks.

"I've had it, Hyunjin! I already told you how I felt. Why can't you respect that? We're not teenagers anymore. I ing meant it when I said that I never wanted to see you again!" Hyunjin looked hurt, like he too, vividly remembered those words coming from Jisung's mouth that day in his room.

"W-we work together, though," he stammered. Jisung sighed.

"You're right. We do work together. But unless it's work-related, I don't want to speak to you, I don't want to see you and I don't want to hear from you, are we clear? Now, excuse me, I have a class to teach," he snapped before turning on his heel and storming off.

Jisung couldn't help but feel bad after his outburst. Hyunjin had looked genuinely hurt. Despite everything that had happened between them, it still bugged him to see Hyunjin hurt. He didn't understand. Why wasn't he indifferent to it? Why did a small part of his brain still want to see Hyunjin smile or hear him laugh? And why did that small part of his brain also want to be the cause for his smile?

"Snap out of it!" he hissed at himself as he entered the music room. He couldn't be weak for Hyunjin now. He needed to stand his ground in order to protect his heart.

~

For the following days after Jisung's outburst, Hyunjin stayed as far away from him as possible. He didn't even try to make eye contact in the teacher's lounge. Jamie caught on to the increased tension between them but chose not to say anything. Besides, she was too busy with the weight of her divorce anyway.

Jisung should be relieved. Now, maybe, he could fully focus on his job, which he really loved. But for some reason, he found himself scanning the cafeteria, looking for Hyunjin during lunch period. At home, he caught himself thinking about the brighter days with Hyunjin when they had been young and in love. What scared him the most, though was when he actually started contemplating approaching Hyunjin to apologize for what he'd said.

To this day, he still wondered who had even taken that video and then viciously spread it across the school. Who hated them enough to do that? Was it out of spite or revenge or just purely for fun?

He also couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if that video had never spread and Hyunjin never would have lied. Would they maybe even still be together? Or would something else have torn them apart?

As much as he hated admitting it, he still missed Hyunjin. Why else would he still be thinking about all of it. He should have moved on by now, found himself a new boyfriend who could make him happy. But he didn't. He was still hung up on Hwang Hyunjin. And now he was even back in his life.

That had to mean something... right?

Jisung sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He looked at the clock on the wall and sat up in his bed, scrambling to his feet rather ungracefully. He still had to get a few things from the store, so he should probably get going before it got too late. He had to go to work tomorrow, after all.

He put on some shoes and stepped outside. It wasn't until he'd reached his car when he realized that he'd forgotten to put on a jacket. He sighed again, realizing that his car keys were inside his jacket. Oh well, he thought, the store wasn't that far, he might as well just walk there.

The walk to the store was only about 15 minutes. He grabbed a cart and started making his way through the aisles. He didn't need a lot of things, just some toiletries, cereal, juice and a few packs of instant ramen. Jisung figured, he should also get something healthier, like fruit or something. He could already hear his mother scolding him about eating well. He smiled to himself at the thought as he headed for the fruit aisle to grab some apples and strawberries.

Figuring he had everything he needed, he decided to head for the checkout counter. Just as he exited the aisle his cart collided with another one. Jisung flinched at the loud crash that sounded through the fairly quiet supermarket. He looked up to apologize to whomever he had collided with and gasped.

"H-Hyunjin..." he stammered. Hyunjin didn't look any less surprised than Jisung did. He looked down at his cart, obviously avoiding Jisung's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't watch where I was going," Hyunjin mumbled, quickly making his way past Jisung without really looking at him. Jisung felt his heart clench together again.

He called out to Hyunjin before he could stop himself. "Wait."

Hyunjin stopped and turned to face him. "It was my fault..." Jisung said. Hyunjin waved off.

"Just forget about it," he replied, ready to continue his way to the checkout counter.

"D-do you maybe... want to get coffee?" Jisung questioned, mentally slapping himself for stuttering.

Hyunjin looked at him, confusion written all over his face. "Me? With... with you?" he asked. Jisung nodded, blushing at his own awkwardness. Hyunjin smiled. "I'd love that," he told the younger. Jisung found himself smiling as well.

They paid for their respective groceries before making their way onto the parking lot since Hyunjin had brought his car. "Put yours in, too. I'll take you home afterwards," the older said. Jisung hesitated for a few seconds. Should he really do this? He could still say he had changed his mind and just make his way home. Hyunjin's pretty smile came back into his memory and he put his grocery bag in the trunk before getting in on the passenger's side of the older's car. He tried not to blush at the way Hyunjin opened and shut the car door for him.

They headed to a close by café where Hyunjin paid for both their orders, despite Jisung's protests.

"So..." the younger started once they were seated at one of the tables. "PE, huh..." It wasn't the best conversation starter, but it was better than exchanging awkward glances.

"Yeah... I thought about playing football professionally but... that kind of didn't work out", Hyunjin told him. Jisung tilted his head in question. In high school, Hyunjin had been the best player, hands down. Everyone had been convinced that he would make it big one day.

"Why not?" he asked. Hyunjin smiled sadly.

"Knee injury. It was during practice... it all happened so fast I don't even remember how exactly I did it," he explained. Jisung made a face.

"It must have been hard for you to give up football. I mean you loved it," he replied. Hyunjin shrugged.

"I managed. Being a PE teacher may not have been my original aspiration, but I like my job," the older said. "How come you became a music teacher, though? I always thought you were going to be this great journalist", Hyunjin continued.

"After junior year I lost all interest in journalism. I moved in with my cousin Chris for my senior year and he showed me all his music equipment and I just loved making music with him. I spent a summer as a supervisor in a music camp for kids age 13-17 and I thought 'that's what I want to do for a living'. Work with kids and music..." Jisung trailed off, noticing that he'd started to ramble. "Sorry..." he muttered.

Hyunjin smiled. "Don't be. I love listening to you. I always have," he said. Jisung blushed. "I'm sorry...that was probably too forward," Hyunjin apologized. The younger didn't answer. It was forward, but it made his heart flutter in a way he hadn't experienced in years.

"Maybe I should go home..." Jisung said, slowly rising from his chair. Hyunjin followed suit.

"I'll drive you."

"It's not far. Let me just get my stuff from your trunk and I'll walk," the younger told him. Hyunjin wasn't having it, though.

"It's getting late. You shouldn't walk around on your own at this hour. If you insist on walking, at least, let me come along," he said.

Jisung half-smiled. "Fine... you can walk me," he gave in, causing Hyunjin's face to light up a little bit. He led Jisung back to his car and got his groceries out of the car for him.

"Lead the way," he said. Jisung held out his arms, as a sign for Hyunjin to hand over the groceries, but the older just grinned and began walking.

"You don't have to do that," Jisung pointed out.

"I know," was all Hyunjin said. The younger gave in, figuring that he couldn't get Hyunjin to hand over the groceries unless he snatched them from his arms and made a run for it. He had always been like that. Eager to help Jisung. Doing things for him that he could technically do on his own. It was nice to have someone look out for him sometimes.

They walked next to each other in silence for a while. Jisung bit his tongue, contemplating whether he should strike up that conversation. On one hand, he wasn't sure if he was ready to hear it, yet. On the other hand, he really wanted to hear Hyunjin's explanation. He took a deep breath.

"Why did you do it?" he blurted before he could change his mind. Hyunjin gave him a side-look. He seemed to have caught on to what Jisung was talking about.

"I was scared," he answered. Jisung raised his eyebrow. "This all happened so suddenly, and the guys drove me into a corner. I know it was wrong... and I never meant for you to get hurt in any way." Jisung lowered his head.

"Then why didn't you set the record straight once you'd seen that I got hurt?" It took a few seconds for Hyunjin to answer.

"I was selfish... I regretted not telling the truth but once the lie had come out, I was too scared and too selfish to set it straight. And you transferred shortly after-"

"So it was really convenient for you," Jisung figured.

Hyunjin nodded. "I'm really sorry about all of it, Jisung," he said.

"I don't want your apologies, Hyunjin. I've had enough of them..."

They reached Jisung's apartment building. Hyunjin set the grocery bag down next to the entrance, before facing the younger. "Then what do you want? What can I do?" he questioned, sounding almost desperate. Jisung exhaled.

"I don't know, Hyunjin. I really don't know," he answered.

Jisung thought about just picking up his groceries and leaving it at that. He knew what he needed to know, and he could continue to try getting over Hyunjin now. But for some reason, it didn't seem right to leave. He needed to finish this conversation and get everything off his chest. 

"I just..." he trailed off. "It hurt so ing much. I thought you loved me." Hyunjin took a step forward, seemingly tempted to take Jisung's hands in his, like he used to whenever Jisung was upset about something, knowing that it would comfort him. The younger almost wished he'd actually do it.

"I did! I do! But we were kids. I was driven into a corner by a whole football team. I know I should have handled it differently. There's no excuse for how I handled it, really. It was wrong of me... but when you said you stopped loving me I just... gave up, I guess. I thought it would blow over. I was stupid," Hyunjin explained.

"Damn right, you were. You were my stupid high school boyfriend, but I loved you so much. I thought I could only ever feel this way about someone once in my life. And I was right. I could never forget your stupid face or your stupid laugh and the way you would pretend not to be afraid when we watched scary movies because you wanted to protect me, the way your eyes would light up when you scored a goal, how passionate you were about sports... and the way you would look at me like I meant everything to you. I got through school days alright knowing that I'd get to see you at the end of the day, that we would hang out at your place and play video games and eat ice cream until our stomachs ached. I loved every single minute of every single day I spent with you. And one damn video... ruined everything. You should have stood by me. We could have overcome this. But you were a coward."

Jisung hadn't realized that he'd started crying until Hyunjin carefully reached out with both hands to wipe away the tears from under his eyes. "I know. And I really don't deserve you... but even after all this time I still love you. Even if you don't love me anymore," the older told him. Jisung sniffled.

"That's the thing. I do still love you. Even after all the ing pain you caused me. I never stopped loving you... and I hate you so much for that," Jisung told him, hating how choked up his voice sounded. Hyunjin stared at him, like he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Hell, Jisung couldn't believe he'd even said it.

He sniffled again and took a shaky breath. "I think... I'm ready to stop holding your mistakes against you. I want to forgive you, but I can't do it right away," Jisung told him.

"Let me make it up to you, please," Hyunjin said, this time really taking the younger's hands in his. A few seconds passed, before Jisung nodded.

"Let's just... take it slow. Friends?" he offered. Hyunjin smiled.

"Friends."

Jisung returned the smile. "Alright, then..." he said. "I'll just... go upstairs then," he added. Hyunjin nodded. Jisung turned around when he thought about something. "Wait... who took that video anyway?" Hyunjin seemed to think about it for a second.

"Ah, I think her name was Lee Dasom. She was expelled shortly after you left. Don't know why she did it, though," he answered.

Jisung's eyes widened. Lee Dasom. He remembered that name. She was the girl that confessed to him on the day the video was taken. "Oh my god... maybe this is all my fault, after all..." he mumbled to himself, burying his face in his hands. Hyunjin made a confused noise.

"What are you talking about?"

Jisung looked at him from between his fingers. "She confessed to me that day and got really angry when I told her that I was already seeing someone. She must have followed me to the locker room that day... oh my god..." he trailed off. Hyunjin put his hands on his shoulders and got on eye-level with him.

"You couldn't possibly have known about this, Sung," he stated. Jisung shook his head frantically.

"No, don't be cool about this! You have to be mad at me! I spent so much time trying to hate you when I might have been the reason everything went to in the first place! You should hate me!" he exclaimed. Hyunjin smiled at him and caressed his cheek. Jisung tried his best not to lean into the touch (and failed).

"And risk losing you again? I could never hate you, Han Jisung." Needless to say, Jisung blushed furiously. "Let's just try to put this behind us, shall we?" Hyunjin suggested. The younger just nodded, not trusting himself to say something when Hyunjin was this close to him.

"Good night..." the older said with a small smile.

"Good night," Jisung replied and turned around to quickly head upstairs. He was halfway through the door when Hyunjin called out to him once more.

"Jisungie", he said. The younger tried to ignore the way his heart reacted to the nickname or how softly Hyunjin had said it.

"Yeah?" he asked, facing him again.

Hyunjin pointed at the bag of groceries that still stood next to the entrance where he'd put them earlier. "Don't forget these," he said, sounding amused. Jisung mentally slapped himself.

"O-oh... right, thanks," he stammered, quickly picking up the bag and making his way upstairs to his apartment.

Inside, he leaned against his front door for a good minute, trying to process everything. He never would have imagined to just talk things out with Hyunjin like that. But he couldn't deny that he was glad he had. Sure, Hyunjin had broken his heart and hurt him like crazy, but in the past, he had also made him feel like the most special person in the universe.

He missed that feeling. He missed Hyunjin.

~

Ever since that evening, Hyunjin and Jisung were much less tense around one another. Jisung engaged in conversations with him and Jamie during lunch and they even spent time without her in the teacher's lounge sometimes. It was weird to look at Hyunjin as a friend, but Jisung was comfortable with the pace of things.

"Do you want to go grab a drink after class?" Hyunjin asked him when he caught up with Jisung in the hallways, as they younger made his way to the music room.

"Sure, I'll meet you in the parking lot?" Jisung suggested. Hyunjin grinned and nodded.

They went out for drinks, had dinner at each other's places and even exchanged numbers again. If it wasn't for Jamie constantly wagging their eyebrows at them and the excited whispers of some students who called them "Hyunsung" claiming that they were "so cute", he would have almost believed that he and Hyunjin could be just friends.

~

"Did you know the students ship us?" Hyunjin questioned one evening when they had a beer together at Jisung's place. The TV was running but they barely paid attention to it.

"I heard some whispers," the younger replied with a slight chuckle before taking a sip from his beer. He looked at Hyunjin. "Do you mind it?"

"No, I don't. I'm way past minding what a bunch of kids have to say about me. Do you?" Hyunjin returned the question.

Jisung smiled faintly. "No..." he said. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Hyunjin nodded, emptying his beer with a last swig. "How did you come out?"

Hyunjin hummed in thought, before chuckling at the memory. "It was graduation day and my so-called friends had made a few homophobic jokes throughout the day and it pissed me off so much. I gave a speech that day at graduation and I just started it off with 'Hi, my name is Hwang Hyunjin and I'm gay'. The silence that followed was almost funny. I was shaking internally but once I'd said it out loud, I was like... this is okay because this is who I am. My parents were pretty okay with it, but I haven't spoken to any of my 'friends' since that day. They were avoiding me like the plague at the celebration, except for Changbin since he kind of figured it out somewhere along the way. But it was for the best. I just found myself some real friends. I just wish I'd woken up sooner," Hyunjin told him.

Jisung leaned back into the couch. "That was really brave of you," he noted. "When I got to Australia, it took me forever to even tell my aunt and uncle and Chris. For months, I didn't tell anyone at school because I was scared that I'd be met with the same reactions," he explained.

"So, I take it you didn't get yourself a hot Australian boyfriend while you were there?" Hyunjin joked.

Jisung grinned, also emptying his beer. "Now, I didn't say that," he played along, making the older chuckle. "I made a few friends, whom I started trusting enough to tell them. I even went on a date or two. But I mainly focused on finishing high school and my newfound love for music," he told Hyunjin. Jisung stretched on the couch and yawned. Hyunjin smiled fondly.

"I should get home, it's late," he said, already getting up. Jisung sat up straight, looking at him.

"O-or...you could stay," he blurted out. Hyunjin stopped in his tracks to give the younger a surprised look. "I-I mean...it's late and you drank..." Jisung began to explain himself.

Hyunjin sat back down, a little closer to Jisung this time. "Do you want me to stay?" he asked. Did he? They were friends, right? There was nothing special about having a friend sleep over, right?

"Yeah..."

"Then I'll stay. To be honest, your couch does seem more comfortable than my bed," Hyunjin said with a small chuckle. Jisung blushed and quickly got up to head to his bedroom and look through his closet for a set of extra blankets and some clothes he could lend the older for the night. He grabbed a shirt which he knew was a little big on him, so it would fit Hyunjin's larger frame, and a pair of black sweatpants.

"You can change in the bathroom," he told the older as he joined him back in the living room. Hyunjin took the clothes with a grateful smile and headed to the bathroom to change there. Jisung went back to his room to also change into more comfortable clothes. An old, washed-out t-shirt and gray sweats. A knock on the door made him jump a little. "Come in," Jisung said, unable to keep his cheeks from heating up, though he didn't really know why.

Hyunjin peeked inside. "I just wanted to say good night... and thanks for letting me stay," he said. Jisung waved off, trying to seem more casual than he actually felt. The older's eyes fell onto his shirt and his eyes lit up. "You still have that?" he asked, stepping closer. Jisung looked down at his own shirt as well.

He remembered it to be Hyunjin's favorite shirt back when they were still dating. One time, Hyunjin had to go to a football camp for a week and he'd given the shirt to Jisung to "remember him". Jisung had laughed and told him that it was just for a week and that he wouldn't forget about him in such a short period of time. However, Hyunjin had insisted, telling him that the shirt could make up for the cuddles he'd miss out on this week.

Jisung had taken it with a giddy smile and a racing heart and he'd worn it almost the entire week Hyunjin was gone. When he got back, he wanted to give it back to his rightful owner, but Hyunjin told him to keep it. "It looks way better on you anyway," the older had said. He had gotten so used to wearing the shirt that he hadn't even wasted a single thought on throwing it out after he and Hyunjin had broken up.

He looked at the older, a small smile playing on his lips. "Of course," he replied softly.

Hyunjin returned the smile. "It still looks good on you," he told Jisung, who only blushed again. "Good night.”

"Good night..."

The older left the room and Jisung let himself fall on his bed, putting a hand over his heart, trying to calm it down.

~

Jisung woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. He stretched in his bed and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before getting up and waddling out of the room. His kitchen was only separated from the living room by a counter, so when he stepped out of his room, he was greeted by the sight of Hyunjin's back facing him as he cooked breakfast.

It was so incredibly domestic, that Jisung couldn't help but wonder if this was what life with Hyunjin would have looked like if they had stayed together. Images of him walking up to Hyunjin in the kitchen and wrapping his arms around his waist while resting his chin on his shoulder popped up in his head.

He blushed (again) and furiously shook his head to get rid of the image. It didn't work. He stepped a little further into the living room, getting Hyunjin's attention.

"Oh, hi... I hope it's okay that I made breakfast," he greeted the younger.

"Yeah, that's fine," Jisung replied, taking a seat on the couch, and leaning over the headrest to just watch Hyunjin roam around in the kitchen. "Do you need any help?" he questioned.

Hyunjin chuckled. "No, I'm fine. Besides, you seem pretty comfortable over there," he teased. Jisung just smiled and continued watching the older. He couldn't shake the feeling that Hyunjin just belonged here. As much as he wanted to be stubborn and keep telling himself that they could be just friends in the long run, the urge to hug and kiss Hyunjin grew stronger every day.

"Did you sleep alright?" he asked in an attempt to at least push his thoughts to the back of his head. Hyunjin was currently putting the eggs and bacon on two plates before checking Jisung's fridge for orange juice. The younger smiled at the way Hyunjin remembered his favorite breakfast.

"I did. Your couch is really comfy," the older finally replied. He carried a glass of orange juice over to him along with his plate before getting his own and joining Jisung on the couch.

"Thank you for the food," Jisung said, before they started eating. "Damn, you came a long way from burning the eggs, Hwang, I gotta say..." he stated.

Hyunjin laughed. "Well, I learned how to cook in college, so my mother wouldn't worry about me starving to death or only eating ramen," he explained. Jisung grinned. He could relate to that all too well.

"Does that mean you can do more than just bacon and eggs?"

Hyunjin smirked at him. "Why don't you find out? If you want, you could come over tonight and I could cook for you," he suggested. Jisung didn't miss how hopeful he sounded, despite the confident expression.

"Sounds like a date to me," the younger teased.

"I-I mean... it can be... if you want it to be..." Hyunjin stammered as his cheeks tinted a faint pink.

Jisung was just about to answer when his phone rang. He put his now empty plate on the coffee table and picked up his phone from where it lay next to him. "Mom?"

"Morning Jisungie, I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight. Around 8 or so. I haven't seen you since you started your job," his mother said on the other side of the line.

He looked at Hyunjin. "I was going to have dinner at Hyunjin's tonight..." he told her, keeping eye-contact. The older smiled at him.

"Oh, I mean... you can bring him if you want," his mother replied, audibly surprised by her son's words.

"I'll ask him and call you back, okay?" Jisung told her.

"Sure, sweetheart... so, are you two..." she trailed off.

"Bye, Mom," he quickly stepped in and hung up, but he still heard her laugh at his reaction. "She's invited us over for dinner tonight... if you want, I can tell her-"

"No! I mean... I can cook for you any time," Hyunjin told him.

Jisung smiled. "Any time?" he asked, enjoying the flustered expression on the older's face. It was nice to get a break from being the flustered one all the time.

"So, tonight... do you want to come to my mom's place with me?" Jisung questioned. Hyunjin smiled brightly at him.

"I'd love to," he answered. He took a look at his own phone. "But for now, I should probably get home," he added. Jisung nodded, ignoring the part of him that wanted Hyunjin to stick around longer.

Hyunjin went to change back into his own clothes and sooner than Jisung wanted, he was seeing him off at the door.

"I'll pick you up tonight at 7:30?" Hyunjin grinned and nodded.

"I'm looking forward to it," he told Jisung. "Thanks again for letting me stay over."

"Any time," Jisung replied with a smile.

~

"There you are, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever," Jisung's mother greeted him as she pulled him into a hug several hours later after he and Hyunjin had rung the doorbell.

"It's only been a few weeks, mom," Jisung informed her with a little laugh.

"Well, you barely call, so it seemed like a lot longer... and you must be Hyunjin," she addressed the other male.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Han," he greeted her politely.

"It's so nice to meet you, too, sweetie. Come on in. Dinner's ready," she chirped. The two of them followed her into the dining room, where the food was already served. "You know, I rarely get to meet the people Jisungie dates, but I guess you're special," Mrs. Han continued.

Jisung spluttered. They hadn't even been here for five minutes and his mother had already embarrassed him. "Mom, I told you it's not like that! We're just-"

"Friends, I know, I know. I'm just going to pretend like I believe that," she waved off. "Let's eat, shall we."

Luckily, Mrs. Han refrained from making any more embarrassing comments during dinner and just settled for small talk, asking Hyunjin about his job, his family and all that stuff. They seemed to get along pretty well, Jisung noted. In fact, she treated Hyunjin just like the son-in-law she'd always wanted – even to the point where she started to tell embarrassing stories.

"When Jisungie was a baby-"

"No! No baby stories, mom!" Jisung quickly interfered before she could properly embarrass him. Hyunjin cooed.

"Aw, but I'd love to hear all of them," he said.

Mrs. Han grinned. "He used to love running around the garden in nothing but his superman underwear and pretend to save the world," she told Hyunjin.

Jisung buried his face in his hands. "Oh my god..." he muttered as Hyunjin laughed.

"I would've loved to see that," he teased. Jisung shot him a fake glare.

"I'm sure I still have pictures!" Mrs. Han exclaimed, already getting up and ignoring Jisung's protest of "we really don't need to see pictures!"

Hyunjin cooed again and put an arm around his shoulders. "Don't be mad. It's her duty to embarrass you as much as possible," he said. Jisung pouted but chose not to argue. His mother came back with a shoe box full of pictures in her hand. Hyunjin removed his arm from around Jisung's shoulders and scooted over to Mrs. Han to look at the photos with her. Jisung's pout only intensified at the loss of Hyunjin's warmth.

After dinner, Hyunjin helped Jisung's mom clear the table and Jisung was once again thrown into domestic thoughts. His mother really seemed to adore Hyunjin, so he was already prepared to get an earful from her later.

"Would you kids like some tea?" Mrs. Han questioned. Jisung checked the time. It was later than he'd expected.

"Sorry, I have an 8am test tomorrow... I should really get home," he said, throwing a glance at Hyunjin, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's getting pretty late."

Mrs. Han smiled. "Next time, then!" she said cheerfully.

"Um, can I use your bathroom before we go?" Hyunjin questioned shyly.

"Of course, sweetheart. Down the hall, the last door on the left!" Jisung's mother instructed him. Hyunjin bowed and excused himself. She faced Jisung, an excited expression on her face and he already knew what was coming next. "He's amazing and he's completely in love with you!" she exclaimed.

Jisung threw an alarmed glance in the direction of the door Hyunjin had just disappeared through. "Mom, please! He might hear us!" he whispered. She giggled.

"I'm just stating the obvious."

"I know..." Jisung mumbled.

Her eyes widened dramatically. "You know? And you still let the poor boy dangle in the air?" she questioned.

Jisung blushed. "We're taking things slow. I needed some time," he explained.

"But you forgave him, right?" Mrs. Han asked. Her son nodded.

"I just don't want to rush anything." She patted his cheek.

"I just want you to be happy, sweetheart. And from what I've seen today, Hyunjin makes you very happy."

Jisung thought about it. He did feel a lot happier when Hyunjin was around. He felt like a teenager again. Of course, he was aware of how Hyunjin still looked at him the same way he had all those years ago; like Jisung meant everything to him. As much as he wanted to make a move, he was still reluctant.

Hyunjin came back before Jisung could say anything else. "Are you ready to go?" Jisung questioned. Hyunjin smiled and nodded.

"It was really nice to meet you, Mrs. Han", he told Jisung's mother.

"Same here, Hyunjin. You're welcome to join us for dinner again," she replied with a pointed look in Jisung's direction.

"Thank you," Hyunjin replied before the two of them bid their goodbyes to her and left.

~

"You seem a lot closer than before," Jamie stated the next day. Jisung looked up, giving her a confused look.

"What?" he questioned.

"You and Hyunjin," she clarified, wagging her eyebrows for good measure. "Considering you still hated him a few weeks ago..."

"I never hated him. I was... just hurt", Jisung clarified. He had tried to hate Hyunjin, but he just couldn't really get that far.

"Whatever. You two grew super close, super fast," Jamie observed. Jisung rolled his eyes, though he wasn't actually annoyed.

"Fine, he stayed over the other night," he admitted. Her eyes widened and she gasped before looking around secretively.

"Damn, son... I didn't think you'd reached that stage already," she said with a smirk.

"Stop looking at me like that! Nothing happened, he slept on the couch!" Jisung clarified. Jamie actually looked disappointed to hear that. "Why are you so intent on getting us together?" Jisung asked her.

She grinned, her disappointed expression vanishing in a flash. "You're just so cute together. Everyone and their mom can see that you're totally head over heels for him and it's safe to say that he feels the same," Jamie explained.

It really seemed like everyone had caught on. First his mother, now Jamie, even some of the students. Everyone seemed to be rooting for them. Maybe he should finally get over himself and make a move.

~

Jisung had decided to stay back at school and grade the test his class had taken this morning. The sooner he got that out of the way the better. His phone vibrated on his desk, lighting up with a notification. Jisung picked it up and checked it. It was a text from Hyunjin, asking him if he was home. He told him that he was still at school, working.

A smile spread on his face when Hyunjin texted back, telling him that he probably needed a break and that he'd stop by with some Chinese takeout. Who was Jisung to say no to such a tempting offer?

He tried to get some more work done before Hyunjin arrived, but he couldn't focus, too giddy and excited at the thought of seeing him. They'd only seen each other a few hours ago, but Jisung still couldn't wait. It was almost like back when they were in high school. They would see each other in the hallways or casually talk to one another, sometimes they'd sneak off to a more private area but Jisung would still end up missing him throughout the rest of the day. Until they would meet up at Hyunjin's place and do something, just the two of them.

A knock on the door made Jisung startle out of his thoughts. Hyunjin was leaning in the doorway, grinning at him. "What's got you smiling like that?" he questioned, causing the younger to blush.

"I was just thinking about the past," Jisung said, getting up from his seat to pull one of his students' chairs up to the desk for Hyunjin to sit in.

"I got you your favorite," Hyunjin pointed out, placing the bags on the desk.

Jisung clutched a hand over his chest. "You're a life-saver!" he exaggerated. Hyunjin chuckled and sat down next to him, passing Jisung his food and a set of chopsticks.

"So, what exactly were you thinking about? You know, from the past," he spoke up.

"I was thinking about us, to be honest..." Jisung answered. Hyunjin looked surprised for a second before smiling again.

"Oh," was all he said. They looked at each other for a while, neither of them saying a word. Then, before Jisung could question himself or think about what he was doing he leaned in and pressed his lips to Hyunjin's.

It was short and chaste, but it was enough to leave Jisung's lips tingling. Hyunjin stared back at him, his eyes wide and for a scary second Jisung thought he'd messed up but then the older cupped his cheek and pulled him in for another kiss, this one longer than the first.

Jisung had missed the feeling of Hyunjin's soft lips on his, the way he'd gently caress his cheek or his back, depending on where his hands were, the soft gasps he let out whenever Jisung slightly tugged on his hair. He had missed Hyunjin's warmth and the fluttery feeling that spread in his chest whenever they kissed.

"What about taking it slow?" Hyunjin breathed out after pulling back.

"To hell with that," Jisung replied, moving to straddle the older's hips and bring their lips together once more. Hyunjin sighed into the kiss, his hands finding a rest on the small of Jisung's back. It all felt so right, like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.

They didn't know how long they stayed like this, wrapped up in each other, making up for lost time, but eventually Hyunjin pulled back, his eyes sparkling. "I'm so in love with you, you know that?" he blurted. Jisung smiled at him, running a gentle hand through the older's hair.

"I'm in love with you, too," he said.

Hyunjin pulled him impossibly closer, wrapping his arms around Jisung's waist while the younger rested his head on Hyunjin's shoulder, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "I'll never let you go again," the older mumbled. Jisung chuckled but his heart did a big leap inside his chest at the words.

"You'd better not."