A.N. I really need to stop procrastinating and start studying but it is pride month so uwu.

warning : unedited mess

Anyone who knew Sungjong could tell that he had a bright personality. Sungjong at any day was like a ray of sunshine. His bright smile could light up the whole city of Seoul.

Sungyeol had once described Sungjong as the essence of ‘Pride’. He was bright, festive, a riot really and unapologetically gay.

Myungsoo had fallen in love at first sight but not because Sungjong was literally the most beautiful human specimen he had ever seen but because his personality had shone brightly in each of his acts. Sungyeol and Myungsoo were out on the Saturday just for some fun but the café they were in was suddenly flooded with pride goers.

“Wait, isn’t that Sungjongie?” Sungyeol had asked excitedly. He had almost jumped out of his seat to take a look. “Oh, it’s my partner from the Dance class” and then,” Yah Lee Sungjong” he called out the name of the guy loudly.

When Myungsoo turned around to look at the person, his breathe was stolen. Even among the brightly dressed Pride-goers, Sungjong shined the most. He was draped in a pink outfit, in fact, except for the yellow streaks in his pink feathers hat all Myungsoo could make out on the man was pink. Including his lips that were stretched into a blinding smile directed at Sungyeol.

Sungjong made his way towards their table once he had paid the cashier and greeted them with a bright and loud ‘Happy Pride’. Everyone in the crowd that had entered with him seemed to know him and had laughed at the display of his excitement.

“What are you doing here, hyung?” Sungjong asked Sungyeol after giving him a tight hug. It would be an understatement to say that he seemed to be in a really good mood. Without waiting for Sungyeol’s answer, the guy pulled a chair from another table and sat down between Myungsoo and Sungyeol, clearly exhausted after having been outside in the summer the whole day, although his bright smile would never belie this. At this distance, Myungsoo could smell Sungjong’s perfume clearly. He had a faint citrusy fragrance that, Myungsoo thought, he could really get used to. Due to their proximity Myungsoo’s body thrummed with a strange sort of nervous excitement and he had never experienced this before in the 20 years of his life.

“Just passing by! What a great coincidence that I caught you in your element though” Sungyeol answered with a laugh, and the way Sungjong brought his hand shyly to his face to hide his laugh in response made Myungsoo’s heart flutter wildly. By the looks of it Myungsoo was in deep .

Sungyeol and Myungsoo had grown up together as brothers and as such had stopped thanking each other for any favors but Myungsoo would forever be indebted to Sungyeol for introducing him to Lee Sungjong amidst the brightly lit café in Itaewon on the first day of June.

~o0o~

“And if I were to describe Myungsoo, I would call him a damp, dark closet”.

Myungsoo often wanted to ignore the second part of Sungyeol’s unwanted monologue. Mostly because it was so very on the nose and almost got Sungyeol a thrashing from him but also because it was so very true.

Myungsoo was a miser when it came to words, especially when he was not close to someone. Sungjong had confided in him that for at least a month he had thought Myungsoo was a vain, spoiled punk who thought talking to people like him was a waste of his precious time. Truth was, Myungsoo was just awkward in every way possible. He had grown up in a very conservative household with all sorts of restrictions, his wild hair had also earned him some bullying at school and by natural disposition he also didn’t really care about much social interaction. Sungyeol was almost like his brother and that had saved him from solitude through his childhood but his in general disposition was still a bit awkward.

All of this changed once he got close to the other person. However, one thing that hadn’t changed till he was 21 was that he was still afraid of his uality.

By now he had no doubt that he was bi. The past year spent with Sungjong had erased all doubts in that department. Sungjong may be younger than him by a year but he was very good at making Myungsoo lose his mind with his devious ways and Myungsoo may have been raised in a strict Christian household but he was still an educated man who could admit to himself that he was definitely not straight.

But he was also not ready to admit that to the world.

When Sungjong and him had started ‘dating’, he had informed the other of not being out and Sungjong had said he understood.

“Everyone has a different timeline, hyung”, Sungjong had said comfortingly, his beautiful fingers entwined with Myungsoo’s, “I will wait for you to be ready”. Even though Myungsoo was older than Sungjong by a year, it seemed like between them Sungjong was always wiser. Myungsoo had kissed Sungjong fiercely at his promise and that had also been the day he had first slept with a man.

And Sungjong had kept his promise. He had waited. All their dates were confined to Myungsoo’s small apartment or Sungjong’s dorm. Any outings outside were in the company of Myungsoo’s small circle of friends, since Sungjong’s would be too obvious. Sungjong had compromised in every way possible. He didn’t hang out with his friends anymore, he didn’t go out to parties anymore, he had even cut down on all the activities he did for the lgbt awareness movement.

He had even stopped going to the Pride.

Myungsoo appreciated it. He really did and there hadn’t been a moment when he had felt insecure about their relationship. However, the same was clearly not true for Sungjong.

When days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and months into years with no sign of Myungsoo being ready, it seemed to dampen Sungjong’s spirits. He was not the same confident person Myungsoo had met more than 2 years ago. In just a couple of years, Sungjong had become more reserved and quieter. His smile had lost some of its brightness, even his posture had become less confident. He stuttered more often now and saved his words. More than once Myungsoo had found him immersed in cliché tragedies involving two male leads romantically involved with each other.

It was clear that Sungjong was doubting that he would get his happy ending and Myungsoo was the only person responsible for that.

It had been an extremely hard decision to take but he was encouraged with the glares from Howon, Sungjong’s brother, and their friends. Clearly all of them had caught on what Myungsoo had also known. Myungsoo was changing Sungjong for the worse and all of them, including Myungs