- A few months later -

‘’ Jjong, relax, ‘’ Jinki said for the billionth time as he watched the blonde pace back and forth before him.

That was effective enough to make him stop in his tracks, but not to relax him.

‘’ Easy for you to say Mr. I got accepted into the Seoul Institute of the Arts, ‘’ the blonde spat as he shot the other a deadly stare.

Jinki didn’t feel threatened one bit by it.

 ‘’ I’m sure you got in too, ‘’ he calmly said. ‘’ But we’ll never know if you don’t open the letter, ‘’ he went on, feeling like a broken record as the words left his mouth for the third time that day.

‘’ Oh. Apart from being a ninja and a genius, are you also a clairvoyant? ‘’ Jonghyun retorted derisively.

It took the brunette every last bit of his composure to not roll his eyes and frustrate him even more. He had gotten to see in the past few months how dramatic the other could get when things didn’t go his way or when they were out of his control. It had taken a few mistakes on his part to figure out what helped in these moments and what didn’t.

‘’ Baby, ‘’ Jinki softly called before patting his lap. ‘’ Come here. ‘’

He instantly knew he had struck the right chord as Jonghyun’s expression softened. Jinki wouldn’t naturally use pet names, but he knew how much Jonghyun loved them. In moments like these, they proved to be ridiculously effective.

It wasn’t long before the blonde was on his lap, straddling him.

‘’ That’s not what I meant, ‘’ Jinki said, uneasy.

‘’ I know, but it’s more fun like this, ‘’ Jonghyun pointed out as his arms came up around his boyfriends’ neck.

‘’ Jjong, I-

‘’ How about we don’t open that letter and kiss for the rest of the afternoon instead? ‘’ Jonghyun suggested, lowering his voice.

‘’ You know we can’t do that. The play’s going to start soon, ‘’ Jinki reminded as he tried not to think about how close their crotches were to one another’s.

Jonghyun had gotten bolder in his touches lately and Jinki couldn’t help but feel a little scared. He was very aware of how little experience he had in that department and didn’t want to disappoint. But he also knew Jonghyun was considerate enough not to push him too far beyond from his comfort zone, despite his obvious growing needs.

‘’ The auditorium will be packed, ‘’ Jonghyun pointed out, huffing. ‘’ It’s not like someone will notice if we’re there or not. ‘’

Jinki cocked an eyebrow at that. ‘’ Do I really have to remind you that your best friend’s in it? And that he has the main role? ‘’

‘’ I’m sure he’ll be great, ‘’ Jonghyun stated, mind intent on getting an afternoon of kisses. He felt like it was the least he deserved after having put in all that hard work these past few months.

‘’ I’m sure too, ‘’ Jinki agreed. ‘’ And that’s why you need to be there. To see him in all his glory. ‘’

‘’ Do you really care that much about that play or are you trying to avoid kissing time? ‘’ Jonghyun inquired, frowning.

‘’ Kissing time? ‘’ Jinki echoed, disconcerted.

‘’ Yes, kissing time, ‘’ the other reiterated. ‘’ A time where we just enjoy each other’s mouths and forget about everything else. ‘’

A snort left the brunette’s mouth. ‘’ Well that’s pretty much all the time with you. ‘’

‘’ Don’t act like you don’t like it too, ‘’ Jonghyun fussed.

Jinki sighed in exasperation. ‘’ I do, but right now’s not the time. You’re going to open that letter and then we’re going to see the play. End of story. ‘’

‘’ Or what? ‘’ Jonghyun immediately threw back, his tone defiant.

‘’ Seriously, Jjong? ‘’

It was now the blonde’s turn to sigh as he realized he had no more way out now.

‘’ Okay, I’ll open the damn letter, ‘’ he grumbled before getting off the other’s lap.

‘’ But if I didn’t get accepted, we will stay here and kiss, ‘’ he decided as he walked towards the center table where he had left said letter.

Jinki didn’t hold back this time and rolled his eyes at the other’s nonsense. As if you’d be in the mood to kiss then.

‘’ I’m pretty confident we will go see the play instead, ‘’ he countered.

Jonghyun didn’t say a word as he held the envelope in his hand and stared at it for a while. It was still crazy to him that months ago he had been leaning towards not going to university and now it felt like it was where his whole future lied.

Wanting to stay with Jinki just made the whole thing even more nerve-wracking.

The latter got up as he sensed his boyfriend’s distress. It wasn’t long before he was hugging him from behind, arms circling his slim waist like he loved so much to bring him some comfort.

‘’ Whatever it says, everything’s going to be fine, I promise, ‘’ he softly uttered against him before placing a gentle kiss right under his ear.

He didn’t miss the slight tremor in his body before he let himself relax in his arms.

‘’ Okay, ‘’ Jonghyun breathed. ‘’ Here we go. ‘’

Without much grace, he ripped the envelope open and pulled out the paper inside. His eyes went straight to its contents, but his first attempt at reading the paper failed as the words blurred before his eyes.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling Jinki’s embrace tighten around him.

‘’ Here we go again, ‘’ he voiced to himself.

This time when his eyes went back to the paper, they didn’t falter. Only when he reached the end did he find himself not being able to see anymore, his eyes now filled with tears.

Jinki immediately turned him around to look at him when the first sob broke out from his lips.

‘’ Oh, baby… ‘’ he croaked, throat tight, as he watched him break down.

Jonghyun tried to speak, but the emotion was too much. Instead, he buried his face into his shirt, holding on to it with his free hand as if he was scared the other was suddenly going to disappear.

‘’ It’s okay, baby… ‘’ Jinki lulled as he put his own sadness aside for a moment. ‘’ You don’t need uni to do what you love. You’re already amazing at it. ‘’

Jonghyun kept crying, unable to get a grip over himself. Feeling Jinki hold him again just seemed to make everything he had kept bottled up inside spill out even more.

It was probably another five minutes before the mess his emotions had created became more orderly. Thoughts found themselves back into his mind again and with that came back the ability to put them into words.

‘’ Jinki… ‘’ he breathed, voice shaky from the lingering ruckus in his body.

‘’ I’m in… ‘’ he managed to let out as he pulled away just enough to look at him.

Jinki’s eyes widened in disbelief. ‘’ Really? ‘’

‘’ Yeah… ‘’ Jonghyun answered under his breath as a surge of emotion welled up in his chest again.

‘’ You made it, ‘’ Jinki took in as he smiled in relief.

‘’ No, we made it, ‘’ Jonghyun rectified before looking at the paper again.

‘’ They said that my audition tape had left them deeply impressed and that they’d be honored to welcome such promising talent, ‘’ he went on before locking eyes with the taller one once more.

‘’ I played our song, Jinki, ‘’ he finally revealed. ‘’ So you got me in too. ‘’

Surprise widened the brunette’s dark eyes. ‘’ You played 1000? ‘’ he exclaimed.

‘’ Well yeah, it was the obvious choice, ‘’ Jonghyun answered with assurance.

Jinki fell silent for a few seconds, astounded.

‘’ I-I don’t know what to say… ‘’ 

‘’ You don’t have to say anything, but I do, ‘’ the blonde indicated, his tone earnest. 

‘’ Thank you, Jinki, ‘’ he then said as he took one of his hands in his.

Jinki’s heart fluttered at the touch. ‘’ I just wrote the lyrics, really… ‘’

‘’ They are an essential part of the song, ‘’ Jonghyun reminded.

‘’ But I’m not just saying thank you for that, ‘’ he went on. ‘’ You’ve helped me so much this year, in so many ways, and I know that I wouldn’t have experienced this level of growth and success if it weren’t for you, ‘’ he finished, feeling himself get emotional again.

‘’ I don’t think you should be giving me that much credit, but if that’s how you feel then I’m extremely happy that I could help you in some way, ‘’ Jinki replied, bashful.

‘’ You’ve helped me so much too, Jjong. Thank you, ‘’ he returned, heart swelling in his chest.

Jonghyun felt flustered again, something that had just become an annoying recurrence ever since they had confessed their feelings to each other.

‘’ Okay, this is getting way too corny, ‘’ he observed to save face.

He was answered with a soft laugh. ‘’ You’re right. ‘’

Jonghyun smiled, warmed by the man before him and by the gratefulness he had for everything in his life.

‘’ Well… I guess it’s time to go see Ming kiss Kibum, ‘’ he indicated as he moved away to put down the paper that he was holding.

‘’ You mean to go see Romeo kiss Juliet, ‘’ Jinki bantered.

‘’ Same difference. ‘’

Jinki laughed at that, shaking his head at the other’s ridiculousness. 

Realizing there wasn’t much time left before it started, they didn’t lose any more time lingering in the room. They soon stepped out and started walking side by side down the hallway leading to the auditorium, surrounded by a mass of students heading the same way. 

To any onlooker, it wouldn’t seem like anything had changed in their relationship in the past few months. They still just looked like two good friends enjoying each other’s company. Only people who had been a witness to their relationship beforehand could see the subtle difference now whenever they were around other people.

It was in the subtle touches, the loving looks and in the indescribable but felt bond that couldn’t be denied in every moment they shared together. These elements were there even before, but they stuck out with even more vibrancy and intensity now.

They weren’t trying to let everyone know what was going on between them, but they weren’t also trying to hide it at all costs.

‘’ Hyung!!! Jinki-hyung!!! ‘’ a young-sounding voice suddenly yelled from behind them.

They turned in sync, both smiling as they saw Taemin making his way towards them.

‘’ Excited to see the play? ‘’ he asked enthusiastically as he reached them.

‘’ Oh definitely, ‘’ Jonghyun replied, words vibrating with mischievous delight.

‘’ He’s got this really weird thing about wanting to see Minho kiss Kibum, ‘’ Jinki filled in as he saw the confusion on the younger one’s face.

‘’ Ah… ‘’ Taemin chuckled. ‘’ I do want to see that too. ‘’

Jinki shook his head, both amused and exasperated. ‘’ Am I the only one who’s actually interested to see what they did with one of the most iconic love stories of all time? ‘’

‘’ Yes, ‘’ the other two answered at the same time.

That had them laughing and high-fiving as the brunette just sighed at their silliness. It wasn’t long before some of the other boys they met along the way just added to it, cracking every kind of jokes they could think of on the matter.

They were finally forced into silence once they stepped into the auditorium, all of them taking a place in the front to make sure they’d see the whole thing unfold clearly before their eyes.

It was a few more minutes before the play finally started, bringing all their anticipation to its highest peak. But what followed didn’t match what they had been waiting to experience. Instead, it felt like a spell had been cast over them, making them subservient to everything that was being conveyed on stage through the elegant and emotional speeches.

When the first kissing scene actually happened, Jonghyun didn’t even feel like laughing anymore. It just felt like the most natural culmination to what had preceded, him in even more into the story.

Without even thinking, he grabbed Jinki’s hand, squeezing it tight, as he watched Romeo kiss Juliet with a passion that made his heart race.

Jinki looked at him and couldn’t help but smile as he saw his eyes glisten. He squeezed his hand back before letting himself fall back into the story too.

The end seemed to arrive too fast and by the time all the actors stood on stage for curtain call and all the students clapped for them, the couple’s hearts felt like they were on the verge of exploding, swollen with too many emotions. 

They could hear the other guys’ voices again but couldn’t make out what they were saying. They didn’t even react much once they got up and started making their way out of the theater, leaving them behind. It was only when a dead silence fell over the room that they realized they were the only ones left.

‘’ It was great, wasn’t it? ‘’ Jinki voiced as he looked at Jonghyun again, head still swimming with lines from the play.

‘’ Yes, ‘’ Jonghyun agreed, affected beyond words.

‘’ I just hate that it ends so tragically, ‘’ he shared, sighing.

‘’ Yeah… ‘’ Jinki acknowledged. ‘’ But there’s beauty in the fact that they fell in love even though their starting circumstances should’ve normally made it impossible. ‘’

‘’ Mmhm, ‘’ the blonde hummed pensively.

‘’ The heart doesn’t get to choose, ‘’ he observed right when the curtain flew open again.

‘’ Eh? You guys are still here? ‘’ Minho exclaimed in surprise as he stilled on the empty stage. He had now returned to his regular school attire, aside from the tie hanging loose around his neck.

‘’ Yeah, we’re still trying to recover from the experience, ‘’ Jinki answered, laughing.

‘’ Do you mean that in a good or a bad way? ‘’ Minho inquired, brows furrowing over his eyes.

‘’ Of course he means that in a good way, you , ‘’ Kibum retorted as he came out from behind the curtain in a similar fashion.

‘’ Jesus ing Christ, Kibum. Can’t you be nice for like two seconds? ‘’ Minho fulminated, eyes shooting daggers at the other.

‘’ I am being nice, ‘’ the latter swiftly countered. ‘’ If you weren’t so dumb, you would’ve realized that I was actually complimenting us by saying that. ‘’

‘’ Your compliments always come with an insult! ‘’

‘’ So what, are you going to cry now? ‘’ 

It was all that was needed to turn the whole thing into a full-blown argument, the two actors completely forgetting then that they weren’t alone.  

‘’ Wow… that makes me admire their acting skills even more, ‘’ Jinki said as he watched the ongoing battle.

‘’ How can they go from looking so in love to this? ‘’ he asked, bewildered.

‘’ Oh, trust me, they’re very in love right now, ‘’ Jonghyun answered, chortling.

Jinki laughed. ‘’ Are they ever going to acknowledge it though? ‘’

‘’ I have a feeling they will, ‘’ Jonghyun said, smiling.

‘’ Looks like sharing a dorm really had its perks this year, ‘’ Jinki observed, smiling in turn.

Jonghyun looked at him fondly, remembering some words from not so long ago. 

‘’ Yeah, I think we could say it worked out well, no? ‘’

Jinki’s smile widened even more as their eyes locked.

 ‘’ I guess you could say so. ‘’

***