“Hyung.”

“Hmm,” Jongwoon says, distractedly playing with the empty mug in his hand. It’s a bit mind-numbing, but it’s a nice distraction. The tea that was in it is long gone, but the ceramic is still warm under the palm of his hand. “What.”

Hyukjae fidgets on the bed in the corner of Jongwoon’s eye. “Are you, like, mad at me?”

Jongwoon frowns at the mug. “No.”

“Don’t lie,” Hyukjae says, and Jongwoon can practically hear the pout in his voice. The thought almost makes him smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hyung. Are you mad at me?”

“I said I’m not.” Jongwoon’s eyes narrow. It had caught his eye before, but somehow it hadn’t really registered with him. The tiniest crack he’s ever had the displeasure of noticing is adorning the inside of the mug, towards the bottom of it—and now that he’s seen it, he can’t help but frown again. “Hyukjae. Did you use this mug recently?”

“What?” Hyukjae’s expression shifts to surprise, like he was caught off-guard. Jongwoon looks up, and Hyukjae’s eyes widen when they meet his. “No. I don’t think. I don’t know?”

“Weird.” Jongwoon holds up the mug in the air, inspecting it from up close, eyes narrow and lips pursed. “That’s odd. I don’t remember dropping it. Oh, well.”

“Is it broken?” Hyukjae asks, and Jongwoon shakes his head.

“Just a crack. Nothing major.”

“Alright.” Hyukjae nods, his arms resting on his thighs. He’s sitting cross-legged, and Jongwoon can’t understand why he looks that nervous for the life of him. “That’s good.”

Jongwoon lets out a heavy sigh and decides to let it go. Not many people come over to his house, really, so the pool of suspects is really small. It has to be either Hyukjae or himself. Who else always steals his mugs and misplaces them all over the apartment? Only one person, and it’s the one currently making a mess of his bed sheets. He glances back after placing the mug back on his desk, not too bothered to go back to the kitchen to put it in the sink, and finds Hyukjae manhandling the blanket as if it did something to him personally. Seriously, what is it with him today?

“What did the blanket do to you?”

Hyukjae’s eyes widen again, and it’s really comical, in a way. When he does that, he always looks ten years younger at the very least. Like a kid that got caught trying to steal cookies from the kitchen.

“Nothing,” he mutters, and stills. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because you’re cute,” Jongwoon says instantly, watching with a pleasured smile as Hyukjae’s face flushes pink. It’s always so easy. “When you try, that is.”

“What do you mean?” Hyukjae gasps, far too dramatically if Jongwoon had to classify it, and the pout appears again. “I’m always cute.”

“False.” Jongwoon leans back against the desk, arms crossed and eyes on him. “You’re a pain in the , Lee Hyukjae.”

“See?” Hyukjae exclaims, that pout be damned. “You’re mad at me.”

“What gave you that impression?” Jongwoon says, mostly because it’s just pure fun to keep him on his toes at this point. Even if he’s not actually mad, and the thought of being mad at him never even crossed his mind. Sometimes, you just have to go along with it. “I’m not mad at you.”

“You say you’re not, but I’m here waiting for you, and you’re inspecting your mugs,” Hyukjae blurts, then bites down on his bottom lip and looks conflicted for about four or five seconds. Jongwoon waits it out, his head slightly tilted to the side. “I didn’t break it! I’m innocent.”

“Did I say I didn’t believe you?”

Hyukjae hesitates. “No, but—”

“So why are you being like that, hm?” Jongwoon shakes his head in fake disappointment. “Pain in the , I said.”

There’s a pause on Hyukjae’s part, and Jongwoon waits it out again.

“Why are you still there?” Hyukjae eventually blurts once again, looking as if there’s a bomb ticking in the back of his brain. This is fun. Jongwoon’s lips curl into a satisfied smirk. This is hilarious. “Hyung. Stop smiling.”

“What, do you want me to be mad at you?” Jongwoon blinks, trying to look affronted as he brings a hand to his chest in fake outrage. “I can do that.”

“No!” Hyukjae exclaims, stealing a smile out of him. A short laugh escapes his lips immediately afterwards—he catches himself just in time, but the damage is done. “Stop doing that. I’m onto you.”

Jongwoon glances up at him in the most innocent way he’s capable of, which is not saying much in hindsight. “What am I doing?”

“Teasing me,” Hyukjae grunts, tearing his gaze off Jongwoon’s figure. Jongwoon smirks to himself. “Stop.”

“So you’re allowed to be annoying, but I can’t tease you every once in a while?” Jongwoon shakes his head, his lips reduced to a thin line of sarcasm. “Does that sound fair to you? I was under the impression they taught this stuff in pre-school.”

“See?” Hyukjae huffs out a sigh, his cheeks still vaguely rose-tinted. It’s hard to show self-restraint when that is in front of your face, but Jongwoon is doing it in the name of fairness. “You’re mad at me.”

“If that’s what you want to think,” he says, shrugging, “suit yourself.”

“I’m annoyed, now,” Hyukjae announces, as if he’s even remotely in possession of the right to do that, and it’s such a Hyukjae thing to do that Jongwoon has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from jumping him right then and there. “Go sleep somewhere else.”

“This is my bedroom,” Jongwoon flatly says, then straightens his back and puts a bit of distance between himself and the desk—though he doesn’t aim for the bed, not yet.

“Minor details,” Hyukjae murmurs, frowning at the blanket again. “You can take my bed.”

“I’m not leaving to go to the dorm at midnight,” Jongwoon says, wondering why. Just—why. The whole situation. “Idiot.”

“Why not?” Hyukjae’s tongue darts out to wet his lips as he speaks, and it doesn’t seem like he realizes he’s doing it, but oh—Jongwoon definitely noticed it. “You get along so well with Kyuhyun. He’s probably having dinner as we speak. Actually, he probably hasn’t started yet, or else he would be done before four in the morning.”

“I don’t even know what to say to that.” Jongwoon pushes a strand of wild hair away from his eyes, then lets out a sigh. This is it, isn’t