If Taeyong wanted company and boisterous laughter, he knew he would get that in his shared flat with Jaehyun. If Taeyong wanted some peace of mind and a place to let go of himself, he knew the art studio Nari used was the safety haven he needed. However there was a third location that Taeyong would hang around once in a while, a compact and tidy dorm room where the door was always unlocked for Taeyong and Taeyong only. The owner of this room was none other than Johnny.

Sitting on the edge of Johnny’s bed, Taeyong’s eyes wandered around as he patiently waited for Johnny to be done showering. Just as he heard the sound of water stopping coming from the bathroom, Taeyong’s gaze locked on a football sized toad sculpture sitting comfortably on Johnny’s desk while proudly spitting an arch of water.

Our child. Taeyong recalled the words uttered by Nari during the hot pot dinner. Without intending to, Taeyong fell in a staring contest with the toad even though it was obvious who the winner would be. Something about the uneven eyes and proud expression simply tugged at Taeyong and did not allow him to look away.

“Cute isn't it?”

Snapping his head to his left, Taeyong locked gazes with Johnny coming out of the bathroom with a towel draped around his neck, the steam from his shower streaming out like hungry tentacles.

“It’s got… flair.” Taeyong commented after clearing his throat.

“That’s one way to put it,” Johnny chuckled, dropping down on the bed next to Taeyong and purposefully shaking his wet hair to hit the younger male with bullets of water.

Taeyong scrunched his face in annoyance and instinctively jabbed Johnny in the stomach though the latter male had faster instincts and managed to snake an arm around Taeyong’s neck, trapping him in a headlock.

“It’s still too early for you to win me in a fight,” Johnny gloated while ticking Taeyong’s chin the way he would with a puppy.

“It’s only because you’re oversized,” Taeyong grumbled, completely losing his strength and letting his body deflate in Johnny’s hold.

“You’re just jealous,” Johnny huffed, releasing Taeyong and ruffling his hair the way he always did. “But it’s a good thing.”

“A good thing to inflate your ego?” Taeyong raised a sceptical eyebrow.

Slapping the younger male with his towel, Johnny pushed his wet hair back and even Taeyong had to admit how chiselled his chin was and how tempting he looked — not that he was ever going to say that out loud.

“It’s a good thing because it means you feel emotions, and if you feel emotions you develop as a human,” Johnny stated in a soft and gentle tone. “And the best way to achieve that is to surround yourself with the right people who will pull out the necessary emotions, which is exactly what you’ve done.”

“Right, I’ve surrounded myself with loud people who will make me deaf one day,” Taeyong chortled humourlessly, though an adoring smile managed to crawl onto his face, betraying his tone of nonchalance.

“Loud people who care a lot about you