@siwonchoi replied to your story.

🤣

Glad that you found someone else to wash your dishes for you.

He offered, I accepted

There’s nothing wrong with that 😏

?

If only

🤤🤤🤤

“Who are you texting?” Hyukjae asked, rolling over in bed to hug Donghae’s waist. He rested his chin on Donghae’s shoulder and peeked at the professor’s screen. “Is that Prof Choi?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Mmh,” Donghae replied, quickly exiting the app and locking his phone. He felt the student nuzzling against him and let out a laugh. “He was just replying to my story.”

“Good, then he should know that there’s someone better who’s taking care of you now.” Hyukjae’s voice was firm, but he also sounded a little grouchy.

“You don’t have to get jealous of him, silly, I don’t—”

“I know, you don’t like him like that anymore,” Hyukjae said, pecking Donghae’s ear. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you like that either.”

“What are you trying to say?” Donghae asked with a soft frown. “Babe, I’m sorry if my past with him makes you uncomfortable, but I’m with you now. He’s had his chance. And there’s absolutely no reason for him to want me back in any way, shape, or form anymore. I mean… I-I’ve been sleeping with him for years. He’d have made a move by then if he did.”

“Prof—”

“But he didn’t.”

“I know he didn’t,” Hyukjae said softly. “Else I wouldn’t be here with you.”

Donghae just hummed softly and pulled Hyukjae’s hands tighter around his waist. “Hyukjae, I…”

“Hmm?”

“I like you. And… I’d appreciate it if you could please stop thinking that I’m going to betray you or see anyone else behind your back. Especially Siwon. He’s been my best friend for years. Even if we had a history together, I can’t not talk to him because he’s always been there for me. Please understand,” Donghae said quietly, with a slight pleading tone in his voice. “You’re the one I want to be with. Siwon and I are nothing but best friends,” he added, his voice starting to crack in the end.

Hyukjae immediately hugged the professor a little tighter and kissed his nape softly. “I’m sorry. I just feel… small, when I think about what you must have been used to in your relationship with Prof Choi. And you’re both close colleagues too, and best friends, and he’s mega-rich and successful, and he’s bought you so many things, given you so many gifts, brought you so many places… What’s there to like about me other than the fact that I can… make a mean bowl of kimchi ramen, at best?”

“You’re cuter.”

“...okay,” Hyukjae said with a dry chuckle. “That’s all?”

Donghae giggled quietly and started playing with the student’s fingers. “You’re very good at .”

Hyukjae blushed deeply as he hid his face behind Donghae’s shoulder. “That one…”

“Major points to you for that,” Donghae said with another chuckle. “Besides, I’ve already told you before. You’re smart, kind, caring, hardworking, honest, charming, funny, serious about your dreams, loyal to your friends, and—”

“Prof,” Hyukjae suddenly interrupted, resting his hand just above Donghae’s belly button as he nipped on the professor’s shoulder. Something about the professor calling him honest when he hadn’t exactly been the most truthful with him just didn’t sit right. “There’s something I haven’t been completely honest with you about, and I’m sorry.”

“...and I just said you were honest and truthful too,” Donghae said amusedly as he shook his head. “What is it?”

“The roses.”

At once, Hyukjae could tell that Donghae’s demeanour changed. His body tensed up, just a little, and Hyukjae felt the professor take a deep breath and release it slowly, most probably to calm himself down before he spoke. Hyukjae felt even guiltier that just bringing up the subject would make Donghae feel so uncomfortable.

The roses were supposed to cheer Donghae up, not make him all tense and rigid like this.

“W-What is it?” Donghae asked lightly. “Are you gonna tell me that they weren’t from you after all?” he tried to joke feebly, but the cracked voice towards the end gave him away. “You weren’t my secret admirer?”

Hyukjae sighed and bit his lips, berating himself when he heard the crack in the professor’s voice. “Most of them were from me,” he answered quietly. “But not all. So… I don’t know if that still counts as me being your secret admirer…”

When Donghae still hadn’t said anything after that, Hyukjae tightened his arms around the professor and tangled their legs together, clinging even more to him. “The single-stalk roses were from me. I wanted to be the reason you smiled at least once or twice a day at work.”

Encouraged by Donghae’s hum, Hyukjae continued. “I stopped them for a while when we fought, but then we made up and thought I wanted to resume them again to tell you how much I liked you and appreciated you. It was supposed to be an ongoing secret.” 

“Oh.” A soft smile spread across Donghae’s lips, though Hyukjae couldn’t see it. “I really liked the roses. The notes were really cute too. I kept them all in my drawer.”

“Did you guess who sent them?”

“I had a hunch that it was you, but I didn’t want to say anything because I could be wrong, and I didn’t want to embarrass you if I were,” Donghae replied, relaxing just a little more. “Thank you, Hyukjae. You made my days a lot happier.”

“I-I’m glad to hear that,” Hyukjae stammered shyly, pressing soft kisses onto the professor’s neck. “Actually, Kyuhyun-ssi found out that it was me, I think by accident, but I begged him not to tell you.”

“Kyu never said anything to me,” Donghae said in a pouty voice. “Some sort of friend he is.”

Hyukjae chuckled and reached for Donghae’s hand to intertwine their fingers together. “I’m sorry. But then again, I trusted that he wasn’t the kind who would snitch on purpose.”

“He isn’t.”

“He definitely isn’t,” Hyukjae repeated with a soft smile on his face. “I’m really glad you liked my roses. I spent hours coming up with all the stupid flower jokes and puns.”

“Mmh, I still take them out when I need a good laugh every now and then,” said Donghae. “Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you.”

“Y-You’re welcome,” Hyukjae said, then he hesitated. He’d just managed to make the professor a little happier than before. Did he really have to bring up the peach bouquet now and spoil the mood again? He didn’t want to ruin the amicable atmosphere they had, at least for now, but he knew he still had to tell Donghae everything sooner or later.

Better to bite the bullet and just… get it over with.

“Then, um, Sungmin fought with Kyuhyun-ssi, I think you kind of knew that already. He wanted to apologise with roses so he asked me if my regular florist sold peach roses. That had me looking up what they meant, and I remember thinking that the meaning behind them was very sweet. I thought of giving you peach roses instead of the usual red ones, and I tried ordering some through my florist. They didn’t have them in stock but promised to get some for the next day’s delivery.”

“You didn’t send the huge bouquet.”

“I didn’t,” Hyukjae confessed. “In fact, my stupid brain thought it was Sungmin who sent them, and I fought with him over that. Stupid, I know.”

“You thought he sent me roses?” Donghae sounded astonished. This was the first time he’d heard about it. “Why? Kyu got another bouquet of roses the same day I got mine. I’m pretty sure that was the one your friend sent.”

“I know,” Hyukjae replied with a huge sigh. “I got jealous that you seemed to like the rose bouquet much more than the other ones I sent you in the past. Which kinds of makes sense, since it was so beautifully wrapped and looked a lot more luxurious than the ones I could ever afford… I don’t blame you at all, I mean, it was still kind of my fault. For getting jealous, and deceiving you by letting you think it was also from me...”

Donghae’s hand gripped Hyukjae’s rather tightly as if trying to clench his fist, and Hyukjae felt bad for ruining the mood. “I-I’m sorry, Prof—”

“He lied.”

Hyukjae frowned when he heard that. “W-Who did?” he asked with a gulp. Donghae sounded furious. He’d never heard the professor speak so angrily before.

“Choi Siwon, that f— freaking idiot,” Donghae said through gritted teeth. He inhaled deeply, held it in for a few seconds, and then exhaled very, very slowly. Hyukjae just kept quiet as Donghae worked to keep his anger in check. Also, his fingers felt like they were going to fall off. The professor’s grip was strong enough to choke an elephant, but he probably didn’t realise it.

When it looked like Donghae had managed to calm down after a few breathing exercises, Hyukjae finally dared to let out a quiet little whine while wiggling what was left of his arm that he could feel. “P-Prof…”

Donghae released Hyukjae’s hand at once with a soft apology. He turned around to face Hyukjae, who was a little surprised to suddenly see Donghae’s frowning face right in front of his nose. “Uh, Prof, I-I can explain…”

“I thought something was amiss when you asked me so many questions about the flowers. I told Siwon about it and he swore it wasn’t him who sent it, so I thought it was you trying to be secretive about it, and I ‘played along’. Who would’ve thought that I was the fool all along, playing myself like that?”

“Don’t say it like that,” Hyukjae said in a hurry, a little shocked at how hard Donghae was trembling in his arms. He Donghae’s arm in an attempt to calm him down. “I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm. I-I know I made you feel terrible as well, and I’ll take full responsibility for that.” He brought him a little closer in his arms and gently pecked him on the lips. 

“I-Is there anything else you want to tell me?” Donghae said in a suddenly nasal-sounding voice, almost as if he was on the verge of crying but doing his best not to. 

“A-About the roses?” Hyukjae was starting to panic. He didn’t mean to make the professor cry again, for goodness’s sake! “No, I-I don’t. I’ve told you everything I know. But, um, if you don’t want me to keep sending them to you anymore, I’ll stop.”

“Okay,” Donghae replied with a shaky sigh. “I think it’s better if you saved your money for yourself. You’re still a student after all, and I know the roses must have been expensive,” he said. “I-I don’t mind the puns and jokes, though. You can just text them to me next time. It’s cheaper like that.”

Hyukjae nodded softly and they remained quiet for a good ten, twenty minutes. Donghae’s eyes were closed, but he was still tense in his arms, so Hyukjae knew he wasn’t asleep. He just didn’t know what else to say to make the elder relax. But Donghae hadn’t tried pushing him away, so the student guessed that it was a good thing Donghae wasn’t too mad at himself for hiding the truth from him.

He just kept quiet and pressed soft kisses on his chin and cheeks, waiting for the telltale signs of Donghae’s quiet snores to tell him that he’d finally fallen asleep.

Except that he didn’t. 

Just as Hyukjae was about to drift off to sleep himself, Donghae suddenly spoke. “A-Actually, I had an inkling that Siwon was the one who sent me that huge bouquet when I received it that day. But I brushed it aside because I wanted to think that they had come from you.”

Hyukjae just kept quiet and hummed, encouraging the professor to go