The first thing that Jongwoon noticed, when he woke up, was that his mouth and throat were in a dire need of water. He was incredibly thirsty and also needed to use the toilet. He stretched his body and then looked around. When he slowly came to his full senses he realized he wasn't at his home. It took him a few moments to realise he was in his group mate's place, in Heechul's apartment to be more specific. He turned his head and was greeted by the sleeping face of the older man.   

His heart leapt in its rib cage as he continued observing the peaceful Heechul. A soft smile appeared on Jongwoon's features and he dared to raise his hand and caress his face. He didn't remember the last time they were so close to each other, without anyone to disturb them, and for Jongwoon to feel like he was ready to take that step, that one feared step which would either break their relationship or would change it to something he had hoped for a long while, and hope for the best outcome. He gulped and was once again reminded that he needed water.   

He carefully got up from the bed and tried making no sound when he headed for the door. Gibok noticed him and got up from the bed near Heechul's legs and followed him. The man in the bed stayed in the same position as he opened his eyes and stared at the place next to him. Confusion, delight, doubt, hope and fear were all battling inside of him to come on the top and make a decision for him. Memories from last night flooded his mind, and if they weren't betraying him, there was something more. In Jongwoon's words, in his eyes and touch. And Heechul intuition was rarely wrong. But maybe it was at that moment because his brain was clouded by his feelings for the younger man. It was madness, Heechul was thinking too deeply into it. Jongwoon was a person who liked showing his affection whether be it through physical contact or with his words, it was ordinary.   

"," he cursed quietly, pulled the blanket over his head and tried to disappear from the world. 

 Jongwoon exited the bathroom after relieving himself and headed for the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. He noticed Gibok who was following him around. He looked around for the dog's bowl and noticed it was empty. He quickly grabbed water and was about to search for Gibok's food when he noticed movement from Heechul's room. Jongwoon turned towards it and watched Heechul with his bed-hair, who picked up Gibok and headed toward him as soon as the door was open. The older man looked at him once he got up.

"Morning, you feeling good?" Heechul passed by him and entered the kitchen, retrieving food for the dog. Jongwoon nodded his head but realised that Heechul probably couldn't see him.

"I think after I get my dose of coffee, I'll be able to fully  recharge," he let out a slight chuckle. Heechul turned his attention back to him after taking care of Gibok.

"What about breakfast?"

"You don't have food and you don't like cooking around here, you also don’t cook. I don't really eat in the mornings,"

"I'll order western breakfast - waffles, pancakes, croissants- what do you think?" Heechul somehow seemed more manic than usual even if it wasn't clearly visible. He talked faster and his eyes were animated. He also seemed to want to come closer but at the same time keeping his distance from Jongwoon. The younger man was confused about what was going?

"Don't you have schedules?" 

"Later," an immediate short answer. Was he anxious about something? Was Jongwoon's brain ing with him or was his hyung acting weird? "I'll just order a bunch of stuff and you can pick whatever you want,"

Jongwoon grabbed Heechul's hand when he was reaching for his phone. The older man looked at him confusedly.

"Hyung, what's going on?" Jongwoon asked a bit concerned. He didn't know if Heechul's nice gestures meant something bad or good. 

"Nothing is going on. What do you mean? Have I been neglecting you so much that you find it weird that I'm spoiling you?" He was trying to deflect.

"That's not it, hyung. You're acting strange and I'm confused as to why?" Jongwoon's hand was still around Heechul, and the older man wanted to shake it off, to put distance between them because the want to pull the other man in his arms and kiss him was increasing with each passing moment. 

"You're imagining things," Heechul had to get a hold of himself and stay levelheaded. He took Jongwoon's hand with his free one and squeezed it a little, gave him a reassuring smile and got away from the hold. Jongwoon wanted to hold on to the older man stronger and not let him go. He wanted to know what was going on with Heechul and to get closer to him as well. But Heechul just kept him at a distance. The older man patted his head and returned to ordering food.  

Jongwoon observed him silently, focused with a slight frown on his face and a mind which was buzzing with hundred thoughts. The one idea that popped up among all the chaos was, to say the least foolish. It was utterly ridiculous and he would without any doubts regret it. But would Jongwoon get another perfect chance like that? Wouldn’t Heechul try and push him away further? It wouldn’t be something uncharacteristic for the older man. And then he would act like everything was fine. But there was something and he had to find out if he was imagining it.

Jongwoon walked over to Heechul, held his nape, pushed away from the hand with the phone to the side and kissed t