It had been a long process for them to get together.

In their first year of university, they had been assigned as roommates. Soobin had arrived early in the morning with a gigantic carrier that he had put in the room that he had preferred, the one that got more sunlight shining from the window. He unpacked and at around noon, he heard the door to the dorm open and close slowly. He froze, suddenly nervous about meeting someone new, someone he would have to spend at least a whole year with. But he summoned all his courage and went to greet his roommate.

The guy was a little bit shorter than Soobin, with kinda long black hair falling before his eyes and dressed in a white sleeveless top and ripped blue jeans. But what Soobin noticed the most was the guy’s lips. They were pink, plump and soft-looking. The guy turned to Soobin and that’s when the latter realised he had been staring. He blushed but walked a bit closer, extending his arm.

“Hello, I’m Soobin.” He quietly said, a little smile on his lips.

“I’m Yeonjun, nice to meet you.” Yeonjun replied, taking Soobin’s hand.

If they both felt a rush going through their bodies at the touch, neither made it look obvious.

“Well, I’m gonna unpack. See you later.” Yeonjun said before going to his own room. Soobin nodded and stood frozen in his spot for some moments before going back to his own room.

I’m so ed.

 

After their first encounter, the two guys quickly got close. They thought they didn’t have a lot in common at first, Yeonjun being a bit careless and Soobin being overly careful but the first thing that brought them close was their love for music. Soobin being a singing major and Yeonjun minoring in singing, they spent countless nights talking about music, why they decided to study singing in particular, what they wanted to achieve by doing so. Soobin told Yeonjun that he wanted to be a singer even if his mom was against it. But he also liked taking photographs so he took a photograph minor just in case his first career didn’t work out. Yeonjun admired him for being so thoughtful and told him that his only dream was to become a choreographer but that if it didn’t work out, he could be satisfied being a dance teacher. Yeonjun made Soobin laugh when he told him he chose singing just because he liked singing.

Being so close inevitably brought them to meet the other’s friends.

Soobin was surprised by how good his step-brother Hueningkai and Yeonjun got along. They soon told him that because Hueningkai’s boyfriend Taehyun was Yeonjun’s cousin, they had already met a couple times. On the other hand, what surprised Yeonjun was how quick Soobin got used to Beomgyu’s unique personality. Beomgyu was quite easy-going and Soobin very reserved so Yeonjun had dreaded their first encounter. But for his immense pleasure, it had gone quite well: Beomgyu had been commenting every word Soobin said and after staring at him quite sternly, Soobin had laughed and the next thing Yeonjun knew, they were sharing a bowl of crisps while making fun of him. He wasn’t mad about it though because the fact that his crush roommate and best friend got along was the most important thing.

After some months of cohabitation, Soobin had come to terms with a few things. The first one was that Yeonjun was very very handsome. His cute pouty lips, his cat-like eyes, his way of talking to himself in a hushed voice when he was angry about something or focused on something in particular. The way he asked Soobin for hugs by opening his arms wide when he felt down or lonely, how he loved nuzzling Soobin’s neck when they were cuddling. He was just so cute and precious for Soobin. But he was also critically y, to the point that it was becoming dangerous for Soobin. Yeonjun had a habit of walking around the room in a tank top and short shorts. When Soobin had to get up early for his morning classes, he took all his time to get ready, convinced that he wouldn’t meet Yeonjun since his classes mostly took place in the afternoon. But when they had singing classes at the same time, he did his best to get ready as quick as possible so that he wouldn’t find himself staring just like the very first time it had happened. But be it in pj’s or not, Yeonjun always managed to look y and Soobin often came to the point when he couldn’t handle it anymore. A quick run to the bathroom between two classes helped but that was it. He remembered that the worst day had been when Yeonjun had entered their dorm with vibrant red hair. It suited him, of course it did, it was Yeonjun. Soobin almost had a heart attack and that night, when a and panting Yeonjun invited himself in his dreams, he knew he was definitely doomed.

Yeonjun was pretty sure he had done all that was possible to seduce Soobin. Asking Soobin to hug him for every little reason that seemed believable, doing his best to make him laugh, walking around half , dying his hair. It didn’t seem to work. No, it worked, but only to some extent. Soobin’s only emotion lately had been surprise. Yeonjun loved how his eyes suddenly got big and how he blushed when they met in the morning. Yeonjun actually had some decent pj’s but he loved seeing Soobin blush too much to wear them. On campus, Yeonjun often saw Soobin biting his lower lip while looking at him from head to toe and, almost right after, disappearing, practically running to the closest bathroom. So, it worked. Yeonjun had managed to make Soobin attracted to his body but not his personality. But Yeonjun didn’t want Soobin for ual reasons, he wanted him because he genuinely liked him. He liked his cute face, his soft hair, his scent, the way he towered over him, how clumsy but also careful he was, his dimples when he smiled. He loved everything about Soobin and he wanted to be his boyfriend. But even if Soobin seemed attracted to him, it didn’t mean his feelings were reciprocated. So, Yeonjun couldn’t find the courage in him to confess. Yet.

 

“Dude, you need to confess or he would never get it. He’s pretty dense you know?” Hueningkai told Yeonjun as they were walking back to the dorms.

“I know that and it’s so cute but I don’t wanna confess. What if he doesn’t want to be my boyfriend? He’s a very good friend and we’re roommates! I don’t want our relationship to get awkward because I couldn’t just love him from afar.” Yeonjun whined.

“You sound a tad too dramatic here.” Hueningkai said, chuckling. “Look, I know you don’t want to be too obvious but I might have an idea for you.”

“What is it? I hope it’s nothing too creepy!” Yeonjun asked, wary.

“No, it’s just kind of… straightforward. You know the lip balm you use recently?”

“My pomegranate scented lip balm?”

“Yeah. Soobin loves it and last week he made me stroll around Myeongdong for hours looking for it to no avail. He was so sad that he couldn’t find it and he’s too shy to ask you to use it.”

“Okay. What’s your plan?” Yeonjun asked, still wary but now mildly interested.

“You put it on and hang out with Soobin for a bit. Then, you tell him that you heard he liked your lip balm and ask him if he wants to try it. But instead of giving him the lip balm, you kiss him!” Hueningkai exclaimed, clapping his hands, a wide smile on his face.

“That’s an assault! I can’t just kiss him like that!” Yeonjun said, hitting Hueningkai on his forehead.

“Jun, just do it like in the dramas. Lean in slowly and if you see him being against it, just don’t do it and apologise. You should really do it because I’m sick of seeing you both pining over each other. And I know he didn’t tell me he liked you but I know my brother, I can tell when he’s got a crush.” Kai replied, rubbing his forehead.

“I don’t know… I’ll think about it.” Yeonjun said and they kept on walking until they both reached their respective dorm.

“Don’t think too long or Beomgyu will spill the beans, you know it.”

 

The next day, Yeonjun had decided to go on with Hueningkai’s idea. He’d heard from Wooyoung that Soobin had a date with Lee Minhyuk from the dance department. He’d apparently seen Soobin a lot with Yeonjun and had taken an interest in him. Yeonjun couldn’t let this happen so, as crazy as Kai’s idea might be, it was his last resort to let Soobin know how he felt.

So, Yeonjun was now lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the hundred scenarios that he had imagined in his head about the outcome. As he was imagining getting slapped on the face by Soobin, he heard the door open and close.

“Yeonjun-ah? Are you here?” he heard Soobin ask.

He sat up, took the lip cream that was on his nightstand and applied a thick layer on his lips.

“I’m here, Soobinie.” He replied, getting out of his room and going to sit next to Soobin on their small sofa.

“I missed you!” Soobin said, opening his arms to hug Yeonjun. The latter complied, hugging Soobin tight.

He heard Soobin sniffle a few times, as if trying to identify a scent.

“Does it smell good?” Yeonjun asked, releasing Soobin.

“It does… Is that the scent of –”

“Pomegranates? Yeah. I heard that you liked it.” Yeonjun said, his voice calm and confident.

“Hueningkai…” Soobin whispered.

“Do you want to try it?” he asked and Soobin nodded.

Yeonjun leaned closer, looking straight into Soobin’s eyes. They suddenly got wider and his cheeks got red. Yeonjun leaned even closer, their nose almost touching now. He stopped, looking for any sign that could tell him that Soobin didn’t want this. Instead, he saw the latter close his eyes and pucker his lips. Yeonjun smiled, closed his eyes too and finally connected their lips.

It was a simple peck, just their lips touching for a few seconds. When he pulled back, Soobin grabbed him by the collar and made their lips collide once again. This kiss was a bit more heated, their lips sweetly melting together, smearing the lip balm everywhere. When they both broke the kiss, they lungs burning for air, Yeonjun noticed that Soobin’s hair were a mess and he realised he had unknowingly brought his hands to his head, aching to feel the soft locks between his fingers. He stayed silent for a few moments, panting, when Soobin finally talked.

“It tastes even better than what I had imagined.” He said, wiping some lip balm on his chin.

Yeonjun laughed, covering his face with his hands.

“You’re an idiot!” he said, slapping Soobin’s chest.

“Maybe but I’m your idiot.” Soobin replied, grabbing Yeonjun’s wrist and pulling him into his embrace, once again.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that we’re boyfriends.” Soobin simply answered.

“What if I don’t want us to be boyfriends?” Yeonjun teased.

“You just kissed me, in case you didn’t notice.”

“Shut up.”

They fell silent for a few seconds before Yeonjun broke the silence once again.

“Aren’t you going on a date with Lee Minhyuk tomorrow?” he asked, his voice so small Soobin almost missed it.

“Lee Minhyuk?” he asked, before remembering. “Who told you we had a date?”

“Wooyoung.”

“Ah. Yeah, he asked me for a coffee but I turned him down. I told him I liked someone else.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I like you Yeonjunie.”

“I like you too, Soobinie.”