Chapter Four:      

Exciting Feelings

 “Having a heart and being afraid to love someone, is like having wings and being afraid of heights.”

Eunhyuk sighed, pacing back and forth in his empty room as he waited patiently for another occupant to walk in. He wrung his hands together; his pace increasing as he all but wore down the hard wood beneath his feet. As Eunhyuk waited, he thought over the series of events that had led up to this moment.

After the Donghae had brought Eunhyuk lunch, he had waited patiently for the broadcast of Kiss the Radio to end. Eunhyuk was thrilled to see Donghae hiding out just outside of the booth, and quickly ran over to his friend, “Hae! I have the rest of the day off… Let’s go do something!” He insisted.

Donghae nodded quickly, looking back at Leeteuk, “Hyung, do you want to come too?”

Leeteuk shook his head, smiling, “Nah, you two go hang out…” He said, waving them off.

Donghae reached down, grabbing Eunhyuk’s hand before pulling him along. It was an innocent gesture, something that the pair had done all the time, but Eunhyuk couldn’t help but notice how… perfectly Donghae’s hand fit into his own. A light blush crept up into Eunhyuk’s cheeks as he smiled down at their connected hands before interlacing his fingers into Donghae’s, a new feeling of warmth spreading threw his heart with the mere contact with his best friend.

Spending almost the whole day just walking around town, narrowly avoiding persistent fan girls and boys alike, Donghae and Eunhyuk found themselves in front of a tiny shop. “Hyuk! Can we go in, please!” Donghae asked, pouting and tugging at Eunhyuk’s arm as he clung to it like a koala. “Please~ I really want some ice cream… I’ll even pay!”

Eunhyuk couldn’t help but laugh a bit, “Aigoo aigoo!” he shook his head, “C’mon, I kind of want some too…” He admitted as he followed a skipping Donghae into the shop. The interior of the shop was small and cozy, the lighting was soft, but bright enough to be cheery.

“Ahh~ Kyeopta!” Donghae said, gripping onto Eunhyuk’s arm once more before dragging him to the counter. He looked over the menu, pouting a little as he noticed the prices, “Hyukkie… I only have enough for one…” He mumbled.

“We can share…” Eunhyuk said, smiling.

Donghae nodded quickly, “Uhm, I’ll get the ice cream; you go get us a table, neh?”

Eunhyuk smiled, “Alright…” He said, walking over to one of the two person tables off in the corner of the room. He stared out the window for a few minutes as he waited for Donghae to come over with the ice cream. At the sound of a chair being pulled back, Eunhyuk looked up. Excitement filled his features as his eyes grew wide, “Ah!! Strawberries!” He said, happiness lacing his voice.

Donghae grinned, picking up one of the strawberries and holding it out, “Say ‘ahh’~” He said.

Eunhyuk leaned forward, happily eating the sweet fruit Donghae had offered. He closed his eyes as he chewed, humming around the flavor in joy. He grinned widely, picking up the small spoon and scooping some up for Donghae, “Ahh~” he said, before feeding Donghae the cold treat. Eunhyuk’s heart beat against his ribcage as he watched Donghae hum in happiness, doing a little aegyo dance in his seat as he went for another bite of ice cream. He found himself unable to tear his eyes away from his best friend, choosing to eat the strawberries out of the ice cream as Donghae continued to eat the fastly melting ice cream itself.

As Donghae and Eunhyuk slowly made their way back to the dorm room, Eunhyuk was very aware at the growing emotion within his chest at the thought of not being at the end of Donghae’s full undivided attention. He wasn’t sure if it was jealousy or not, but it sure felt like it. He reached out, taking ahold of Donghae’s hand, a bit worried at how… right it felt to hold his best friends hand. Something clutched at his heart as Donghae turned to him and smiled sweetly, and Eunhyuk was sure at that point, the only people that existed was himself and Donghae.

“Thanks for hanging out with me today, Hyukkie…” Donghae said, pulling Eunhyuk into a tight hug.

The blush on his cheeks was a deep red as Eunhyuk hugged Donghae back, taking slow and steady breaths of the scent of Donghae’s cologne. He prayed quickly that Donghae couldn’t feel how fast his heart was beating, or hear how hard it was pounding against his rib cage as they merely hugged. Eunhyuk was sad of the loss of physical contact as Donghae let go, “Let’s go inside now… I bet the others are still up!” Donghae said, taking Eunhyuk’s hand in his once more and dragging him into the house.

Eunhyuk turned the events of the day over in his head as he lay in the shared bed with Donghae, the younger was snuggled into his side, his leg draped across him as he held onto him in his sleep. Eunhyuk sighed, shifting ever so slightly to stare at Donghae’s peaceful features. “Why do I feel like this…” He mumbled softly, reaching up to brush the stray strands of wavy brown hair from Donghae’s face, “I wonder if you feel the same…”

The door to the room creaked open, and a figure slipped in quietly, the sound breaking Eunhyuk from his memories. He looked up, “Hyung… thank you…” he mumbled, flopping down onto the bed as Shindong walked over and joined him. “Hyung… How did you … how did you know that you really liked Nari?” he asked, his voice quiet as he stared down at the ground.

“Hmm…” Shindong rested his elbows on his knees as he thought over the question, “I’m not really sure, it kind of just happened. I mean, we were good friends, and… before I knew it, just being around her made me happy. Not the normal kind of happy, it was more than that.” Shindong said.

“It was like… only you two existed, and nothing else mattered as long as you could hold her hand?” Eunhyuk asked.

“Yeah, exactly…” Shindong nodded, watching Eunhyuk carefully, “If you already knew that was what it was like… then I’m not sure why exactly you called me in here…”

“Well, it’s just… I mean…”

Shindong smiled, “You want my advice on when you should talk to Donghae, right?”

“Yeah-Wait! No… T…this isn’t… it isn’t… Not… No, not D… Donghae…” Eunhyuk stuttered, blushing deeply as Shindong smirked at him, “Fine. Fine it is Donghae, but… I’m just so confused… He’s my best friend…”

“And Nari is my best friend.” Shindong said, smiling as he rested his hand on Eunhyuk’s shoulder, “I think you two will be good for each other. I’m not even sure what you are so worried about…”

“What if… you know, Donghae doesn’t feel like… that.” Eunhyuk mumbled, “What if it ruins our friendship? Like I said, he’s my best friend, hyung… I really don’t want to lose him.”

“Well, Eunhyuk, you have to take a chance, otherwise you will regret it for the rest of your life, thinking ‘What if I told him…’.” Shindong put his arm around Eunhyuk’s shoulders, “Just… take that chance, Eunhyuk. Whatever happens… it happens.”

Eunhyuk nodded, “A..alright… Thank you, Hyung…”

Shindong smiled, “Any time, Hyuk… any time.”

Ahh, and update for you guys. Still in the fluffy zone, but, it's moving along nicely, uhm, one more chapter, then the drama starts. Hope you guys will stick around. I'd love to hear your comments on the story thus far! -Lynn