Jiyong went through the next week in something of a daze, just going to class and doing his work without a second thought. He didn’t quite know how to react to everything – he missed Hwayoung, but at the same time he didn’t want to think about her.

Any bit of his spare time was spent writing, trying to figure out a way to get all of his thoughts out. At least, if he put it down on paper, he could start to get it out of his mind.

He barely even talked to Seunghyun that week.

“That motherer… What does he have that I don’t?” he mumbled, jotting it down on the paper in front of him. “Why can’t I have you?” Jiyong was about to continue when his phone rang, and he glanced at the caller ID before he smiled and flipped it open. “Hi, Seunghyun.”

“Hey, what are you up to?” he asked, and Jiyong looked down at the paper before he slipped it into his desk drawer. Then he leaned back in his chair.

“Just sitting here. Writing. Being a recluse. Why?” he replied, and he heard Seunghyun laugh a little on the other end.

“Are you coming to the café tonight?” he asked, and Jiyong thought for a moment, then sighed.

“I don’t know… I don’t think I feel up to performing tonight,” he mumbled, playing with the hem of his sleeve as he pursed his lips.

“Then just come. I’m not working tonight, so we can just watch the performers if you want.” Jiyong took a moment to consider the thought before he nodded, smiling to himself. It wasn’t like Seunghyun could see him, but there was a certain amount of reassurance that he needed to give himself before he said anything.

“Sure. I’ll come,” he replied finally, and he could almost see Seunghyun smile.

“Alright. I’ll see you there, then,” Seunghyun nearly sang, hanging up a second later and leaving Jiyong sitting in his room pondering why the short conversation had made him smile so much.

Considering Jiyong’s class had been cancelled, he took his time getting ready, actually making sure that he looked perfect before he left. Walking by himself felt odd now, but he knew the way by heart. Snuggling into his coat, he pulled his scarf a bit tighter around his neck and made his quiet way toward the café, headphones on and lip-syncing to the music he had blasting in his ears.

When he made it to the little restaurant Jiyong rushed inside, shivering slightly as he looked around for Seunghyun. He saw the sign up sheet sitting nearby but for the first time in a long time he ignored it, instead sitting near the back of the audience and waiting for Seunghyun.

“I guess I beat him here,” he mumbled, absently rubbing his hands together to try and warm them up.

“No, you didn’t,” he heard almost immediately, and Seunghyun sat down next to him a moment later with two hot cocoas in his hands. He handed one to Jiyong, who took it and immediately sipped it with a grateful smile. “I had a few minutes, so I made hot chocolate.”

“You’re the best,” he mumbled over the rim of his mug, and Seunghyun shrugged.

“I try,” he replied easily, and Jiyong rolled his eyes. Absently, he waved at a few of the girls that usually cheered for him and they waved back, one walking over and standing in front of him with a smile.

“What are you performing tonight?” she asked, and Jiyong just shook his head.

“I’m just watching tonight,” he replied, and he could see her smile falter slightly. He looked at Seunghyun, shrugging as she looked at Seunghyun as well. “I figured I’d take one night off. It’s been a long week.” She narrowed her eyes at Seunghyun, but nodded to Jiyong with a confused smile.

“Well, I hope you enjoy yourself, and that your week gets better,” she said, and with that she walked away, sitting down and whispering something to her friends. Jiyong shook his head.

“Those girls…” he mumbled, rolling his eyes as he sighed. Seunghyun looked at him with a raised brow.

“They looked at me like I was evil,” he said, and Jiyong nodded.

“They look at everyone near me like they’re evil,” he replied immediately, laughing as he rested his head on the other man’s shoulder. “They’re a handful, but they enjoy the music, so I guess I can’t really say anything.” Seunghyun nodded in understanding and watched Jiyong play with the mug in his hand with a smile.

The performances were good that night, but if someone had asked either Jiyong or Seunghyun what had happened or who had been on stage, neither would have been able to answer. They spent most of the night whispering to each other, making jokes and telling stories and just having fun. Jiyong spent most of the night resting close to Seunghyun, head on his shoulder, and Seunghyun never made one attempt to move him. They both just enjoyed the closeness, offering applause when it was needed and deserved.

When the show was over, neither wanted to move.

“I’m too comfortable,” Jiyong mumbled, eyes closed as he nuzzled against Seunghyun’s shoulder. Seunghyun smiled softly, ruffling Jiyong’s hair before moving to fix it slowly. “Did you really have to do that? Do you know how much time I spent getting ready today?” Jiyong asked, and Seunghyun raised his brow.

“Probably way too much,” he replied, and Jiyong sat up, lips pursed and arms crossed dramatically over his chest. “There’s no reason to try to make yourself look good if you’re going out with me. Especially here,” he joked, and Jiyong laughed.

“You make it sound like we’re dating or some ,” Jiyong teased, still chuckling as he looked at Seunghyun. The laughter died down into a silence, though it wasn’t particularly awkward. Both were still smiling, and Jiyong opened his mouth to say something before he just smiled and shook his head at himself, taking his and Seunghyun’s mugs and handing them to the man behind the counter. Seunghyun stood a moment later, heading to the door and meeting Jiyong as they slipped out into the cold.

Like the week before, the walk back was quiet. Unlike the week before, though, it wasn’t because the atmosphere was tense. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

Seunghyun glanced at Jiyong, frowning when he saw the other man shiver.

“You should dress warmer,” he said with a smile, and Jiyong looked at him with narrowed eyes, though he was smiling.

“Shut up,” he mumbled, laughing to himself as he looked forward once more. Seunghyun just shook his head, arm wrapping tightly around Jiyong’s shoulder to pull him close as they walked. Jiyong shot him a sideways glance for only a second before he smiled to himself and turned his gaze forward. They walked in silence for a moment before Jiyong let his arm wrap around Seunghyun’s waist, holding him close as well.

Neither said anything about it, they just kept walking until they got to Jiyong’s dorm.

“Is anyone here?” Jiyong called into the dorm, kicking off his shoes and stepping inside, Seunghyun close behind. When he didn’t get a response he just turned back to Seunghyun and shrugged, closing the door behind them.

“Do you mind if I take my contacts out?” Seunghyun asked, and Jiyong just nodded, tossing his coat in his room.

“Sure, go ahead. I didn’t even know you wore them.” Seunghyun sighed, pulling the lenses out and putting them in their case. He closed them.

“I don’t like not wearing them, but the cold irritates them,” he said, blinking a few times as he looked back at Jiyong, who nodded in understanding. “I bring glasses with me all the time, in case this happens.”

“Makes sense to me,” Jiyong replied, changing shirts to something that he would normally sleep in. He stretched, watching as Seunghyun pulled his glasses out and put them on. He had never seen the other man wearing anything but sunglasses, but Jiyong had to admit that they suited him. “You look good in glasses,” he mumbled, looking the other man over absently. Seunghyun turned to him, brow raised questioningly as he cocked his head.

“Hmm? You think these look good?” he asked, and looked back in the mirror. Jiyong walked up behind him, also looking over his reflection as he tapped his lips thoughtfully with his finger.

“Yeah. I like glasses. And your face just suits them.” He shrugged, pulling a blanket out of his room and walking into the living room. Flopping back onto the couch, he looked at Seunghyun with a smile, patting the seat next to him. “Want to watch a movie?” he asked, and Seunghyun thought for a moment before nodding and making his way over to the couch. He sat down, turning the television on and flipping through a few stations before settling on something that looked like it was half over but still entertaining.

Jiyong pulled his feet up onto the couch, cuddling under the blanket and throwing it over Seunghyun as well. He rested his head on the other man’s shoulder, smiling to himself as he rested his hand on Seunghyun’s thigh. He had to admit, Seunghyun had been a huge help with all of this and, for the first time since the week before, Jiyong hadn’t had his mind focused on Hwayoung and what had happened. He’d only been paying attention to Seunghyun, but he was okay with that.

He heard Seunghyun sigh beside him and Jiyong looked at him, belatedly realizing that he had been playing with Seunghyun’s thigh, nails dragging along the creases of his pants lazily before he stopped his movements suddenly, hand instead lying flat in the same spot. Jiyong looked down, lips pursed slightly as he nibbled on the inside of his lip.

“Thanks,” he started, and Seunghyun looked over at him, brow raised. “I mean, thanks for taking the time out to make me feel better,” he added, catching Seunghyun nodding out of the corner of his eyes.

“No one deserves that. Besides, seeing you like that…” Seunghyun trailed off, turning his focus to the television again. Jiyong sighed as he looked back at the television, though his focus was only there for a moment before he shot as sideways glance to his hand, still resting on Seunghyun’s thigh. Slowly, he slid it down, instead taking Seunghyun’s hand and linking their fingers together gently. He saw Seunghyun look down and smile, though he said nothing, simply giving Jiyong’s hand a soft squeeze.

“Seunghyun,” he mumbled, looking back at the other man. “This… This was kind of a date, wasn’t it?” he added, and Seunghyun just shrugged.

“Only if you wanted it to be,” Seunghyun answered, smirk on his lips as Jiyong stared at him. He could hear the slight joking tone in Seunghyun’s voice, but maybe he was right. Maybe Jiyong had wanted it to be a date.

He sat silently for a few minutes, Seunghyun still watching the movie on television while Jiyong looked him over. There hands were still linked together and, before Jiyong had a chance to think over his actions or stop himself he shifted in his spot, reaching up with his free hand to turn Seunghyun’s face so that they were looking at each other, and pressed a quick kiss to the other man’s lips. It wasn’t much, but Seunghyun looked at him with a slight smile.

“You’ve only been single a week,” Seunghyun said, that slightly joking tone still there though it was less apparent now. Jiyong nodded, looking down. “And… I’m assuming that, at this point, you’ve noticed I’m male.” Jiyong laughed, nodding once more as he moved his hand so it rested on Seunghyun’s neck. He let his thumb rub against the soft skin there absently, his now dry lips before looking back up at Seunghyun.

“Nope. I hadn’t noticed,” Jiyong replied, a wide smile on his lips. He didn’t usually feel like this around people – it was weird. He’d noticed it before: he and Seunghyun just clicked. Seunghyun chuckled, shaking his head before reaching up and ruffling Jiyong’s hair, effectively destroying the style as Jiyong yelped in obvious disapproval.

“No! Come on, did you have to go for that? Dammit Seunghyun,” Jiyong yelled, pushing himself up from the couch in an attempt to run from Seunghyun, who had moved from just messing with his hair to trying to tickle him. Instead Jiyong just stumbled over the blanket that was covering them both, tripping over it and landing on the floor. He covered himself with the blanket, though, Seunghyun trying to pull it off and failing.

At this point both were laughing, though Jiyong’s laughter was interrupted with the occasional curse as he tried to keep the blanket barrier between them. It took a while, but Seunghyun finally managed to pull the cover away from Jiyong’s face, Jiyong laughing even with the frown on his lips.

“That’s low. Don’t tickle me,” he whined, and Seunghyun shook his head, smiling down at the other man.

“But your reactions are cute,” he said softly, the laughter dying down as the two were simply left smiling at each other. Jiyong opened his mouth to say something, though when he felt himself blush he covered his face with the blanket again.

“Don’t…” he whined, the blanket muffling the rest of his words. Seunghyun leaned down, pulling the cover away for the second time and smiling at Jiyong, who swallowed deeply.

They were close, and Jiyong couldn’t recall ever being in this position. He was usually the one making all of the moves – he always started the kisses, he was the strong one that was the shoulder to cry on, he wasn’t the one covering his face with a blanket while he blushed. When Seunghyun kissed him he felt his eyes close, felt his hand slip into the other man’s hair, felt himself sit up as their lips worked against each other. He didn’t think about what he was doing, he was just content with the feeling of Seunghyun’s lips on his. Seunghyun wrapped his arms around Jiyong’s waist, both of them effectively on their knees at this point. When Seunghyun felt Jiyong’s teeth nip at his bottom lip he groaned, immediately pulling away. Jiyong’s eyes lazily flicked open, a slight pout apparent as he looked at the other man.

“I should head home,” Seunghyun mumbled, and all of a sudden Jiyong’s pout became more obvious.

“You should stay over again,” he replied, words barely audible as he leaned in to kiss Seunghyun again. Seunghyun pulled back, finger on Jiyong’s lips to stop him. Jiyong looked up.

“I should go home,” he replied matter-of-factly, words firm. Jiyong looked at him for a second before nodding, hesitantly pulling his hand from Seunghyun’s hair as he stood up. He watched Seunghyun grab his coat and the case for his contact lenses, slipping those into his pocket as they walked to the door. Jiyong opened it, smiling almost hazily at the other. Seunghyun’s hair was a mess from Jiyong grabbing it, and he couldn’t help but grin at the sight, laughing softly to himself as Seunghyun ran his hand through it in a futile attempt to fix it. “I’ll see you tomorrow or something,” he said, and Jiyong smiled.

They were standing in the hallway where someone could walk out of their room at any time, and both obviously realized that. There was an awkward moment where they both looked at each other in silence before Seunghyun sighed, pressing a kiss to Jiyong’s lips anyway. Jiyong smiled into the contact before the other man pulled away, the two staying close for a moment before Seunghyun pulled back, shooting Jiyong a smile before walking off and disappearing in the maze of hallways.

Jiyong watched for as long as he could, only retreating into his room when he couldn’t see Seunghyun anymore. He locked the door behind him, walking into the living room to grab his blanket before he threw himself onto his bed face down, blanket covering him completely as he smiled to himself.