Sungmin took a shower the moment they returned to the apartment, damned if he was going to hang out in the bedroom with Jongwoon after sweating so much.  When he returned to the room, he looked over and realized that his bed was still broken. 

            “I thought you were going to fix the bed today?”

            Jongwoon looked up from his book.  “I started to but then I realized that we must have lost some screws while moving it and I didn’t have time to go to the hardware store before we had to get ready to leave for the awards.”

            Sungmin had no idea what he should say to that, because he wasn’t completely upset about the idea of sleeping next to Jongwoon again but he probably shouldn’t let on that it didn’t bother him.

            “I think that I’ll have to sleep on the couch now,” he said, testing the waters.

            Jongwoon gave him a curious look.  “Why would you want to do that after our obvious success yesterday?”

            “Well, I…I mean, this morning…”

            “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Jongwoon said, looking back down at his book.

            “So, I’m sleeping with you again?”

            Jongwoon reached for the edge of the comforter, pulled it down, and pat the spot next to him.  “Quit acting like it’s a death sentence and just get in.  You can put a pillow between us if you’re that afraid of me making a move on you in your sleep.  Your starting to make me self-conscious, I have it on good authority that I’m a damn good kisser.”

            “I don’t think it’s entirely safe to either agree or contradict that statement, under the current conditions,” Sungmin pointed out as he crawled into bed next to Jongwoon.  This time Jongwoon took the spot next to the wall.  Either he thought it would prevent a repeat of this morning or his still hurt from hitting the floor.

            “Don’t make me have to prove it,” he teased.

            This was dangerous territory, Sungmin decided.  If they kept talking about the kiss that never happened, he was bound to let something slip that he shouldn’t.  Sungmin adjusted his pillow and laid down, facing the ceiling.

            “Are you tired now?”

            “Yeah,” he admitted, “I’m sure that I don’t have the energy to make out with you right now so you can prove your point.”

            Jongwoon smirked and leaned over Sungmin to set his book on the nightstand, his chest lightly pressing against Sungmin’s as he turned off the light.  He then settled himself under the covers and turned to face Sungmin.

            “You know what I don’t get,” he said, “I was practically all over you when we returned to our seats at the show and Kyuhyun and Ryeowook acted like they didn’t notice a thing.  And I saw them both look over at us several times but there wasn’t any questioning looks or whispering to one another about it.  It’s almost as if they saw it but they didn’t interpret it right or something.”

            “They were acting a bit distant with each other as well.  They weren’t even sitting next to each other.  They had Hyukie between them,” Sungmin added, rolling over so he could see Jongwoon better.

            “I can’t tell if we’re not trying hard enough or they’re just really unobservant.”

            “So what do you think we should try next?”

            “Well, we probably have to kick it up a notch.  I have an idea,” Jongwoon said, lightly hitting Sungmin’s arm with his hand as he spoke.  “You should start talking about me out of the blue when you’re hanging around Wookie.  He may get suspicious that you have a thing for me.”

            “And you’ll do that with Kyu?”

            Jongwoon’s brows furrowed.  “No,” he said, shaking his head, “Kyu and I don’t talk about things like that.  He’d never put two and two together, he acts more like a guy than Ryeowook does.”

            “Then how are you going to make him wonder?”

            Jongwoon had to think about this for a minute.  “I’m going to have to start acting whipped, I think.”

            “What?”

            “You know, how guys act when they’re trying to get laid.”

            “Ah…”

            “You know, touch, flirt, compliment, buy presents.”

            “Oh,” he only responded.  “So, you mean, you’re going to start doing stuff like that to me?”

            “Well, I was already but I’m going to have to work a lot harder at it.”

            Sungmin laughed nervously.  “Yeah, sounds good.”

            “Quit acting like I’m torturing you.  Weren’t you the one that said he was willing to do anything to see his friends happy?” Jongwoon questioned.

            “Yes,” Sungmin enthusiastically answered.

            “And aren’t they worth a little embarrassment and discomfort?”

            “Most of the time.”

            “At least Wookie, right?”

            “Yes!”

            “So, even if you had to kiss me every day for the next month just to make your friends realize that this relationship that they have is more of a love affair than a friendship, you could do it just so they’re happy, couldn’t you?”

            Sungmin nodded.

            Jongwoon began to scoot closer to Sungmin, who began to inch towards the edge of the bed.  “Stop moving, Min.  We are going to have to get used to being near each other or else they won’t think we’re acting natural.”

            “But, even if we don’t act embarrassed, wouldn’t we also have to act as if we wanted to touch and kiss each other?  I mean, isn’t it obvious when someone’s being kissed who doesn’t want to be?”

            “Well, yeah,” he agreed.  “But we both clearly overreacted this morning anyway because neither of us realized that we were kissing the other.  Wouldn’t it look different if we purposely kiss one another?”

            “Um…I don’t think I could act casual about it.”

            “You aren’t supposed to act casual, you’re supposed to act .”

            “Then I’d have to kiss you back.”

            “Yeah,” Jongwoon agreed.  “So, just remember that if we end up having to take it to that level to get it through to them.”

            “But, I’m not sure that I will naturally react that way,” Sungmin admitted.

            “You just need to pretend that you’re dating me,” he said.  “Just act like you would around someone you like.”

            “I haven’t really dated much,” he admitted.

            Jongwoon sighed and ran his hand through his hair.  “Okay, so you’ll just have to practice in order to get it right.”

            Sungmin opened his mouth to object, not having the vaguest clue who he could talk into something like that when Jongwoon suddenly pushed him unto his back and hovered above him.  “Relax,” he ordered before closing his eyes and pressing his lips against Sungmin’s.

            Sungmin froze.

            Jongwoon drew his head back up and frowned.  “That wasn’t natural at all.  You look like a little girl getting kissed for the first time.  They’re going to know immediately that this is just pretend.  You have to act like you want it; you have to kiss me back.”

            Sungmin couldn’t even speak. 

            “Now, first of all, you can’t just keep your lips tightly sealed like that.  Make that little pouty face that you do all the time, that would be a bit more convincing.”

            Sungmin let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding.

            Jongwoon grabbed his cheeks with his hand, squishing them together until he was puckered up like a fish and then he brought his lips back down to Sungmin’s, moving his lips over them.  He released Sungmin’s cheeks and let his fingers trail down Sungmin’s jaw until they gently touched his chin and Jongwoon pushed his chin up a bit and angled his head to the side.  When he began to  on Sungmin’s lips, the younger had to suppress a moan from escaping his lips. 

            Sungmin's resistance began to wear away.  His worries were drown out by the sensations of Jongwoon’s lips, the wet slide of them on his, the teasing as his teeth lightly bit down.  If Jongwoon was waiting for him to act like he wanted this, that wasn’t going to be a problem. 

            Sungmin slid his hand over Jongwoon’s bicep until he gripped his shoulder and began to pull him closer.  He began to kiss Jongwoon back, raising his head off the pillow to increase the pressure.  He half expected Jongwoon to pull away at any moment and accuse him of trying to make out with him again but instead, Sungmin felt his tongue glide over his mouth.  As Sungmin gasped at the sensation, Jongwoon pushed his tongue between his lips.

            Sungmin’s brought his free hand up around Jongwoon’s neck and dug his fingers into Jongwoon’s silky, blond hair as Jongwoon lowered himself over Sungmin and pressed him back into the mattress. 

            Sungmin’s breath hitched as Jongwoon’s body weight lowered over him and immediately Jongwoon pulled back and rose back up on all fours.  He looked down at Sungmin and his lips.  “There,” he said, his voice rough and low, “much better.”

            Jongwoon then situated himself back down beside Sungmin and pat his shoulder for a moment before pulling the comforter up to his chin and closing his eyes.  Sungmin stayed perfectly still, trying to steady his breaths.  Perhaps his heartbeat would gradually slow and his body would stop shaking from overstimulation, but he was in serious doubt of falling asleep anytime soon.  If he fell asleep, who knew where his dreams would lead him.