The interview went fantastic, if Hyesung was to say so. Not even once did he think of the Love Potion as he talked about Shinhwa’s comeback and his recent solo work. The woman interviewing him was very pretty too, with her long hair, painted eyes and an impressive body (she was even rumoured to be a knitter). It helped Hyesung get his mind off another certain person. When the woman shook his hand after the interview started small talking to him, Hyesung would’ve normally been extremely happy to be able to hold her hand.

But he wasn’t.

The touch didn’t feel nice.

Hyesung almost screamed out in anger when he realized he missed Eric’s touch, Eric’s fingers tightly entwined with his. It didn’t feel as intense as when Hyesung last saw Eric, thank god, but it was there.

And as the day went on, it didn’t disappear.

When he got home much later, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about holding Eric’s hand and the man hugging him. If Hyesung closed his eyes tightly enough, he could practically smell the man there, next to him in his bed, and feel a warm hand in his own. Everything by sheer memory. Hyesung had to grab a tight hold of the mattress when he thought back to the night the potion began working. He had been desperately trying to kiss Eric.

Hell, he’d even managed to push the man to the floor. A violent shiver of pleasure went through him as he recalled how Eric had looked, eyes wide and mouth open.

“,” Hyesung hissed, groaning as he imagined that mouth on top of his. Or even better – on top of his, voluntarily moving.

Goddammit, Shin Hyesung.

No wait, goddammit, Jung Pilkyo. 

Get your act together.

His phone vibrated and Hyesung let out a massive breath of relief, finally having something else to think about. He quickly grabbed it.

“Still alive?”

It was from Eric.

No. This was not what he needed now, Hyesung thought angrily. He did not need Eric to be concerned about him while Hyesung imagined them making out. It gave his imagination so much more to work with.

Hyesung angrily threw the phone away without replying, giving in to the potion and restlessly fidgeted in his bed for the rest of the night.

The morning after was even worse. Hyesung woke up and felt like he hadn’t gotten anything to drink for days. His mouth was dry and his voice was hoarse. He rolled out of his bed, barely able to hoist his body up in a standing position and drag his tired legs over to the kitchen. He swiftly downed five cups of water, but it wasn’t enough.

Back in his room again, he let his body sink down on the floor while leaning against he wall.

He was exhausted.

“This potion is killing me,” he muttered, voice dry even though he’d just been drinking. That was the problem. He’d been denying it since last night, but the potion was affecting him even though he didn’t physically see Eric.

He needed to see him, but Hyesung refused to talk to the other man. He couldn’t make this already ed up situation even worse.

With shaking fingers he sent a message to his manager, telling him to move every schedule that day. He couldn’t walk out of the door like this, he decided. No way.

Unfortunately, his manager called back less than a minute later and yelled at him for making such a sudden decision. As soon as he heard Hyesung’s voice though, he seemed to understand what bad condition the singer was in and reluctantly let it go.

But news travelled fast, Hyesung quickly realized, and soon his phone was going off again, showing Eric’s number on the screen.

Hyesung stared at it while his mind screamed for him to answer, but his body didn’t. It took a lot, and it was like a physical toll on him to ignore the call.

Eric called again.

Hyesung ignored it.

Eric called again.

Hyesung turned his phone off.

He decided to get back in bed and, if he was lucky, maybe catch up on some sleep he’d lost while imagining things he shouldn’t last night.

Hyesung kept his eyes closed and was about to fall into an unruly sleep when someone furiously knocked on his door.

“Shin Hyesung!”

Oh my god, no.

Eric could not be standing on the other side of that door. Hyesung wouldn’t allow that.

Now his body was thinking differently though, and before he knew it he was up and walking, dragging his feet all the way to his front door.

He hesitated before turning the lock, mentally trying to prepare the meeting with the man of his dreams, literally.

Judging by Eric’s shocked expression when he saw the vocalist, Hyesung must’ve looked like hell. But now Hyesung was seeing Eric again and the rational part of his brain bid goodbye as his feelings took over.

He flung himself around the other man, relief washing though him as he realized he didn’t feel like a piece of garbage as soon as they touched. He was breathing heavily, enjoying how his body slowly became normal and happily avoiding mentioning the fact that Eric hadn’t pushed him away yet. Heck, Eric had even flung his hands around him, and was currently a hand over his back.

It was wonderful.

Hyesung was happy again.

“You look horrible,” Eric breathlessly said, and Hyesung could feel the other man’s jaw move next to his head. “Did you sleep at all? What happened?”

Hyesung took a deep breath, inhaling the scent he’d only dreamed of last night. “I seem to…” he began, letting a hand sneak its way to Eric’s cheek. For some reason he was still able to keep his brain somewhat reasonable. Eric didn’t push it away and Hyesung dared to take look at him. “I seem to need you by my side regularly, or I’ll go crazy.”

The way Eric looked at him made Hyesung fear he really would go crazy, and the mental switch went off in his head again. Another concerned look from that man and Hyesung would kiss him senseless right there in the hallway. It wouldn’t matter whether Eric agreed to it or not.

“I talked about it with Minwoo,” Eric began carefully, seemingly relieved that Hyesung hadn’t attacked him with more than a hug. Yet. “And then your manager called to tell me your condition. Minwoo suggested that if we…” He hesitated. “If we play along with the potion instead of going against it, you would probably feel better.”

Hyesung stared at the man. Was Eric suggesting what he thought he was?

“And I thought about it… What if I let you do more or less what the potion wants to, and we’ll just put it behind us when it stops working? I mean –“

“So I can hold your hand?” Hyesung interrupted, his voice a little too desperate to his liking.

Eric turned silent, but nodded slightly.

Hyesung let his hands trail down Eric’s well-defined arms, all the way from his shoulders and down to his fingertips. Finger by finger he slowly linked Eric’s hands together with his, and a wide smile broke out on his previously tired face.

Eric looked away while turning slightly red, and that made Hyesung’s heart beat faster. He’d managed to get a reaction out of the man. It was a start.

“This is enough, right?” Eric hesitantly asked, looking shy. Eric Mun looked shy in front of him. Hyesung loved it.

But no, he realized. It wasn’t entirely enough. Sure, he felt practically fine again (looking away from the fact that h