When Junhong walks into his new dorm he doesn’t expect to see a really, really attractive guy unpacking his bags. It’s not like he expected to be roommates with somebody unattractive, no, it’s just that this guy was really attractive. Really.

            He doesn’t realize that he was gaping at his roommate until he clears his throat, gives an awkward laugh, and says, “You my new roomie?”

            “Um,” Junhong starts, then stops, then starts again, “Um, yeah. Sorry, I just… I thought I was going to be roommates with a friend of mine.” He doesn’t know why he lies, why he can’t just say you’re hot and I’m kinda taken aback by it, but he does. Oh well. Too late to take it back now.

            The hot guy’s face drops and he almost looks like he feels bad for ruining something (something that didn’t even happen). “Oh, I’m sorry. I know changes aren’t possible, but maybe I can try anyway?”

            “No, no!” Junhong’s hands flail around and he immediately regrets lying. “No, it’s okay! I mean, they say that living with a friend can ruin the relationship. I mean- It’s okay, really!” He decides that he can’t talk today.

            “Oh, okay.” He sends him a smile that almost blinds Junhong. “I’m Daehyun. And you are?”

            “Junhong,” He introduces himself with a smile that he hopes looks at least half as good as Daehyun’s. “Nice to meet you, Daehyun.” I hope we can kiss sometime or something.

            When Junhong gets to his friend Jongup’s dorm later on that day, he lets his mouth run at full speed. “He’s so hot, Jongup, I swear, I could fry eggs on his body - Or his face - On his everything, that’s how hot he is. And he’s really funny, too. And he likes to play videogames too! He said we could play together sometime. I showed him my skateboard and he asked me to teach him one day, oh my God, can you imagine? He’s smart as , too. He told me he’s a B-average student but I can tell a smart guy when I see one, okay. His smile is the best. His teeth are really white, too. He has a mole underneath his left eye and it’s so cute. And he-“

            Honestly, Jongup stopped listening to Junhong once he heard something about eggs. He’s been best friends with Junhong since middle school and he knows that once he gets into something he can’t stop talking about it and apparently, Junhong is really into his roommate. He’s happy that his best friend is going to be living with somebody he likes but after a while he’s too bored and flicks Junhong’s forehead. “That’s great, Junhong,” He says with a small smile.

            “Isn’t it?” Junhong releases an airy sigh, seemingly unfazed by Jongup’s interruption. He only really snaps back to reality when a stranger who looks a few years older than him walks into the dorm’s living room. He stops in his tracks and Junhong is a bit uncomfortable underneath his stare.

            “You’re roommates with Daehyun?” The stranger asks and his voice is unfriendly.

            Junhong blinks once, twice, before answering, “Um, yeah…”

            The stranger nods once before shuffling into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge, and returns to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

            “That’s your roommate?” Junhong asks quietly even though he’s sure the guy can’t hear him from the living room.

            Jongup nods. “His name is Youngjae. To be honest, it doesn’t really seem like he likes me… Or you, for that matter.”

            Junhong can’t fight back the frown that makes it’s way onto his face. “I wonder why he asked about Daehyun.”

            “They’re friends, I think,” Jongup says. “When I first got here I heard him on the phone yelling at somebody. I heard him say Daehyun I few times.”

            “Oh.” Junhong is confused but he decides not to stick his nose in business that isn’t his.

            The first week of college is great, Junhong thinks – Mostly because his roommate is perfect, but it’s great nevertheless. Admittedly, he spent most of his time talking to Daehyun rather than studying math, but he can’t bring himself to care. He also got to spend more time with Yongguk, an upperclassman who he had known during high school. Yongguk was always so great in Junhong’s eyes and, really, he looked up to him. It was great to spend more time with him after being apart for a year between Yongguk graduating and Junhong spending his last year in high school.

            Spending time with Yongguk also meant spending time with Himchan. The two were best friends (and had been ever since elementary school, according to Yongguk). Apparently, they were still attached to the hip even in college.

            “Junhongie!” Himchan cries at the sight of Junhong, bounding up to him and engulfing him in a tight hug. The last time they saw each other was at Himchan and Yongguk’s graduation – Junhong went to say goodbye to Yongguk and, of course, Himchan clung to him.

            “Hi, hyung,” Junhong answers with a small smile. He didn’t dislike Himchan, he just saw him as a handful at times. Himchan was very loud and playful and on days when Junhong was dead tired from only getting 4 hours of sleep, Himchan would pester him just a little too much. Still, his hyung was fun to have around, even if he did let his hand linger on Junhong’s shoulder too long for his liking.

            Himchan pulls away long enough to pinch Junhong’s cheek and pat his head before hugging him again. “Oh, you’re so cute, Junhongie,” He coos. “You’ve grown so much this past year. You’re going to look too handsome when you’re older, you know? I think I’ll have some competition.”

            Junhong is just about to pry himself out of Himchan’s arms when Jongup comes up behind them, smiling at the sight of Himchan clinging to his best friend. Seeing Jongup, Himchan lets out another excited cry, releases Junhong, and runs for Jongup instead. It doesn’t surprise Junhong in the least. Himchan always really, really liked Jongup and would fawn over him 99% of the time. Instead of being surprised, Junhong feels grateful for Jongup’s sudden appearance.

            “Jonguppie, you look so good! Oh, my baby, you’re even more good looking than in those pictures you put up online.” Himchan is now suffocating Jongup in a hug and Junhong can’t help but laugh.

            As Jongup and Himchan catch up (it consists mostly of Himchan spewing compliments and Jongup shyly accepting them), Yongguk wraps an arm around Junhong’s shoulder. “How are you liking college so far?” He asks, shooting Junhong a smile.

            “It’s great,” Junhong answers almost immediately. Yongguk seemed to notice because his eyebrows raise and he laughs.

            “What’s making it so great? I remember feeling really awkward during my first week of college.”

            Junhong tries not to blush as he realizes that he sounds eager. The blush spreads along his cheeks as he thinks, damn you, Jung Daehyun. “It’s just different. A nice kind of different. It’s seeming to be better than high school.”

            Yongguk laughs again. “Okay, so who do you have a crush on?”

            “Nobody, hyung!” Junhong’s cheeks are getting even redder and he picks at his hair. Yongguk knows that he’s a terrible liar. He’s surprised he got away with the lie he told Daehyun when they first met.

            “Well, when you’re ready to tell, I want to be one of the first people to know.” Yongguk pats Junhong on the back before prying Himchan off of Jongup and walking to their next class together.

            Junhong tells Jongup about his crush on Daehyun first. They’re sitting in class together one day a few minutes before it begins and Daehyun is leaned over on Youngjae’s desk. He doesn’t have this class but he seemed to have something important to tell Youngjae, if his rushed steps and hushed voice say anything. Junhong tries not to stare at them but he can’t help it – Daehyun is just really attractive, okay.

            Meanwhile, Jongup is trying to finish his homework at the last minute. He says that he stayed up all night playing Pokemon or something. Junhong doesn’t really know because he was too busy focusing on Daehyun. Thankfully, Jongup doesn’t seem to notice Junhong drooling over his roommate.

            Junhong’s jaw almost drops when Daehyun steps away from Youngjae’s desk, looks up, catches Junhong’s eye, and smiles and waves (thank god Junhong doesn’t, willing himself to smile and wave back instead). Daehyun leaves the classroom and Junhong sighs dreamily, “He’s so attractive. I just wanna, like, squish our faces together or something.”

            Jongup doesn’t look up from his homework. He hums and asks, “Do you like him?”

            The simple question causes Junhong’s cheeks to turn red (this really shouldn’t be happening so often, Junhong thinks). “Um.” He squirms in his seat next to Jongup and looks in the opposite direction. It takes him a few seconds to muster up enough courage to say quietly, “Yeah, I guess.”

            At first, everything is silent. It makes Junhong even more uncomfortable and he’s instantly afraid that he shouldn’t have told Jongup. But then Jongup asks, “Want me to tell him? I mean, we’ve been neighbors for years, and I like to think that I’m pretty good friends with him. We don’t talk much but it seems like he likes me enough.”

            This time, Junhong’s jaw does drop. “What?” He ignores his voice cracking. “Tell him?” He can’t seem to form full sentences. “I- You- You can’t just- No!” He settles on shaking his head and trying to calm the furious blush covering his face.

            “Oh. Okay,” Jongup replies and goes back to doing his homework, leaving Junhong sighing and covering his face with his hands.

            Unfortunately, Daehyun and Junhong don’t have any classes together, but Junhong thinks that being roommates is enough (he does want to spend as much time with him as possible, but living with him is pretty great). However, Daehyun helps Junhong with his homework whenever he asks for help. In fact, he seems more than happy to help. Junhong admires how nice Daehyun is and he feels himself crushing just a little bit harder.

            The only downside of Daehyun helping Junhong with his homework is that Junhong focuses more on Daehyun’s perfect face than on the boring homework he’s helping him with. At the end of the day, he’s stuck with all of the right answers but no clue on how he got them. He doesn’t really care, though. He gets a good grade and spent time with Daehyun – It’s a win-win situation.

            Junhong decides that he’s in too deep when he wakes up from a nap one day with a (which isn’t all that weird, except he just finished dreaming about making out with Daehyun). He rushes to the bathroom to take care of himself – He wants to somehow magically will it away, but he has a feeling it won’t be that easy – But he’s stopped dead in his tracks when he hears Daehyun call from the kitchen, “You okay?” Junhong swallows hard and turns to look at him. “Your face is all flushed. You got a fever?”

            “No, I’m just… I’m okay.” Junhong can’t even make up a decent lie at this point, so he opts on making his way to the bathroom and locking the door behind him. Sadly (but not to his surprise), his doesn’t go away when he wishes it to.

            On a warm and sunny afternoon, Junhong tries to teach Daehyun how to skateboard. He’s not sure what to expect as they’re walking together out to an empty part of the school campus, his favorite skateboard tucked under his arm. He has no clue how much experience Daehyun has with skateboards. He assumes little to none. But he’s not nervous or worried – In fact, he’s the opposite. He’s excited and happy, mostly because he gets to spend more time with Daehyun, but also because he loves the idea of skateboarding around town with him. Junhong’s heart pounds in his chest as they find a good enough place to begin his lesson.

            The session ends badly, to say the least. The two walk back to their shared dorm with Daehyun sporting bloody scrapes on his knees and Junhong sporting a spoiled mood (because he really wanted to skateboard around town with him, and, sure, it was Daehyun’s first time skateboarding, but he kind of had high expectations). The past two hours had consisted mainly of Daehyun falling – hard – and Junhong making sure his skateboard wasn’t ed up. He did like Daehyun, but his skateboard has been with him for years now and it’s basically his most prized possession. He decides two hours too late that he should’ve brought a different skateboard.

            Despite the failed attempts, Daehyun thanks Junhong. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to skateboard, honestly,” He says and Junhong swears his heart will beat out of his chest. “But it just seems so difficult. I think my knees can prove that.”

            Junhong laughs. “It was only your first time. It’s okay.” He forgets that just a few minutes ago, he was bitter that Daehyun wasn’t some kind of born natural. “We can try again some other day if you want.”

            “Yeah. Definitely.” Daehyun flashes Junhong a smile. Junhong tries not to fall over right then and there.

            Two months into the school year, all of Junhong’s closest friends know about his huge crush on Daehyun. Fortunately, everybody was supportive (some were a bit too supportive – Himchan, mostly). They even tried to give him advice on how to confess. Unfortunately, any and all advice Junhong got just seemed ridiculous.

            “Just tell him,” Himchan states one day, as if confessing is the easiest thing in the world. “There’s no need to beat around the bush.”

            “I can’t just tell him that I wanna make out with him,” Junhong cries and shakes his head furiously.

            Himchan huffs. “Who says you can’t?”

            “I said he can’t.” Yongguk appears from behind Junhong, placing a warm hand on his shoulder. It feels anything but comforting to Junhong. “Look, if you’re going to confess to somebody, you need to make it romantic.”

            “But Bbang,” Himchan whines, “That’s not how we started dating.”

            Yongguk shoots Himchan a glare. “I was drunk, okay? You’re lucky I even stuck around when I was sober.”

            Junhong’s face is distorted in confusion as Himchan rolls his eyes. “You’re the lucky one here. Anyway, Junhong, just tell him. It’s not that hard. I promise.”

            His hyungs don’t realize that Junhong has stopped listening a while back and is now trying to decipher what they just said.

            Admittedly, Junhong rolls the idea of confessing around in his mind a few times later that night when he’s curled up under his covers. Maybe it really isn’t that hard. He can just walk up to Daehyun and tell him that he likes him, right? Daehyun won’t react too harshly, right? It won’t be that bad. Junhong repeats that to himself as he climbs out of bed to get a drink in the kitchen (probably just a swig of milk from the carton – A bad habit he’s had for as long as he can remember).

            The repeated thought flies out of his mind when he walks out into the living room and sees Daehyun fast asleep on the couch. He looks really, really good – Really cute, Junhong thinks. Ignoring the voice in the back of his head screaming at him to just go back to bed, Junhong tip-toes over to the sleeping figure and watches him with his breath caught in his throat. He wants so badly to lean over and brush strands of his hair aside, to kiss his forehead, to curl up next to him on the little spot Daehyun isn’t taking up. He wants to dive headfirst into his pool of emotions and have Daehyun already swimming, waiting for him to arrive.

            Instead, Junhong stumbles backwards a few steps before taking a quick swig out of the half-empty milk carton and practically running back into his dark bedroom.

            No, he decides, confessing isn’t that easy. Not at all.

            Junhong believes that Youngjae doesn’t like him. He also believes that Youngjae doesn’t like Jongup. Really, Junhong believes that Youngjae doesn’t like anybody (but especially not him). His thoughts are pretty much confirmed when he’s walking towards his dorm one day and Youngjae walks by him and glares. At first, Junhong blinks hard and laughs, assumes he was just seeing things. But when he glances over his shoulder and can practically see Youngjae fuming, he figures he’s wrong.

            The door to his and Daehyun’s dorm is opened and at first, Junhong finds it strange – Then it clicks. He sees Daehyun sprawled along the couch as soon as he walks in and Junhong immediately asks, “Do you know Youngjae?”

            “Yeah, why?” Daehyun doesn’t look up from the TV. Instead, he reaches his hand into the bag of chips seated in his lap. “Were you looking for him?”

            Junhong shakes his head as he closes the door behind him. “No, I was just wondering. To be honest, I don’t think he likes me.” I know he doesn’t like me, but maybe I shouldn’t just assume things, even if all of the signs are there.

            At this, Daehyun bursts into laughter. “That’s not surprising. Youngjae doesn’t really like anybody – Except me, of course.” Junhong rolls his eyes, but Daehyun isn’t looking. “He’s probably just jealous of you. He wanted to be my roommate this year, but some problems came up…” His voice trails off (an unusual thing for Daehyun to do, Junhong notes).

            Junhong assumes it’s a sensitive subject and doesn’t continue. He nods, says a quiet “Oh,” and goes into his room. He stays silent but his mind is racing. Maybe Youngjae liked Daehyun, too. Why didn’t Youngjae become Daehyun’s roommate? Does Youngjae still like Daehyun?

            Junhong is feeling kind of sick, so he decides to sleep.

            Jongup and Junhong are sitting in the coffee shop downtown when Junhong asks, “Hyung, do you ever talk to Youngjae?”

            Jongup chews on his lower lip in thought before answering, “Sometimes. He’s pretty quiet except for when he’s on his phone.”

            “Texting, or…?”

            “No, he talks on the phone – With a lot of different people, but usually Daehyun.”

            Junhong’s jaw almost drops. He swallows hard and manages an, “Oh, really?”

            Jongup nods. “Atleast, I think so. I hear him saying his name a lot. They seem like close friends.”

            For a few minutes, Junhong is quiet. He can’t think of anything to say. His stomach is suddenly very upset and he doesn’t really feel like hanging out downtown anymore. He’d much rather go back to bed and sleep, to forget about Youngjae and his relationship with Daehyun.

            It because he knows that Youngjae is closer to Daehyun than he ever wishes he could be.

            “Everybody’s advice is useless!” Junhong cries out. “No offense, hyung.” He adds in after noticing Himchan scoff. “I just can’t do this! He’ll never know how I feel. Jongup even said he would tell him! Can you believe that?”

            Himchan’s eyes go wide and Junhong is about to yell an “I know, right?” when Himchan says, “You told Jongup?”

            Junhong’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “Well, yeah, we’re best friends.”

            Himchan sighs. “Poor Jonguppie. I’ll have to take him out for coffee soon.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “He’s had a crush on you for as long as I can remember, Junhong,” Himchan states, and his voice is relatively softer. “His poor little heart must be crushed.”

            Junhong’s mind goes blank. He forgets about everybody’s advice, he forgets about Daehyun, he forgets everything. He sits on the edge of Himchan’s bed with a poker face.

            Himchan sighs again, shaking his head. “It’s alright. You didn’t know. I’ll comfort him the best I can.”

            At the sound of Himchan’s voice Junhong snaps back to reality, and he wants to rot in bed for the second time that week. “I really didn’t know,” He mutters, looking down at his feet, tugging at his shirt slightly and biting down on his bottom lip. He feels like his entire world has been flipped upside down – But mostly, he feels like he really, really hurt his best friend. He hasn’t felt this bad in a while, not even when he learned about Youngjae and Daehyun’s relationship or when he realized that Daehyun at skateboarding.

            Himchan pulls him into a hug. This time, it’s a lot gentler than his usual suffocating hugs. “It’ll be okay, Junhong,” He whispers into his ear. “I’m sure Jongup knows that you didn’t mean to hurt him.”

            “But I still hurt him.” Junhong and Jongup have never gotten into an argument before. They tended to agree on things and usually felt the same way about people. They shared a lot of the same hobbies and interests. They were best friends who usually complimented each other but now Junhong thinks that he’s unconsciously shoved him aside for somebody he hardly knows. A stranger.

            Junhong doesn’t know what to when he gets to class the next day and sees Jongup sitting at his desk. He’s instantly hit with a truckload of emotions (ranging from regret to sadness and everything in between). He wants to approach him, sit next to him and talk like nothing happened, but he knows that he can’t now. He can’t now that he knows that his best friend likes him and he didn’t even give him a chance.

            Junhong thinks that if he had known about Jongup’s crush on him earlier, he might have acted on it. He’s always seen Jongup as a best friend and nothing more, but things can definitely change. He could’ve at least given him a chance.

            He knows that he can’t stand in the doorway of the classroom forever so, with a large gulp and a surge of confidence, he walks up to Jongup and takes a seat next to him. Jongup doesn’t look up from his homework (he always does it in class the day it’s due. This has been an ongoing thing ever since high school) and Junhong is glad. He doesn’t know how he would react if he looked Jongup in the eyes.

            Junhong decides not to say anything. He can’t trust his voice to work properly at the moment, in all honesty. Within the next few minutes their teacher comes in and class begins as usual. However, unlike usual, Junhong thinks of Jongup instead of Daehyun.

            After class ends and Junhong is walking in the opposite direction of Jongup’s next class, he hears his name being called from behind him. He turns on his heels and is surprised to see Jongup standing a few steps away from him, looking rather concerned.

            “It’s okay,” He says. His voice is so quiet that Junhong almost didn’t hear him. “I mean, if you like Daehyun. It’s okay.” He pauses for a moment before adding, “I’m okay.”

            Junhong stops breathing for a second. How did he even know? Did Himchan talk to him after he left his dorm that day? Himchan wouldn’t just blabber like that, would he? Yeah, he would. .

            “Please don’t worry.” Jongup is closer now, face to face with Junhong, and he can clearly see the pain on Jongup’s face. “Don’t stop going after Daehyun because of me.”

            Junhong wants to say something, anything, but he really feels to be at a loss for words. He settles for nodding once instead.

            Jongup gives him a small smile. “Besides, things can always change, right?”

            Junhong nods again and watches Jongup turn around and walk away, waving once.

            It takes a matter of weeks, but Junhong and Jongup’s relationship returns to normal. At first, their time together consisted of short, awkward conversation and small smiles shared between glances (which is mostly Junhong’s fault, he decided). But after a few pushes from Himchan and a bit more shared time at the coffee shop downtown, they’re back to their usual laughing selves and honestly, Junhong is really relieved. He hated the turn their relationship took in those few weeks and he ached for everything to go back to normal, even if he was the reason why they didn’t speak to each other much. In the end, he was more grateful to Himchan than he had ever been before.

            “I really do think you should tell Daehyun how you feel, though,” Jongup tells Junhong one day in Himchan and Yongguk’s shared dorm. The two hyungs are sitting on the bed together while Jongup and Junhong are laid along the floor. The four had been talking for hours about nothing and everything.

            “Thank you,” Himchan groans with a roll of his eyes from on top of the bed. “I’ve been trying to tell him that for weeks now but he won’t listen to me.”

            Junhong releases a heavy sigh. This topic always made his stomach unsettle. “It’s not as easy as it sounds, you guys.”

            “But if you don’t do it you won’t get anywhere with your relationship,” Yongguk pipes up. It’s a surprising change from his last idea of taking the whole situation romantically.

           “Finally, you people are seeing the light!” Himchan yells and does a small victory dance – At least, that’s what Junhong assumes it is. It’s hard to tell with Himchan.

            Junhong rolls onto his stomach and buries his face in his arms. “I don’t know, it just seems impossible.”

            “A lot of things seem impossible until you try them,” Yongguk says. Of course. Typical Yongguk.

            It’s two in the morning when Junhong and Daehyun are sitting on the couch together watching TV – However, Daehyun seems more focused on his phone rather than the cliché drama playing. Junhong notices, of course, but doesn’t want to bug him about it. He’s realized that he’s very conscious of what he does and says around Daehyun.

            Twenty minutes into the show (that’s very dumb and boring and very cliché, Junhong thinks), Daehyun looks up from his phone and sighs. Junhong’s eyes fall on a frustrated-looking Daehyun.

            “What’s up?” Junhong decides to ask. That’s what friends do, right? Him and Daehyun are friends, right? Yeah. Right.

            Daehyun shrugs. “It’s just Youngjae,” He states. It leaves Junhong with more questions than answers. Daehyun must notice the silence afterwards because he adds, “He’s been bugging me about something again lately.”

            “Oh?” Junhong can’t seem to take his eyes off of Daehyun.

            “He wants to date me,” Daehyun says, and Junhong literally feels his entire world crashing down on him. “But I’m not into him like that. I only see us as friends.” And then Junhong feels his world getting picked up.

            “Oh.” Junhong isn’t good with words.

            Daehyun manages a smile. “That’s why he wanted to be roommates with me. He thought that if we lived together, we could get to know each other better and maybe I would end up liking him back. But we’re already best friends. We can’t get much closer than we already are. He doesn’t understand that I don’t feel the same way.”

            Junhong just nods. His heart is trying to leave his chest again but he wills it to stay where it belongs.

            “Honestly, it’s been putting me off. I’ve been hanging out with him less because of it. Sometimes, when we’re together, he tries making moves on me. It makes me really uncomfortable. I just want us to be friends like we have been for years.”

           This time, Junhong decides not to stay quiet. “Last month I found out that my best friend likes me,” He says, and he’s not quite sure why he’s telling Daehyun this, but he rolls with it anyway. “I’ve never thought of him as anything more than a best friend.”

            “Jongup?” Junhong’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Sure, he’s with Jongup all the time, but he didn’t think Daehyun would know- “He told me once.” Daehyun laughs at Junhong’s expression. “He talks about you a lot, you know.”

            “Really?” No, Junhong doesn’t know. He feels kind of touched.

            Daehyun nods and laughs harder. “He really likes you.” His laughter dies as he asks, “You don’t like him?”

            Junhong shakes his head. “Only as best friends. Anyway, he knows now, and he’s okay with it.”

            “You’re lucky. I wish Youngjae was as understanding. I’ve even told him that I like somebody else but he still won’t listen to me.”

            At this, Junhong’s interest is completely taken. “Oh? You like somebody?” He asks with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a nudge to his side.

            Daehyun grins and swats at Junhong’s elbow. “Yeah. It’s a secret, though. All I can say is that he’s really, really good looking.”

            Junhong laughs with Daehyun. “Why don’t you tell him that you like him? I’ve been told that it’s pretty easy to do.”

            “It’s not,” Daehyun scoffs and crosses his arms. “Whoever told you that is full of .”

            “I know, right?” Junhong rolls his eyes. “I’ve tried telling them that countless times but they don’t seem to get it. You can’t just tell someone that they’re really, really good looking and you want to go out with them.”

            Daehyun nods vigorously. “It’s really not that simple.”

            The two spend hours talking to each other about crushes, friendships, just life in general – When they’re finally too tired to keep talking, it’s four in the morning and Daehyun is passed out with his head up against the armrest and Junhong’s eyelids are drooping as he leans against the opposite armrest.

            Junhong is about to get up and move to his bedroom when his eyes close for just a little too long. He falls asleep curled up next to Daehyun on the couch.

            The next month of school is even better than the first few months. Junhong is closer to Daehyun. They spend hours upon hours every day talking and they never seem to run out of topics. They play video games until the sun rises in the early morning and they’re almost too tired to hold their controllers. They pass out on the couch together many more times than one. On top of that, Junhong’s relationship with Jongup is even better, too. Jongup seems to not care at all about the fact that Junhong is crushing on Daehyun (even harder now than before, Junhong might add). He’s even getting used to Himchan’s constant fawning over him and tight hugs. All in all, college life seems to be going pretty damn great. The only gray area is the fact that he still hasn’t confessed to Daehyun.

            Junhong’s world comes to a stop when, one afternoon, Daehyun says, “I think I’m going to tell my crush that I like him today.”

            His mind and heart automatically go into overdrive. Daehyun is going to confess to his crush and Junhong is going to be stuck admiring Daehyun from afar. It’s not fair, he thinks. Why can’t confessing be as easy as his friends say it is?

            “Oh,” Junhong barely squeaks out, refusing to look at Daehyun (for the first time in his life) and instead attempting to focus on the TV. His fingers are fumbling with his shirt and he’s squirming a bit on the couch. He has to remind himself to take deep breaths so that he won’t start hyperventilating.

            Daehyun takes a deep breath before stating, “I’m just going to tell him. Maybe it is as easy as people think it is.”

            It’s not. Junhong bites his bottom lip so hard that he almost draws blood. It takes him a minute to reply, “I’m sure everything will turn out alright. Good luck.”

            “Thanks,” Daehyun says with a small smile. “I’ll need all the luck I can get.” And then he gets up, phone in hand, and begins walking to his bedroom.

            Junhong’s heart goes from racing to almost stopping completely. He doesn’t like Youngjae, does he? No, Daehyun told him that he doesn’t. But what if he somehow changed his mind? What if he does like him? What if he’s going to confess to Youngjae today?

            Suddenly, Himchan’s voice rings in Junhong’s head. Just tell him, don’t beat around the bush, it’s not that hard. It’s not that hard, is it? And then he hears the others in his head. Just tell him.

            Junhong’s mouth opens – And then it closes. And then it opens again. He’s about to decide that he’s broken when he sees Daehyun push his bedroom door open and he yells, “I like you, hyung!”

             It’s that easy. He doesn’t have to beat around the bush. Instead, he’s dived headfirst into his emotions. He just hopes that Daehyun is already swimming there, waiting for him.

            Daehyun stops in his tracks and slowly, slowly, turns to face Junhong, whose mouth is open and his eyes are wide as he sits on the couch. Soon enough, Daehyun’s expression matches Junhong’s, and the two are staring at each other in silence.

            The room stays silent for a minute and Junhong is about to dig himself a hole to crawl into and die, but then Daehyun says quietly, “You… like me?”

            “Yes,” Junhong croaks, pressing his lips shut and swallowing hard. “Yeah, I do. I’ve liked you ever since the day I saw you, hyung.” He’s already swimming in his emotions now; Why not go into the deep end?

            The silence returns for another minute until Daehyun bursts into laughter. He’s bent over, laughing so hard that he’s having trouble breathing, and Junhong’s face turns a violent shade of red. Oh no. This was a bad, bad idea.

            “Junhong-ah,” Daehyun manages between laughter, “You like me.”

            Junhong swallows hard again before answering, “Yeah.” And then he’s laughing, too. “Yeah, I do.”

            After who knows how long, Daehyun stops laughing and calms his breathing, and Junhong does, too. They’re smiling at each other (Junhong’s smile isn’t really all that happy) until Daehyun says in an almost-whisper, “I like you too, Junhong.”

            Junhong’s world stops, his heart stops, his breathing stops – Everything stops. Someway, somehow, time is frozen, and it’s just Junhong and Daehyun. Junhong has a poker face again and he’s so still, it’s as if he froze with time.

            He stays that way until Daehyun laughs again, gives Junhong the brightest smile he's seen, and says, “Wanna try to teach me how to skateboard again?”

            Junhong is in a swimming pool of his emotions and Daehyun is at the deep end waiting for him. The thought hits him and a goofy smile spreads across his face slowly. “Yeah,” He answers, and he gets off the couch with surprising ease. He grabs his most loved skateboard out of the corner of his room, walks out of the dorm with Daehyun, and feels the happiest he’s ever felt in his entire life.

            Maybe confessing really is that easy, Junhong thinks.