“- turned out the door,” Seunghyun finishes, setting down his manuscript to get a good look at Jiyong’s face. Jiyong’s lips are pursed into a smile, but he doesn’t say anything once Seunghyun has finished reading. “Well?” Senghyun asks after a pause. “What did you think?”

“I think it’s coming along really nicely,” Jiyong says laughing.

“Let’s hope my editor thinks so,” Seunghyun says, a sigh escaping his lips. “She’s been riding my about deadlines and content lately.”  Jiyong lets out an immature snort at Seunghyun’s—apparently poor—choice of words. “Oh knock it off,” he says, giving Jiyong a playful shove. “I’m being serious!”

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” Jiyong says, still laughing. His laughter pauses and he says, with a lot more sincerity, “I do.”

“Maybe you should publish it, then,” Seunghyun grins. “Anyway, I still have a few pages to write before deadline.”

“I could stick around,” Jiyong smiles up at Seunghyun. “I’m sure I’ll find something to do that won’t distract you too horribly.”  

“ Oh, but I have a present for you first,” Seunghyun says, standing quickly. Jiyong’s eyes widen in slight surprise, but he says nothing as Seunghyun exits the room to retrieve his gift. There’s been a nagging voice in the back of Seunghyun’s head ever since he’s purchased this particular gift—but it was truly practical more than anything. There was no real sentimental value attached to it and it wasn’t expensive. He reasoned with himself, hoping and praying that Jiyong would like it. Of course the nagging voice was incredibly unhelpful and always made him worry- was it too soon for gifts? What if Jiyong didn’t want it?

Seunghyun pauses on the trip back to the living room, stopping in front of the mirror. He squares his shoulders and squints his eyes ever so slightly.

“Don’t be an idiot,” he says speaking to his reflection. “Confidence is key here. It’s a dumb gift anyway, so I’m sure Jiyong will be fine with it. He’ll love it. Hell, he might even laugh at you, and we know that’s a good sign. So just quit being so juvenile about this whole thing, okay, idiot? Otherwise you wasted 2000 won for nothing,” he grumbles the last part under his breath as he turns on his heel and walks back into his living room.

Jiyong is standing by his desk, a paper in his hand. His eyes are swimming down the page, reading and absorbing all the words. Seunghyun can’t tell at this distance which piece of writing Jiyong has, but honestly it doesn’t really bother him—except for the fact that he can’t quite read Jiyong’s expression and he’s not sure if that’s a good thing. He clears his throat to let Jiyong know he’s entered the room.

With the sudden unexpected noise, Jiyong’s head snaps up from the paper, his eyes wide. He smiles nervously, but Seunghyun walks towards him, keeping his hands (and Jiyong’s present), hidden behind his back.

“What’s this all about?” Jiyong laughs slightly as Seunghyun inches closer, continuing to be idiotic and cryptic.

With a dramatic display, Seunghyun gets down on one knee, producing Jiyong’s present from behind his back and displaying it for the blond boy.

“It’s a panda toothbrush,” Seunghyun says, continuing to proudly display the child-sized toothbrush for Jiyong to admire. “Relatively cheap, and incredibly practical,” he winks. His confidence is a little deflated when Jiyong doesn’t reach for the toothbrush. He doesn’t even smile. “What’s wrong?” Seunghyun asks, lowering his arms and looking up at Jiyong with concern.

“What is this?” Jiyong asks, with slight hesitation.

“What do you mean?” Seunghyun asks, slightly flustered and confused. “It’s a toothbrush,” he says, as though that’s the only answer to Jiyong’s questions.

“It’s not just the toothbrush,” Jiyong says, letting out a soft sigh. “I mean, what is this?” he gestures between the two of them and then lets his arms continue to gesture to everything around him.

“I don’t- what?” Seunghyun is standing now, completely at a loss for things to say. He hasn’t the slightest idea what could bother Jiyong so much about a toothbrush. Is the toothbrush even the problem here? Is it him?

“I’m temporary,” Jiyong says, slowly. His face looks a little distraught, maybe even a little frightened.

“You’re not temporary, Ji,” Seunghyun says, unsure of whether he’s supposed to be making Jiyong feel better or if he’s supposed to be fighting with him. “Whatever gave you that idea? You’re not a temporary thing, okay?”

“No, let’s be honest with ourselves here, Seunghyun,” Jiyong says, his arms falling back to his sides. “We’re nothing! We’re just two guys who meet up when we feel uninspired, I cook you breakfast, and your landlady knows me by name. There’s no commitment here.”

“There could be commitment,” Seunghyun pushes back, a little offended that Jiyong doesn’t think more of… whatever they have. “We’re more than just two guys that meet up occasionally for fun, and you know it.” He sounds a little more harsh than he would have liked, but if that’s what it takes to get is point across to Jiyong, fine.

“And that’s what scares me,” Jiyong says, his face falling and his voice softening. “I was only ever ready to be temporary, not more than that. Things that are permanent, they… they start to fall apart. You have the promise of forever dangling in front of your face, but the other person can’t be perfect. I can’t be perfect, and so that promise means nothing. I’m not ready for that, and I’m not ready for this,” he says. “I don’t mind being your muse, I don’t mind being the friend your landlady knows by name, I don’t mind cooking here and there, and I don’t mind you coming along to my shows, but I’m temporary, Seunghyun,” Jiyong says.

And with that, Seunghyun knows he’s lost. As angry as he is, there’s no witty rebuttal that comes speeding to his lips, no memory pushed to the front of his brain that proves Jiyong is contradicting himself. He bites his lip—a little harder than he means to—and looks at the floor.

“I’m tired,” Jiyong says, cutting into the silence. His voice is still dreadfully soft. He hesitates for a moment, and then pads out of Seunghyun’s door without so much as a glance over his shouler.

Seunghyun is frozen in place, heart still stinging. He looks glumly down at the panda toothbrush in his hand. The cheery design makes him scowl.

“ you,” he mutters to the smiling panda face, and he chucks the toothbrush into the far corner of his living room before stomping off to bed.

__

(A/N: Ahh alright, so there shall be time skips... now the date at the top of the chapter will become more important, but those are pretty easy to check ^^ Thanks so much for your input and your support so far! I love you all to the moon and back! Also- I have no idea if toothbrushes actually cost 2000 won... That's about a dollar 90 in USD and if you look hard enough you could find toothbrushes for that price here in the US and maybe in Korea...? idk. 

Hul, you're all erts *u* But let us coexist together as happy erts! Fear not- the is coming soon! Maybe even later tonight if I can get in the mood... @u@

Anyways, may you have a good day/week and I'll see you next update (which may be soon!)! I really can't express enough how grateful I am to all of you!)