They don’t know how the crowd goes from quiet to quieter when Kyuhyun begins to lean forward after no more words from him or Jongwoon. They don’t even know why the crowd cares so much or pays so much attention to them – two mere college students and should they also mention boys who are in love with each other?

They’ve been talking like they are not in the biggest inter-university basketball competition this year and they are not inside a gymnasium with more than ten thousand people inside, half of which don’t even have a single clue what is going on because the other half are from the opposing university. They’ve been talking like there aren’t anyone but them which in reality, should have been the case in the beginning because it’s not their university’s basketball team captain who loves Jongwoon or it’s not their soloist in the university choir who loves Kyuhyun or it’s not really anybody who is in love with the other.

It’s them.

So they talk like there’s no one watching them or looking at them with scrutinizing eyes. They talk like there’s no one who is judging them that moment and they talk like they don’t care if someone judges them from there on forward, too. It’s not necessarily easy, of course, but they both realize that it’s doable.

Kyuhyun realizes that it’s become less difficult to do now because Jongwoon is with him. Jongwoon realizes that it’s become more doable now that Kyuhyun is beside him.

The entire gymnasium of more than ten thousand people, children, adults, students, grandfathers and grandmothers, professors, coaches, and probably around five hundred more different walks of life, goes from quieter to quietest and they don’t even understand anymore how that is possible because there is a game and if Kyuhyun is not mistaken, it’s just around two minutes more of the last quarter when he exited the court. Surely, they’ve been talking for more than two minutes, right?

But he can care less about the game and he thinks he’s going to have to apologize to Siwon about that later again because he knows how important the game is to their captain but for now, his eyes gaze forward again, tenderly, to the eyes of the person he loves the most in this world and there’s nothing more in his mind than moving forward with Jongwoon.

Even hell doesn’t sound so bad as long as he’s with Jongwoon, he thinks.

Although that’s just coming from other people because he’s pretty sure god is kind and he’s got his hands full already with people who disobeys his eighth commandment, those who bear false witness against their neighbors. He thinks god is a god of love, too, and there’s really nothing between him and Jongwoon than he can think of more than love.

Kyuhyun leans forward and he meets Jongwoon’s eyes.

Jongwoon can’t believe that Kyuhyun is really doing it. In front of everybody. In front of everyone. In front of the whole world. He can’t believe the younger is really doing it and his mind is beginning to stop processing anymore thoughts as Kyuhyun begins moving closer to him. He’s leaning forward towards him and from a million emotions running through Jongwoon’s mind, it all comes down to one. That Kyuhyun is in front of him and that he is telling him that he loves him and that now, he is proving it, not just to him but to the world.

He thinks he can pull away. Kyuhyun has already proven that he’s willing to do it but for one reason, he wants to stay. He wants to stay.

He stays until Kyuhyun’s face is just a hairbreadth away from him, until Kyuhyun’s lips are almost touching his.

Then, just before their lips touch once again ever since that night when they are just going home and Yoona is forcing herself to kiss Kyuhyun, and maybe it’s fate or maybe it’s not, but they both fell to the ground and their lips barely touched, it couldn’t really be classified as a kiss by other people, but who is other people? This is Kyuhyun and this is Jongwoon.

Just before Kyuhyun closes his eyes and the distance between them, he gazes deeply in Jongwoon’s eyes and softly whispers, “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I love you.” And then, he closes the gap between their lips and kisses the person he loves the most in all of this world.

And the most beautiful feeling that moment is Jongwoon kissing him back.

It’s like they are breaking the law of time and space for those fleeting, blissful moments that their lips are together, Kyuhyun’s hands are on Jongwoon’s waist and Jongwoon is leaning forward to return Kyuhyun’s kiss.

Like there are no other person in the planet besides Kyuhyun who is kissing him and Jongwoon who is kissing him back.

And when they pull away, their soft gazes that they have for each other contain that one thing that has been there all this time, that one thing that has always been there even though because of multiple conflicts, it became blurred, almost washed out, but never really erased because love isn’t that easy to erase or forget. It’s not that easy to let go and vanish. Especially if it’s real.

Kyuhyun leans his head to Jongwoon’s forehead and says once more, “I love you, hyung.”

Jongwoon can’t help smiling at this point. “I know, stupid.”

“And do you,” he pauses, uncertainty clouding him over again. “Do you still – Can you still –”

The younger doesn’t have time to finish what he is asking and the older doesn’t have time to answer because Mr. Kim suddenly appears behind him and stands between him and Kyuhyun. He turns to look at his father and it surprises him when instead of resentment or embarrassment, there’s nothing but gentleness in Mr. Kim’s eyes as he looks at his son after witnessing everything that transpired between him and Kyuhyun, from the moment Kyuhyun left the court. Even though he stands between him and Kyuhyun, there’s nothing but tenderness and for the first time again since he can’t even remember when, the world feels alright again.

Alright.

“Dad,” Jongwoon begins.

“Are you alright?” his father asks him. Then, his eyes turns rigid as he continues, “Did Im Yoona do something terrible to you again? I swear I’m–”

He quickly interrupts his father because as much as he still doesn’t have it in him to forgive Yoona for everything she did to him, to Kyuhyun and to their friends and forget everything that happened, it was still thanks to Yoona that he and Kyuhyun are… alright now. To be honest, he still doesn’t know what will happen from this moment on. To be honest, he still doesn’t know what he’ll do now. But it’s frustrating worrying about the future no one knows or holds, Jongwoon realizes.

For now, he looks at his father and assures him, “She didn’t do anything, Dad. She just blocked my flight and made me come to see the game. She already left for good, or so she says. I’m alright now, Dad.”

Mr. Kim still doesn’t look convinced but he lets it go because his son is telling him that he is alright. He takes a deep breath before looking back at his son again. Just then, the entire gymnasium finally lets out the hollers, screams, yells and cheers that Jongwoon and Kyuhyun have been waiting for since they began talking. It seems like the moment of their kiss just passed in time because barely a minute after, the game finally finishes and Siwon is hugging each and every one of his teammates with tears in his eyes.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Jongwoon’s eyes widen as he begins jumping up and down as well. “They won!” Then, he turns to look at his father who doesn’t have the slightest idea of what is going on with the game and hugs him, “Dad, they won!”

Then, after hugging his dad who still doesn’t have a clue what happened with the game except the fact that that moment, his son’s university’s basketball team is the champion for this year, and who could only hug his son back as tightly as he is hugging him, Jongwoon turns to his other side and sees Kyuhyun looking as euphoric as him. There are even stray tears in his eyes like Siwon.

“Why are you crying, silly? You won!” Jongwoon tells him, wiping the tears off his eyes like he always do.

“We won, hyung,” Kyuhyun answers before immediately pulling the older into a tight embrace.

“I’m not part of the basketball team anymore,” he chuckles, sinking himself into the younger’s chest, deep into him.

“Neither was I part of the choir when I sang for the duet competition,” Kyuhyun says again, not wanting to let go. Then, he repeats again, “We won, hyung.” There’s a story in the way he said it, like it goes more than the basketball game today, like it goes more than the duet competition yesterday, like it goes more than all that meets the eye. There’s a certain melody in his lyrics and Jongwoon entirely understands the way he sings them.

“Yes,” Jongwoon hums to his chest. “Yes, we won.”

It’s almost painful for Mr. Kim to be the one to say it. He really doesn’t want to say it, doesn’t want it to be him, doesn’t want it to be him again to stop the fleeting happiness in his son. Because he is a parent and he loves his child so dearly if he can, he’ll do whatever he can to just keep him happy. But he also knows everything that happened and as much as it kills him as well, right after Kyuhyun and Jongwoon pull apart for the second time in a span of ten minutes, seeing the way the two gaze in each other’s eyes, he knows its time. 

“Jongwoon,” he speaks, “we need to go.”

A/N:

Hey, guys. I have not forgotten about this story XD and I don't plan to forget it.

I recently went back to school and after a few years, it's a challenge and a struggle. With work and school, do I still have time to write? OF COURSE. If I'm not writing anymore, it's either my hands were chopped off or I'm dead already. Writing is the same as eating for me. It's just something I can't not do no matter how busy I become.

I hope you guys are doing well and thank you for still being here (those who are still here). You guys are the most patient ever! I love you all. Take care of yourselves. - Elle