Jiyong cursed himself. He knew Seunghyun was having a couple of friends over for dinner and he was gonna give Seunghyun some space and would only come by later. So he went out with his own friends and afterwards, he thought he could take the time to finish up some work at the studio anyway. But darned it he had left his laptop at Seunghyun's apartment and no work could be done without it. So he thought he would drop by real quick, take the laptop and then leave.

 

So here he was, in front of Seunghyun's door. He could here music playing on the other side and someone was silly-singing. For a moment he contemplated whether to proceed or to just turn on his heels and leave. But he told himself that he was gonna be really quick. So he punched in the code and the door chimed as it granted him access.

 

The music was probably too loud that three people in the living room didn't hear him walking in. So he stood there, watching one of them awkwardly dancing(?) in the middle of the room to Hotel California and Seunghyun--on his couch--with his phone in his hands recording the whole thing.

 

Jiyong crossed his arms as he felt the slight annoyance in the pit of his stomach started to slowly unfurl. So he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and told himself repeatedly that these were Seunghyun's friends and that there was nothing to be mad about. Besides, one of them was his own friend too. When he opened his eyes, his gaze landed on Seunghyun and right on cue, Seunghyun turned around and noticed him standing there like a lifeless doll.

 

"Jiyong! You're here!" Seunghyun greeted happily, turning the music off. The other two men whipped around in the same direction. Seunghyun got off the couch and was instantly standing at Jiyong's side. He winced internally as he noticed Jiyong's expression.

 

"H-Hi," Jiyong smiled nervously and glanced around. "I'm sorry to interrupt. I just need to grab some stuff." He muttered, glancing up at Seunghyun, and quickly scampered towards the bedroom.

 

Seunghyun followed him like a loyal puppy.

 

 

"Why is he here?" Donghwi asked when he was sure the two were out of earshot.

 

"Who? Jiyong?" Kyungil hiked a thumb towards the general direction that Seunghyun and Jiyong had disappeared to.

 

"Yeah."

 

"Oh, you didn't know? Jiyong kinda lives here too."

 

"Oh." Donghwi frowned. "Is it always like this?" He said after a while.

 

"Well yeah, if he's not at his own place, he'd be here. Same goes to Seunghyun; if he's not here, he's over at Jiyong's."

 

"No, I mean...does he always-" Donghwi paused and in a long breath. "Does Jiyong always get to hog Seunghyun to himself like this?"

 

Kyungil's raised his eyebrows. "Oh man, you really shouldn't say that about him. You can't say stuff like that." Kyungil sounded defensive.

 

"Why not?"

 

"You don't know him. And you don't know how things work between them. For one, Seunghyun would drop anything for Jiyong. And he would do anything for Jiyong too. It's been like that for years, for as long as I can remember."

 

Donghwi nodded slowly at Kyungil's words as he realized that earlier, Jiyong had let himself in into the apartment. Which meant Jiyong knew the access code or even had his own copy of the key. Which also meant Jiyong was allowed to be in the apartment whenever he liked. In fact, Seunghyun wasn't even surprised to see Jiyong just appeared in the living room like that. If anything, Seunghyun practically yelped merrily when he saw Jiyong. Donghwi let out another sigh.

 

 

"What are you doing? I thought you were gonna spend the night here?" Seunghyun asked as he noticed his black Thom Browne duffel bag in Jiyong's hand and Jiyong was stuffing his own clothes into it.

 

"Picking up some stuff." Jiyong replied nonchalantly without even glancing back at Seunghyun. He went into the closet and looked around. He did plan to spend the night here, that was their plan. But when he saw Seunghyun's guests, he couldn't help but feel rebellious. Jiyong didn't really need the clothes, but he wanted to prove a point later. "Oh, speaking of, I need my laptop. Where is it?" 

 

"In the living room." Seunghyun watched Jiyong moved around his bedroom like he owned the place. He watched as Jiyong avoided looking at him. After a few moments, he thought--that's enough--and stepped forward and took Jiyong's hand into his, stopping Jiyong in his track. "Jiyong, you promised not to be jealous about him anymore."

 

"I know what I promised." He pulled his hand out of Seunghyun's grip. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't feel anything."

 

Seunghyun didn't say anything to that. He just watched Jiyong inhale deeply to tame his labored breaths. Seunghyun knew Jiyong was actually fuming but holding on to his reasons to stay calm and to not throw a fit.

 

"Look, hyung. I'm not mad. You're just having a couple of friends over." Jiyong finally said the mantra he's been repeating in his head to stay sane.

 

"Then stay," Seunghyun stepped forward and tried to take Jiyong's hand into his but again, Jiyong pulled his hand away.

 

"No, I can't. I don't wanna fight." Jiyong stepped back, crossing his arms. His gaze was still avoiding Seunghyun.

 

"We won't," Seunghyun promised.

 

"But I can't promise you the same. I know I would somehow find something to start making a big deal out of this. It's not fair. I promised to change and this is me trying." Jiyong finally looked up. "I don't wanna fight. It's so close to my birthday."

 

Seunghyun let out a sigh and clicked his tongue. He had his hands on his waist as he looked over at Jiyong; lips pursed, eyebrows raised. He then pulled Jiyong into a tight hug, mumbling an apology.

 

Jiyong huffed a smile and wrapped his arms around Seunghyun. "It's fine." He chuckled when Seunghyun swayed them together. "But if I catch him trying something, don't even try to stop me."

 

"Ugh," Seunghyun groaned, still embracing Jiyong tightly. "Please, stay. I like it when you're being territorial like this."

 

 

 

"Hey, you're not staying?" Kyungil questioned Jiyong when he saw Jiyong shrugging his jacket back on.

 

"Sorry, hyung. I gotta get back. My sister needs company at home. I just stopped by to pick up my laptop and some clean clothes." Jiyong shot Seunghyun a glance sideways.

 

Seunghyun gulped. That was Jiyong marking his territory.

 

Kyungil laughed. "Seunghyun! You're doing his laundry too now?"

 

Seunghyun shrugged and laughed nervously, noticing the small smirk on Jiyong's face. He felt Jiyong nudged him lightly, gesturing at his laptop on top of the stacked magazines under the coffee table. Seunghyun grabbed it for him.

 

"Okay, I gotta go," Jiyong announced, reaching for the duffel bag and the laptop from Seunghyun but his hyung insisted to carry them for him. Jiyong let him. "Enjoy the rest of your party."

 

"It's not a party," Seunghyun muttered under his breath.

 

But Jiyong ignored it and walked over to shake Kyungil's hand and gave him a half hug. "See you around, hyung." Then he turned to Donghwi, bowing a little bit, offering a handshake and a polite smile. "And you, too."

 

 

"Jiyong," Seunghyun followed him to the door.

 

"Hyung." Jiyong chuckled and turned around, his back pressing against the door. "I'll call you later, okay." He reached out and pulled Seunghyun to him by the collar. He glanced over Seunghyun's shoulders to make sure that the guests couldn't see them from the living room before leaning up to Seunghyun's ear and whispered, "And maybe we can have phone ." He hissed out the last word against the shell of Seunghyun's ear.

 

Seunghyun groaned, pinning Jiyong harder against the door. His hands found Jiyong's waist and he pulled it flushed against him, crowding Jiyong against the door. Jiyong laughed and wrapped his arms around Seunghyun's neck.

 

It was Seunghyun's turn to tease. He nuzzled at Jiyong's  ear and let out a grunt. "Or stay and we can actually have later."

 

Jiyong giggled when Seunghyun ground against him. The sound of Seunghyun's huffed laughter in his ear was heavenly. "Hyung, stop it! You have guests here!" Jiyong laughed harder when Seunghyun did the exact opposite and hugged him tighter. One of Seunghyun hands found its way to Jiyong's and he squealed, unintentionally loud, when Seunghyun squeezed a cheek. Jiyong muffled his giggles against the crook of Seunghyun's neck when Seunghyun leaned down, and wrapped his arms around Jiyong's middle and pulled him up.

 

"I'll miss you tonight." Seunghyun breathed out as he put Jiyong back onto his feet.

 

Jiyong smiled shyly, looking up at Seunghyun. His eyes darted between Seunghyun's for a few moments before he stood on his toes and leaned in for a kiss. "I'll miss you too." He ran his fingers through the hair on Seunghyun's temple and reluctantly peeled away from Seunghyun's arms.

 

"Call me later." Seunghyun demanded as Jiyong slid his feet into his shoes.

 

Jiyong laughed as he reached for his stuff in Seunghyun's hand. "Yes, I know. I said I would."

 

Jiyong opened the door and Seunghyun held it for him, practically draped himself against it, dreading Jiyong's departure. "Be safe." Seunghyun pouted.

 

Jiyong mocked him. "Aww.." He leaned in again for a quick peck and a pinch at Seunghyun's chin. "I'll see you tomorrow."

 

Seunghyun reached out a naughty hand towards Jiyong's again but got swatted before it reached the target. "Hyung!"

 

"Are you sure you don't wanna stay?" That was Seunghyun final attempt to make Jiyong change his mind.

 

It gained another laughter from Jiyong. "Bye, hyung." Jiyong said, stepping away from the door.

 

Seunghyun pulled an exaggerated pout and whimpered.

 

"Bye!" Jiyong said again, laughing at how ridiculous Seunghyun looked. He stepped back to the door and placed another brief kiss on Seunghyun stupid pout.

 

"Text me when you reach home."

 

Jiyong squinted. "Yes, daddy." He laughed again when Seunghyun's face fell and gaze darkened at the last connotation.

 

"You-" Seunghyun lunged from behind the door and tried to grab Jiyong's wrist but Jiyong was quick to pull away.

 

"Go back inside! They're probably wondering what's taking you so long."

 

Seunghyun hissed and sighed. "I have a feeling that I'm going to go to sleep frustrated tonight."

 

Jiyong laughed again. "No. I promised to call you later, didn't I? I'll make sure you would go to sleep happy tonight."

 

Seunghyun glared. "You're such a tease. Just go."

 

Jiyong just couldn't stop laughing as he waved. "Later."

 

Seunghyun waved back and watched Jiyong walked away until he rounded the corner into the hallway towards the elevator and then closed the door.