Jiyong came across the screenshot one afternoon--while lounging on the couch, munching on a slice of watermelon, after a fulfilling lunch. He reached for his phone on the coffee table before leaning back and lifted his legs onto the table--stretched out and crossed by the ankles. He began scrolling through his SNS accounts and looking at stuff on the internet--pictures, mostly, and some articles. Occasionally, he glanced up at Seunghyun, who was still moving about in the kitchen, putting away the leftovers into the fridge, putting the dishes into the dishwasher, before grabbing a cloth to wipe the dining table clean.

One swipe of his thumb on his phone screen, that was when Jiyong saw it. A post of a sappy quote written over a picture of a couple.

A forehead kiss means protection. It's respect.
It says, "You're mine, don't ever leave my side."
It says, "I care about you and I don't want you to get hurt."
It says, "I'll come between you and whatever tries to hurt you."
It says, "I love you and you are my baby."

His eyes snapped up, back to the man in the kitchen, as his mind wandered back in time. And then he began asking himself, had Seunghyun ever kissed me on the forehead before?

His memory quickly supplied a few instances--Seunghyun did kiss him on the forehead when he found him working late one night and coaxed him to come to bed, and that one morning where Seunghyun told him he looked particularly adorable when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast, looking disheveled, wearing a pair of boxer shorts, Seunghyun's shirt, and his stupid Spongebob slippers, and also the most recent one, which was just this morning, in the shower.

Okay. So Seunghyun had kissed him on the forehead before. Countless times. Jiyong loved kisses and Seunghyun was very good at it, too. Be it on the lips, on the forehead--anywhere--Jiyong just loved them all. But, if he was being honest with himself, a kiss on the forehead might be his favorite. There was something unexplainably good about them. He always thought that kisses on the forehead were more intimate than kisses on the mouth--which, in his opinion, were of lust, most of the time. Of course he wouldn't trade anything in the world to have Seunghyun ravish his mouth like there was no tomorrow, but a spontaneous kiss on the forehead drove his heart wild sometimes.

Reading the quote again, Jiyong wondered if those 'meanings' were true at all. He looked up at Seunghyun again, trying to find some clues. He knew Seunghyun loved him. Although it was hard for Seunghyun to say the three words outright, Jiyong knew Seunghyun loved him. It wasn't like Seunghyun never said it before, but he believed in 'actions speak louder than words' and he told Jiyong once that the word 'love' would be just another word if said too often. Jiyong saw the sense in it and agreed. So when Seunghyun confessed and said the magic word every once in a while, Jiyong knew he meant it with all his heart and that just made his stomach flutter and his heart skip.

The sound of Seunghyun clearing his throat threw Jiyong off of his train of thought. To his surprise, Seunghyun was already frowning at him while wiping his hands with a clean towel--cleaning all done.

"You seem deep in thought," Seunghyun accused as he walked over to the couch.

"Um, no, it's nothing," Jiyong stuttered, looking back down at his phone to hide his blush, although he knew the tip of his ears must've given him away. He pretended to continue scrolling on his phone as Seunghyun took the seat next to him and extended one arm over his shoulders and pulled him close. Jiyong was glad that Seunghyun just let that go without asking any more question.

Jiyong let the thoughts about the kisses fade into the back of his mind as they both settled into a comfortable silence. They had their phones in their hands and they enjoyed the quiet time together, snuggling next to each other, looking at arts and stuff.

Jiyong had forgotten all about the kisses for the rest of the day until it was time for bed. Right before switching off the lights, Seunghyun leaned over and kissed him good night on the lips. That was when the thoughts came rushing back. Thankfully the room was dark, lest Seunghyun would catch him lost in thoughts once again.

Absentmindedly, his hand reached up to his lips. Well, that kiss didn't mean anything, did it? It was just a good night kiss. It was just a little more than a peck on the lips.

Jiyong brushed off. Kisses probably didn't mean anything at all. Maybe they were just kisses. Just kisses. If you wanted to convey something and mean it, why didn't you just say it? With words. Right?

"Stop thinking and go to sleep." Seunghyun caught him after all. Even in the dark.

Jiyong huffed a small embarrassed laugh and nuzzled deeper into Seunghyun's neck and sleep came soon after. He decided to pay a little bit more attention the next time Seunghyun would kiss him on the forehead. Maybe then he would find the answer.

The next day, Jiyong seemed to have forgotten all about it altogether. Even when Seunghyun kissed him deeply as they engaged in a lazy session of morning lovemaking. Or he was probably distracted by the all the other things that Seunghyun was doing to him to be thinking about god damn kisses. Yeah, that was most probably it.

He didn't think about the kisses for in the next three days either. Although Seunghyun did press a kiss on his forehead as they were heading to an award event. Seunghyun couldn't take his eyes off of him the whole time they were getting ready. Seunghyun mumbled a compliment before the kiss and Jiyong was too high feeling like a blooming spring flower after being called 'beautiful' by Seunghyun to even think about the stupid quote.

But then his parents came to town--treating him and his sister to a nice dinner. It wasn't a special occasion or a celebration or anything--just a bonding session in the midst of everyone's busy schedule. They had a splendid time as always over their tasteful meals. And Jiyong still didn't mind knowing that he was still the baby of the family, at the age of almost thirty with an empire under his belt.

The thought about the kisses came back when it was time for them to depart. He hugged his sister, and then his father, and when it was his mother's turn, she reached out and pulled Jiyong down and kissed him on his forehead. And then she did the same to his sister. He noticed it then. Kisses definitely carried their own meanings. What he received from his mother just now was not just a kiss, it was also warm well wishes and prayers and he felt like being enveloped in a warm cloak of protection. He felt safe.

It definitely felt different from when Seunghyun had kissed him--particularly on the forehead. He tried to recall how they feel, but he couldn't remember any of them. He felt all kinds of awkward comparing a kiss from his mother to the ones of his lover's but alas, it got him curious again. Do they really carry those meanings?

He had seen people do it before--his parents, of course. And he'd seen Seunghyun's brother-in-law kiss Hyeyoun on the forehead once, too. And even Youngbae and his girlfriend. He would ask Youngbae about this if he didn't mind being mocked and made fun of. Youngbae would and he would never hear the end of it. He thought of asking Seunghyun himself--if he meant anything with his kisses. But JIyong quickly decided against it because Seunghyun was such an awkward goof it would be even more embarrassing to talk about it. And also, after all these years, Jiyong learned that Seunghyun found an embarrassed Jiyong amusing and fascinating and he would take all the opportunities to bring out that side of Jiyong anytime.

So Jiyong decided to pay attention to Seunghyun's kisses. He needed to get to the bottom of this. It didn't happen in the next few days, though, which made Jiyong think that there must be a trigger to make it happen. But that theory went out the window when Seunghyun granted him one kiss as they sat in the private waiting lounge--bored to their bones--waiting to aboard a plane. It changed Jiyong's mood completely and Seunghyun seemed happy to be the cause of it. And then another kiss on the forehead a few days later when Jiyong received an award on a prestigious stage. And then when he received another kiss while they were just sitting around, drinking good wine with the rest of Bigbang, Jiyong concluded that there were no triggers for these kisses. They were completely spontaneous. However, in the process of finding the causes, Jiyong forgot to translate their meanings. If there was any, that was.

Until one dreadful day.

They were both lying in bed--on their backs, hand in hand, silently staring at the ceiling above their bed. They laid still, except for their laced fingers where their thumbs constantly caressed what little skin they could reach. The sound of the doorbell startled them. Seunghyun moved to leave the bed, so Jiyong loosened his grasp and let his gaze follow Seunghyun's steps out of the room. He heard Seunghyun greet the person at the door--Seunghyun's faithful manager--and Seunghyun muttered some instructions in regards to his luggage by the hallway. Jiyong also heard Seunghyun asking the manager to give him a minute and that he would meet him downstairs. Then he could hear the suitcases being dragged away and out of the condo before the front door clicked shut and everything went silent again.

"Jiyong?" Seunghyun called out and Jiyong let out a quiet whimper.

Slowly, Jiyong dragged himself out of the bed and walked out to the living room. He stopped at the end of the couch and leaned against the back of it, with his arms crossed, watching Seunghyun putting on his wrist watch from a few feet away.

"Time to go?" Jiyong thought it was pathetic how small his voice sounded, but who cared. Seunghyun was about to leave and it sure wasn't his favorite event in the world. He heard Seunghyun hum a response as he turned around to look at Jiyong. There was a pout on Jiyong's lips. Seunghyun smiled.

"Come here," Seunghyun beckoned him, shrugging his coat on.

Jiyong let a moment pass before he dropped his arms to his sides with a huff and took the few steps to close the distance between him and Seunghyun. His arms naturally found their ways around Seunghyun's waist, under Seunghyun's coat. He heard Seunghyun chuckle as the man righted the collar of the garment. Jiyong pressed one side of his face against the buffiness of Seunghyun's chest. Seunghyun's chuckles sounded even more enchanting like this--low rumbles of his voice mixed with the steady thuds of his heartbeat. Jiyong wanted to cry and he didn't want to let go.

Even more so when Seunghyun's arms circled around him, caging him with warmth. Yes, it was a cage, but Jiyong didn't feel trapped. It was overwhelming too, but Jiyong didn't want to escape. Instead, he welcomed the feeling of drowning in that warmth, inhaling Seunghyun's scent deeply--of cologne, cigarettes, and coffee. Jiyong felt a sudden panic began to arise--his breathing quickened, his hands balled into fists around the fabric of Seunghyun's shirt, and he pressed himself closer and tighter against Seunghyun. He didn't want to let go but Seunghyun was already pulling away.

"Hey..." Seunghyun whispered, cradling Jiyong's face in his hands.

Jiyong looked up and his eyes fell closed again when Seunghyun leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. Jiyong kept his eyes closed, trying to carve the moment onto his brain because this would be the first time they would be separated for a long period of time. Jiyong's knees were getting weak with each passing moment.

That was when Seunghyun captured his lips in a kiss and suddenly the quote that he read all those weeks ago rang back in his head. So Jiyong pulled his attention to focus on this kiss, focus on the slow glide of Seunghyun's lips over his, and the shy caress of Seunghyun's tongue, and the gentle les over his bottom lip. Jiyong melted. He knew Seunghyun was trying to calm him down, reassuring him that this would all end soon. Jiyong reciprocated, acknowledging the calming effect the kiss had on him.

"Get some sleep. You didn't sleep at all last night." The words ghosted against Jiyong's lips. Of course he couldn't sleep. Seunghyun was going away, for god's sake.

Seunghyun kissed him again, the same slow, coaxing kind. Jiyong knew Seunghyun must have picked up on his panicked jitters and tried to calm him down with the only way Seunghyun knew would work. But it didn't work as effectively as it always did. Jiyong was too nervous at the thought of being thousands of miles apart and on top of it, with a little more than a quarter of a day time difference. He heard Seunghyun speak up again.

"It's gonna be hours, half a day even, before I landed." Seunghyun combed a hand through Jiyong's hair and Jiyong leaned into the touch. "So get some sleep. I promise I will call you as soon as I can."

"No matter what time of day it will be over here." Jiyong added, reminding Seunghyun of his promise.

Seunghyun chuckled. "Yes, no matter what time of day it will be over here."

Jiyong drew a deep breath then, and let it out in a sigh. "Alright..."

And this time, he leaned in and kissed Seunghyun--passionate and was already heavy with longing. Seunghyun wrapped him in his arms again. Giving Seunghyun's lips one last kiss, Jiyong muttered shyly, "Now go before I start begging you not to go again." He shoved Seunghyun's chest playfully and relished the sound of Seunghyun's laughter.

Jiyong laughed with him, knowing that Seunghyun was actually remembering the event from two days ago when the fact that Seunghyun was going away finally sank in and Jiyong went into a full-blown whiny mode and came up with awfully stupid but adorable reasons why Seunghyun shouldn't go. It lasted two whole hours before Seunghyun finally--and successfully--convinced Jiyong that he was going away for work, not to war.

Seunghyun picked up his tote bag and patted his pockets to make sure that he had all his essentials with him, making sure not to leaving anything behind.

"Okay, I'm leaving."

Jiyong whined like a puppy, crossing his arms around himself to contain Seunghyun's warmth as long as he can, as much as he can.

"I'll be home sooner than you think." Seunghyun slipped his shoes on.

"Tomorrow?" Jiyong maintained the pout and Seunghyun chuckled yet again.

Seunghyun stomped a few times on the genkan to let his feet fill in the shoes comfortably before he walked back to the pouting Jiyong.

"Take care," he whispered. And then one of his hands reached up to the side of Jiyong's face and the other arm circled around Jiyong's waist.

Jiyong wasn't expecting it and was blinking in surprise when he felt Seunghyun pressed a tender kiss on his forehead. Jiyong felt his heart dropped. He was stunned, physically stunned, and he was aware of everything then--Seunghyun's hand cradling his face, Seunghyun's arm curled around the small of his back and Seunghyun's lips on his skin. It wasn't brief. It was at least three Mississippis.

It says, "You're mine, don't ever leave my side." No, never. Jiyong's hands reached for Seunghyun's coat and his fingers curled on its front.

It says, "I care about you and I don't want you to get hurt." Nowhere else--nothing else--makes me feel safe like when I'm in your arms. Like this.

It says, "I'll come between you and whatever tries to hurt you." You are my knight in shining armor.

Jiyong felt Seunghyun pulling away and heard him asking him something. But Jiyong just stood there, hands gripping at Seunghyun's coat, lost in his clouds of thoughts. It was true after all. All of it.

Jiyong could feel the truth in every word in that quote and that they weren't just words people used to romanticized every single thing on the Internet. This was real. Seunghyun was saying all of these things--was promising all of these things--to him in that kiss. Jiyong felt Seunghyun shake his shoulders lightly. Jiyong looked up, with wide eyes and trembling lips. He noticed Seunghyun's mouth moving, probably asking him something again but Jiyong couldn't hear him among the chaos in his head.

It says, "I love you and you are my-"

"Baby, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Jiyong blinked then and he was back to earth from his stupor. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

Jiyong could see genuine concern in Seunghyun's eyes. He muttered an assurance, but still looking up dumbly into Seunghyun eyes.

But Seunghyun didn't buy it. He pressed a palm against Jiyong's forehead. "Are you unwell?"

Jiyong quickly shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine." His voice came out small, with all the air escaping from his lungs.

"Are you sure?"

Jiyong just lunged forward, circling his arms around Seunghyun's neck, and hugged the man tightly. "I miss you already." Jiyong finally managed to breathe out.

Seunghyun gathered Jiyong into his arms. "I miss you too." And pressed a kiss on the side of Jiyong's neck, inhaling Jiyong's scent. He put Jiyong down after a while.

"I have to go," Seunghyun said, brushing Jiyong's hair away from his eyes.

Jiyong nodded, not trusting himself to say anything for he was sure nothing would come out except whimpers and he was beginning to feel the sting in his eyes threatening to open the floodgates.

Seunghyun was finally gone, without chancing another glance back at Jiyong because if he did, he could miss his flight by two hours and that would not be ideal at all.

But Jiyong stood there, still, in the doorway. The kiss felt tangible on his skin. It felt like a brand. He was taken aback by how a mere kiss could rock his world in that tiny moment of time. Jiyong turned around and hated how quiet the condo was right away. It was home when Seunghyun was around, and now it was just an open space filled with vintage and modern furniture, enclosed by walls plastered with odd paintings.

Jiyong turned around and looked back at the door.

Please hurry home.

**********