“Hyukjae, I need to tell you something.”

“It’s six a.m., Donghae,” Hyukjae groaned, his voice croaky and hoarse and a little bit annoyed because he’s just woken up. “What do you want to tell me that can’t wait until later?”

“It’s about tonight.”

He paused. “Okay. What about tonight?”

Donghae had been prepared. He was ready to face Lee Hyukjae and his ill-temperedness and bossy attitude, he was ready to take whatever was coming for him with all his might, but when Hyukjae asked with a voice so soft and sincere, he didn’t have the strength to say no to him.

“…I’m sorry.”

He did anyway.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t go to your friend’s birthday party with you.”

There was a short absence of sound over the line, and he wondered if he had already hung up on him.

Just when Donghae was about to speak, Hyukjae’s voice came through the line asking why he couldn’t.

He didn’t answer him right away. “Something just came up.”

If Donghae had to choose between the thick silence and the possibility of Hyukjae hanging up, he would pick the latter. The feeling of having to wait in silence made him anxious and going in circles. It was easier to be left than to be left hanging on. But then again, he liked it better if he hadn’t put himself in the position to choose.

“You can’t or you won’t? There’s a difference.” Hyukjae told him.

“I—“

“Nevermind, I get it,” Hyukjae cut him off. “Yeah, you can stop playing hard to get and quit the jokes now. We still need to get ready for our show later--”

“I’m serious, Hyukjae. I’m seeing a friend--”

“Then why don’t you tell that friend of yours that you’re busy? Tell him what you just told me and get rid of him.”

Donghae froze. Not only was he taken aback with his words, he was also beginning to feel irritated with him being unreasonable.

“He’s an old friend, Hyukjae,” Donghae said coolly. “I haven’t seen him in a while. Do you really think I can just leave Jirayu like that?”

“Of course you can—“

“No, I can’t.” It was Donghae’s turn to interrupt. “I’m not doing it.”

Hyukjae took a deep breath. “Donghae,” he spoke, along with his patience slowly ebbing away. “We planned this two weeks ago.“

“But I didn’t make any plans, you did. I’m sure your friend would only want to see you anyway, and as much as I’d like to go and play your sidekick, I just can’t let this pass. I’m really sorry.”

Donghae wasn’t really sorry though; he was more pissed off about the fact that Hyukjae was commanding him to do things his way. He didn’t like it at all.

“Oh, so you’re telling me that won’t let this pass but can easily cancel a fixed appointment?!” He asked in a tone slightly sharper. “How unselfish of you. And who the hell is that Jiruya guy, anyway? Who is he, your boyfriend?”

He chose to ignore the second question. Donghae knew Hyukjae made it sound like a joke, but he thought he was an idiot to even ask that question because first, Hyukjae knew Donghae and who he really was, and pinpointing his insecurities did not in any way make him feel good. Second was because I only want you to be my boyfriend, stupid.

“His name is Jirayu.” he corrected. “And who said anything about cancelling? You’re still going, just not with me.”

“Donghae--“

“I may be selfish, Hyukjae, but you should try looking in the mirror before pointing fingers. I’m not going to just ditch someone who treasures me and treats me like I actually mean something to him.”

Donghae knew he shouldn’t have said that. He felt the anger surging through the person on the other line with the sudden silence that filled the air.

“This isn’t about your friend, is it? There’s something else that’s bothering you.” Hyukjae said, surprisingly calm. “He’s not the real reason why you’re not coming with me.”

Donghae sighed through the phone, not because it wasn’t true, but because he didn’t want to seem so shallow.

“What is it, Donghae?” came Hyukjae’s sincere voice.

“What’s what, Hyukjae?”

“What is it you’re not telling me that makes you want to throw me away?”

The soft tone in his voice was evident again, and Donghae just wanted run down to the eleventh floor and hug him. But he was angry. He should be angry.

Donghae scoffed at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Maybe I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not lying—“

“Shut up,” he snapped defensively. “You’re being dramatic.”

It didn’t take Donghae long to realize he’s made things worse.

“And I tried asking you nicely, you dumb prick. You know what? Forget it. You can that old friend of yours for all I care,” Hyukjae growled. “And you better make sure ditching me is worth it. Have a good ing day.”

The line went dead and Donghae knew talking to him over the phone was the best idea he ever made. If he stuck to the original plan and went down to the eleventh floor, he would have earned more than just a broken heart.

 

 

~~

 

 

Donghae expected a little professionalism from Hyukjae when they stepped on stage since he wasn’t up to talking to him inside the van. Rehearsals went smoothly while fans were already stepping inside the studio to watch their idols. While waiting for the tapes, Donghae smiled and waved at them as Hyukjae did the same.

He shot glances at Hyukjae once in a while trying to see if he would look back, but of course he didn’t; he was too busy with fans and practicing too much. He thought it was a good thing that it was just he and Hyukjae performing today; otherwise, the rest of the members would have been teasing him about it.

Nonetheless, he felt pretty awful. Why did it make him sick to the stomach when he didn’t look back? Shouldn’t he be the one ignoring Hyukjae? Shouldn’t he be the one not looking back?

The more Donghae thought about it, the more he knew his reason for rejecting Hyukjae was stupid. It really was, but the idea was just as painful as tuning him out. And it was all because of a birthday, his birthday to be exact.

It’s been two weeks since Lee Donghae had turned twenty-six. He was thankful for a lot of things: he was given good health, a good life, and his family was doing well too with a new taco shop business. He understood how the members were busy that day and had to leave him alone in the dorm with no schedule. What disappointed him the most was when Hyukjae greeted him once (on the phone) and didn’t come up the twelfth floor to be with him, when he knew nothing had been prepared for Hyukjae for that day either.

He was upset. There was something more to their relationship than just best friends that even Hyukjae knew about but just didn’t want to admit. It was something secret and special to him. Among everyone else, he thought Hyukjae was special. And not being with Donghae on his birthday for no reason at all did hurt him, because he thought it would be just the same for him. It would have been nice to know that somewhere along their furtive occasional under the sheets and showers and rare slow kisses, there was a part of Lee Hyukjae that had fallen for Donghae too.

But that wasn’t the case, he told himself. It will never be, so for the past few days Donghae has had a hard time putting a smile on his face whenever Hyukjae secretly lied next to him in bed and looked at him as if he was the only person in the world.

So when he had come across Jiruya who was buying tacos at his taco shop one day and asked Donghae if they could have a meal together next time, how could he say no?

He sought for revenge, but when Hyukjae’s eyes finally met his, Donghae thought he’d made a complete mistake.

Seeing this as an opportunity to make amends, he decided to do a little fanservice. While Hyukjae was still interacting with fans, he stood causally behind and brought his arms around him. The fans went crazy as usual, screaming at the top of their lungs with just Donghae clinging to Hyukjae a few feet away from them. He was waiting for him to pull away, but he just stood still with a shy smile across his face.

Donghae knew Hyukjae like he knew the days of the week, had memorized him like the back of his hand, and he knew for a fact that the smile on his face was nothing like what he was feeling at the moment.

When the floor director called for the members to standby, Hyukjae quickly pulled away just as the smile had faded, walked back to his position, and continued to act like the mean and ignorant jerk he was.

 

 

~~

 

 

They were in the dressing room and had changed back to normal clothes. Donghae went out of the bathroom in a blue sweater and dark jeans to spot Hyukjae sitting on the couch dressed in a white v-neck shirt and skinny jeans. Donghae thought he had always looked utterly handsome in causal clothes, but he didn’t want to think about that, especially not about how he would look in a suit.

Hyukjae unintenionally looked up to see concerned brown eyes staring back at him. He responded with a stern look before getting up and making his way to the door, but Donghae was too quick and managed to take a step in front of him.

“Move.” Hyukjae growled.

“I don’t want to.”

“I’m not in the mood, Donghae.”

“So am I,” he said, “but I want to fix things, and I can’t do it if you won’t let me.”

“What’s left to fix when I’m already on the verge of punching you right now?”

“Well then it looks like I’m not the only one.” Donghae commented. “Just so you know, I’m angry at you too.”

“For something I don’t even know about because you won’t tell me.” Hyukjae said. “How am I supposed to apologize for something I don’t know I did?”

“You won’t because,” he began to stutter. “I-It doesn’t matter to me anymore. Right now, I just want to make things okay between us.”

Hyukjae stood still and kept quiet.

“Look, I’m really sorry about what happened earlier, but if you think this means changing my mind, then I’m telling you right now that I’m still not going.”

“Then step out of my ing way.”

“But I’m not in your way.” Donghae raised his arms wide, waving them in the air to prove his point. “See? There’s still a lot of space. You’re just not moving.”

Hyukjae frowned and rolled his eyes at him. He stepped to the side and Donghae followed. “Stop it.”

“No.”

They stood there for a while locking eyes, waiting until anyone breaks the steady silence.

“Why won’t you just talk to me?!” Donghae whined. “What the hell is wrong with wanting to see an old friend, huh?! Why are you so angry at me when it’s not like this really is a big deal?”

“Do you really want to know what’s wrong?” Hyukjae asked, still looking straight into his eyes. “You’re wrong, Donghae, because as a matter of fact, this is a big deal to me.”

He pushed past him and was about to grasp the doorknob when Donghae caught his arm. “Hyukjae—“

“All I want is for you to just be with me!” He yelled. “Do I really need to give you a reason? I want you to be with me because I just do! It makes me so frustrated that you won’t, and what pisses me off the most is how you could choose someone else over me! That’s the ing truth. Are you happy now?”

Donghae was speechless. His face had dropped while Hyukjae pulled his arm away from his grip with his hand falling to his sides.

“If you really think that you didn’t mean anything to me, then why do you think I feel like ?” He slammed the door and didn’t stay to see Donghae’s guilty eyes.

 

 

~~

 

 

Jirayu met with Donghae at a small Japanese restaurant in Apgujeong at seven. After they had eaten three plates of sushi and consumed more than six bottles of beer while catching up with one another, Donghae was satisfied with how things were going. He decided to check his phone and didn’t realize that one missed call and two text messages from Hyukjae had been waiting for him:

 

 

I’m at Apgujeong right now. How’s dinner?

9:30pm

 

 

You can come if you still want to.

9:31pm

 

 

He couldn’t hide the smile that came across his face as he read Hyukjae’s texts. He didn’t sound so much of an anymore, and he was glad. The last text message was tempting, but he was having a great time with Jirayu and didn’t want to ruin it.

 

Instead of replying to him, he placed his phone on top of the table and took another long sip of his beer, thinking that maybe it would help if he had a little more alcohol in his system to think about what he was going to say to him.

 

“What are you smiling about?” Jirayu asked with a curious look on his face.

 

Donghae shook his head with a sheepish grin. “It’s nothing,” he told him. “It’s just.. Remember Hyukjae? The guy I told you about who was in the same group as me? He was just asking about our dinner.”

 

“Hyukjae? Oh yeah, the guy you told me you were in love with.” Jirayu nodded while crossing his slender legs, his position changing, “Yeah, he’s a sweet guy.”

 

He stopped and narrowed his eyes at him. “You know him?”

 

“What?” He asked, an obvious panic to his voice. “No, no, that’s not what I meant! Well, he seemed like a sweet guy. That’s what I meant.” Jirayu managed to say.

 

Donghae raised his eyebrows at him. He thought he saw him freeze for a while, but shrugged it off. “He is. But he can be really unpleasant too. And confusing.”

 

“Really?” Jirayu asked with question. “How come?”

 

“We had a fight this morning. Two weeks ago he planned for me to come with him to his friend’s party tonight, but I called him today and told him I couldn’t ‘cause I had plans with you. After that he just went kind of ballistic and wouldn’t talk to me the whole day, and now he texts me telling me I could still go if I wanted to.”

 

“Then, what are you still doing here?” Jirayu asked.

 

“I’m with you right now.” He explained. “It’d be rude if I just left you here alone.”

 

“Then why didn’t you tell me you already had plans in the first place? Do you still remember where his friend’s birthday is?”

 

“I remember Hyukjae telling me last week it was going to be at a hotel somewhere in the same area. I don’t remember the name though.”

 

“There’s only one prominent hotel in Apgujeong. It must be there.” Jirayu stood up from his chair and pulled Donghae up with him. “Come on, you can ride with me.”

 

Donghae’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re coming with me?!”

 

“It won’t be much of a problem.” He told him. “Plus, I was on my way there for a friend’s birthday party as well.”

 

“And that friend’s birthday party of yours,” Donghae spoke nervously. “Does it happen to be the same party Hyukjae’s going to?”

 

Jirayu looked straight into his eyes and let out a smile that both excited and scared Donghae.

 

“I’m sure of it.”

 

 

 

~~

 

 

 

Jirayu was sitting quietly next to Donghae while he gazed out the car window in contemplation and watched tall unfamiliar buildings quickly pass them by. He thought about how he would approach Hyukjae, whether he would be happy to see him or furious about coming together with Jirayu. He probably wouldn’t care; he didn’t really care about him, did he? They were both just colleagues and friends who had and liked touching and kissing and playing around with each other once in a while, liked to have serious and intimate talks beyond midnight and joked about how they married each other in front of more than ten thousand fans during their last concert in Paris. He would have liked for it to be real, but then he realized he’s always been at the losing side.

 

Donghae didn’t notice he’d been thinking too much until Jirayu’s voice had called him.

 

“We’re here.” He told him while he gave a short nod in response. He turned away to look back out the window and realized that what he saw was nothing like an ordinary night.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Donghae whispered.

 

There was nothing else he could see but clothes and bodies of people blocking the view and surrounding what looked like the main entrance. When Jirayu’s BMW had been spotted, Donghae could almost make out the screams of girls from outside, tapping their hands on the vehicle as if they couldn’t wait to see who comes out.

 

It shocked him a bit, because what on earth are people doing just outside of a private hotel?

 

“So, about this friend of yours,” Donghae spoke as a distraction, “Who is he exactly?”

 

“Why do you ask?” He asked with no hint of surprise to his voice.

 

“Well, he must be someone, judging from the looks of things outside.”

 

Jirayu chuckled. “Well, he definitely is someone to someone. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be fans outside, right?”

 

He quirked an eyebrow at him but was too baffled to intrude any longer. He was going to find out sooner or later. When the car halted into a complete stop and the screaming grew louder, Donghae could suddenly feel his heart race.

 

“What’s wrong?” Jirayu asked next to him.

 

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling something’s going to happen.”

 

“Of course something’s going to happen,” said his mocking friend. “We are getting out of the car, you’re going to see Hyukjae, and we are going to party. That’s what’s going to happen.”

 

“But I’m not dressed,” Donghae explained as an excuse while glancing at Jirayu’s black pinstripe suit. “Why don’t you go while I just stay here?”

 

“Donghae, now’s not the time to chicken out!” He tried hard not to laugh out loud. “We’re already here. Now if I were you, I’d be pretty thrilled.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

“Well, you’ll be seeing Hyukjae, won’t you?”

 

Donghae looked down at his phone. There were no more missed calls, no messages to wait for. “What if he’s still angry at me?” Donghae frowned.

 

“I doubt that he still is.”

 

“How would you know?”

 

Jirayu shrugged. “I don’t, but he’d be heartless if he was. But you don’t know either, and you won’t unless you step outside.”

 

Donghae didn’t understand why he was worrying too much when he was so close to Hyukjae right now, all he really needed to do was get out of the damned car and just show up. What more did he have to lose? He looked at Jirayu one more time.

 

“I’ve got you covered, alright? It’ll be fine, just relax and have fun with this.” He assured him.

 

He didn’t know what he meant by that but took a deep breath and nodded at him with determination. “Okay.”

 

He smiled back and turned away as he held on to the door. “And Donghae?” Another smile broke out from him, but this time, it was more of a creeping smirk that appeared, leaving Donghae puzzled. “Happy birthday.”

 

Jirayu took the lead and was the first to get out. The screams were now clear for Donghae to hear, but what shocked him were the blinding flashes of cameras as soon as Jirayu opened the car door. There was no way for Donghae to escape and back out, not when Jirayu had dragged him out of the car and pushed him in front to meet fans and photographers screaming at the top of their lungs and taking pictures of him.

 

Donghae stood confused and a nervous wreck in front of almost a hundred people, standing on what seemed like an endless red carpet, yet he had no clue as to what was happening. He looked back at Jirayu who was only giving him a thumbs up, and in that instant he wanted to murder him.

 

“Jirayu, what the hell is going on?!” He screamed. “It’s not my..”

 

It was when he heard the music begin to play that he turned around and saw the most incredulous thing: a large projection of letters over the hotel’s structure that spelled only two words. He looked at the projection in awe. Just when he thought that was a surprise, he found the inability to speak when someone walked over to the center and started to dance. He looked closer and realized it was one of super junior’s backup dancers, smiling at him while she danced and was joined by two more of their backup dancers. He stood still, his mouth agape forming into a wide smile as he watched the three dancers become four, five and six.

 

He was laughing and smiling as he laid his eyes on the dancers, and soon they were walking towards him only to lead him inside the hotel lobby, where more fans stayed to wave and greet Donghae in excitement. He waved back and smiled enthusiastically while they headed in front of the elevator.

 

The elevator door opened and Donghae was shoved inside to meet Zhoumi holding him in place with a sly smile plastered on his face, along with Donghae’s stylist and coordi noonas behind him.

 

“Zhoumi?!” Donghae screamed. “What are you doing here?”

 

“What do you think I’m doing here?” He asked as he pressed the elevator button. “I’m here to celebrate with everyone else. Now take your clothes off and put this on,” He forced a set of formal wear into Donghae’s hands and crossed his arms across his chest, waiting for him.

 

“What?! In here?!”

 

“Donghae, don’t act as if we haven’t seen what’s under your clothes in the dressing rooms. We don’t have a lot of time,”

 

“But—“

 

As if on cue, the coordi noonas undressed him until he was topless with his boxers left on. He was left not to debate, especially when he was already , and allowed the noonas to dress him up. He was just about to wear his slacks when he heard the elevator ding and the door opened behind him. He heard footsteps stride inside as the elevator closed, and he closed his eyes hoping it could at least be someone he knew that had a sense of humor when he found him in his boxers.

 

“It’s a great view from here, Donghae, but you’re really not my type.”

 

He quickly zipped his pants and faced Heechul and Jongwoon. “Yeah? Well, you’re not mine, either.”

 

Jongwoon grinned and brought his dongsaeng to his arms. “Happy birthday, Hae.”

 

“Thanks,” he mumbled into his shirt and pulled away. “But it’s way past my birthday.”

 

“Are you crying yet?” Heechul asked in a teasing manner.

 

“He might just be when he sees what’s on the other side of the elevator.” Zhoumi told him.

 

Donghae quickly noticed the shot glass Jongwoon had on one of his hands. “What’s that?” He asked him.

 

“Thirsty?” Jongwoon asked, raising the glass to him. “It’s for you, actually. Drink up.”

 

“I want to know what it is,”

 

“It’s just water,” Heechul told him. “If you won’t have it, then it’s mine.”

 

But Donghae was thirsty. Without hesitation, he took the glass from his hyung’s hand and chugged it down all at once. He quickly recognized the bitter taste and the heat covering his throat and coughed at them with a terrible look on his face.

 

“Are you sure that was water?” Donghae asked, the taste not leaving his mouth. “It tasted more like vodka to me.”

 

“Then it obviously must have been vodka,” Heechul cackled. “I didn’t think you would drink it if I told you it was something else.”

 

“Well, I would have drank it either way,” he told him as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand.

 

“Time to go,” Jongwoon signaled as the elevator stopped at the forty-ninth floor.

 

The elevator door opened and Heechul and Jongwoon dragged him out with them while Zhoumi and the others trailed behind. It was dark, and Donghae couldn’t see the look on their faces, but he could hear the music again, and it looked as if his hyungs knew the way, so he went along with the darkness until they stopped. He saw a tiny gap of light come out with the sound of Heechul and Jongwoon turning locks and knobs and they opened the door. Donghae took the first step inside and he could not believe his eyes.

 

People he knew and worked with had surrounded the ballroom in colorful dresses and well-tailored suits, colors of white and cream painted the walls with a variety of decorations, and the music was loud and ringing in his ears with dancers swinging around birthday candle-like poles in the corners of the room. It was like he was inside a birthday cake of his own. The crowd cheered upon seeing the birthday boy in sight. He walked slowly and tried to politely greet everyone, but he was too immersed in his own happiness that he couldn’t concentrate on anything else. He walked along the long aisle that was left for him and the Super Junior members appeared from the crowd to each give him gifts. Kyuhyun popped open a wine bottle and gave him one glass while Ryeowook offered him champagne. He took a long sip of both and gave the glasses back and was given a bouquet of red roses from Siwon.

 

They followed behind Donghae as he walked to the center of the room and stopped to watch Shindong, Sungmin, and Henry dance to the song while Donghae watched in excitement. He felt a slight tug on his chest when he didn’t see Hyukjae dancing with them. It left him wondering where he was.

 

The three members walked towards him and Sungmin pulled out a hankerchief from his pocket to blindfold him and left him blinking in the dark. Donghae was about to protest when after a few seconds, Sungmin took his blindfold off, revealing a human sized gift box being pushed to the center, wrapped with a large ribbon.

 

He was intimidated by the large box but was curious of whatever was inside. He silently pleaded that it wasn’t a girl stripper. Shindong and Henry opened the box from the part that was facing him, with Leeteuk and Jirayu coming out as they pushed a table with a real birthday cake. The crowd applauded them and Donghae was on the brink of tearing up.

 

It was when the cheers grew louder and the members left him alone that a very familiar figure came into view on top of the gift box. Hyukjae stood still, wearing tight slacks and a white button down shirt, eyes fixed on Donghae with a sheepish smile on his face, and Donghae thought Hyukjae was the best surprise he could ever have. Out of everyone in the room, he thought he was the most underdressed but the most visible person in this room. Hyukjae jumped down from the box and pulled the ribbon, wrapping it around him as he made his way towards a flustered Donghae, his eyes tyring to lose contact with his.

 

The lights dimmed and the music had changed to a slower tempo and Donghae felt his cheeks burn and palms sweat when Hyukjae slowly pushed him back until he was sitting on a stool that had not been there before.

 

Hyukjae had his eyes boring into his as he positioned himself over Donghae, dancing on top of him with such grace and sensuality that Donghae wanted to give in to him right then and there, but he couldn’t when Hyukjae’s eyes were not the only ones staring at him. He knew everyone was seeing Hyukjae give him a lapdance, but he also wondered if there was anyone who noticed his breath hitch when Hyukjae skillfully grinded over the front of his jeans with a smug smile appearing from his face. The other members were probably looking at them right now, a hint of disgust and mockery on their faces, but if Donghae’s night always ended this way, he didn’t mind.

 

Donghae didn’t know if it was all the booze he drank or the idea of Hyukjae straddled on top of him that made his mind a bit fuzzy, but whatever it was, he loved it. Hyukjae winked at him before pulling him up when people gawked and sighed as they were covered in balloons and feathers that fell from the ceiling.

 

Amidst all the balloons popping and feathers flying, Hyukjae was the only thing Donghae could see, and he hoped no one was looking when he pulled him in and sneaked a chaste kiss on Hyukjae’s lips.

 

 

 

~~

 

 

 

Hyukjae had put on his blazer after his “performance” and stayed next to Donghae until he was done talking to Lee Soo Man. Just as someone was about to approach him, Hyukjae had aggressively pulled Donghae and took him to the penthouse.

 

They exited the elevator, limping from all the drinking, and lazily walked up a few steps before entering the empty roof, taking in the wonderful view of the skyline at night.

 

“Boy, you won’t believe how much I went through for all of that to happen,” Hyukjae spoke, his voice coming out too loud. “I mean, I wasn’t expecting it to turn out all that great, but damn.. that was amazing.”

 

Donghae looked at him apologetically. Hyukjae only consumed half a glass of wine, but his tolerance for alcohol was extremely low. He also didn’t know whether to take what he said in a negative manner, but he decided to keep his mouth shut.

 

“Can you imagine even Soo Man-nim came?! He just had to threaten me before saying yes to all of this!” He exclaimed, leaning on the pillar. “And all the fans waiting outside the hotel, and the guards chasing them out! It would have caused a big problem if they didn’t listen to the hyungs. I thought it was going to be a disaster.”

 

“Then, why did you still push through with this?” Donghae asked.

 

Hyukjae looked at him with dreamy eyes and a smile that stretched so wide his gums were showing. “Because you’re quite special, Donghae,” he said quietly. “And if I can’t let the whole world know, I want at least people we know to realize just how freakishly exceptional you are.”

 

Donghae looked back at him with tears forming in his eyes, and Hyukjae slowly approached him with a chuckle.

 

“So there really was no friend’s birthday party?” Donghae asked, choking from the tears.

 

“But there was a party,” Hyukjae said as he stood in front of him. “It was yours.”

 

He avoided his eyes, the sound of friend’s birthday party and yours didn’t sound all too pleasing. “And those fights on the phone and in the dressing room?” Donghae asked again.

 

“I was expecting you would call, but those fights were real.” He frowned. “You said some really bad things, and I did too.”

 

“And Jirayu?”

 

Hyukjae laughed and explained so easily. “I got his number and planned the whole thing with him.”

 

Donghae couldn’t help but smile while tears continued to stream down his face. He pushed Hyukjae back a little, trying to wipe his own tears. “You’re a ing for making me hurt you.”

 

Hyukjae moved closer and wiped his tears with the pad of his thumb. “Well, you’re stupid for hurting me when I only wanted to surprise you.”

 

“And you did. Thank you.” He told him with a smile. “I’m sorry I took things too far. Forgive me?”

 

He his cheek and grabbed Donghae’s face between his hands. “You really are an idiot. Of course I forgive you. Do you really think I would do all of this if I didn’t care about you?”

 

Donghae sniffed. “Well, it’s not like I thought you didn’t care about me,” he defended. “Just maybe not as much as I do.”

 

He gazed into his eyes with a serious look on his face, his hands never leaving Donghae’s face and caressing his cheeks. “What can I do to show you that I care about you more than you know?”

 

“There is one thing you can do,” Donghae suggested, a timid smile creeping up his face.

 

Hyukjae looked at him in question. “What is it?”

 

“Can you tell me..” Donghae said, a slight whisper to his voice. “Can you tell me you’re in love with me?”

 

Hyukjae stayed quiet for a moment, before he pulled Donghae close, his hands reaching for Donghae’s hair. “How about I kiss you instead?”

 

“I’ll let you kiss me only if—“

 

Donghae was cut off by soft lips claiming his own. It was gentle and meaningful, and Hyukjae was slightly tugging at his dark locks, their lips sliding against each other in unison. The kiss quickly grew deeper and desperate as Donghae brought his hands to Hyukjae’s face and his lips wrapped around his bottom lip. A soft moan escaped Hyukjae’s mouth and Donghae took the opportunity for his tongue to enter and brush against his own. He savored the taste of wine from his lips while Hyukjae was reeling from the combination of champagne and vodka that coaxed his tongue. They were both suffocating from the lack of air but no one wanted to let go until Donghae’s tongue slipped from his mouth and pulled away, leaving both he and Hyukjae panting and gasping for air.

 

Hyukjae’s eyes fluttered open as he leaned his head over Donghae’s and held his arms trying to regain whatever strength was left in him.

 

“Good lord,” Hyukjae whispered, while the other could only laugh softly. “Donghae.”

 

He was still panting but managed to hum in response.

 

“I’m so in love with you.”

 

 

~

 

a/n: so there you go! Thanks for reading!