title: ocean.

pairing: n/hongbin

rating: pg-13

word count: 5835

summary: hongbin falls in love on the beach.

---

it was a crisp morning when hongbin awoke, a smile on his face as he sat up in his bed. it smelled like sand in his room, that particular smell no one can really describe, but can only find at the beach. he was on his usual vacation, which always seemed to end up at the beach. two weeks he took. he had the time and money for it, but that wasn't what it was for. he needed it to relax.

he made his way to the small kitchen in the little rental place he always got, every time, in the exact same building. the kitchen had everything that was needed: a stove, refridgerator, freezer, cabinets, and a toaster, but hongbin rarely used them, since he went out to eat most nights and mornings. he had things packed into the fridge, but it was only small things, like snacks, or instant meals, which resided in the freezer actually. that day, he pulled out a small bottle of orange juice, opened it and collasped on the couch (which was also a bed) that filled up one side of the "living space" of the condo.

he decided to make a list of the things he planned on doing that day. it started with a quick walk on the beach, ended with him returning to bed, mostly doing things on the boardwalk in between. he stood up off the couch after he had finished his drink. he didn't want anything else for breakfast, he wasn't hungry. 

he slipped on a tank top and some shorts then headed down to the beach, his flip-flops making loud clacking noises on the floor of the building he was staying in. it was a nice day, he thought and he made his way across the parking lot and onto the beach, sand flicking up into his shoes, making it hard for him to walk. he stooped down and ridded himself of the shoes, before moving once again onto the beach.

there were a lot of people already there, running around and swimming, considering it was nine in the morning. some people hongbin recognized as people who lived on the ocean's side, but others were complete strangers to him. he saw some families setting up their umbrellas, snatching a good spot for the day at the beach. loners were walking along the water, staring into the distance, while a couple, doing the same, would pass by. hongbin was one of the loners, moving slowly without any real direction. he knew this place like the back of his hand, so he wasn't lost, just wandering as one does when they're deep in thought.

and he was deep in thought. he wondered if anything was going to happen in the two weeks that he was here. he wondered, no, hoped, that something different would occur and maybe change his whole life forever, but it was just a childish wish. how could anything like that happen at a small beach town? impossible, he chuckled, totally impossible.

the day went by quickly and hongbin ran into some old pals who worked and lived around the area. they chatted then went on their way and hongbin didn't see them again for the rest of the day. he didn't mind, though, since in his opinion, being alone wasn't so bad. 

the next day came and went like the first one, which didn't surprise the twenty-one year old. although the beach was great, in such a small place, not much could happen. he admitted that it was very repetitive this life, but he loved it, couldn't live without it.

on the third day, it was drizzling, but that would never deter hongbin from his daily visit to the beach and the sand. to him, it was his own private sanctuary, only one he had to share with tons of other people. once again, that didn't bother him. he liked it, the normal bustle and hustle of everyday life at the beach, by the water. 

hongbin had woken with a start at six in the morning and figured on a small, quick walk on the beach would help him fall back to sleep. it usually helped him feel better any other day, why would then be different? the sand was wet and packed better together, making it easier to walk in. it was a bit difficult to see ahead of him, considering it was so early in the morning. lucky for him, there wasn't another living soul around him at that time.

that was, until he caught a glimpse of someone else sitting on the beach, nothing underneath blocking the sand from clinging to their clothing. from what hongbin could make out, the person was a man. hongbin stood a bit of a ways off, watching the man, who hardly made a movement except to give his nose a small scratch every so often. 

"it's beautiful, isn't it?" the man spoke, suddenly, making hongbin jump. he was sure the mystery person hadn't heard or seen him, but he was so obviously wrong. he didn't know what to say, or how to respond, so he stood there for a time, breathing slowly, listening to the waves crash loudly. the sun was beginning to inch up slowly over the horizon.

"very," hongbin finally whispered, moving nearer to the sitting person. once he was standing beside the man, the latter looked up. hongbin could see a small smile on the stranger's face.

"name's hakyeon." he introduced himself to hongbin. 

"call me hongbin." hongbin returned the greeting and for a while after that, the two didn't say anything else, only watching the sunrise side by side. when it's full shape had completely risen out of the water, that's when hakyeon broke the silence that had been lingering around them both.

"i've never watched the sunrise with a stranger before." hakyeon commented, a simple comment, but hongbin felt very intrigued by it.

"neither have i." 

they both listened to each other's breathing until people began filling the beach, the sun hiding behind clouds that were quite transparent. 

---

hongbin decided that he needed to see hakyeon again. he prayed that hakyeon hadn't left yet, as it had been two days since the initial meeting. every day after their short discussion seemed to revolve around the stranger named hakyeon. hongbin's buddies never heard of the man before, so he guessed he was a new visitor. hongbin would scour the beach, looking for hakyeon, but he always came up short. by the end of the fifth day, he guessed hakyeon had left the beach and went home. he was saddened because he really believed hakyeon was the one who would change everything, be the one hongbin was looking for, hoping for, but it was not the case, he supposed. he and hakyeon just weren't meant to be.

hongbin sat on a tall bar stool, staring out the front window of a boardwalk restaurant, watching the people walk by. a french fry sat in his fingers, waitng to be pushed into his mouth to eat, but it never was. it stayed frozen as hongbin, who just focused only on the people going by. hakyeon could be in that crowd, he told himself, but he never saw him. and it felt like the more he looked, the less likely he was going to find hakyeon. it was an almost impossible feat. 

the sixth day started out no better. hongbin had returned to his usual place. children ran past him as he stared into the vast water, shimmering with sunlight. it was a gorgeous sight and beside the yelling of kids, it was so peaceful.

"hey, hongbin!" a voice broke his train of thought. he spun his head around and saw the person he'd been looking for for days waving at him, their eyes in a cresent shape and their teeth bared in a giant smile. hongbin gave a small wave back, his own smile showing on his face. he made his way toward the tan man, who seemed to have gotten too much sun. his skin was pretty, hongbin found himself thinking, he liked it.

"hakyeon," hongbin started, once he reached the other. "i've been looking all over the place for you. i thought you left." hongbin was not even the slightest bit scared to admit he'd been searching. hakyeon replied to his confession with a loud laugh, making hongbin confused until hakyeon spoke.

"what a coincidence. so have i." hakyeon revealed and hongbin's smile grew a bit more. hakyeon invited him out for a late lunch, since it was around two in the afternoon. hongbin accepted, gleefully.

it was a small diner off of the boardwalk and across one of the main streets. a few people were eating there, but by then the lunch rush was about over. hongbin ordered a small sandwich, not particuarly hungry since he had eaten an adnormally large breakfast that morning. he ate it because he thought he was going to be going around looking for hakyeon, but instead, hakyeon came to him.

"how long are you staying?" hongbin said, taking a sip of the coke that sat in front of him. he waited until hakyeon had finished his food to answer.

"two weeks. i have some friends up here who i decided to come and visit." hakyeon explained, and hongbin nodded, secretly very happy their vacation times were the same. that meant he could get to know the man better. hongbin took another quick bit of his food before the door of the diner opened and two people walked in, people hongbin knew well. on one hand, he wanted to wave at them, invite them to join him, but the other part of him didn't want someone coming between hakyeon and him. he went with the second choice. 

"do you live up here?" hakyeon suddenly asked, catching honbin by surprise. he shook his head quickly.

"no, i just visit this place frequently. it's probably like i do live up here." hongbin chuckled, his words barely making it out of his mouth. all of a sudden, he was nervous and he guessed it was because some of his friends were there. hakyeon continued on with some questions and conversations, hongbin answering accordingly. he noted that hakyeon seemed to enjoy talking, just in general. this didn't bother hongbin at all, he may or may not have found it cute. it was cute, though, the way hakyeon's face lit up when he was talking about something he liked and his hand movements exaggerated to extremes. even if hongbin usually would find someone with so much to talk about annoying, hakyeon was not at all annoying to him.

suddenly, hongbin felt someone grab his shoulders, making him hunch forward in a very unattractive manner. 

"bin!" a familar voice shouting causing looks from other people in the diner, especially from hakyeon who looked more confused that anything else. hongbin turned around and met gazes with his friend who also had a tendency for visiting the beach lots during the summer, kim wonshik. hongbin couldn't even recall how they met, but ever since then they had been good friends, except the fact that they never saw each other outside of the beach. 

"hi, wonshik." hongbin greeted, smiling but wishing his friend would go away since he was in the middle of an interesting conversation with hakyeon, who by now was watching they two interact closely. wonshik pushed himself in beside hongbin on the booth, smiling over at hakyeon and greeting him, introducing himself as hongbin's good friend. hakyeon smiled and did the same, but only called hongbin and himself aquaintances, nothing more, nothing less. hongbin didn't get bothered by this, since it was true. they've only known each other for two-some days. 

"i saw you came in with sanghyuk. is he here too?" hongbin asked, hoping wonshik would remember and scurry off to his other friend.

"yeah, he's here. i had to use the restroom, but then i saw you." wonshik laughed loudly, his low voice filling up the diner, once again drawing people's attention toward them. hongbin mentally frowned--he really wanted to get back to that conversation with hakyeon.

"shouldn't you get back to him?" hongbin asked, not-so-secretly dropping hints. wonshik took notice of this and nodded, giving hongbin a wink as if to say: "yes, get back to your boyfriend." hongbin went to hit wonshik's arm, but the latter was already up and away before he could do any damage. he turned his attention back to hakyeon, who had been quiet the whole time. he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"sorry about him." hongbin apologized.

"don't worry about it. my friends are no better." hakyeon nodded quickly, his eyes going into that eye-smile hongbin had begun to love. they talked some more, since they didn't have any where to go and their food was all gone. hongbin paid (after quite a battle between the two) and the duo walked out together, laughing about some terrible joke hakyeon had laid down.

by then, hakyeon had to go, saying it had something to do with some plans he made with his friends, but gave hongbin his number. hongbin promised he'd call him tomorrow and they waved goodbye to each other before parting ways. hongbin walked slowly back to the condo he was staying in, his mind thinking about hakyeon and he didn't even notice the smile that came to his lips.

the carnival at the end of the long walkway that followed the beach was lit up with many colorful lights, cheery music playing in the background and people running around, screaming. some couples walked by, holding their partner's hand and laughing, in their own world. hakyeon had suggested this place. hongbin rarely ever went to the beachside carnival because he didn't like places like this. they were loud and stinky, not to mention, everything was just a giant rip-off. he'd only come here because hakyeon insisted it, wanting to go at least once before he had to head back home. hongbin was standing in front of a haunted house, where hakyeon told him to meet him, but so far, there was no sign of the other man. hongbin watched as people went in and out of the ride, expressions the opposite of what they originally were. 

a loud shout of his name caught hongbin's attention. he looked around and spotted hakyeon waving him over. he walked quickly to him, but soon found out hakyeon had brought some friends along.

"this is taekwoon and jaehwan." hakyeon introduced hongbin to his friends. the one with the big nose had a beaming smile on, but the other held a cold gaze, causing hongbin to be more than frightened. the looks taekwoon was sending him seemed scarier than what might have been in the haunted house he was just in front of. hongbin greeted them nicely though, wanting to seem pleasureable in front of hakyeon and friends.

"where to first, hyung?" jaehwan said to hakyeon. hongbin just then realized he didn't know how old hakyeon, or any of his friends, was, but by the way everyone else was calling hakyeon a hyung, he guessed hakyeon was the oldest, but he wasn't ready to go to hyung status yet. hakyeon looked around, scanning the carnival, which had recently become much more crowded. he spotted something then smiled.

"the ferris wheel."

hongbin gulped. he hated heights. nothing scared him more than heights. he could go watch the scariest movie and never move a muscle unless to yawn, or he could walk through a haunted house with a bored expression, but heights were a different story. everything about heights scared him and was one of the reasons he never went to carnivals, much less ride ferris wheels. he had begged hakyeon to ride with him, since there was only two a cart allowed. hakyeon just agreed, letting jaehwan and the quiet one go together in another.

hongbin clutched to hakyeon tightly when the ride began moving, letting out a small, very high squeak. hakyeon laughed lightly, patting hongbin's dark brown hair. hongbin clutched his eyes tighter each time the ride got higher and higher.

"are you scared?" hakyeon asked once the ride began moving in full circles without the constant stopping to load passengers.

"yes," hongbin muttered, too worried of his fear to give a sarcastic comment as he usually would. hakyeon pouted his lips a small bit, holding hongbin close. he apologized for making hongbin come on the ride, but hongbin only shook his head. it wasn't hakyeon's fault. he didn't know. either way, hakyeon didn't laugh at his fear and only held hongbin tightly, reassuring him he'd be okay, it will end soon. 

when the ride did end, hongbin still clutched to hakyeon. they walked out of the cart, hongbin clinging to the older one and shivering. taekwoon and jaehwan watched him worriedly. hakyeon explained that hongbin was afraid of heights and they just nodded, walking in the direction of some carnivals games to hopefully cheer hongbin up, who had still not recovered.

taekwoon ended up being really good at most of the games, which got him a lot of prizes. hongbin got a giant teddy bear, jaehwan got some kind of duck thing and hakyeon ended up with a long ballon that he kept hitting everyone else with. taekwoon popped it everntually, much to everyone's (except hakyeon, who started blubbering about his now-destroyed prize) relief. hongbin gave his teddy bear to hakyeon, though he could tell taekwoon didn't seem to like that, but he didn't like seeing hakyeon so upset about his prize being destroyed.

"i gave that to you, though." taekwoon commented when he saw hongbin hand over the stuffy. both of them froze, the toy in the middle of them. it was the first time hongbin had heard taekwoon speak and his voice was not anything like he expected it to be. 

"oh, i'm sorry." hongbin bowed his head and quickly pulled back the giant plush. taekwoon just turned back around and kept walking beside jaehwan. he heard hakyeon chuckle beside him. "what?"

"i think taekwoon is already fond of you." hakyeon's expression was filled with mirth, but hongbin's was not. he was quite taken aback by the comment, considering the fact that he hadn't even known taekwoon for more than an hour. but he supposed it was the same kind of fondness he felt for hakyeon even if they didn't know each other very well.

"oh." hongbin muttered and gave a short, little smile. hakyeon patted his back, still laughing.

"it's an honor to get taekwoon's liking that quickly, hongbin. you're lucky."

---

the first week was already over and hongbin hadn't done anything that would change his life like he wanted it to. he hoped that something would happen bewteen he and hakyeon, but the way hakyeon wasn't picking up his calls made him doubt that. he laid in his bed and thought, his shirt riding up his torso and his bottom half only covered in some navy boxer shorts. the sun was up in the sky, but he hadn't had the motivation to go out and take his daily walk on the beach. he wondered what he could do with hakyeon if the latter would pick up, but nothing came to mind. the beach wasn't exactly a very exciting place after a week.

his phone rung and he went to pick it up.

"hello?"

"hi, is this hongbin?" a unfamiliar, yet very familiar voice asked on the other line. it wasn't hakyeon, of course. it was a girl.

"it's him." hongbin responded back, sitting up in the bed, so his voice wouldn't sound so compressed due to the odd position he was in just a second before. 

"hey hongbin, this is hyeri, wonshik's girlfriend." the female said. memories rushed back to his mind and he suddenly saw hyeri's face. yes, he knew her. wonshik always talked about her and how cute she was, how fun she was, everything she was. they had been dating for a while, around four months, but they had had a small little arguement recently, so they had been a little tense.

"oh hey, hyeri. what's up?" hongbin stuffed the phone between his cheek and shoulder, standing up and pulling some pants over his underwear. he went to go cook some toast for breakfast while hyeri answered his question. he knew it muct be serious if hyeri was calling him. sure, they had talked a bit, but they weren't exactly best friends, or close friends at all. 

"wonshik is there at the beach, right?" she inquired and hongbin almost chuckled. so it wasn't that important.

"you could call him and ask couldn't you?" he answered her question with one of his own. he heard a sigh from the girl on the other line. he knew he had said something that annoyed her, but he didn't care. his toast popped up and he stuffed it in his mouth, not bothering to put anything on it.

"lee hongbin, is he there or not? i know you're there and he always spends his summers down at the beach, so please tell me." she demanded, her voice raising and the total opposite of what it had been when she first called. hongbin rolled his eyes.

"yeah, he's here." hongbin said, simply, chewing his piece of bread. hyeri thanked him then hung up, obviously not giving two s about him at all. he scoffed, not caring either since he wasn't very fond of hyeri anyway. soon, after that hakyeon called and they arranged something. hongbin didn't notice how excited he was until he found himself trying his best to look good for their meeting.

the eight day was dark and rainy. the rain was hard and unbearable in hongbin's opinion, so he stayed inside. he watched some reality shows on television, bored and uninterested in celebrities' lives. he flipped through the channels, but nothing was on. the television went off and he went to the balcony door, looking out at the beach, where no one had wandered onto and the waves looked bigger than they had in a while. hongbin sighed, he hated being cooped up in this place by himself.

a knock on the door snapped hongbin out of his trance. he hurried to the door and his eyes widened when he saw who it was standing in front of him. 

"h-hakyeon?" hongbin gasped. hakyeon was soaked from head to toe, but a smile was still on his face. his expression and body language was totally different, which gave away to hongbin that he was not at all very happy. "what are you doing here, hakyeon?" hongbin asked. hakyeon only smiled and shuffled into the condo, water dripping behind him. hongbin shut the door then ran to get a towel for his friend. hakyeon white shirt was quite see-through but hongbin tried his best not to stare, he didn't want to believe he thought of hakyeon like that. 

"i wanted to come visit you," hakyeon admitted, taking the towel and attending to his soaking hair first. hongbin raised an eyebrow, why in the world would he want to visit me, espcially on a day like this?

"why?" hongbin asked the question that was on his brain. hakyeon chuckled.

"hongbin, i'm leaving tomorrow. i want to make sure we don't forget about each other because i really enjoy your company." hakyeon started. hongbin's breath hitched. hakyeon was leaving? at least, though, he didn't want to leave hongbin's life forever, which was the only thing that mattered. hongbin had grown so close to hakyeon that losing him would break his heart. "i want to know if we live close, so where do you live?"

"seoul." hongbin answered, his mood seemingly down all of a sudden because of the topic of conversation. hakyeon's smile grew.

"perfect, so do i." 

when hakyeon left, hongbin still visited the beach, but his stays were shorter and less exciting as they used to be. he spent his time with wonshik and sanghyuk, particularly in the pizza place wonshik worked at. sanghyuk and hongbin would sit at a table all day and just talk, wait until wonshik would come around for a second, tell him what was going on, then continue their own conversation. two days after hakyeon left, sanghyuk and hongbin were chatting when a scream shook them both from the information being transferred between them.

"kim wonshik!" it was hyeri. she stormed into the food place, fuming and yelling for wonshik, who was in the back. he popped his head out when he heard his name then went away once he saw who it was. hyeri didn't notice, but she did notice hongbin and sanghyuk, who were speechless, watching. 

"hongbin!" hyeri yelled, moving quickly over to the table the two were seated at. hongbin shivered. she looked murderous and he wondered what wonshik did that would cause her to become so angry. "where is wonshik? that , i'm going to kill him!" she screamed now, slamming her hands on the table. sanghyuk nearly fell off the chair with shock. everyone in the restaurant was looking now, watching hyeri's fit of rage. 

"he's working now, hyeri, i don't think this is the best time." hongbin explained, trying to be calm and sweet, so not to direct hyeri's rage toward him. sanghyuk only watched quietly. hyeri glared at hongbin and he thought that it was worse than taekwoon's cold gaze. 

"do i look like i care? go get that jerk!" hyeri demanded and hongbin scurried off to the kitchen, not caring that the others in there started yelling at him for just walking in. he grabbed wonshik, whispering an "i'm sorry" to his friend then bringing him back out to hyeri. he then told sanghyuk he had to go. hongbin really did not want to be in the middle of a couple's fight. 

hongbin didn't look back when he got into his car and started his journey back to seoul and his ordinary apartment, his ordinary life, his ordinary job. he would miss the beach, yes, but the thought that he might get to see hakyeon again kept him from turning back around and staying even longer. the drive was long, but by listening to some of his favorite songs (mostly off of his infinite collection of park hyoshin albums), hongbin was able to get through the drive rather quickly. he was shocked with the lack of traffic, but he didn't miss the back-ups that usually happened on his drive home.

hongbin thought about the little that had occured over the two weeks. he thought mostly about hakyeon and his friends, who he wondered if he'd be seeing again as well. secrectly, he hoped he would. that night with the three was actually quite fun and hongbin wouldn't mind one bit if they could do something like that again, minus the ferris wheel, of course.

hongbin also thought about wonshik and sanghyuk, but mostly wonshik, who had broken up with his girlfriend over some "stupid " according to sanghyuk, who was there throughout the whole fight, along with some hungry costumers who were not expecting a drama to play out while they ate. hyeri went home even if she only stayed at the beach for half an hour and because of all the drama wonshik caused, he was fired, but he said he didn't care. he was going to quit soon anyway, or so he said. 

he pulled up into his apartment building's parking lot slowly, finding his normal spot then parking. he took out all of his luggage and lugged it to his apartment building on the fourth floor. lucky for him, the elevator wasn't out of order that day. he rode it up an dragged the suitcases to his apartment, number four hundred six. he unlcoked it and the minute he got inside, he went right to his couch and collapsed, sighing loudly into the ugly blue pillow that his mother had bought for him when she came to check out his new home. he ended up falling asleep right on the couch, missing two calls from hakyeon, looking for him. 

hongbin woke up late for work the next day. his job was at an office as a secretary. he hated it but it paid good money and he needed it, so he never quit it, even if he thought about it quite often. he grabbed a cereal bar for his breakfast and hurried out, fixing his tie and jumping on the elevator. his car wouldn't start quick enough, so it made him even more late when he didn't have any more time to be late. he could already hear his boss yelling at him for coming in minutes after he was supposed to. 

he finally got his vehicle to start and after ward rushed to the office building, parking in the first space he found and rushing to the enterance. the lady at the front desk greeted him with a smile and a bow, as usual, welcoming him back from his vacation. he thanked her but rushed past, trying to get to the level his boss worked on, level seven. 

"you're late." were the first words spoken to hongbin when he sat down at his desk. he looked up and met eyes with his boss, his face filled with worry.

"i'm sorry, sir. i woke up late since i fell asleep on the couch." he apologized. lucky for him, he had never come in late before, so he got off the hook but not without a warning. hongbin didn't mind, though, at least he didn't get fired. he got to work immediately, searching through the numerous amounts of papers that were sitting on his desk.

only on his lunch break did he see the missed calls.

"hakyeon? hm, sorry i missed your calls; i fell asleep. call me back after work ends at five. bye." hongbin left a message on hakyeon's phone then hung up quickly. a discontented sigh left his lips. he missed hakyeon. it was only then, on his lunch break at work, did he realize how much he loved hakyeon. from the first time he saw him, he was intrigued but this amazement grew over time and he fell hard, not understanding at first, but just then, he did. he looked at the clock and calculated four more hours of work, then he could go home, maybe call hakyeon, maybe see him and be happy again.

that was all he needed.

to see hakyeon once more. to hear his unique voice laughing, talking. to see his smile and the way his eyes curved when it was a big one and just to look at everything about hakyeon. everything that he loved about hakyeon. 

it could have been the time and place, but somewhere along the lines of the long talks filled with laughs, hongbin's heart became hakyeon's.

hongbin trudged to his car, his dress-shirt and tie all messed up from the hectic day at work. hongbin sat in his car for a long five minutes before actually even starting it, too tired to deal with the traffic he knew he'd run into. eventually, he put in the key and started the engine, the car starting fine that time. he backed up then drove away quickly, thinking about having to do the same things over and over for the rest of the week, the rest of his life probably. 

hakyeon did change his life, hongbin realized on the drive home, earning a little smile. everything about that was great. it was just what he hoped for. hakyeon was everything hongbin dreamed of, or more likely, what his dreams had become. hongbin used to only care about his boring life, but now, everything was new. hakyeon had seen him and asked him about the beach, and from then on, everything changed. 

hongbin invited hakyeon over to his apartment that evening. hakyeon came and they chatted on the sofa, sipping soda (hongbin refused alcohol since he was working tomorrow). hongbin watched hakyeon's every move as he talked, drank and sat, listening to either hongbin or whatever was on at the moment on the television. hongbin liked hakyeon's hair that day, it was straight, but a bit messy, making him look more gorgeous than usual, which was hard to do. hongbin loved it.

it was then that hongbin blurted out how he felt about hakyeon, causing an awkward atmosphere he didn't want, hated. he didn't plan for the sudden confession to happen, but all the emotions inside of him burst out, falling from his mouth in jumbled, love-filled words. hakyeon looked at him with a surprised expression, one hongbin couldn't quite read. it was silent for only a minute or two, but to the younger, it seemed like years, an eternity. chuckles reached hongbin's ears, chuckles he loved, but this time it only brough confusion to him. why was hakyeon laughing?

"that's such a coincidence." hakyeon said, his chuckle fit finished. hongbin tilted his head, unsure what hakyeon was saying, but the shorter one continued. "i like you too." hongbin couldn't help himself as he wrapped his arms around hakyeon and hugged him, wishing that night would never end, so he would never have to let go of hakyeon. 

hakyeon pulled away first, his eyes holding to hongbin's. he could feel himself become redder than a tomato in front of his friend, nervous, since they hadn't know each other long. hakyeon ruffled hongbin's hair, his eyes closing from his huge smile. 

"why?" hakyeon asked suddenly. hongbin knew what he meant, but still muttered a "what do you mean?" hakyeon looked down at his hands. he looked a little child with his pout and downcast eyes. hongbin ached to pinch his cheeks, but it would only ruin the moment he had created, somehow. "why do you like me? i mean, i'm not even that likeable and... well, we haven't known each other long either." hakyeon began, trailing off in the end, his orginally loud voice turning into a hushed whisper.

"because you interested me. i always thought about you when i wasn't with you and every time i was, you made me smile. i grew so attached to you in such a short time, i knew it was more than a friendship." hongbin explained, not even sure what he was saying made sense, but by the smile on hakyeon's face when he looked up, hongbin guessed it did have some kind of meaning to the older man.

"hongbin," hakyeon gasped, his mouth open but still the corners of his lips were turned up.

"don't say anything--" hongbin started, a small, lopsided grin climbing onto his face. next thing he knew, he felt hakyeon's soft lips on his. he never expected kissing hakyeon would be this wonderful. he never wanted to stop.

---

This is way longer than I ever planned, but I don't know. I'm kind of very happy with it, even if it is so simple and dumb.