it sure didn't feel like a month for me. i was kinda busy and then the heat was spiking here a lot. some of you are used to hot temperatures, i'm not XD i guess because i was born in winter, i'm not comfortable with heat. gives me a headache and makes it hard to see properly TT"

here we are again for this slowest of all slow bumps. i recently saw a video about fanfic tropes and the definition for slow burn definitely fit this story haha! over 100k+ words and we're at this stage *phew*

but the ship is sailing guys. prepare your hearts uwu"

Sunggyu groaned as he started to wake up. Half-awake, he rubbed his temples and rolled onto his back. „God, my head hurts...“

His eyes shot open when he remembered what had happened the night before. Sunggyu grabbed his hair and sat up. „Oh no. No, no, no.“

„Why don’t you like me too?“

Woohyun’s eyes widened. For a moment, he seemed unable to form words. Sunggyu swayed back and forth, and then - in his drunken state - decided to try for another kiss. This time the younger man reacted and stopped him. „That’s not a good idea. You’re drunk, clearly. Come on, hyung. I’ll get you to-“

„See? You hate me.“ Sunggyu made a face. He felt like tearing up but kept it in.

„Hyung... I don’t hate you. You know I-“

Sunggyu grabbed a pillow to muffle his scream. That was the moment he had thrown up all over Woohyun’s shirt. He hit his head into the pillow a few times. Whatever it was Woohyun was about to say, the older man never found out. After Sunggyu had thrown up, Woohyun took him to the bathroom to get him clean. It was embarrassing to remember that scene. At least Sunggyu hadn’t said anything after the barfing incident. He was glad his drunken self had kept its mouth shut. Woohyun hadn’t said a word either. He just cleaned him up, brought Sunggyu to his bed and forced him to take his shirt and pants off on his own, before telling him to sleep.

He’s mad. He’s totally mad. Why did I do that? Sunggyu wanted to kick himself for drinking too much. Usually, he knew when to stop. Yesterday he had let the frustration get the better off him. He should’ve just gone for the willing guy at the club instead of going home and attacking Woohyun like that. Sunggyu was beyond embarrassed and didn’t know how to face the younger man. Why didn’t he at least drink so much that his memory turned into a black hole?

A small, very tiny, part of himself was relieved though. The news was out. He had pretty much confessed his stupid, one-sided crush to Woohyun. But maybe the younger man wasn’t going to take it seriously. Sunggyu had clearly been drunk after all. If Woohyun didn’t take it seriously, then Sunggyu would simply be embarrassed and the younger man would to death with the incident. Did that thought make it better or worse? That meant going back to hiding his stupid feelings. Sunggyu didn’t really want to go back to that. He liked the time he spent with Woohyun.

Sunggyu spent about an hour in bed, already awake but unable to face reality. Only when he heard Haneul’s distant cries and Woohyun’s hurried steps in the corridor, did he leave the safe confines of his blanket behind. He quickly grabbed a fresh set of clothes and then checked the corridor. Sunggyu made a beeline for the bathroom and locked the door behind himself. He let out a deep breath and dropped his clothes on the little stool at the side. The person that looked back at him in the mirror looked awful. Sunggyu groaned again. Just one shower wasn’t going to fix the nightmare in front of him.

He let water into the tub and took his boxers off. His cheeks grew warm when he remembered Woohyun had seen him shirtless. Sunggyu wasn’t some teenage but the thought was extremely embarrassing. This wasn’t how he had planned to be shirtless in front of Woohyun; drunk and unable to form a clear sentence. Not to mention Sunggyu wasn’t the most fit person. He knew the younger man had about it a few times. Maybe Woohyun didn’t find someone attractive who wasn’t doing any sports.

With a content sigh, Sunggyu let his body sink into the warm water. He turned the tap and leaned back against the tub. The older man closed his eyes and let his limbs relax. He was going to face Woohyun, eventually, but certainly without reeking off alcohol and sweat and with a fresh breath from his mouth. As if his thoughts had brought forth a demon, there was a sudden rattle as someone tried to open the door. Sunggyu’s eyes snapped open and he thanked the heavens he had locked it.

„Oh. Sorry. I didn’t know you’re awake. I just- I’ll get water from the kitchen. Never mind.“ Woohyun’s voice came from the other side of the door and then Sunggyu heard him walking away.

If Woohyun wanted to get water from the bathroom, it could only mean Haneul made a mess in his room and it needed cleaning up. This room was closer to the nursery than the kitchen, so it was an obvious first choice. Sunggyu knew that. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder about Woohyun’s reaction. He didn’t even ask if he could come inside to grab what he needed. It probably meant nothing but Sunggyu’s worried mind held onto this negative thought with an iron grip - Woohyun was avoiding him purposely. He didn’t even come to check on him in the morning. That had to mean something.

„No more alcohol for you...“

Sunggyu took his time with the bath but eventually he had to get out of the tub. About twenty minutes later, he was fully dry and dressed again. Since there were no more things to be done to put off the confrontation for any longer, Sunggyu was forced to leave the bathroom. He found Haneul and Woohyun in the kitchen. The younger man was busy feeding the toddler and didn’t notice Sunggyu coming in. Woohyun had obviously prepared breakfast for the two of them as well. Seeing that made Sunggyu feel bad all over again. Woohyun was doing all the work alone.

„Good morning.“ Sunggyu’s voice cracked and he cursed in his head. He really needed something to drink. Something without alcohol.

„Finally back in the world of the living?“ Woohyun asked without looking at him.

It was a joke, clearly, but Sunggyu couldn’t help but get stuck on the fact Woohyun wasn’t looking his way. Obviously, he was busy feeding Haneul but not even a small glance? Sunggyu awkwardly stood there for a moment and then decided to grab a coffee to busy himself. Are we acting like nothing happened yesterday? Is that one of those ‘let’s forget it happened’ moments? Or is he waiting for me to speak up first?

Sunggyu stared into the empty cup in front of him. Then suddenly Woohyun spoke up. „About last night-“

„Just forget about it!“ He replied instantly and then felt like smacking himself. Sunggyu kept his back turned to Woohyun as he mouthed ‘You idiot!’. I was so focused he was going to say it, that it slipped out immediately. „I mean, sorry for throwing up on you.“

„Don’t worry. I don’t take anything that happened last night to heart. I know you were pretty damn wasted.“ Woohyun replied seemingly casually. „I never expected to see you like that, though.“

There was a chuckle and Sunggyu wished the earth would swallow him whole. He was half-relieved, half-crushed because Woohyun seemed to think last night’s actions were simply that of a drunk. He didn’t think Sunggyu had really poured out his heart to him. The older man swallowed the thick lump in his throat. „I don’t usually have so many drinks. Sorry for coming onto you like that. It wasn’t appropriate to kiss you against your will.“

„You make it sound like I couldn’t have easily pushed you off. You’re not that strong, hyung.“

The tips of his ears grew hot. Sunggyu turned around to glare at the younger man. He was so surprised to meet Woohyun’s gaze across the room that he quickly avoided his gaze again. Sunggyu had wished Woohyun would look at him but he shouldn’t have done that. Woohyun’s look on his face made Sunggyu remember last night. How Woohyun had looked at him just like that. His gaze warm and friendly, with this amused twinkle in it. It made Sunggyu’s heart flutter against his will and he hit his chest to make it stop. Heat rose to his cheeks and he stared intensely at the coffee machine.

„Are you okay?“

„Y-Yeah, my head just hurts. I’m good. Sorry again.“

„Your head? But you’ve hit your chest, hyung.“

Sunggyu closed his eyes shortly and let out a quiet curse. He poured the coffee into his cup. „Don’t worry about me.“

„But I do. I told you Haneul and you are important to me.“

He his dry lips and gathered his courage. Sunggyu turned around again. „Woohyun, the truth is-“

Haneul opened his mouth and let the fluid mash in his mouth fall onto Woohyun’s shirt. The words got stuck in Sunggyu’s mouth. Woohyun’s eyes widened in shock and then he laughed. „It must run in the family. First your uncle and now you, Haneul-ah.“

„I’ve apologized!“ Sunggyu muttered in embarrassment. He carefully took Haneul from the younger man. He didn’t want Haneul to spit out any more food. The toddler laughed happily. Clearly, he had done this on purpose and was taking great enjoyment in their reactions. „You don’t do that, Haneul! It’s gross!“

His nephew babbled happily. „If you feel full, just stop eating next time. I’ll clean him up, Woohyun. You go...take care of that shirt.“

„It’s in the genes!“ Woohyun called after him as Sunggyu fled the scene with the toddler.

He brought Haneul to the nursery and quickly stripped him of the ruined shirt and body. Sunggyu threw them aside to clean them later. Haneul giggled in joy at being half-.