A face loomed just inches away, smiling slyly.
Entranced by the smile, a large hand cupped the back of Song Hyunsoo’s head, pulling him closer as their lips met.
Softly rubbing lips and a tongue slipping inside carried the sweet scent of canned peaches all around.
There was no turning back now. Even the pitiful, bitter feelings faded into a nostalgic sweetness that glorified childhood memories.
Lying on top of Yoon Jooho’s stomach, kissing him, Song Hyunsoo pulled back and smiled. Jooho looked down at him with narrowed eyes, clearly displeased.
“Smiling during a kiss? You really need to stop killing the mood.”
“No, it’s not like that,” Hyunsoo shook his head.
“It’s just funny how you taste like peaches.”
That sad luxury I was only allowed when I was hurt as a kid. To feel that cliché sweetness through you, who to me is a symbol of sophistication…
“It’s because it feels like you’re a little more like me.”
Noticing the complicated emotions hidden behind his awkward smile, Jooho stared at Hyunsoo for a moment, then silently pulled him into a tight embrace.
No kiss this time, no playful touches like grabbing his butt.
He just held him close on his stomach and gently rubbed the hair at the nape of his neck between his fingers.
Hyunsoo, who had his lips pressed to Jooho’s neck, slowly lifted his head.
He’d meant to care for the one in pain but ended up feeling comforted himself.
Looking deep into Jooho’s eyes beneath the long lashes, he leaned in first this time and kissed him.
Flicking over the delicate, stubborn-looking thin lips, he pressed them hard enough to make a smacking sound before pulling away.
Throughout, Jooho watched him steadily from under half-closed eyelids.
“You’re weird,” Jooho muttered.
Raking Hyunsoo’s hair back over his forehead, he added,
“What else?”
“No matter how I look at it, it’s not your type.”
“Y-Yeah, you’re the type who’s beautiful, after all.”
Jooho lightly grabbed Hyunsoo’s chin, meeting his gaze as he raised his eyebrows.
“You’re not even paying attention when I say you’re not my type?”
“So what if I’m not your type? You were the one who seduced me first, saying you wanted to sleep together. You were the one who chased me and begged to date me.”
“You have a very fabricated memory of events.”
“Liking someone just because they’re your type or ideal isn’t really a big deal.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“It’s not that you liked me because it was me, but because I fit your type. Someone who fits your type better could always come along, right? But even though I’m not your type, you’re dating me? That means you like me beyond just ‘type’—you like me for who I am.”
“Think whatever you want.”
Despite the words, Jooho’s face was full of a pleased smile.
“You should admit it already.”
“Admit what?”
“That you like me enough to go beyond your type.”
Like, love. Even without saying it with words, his gaze and smile conveyed his feelings clearly. Right now, that was more than enough.
Hyunsoo pressed his lips deeply against Jooho’s again, who responded by tightening his arms around his lover’s torso with a strong embrace—almost suffocating in its strength.
See? I told you you like me.
If he stepped back just a little, Jooho’s tongue would follow right after. Just when Hyunsoo tried to end the kiss with a peck, Jooho tugged the back of his head and rubbed their lips harder.
Acting like a boy begging for more kisses, he was adorable.
They chased each other, laughing as they tumbled until Hyunsoo slid down from Jooho’s stomach.
Feeling Jooho’s fingers playing with his hair, he quietly looked up at him and carefully called out.
“Sunbae.”
“……”
“Don’t be mad. Please listen.”
Jooho rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, pretending to ignore him, making a sound like something was scratching the back of his throat.
“If you don’t say something worth getting mad about, I won’t get mad.”
“I saw Jiini-hyung’s number in the Phone Call List earlier.”
“……”
Jooho’s wandering eyes returned to Hyunsoo. Hyunsoo sat up from his prone position.
“I wasn’t snooping on purpose! I was just trying to see what he saved me as…”
“So? What are you trying to say?”
“Maybe there’s a chance they could reconcile.”
“Would you want that?”
Hyunsoo nodded earnestly.
“Of course. They’re the two people I like the most, and they were close before.”
“The two people you like the most? I’m your boyfriend, but am I really on the same level as Jung Jin?”
“Oh, that’s different! It’s a different kind of love.”
“How is it different? Explain specifically.”
“Don’t just joke around. Don’t you know talking is the most important thing between lovers?”
Jooho stared blankly at him, then grabbed Hyunsoo’s chin lightly and shook it.
“Now you even know how to sweet-talk me with kisses. Not bad.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t kiss you for that.”
Hyunsoo denied it, his face flushed, while Jooho got up and picked up a pack of cigarettes from the nightstand.
Hyunsoo also fully sat up, rubbing the back of his neck as he watched Jooho sitting with his back turned at the edge of the bed.
“I don’t think anyone has the right to pry into things you don’t want to talk about, even if you’re lovers.”
“Then why ask?”
Jooho, holding a cigarette between his lips, glanced sideways and countered.
“But honestly, this isn’t something that doesn’t concern me at all.”
“Why is the conversation going that way?”
“Think about it,” Hyunsoo began seriously.
“My boyfriend and my closest Hyung used to be best friends but now it’s awkward between them. Do you know how much I have to watch my step being stuck in the middle? I can’t even tell Hyung I’m dating you, so I keep lying. And you act openly annoyed every time Jiini-hyung calls. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why do I have to be the one acting guilty?”
It was the first time Hyunsoo had been honest about the problem. He couldn’t keep lying to Jung Jin forever or keep tiptoeing around Jooho. It was something that had to be solved eventually.
Jooho smoked silently.
“Is this really something you can’t talk to me about?”
Hyunsoo waited patiently without pushing.
Jooho’s back straightened with deep breaths several times as if he wanted to say something.
But then he sighed and shook his head. Taking a deep drag, he exhaled thin smoke and said quickly in a low voice,
“It’s nothing special. Just a bunch of guys puffing up their pride, stubbornness getting in the way. Now that we live apart, we can’t hang out like before, so I don’t really feel the need to reconcile.”
“Then why did you call? Wasn’t it to make up?”
Looking down at his cigarette, Jooho glanced at Hyunsoo with a gaze so steady it almost seemed challenging.
“If you had to choose between me and Jung Jin, who would you pick?”
“Why does it have to come to that?”
“Answer me. Me or Jung Jin?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Is it Jung Jin? So you can’t answer?”
“Don’t force it. What is this… Are you serious?”
Hyunsoo studied Jooho’s face carefully. He thought it was a joke, but the way Jooho raised the cigarette to his lips and shrugged looked like there was a hidden meaning.
Turning his face forward again and hiding his expression, Jooho tapped ash into the ashtray and said,
“I’m going to decide whether to tell you the secret based on your answer.”
“What secret? This isn’t teasing. Their fight has nothing to do with me. Why should I have to choose between the two?”
Jooho laughed quietly, shaking his back toward Hyunsoo. Whether it was a joke or serious, Hyunsoo was getting more confused.
Nodding a couple of times as if coming to terms with something, Jooho quickly pulled the filter from his mouth and spoke.
“You said you don’t want to lie, right?”
“……”
“You don’t have to lie to Jung Jin anymore. I told him we’re dating.”
“…R-Really?”
“That’s what I called to say.”
Without realizing it, Hyunsoo gripped his left chest. He felt more surprised than Jung Jin would hearing that news.
“Ah… so, what did Hyung say? He must have been shocked?”
“He doesn’t seem to understand why someone like you would date someone like me.”
Hyunsoo chuckled quietly.
Crawling over on his knees, he pressed himself tight against Jooho’s back sitting on the bed edge. Resting his chin below Jooho’s shoulder, he kept grinning.
“Do you like hearing that so much?”
“If everyone knows we’re dating, they’ll probably all be confused why Sunbae’s with me. It wouldn’t hurt to have at least one person who thinks differently.”
Wrapping his arms around Jooho’s waist, resting his cheek on the upper back below Jooho’s shoulder, he listened only to his breath.
It was unfortunate that the two hadn’t reconciled, but that was their issue to resolve.
At least, Jooho had taken the awkwardness and discomfort upon himself to contact Jung Jin and be honest.
Adjusting his hold around Jooho’s waist, Hyunsoo rubbed his cheek against his back.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For properly telling Hyung we’re dating.”
“……”
Jooho said nothing more but twisted halfway to pull Hyunsoo closer by the shoulder and kissed him.
It was a passionate kiss, sudden enough to catch Hyunsoo off guard.
It was an afternoon just a few days before the crank-in.
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