Chapter Text
"Are you my boyfriend now?"
Sunwoo choked on a piece of seaweed and Hyunjoon threw his head back to laugh, wheezing in mirth as Sunwoo desperately tried to save face by downing the entire glass of water beside him on the table. Hyunjoon was still laughing when Sunwoo could breathe again, thought it was reduced to tiny giggles that the younger boy found absolutely adorable.
"I almost died here and you just laughed at me." Sunwoo whined.
"You looked funny." Hyunjoon grinned, winking at Sunwoo. "Also, you didn't answer my question, Sunwoo-yah. I can't believe you're making me wait for your answer... as if we didn't kiss earlier and you almost cried--"
"Will you marry me?" Sunwoo blurted out, then smacked himself loudly on his forehead. "Wait, wait, not that. Yet. I'll ask that soon too, but after college and stuff. Ugh, can you stop making my heart skip beats so I can properly ask you out?"
Hyunjoon beamed, eyes wide and teasing as he inched closer to Sunwoo. "I make your heart skip beats?" he asked in a whisper, as if it was a secret to anyone else in the world but them. "And you'll marry me?"
Sunwoo gulped. "Yes."
"Wah, you're so whipped." Hyunjoon exclaimed, resting his head on Sunwoo's shoulder. "You know, I never really thought that I'd go to a Doctor's appointment with a heavy heart. I'm not really bothered by it, but since you're the one carrying my heart now--"
"Carrying... what--"
"Don't let it burden you when playing tomorrow, okay?" Hyunjoon glared at him when Sunwoo had butted in, but his eyes and tone were soft. "It's your last game in high school. Make it your best too."
"What's the point if you're not there to watch, though?"
Hyunjoon frowned. "Hey, Chanhee-hyung said he'd record the whole game for me! You should still do your best even if I'm not there! You're the team captain, right? Kim Sunwoo, you're suddenly becoming lazy."
"I'm not lazy!" Sunwoo argued, sulking. "I just really want to show off in front of you. Maybe I can kiss you in front of the school too... Juyeon-hyung did that with Chanhee-hyung."
Hyunjoon nudged him, smiling. "You can kiss me after prom."
Sunwoo sputtered in reply, and that was how Mrs. Kim found them both laughing with bits of kimbap on their hair. She sent them away from her kitchen, and Hyunjoon decided he should wash up and bid Sunwoo goodbye for now.
They still spent the evening stargazing, with Hyunjoon teaching Sunwoo how to map the stars. He also pointed out a new star he saw, encircling it with an orange pen.
"I found dad." Hyunjoon's voice was soft. "He's really still watching over everyone, huh? His star is so bright too! Look, it's even near Orion, so it's easy to see."
Sunwoo suddenly hugged him, ignoring Jimin the cat's dignified meow of protest by their laps.
"What's wrong, Sunwoo-yah?"
"Nothing." Sunwoo lied through gritted teeth, heart breaking when Hyunjoon wrapped his thinner arms around him too. "Nothing's wrong, Joon. I just want to hug you. I just want to feel you in my arms."
Hyunjoon stayed silent, nuzzling closer to Sunwoo. Maybe he knew what Sunwoo really meant. Maybe he believed Sunwoo's lie. Still, what mattered to them both at that moment was that they were alive and together.
The star of Hyunjoon's dad twinkled brightly that night over them, shining brighter than the morning star, almost like he was giving the two teenagers his blessing in a way.
And maybe he was.
Sunwoo stretched with his teammates in the locker room before the game, listening to Juyeon tell them some words of advice. He was in a relatively good mood, even if it was really hot and bright outside; Hyunjoon had sent him a good morning text and a selca.
Sunwoo fully believed everything would be okay.
"You guys are fast runners. Use that to your advantage." Juyeon was saying. "For the first half, be high on defense. Watch and learn how they move and try to infer what their mode of play is. We can make a plan and be offensive on the second half. You got this, boys!"
"What team?" Eric suddenly yelled.
His enthusiasm was met with silence.
"Wildcats!" Jeongin replied, a few beats late.
"Only Jeongin understands me here." Eric sulked, high-fiving the younger boy.
Juyeon gave them amused glances, nodding at his own brother to lead the team outside to meet the crowd and the rival team. Sunwoo marched them out of the locker room, wincing at the bright sunlight, but he managed to wave at the crowd.
Their team played better than they had even expected. Though the scores were tied and the crowd could barely breathe with the anticipation of what would happen next, Sunwoo managed to score their winning goal in the last minute of the game.
MBC Prep roared with cheers as Sunwoo was suddenly dogpiled on by his teammates as soon as the whistle signaling the end of their game and their victory resounded around the field.
"Wait, I still have to do something!" Eric suddenly ran and grabbed the mic from the announcer beside the coaches by the benches. The other coach looked at Juyeon in question, but Juyeon just shrugged and let Eric take the mic.
"Oho, he's really doing it! C'mon, let's go into position!" Bomin shouted.
Their team lined up, and Sanha, their water boy, ran into the field to give them the props like Eric had instructed before the game.
"LEE FELIX!" Eric suddenly yelled into the microphone, causing white noise to cut through the air and everyone to shut up. "Oh, wait, this is too loud. Operator, sir, can you please lower the volume a bit?"
Sunwoo could see Felix was already turning red in his seat in the bleachers.
"Oh, there we go!" Eric cleared his throat. "Lee Felix! Will you go with me to prom? Not as a bro-date, but as an actual date? I scored a goal for you earlier, did you see that? It was awesome--"
Juyeon was trying to hold both his laughter in and the announcer from grabbing the microphone back. "Eric, you're getting off script!"
"Right, right. Sorry." Eric then turned to his teammates, flashing a thumbs up. The MBC prep soccer team then unrolled the huge tarpaulin, causing everyone that can see to fall over themselves laughing.
It was a huge printed meme face of felix, looking weirdly at the camera, and having a tangerine in his mouth for teeth.
Sunwoo was dying of secondhand embarrassment.
"YES! BRO, YOU'RE THE BEST!" Felix was then shouting, running over to the announcing pod to do a complicated handshake with Eric. "Also, can I have the tarp?"
------
Sunwoo was supposed to be at the prom venue thirty minutes ago, but he found himself at the local crafts store with an armful of blue and white ribbons and duct tape. His teammates would kill him for not showing up, but Sunwoo hoped they'd understand. Bomin or Hyunjin can give the victory speech in his place or something.
The cashier gave him a weird look that Sunwoo found easy to ignore. A teenager in a rented, expensive tux, buying ribbons at a small crafts store instead of dancing with friends at the prom?
Understandable.
Sunwoo didn't have a ride since he just bailed on his brother, but he did have a bike. He placed his precious cargo on the basket of the bike and headed over to the convenience store for the most important thing yet.
Sangyeon opened the door when Sunwoo knocked at the Heo's, eyebrows arched in surprise. "Hey, Sunwoo. What are you doing here? Isn't it prom night?"
"Yeah, um." Sunwoo showed him the things he had bought. "Change of plans, I guess?"
Sunwoo waited patiently for Hyunjoon to get back, fidgeting anxiously by the window they use to get to the small balcony. His mind drifted off to a darker place as the sun set, wondering if all was okay.
Then the door opened and Hyunjoon walked in, totally ignoring the efforts Sunwoo just made, and collapsed onto his bed face first.
Sunwoo had no idea what to do.
Hyunjoon then looked up, eyes red, before focusing on Sunwoo. Then he saw the blue and white ribbons streaming down from the ceiling and held in place by duct tape. Then Hyunjoon saw the bouquet in Sunwoo's hands.
"...what?"
"Prom?" Sunwoo's voice cracked, noticing how Hyunjoon had obviously been crying. "Is everything okay? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"I thought I told you to go to prom?" Hyunjoon was still staring at the bouquet.
Sunwoo turned sheepish. "This is my prom. It's with you. I don't care if it's not in a fancy venue with fancy decors and food. If it's not with you, it wouldn't be prom, Joonie."
Slowly, Hyunjoon got up and wiped his tears. "You..." Hyunjoon breathed out shakily, a small smile forming on his lips. "I think I'm in love with you, Sunwoo."
Sunwoo handed him the flowers, still very concerned. "Why are you crying?"
"I don't want to talk about it now, Sunwoo-yah. You obviously went through a lot of effort and--"
"What did the doctor say, Joon?"
Hyunjoon suddenly dropped the flowers and went for a tight hug, burying his face into Sunwoo's neck as he held onto the younger boy like an anchor. Sunwoo's heart beat wildly in his ears as he hugged back, anxiety eating him from the inside.
They played Shaun's Way Back Home that night for their slow dance, even if Hyunjoon complained it wasn't slow enough. Sangyeon brought them the Happy Meals Sunwoo had ordered, and they ate their fries while watching Avengers.
"You'll look for me in the stars, right?" Hyunjoon whispered, eyes closing as the credits rolled. He and Sunwoo had snuggled up in Hyunjoon's bed, cuddling after they both washed up and changed in pajamas. "You have my star notebook now."
Sunwoo felt a tear run down his cheek again. "Of course. It's the only thing I'll do. When I go to Uni, I'll map the stars again, so I know you'll always be with me."
"That's good." Hyunjoon mumbled out. "I hope I end up next to dad."
Sunwoo couldn't reply verbally anymore. He just nodded, holding Hyunjoon closer like he never had before.
"In a different universe... we'd probably be K-Pop stars, don't you think?" Hyunjoon continued to mutter. "I won't have cancer in that universe. We'd be in one group. You like to rap, right? I can rap too. Eric can be in that group too."
"Yeah." Sunwoo sniffled. "We can dance together."
"I'd be such a great dancer."
"You are." Sunwoo choked out, wiping his tears away. "We can even go around the world together. Like BTS, right? We'd have a lot of fans."
Hyunjoon nodded, smiling. "And you'll still love me?"
"Always."
------
Sunwoo smiled at Juyeon and Chanhee finally eating their wedding cake. It had been a mess at the reception, since Juyeon forgot to pick the cake up from the bakery and Chanhee almost killed him in front of the crowd, but all had finally settled and Juyeon was feeding Chanhee the lime green and baby pink cake.
"The color is still disgusting." Chanhee said with a mouthful of cake.
The crowd clapped around them and Sunwoo sent his hyung a thumbs up. Juyeon nodded in acknowledgement, avoiding Chanhee's icing-covered finger but still ending up with pink on his nose.
Sunwoo headed out of the reception and into the balcony, passing by Mrs. Heo and Sangyeon and Jaehyun sitting at the same table as Sunwoo's parents and Chanhee's family. Mrs. Heo caught Sunwoo's eye and smiled sadly, raising her glass in his direction.
He gripped the notebook tighter in his hands, smiling back.
Once at the balcony, Sunwoo closed the door behind him and sat on the floor, looking up at the sky. The night was dark and clear, and Sunwoo spent some time just looking at the view before finally opening the notebook and taking his pen out.
Orion glowed brightly, along with the star that is Hyunjoon's dad.
And something else too.
Sunwoo felt his heart beat faster when he finally saw a smaller star beside the one they had discovered earlier that year. With an excited grin, Sunwoo noted it down and encircled the star.
"Hey, Hyunjoon-ah. We finally met again."