Chapter Text
Yeosang had been reading through various websites and forums for almost an hour and, between translating the English comments and trying to process the information being thrown at him, his brain was completely fried. He threw his phone down in frustration and buried his face in his hands.
“Yeosang? Are you okay? Are you reading hate comments again?” Hongjoong asked, coming over to pick up the phone from where it had fallen on the bed. “I swear to god, I'll -”
Hongjoong’s voice cut off as he looked down at the site that was pulled up. Yeosang peeked cautiously at his leader through his fingers, watching Hongjoong’s face as he read through the page. Hongjoong looked up at him and Yeosang quickly closed the gap between his fingers, screwing his eyes shut, too, for good measure. The silence stretched out, broken only by Seonghwa getting up and coming over to see what was happening. Yeosang felt the bed sink down next to him and automatically scooted over to make room for the hyungs to sit down.
“Sang-ah, why were you looking up asexuality?” Hongjoong asked eventually, tugging Yeosang’s hands away from his face.
“Well, at the fansign, there was someone who said that they’re, you know, and - and I think I might...” Yeosang trailed off, not quite able to say the word out loud.
“Be asexual?” Seonghwa filled in, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Yeosang nodded jerkily, keeping his eyes fixed on the wall.
“Oh, Sang-ah,” Hongjoong said. “We love you no matter what, you know that right? It doesn’t make a difference for us.”
“Unless there’s anything you want us to change about our behavior,” Seonghwa added, Hongjoong nodding his agreement.
“But how did I not know?” Yeosang burst out. “I’m twenty-one, shouldn’t I have figured it out by now? I always knew there was something wrong with me but I didn’t think -”
“Hey,” Seonghwa said firmly, cupping Yeosang’s face in his hands. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you, okay? You’re not broken, you’re not wrong, you’re perfect just the way you are.”
The overwhelmed tears that Yeosang had been suppressing all evening burst out at that, and he launched himself at his hyungs. They took it in stride, wrapping around him tightly in a three-way hug and whispering assurances as he cried himself out. Eventually, he pulled back a little, letting Seonghwa wipe away the remnants of his tears.
“Sang-ah, do you want to talk things through with us and read a bit more, or do you want to take a rest and go to sleep?” Hongjoong asked.
Yeosang looked up at his hyungs. They were watching him patiently, faces open, and Yeosang could tell that they would be fine with whichever option he chose.
“I think I want to go to sleep. There’s a lot to think about but today was a lot and I don’t think I’m going to get anywhere productive with it.”
“Okay, well we’re here for you whenever you want to talk about more of it,” Seonghwa said.
“And I’ll see if I can slip some more awareness training into our schedule to make sure that the others are aware of asexuality and what it means even if you don’t want to tell them yet.”
Yeosang shuddered at the thought of telling anyone else. He still couldn’t say the word out loud yet, there was no way he’d be able to explain it to one of the other members.
“Definitely not telling anyone else yet,” he said firmly. “But that would be nice, thank you.”
“Anything for our baby,” Seonghwa cooed, squishing his cheeks together and laughing at the disgruntled expression on Yeosang’s face.
“Ooh, if you don’t want to go back to your room just yet, do you want to stay here for the night?" Hongjoong asked. "We could push our mattresses together and have a slumber party! We haven’t done one of those in ages.”
Even if Yeosang had wanted to go back to his room and face Wooyoung and San again, which he was definitely not ready for, there was no way he could say no to the excited look on Hongjoong’s face. Ever since their leader had read an article detailing the 10 Reasons to Bring Pillow Forts Back Into Your Life, he had been absolutely obsessed with making them everywhere he could. Under his determined leadership Ateez had once made a massive blanket fort that encompassed their entire living room and slept in it for four nights straight. At the end, it hadn’t been their manager but Seonghwa who had put his foot down and told them in no uncertain terms that if he had to wash one more snack-stained pillowcase he would only communicate with them in aegyo for the rest of the month. The threat had been sufficient for them to take a few last selcas before dismantling the fort for good.
Seonghwa seemed okay with it this time, though, because as soon as Yeosang nodded he gave him one last squeeze and stood up to prepare. Hongjoong and Seonghwa kept the conversation light and playful as they pulled the two mattresses onto the floor and piled sheets and pillows on top of them. Yeosang helped without saying much, but he managed to whisper out a quiet but heartfelt ‘thank you’ once the lights were out and he was sandwiched in between two clingy hyungs.
“Anytime,” they whispered in tandem, squeezing him a bit tighter before settling down to sleep.
Hongjoong kept his word and quietly tucked a LGBTQ+ awareness training into their schedule. He even arranged their recording timetables so that the training was delivered in two sessions, one for Mingi, Jongho, San, Yunho and Wooyoung and another for Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Yeosang. Over the next few weeks, Yeosang took advantage of any spare time he had to keep reading forums and watch videos about asexuality. He even delved into fanfiction, carefully avoiding the ones about idol groups, and took comfort in reading romance stories that weren’t filled with sexual tension and erotic scenes. In between work and research, he vaguely realized that he felt comfortable in his skin in a way he never had before. Even though he was more aware of all the ways in which he was different from the people around him, it was reassuring to understand why and to know that there were others out there who felt the same. Part of him wanted to reach out to the fan from the fansign, but he knew that it was probably not a good idea until he was ready to come out publicly. And seeing as he still had trouble saying that he was asexual out loud, that likely wouldn’t be for years.
While Yeosang was preoccupied thinking through everything, he vaguely noticed that San and Wooyoung had escalated their skinship with him. There was one particular day of filming where the two quite literally fought over him, the others watching in amusement. Yeosang tried to bear it all with his trademark sarcasm but he felt a bit weird around the two of them still and wasn’t sure if he was pulling it off. Some of his panic must have shown through because Mingi suddenly ended the whole thing by blowing a massive raspberry into Hongjoong’s ear and purposefully bulldozing into Wooyoung and San as he tried to escape their leader’s wrath. Yeosang took advantage of the distraction to join Yunho on the other side of the room, and carefully avoided both Wooyoung and San for the rest of the day.
He thought he had been subtle but, as soon as their director told them they were finished for the day, Wooyoung stalked over to him with purpose.
“Are you mad at me?” he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No?” Yeosang said, genuinely taken aback.
“Oh come on, I’m not an idiot, I know you better than that. I could tell you were ignoring me. And it’s not just today, you’ve been doing it for weeks.” Yeosang froze, not sure how to escape this.
“It’s not about you,” he tried hesitantly.
“So there is something, then?” Wooyoung asked triumphantly.
“Wooyoung, if Yeosang doesn’t want to tell you, he doesn’t have to,” Seonghwa interjected. Wooyoung stared at Seonghwa, and at Hongjoong behind him, and then looked back at Yeosang with hurt in his eyes.
“You told the hyungs but you didn’t tell me?” he asked angrily, taking a step forward. Yeosang winced and stepped back nervously. Wooyoung always reacted with anger when he was deeply hurt, and Yeosang didn’t know how to pacify him this time. He opened his mouth hesitantly and then closed it again, unable to get the words out. He couldn’t tell Wooyoung what was really going on, especially not with the rest of the group members still there. Wooyoung snorted bitterly and shook his head.
“So much for best friends.”
“Jung Wooyoung,” Hongjoong said sternly, stepping in. “That is enough. It’s been a long day but that’s no excuse to yell at one another over petty jealousies. If Yeosang says it’s not about you then it’s not about you.”
Jongho wrapped an arm around Yeosang.
“C’mon hyung,” he said, pulling Yeosang to the door. “Let’s take the first car back and go to that restaurant you like.”
Yeosang followed him numbly, the room silent behind them. Jongho chattered mindlessly all the way back to the dorm, telling random childhood stories that were entertaining enough that Yeosang found himself laughing by the time they got back to the dorm. Jongho smiled at him proudly and hopped out of the car, linking their hands together as they walked up to their dorm.
Yeosang expected Jongho to play his usual maknae-hyung role and ask him about what it was that he wasn’t willing to tell Wooyoung, but the conversation stayed casual the entire time they were gorging themselves on jjigae and bingsu. It probably wasn’t on purpose, but Yeosang thought fervently to himself that avoiding the subject was the most effective interrogation technique he had ever been subjected to. By the time they were walking back he felt ready to explode, and when Jongho stopped him a couple blocks away from their dorm with a gentle ‘hyung,’ Yesoang couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“I’m asexual,” he blurted out.
“Okay, hyung, thank you for trusting me with that, I love you the same no matter your sexuality. Or... asexuality? Are you aromantic as well?” Yeosang stared at him.
“No? Why are you so calm about this? You sound like a dictionary.” Jongho blushed a bit.
“I had a friend at school who’s bi, she told me a lot about her coming out experiences so I tried to prepare a bit so I wouldn’t make any mistakes when someone came out to me. I guess it backfired? But I really do mean it.”
“No, no, it’s cute. Wow, truly the maknae-on-top,” Yeosang teased, poking him playfully. Jongho smiled back and wrapped an arm around him, clearly relieved that he hadn’t ruined anything. They kept walking in peaceful silence, processing what had just happened.
“Does it bother you when we say you’re sexy and stuff?” Jongho asked suddenly. “We could at least use different words when we have to compliment you on camera and of course we can stop completely when we’re at home.”
“I don’t know,” Yeosang said, taken aback. “I never thought about that. I don’t think it bothers me? As long as there aren’t any expectations around it or anything. I don’t think I’m sex-repulsed, exactly, it’s just not appealing.”
“That makes sense,” Jongho nodded. “You’ve been thinking about it a lot recently, haven’t you? That’s why you’ve been so distracted?”
“Yeah, it’s just...it makes everything different, you know? As though I’ve been speaking a different language my whole life and only just realized it. All those times people said they wanted to have sex with someone random walking by or called me sexy and I thought it was like, something you just say, you know? I didn’t think people meant it. And when I told people I had a crush on someone, did they think I wanted to have sex with them? Because... gross. And, I thought I couldn’t have a crush on them because I didn’t want to have sex with them, but…” Yeosang trailed off, suddenly realizing he might have said too much. Jongho seemed to realize it as well, but after a slight hesitation he thankfully decided to ignore it and wrapped Yeosang in a hug instead.
“I wish there was something I could say that could make it all better for you, hyung, and of course I can’t understand exactly what you’re going through, but I’ll always be here for you if you want to talk through any of it or even just rant about things. Now and forever, okay?”
“You’re going to make me cry,” Yeosang complained, squeezing him tighter. “When did you grow up and get so strong, hm?”
“Hyungg, I’m only a year younger than you, I’m not a baby!” Jongho protested, pretending to try to escape the hug.
“Of course you are! Our precious, handsome, main vocal, maknae-baby,” Yeosang said.
Praising Jongho and watching him blush with embarrassment was one of his favorite pastimes, so Yeosang proceeded to enthusiastically shower him with increasingly-outlandish compliments the entire way back to the dorm.
Wooyoung hadn’t been in their room when Yeosang returned with Jongho that night, but he crawled into Yeosang’s bed the next morning and apologized profusely.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, of course, it’s just...I feel like you’ve been avoiding me lately? And I know you said it’s not about me, so maybe it wasn’t on purpose, but I think the last time we spent time alone together was literally months ago.”
“I’m surprised you noticed,” Yeosang blurted out before his mind could catch up with his mouth. Wooyoung froze.
“What does that mean,” he asked carefully. Yeosang swallowed thickly and looked around frantically for a distraction.
“Sang-ah.”
“It just...didn’t seem like you had noticed,” Yeosang said quietly. “We’ve been busy lately, and I know you have a lot of other friends, and you and San got together recently, so I didn’t want to intrude.”
“Yeosang. You’re my best friend, even if I apparently haven’t been that great about showing it recently. I always want you around, we belong together. You’ve always made my burdens lighter, never contributed to them. If anything, I wish you would share your problems with me more often so I could make your life easier.”
Wooyoung paused here, clearly hoping for Yeosang to say something but, when the silence stretched between them, he sighed and hugged Yeosang tightly.
“Let’s go grab breakfast? Just the two of us?”
“Yeah, okay.” Wooyoung whooped loudly and Yeosang raised an eyebrow at him.
“Sannie wanted to play games with you later but I snagged you first,” he explained. Yeosang rolled his eyes.
“C’mon, we’d better get ready,” he said, pushing Wooyoung off of him. “The sooner we get dressed the sooner we can head out.”
Yeosang did end up playing games with San later that evening as well, and he was glad that the air between the three of them had cleared somewhat, but he couldn’t help feeling like he had lied to Wooyoung. Maybe his asexuality crisis wasn’t directly related to Wooyoung and Yeosang hadn’t exactly been mad at him, just...lonely, but he had been acting differently around San and Wooyoung ever since the fansign. Yeosang knew intellectually that he wasn’t obligated to tell anyone about his asexuality if he didn’t want to, but he was also keenly aware that it was the first time since they had met that he had ever gone through some type of major crisis without Wooyoung supporting him at every step. He wanted to talk things through with Wooyoung, and he desperately needed San’s unique brand of smothering comfort, but it had gotten to the point where he had no idea how to ask for it. They were the two most important people in his life, and if they reacted badly he wasn’t sure if he could survive it. So, even though the prospect had tendrils of guilt swirling around in his stomach, he decided to avoid the two of them until he could figure out a better way to come out to them.
Yeosang was still feeling bad about it the next night as he entered the living room for their weekly group movie night, clutching a giant bowl of popcorn to his chest. He hesitated in front of the couch, unsure of where to sit. Given his new resolution to avoid San and Wooyoung at all costs, joining San on the closer end of the couch wasn’t an option. He must have taken too long debating between joining Jongho on the loveseat and trying to steal the other corner spot on the couch from Yunho, though, because San pulled him down into his lap with an impatient ‘come here, you’re blocking the view.’ Yeosang cast a bewildered look at the still-blank tv screen.
“But there’s nothing to see?”
“Hmm maybe you were the view this whole time,” San said with a teasing wink.
“That doesn’t even make sense,” Yeosang protested, blushing furiously and trying to get up from San’s lap.
“Nooo stay, you’re my favorite cuddle buddy!” San pouted dramatically at him, wrapping his arms tightly around Yeosang so that Yeosang couldn’t get up without spilling the popcorn.
“What about Wooyoung?”
“What about me?” Wooyoung asked, nonchalantly lifting Yeosang’s legs and sliding underneath them to snuggle into San’s side. Yeosang froze, not really sure what to do now that he was effectively sitting on both of their laps.
“Sang-ah?” San asked. “Are you okay? You went a bit stiff.”
“Ah, yeah, just...sore from practice.” It wasn’t a lie, exactly, Yeosang reasoned. He was still a bit sore from practice, even if that wasn’t the reason he was so awkward around them nowadays.
“You work too hard,” Wooyoung scolded gently, starting to massage his calves. San joined in, working out the knots at the base of his neck, and Yeosang - Yeosang gave up. He melted into their ministrations, letting his head rest against San’s broad chest, and decided to worry about what this all meant tomorrow. Seonghwa glanced at them curiously as he entered but thankfully ignored the scene and started up the movie. Yeosang tried to pay attention, but he really had been exhausted and it was getting difficult to keep his eyes open. He could vaguely hear San and Wooyoung whispering urgently to one another above his head, and he thought he felt the press of lips on his forehead at one point, but sleep claimed him before he could ask them what was going on.
When he woke up the next morning only to be greeted by the sight of Yunho in Wooyoung’s bunk, he was forced to admit that the disappointment in his chest was probably an indication that his feelings for Wooyoung and San were a bit more than platonic — he had felt more from San’s gentle grasp on his wrist when he tugged Yeosang into his lap than from an entire night of snuggling with Seonghwa and Hongjoong. Of course, it didn’t really matter how he felt about them. They were together, happily so. Even if Wooyoung and San miraculously returned his feelings and were okay with a polyamorous relationship, Yeosang’s asexuality was a bit of a curveball that he had no idea how they would react to. Yeosang wasn’t really the type to confess his feelings to a crush but Wooyoung was, so surely if the younger had felt anything for him he would have told Yeosang a long time ago. This many years into their friendship there was no way that there was anything romantic on Wooyoung's end. Yeosang wasn’t sure exactly when his feelings for Wooyoung and San had developed, but he was determined to suppress them until they went away and everything could just return to normal.
Of course, as soon as he had decided this, Wooyoung and San suddenly seemed to be everywhere. Less than a month ago he had been hard-pressed to get five minutes alone with either one but, ever since the not-fight after filming, the couple had started spending more time in Yeosang and Wooyoung’s room and asking him to join them when they watched tv shows or were headed out to grab food. Yeosang knew they were probably just trying to include him since he was already in the room and it would have been rude to leave him out, but he honestly wished they would go back to ignoring him for a week or two rather than inadvertently rubbing everything he couldn’t have in his face each night. Yeosang took to staying at work to avoid them, spending long hours at the studio working on his performance skills or editing songs.
It was on one of these late nights, when he was heading to grab a snack out of the company kitchen, that he came across Mingi and Yunho giggling madly over something on Mingi's phone.
“What on earth are you two doing?” Yeosang asked. “Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“Well, I was getting Yunho's feedback on this new rap I wrote but then he showed me all these Ateez quizzes and we get a bit distracted,” Mingi said, still suppressing his laughter.
“Ateez quizzes? Like trivia?” Yeosang asked curiously.
“No, no. Well, I guess there are those too, but these are personality quizzes. There’s tons of them — 'Who is your ACTUAL Ateez bias,' ‘What type of Atiny are you,’ ‘Which member of Ateez are you,’ that sort of thing.”
“Apparently I’m Hongjoong,” Mingi interjected proudly. Yeosang snorted incredulously.
“Don’t tell him that, he’ll sulk for ages.”
“The one we’re on right now is ‘Which member of Ateez is your soulmate.’ I bet Mingi a box of pepero sticks that he’d get Jongho, but he’s determined to get Hongjoong again.”
“Can I join the bet?” Yeosang asked, perching himself on the arm of the couch next to Mingi so he could look over his shoulder. “I think you’ll get Seonghwa.”
“Ooh plot twist,” Yunho said excitedly. They all groaned and collapsed back against the couch when Mingi filled out the last question and got ‘Song Mingi’ as a result.
“God, how narcissistic can you be?” Yunho asked playfully, shoving Mingi away from him. “If you had to make us all lose the bet couldn’t you at least get me?” Mingi shrugged playfully.
“You’re just mad that you keep getting me for everything.”
“See if I ever buy you food again,” Yunho threatened. Mingi ignored him and offered the phone to Yeosang.
“Want to try? I’ll eat my hat if you don’t get San.” Yeosang stared at him.
“San?”
“Oh come on, it’s no secret you think he’s hot. You couldn’t keep your eyes off of him at dance today. Wooyoung too, but that’s old news. Hey, I don’t blame you, they’re both being particularly sexy these days.”
“I don’t think they’re sexy,” Yeosang said stiffly, getting up from the couch. “I don’t.”
“Okay,” Yunho said slowly, staring at him. Yeosang glanced at them, and then looked away.
“Sorry,” he said finally, still avoiding eye contact. "I -" Yeosang stopped, unsure of what to say next. He had been thinking about coming out to the other members but it never seemed to be the right time and he didn't want the pressure that an organized family meeting would bring.
Seeing his hesitation, Mingi pulled him down to sit in between the two on the couch.
“You know,” he said gently, “it would be okay if you thought about them sexually. None of us would judge you. And I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but they look at you like you hung the stars.”
“I can’t, though,” Yeosang said automatically.
“What do you mean by ‘can’t?’” Yunho asked. Yeosang hesitated before deciding to take the final leap.
“Like, I physically can’t. I’m - I don’t feel sexual attraction.”
“Oh.” Mingi said. “Is...is asexuality a term that-”
“Yes,” Yeosang interjected firmly, sending a mental thanks to Hongjoong for ensuring they were all familiar with the term. “I - I’m asexual.”
“Can I just ask, you’ve talked about wanting a boyfriend before, is that still something you want?”
“Yes, I’m not aromantic. I still feel romantic attraction, there’s just nothing sexual about it.”
“Okay, that makes sense. And are you romantically attracted to San and Wooyoung?” Yeosang froze. That was not where he had expected the line of questioning to take them. Mingi took one look at his rapidly darkening cheeks and hooted in triumph. He and Yunho exchanged a glance over Yeosang’s head and simultaneously attacked Yeosang with kisses. Yeosang dissolved into giggles and flailed, fruitlessly trying to fend them off.
“Aw, our little baby’s in love,” Yunho cooed, wrapping his limbs around Yeosang and pressing one last smacking kiss to the side of his head.
“But in all seriousness, Yeosang-ah, thank you for trusting us with that. We love you always.”
“Yeah, you’ll always be our baby,” Mingi added. “Even if you’re in love with idiots.”
“Hey!” Yeosang protested, not sure which part to be more offended by. “I’m literally older than you!”
“One of life’s great mysteries,” Mingi nodded somberly. Yunho rolled his eyes and stood up.
“C’mon, you two. We’d better be getting back to the dorm.”
Now that he had come out to Mingi and Yunho, Wooyoung and San were the only two members who didn’t know about Yeosang’s asexuality. He had decided he was ready to tell them but, every time he tried, he chickened out and his guilt intensified. He tried to take a bit of space again but the couple still insisted on inviting him to join them any time they were doing literally anything, and Yeosang was only able to resist their joint pouting efforts for so long. The skinship had soared to new heights, as well — it seemed like not an hour went by, at work or at home, without one of them whispering a compliment in his ear or pulling him into a gentle backhug. There were even multiple occasions where Yeosang was woken in the middle of the night by San crawling into his bed. He tried to tell San that he was getting into the wrong bed but San just mumbled sleepily back at him and clung tighter, leaving Yeosang no choice but to relax into his embrace and fall back asleep.
Yeosang was confused by it all, but ultimately the three of them were in a much better place than they had been in months so he was completely taken by surprise when the two of them sat him down in his bedroom with the type of serious expressions that usually prefaced an intervention.
"Am I in trouble?" he asked, bewildered.
“No, we have something to say,” San said seriously. “I don’t think it’s going to come as a shock, but can you let us get through all of it before giving us your answer?”
“Okay?” Yeosang said hesitantly. “What’s up?”
“We’re in love with you,” Wooyoung said firmly. “And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way, we’ll be happy just staying friends with you since it seems like that's what you want. But, Sang-ah, I’ve been gone on you since Big Hit days. I never wanted to mess anything up between us, but then San came along..”
“And of course I felt the same way,” San continued, “because how could I not, with you being all cute and perfect and fierce and sarcastic but soft and cuddly at the same time. We decided together that we would rather have everything out in the open and know your answer once and for all rather than pining after you desperately. So, will you go out with us?”
Yeosang stared at them both with wide eyes.
“You...you’re in love with me? Both of you?” Wooyoung nodded earnestly.
“We love each other, of course, but things don’t feel complete without you. Whether we’re cuddling or out on a date or -”
“I’m asexual,” Yeosang interrupted. They stared at him, apparently stunned into silence. “Is - is that okay?” he asked tentatively when they didn't say anything.
“Of course!” Wooyoung said loudly, launching himself at Yeosang. “I’m sorry I was just surprised, I love you no matter what, we both do, it doesn’t change anything for us.” San wormed his way underneath the two of them, wrapping Yeosang in a tight hug.
“What he said, thank you for telling us, we’ll support you however you want us to.”
Yeosang exhaled shakily, the tension melting away fully for what felt like the first time in weeks.
“Wait,” San said suddenly. “Is that why you’ve been so quiet? Ever since that concert?”
“Yeah,” Yeosang nodded. “A fan told me she was asexual during the fansign and it stuck with me so I looked it up that night in Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s room and figured it out.”
“And then I yelled at you about it?” Wooyoung said in horror. “I’m so, so sorry Yeosang, god I can’t believe -”
“No, no, it’s okay, you didn’t know. And, honestly, I wanted to tell you from the beginning I just didn’t know how to bring it up, and if it had gone badly… you both are so important, I couldn’t have handled it.” They both hugged him tighter at that.
“Is that why you ignored our flirting, because you thought we only wanted sex?” San asked. Yeosang froze.
“What flirting?” he asked.
“Are you actually serious?” Wooyoung asked, gaping at him. “We asked you to join our dates a million times, fought over you on v-live, told you all the ways we thought you looked attractive even off camera… I mean, San kept sleeping with you, for goodness sakes.”
“I thought that was an accident…” Yeosang said dumbly.
“You are the stupidest smart person I have ever met,” San said firmly. “But I love you anyways.”
Yeosang flushed, the full meaning of those words finally settling in.
“But...you guys like sex.”
“And you don’t, right?” Wooyoung said simply. “We wouldn't do anything you don’t want.”
“I...but I don’t know exactly where my boundaries are,” Yeosang said hesitantly. He wanted this to work desperately, but he didn’t think he would be able to handle getting a taste of what he wanted only for it to fall apart over his sexuality.
“We’ll figure them out together,” San promised. “Whatever you’re comfortable with is okay. If you never want to do anything but be with us that’s enough, and if there are some days where you want to try a bit more and others where you don’t, that’s okay too. We love you, Sangie, that’s not going to change, we’ll figure out a way that works for us.” Yeosang studied their faces, seeing nothing but love and support, and decided to take the leap.
“Yes, I guess, is my answer, then” he said, quietly but clearly. “I love you too.”