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It was 12:00 AM on the dot when Sungwoon was wiping the fog off the bathroom mirror after slipping on his briefs. The door slammed open, as was accustomed in that dorm, and Daniel came in waving sparklers in one hand and holding a cupcake in the other.
“BABE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!”
Sungwoon flinched at his volume. “I’m in my underwear, Daniel. You couldn’t have waited until I was in the room?”
“Why would you be showering at midnight on your birthday? You know I go hard for birthdays.” He said and stepped inside the bathroom soaking his socks. They watched the final sparks fizzle out and then Sungwoon rose to his tippy toes to peck Daniel’s lips.
“Thank you. Let’s go to the room.” He hit the light switch and shuffled to his room shivering at the temperature change. Daniel followed closely behind pushing the cupcake towards him.
“Eat the cupcake!” He demanded, handing Sungwoon the small delicacy. There was a tiny candle on top that said 24 in blue and white.
Sungwoon blinked and brought the vanilla frosted cupcake closer to his face. “You know, our age gap is even wider now. Almost three years.”
“When I was born you were probably seducing the other toddlers at daycare.”
“Shut up.” Daniel snickered and squeezed Sungwoon’s side.
“Happy birth-ah!”
It was when Sungwoon turned his head to reach for his vibrating phone that Daniel’s hand collided with the cupcake in Sungwoon’s hand smashing it into his right cheek. Sungwoon pulled the cupcake away from his face feeling the frosting and sprinkles that coated the corner of his mouth and cheek. “Daniel!”
“I’m sorry!” The other yelled, hand frozen in the air. “I was reaching for your face at the same time you turned away.”
Sungwoon grimaced and poked his tongue out to remove the frosting.
“Let me clean it for you!” Cupping Sungwoon’s neck, Daniel bent over to lick the frosting from his cheek. Sungwoon nearly hissed, pushing at Daniel’s torso and trying to break out of his grasp.
“Why can’t you just get me a napkin?”
“HAPPY BIRTH- oh.” Because being dressed in his underwear with cupcake smeared across his cheek wasn’t enough, Sungwoon’s roommates busted into the room yielding a cake and helium balloons. This of course as Daniel had his tongue pressed to Sungwoon’s cheek. (Not the most normal position to be caught in.) “Well this is awkward.” Jisung said flatly. “We thought we gave you guys enough time.” Minhyun and Jaehwan shuffled their feet awkwardly at the door.
“Oh my god.” Sungwoon inhaled and pushed Daniel away. “Everyone get out, give me five minutes and try this again.”
“Do you want me to get you a napkin, babe?”
“No. I got it. Just-” Sungwoon pushed Daniel and the others out the door and closed it behind them letting his palms rest on the frame for a second. The clock on the wall read 12:11 but Sungwoon reset his mind to 11:55. It was his day and it was going to begin on a good note.
He grabbed Minhyun’s face wipes and cleaned off his cheek ridding himself of the frosting and Daniel’s saliva. Then he pulled out his most decent pajamas and covered himself. He ran a hand through his wet hair and hopped onto his bed, tucking himself into the blanket and waited for everyone to come back in again. The knock came a minute later and Sungwoon called out to them to enter.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR-”
“The love of my life!”
“My cutest best friend!”
“My favorite roommate!”
“Second best vocalist on campus!”
Sungwoon laughed at the various terms of endearment and watched the four of them wrap their arms around each other for the finishing pose. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”
Applauding their efforts, Sungwoon raised his hand to his mouth. “Wow! I can’t believe you guys did this for me. I wasn’t expecting this!” The over exaggeration in his voice was more than apparent.
“Pfft. What the fuck. You’re such a fake.” Jaehwan snorted and rolled his eyes.
“What kind of cake is it?” Sungwoon asked, completely ignoring him.
Minhyun tied the colorful balloons to the bedpost at the front of Sungwoon’s bed. “Vanilla with strawberries in the middle.”
“Ooh.” Daniel sat down on the bed staring hungrily at the cake.
“Hold it while I get the knife and plates.” Jisung said passing the little cake to Sungwoon. The cake was shaped in the form of a cloud with a silver lining.
“Where did you guys find a cloud cake?” He asked, admiring every detail of his cake.
“Jisung hyung knows a guy.”
“You mean he slept with him.” Jaehwan corrected.
“Don’t speak about me when I’m not in the room, you uglies.” Jisung slapped the back of Jaehwan’s head with the paper plates. “Here.” He handed the butter knife to Daniel who was overly thrilled to cut himself a piece.
“Big piece or little?” Daniel asked Sungwoon, angling the knife over the cake.
“Little. I’m not that hungry.”
“Great! More for me.”
Sungwoon sucked his teeth but smiled at him helplessly.
“So what are your plans for the day, birthday boy?” Jisung helped Daniel scoop a piece of cake onto a plate.
Sungwoon directed his gaze to Daniel waiting for the younger to answer for him. Since he was so big on celebrating birthdays Sungwoon assumed Daniel had surprises in store for him. All stares fell on Daniel as he blissfully licked his fingers.
“This cake is amazing.” Finally realizing everyone was watching him, he innocently said, “What?”
“What do you have planned for me today?” Sungwoon asked bluntly. He scooted in closer to Daniel’s side.
Daniel shrugged and cut himself another piece of cake. “I don’t know.” He grinned playfully. “You’ll have to wait and see.” He teased and kissed Sungwoon’s cheek sweetly.
“Just tell me!” Daniel shook his head and pulled the fork from his mouth.
“Okay, so tell us instead.” Jisung crossed his arms and smirked.
Daniel pointed his fork at him and winked. “That I can do.”
“That’s not fair!” Sungwoon whined.
“It’s your gift anyway. You’ll see it later, hyung. Eat your cake.” Jaehwan punched Sungwoon’s bicep. “It’s time for birthday punches! Daniel, you get first dibs.”
Daniel shook his head. “I don’t do birthday punches. I do birthday kisses.” He corrected through a mouthful of cake that no one else was eating at the moment.
“Ew. That’s gay.”
Minhyun wrapped his arm around Jaehwan’s shoulders. “So are you, buddy.”
“Birthday punches later. Let me sleep.” Sungwoon announced, removing the cake from Daniel’s hands and placing it on his desk. “Thank you, guys. I love you all. Let’s get drunk later.”
“Drinks on Daniel tonight! Woo!” Jaehwan yelled getting dragged out the door by Jisung.
Sungwoon wrapped his arms around Daniel’s neck who was still perched at the edge of his bed. “So, I’ll see you later?”
Daniel’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. “Why would I leave you on your birthday? I’m not going anywhere for the next 24 hours.”
Sungwoon’s jaw dropped open dumbly. “Huh?”
“It’s not like you’re not here all the time anyway. Let’s be real.” Minhyun spoke from his bed across the room.
“See? Minhyun hyung doesn’t mind."
Sungwoon scratched his cheek absentmindedly. 24 hours with Daniel. Couldn’t be that bad. “I guess.” He said laying down on the further side of the mattress. “Take off those nasty socks before you get in my bed though.”
“As you wish, my birthday king.”
+++
Birthdays did not give a free pass at missing classes so most of the day was spent as usual: in and out of classrooms and practice rooms. Although, Sungwoon’s special birthday treatment persisted throughout the day. His classmates gave him first pick on the vocal ensemble song he wanted to perform, the cafeteria lady gave him extra sides of kimchi and rice with his meal and Daniel showered him in ten times more love than usual.
By four in the afternoon when Daniel came up to him with the third cupcake of the day and another goodie bag of his favorite bread, Sungwoon was ready to fall into the dentist’s chair with complaints of a toothache.
“Babe, I’m really thankful but no more sugar, please.”
“But I bought you a three-tiered cake!” At Sungwoon’s distressed eyes, Daniel laughed. “I’m kidding. We do have dinner plans later, though. Don’t make plans with anyone else.”
Sungwoon stretched his arms into the air and Daniel intertwined their hands together, pulling him in. He waddled them closer to a bench that was nearby and sat Sungwoon onto his lap.
“How was your day?” Sungwoon asked softly, combing through the hair at Daniel’s nape.
“Pretty normal. Umm. Woojin did a split and ripped his pants. Hot pink underwear.” Sungwoon laughed loudly. “I bet it was a gift from Jihoon.”
“Jihoon…” Daniel’s eyes widened. “Does he have a thing for Woojin?”
“I thought you were going to yell at me.” Daniel relaxed his shoulders.
“Why?” Sungwoon chuckled. “I’m over that. It’s obvious that he likes Woojin.”
“It is, isn’t it? They’ve moved on from being best bros.” Daniel sniffled. “They grow up so fast.”
“That’s how I feel about Daehwi. I caught him and Jinyoung sneaking kisses in the library. Suddenly I turned into his father.” Sungwoon shook his head at the memory.
“We should raise a daughter. Boys are too much to handle.”
Sungwoon gazed at Daniel thoughtfully. “A daughter? You don’t think that would be more difficult?”
“Nope. We would raise her to only love her dads. She wouldn’t need another man.” Daniel replied petulantly.
Sungwoon gave Daniel’s cheek a pinch and Daniel wrinkled his nose. “We’re talking about kids already.”
“Jumping the gun a bit, aren’t we?” Daniel smiled. Sungwoon kissed his nose.
“How did we even get on that subject? I asked how your day was?”
Daniel stretched his legs out and leaned further into the bench. “Have I told you how handsome you look today?”
Sungwoon squinted at him and pursed his lips. “No but thank you.” He answered hesitantly.
Daniel rested his head on the back of the bench. “You’re welcome. And do you know that I love you?”
Again, Sungwoon squinted his eyes in confusion. Where was this going?
“I… love you too.”
“Good!” Daniel said abruptly. He reached for his book bag at his feet and moved Sungwoon to sit on the bench. From inside his bag he pulled out a perfectly square turquoise gift box with a lavender bow. “For you.” He said simply, resting his elbow on the back of the bench.
Sungwoon looked at the box and then back up at Daniel. “Why are you acting weird?”
Daniel leaned forward and kissed him. “Just open it, babe.”
Untying the bow and removing the lid revealed another box and inside that box was another box and so on until there was a tiny cube that could fit in the palm of Sungwoon’s hand. He stared at it and wondered what was small enough to fit inside. He rotated the box with his fingers and heard something clink inside. Something small that clinks when you hit it…
Sungwoon’s mind froze.
Holy fuck. Is he going to ask me to marry him?!
He looked at Daniel who was watching him with a soft gaze and smile. Sungwoon swallowed and started chewing on his lower lip.
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
“Uh.” Sungwoon was too young to get married. It was too soon for them in general. Of course, he loved Daniel but marriage? Oh my god, Sungwoon thought. That explained why Daniel brought up having kids earlier. How was Sungwoon going to say no without breaking Daniel’s heart?
“What are you thinking about so much? Stop staring at it and open it. You can’t open it with your eyes!” Daniel giggled. He tugged at the lavender ribbon until it came off gesturing for Sungwoon to do the rest.
Let me just open it first…
His heart was beating erratically as he took the top off and unraveled the wrapping paper. Inside was… a bottle opener?
Sungwoon threw all the boxes to the floor and pinched the cheap metal between his fingers. “What the heck am I supposed to do with this?” He spat. He didn’t want Daniel to propose but damn. This was a letdown.
Daniel grinned toothily. “Open a bottle.” Sungwoon stared at his gift completely disappointed. “But look closely! It’s engraved!”
On the handle was a S and a D with a heart in between.
“Thanks.” Sungwoon muttered.
“Don’t be ungrateful.” Daniel admonished but he was holding back his laughter which told Sungwoon that he knew what a crap gift that was.
“I’m not. I-it’s a very useful gift. I guess.”
Daniel looped his arm around Sungwoon’s neck and kissed the side of his head several times. “There are more gifts, you brat.”
“Good because if there wasn’t, dinner was going to be very expensive tonight.”
Daniel’s eyes crinkled as he laughed, and he slapped his thigh. “Come on, birthday boy. The fun begins now.”
+++
Entering Daniel’s dorm, Sungwoon was told to wait by the door while Daniel scurried to his room to pick up a few things he needed. His roommates were congregated by the kitchen table ripping open bags of chips and digging into bowls of ramen.
“Sungwoon hyung! Happy birthday!” Seongwoo greeted, getting up to hug him.
Taehyun punched him in the shoulder four times. “Yeah. Happy birthday, kid.”
“Thanks, you super senior.” Sungwoon retorted rubbing his arm.
“Have you heard about that idol group that’s in that controversy, hyung?” Seongwoo passed Sungwoon a bag of chips and invited him to the table.
“No. What happened?”
“They were complaining about their company not paying them and not being able to sleep. But the thing is it was a leaked video and they didn’t know they were being recorded so they were speaking normal. You know, cursing and shit.”
Sungwoon shoved a few chips into his mouth and crunched them. “So? What’s the problem?”
“Netizens are calling them thugs.”
“For being human? Who cares if they curse and complain? They’re not robots. We all fucking curse and complain.”
Seongwoo chuckled. “That’s what I said too. Who fucking cares? The best part, though. The most popular kid said something about pooping and the fans are concerned for his image.”
“I took a good shit this morning!” Daniel announced emerging from the room.
Seongwoo cupped his face. “Oh no, Daniel! Your image!” He mocked in a girly voice.
Taehyun laughed and rolled his eyes. “Sorry ladies, but your oppas aren’t as innocent as you think. Big surprise.”
“Well, we’ll be leaving. Sungwoon hyung let’s go.”
Sungwoon took one last chip and tapped the table. “Keep me updated on that group, Seongwoo. Let me know if a crazy ex-girlfriend pops up or something.”
“Will do, hyung.”
Daniel took Sungwoon’s hand and led them to the bus stop just outside the main gates of the university. Daniel’s bookbag seemed filled to capacity and Sungwoon wanted to ask what was inside but he knew it was probably his gift or something, so he swallowed his curiosity. He did try to question why they were taking the bus, but Daniel only ignored his question to ask his own.
“What do you want for dinner? What are you in the mood for?”
Sungwoon hummed. “Meat, naengmyeon, pajeon, more meat, rice-”
Daniel looked at him in awe. “Have you not eaten all day?”
“I have but it’s dinner time now and you’re paying so.” He smiled prettily at his boyfriend.
Daniel grinned and shook his head. “You’re right. We’re going to order it as takeout though, alright? We’re eating somewhere else.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“Ugh.”
Somewhere else turned out to be a quiet spot at the Han River. They had hopped off the second bus, picked up their takeout and made themselves comfortable at the edge of the river.
“How did you fit two blankets in there? And a bottle of wine?”
Daniel handed the wine to Sungwoon while he spread one of the blankets across the grass. “It’s the rolling technique, babe. Don’t you watch survival videos?”
“Yeah, in my free time.” Sungwoon replied sarcastically and Daniel stuck out his tongue.
They set out their containers of takeout and dug right in, fighting off their hunger and the chilly March breeze. Daniel nudged Sungwoon with the wine bottle and raised his eyebrows.
“Ah,” Sungwoon nodded. “I see the purpose now.” He grinned and took the bottle opener from his pocket. The engraved S and D glimmered beneath the streetlight as he used the corkscrew to pop the cork out. Daniel wrapped the other blanket around them both and they took turns drinking straight from the bottle.
“Here.” Daniel handed him another gift box. This one rectangular and the perfect size for a shirt.
Sungwoon gasped peeling the brand name shirt from the wrapping paper. “You don’t have money! This is too expensive… But I love it.” He held it up and eyed the size. “Why is it so big?”
Daniel lifted the blanket to his chin. “So I can wear it too.” He chuckled and Sungwoon felt better for it costing so much. He folded the shirt back into the box and huffed.
“You outdid me. Going to Lotte World for your birthday is nothing compared to this.” He took a big gulp from the wine bottle.
“I had so much fun at Lotte World! Don’t say that. It was the perfect gift.” Daniel exclaimed and took the bottle from him.
“Your birthday next year is going to be even better than this!”
“Our anniversary comes first. Let’s see who can do better then.”
“Deal.” Sungwoon agreed and a hiccup escaped his mouth. “Uh oh. Let’s not drink too much. You know how we get.”
“You remember the night you got drunk?” Daniel put the cork in the bottle and rested his head on his hand.
Sungwoon grunted funnily. “Yeah okay. Which one?”
“When you were at the club with the guys because we were in that fight.”
“Oh, that fight. Uh huh.” Sungwoon prodded.
“I was so pissed at you.”
“Because you had to pick me up?”
“That and just the thought of some other guy coming onto you made my blood boil.” Daniel shook his fist at the air.
“The only cute guy I liked that night was you when you came to get me. What about that night you got wild?”
Daniel rapidly peered out into the river. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sungwoon jabbed his finger into Daniel’s shoulder. “Oh. You absolutely do. You even forgot you had a boyfriend. Tsk tsk.”
Daniel giggled. “I don’t remember much but I remember having fun. I was single for the night.” He smiled and bit his tongue.
“I’m glad you enjoyed that.” Sungwoon playfully rolled his eyes. “All I got was a text from Seongwoo saying you didn’t remember me.”
“I have no idea how we got home that night, but I remember I had a nightmare that I said, ‘hey baby’ and you said, ‘who are you’ and walked away and I cried.”
Sungwoon’s high pitched laugh pierced the night. “That was well deserved.”
Daniel shuddered. “Nothing scarier than that. But this is what college is for! To forget your identity every once in a while.”
Sungwoon threw a gummy bear at his nose. “Your identity. Not,” He threw another one. “Your boyfriend.” Another one that bounced off his forehead.
“Don’t throw things at me!” Daniel growled and tackled Sungwoon onto the blanket. He ate the remaining gummy bears in Sungwoon’s hand and pecked his lips.
“Thank you for today.” Sungwoon said gratefully. He drummed his hands on Daniel’s back.
“Oh, we’re not at the end yet. We’re like halfway there.”
“Halfway? It’s almost 8.”
“It’s only 7.” Daniel corrected as Sungwoon checked his wrist for his imaginary watch. For a minute they did nothing but stare and take in every inch of the other’s face in the dusky evening until Sungwoon broke the silence.
“Can you get off now? You’re crushing my dick.”
“Is that an invitation?”
Sungwoon laughed. “Not here!”
Daniel sat up and cracked his back.
“I want a donut.” Sungwoon requested randomly. He looked around their surroundings for any convenience stores or food stands.
“I thought you said no more sweets.” Daniel side eyed him to which Sungwoon batted his lashes. “Come on,” He said and pulled himself up. “There’s one more place to go.”
+++
“Wow. It’s empty up here.”
“I rented out the entire place just for your birthday, baby.”
“You can barely buy me a shirt. No, you didn’t.” Sungwoon said walking away. Daniel tugged on their intertwined hands and yanked him back.
The Namsan Tower was surprisingly lacking people for an early spring evening. Tourists wandered about taking photos, generally too busy to pay attention to the two boys pushing and shoving each other around while holding hands. Daniel marched up to the observation deck with an obvious plan in mind so Sungwoon followed him up willingly. He left Sungwoon with a hot chocolate sitting at the steps of the Pagoda and disappeared for a few minutes which Sungwoon didn’t question either. He returned with a blue lock dangling from his fingertips and sat next to Sungwoon leaving a little space between.
“Sungwoon.”
Sungwoon blinked at his seriousness and added, “Hyung.”
Daniel shook his head. “Sungwoon… babe.” He paused and then his serious façade cracked. “I can’t be serious like this.” He laughed. “Hyung, do you remember our first date?”
Sungwoon’s mouth opened in understanding. “Of course. It was here. Is that why you brought us here?”
Daniel nodded. “I want to put a lock up here with you. One because I really want to and two because I know you’re jealous I have one with someone else.”
“I’m not jealous!”
Daniel cast him a disbelieving look and handed him the lock. Digging out a marker from his bag he used it to scratch his head in thought. “What are we going to write on it?”
“What did you write on the other one?”
“I don’t know. Our names? And a heart?”
“So, Daniel ‘heart’ Chaeyeon?” Sungwoon scowled.
Daniel’s front teeth popped out over his bottom lip. “You’re so petty.”
“Give me the marker.” Shading the lock from Daniel’s view, Sungwoon neatly printed his message onto the blue lock. “There.”
“What did you write?” Daniel squinted his eyes at the tiny letters and laughed loud enough to attract the tourists’ attention. “Kang Daniel + Ha Sungwoon (Daniel’s one & only small & precious love).” Daniel threw his arms around Sungwoon and nuzzled his face into his hair. “You’re so cute, hyung!”
Sungwoon smirked to himself, proud of Daniel’s reaction to their lock.
“I have another present.”
Sungwoon’s eyes widened. “Another one?”
Daniel grinned and handed him a tiny box. It was only one box sans fancy wrapping or extra packaging. Sungwoon’s heart sank into his stomach again. Was this the proposal?
“I’m not asking you to marry me. I know all day that’s what it seemed like.” Sungwoon let out a large breath through his mouth and opened the box. “I got us couple earrings.” He pointed to his own ears and Sungwoon realized they were the same small silver hoops in his hand. “Couple rings, couple earrings. Almost the same thing. You’re not really a ring guy so I went with earrings instead. They’re kind of like promise rings?” He mentioned hesitantly. “But we’re not really promising anything, um. It’s like- uh. Wishing for a healthy and happy relationship?”
“Babe, relax.” Sungwoon read the nervousness in Daniel’s voice and face and smiled encouragingly.
Daniel exhaled shakily and continued. “I know you don’t believe in promising forever so I’m not going to do that.” He reached his hand out asking for Sungwoon’s. “No matter what happens you’ll never be something that I regretted. Now or in the future, if we’re together or not, this will still be one of the best memories of my life. I want us to last a long time, right, but we don’t really know the future. But at least we know the present and we can create a little forever in every day we spend together.” Sungwoon’s eyes glazed over and he tried to blink it away without Daniel noticing but he failed. Daniel tilted his head teasingly. “Are you crying? I made you cry? You never cry.”
Sungwoon sucked his teeth and averted his gaze but laid his cheek against Daniel’s chest. He truly wished that he could express himself as well as Daniel could but since he couldn’t, he let his bashfulness convey how touched he was with the other’s words. Daniel was promising forever in their own way. Sungwoon concluded there was no one in the world he loved more than this man before him.
Daniel rested his chin on Sungwoon’s head and hugged his shoulders. “So, what do you think? Forever every day sound good?”
Sungwoon pulled away enough to cup Daniel’s cheek and smile lovingly. “I’d do anything with you.” He whispered and kissed him deeply.
+++
Sungwoon dropped to the couch letting his head roll to the side. He was physically and emotionally full. “I’m tired.”
“How tired is tired?”
Instantly, Sungwoon sat up with alert eyes. “Why? Is there another gift?”
Daniel smiled at his eagerness and unzipped his jacket. “Isn’t there always one last gift for your boyfriend on his birthday?” His smile turned into a smirk that Sungwoon gladly returned.
“Oh.” Sungwoon slipped off his jacket too and followed Daniel’s every step to the couch.
“Your last gift.” He said handing him an envelope. It was a simple birthday card with a seal on the front that read Are you a sea lion? Because I sea you lion in my bed.
“Oh my god.” Sungwoon guffawed and ran a hand over his face. “Where did you get this?”
“Internet.” Daniel smiled widely, obviously very satisfied with his choice in card. Written within the card in Daniel’s best handwriting was a short message.
“Thank you for making my life so difficult. I love it and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Sungwoon laughed again and tucked his head into the crook of Daniel’s neck to hide his blushing face. He read the rest of the message to himself in silence. Daniel wished that he would spend the day enjoying his gifts and didn’t forget to mention that he loved him so much. “Here’s a coupon. Use it as you wish. Winky face.” Daniel snickered hearing Sungwoon read out the emoticon. “What is this?”
“A coupon.”
Sungwoon looked up at Daniel and smirked. “For what?”
Daniel looked at him and then looked away. “You know.”
“I don’t know.” Sungwoon pushed, trying to make him say it.
“To do… it.”
“What’s it?”
“Hyunggg,” Daniel whined but in a hushed tone said, “To get intimate.”
“What? To have sex?”
Daniel flinched and covered his face like the innocent guy he wasn’t. “I’m going to take that back.” He reached for the card but Sungwoon blocked his arm.
“No, no. You can’t take back a gift. Don’t you know that’s rude?”
“You’re rude.” Daniel mumbled.
“So what does this coupon entail?”
“It’s the gift of doing it however you want.”
Sungwoon hummed. Possibilities were endless. “What do you want?”
“It’s your birthday, you choose. Use your imagination.”
“It was your idea. You choose and surprise me.”
“That’s not how the coupon works, hyung.”
Sungwoon moved over and sat between Daniel’s parted legs. He placed his palms on the other’s chest and rubbed lightly. Hovering so close that their breaths were mingling he said, “I want you to kiss me 24 times.” Their lips just barely grazed but Sungwoon’s heart raced with anticipation.
Daniel slowly gripped the back of Sungwoon’s thighs and lifted his face just enough to whisper his next words passed Sungwoon’s red lips. “I think my lips will do more than just that tonight.”
+++
“Why do we always end up having the same normal sex we always have? What are we? An old married couple?”
Sungwoon rolled onto his side, pulling the covers high over his naked body. His eyes followed Daniel around the room who was piling their clothes onto the desk chair and discarding the used rubber.
“That was so uneventful.”
Daniel turned to him and quickly hopped into the bed. “But it was good, right?”
Sungwoon’s lips upturned at Daniel’s slightly panicked expression. “It’s always good.”
A smirk grew on Daniel’s face. “Eyyy,” He trailed off, leaning down to press his lips into Sungwoon’s, nipping at his upper lip. Sungwoon swiped his tongue along Daniel’s bottom lip and Daniel moved on top of him, grazing his teeth over the red mark on Sungwoon’s pale neck. “Happy birthday, hyung.” He said huskily. “How about round two?”
Epilogue: Seonho’s Little Friend
“I did something reckless.”
All five heads popped up simultaneously. The video game at hand was put on pause and full attention was given to a distressed Seonho.
“We’re listening.” Guanlin prodded.
Seonho made sure the door was locked behind him and pulled his book bag around to his front. He stuck his hand into the bag and whispered into it which made the other kids suspicious.
In Seonho’s cradled hands was a big, fluffy hamster.
“Where did you get that?” Jihoon asked wrinkling his eyebrows. Daehwi pulled his legs up onto the bed and leaned into Jinyoung.
“I’ve been raising him since the beginning of the semester.”
“What?!”
“Yeah. I did a good job. I know. But the problem is,” Seonho’s eyes snapped around the room as if the walls were listening. “I pretty much got caught.”
“By who?” Woojin questioned.
“What happened?” Jinyoung demanded.
Seonho moved to sit at the center of the bed, making room for himself by wiggling his way in. He let the hamster sit in his lap as he pet his long fur. “Its room check day and I left a bowl of his food on my desk and one of the RA’s saw it. I tried to say it was my afternoon snack, but they didn’t really believe me.”
“Oh, I don’t understand why.” Daehwi replied sarcastically.
Guanlin snickered. “So what now?” Jihoon reached forward to pet the little furball.
“They said they were going to come back with the head of residence life and do a thorough check, so I snuck this little fellow out and came to you guys.” Seonho looked to everyone helplessly while the other five eyed each other silently wondering how they were supposed to help.
“Well,” Woojin began. “We obviously can’t keep him.” Seonho gasped. “Wait. We can’t keep him because we live next door and they know we’re friends. They’re probably going to check our room too. So, we need someone who’s room is always clean and never fails inspection.”
“Who would that be?” Guanlin scratched his chin.
Woojin pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped around the screen. “There’s only one person I know equipped to handle matters such as these. That’s why he’s on speed dial.”
The phone rang three times and then the line picked up.
“Jisung speaking.”
“Hyung! We need your help!”
“Of all the people who call me hyung, which one are you? Please state your name.”
“It’s Woojin!”
Seonho grabbed Woojin’s arm and spoke loudly into the phone. “And Seonho!” He prompted the other four to state their names too.
“Do all you guys need help with your math homework or something?” Jisung said with a hint of boredom in his voice.
“No, it’s actually really important, hyung! I need help smuggling something.”
“What is it? Drugs, women, money?”
Jinyoung turned to Daehwi surprised. “I didn’t know hyung was a street thug.”
“A hamster.” Seonho answered desperately.
There was a pause.
“When do you need this done by?”
“As soon as possible. They’re coming to check my room soon.”
“Drop everything off to me in my suite in fifteen minutes. I’ll take care of the rest.”
The line disconnected and Seonho sprang into action dragging the other kids with him.
+++
Jisung sat at the kitchen table with his legs crossed comfortably, peacefully scrolling through Twitter. Minhyun strolled into the dorm, quietly greeted him and entered his bedroom.
“Hyung?” He called, standing at the door of his room. “Why is there a hamster in my closet?”