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Minhyuk and Hyunwoo become best friends when Minhyuk drops his ice cream and Hyunwoo gives him his. This gesture becomes synonymous for their friendship; either of them would give their life (and their ice cream) for the other, no questions asked.
Minhyuk consoles Hyunwoo after his first heartbreak. He is twelve when the girl he likes kisses another boy. (Something rouses in him as he watches them kiss. He can't place it yet. He chalks it up to jealousy.)
Hyunwoo cries in front of Minhyuk for the first time. They stay up late and watch a horror movie. They can't sleep all night, not because they're scared (nope, no, no sirree) but because Hyunwoo needs this time to process. Definitely. His heart heals quickly. It's hard to be sad around Minhyuk.
Minhyuk breaks his leg while showing off on his skateboard. Hyunwoo signs his cast and draws his best Pikachu (it looks more like a yellow gremlin, but it's the thought that counts). He keeps him company as Minhyuk is put on bed rest of two days (which, for Minhyuk, is complete torture), during which they dream up the craziest stories with the craziest monsters, doing the absolute craziest things. Minhyuk discovers his love for drawing.
Hyunwoo joins the basketball team in highschool. Minhyuk has zero interest in sports, but he tags along to the games, sketchbook in hand. Hyunwoo comes alive when he plays, striding around the hall with grace and power, and Minhyuk is mesmerized by his movement. (And okay. Maybe by him.)
Something changes between them in highschool. Their friendship is still mostly unchanged, but Hyunwoo becomes less dependent of Minhyuk as he grows more comfortable in his body and his environment. And, while he's ashamed to admit it, Minhyuk misses it. He liked the way Hyunwoo leaned on him. He liked the way he would look at him-- like he was his whole world. He liked....him, he realized.
It changes things. Minhyuk finds it harder and harder to be around Hyunwoo. Everything he does drives him crazy. He pushes him away, slowly.
Hyunwoo doesn't understand.
Hyunwoo doesn't understand when Minhyuk chooses to go to a college all the way across the country. The have the best program, Minhyuk says. Hyunwoo knows he's lying through his teeth.
They say their goodbyes.
Hyunwoo discovers he's bisexual in college. (This explains the weird feeling he had felt with the girl who had broken his heart)
He dates a boy for a while. He reminds him of Minhyuk. Everyone does. He sees him in everything, in everyone. Never has he missed someone like he misses Minhyuk. Never has he loved someone like he loves Minhyuk. Never has he....wait.
Hyunwoo loves Minhyuk. The realization hits him like lightning. Even after all this time, all this distance, all the words said between them, there is no one he would rather see. No one he would rather talk to. No one he would rather be with.
He hesitates to call Minhyuk. He dials his number, which he knows by heart, but hangs up after the first ring.
He doesn't dare try to call him again.
Minhyuk graduates, and he tries the struggling artist bit for a while. Eventually, after failing to pay rent for the third time in a row, he moves back home to his parents.
Feeling stifled by pressure he frequently flees the house, to the beach nearby, where he and Hyunwoo used to build sand castles back in the day. He sits and watches the waves until the sky grows dark and the stars light up the nightly canvas.
And suddenly, one day he is there. All dressed up in a suit, looking gorgeous and dapper and successful, and it's unfair. It's unfair because he still loves him. It's unfair because the years have only made it worse, not better.
Minhyuk cries in front of Hyunwoo. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last either. He hits him in the chest. God, his pe cs are solid. Hyunwoo waits patiently until his tears have dried and the anger has stilled. Silence falls between them. Hyunwoo is the first one to break it.
They stay up late and talk until the sun comes up. Something clicks. They fall back into the easy rhythm they used to have, while both denying their feelings.
It works out for a while.
Then it doesn't.
Feeling like he has nothing left to lose, Minhyuk confesses his feelings to Hyunwoo.
Hyunwoo kisses Minhyuk.
The universe rejoices.
A weight, cultivated and grown by years of denial and shame and rejection, is finally lifted.
Hyunwoo cries in front of Minhyuk, for the second time in his life as he slips the ring on his finger.
Minhyuk says yes. Of course he says yes.
Hyunwoo gives Minhyuk his slice of the wedding cake. This gesture symbolises their friendship. Their love. Their marriage.
I would give my life for you, Hyunwoo says in his vows.
For the first time in his life, Minhyuk cries in front of his husband.