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"You'll just pull a prank on me," Wonpil whines "Or drown me."
Jae chuckles. "I won't." He puts his hands up in defense. "Trust me. Let's go."
An hour after, they find themselves standing by the pool in a small private resort. They are wearing their trunks and none on top. Unlike swimming with cameras around, they don't need to cover much skin when it's just them. It's not like Jae doesn't walk around the dorm with only his towel wrapped around his waist after a shower. And it's not like they haven't seen each other (and other members) with only their boxer or underwear on.
Jae was so bored and he wasn't in a mood to play video or online games. Miracle, right? It's either that or something else. But whatever the reason was, he dragged Wonpil to go swimming with him.
They both stretch for a while when Jae suddenly remembers what the younger did when they went to Jeju with the others--pushing him in the water. A playful smile plasters on his face as he thinks he'd return the favor.
Wonpil just finished his stretches when Jae suddenly pushes him to the pool. His cheeky smile doesn't leave his face as he watches the younger emerge from the water.
Wonpil breathes as much air as he can. He shakes his head and wipes his face before splashing water on the older.
"See? This is why I didn't want to go."
Jae snickers. The back of his hand is situated near his mouth as he does so. He then slowly sits on the poolside.
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
Wonpil nods as he takes heavy steps towards the older. Just a few more steps away, he hastily halts as he squeezes his eyes shut.
“You okay?”
The younger tries to open his eyes but closes it right after and blinks rapidly, face down. “Yeah, something just… got into my eye, I guess?”
“Come here. Let me see.”
Wonpil proceeds to walk straight, still with eyes shut, as the older outstretch his hand, reaching for the younger’s arm to pull him close.
“Look up, let me see it,” Jae demands.
Wonpil, thinking that even if Jae is sitting, he might need to bend a little more than people with average height would, so he looks up and abruptly tiptoes to elevate himself but Jae bends more than he should, causing their faces to crash and their lips to brush against each other for a brief moment.
They both lean back to look at each other, surprised by the incident, but it doesn’t last long. Wonpil flips his eyes close again, feeling the itch in them. Jae tries to blink the thought of their lips colliding away as he pulls the younger close once more.
His actions are slow and cautious, not wanting to cause another unwanted scene. Was it really unwanted, though? He mentally shakes his head.
“Stay put.”
So the black-haired does. His face is tilted upward but he stays still as the brown-haired holds his face and tries to open the younger’s eye with his thumbs and blows whatever went to his eye away.
“Thanks, Hyung,” Wonpil mutters before clearing his throat.
Jae looks away for a second, thinking how to get the awkwardness away.
“Hey, you want to learn how to swim?”
The black-haired looks at him with a clueless expression.
“You’re afraid to go deep in the water, right?” Jae remembers their trip to Jeju again where Wonpil was afraid but got better with the help of an instructor. “Come on, I’ll teach you.” He jumps in the pool.
Despite Jae’s lanky frame, he’s pretty athletic. He plays badminton, basketball, and he sure can swim. For what felt like an hour of teaching the younger, Jae pulls himself by the poolside again, leaving the younger in the middle of the water. Wonpil is afraid to go further if Jae’s not in the pool because if he continues to walk, the water would go past his nose, and if he goes on a little more, the water level will go beyond his head.
“Come on, trust me.” Jae encourages. “Just remember what I taught you and if something happens, I’ll jump right in.”
The black-haired takes a deep breath before submerging into the water. Jae taught him how to swim front crawl or freestyle, as most people call it. He tries to relax, sets himself into an arrow position and starts to glide and kick. He strokes and kicks but he gives up doing freestyle halfway. His eyes are closed and he is still moving forward under the water, still kicking.
Jae thinks the younger’s eyes are open and will stop advancing when he reaches the end, but they’re still closed, so the younger bumps into the pool’s wall. The black-haired swiftly emerges and breathes heavily, one hand on his forehead. Jae catches his wrist to avoid the younger from going down the water. He encloses the younger between his legs to keep Wonpil afloat. The younger rests his arms on Jae’s laps, feet not touching the floor, as he continues to catch his breath.
Wonpil doesn’t look up because he doesn’t want the brown-haired to see his cheeks flushing red. Wonpil is aware of how intimate their position is but he focuses on his forehead, hoping there won’t be a lump. With face still down, he thinks of why he is short of breath. Is it because he just swam? Or is it because of how close they both are?
Jae is looking down at the younger, watching the black-haired rubs his forehead. He feels a weight on his chest. He doesn’t like seeing the younger hurt. He slowly comes to realize his fascination with the younger isn’t just because he’s a bandmate. The way he returns the younger’s gaze these days and how he didn’t want to play a game because it was just the two of them in the dorm, he now knows why. He just wants to spend time with him. He wants to make more memories with him, not just memories of performing on the same stage, playing instruments and touring for the concerts. He remembers how he also dragged Wonpil around Europe and took pictures with him to make memories of them being just Park Jaehyung and Kim Wonpil, not as Day6's guitarist and keyboardist. He likes him. He likes him not just a person or as their keyboardist. He likes him not just a friend. He likes the smiles the younger always gives him. He likes the laugh that the younger would always make when he jokes. He likes how his heart would swell when he catches the younger staring at him. He likes how the keyboardist pronounces his name in English; dropping honorifics. That’s it. He likes everything about him. He likes him. Or maybe more? Who knows? He wants to figure it out.
So without much thought, he stops Wonpil from rubbing his forehead. He bends down and gently holds the black-haired’s head, letting his lips meet the younger’s skin, where Wonpil’s hand was stroking earlier.
A little taken aback, he clutches on Jae’s forearms. “What are you doing, Hyung?”
Jae puts down his hands, slowly situating his forearms on Wonpil’s shoulders, hands around the younger’s neck, thumb gently caressing the black-haired’s skin. Wonpil’s cheeks get hotter. He bites his lips, afraid that the older will hear how loud his heart is thumping from their distance.
“Kissing the pain away?” Jae lands his lips on the black-haired’s forehead again.
They stay in that position for almost a minute. Wonpil tries to swallow and take deep breaths. He chews on his lower lip as he tries to calm his beating heart. He's contemplating whether to act innocently or to take the risk and take it further. He gulps as he musters some courage to do the latter.
“Hyung?”
“Hmm?” Jae hums, not taking his lips away from the younger’s head.
“If you don’t want me to feel the pain, you need to make me preoccupied.”
Curious, Jae pulls away. He looks at the younger and the black-haired looks up at him.
“You need to kiss me somewhere else.”
They stare at each other for a moment. Jae studies the younger’s face. Wonpil’s eyes are twinkling and his pupils are dilated. The brown-haired doesn’t sense any hesitation from him. As the older’s eyes drop on Wonpil’s lips, he slowly bends. He puts his gaze back at the younger’s eyes, they are full of anticipation and finally, Jae’s lips meet Wonpil’s. The latter responds right away and Jae cups his face as they continue to do so.
Surely, Wonpil is afraid of getting drowned in the water. But if he has to be drowned, he’d definitely choose to be drowned in Jae’s kisses. That, he wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, he wants to be drowned in them every day like he is drowning in them now.
Who needs swimming lesson sessions when you can have kissing sessions by the poolside?