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"I can't wait to graduate high school," Mingi sighs dreamily, shutting his laptop. He places it next to him, grabbing the tall glass from the coffee table and taking a sip of the lemonade Jongho's mom made for them. "No more homework."
The younger boy looks up at him, very much confused. "Don't you want to go to college, hyung? As far as I know, it'll get only worse." The sun is shining right into his face so he has to squint a little, scrunching up his nose in the process. He looks stupid and a Mingi can't help but laugh at him.
"Don't laugh. If you moved your gigantic head somewhere else I wouldn't sit here, looking like an idiot," Jongho huffs, putting Mingi's laptop on the coffee table so he can sit there, and continues writing his essay. "Also, do you really think you can get through college without doing any work?" He himself takes his glass and sips on the cold drink. It's way too sour but he doesn't mind.
After putting it back on the table, he twists his torso to look at his best friend again. "With this attitude, you'll drop out real soon." He sounds like a parent. And even though the other boy is older than him, he actually kind of feels like his mom.
Mingi groans and angrily sips on his drink, looking way too cute with the pink straw in his mouth. "Please don't talk about college just yet. I still have time."
Jongho honestly doesn't think that a year is a lot of time and it'll be gone in a blink of an eye, but he won't bother his best friend with it, for now at least. He also doesn't tell him that he was offered skipping a year by the school's principal and that he's applying for college at the same time Mingi is. He wants it to be a surprise if they manage to get into the same one.
Honestly, at first he didn't want to skip and graduate early because it's a lot of work, even more than he's already putting into it. But then, his heart did this thing where it decided that he likes Mingi more than he should, more than a friend would. The thought of losing Mingi because he's a year younger and still in high school was unbearable to him.
****
Summer is exceptionally hot this year. The first two weeks of his summer break is spent mainly with his family, his parents proudly bragging about Jongho skipping a year and he's heard it so many times he actually wants to drop out.
He's spent way too many hot afternoons on his relatives' back porches, sweaty to the point where he feels moist, listen to his mom singing praises, he's so smart this and I'm so proud that. No matter how much he loves his parents, things like this can get pretty overwhelming. It's not like this is unheard of, and he's not the first person ever to skip a damn year in high school. Yes, he gets good grades and he generally enjoys studying, but he's not Einstein and his mom has yet to realize that.
Mingi is still pretty much clueless and Jongho doesn't even have the time to tell him. They have plans for the summer, they're going to spend a weekend in Jongho's parents' cabin in two weeks, but the closer he is to see Mingi again, the more scared he gets. He's not exactly sure of what he's scared, probably his feelings for the older boy. He's afraid that once he starts talking, he won't stop, spilling more than necessary. Mingi doesn't need to know, can't know.
The younger boy got way too many text messages with very graphic details of Mingi's escapades with different girls and he's never felt more gay than while reading those.
His best friend, on the other hand, is so painfully straight that it hurts Jongho's heart, for many reasons.
He's not ready to face him and hear it all over again, and he's certainly not ready to pretend he's excited to hear that and that he's happy for the older boy. Stupid feelings are ruining his friendship and he hates it. He hates that he allowed himself to fall for Mingi and he hates him, too, for being so tall and handsome and really fucking cute.
Once he starts packing for their weekend together, his brain starts coming up with various scenarios that will never actually happen; like the two of them kissing by the fireplace... Or kissing under the stars...
Actually, most of these scenarios was just them, kissing. It makes Jongho blush once he realizes that.
****
He's struggling with the keys and he looks stupid. But his hands are shaking, he's extremely nervous, and Mingi is just staring at him, not offering any kind of help. What an ass.
"Hold that, will you?" He hands him his bag, trying to unlock the door again, after he takes a deep breath. He's never really been this nervous around his best friend and it really upsets him that it's happening now, because it's ruining their dynamics and that's something he never wanted.
Finally, they get inside the cabin. It's just like he remembers, mainly because he was here just few months ago.
The air inside feels a little stuffy so he opens all the windows and takes his bag from Mingi, putting it down on the couch.
The older boy has never been here before, their parents not trusting them enough to let them go by themselves, so he's just standing in the doorway, looking around.
"Where are the beds?" He asks, closing the door and putting his own bag by the shoe rack.
"There's one bedroom upstairs and another one in the room over there," the younger one gestures behind himself. "Just go have a look and choose which one you want."
Jongho looks over his shoulder as Mingi walks over to the first bedroom, low-key oggling his behind, he's that gay.
While the older is walking around the cabin, Jongho is trying not to have a heart attack or break down because his anxiety is through the roof.
Mingi walks down the stairs, one hand on the railing (Jongho thinks he looks like a princess from that one scene in Princess Diaries), seemingly confused. "There are double beds in both bedrooms, why aren't we sharing one?"
Jongho's heart skips a beat or two, does a backflip and quadruple toe loop. Did Mingi really just suggest sharing a bed?
"It'll be lot more comfortable this way," Jongho smiles at the older, internally fighting himself because he wants to share a bed with Mingi, of course he does, but he doesn't want to wake up, cuddled up to the taller boy, with a hard-on. That's a big no, thank you next for him.
Later that day, they talk a little by the fireplace, stuffing their faces with take out. Jongho feels great, the food's good, the atmosphere is good, Mingi looks good, it's all just perfect.
And then, of course, shit hits the fan.
"Yeoji texted me again today," Mingi says all of a sudden, putting the take out box beside him on the carpet.
"Yeoji?" Jongho frowns, looking up at the taller boy. "Who's that?"
"The girl I was seeing at the beginning of the summer," Mingi sighs in the I told you about this kind of way, and Jongho is more than sure that he did, but Jongho also doesn't care, so he wouldn't remember.
"Oh."
"She wants to see me again."
"That's cool, hyung." The food suddenly tastes bitter, like disappointment and crushed dreams. He puts it away, scrunching up his nose. So much for a good night. He gets up from the floor and checks the clock. It's only midnight but he wants to go to bed and hide from everyone (everyone being just Mingi, but he's the root of the problem).
"I don't wanna see her again," Mingi says suddenly, not looking up, staring on his hands that are lifelessly lying in his lap. It's almost scary.
"Why wouldn't you?"
"She... I don't know, man. She's not what I want. And she's not even that good at kissing, to be honest."
Jongho winces at that, he so doesn't want to imagine Mingi kissing someone that is not him. It also shatters his heart because he's never kissed anyone and if Mingi sees kissing skills as something important, he wouldn't stand a chance anyway.
But something clicks in him at that sentence. Perhaps he's gone nuts but he's got nothing to lose, so he takes a deep breath and says: "Is being good at kissing really that important? I've never kissed anyone, does that mean I'm not good enough to be with someone?"
Mingi looks up at him, startled. "You've never....? Really? Not even once?" Jongho shakes his head. It's not like he's really popular with girls....and he's gay, for that matter, but he's also too busy with school.
"No, not even once." he balls his hands into fists and slouches back down. "Would you kiss me? I don't wanna be that loser who's never kissed anyone and I don't trust anyone else to tell them."
Mingi blushes at that, deep red covering his cheeks and even parts of his neck, and in Jonho's opinion, he looks adorable. "You'd let me?"
"I just said so, didn't I?" He's acting all brave, but in reality he's scared shitless. He doesn't know what to expect, or even if Mingi won't laugh to his face. But then the older boy nods and scoots closer to him, cupping Jongho's cheek. The shorter boy's heart is beating erratically against his ribs, he's sweating and actually feels like passing out which is so not attractive.
Then Mingi leans in and kisses him, softly, just a press of lips against lips. His lips are dry but warm and Jongho sighs contently. Mingi moves his lips against his, still no tongue, which actually terrifies Jongho, and the younger boy wraps his arms around Mingi's middle, letting the taller one take the lead, kissing back almost carefully.
The kiss ends sooner than he'd like to, and leaves him lightheaded and flushed all the way down to his chest. He smiles at Mingi who's staring at him with an undreadable expression.
"I should go to bed," It's still quite early, especially because it's summer, but some things are better left while they're still good and not super awkward. These things include: Kissing your best friend, asking your best friend to be your first kiss, etc.
He gets up once again, his knees protesting, and he feels old, even though he's still in his teen years. Then he leans down and kisses Mingi's cheek - where he got that courage, he has no idea - and leaves to the bedroom.
****
He barely gets under the thin blanket when the door to his bedroom opens. At first, he gets scared, because his back is turned towards the door and he has this crazy feeling that it's a serial killer and he's the next victim. But then, he turns around and sees Mingi, leaning against the doorframe, looking at Jongho while biting his lower lip (which should be illegal, Jongho thinks. He will make it illegal, one day, for sure).
"Do you need anything?" Jongho asks. Mingi doesn't answer, just walks towards his bed and sits on the edge. Jongho also sits up and smiles nervously at the older. "Hyung?"
The said hyung just leans in and kisses Jongho again, hungrier this time. Jongho full on whimpers when Mingi places his hand on the back of his neck, pressing his chest to his own, slipping his tongue in. Jongho, being the inexperienced panicked boy he is, has no idea what to do so he just kind of sucks on Mingi's tongue, almost bursting out crying when Mingi moans at that.
"What the-" he pulls away, breathing heavily. Puppies. Old people. Anything. Choi Jongho you're not getting a boner right now!
"You can't do this to me." Mingi pants. "You can't just kiss me like that and then leave me, and expect me not to come for more."
Jongho laughs, even though there's a bunch of annoying butterflies in his stomach. "We barely kissed. Can you even call it a kiss?"
"And yet I've never felt anything like this with anyone else. Not that I...kissed many people."
Jongho looks at him quite confused. "All the girls you told me about?"
"I made that up." Mingi admits. "I wanted you to be jealous. I hoped you'd get mad and tell me I'm yours and -" he shuts up, blushing even more. Jongho can't believe his ears.
"Are you serious?"
"You don't think I didn't notice the way you look at me, right? I've wanted this, wanted you for so long and in the end, it's really gotta be me who confesses first," He says, pretending to be annoyed. Jongho barks out a laugh and pulls him in for another kiss. And another. And another.
****
"I'm actually graduating early... with you," Jongho mentions casually during breakfast. Mingi spits out his scrambled eggs.
"What?"
"Yeah...I'm skipping a year. Actually, I'm thinking about applying to a college that my friend San is talking about all the time...the same one you want to go to."
Mingi stares at him with his mouth open and it's really unattractive because Jongho can see his chewed breakfast. He's still into him, though.