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“Do you guys know who Casper is?”
Who? Jisung thinks as he catches his breath from where he’s seated inside the SNUH Pediatrics Department staff room. All of his other friends are present too but he’s the only one looking a bit frazzled. He had just come from the Operating Room Complex up on the 5th floor since there were samples he needed to collect and test before running all the way to the pediatrics ward after his best friend had texted him a peds staff room stat without any further explanation.
Chenle would text him a come here asap, and Jisung would. No arguments, no complaints, no questions asked. Then again, Chenle wouldn’t even have to text him anything, wouldn’t even have to tell him anything, but Jisung would still find his way to Chenle. No arguments, no complaints, no questions asked.
You know, since they’re best friends.
“Who?” Jaemin voices the question on behalf of all of them. Everybody is looking at Chenle with an eyebrow raised and confusion etched on each of their faces. Only Jisung is looking at him differently even if he’s actually puzzled too.
“Casper,” Chenle simply repeats, like saying the name a second time will suddenly make things crystal clear.
“Are we talking about a patient? A guardian? A staff member?” Jeno follows-up with equal parts interest and patience. Second to Jisung, Jeno has the most affection for the medical intern, and it shows in his crescent moon eyes and kind smile out on display right now for Chenle.
“Or do you mean Casper, like, the friendly ghost?” Mark adds from where he’s standing by the door. He had meant it as a joke, so he jumps in his place when,
“Yes!” Chenle exclaims. He nearly falls out of his seat in excitement if it weren’t for Jisung who had been quick enough to hold him still.
“Well, what about Casper the friendly ghost?”
Chenle takes one long and deep breath before saying, in all seriousness, “I think he might be in my apartment.”
There are a few beats of silence before the group — with the exception of Chenle and Jisung — erupts into either giggles or exasperated sighs. It’s highly likely that all of them are thinking that this is silly, that this is a waste of time, or that this is something that could’ve been discussed after their shifts and not during their precious lunch break.
As a group of eight, it’s hard to calm all of them down once they’ve started a ruckus, so Jisung chooses the easier route by appeasing Chenle instead, whose ears are already starting to turn red in both embarrassment and frustration.
Once the boys have quieted down as best as they could, Chenle tries again. “Okay, I don’t know if it is Casper, but I think my apartment is haunted. I have proof! Renjun hyung, why are you laughing? You believe in these things!”
The said friend laughs out loud again and he leans into Yukhei who is guffawing along with him. “How long have you been living in your flat, Le?” Renjun challenges in between peals of laughter. “We’ve all been there before too — loads of times. We know it’s not haunted.”
“I said I have proof!” Chenle cries, and he stamps his feet on the ground to emphasize his point.
“What proof?”
Chenle pauses and he shrinks a little in his chair. That’s when Jisung notices that Chenle isn’t as sure of himself and of his story as he was just a couple of seconds ago. Without thinking, Jisung reaches out to carefully lay a comforting hand on Chenle’s knee.
Go on, he reassures his best friend through the touch. I won’t laugh. I believe you.
When he smiles and Chenle smiles back, Jisung feels his heart skip a beat or two.
“Okay, so, last night,” Chenle begins once he straightens up in his seat. “Jisung and I were in my apartment. He was watching a movie while I was studying. It was late and I was tired, so I must’ve fallen asleep in the living room somewhere along the middle but I was awake enough to have heard Jisung tell me that he was going to go home already. That was, what, around 11?” Chenle looks at Jisung for confirmation, and the youngest immediately nods in agreement. “Anyway, I woke up again a few hours later to move to the bed, but I found it difficult to stand up. Like, something heavy was on top of me.”
Everyone is sitting on the edges of their seats or standing on the tips of their toes, crouching closer to Chenle in anticipation of what he’s going to say next. All of their eyes and ears are focused on Chenle as if they hadn’t been mocking him earlier. Jisung grins proudly.
“So I turned around and then,” Chenle takes another deep breath, although Jisung knows it’s more of a dramatic touch rather than a necessity. “I found my duvet draped all over me.”
The room is silent for a few seconds. If you’d listen closely, you’d hear the gears of everybody’s brains turning as they try to process the information. That’s it? The older boys blink back at Chenle, waiting for more details. When the said boy keeps silent because there is actually nothing more to add to his narration, Renjun screams in frustration. Yukhei has to hold him back.
“Ah, seriously, Chenle?!” Donghyuck asks exasperatedly as he rolls his eyes and deflates on his seat. “That’s your proof?! A blanket?!”
“Yes!” Chenle nearly yells. When he stands up from his chair, Jisung doesn’t stop him, but his hand hovers over the small of Chenle’s back as a precautionary measure. “Hyung, I was all alone. I woke up at, like, 2 in the morning? I was alone, but there was a blanket on top of me. How did that happen?” When nobody provides him with an answer, Chenle gives one himself. “It was Casper. He knew I was cold so he laid a blanket on top of me in the middle of the night.”
Nobody says anything to that as everyone is too busy shaking their heads in disbelief. Renjun looks like he’s a heartbeat away from putting Chenle in a chokehold.
Jaemin leans back on his chair and crosses his arms on his chest, looking smug. “Hm, I don’t know, Le,” Jaemin sing-songs from his seat. He glances at Jisung before winking suggestively at him. “Didn’t you think it could’ve just been Jisungie?”
Chenle shifts in his chair to look at his best friend again, a contemplative look flashing in his eyes before he turns back to his hyungs, shaking his head. “No! It couldn’t have been! Like I said, Jisung left at 11. That’s three hours before I woke up. Plus, he finds my duvet heavy. He would’ve never brought it all the way to the living room for me.”
Jisung grins from beside Chenle, big and boxy, to show his support for his best friend’s claim of his innocence, but none of the older boys buy it. Mark and Jeno dejectedly shake their heads at him.
“If that’s what helps you sleep at night, sure,” Jaemin shrugs, but his smile is still all-knowing and teasing as he shifts his gaze from Chenle then to Jisung then back.
“Hyung!” Chenle complains because he’s not being taken seriously right now which he finds hurtful. “I have been finding it hard to sleep at night! I want to move.”
Even if it was said on the spur of the moment, Chenle’s friends take the statement to heart. “No!” They chorus, standing from their seats or slamming their hands on the table for emphasis.
“What the heck, Chenle? Your apartment is the best one in the area, and at the price you’re paying for it now, it’s such a steal. You can’t move.”
“But hyung,” Chenle whines like he’s three years old and not a little over 20. “There’s a ghost inside.”
Everybody — except for Jisung, Jeno, and Mark — roll their eyes again.
“I’ll tell you what, Chenle,” Jeno speaks up. He taps on Jaemin’s leg to stop his boyfriend from ridiculing Chenle and Jisung any further. “We’ll all come over tonight and drive the ghost away, how about that? I bet it’ll find us so noisy that it’ll have no choice but to leave your flat and find refuge somewhere else.”
The idea doesn’t sound so bad, and nobody declines the invitation, so Chenle nods resignedly.
Once they’ve finished their meals, Mark claps his hands together and asks everybody to go back to their posts in the ward. He lets Chenle out first, but closes the door before Jisung, who had been tailing behind his best friend, can get out.
“Jisung,” Mark begins in the tone he uses when he’s serious or tired or both.
The youngest of the bunch reluctantly glances at the pediatric neurosurgeon before he slowly does a 180 and finds all of his hyungs looking at him with the same expression: disappointed, but not surprised. Donghyuck and Jaemin may be giggling together in one corner, but they don’t help in making Jisung feel less intimidated about being the center of attention.
“What?” Jisung squeaks.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Although none of the older boys wait for his reply because they all already know.
Jisung isn’t exactly subtle about his crush on Chenle — he despises doing favors, but he helps Chenle out a lot, he abhors physical affection, but he and Chenle touch each other a lot. It has been more than four years of this shy and quiet fondness. All of them are smart, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that Jisung is giving Chenle the special treatment, and it’s not only because they’re best friends.
“It was Casper. If Chenle says it’s Casper, it’s Casper,” Jisung says sheepishly before he dashes out the door and out the department.
Jisung and Chenle first met on the first day of their freshman year at Seoul National University. Chenle is actually a couple of months older, but he and Jisung ended up being on the same year level after he moved from China to South Korea after receiving a partial scholarship for medical school from SNU late into his first year of university back in Shanghai.
Chenle had already spent a couple of months learning the Korean language prior to their meeting, but he was still fumbling with some words so Jisung took the liberty of helping Chenle out. He would translate phrases Chenle couldn’t understand and he would teach Chenle words he hadn’t learned yet. They became friends instantly, and even if they didn’t share the same majors and schedules, they still found ways to hang out — a lot. Soon enough, they became best friends attached at the hip, and the rest, as people say, is history.
Jisung has long known that he sees Chenle differently. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it didn’t take much time for him to realize that he has romantic feelings for his best friend.
To others, Chenle can be too much — with his loud voice, loud smile, loud laugh, and even loud hair colors, but to Jisung — Jisung just can’t get enough of Chenle. All the chances Jisung can grab to be with Chenle, he’ll take, and it’s a relief that Chenle doesn’t seem to mind spending all that time with him too.
No confessions have been made out loud — to Chenle or to any of their other friends — but again, Jisung’s affection for Chenle is extremely obvious that no words need to be said at all.
Nobody can make Jisung equal parts nervous and reassured like Chenle does. Nobody can make him equal parts shy and confident like his best friend does. Jisung is a good kind of different when he’s with Chenle, and the same goes the other way around. They’re a handful together, but it’s always a good time that way. At this point, it’s honestly both a shame and a mystery that Chenle hasn’t caught on yet.
As soon as their shifts end, everybody squeezes into Mark’s and Jeno’s cars to go to Chenle’s apartment, as they previously agreed upon. Once there, Renjun and Jaemin immediately cook up a meal with whatever ingredients they find in Chenle’s pantry while the rest of the boys explore the flat for any signs of Casper or another supernatural being. Chenle and Jisung have sticks of incense in their hands, and Mark has his phone’s flashlight turned on to the brightest level as an act of kindness for Chenle rather than as a ghost hunting tool.
“If you want to find your ghost, Chenle, you don’t have to look that far,” Renjun shouts from the kitchen. He wiggles his eyebrows teasingly, and Jaemin nearly cuts the tips of his fingers off as he cackles at what his best friend had just said.
“What does Renjun hyung even mean?” Chenle asks Jisung who’s standing right beside him and gently but hastily pushing him away from the kitchen.
The youngest dismisses the question away with a wave of his hand, and when his best friend follows their hyungs to his bedroom, Jisung uses the opportunity to scowl at the two boys in the kitchen. He only gets even more annoyed when Renjun and Jaemin just laugh at him some more.
No signs of Casper are found throughout the evening — as expected by everybody except the owner of the apartment. Chenle looks a bit disappointed for somebody who had been complaining about his place being haunted to the point of wanting to move out, so Jisung nudges his side with his elbow.
“Jeno hyung must be right. Casper must’ve already left since Donghyuck hyung is loud enough on his own to make anybody — dead or alive — go crazy.”
“I heard that!”
He feels a throw pillow hit the back of his head, and he would’ve tossed it back at Donghyuck as revenge but he gets caught off guard by Chenle giggling — whether it’s at what Jisung had said or what Jisung had experienced, the youngest doesn’t care. Chenle’s eyes disappear into bent lines, and his mouth takes up half of his face as he laughs. Chenle’s a happy boy. He laughs and smiles a lot but Jisung hasn’t grown tired of seeing him do either. Jisung finds himself thinking that he likes this Chenle the best — laughing, happy, and absolutely breathtaking.
It takes another throw pillow to the head to stop Jisung from staring.
Emergency meetings about Chenle’s supernatural encounters become almost a weekly thing at the Pediatrics Department staff room that all of them eventually stop labelling the gatherings as emergencies. After all, not a lot of discussion is needed anyway since everybody but Chenle knows who the real culprit behind everything he’s experienced so far is. Mark and Jeno still get to discuss conferences they’re interested in going to, Donghyuck and Renjun still get to bicker and gossip, but the majority of the group’s lunch breaks are set aside for talking about what new tricks Casper has done in Chenle’s apartment.
The next story Chenle tells them is about how he cooked his famous take on instant ramen for himself and for Jisung one evening as a midnight snack. They still consider themselves as growing boys so Chenle cooked three packs, and the both of them ended up being too full and too tired to clean up afterwards.
“I told Jisung he could go home already, I saw him to the door. I remember going to the bathroom to brush my teeth, then just flopping down on my bed to go to sleep right after,” Chenle recounts. “But when I woke up the next morning, the pot had already been washed! The chopsticks, spoons, and glasses too!”
Jaemin, who had been sipping on his iced coffee as per Jeno’s instructions to keep him from mocking Chenle and Jisung today, chokes on his drink.
The intern doesn’t even look sorry for him when he turns to the older doctor and says, “You try to tell me it was Jisung who cleaned up, Jaemin hyung. You of all people know that he never cleans!”
Jaemin nods as he coughs, but he doesn’t look like he agrees with Chenle at all.
As soon as their break ends, Jaemin pulls Jisung to the side and looks at him like a mother would look at her child. “Make sure to wash that pot again as soon as you can. I bet you missed a spot.”
The next time Jisung is over at Chenle’s flat (which is on that same evening because they’re best friends and best friends hang out together a lot), he discreetly pulls the same pot out of the cupboard and inspects its entire surface. He huffs when in one nook of the pot, ramen soup had dried up and remained despite his efforts at washing it, just as Jaemin had predicted.
On another day, Chenle starts off by saying that it couldn’t have been Jisung because he had a bad day at school and went home alone. (He doesn’t mean to sound defensive, but his hyungs have been teasing the two of them, and Chenle has had enough.) As soon as he arrived at his flat, he threw his papers at a wall in anger. He hadn’t been calm enough to regret his actions and pick his reports up, so he chose to lock himself in his room first until he felt relaxed enough to fix up.
“When I woke up, it was already dark outside, so I decided to have dinner and finally get to work, but,” Chenle pauses to pop a candy into his mouth. “When I got out of my bedroom, the floor was spotless! Clean! My papers were neatly stacked on the coffee table, and right beside them was this!” He finishes as he raises an opened pack of his favorite jelly candies for everybody in the room to see.
Donghyuck hums from his chair, and he does so well enough that it doesn’t sound as sarcastic as he actually means it to be.
When they walk back to their posts, Donghyuck catches up to Jisung who is just about to leave the department to go back to the laboratories. Donghyuck snatches the collection of keys from the youngest’s back pocket, and he eyes each one before he singles out a key painted neon green. “Is this your duplicate to Chenle’s apartment?” He smirks.
Jisung grabs his keychain back and runs out of the department without another word.
Another story Chenle tells them starts with an explanation about how on the day the supernatural encounter happened, he and Jisung had originally agreed to study out together but he cancelled last minute because he was reprimanded by one of his professors in front of his entire class and just wanted some time alone.
Chenle admits spending the whole evening on his living room couch, sulking. He looks embarrassed as he tells his friends about what happened that day, so like it’s second nature, Jisung puts his hand, palm up, on Chenle’s leg which the latter quickly envelopes in his own.
Too busy looking at each other, neither of the youngest boys see Renjun and Yukhei fake gagging in their seats.
“I was ugly crying on the couch, so it wasn’t loud and clear, but I swear I heard my front door creak. Sometimes it does that, right?” Chenle quickly looks at all of his friends because they should know, they’ve been to his apartment too many times to count to not be aware of the odd sound the door makes. “But I was too afraid to look up after everything I’ve been through with Casper so far, so I ignored it at first. But before I went to bed, I had to make sure the front door was locked, so I checked on it and I found a drink on my doorstep!” Chenle excitedly slams a hand on the table, and that’s really what causes his friends to jump in their seats in surprise instead of Chenle’s “spooky” encounter.
Chenle continues with his narration, completely unaffected by his friends’ lack of interest. “Casper even got my order right! Green grape green tea with coconut!”
From beside him, Jisung mouths the order at the exact same time Chenle does, but his best friend had been too focused on getting their hyungs to feel excited or scared to see.
“So,” Jeno sing-songs as he loops an arm around Jisung’s shoulders when they walk out of the staff room once their lunch break is over. “After you asked me to drop you off at Gong Cha the other day, where’d you go?”
Jaemin catches up to the both of them, and he wraps an arm around Jisung’s waist. He’s grinning broadly after catching the stunt Jisung pulled off earlier during lunch.
Jisung feels his face warming up, and he’s finding it hard to breathe. He wiggles out of the older boys’ arms. “Home!” He replies defensively.
Jeno and Jaemin watch him run out of the department with smiles on their lips.
Technically, Jisung wasn’t lying.
Medical interns — like any other healthcare professional — have good days and bad days. There are clinicals to worry about on top of academics, hence it’s inevitable that the workload becomes too much to bear sometimes.
Today, Chenle looks like the worst he’s ever been. It’s as if he’d just survived being run over by a ten wheeler truck when he flops down on one of the chairs in the Pediatrics Department staff room. He has dark bags under his eyes and his cheeks are hollowed. His hair is a mess and his uniform sags at his shoulders. When the staff nurses come inside for their morning coffee, Yukhei drops a chocolate bar in front of the intern as consolation.
“What’s wrong, Le?”
Chenle reaches for the chocolate bar but doesn’t open it. Then, he sighs before dropping his head on his arms. “I’m drained, hyung. School is getting busier and I still haven’t seen Casper yet.”
Just in time to hear Chenle talk, Jisung enters the staff room since his duty doesn’t start until an hour later. He stills in his tracks. “What do you mean? Have you been looking for him?”
Without lifting his head from his arms, Chenle nods. “I just want to see him for a bit, maybe talk to him for a little while.”
“Why?” Jisung asks, genuinely curious and worried because right now, he’s coming up with a variety of dark magic Chenle could have been practicing all alone in his apartment and it’s giving Jisung a headache.
Finally, Chenle lifts his head from his arms. When he looks at Jisung, his eyes are glittery and his lips are pouty. Jisung isn’t sure if his headache is disappearing or worsening. “Because I’ve been thinking, what if Casper is actually lonely and has been doing what he’s doing to me because he’s looking for a friend? I want to see him for a bit to let him know that as long as he won’t do anything dangerous or scary, I’d be willing to be his friend if he’d like.”
Jisung can’t help himself, so he walks over to where Chenle is and reaches out to pinch his cheeks.
Donghyuck smirks from behind his mug, like he has hot tea he’s not afraid of spilling — which, since it’s Donghyuck we’re talking about, is not far from the truth. “But what if Casper does show up and asks you to be his boyfriend?” When the two youngest boys look at him, Donghyuck looks honestly intrigued but Mark holding back his laughter right beside him is enough proof that Donghyuck is playing with Chenle and Jisung again.
Chenle scoffs. “I don’t think he’d do that. And besides, I would reject him anyway. It wouldn’t work. I’m fine with being just friends.”
Then, one of the other medical interns knocks on the staff room door and calls for Chenle, something about a meeting with their professor before their duty starts. When the intern excuses himself, all of the older boys suddenly close in on Jisung until he’s forced to sit down and look up at all of them.
“Jisung,” Mark says. He looks tired, but Jisung has a feeling it’s not only because of his workload. His hunch is confirmed when Mark continues, “I think it’s about time you tell Chenle the truth.”
The medical technician stills a second time. He opens his mouth to respond but closes it again without saying anything. After a couple more of this fish-out-of-water reaction, Jisung finally settles with, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, hyung.”
“Oh please,” Renjun remarks with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Everybody knows the truth, Jisung! Only Chenle doesn’t.” The staff nurse turns to Mark this time and tells him, “Hyung, I suggest you think twice about recruiting Chenle to neurosurgery. I don’t think he’s capable if he can’t even figure Jisung and his feelings out.”
Jisung frowns. Nobody can badmouth Chenle on his watch. “Hyung, don’t say that, Chenle is great!”
Renjun immediately shifts his gaze to Jisung and wiggles his eyebrows. The youngest then knows that he’s doomed and that he’s fallen into the staff nurse’s trap.
“Look,” Jisung begins with a sigh after he can’t handle another second of his hyungs staring down at him. “You heard him. It’s impossible, he would say no to Casper, and he’s fine with being just friends. I respect his decision.”
“So what?” Jaemin counters. “You aren’t Casper. Well, you are, but no, not really. Ugh!” He groans. He sadly puts his chin on top of Jeno’s shoulder and his boyfriend comfortingly pats his cheek. “You’ve made things a lot more complicated than they have to be, Jisungie. Just tell him how you feel!”
Jisung shakes his head. “No. No! I don’t want to add to his stress, okay? He’s busy enough with school and duty, he doesn’t need to worry about a significant other too.”
Some of them open their mouths to retort, but Jeno speaks up first. “Honestly, Jisung, I think you’re stressing him out more with all of your ghost antics.”
Shift work is unavoidable in the medical field, so there are times that Chenle and Jisung don’t get to be together as often as they’d like. They both especially hate it when Jisung gets assigned the night shift because their dynamics get messed up — Chenle likes having Jisung over after school because he makes sure Chenle finishes his homework and reports, and the two of them like going out to favorite restaurants or trying out new recipes for dinner.
The both of them find another reason to despise Jisung’s shift work when out of all the other times it could have been done, a break in happens at Chenle’s apartment on one of Jisung’s night shifts.
It’s fortunate that Chenle had been out at a café because who knows what could have happened to him if he were inside his flat, but the fear and shock are still severe when he comes back later in the evening to find his front door slightly open and all of his things inside a huge mess.
Chenle’s first instinct is to call Jisung, who is thankfully on a break. There’s not much they can do as a pair since they’re apart and Jisung doesn’t get off until another couple of hours, but having him on the phone is enough reassurance for Chenle. Jisung checks up on him, asks him to breathe, comforts him.
“Lele, call the front desk and report the incident,” Jisung orders in a stern voice even if he’s actually shaking in the laboratory right now. He doesn’t see, but his best friend nods and walks over to the intercom on his wall to do as he’s told.
As soon as Jisung confirms that the building’s security is with Chenle in his flat, he asks his best friend to check what possessions have been stolen. Chenle had his valuables with him while he was studying out — laptop, cellphone, wallet — so nothing of great importance was taken, but the small amount of cash he keeps for emergencies in one of his drawers and an old tablet he used for note-taking in his undergraduate years have been stolen.
Jisung stays on the line for as long as he can, and he has Chenle update him about what’s happening on his side. Renjun and Yukhei, who live closest to him, arrive a few minutes later, and they both help Chenle in cleaning his place up.
“Lele?” Jisung calls. “Lele, how are you feeling?”
From the other line, Chenle sniffles and Jisung’s heart breaks. “I-I’m okay, still a bit in shock though.”
“You should drink some water, yeah? Or have Renjun hyung make you some tea. I, uh, I have to go for now, I have samples to collect in the surgical unit. I’ll come by after?” Jisung curses the predicament in his head.
“Y-yeah, g-go ahead, I’m sorry I kept you.”
Jisung shakes his head even if Chenle can’t see him do it. “It’s fine! I’m sorry I can’t be there right now, but I’ll see you later, okay?”
Chenle sniffles again. “Okay.”
Jisung puts the phone down but sends a message to Yukhei as he walks to the surgical unit. hyung, hope this isn’t too much to ask but could you keep chenle company until i get there? He doesn’t stop chewing his bottom lip until the reply comes a minute later. ofc!!! focus on your work, we’ll handle it for now!
His mother always reminds him to appreciate the little things in life, so Jisung mutters a thank you to the heavens when he remembers that today is a Saturday which means two things: one, Chenle has no classes and clinicals the next day so he can sleep in, and two, Jisung is off from work until Tuesday.
After going back to his own place to wash up and pack a small bag of his belongings, Jisung goes straight to Chenle’s apartment. He has a spare key, but he doesn’t use it and chooses to ring the bell instead to avoid scaring Chenle any more than he already is.
It takes longer for Chenle to open the door, but as soon as he does, he flings himself into Jisung’s arms and hugs him tightly.
Being the taller and bigger one, Jisung uses his advantage to bring the both of them inside and onto the couch. Chenle doesn’t let him go, so Jisung holds him close too. They don’t say anything, they just listen to each other’s breathing, each other’s heartbeats. Everything needed to be said is said through their embrace.
I’m so afraid.
I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. I’m sorry I wasn’t with you when it happened.
I’m so scared.
I’ll stay with you here now. I’ll stay for as long as you need me.
As two grown boys, they don’t fit comfortably on the couch, so they walk hand in hand to Chenle’s bedroom. Jisung doesn’t get to go back to the living room as he originally planned because Chenle asks him to stay, and when his best friend who, in his opinion, is the braver and stronger one between the two of them, looks at him with glassy eyes and trembling lips, Jisung doesn’t have the heart to say no.
They’re laying on opposite sides of the bed, but the both of them slowly reach out their hands to the other side until the tips of their fingers are touching. The slight contact surprises Chenle so he pulls back.
“I’m sorry!” Jisung says instantly, but before he can retrieve his hand, Chenle reaches out again and holds onto it.
“I-it’s okay. Is this okay? I’m sorry, I’m just so scared. I feel like I could cry. I just want to-”
Jisung gives his best friend’s hand a long squeeze. Then, he readjusts his grip so they’re palm to palm with their fingers intertwined.
They’ve held hands many times before, but the touch tonight is something else. It’s heavy, but not suffocating — like an anchor, because maybe that’s what they are to each other at this moment, maybe that’s what they are to each other all this time.
Jisung doesn’t want to let go. He doesn’t plan on ever letting go. “This is okay, Chenle. It’s okay, I’m here now.”
Sleep comes slowly for the both of them that evening, but when it does, it’s deep and peaceful.
When they wake up, their hands are still linked together. Tightly.
After having breakfast, the pair runs to the nearest hardware store to buy security cameras and bolt locks. It takes them longer than usual to set them up, but Jisung doesn’t mind because Chenle finally laughs when Jisung fumbles and nearly drops the brand new camera onto the floor.
The building tightens their own security after the break in, but Jisung applies measures of his own to make sure Chenle and his apartment are safe. Chenle had told him that it wasn’t necessary, but he really appreciates his best friend and doesn’t argue any further when Jisung insists.
It’s not much different from their usual routine, but these days, Jisung stays longer and even over for a number of days at a time at Chenle’s. More clothes are put into the drawer Chenle set aside especially for him, and Jisung brings a new toothbrush because he’s afraid that the old one might have accumulated grime over time.
Casper — well, Jisung — lies low for a little while. His tricks still continue, but they’re simple that they’re almost unnoticeable — Jisung refills the water jugs in Chenle’s refrigerator, he makes sure Chenle’s uniforms are clean and pressed, and he fluffs the pillows on Chenle’s bed and couch so that his best friend is comfortable when he lays down after a long day in school and at the hospital.
Jisung doesn’t have the confidence to admit his crush on Chenle now — heck, he might not have the confidence ever — so he resorts to this.
Lunch breaks at the Pediatrics Department staff room are no longer focused on Casper, they’re focused on Chenle. His friends make sure that he’s alright, coping well, and not traumatized by the event.
The teasing doesn’t stop though. It’s quieter just in case Chenle finds it uncomfortable especially at this time, but it’s still as annoying. The older boys notice that Chenle and Jisung are even more inseparable after the break in — with good reason — so they have the audacity to sneak photos which they’ll use to blackmail Jisung with later on.
One picture shows Chenle’s leg hooked with Jisung’s on a bench in the ward, and another photo shows Chenle resting his head on Jisung’s shoulder. They’ve always been comfortable with skinship so this isn’t anything new to any of them, but the older boys can’t help but coo at their youngest friends’ antics.
“Still won’t confess, Jisung? Chenle doesn’t do these things to anybody else except you!” Renjun claims after he swipes through more of the pictures he took of the pair.
Jisung shakes his head. “That’s only because I’m his best friend, hyung.”
Yukhei has to pry Renjun’s phone out of his grip because they’re all aware Renjun is strong enough to break anything if he’s in the appropriate mindset.
Casper and the break in become memories after a few more weeks. Honestly, with how busy their jobs get, they tend to forget details. Sometimes, even the important ones.
It’s nothing new, but Jisung is over at Chenle’s. It’s one of those days where Chenle is whiny because he has a quiz coming up and a report due while Jisung is lucky to be off from work the next day.
Chenle claims to be the type of person who works better in comfortable environments so from the dining table, they’ve moved to the living room, until he convinced Jisung that if they stay on the bed, he’ll get the majority of his work accomplished.
Chenle is finished with his report when he stretches on the bed. Jisung doesn’t notice because he’s in the middle of catching up with the drama he had to ignore when work got busy, so Chenle plops down on Jisung, but carefully enough not to send the laptop flying from Jisung’s lap.
“Jisung, I’m sleepy. Can you wake me up after an hour?”
The younger of the two squints because he has enough experience to know Chenle sleeps like a log especially when he’s drained. But all it takes is a poke on his side, and Jisung agrees.
Jisung finishes an episode, but still has a couple of minutes left before he has to wake Chenle up so he relaxes on the bed. He finds Chenle right beside him, after the older immediately dozed off where he plopped himself down earlier.
The medical technician chuckles to himself as he shifts on the bed to get as much of Chenle’s duvet as he can from under his best friend and on top of their bodies. He only gets the blanket halfway up but doesn’t pull any further. If Chenle gets cold, he’ll wake up then Jisung can fix the duvet, or he’ll snuggle close. Either way, Jisung doesn’t mind.
With nobody to tease him, Jisung uses the chance to look at Chenle. His best friend is evidently tired, but Jisung still finds him adorable. They’ve been spending a lot of time together which means they’ve also been eating a lot together so Chenle’s cheeks have fattened up again. Jisung lightly pokes on it like he usually does.
He doesn’t know where it came from, but confidence suddenly blooms in Jisung’s chest, and it’s what makes him reach out for Chenle’s hand. He cradles it with his own, careful not to hold on to it too tightly. The courage grows in Jisung’s chest and it beats loudly in his ears. Jisung doesn’t think twice before he’s turning Chenle’s hand around, palm facing down, and presses featherlight kisses on each of Chenle’s knuckles.
You’re my best friend in the whole world. Thank you for being my best friend. I like you. I like you so much it makes my heart go crazy sometimes. I lo-
Chenle is a deep sleeper, but he suddenly twitches. Jisung lets him go like he’s been burned and scrambles away before Chenle can catch him.
He sits down on the far end of the bed to catch his breath, and since he has time left before he has to wake Chenle up, he runs to the kitchen to drink a cup of water.
For some reason, Jisung thinks the samples he had to collect and test today tripled overnight so he’s tired all the way down to the bone when he gets off his shift. He’s already dreaming about the galbi jjim his mom had cooked and the plushness of his bed when the buzz of his phone snaps him out of his reverie.
come over asap.
pls and ty.
Jisung hopes he can get Chenle to cook him a meat dish as he turns towards the direction of Chenle’s apartment.
He uses his spare key this time. He toes off his shoes by the entrance and is already opening his mouth to ask Chenle for some bulgogi when his voice gets stuck in his throat because standing on the foyer is his best friend, laptop in his hands and a confused look on his features.
“Le? You okay? What’s wro-”
“Do you like me?”
Jisung stops in his tracks. “What? Y-yeah, you’re my best frie-”
“No, not like that,” Chenle interrupts. He looks Jisung in the eye. “Do you like me?”
“What?”
Chenle sighs. His grip on his laptop tightens. “Just answer the question please.”
Jisung feels his heart race and his mouth go dry. “L-look. I’m tired and hungry. I have no idea where this is coming from, so can we not talk about it. Please?”
Chenle doesn’t give in. “Just answer the question, Jisung. It’s a yes or no question. It won’t even take a minute for you to answer.”
Jisung scoffs. “It will though.”
“What?” It’s Chenle’s turn to ask this time.
“Nothing. Let’s drop it,” Jisung answers instead and he walks right into Chenle’s apartment. Before he can get in any further, Chenle speaks up again, which makes Jisung freeze in his step.
“I reviewed the security camera footage this morning,” Chenle begins. He doesn’t continue until Jisung is turning around to face him. He looks discombobulated so Chenle continues. “You. You were the ticklish feeling I felt the other night. Well not you. Your kisses. On my hand.”
Jisung pales. “Can we not talk about it?” He asks slowly.
The intern doesn’t listen. “I’m- It’s- You and I are best friends. We hug and we hold hands, but we don’t kiss. We’ve been best friends for so long but we haven’t kissed. You can’t tell me that those kisses were friendly.”
“Chenle, please,” Jisung begs this time. His heart is still beating at 100 kilometers per hour, and his nails have begun digging crescents onto his palms. He didn’t want to confess to Chenle and he most definitely did not want Chenle to find out like this.
Chenle puts his laptop down on a table and he takes cautious steps towards Jisung. The younger one doesn't move away. “Tell me those kisses weren’t friendly.”
“W-what?”
Too stunned to be at his best, Jisung misses the moment Chenle flings himself into Jisung’s arms. His best friend wraps his arms around Jisung’s neck and buries his face in the junction of Jisung’s neck and shoulder.
“Look, I figured it out already, okay,” Chenle mumbles on Jisung’s skin. “I just want- I just need to hear you say it out loud.”
Jisung doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t move, he doesn’t talk, so Chenle steps back but keeps his arms around Jisung’s neck. “Don’t you think I deserve it?” He whines. “You’ve been stressing me out with all those supernatural experiences you pulled on me.”
Jisung opens his mouth to speak but closes it again when he can’t bring himself to say anything.
“Quickly, Jisung, please? Just say something. Anything. Just, let me know what I’m thinking is real. I just want to cuddle and kiss for real this time. Plea-”
Chenle doesn’t finish because Jisung finds another bout of bravery bloom inside him. He wastes no time and puts his hands on Chenle’s waist and pulls him so close that their lips touch in a soft kiss.
He’s embarrassed to admit but he’s imagined kissing his best friend before. Would it be awkward, would it be gross, would it be wrong?
None of Jisung’s hypotheses compare to the real thing because kissing his best friend is perfect. They both have minimal experience, but Chenle’s plump bottom lip is soft against Jisung’s own, soft in between Jisung’s lips, so soft against Jisung’s tongue.
When they pull away, it’s not because they regret what they’ve just done, but because they want to make sure that this is real.
Jisung smiles, Chenle grins back, and they both know that it is.
Real and natural.
Nothing supernatural about it at all.