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When Taeil first heard Jaehyun’s confession to him during junior year in their university’s garden, in front of an oblivious caretaker watering the wilting flowers in a mildly hot afternoon, his first instinct was to look around and see if he could spot Yuta or Johnny, or any of Jaehyun’s friends, holding a camera while they hide behind the bush.
The frown on his face caused by the confusion of the situation deepened as he continued to stand under the sun, regretting ever listening to his roommate to bring either his own snapback or an umbrella in case the weather decides to be a little bitch.
Good thing I applied sunscreen before going out, he thought.
A cough in front of him pulled him out of his reverie and Taeil was one again back into thinking what happened literally a few minutes ago wasn’t real in any way.
“I like you so much, Moon Taeil.”
Taeil scratched the back of his neck.
It had to be a prank.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you this last week but you seemed busy with your projects.”
There’s no way that actually happened.
Why would Jung Jaehyun, the most stupidly handsome and unfairly gorgeous guy he’s ever laid eyes on in this campus, go out of his way by writing him a note in a yellow, scented paper just to ask him to meet in the garden instead of just sending a plain text saying the same thing (which, by the way, is the easiest and most convenient way there is) and then confess to good ‘ol Moon Taeil and made it look as easy as breathing?
(”He’s being romantic, Moon Taeil! Appreciate the effort!” his best friend and roommate, Kim Doyoung, exclaimed as he threw a pillow in Taeil’s direction after he asked for the former’s advice about the note inserted in his locker by Jung Jaehyun.
“What are you talking about? What made you so sure he’s going to what, confess? He could be asking for some notes or something.”
“Why would he ask notes from a business major when he’s an architecture student, you fucking buffon? And who uses glittery paper that smells like a baby powder nowadays?!”)
But on top of it all, why would stupidly handsome and unfairly gorgeous Jung Jaehyun like good ‘ol Moon Taeil?
Why the hell not? A voice inside his head screamed.
“Ah, I should’ve asked you this first before confessing. Are you and Doyoung dating?”
It’s not that Taeil found himself unattractive or anything of some sort who didn’t deserve such attention from Jaehyun, he believed he has his own attractive charms, thank you very much. He was just caught off guard and honestly didn’t expect to get a confession when all he did was convince himself the younger would probably ask for some favor as he made his way here. And besides, they recently became friends and Taeil thought it was moving too fast for his liking.
Also, Johnny and Yuta were the type to do the stupidest pranks known to mankind (like replacing their professor’s whiteboard marker with permanent ones or sending fake romantic stories to their school website’s entertainment section for shits and giggles) so it would somewhat make sense for Jaehyun to play along with them.
“Oh, I didn’t know you two were…were dating. Shit, you probably found me weird now. I didn’t mean to get in the way, I swear.”
Taeil shifted his gaze back to Jaehyun. “Huh. What are you talking about?”
“You nodded your head when I asked you if you’re dating Doyoung.”
Taeil’s eyes widened, unaware of his actions while thinking earlier. “What—no! No, I’m not dating Doyoung. He’s just my best friend. And my roommate. We’re not dating. I’m not dating anyone. Yeah.”
Relief flashed through Jaehyun’s eyes for a brief second and was replaced by, was it contemplation? Taeil was not too sure about that, but Jaehyun looked like he would rather be somewhere away from him, probably regretting ever confessing to the shorter of the two. He was playing with the strap of his backpack, shifting his weight from side to side, with his eyes focusing on the old caretaker behind Taeil.
“Are you…are you sure you aren’t forced to say that to me?” Taeil trailed off.
“Uhm, what? Are you trying to say that I might be pranking you?”
Taeil kept quiet, silently kicking himself in the ass, as he didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to be careful not to offend the other but he thought he probably did.
When he couldn’t spot any of Jaehyun’s friends around, a clear indication that Taeil was being an asshole to the guy who was being sincere with his confession, his next instinct was to bite his top lip to stop himself from saying something he might regret later and let out an awkward chuckle, which actually sounded more like a cry for the demons to open up the ground and swallow him whole, hoping they wouldn’t spit him back to earth just so he wouldn’t see Jaehyun’s confused look on his face.
God, Taeil can’t wait to kick himself in the ass.
Taeil would’ve commented on how adorable Jaehyun looked with his eyebrows knitted together, dimples fully displayed with his fingers itching to poke it as the latter pursed his lips into thin line, if it weren’t for the taller’s eyes staring right through his soul.
“Why…why are you laughing?”
Taeil started to panic when he could hear the hurt in the taller’s voice.
“It’s fine if you don’t reciprocate my feelings, Taeil. I just wanted to lift some weight off my chest. I thought I could try being honest with how I feel for once. Telling you that I like you is more than enough,” Jaehyun’s voice wavered, lips trembling as if he’s about to tear up.
Shit, this certainly, absoutely isn’t a prank.
“Oh my god, Jaehyun, no!” Taeil quickly grabbed Jaehyun’s arms when the latter attempted to turn around and leave, “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just a bit surprising that you would say something like that. I never thought you would like me for real,” he confessed with his fingers playing with the hem of Jaehyun’s sleeves.
“Oh, I thought I was obvious enough.”
Jaehyun was anything but obvious, Taeil’s wanted to say, but then his mind went back to how Jaehyun acted around him weeks ago. His mind reminded him how Jaehyun always made sure he’d eaten something or had enough rest for the day. Jaehyun always made sure Taeil took his vitamins or wasn’t eating junks when he’s stressed over an exam. He even remembered how Jaehyun would ask him if he made it home safely after hanging out with him, or his frriends, and would compliment him about how good he looked in almost everything he wore ever since the first time they met each other in a sports event where both of their friends (Doyoung and Johnny) participated in a few weeks ago.
Ah.
Yeah.
Taeil never wanted to smack himself on the face this bad before.
Jaehyun always had that look in his eyes that Taeil couldn’t quite decipher every time they hang out. It was hard to assume things so Taeil thought it was just something Jaehyun was used to doing.
Well, maybe Taeil was a bit dense in that part.
The two were friends only for weeks now and he didn’t know Jaehyun enough to tell the difference on how Jaehyun acts different to his friends and love interests.
“I thought you were just being nice.”
Jaehyun looked at him directly in the eyes as the look on his face softened, dimples prettily displayed for Taeil to stare as his lips formed a thin line. Taeil tried not to melt at how absolutely gorgeous Jung Jaehyun looked in front of him, especially with how the sunlight accentuated his features that made him look more ethereal than he actually was.
“I’m just not good with words, Taeil. But here I am right now, making sure you’d know what I really feel for you. And I like you, Moon Taeil. Since the moment you introduced yourself to me four weeks ago.”
It was a surprise for Taeil how quickly he and Jaehyun clicked and became friends when they first met. They understood each other and the younger’s adoration for him was something he found endearing. But he thought Jaehyun was being a nice friend, because that’s what friends are for, right?
Well, Taeil should probably start to learn how to decipher Jaehyun’s actions towards him from now on.
“Moon Taeil, will you be my boyfriend?”
At the end of the day, Taeil and Jaehyun didn’t end up together.
He didn’t actually reject Jaehyun’s confession. He explained it well to Jaehyun, how the latter could ask him to be his boyfriend again after a few dates because again, it’s moving too fast for his liking.
Jaehyun did seem genuine about his feelings for Taeil and he deemed it unfair if he would just say yes so, in result, Taeil suggested they’d go on dates first and foremost so they’d know each other on a deeper level before he could give him an answer.
That was how they started spending so much time with each other beyond just their names and what’s seen on the surface by other people.
Jaehyun was a kind and caring guy, and very gorgeous on top of it all, but Taeil wanted to make sure that what he felt for Jaehyun wasn’t mere admiration for his looks, and he doesn’t want to give the taller an immediate answer if he’s still not sure about what he wants to happen with him.
He wants to make sure he really felt something for the younger because not doing so would be unfair to the latter.
Taeil saw Jaehyun as a very caring friend before the confession happened, but after going out on multiple dates, he started seeing Jaehyun as a love interest, someone he would want to spend his days with hanging out in the library every after classes, or watching movies even though he’d be sleeping on it the whole time.
Taeil wanted to spend more time with Jaehyun.
“You find him cute but you rejected him!? What kind of pea-brained are you!?” his best friend, Kim Doyoung, had exclaimed one time.
“I didn’t reject him! I just asked him if he could wait for me!”
And Jaehyun really waited.
At the end of junior year, the two of them eventually made it official. What they had for the past few months wasn’t entirely different from the labeled relationship they finally had because Jaehyun didn’t stop courting him, taking care of him, following him like a lost, lovesick puppy, and making sure he felt wanted, appreciated, and loved every single day of his life.
Perhaps the usually clingy and lovesick Jaehyun became more, well, clingy and hopelessly in love with Taeil.
Doyoung even joked about Jaehyun being more in love and invested in their relationship than Taeil himself.
Taeil disagreed because he knew he’s equally as hopelessly in love with Jaehyun, but then again, they have their own ways of showing it to each other, with Jaehyun being absolutely vocal about his feelings and Taeil showing how much he loves Jaehyun behind closed doors. But despite the differences in that aspect, the two of them never saw it as a problem or hindrance to how they show affection to each other.
Taeil can be clingy too. He can get super protective and expressive with his emotions in his own little ways. And being Jaehyun’s boyfriend can sometimes be a bit annoying too because of the nasty looks and whispers he got from his boyfriend’s admirers all around the campus— all because the oh so admirable Jung Jaehyun was head over heels in love with Moon Taeil.
It was inevitable for the couple to last longer than what other people had expected. They did have fights and misunderstandings for a couple of times but they were never big enough to actually consider breaking everything off.
Despite the differences, they made it work.
Taeil and Jaehyun dated for a couple of years, still disgustingly in love with each other that their friends automatically gag when they as much as kiss in front of them.
“Since when was Taeil into PDA?”
“Since he started dating Jung Jaehyun. What a nightmare.”
“Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.”
First anniversary became fourth until they’re in their fifth year as a couple and at the same time first as married husbands. The past couple of years were unreal. As usual, nothing really changed between them and their relationship except for the fact that they’re registered as legally married.
Husbands.
Mr. Jung-Moon.
They’re now bound to each other, and will spend the rest of their lives in each other’s arms.
“Jung Jaehyun, the love of my life, my most favorite person in the world despite you always stealing the last roll of tuna gimbap, will you marry me?”
“Taeil, no!”
“No?”
“No! No, I mean, I should be the one on my knee, asking you to marry me!”
“Oh my god, Jaehyun, you might give me a heart attack one day !“
“But yes! Yes, yes, yes! I’ll marry you, Moon Taeil!”
“God, I love you so much, stupid!”
Taeil is more than happy. Contented. His husband is perfect. The apartment they bought on their third year was perfect. The jobs they had after graduating were more than what they could ask for.
He really hit the jackpot this time.
He found everything he wants in life with Jaehyun.
But the married life will never be as perfect as they like to as fights between couples, petty or not, are inevitable.
Taeil just hoped it wouldn’t be as bad as what he sees in dramas and movies.
“Something weird is happening with Jae,” Taeil says as he mindlessly wipes the spotless counter with a wet rag, his unfocused eyes staring at the falling leaves outside the cafe he’s working at.
“Stop stealing Jisung’s job and go do your manager work at the back office instead,” Doyoung, his best friend and assistant manager at Urban Bite, steals the rag from him and motions Jisung, a high school part-timer they hired two weeks ago, to go behind the counter and take the customer’s order.
“I’m done preparing next week’s budget so let me hang out with Jisung and Jaemin, you old meanie,” Taeil pouts and watches the silver haired guy cleaning the tables wave at him at the mention of his name. He smiles at the hardworking kid and then proceeds to assist the youngest, Jisung, with the orders.
“You need to tap this so the cash box will open,” he says beside Jisung and taps something on the screen. Jisung nods his head, mentally taking notes, before taking the bill from the customers, with Taeil watching his every moves.
“Stop watching him while he works. You’re making the kid nervous,” Doyoung shakes his head with a chuckle as he puts an ice cream cake into a box and wraps it with their signature gold ribbon.
“Oh, am I making you nervous?” Taeil questions. Doyoung rolls his eyes.
“No, it’s not like Mr. Jung. I’m fine! Don’t worry about me!” Jisung reassures though Taeil could see his hands shaking as he punches in something on the screen. After the customer settles down on the table near the door, the three of them go back to cleaning and basically loitering behind the counter.
“So you said something about Jaehyun,” Doyoung asks when both of them head to the back office, dragging his chair to sit in front of Taeil’s table. “Was it good weird? Or weird weird?”
“Weird weird. He’s been like that since two days ago,” he clicks his tongue, plops down his leather office chair and rests his elbows on the table.
“What, is he not kissing and fucking you enough?”
Taeil huffs. “You and your filthy mouth, I swear to god. But no, it’s not like that. It’s just weird how he almost always don’t want to talk or look at me after he gets back from work.”
Taeil looks back at how Jaehyun acted last night, a few minutes after 10. The younger would normally smile at him from the door, since Taeil always make it a habit to wait for his husband in the living room so they can prepare for bed together, kiss him and hug him until they both decide to sleep.
Jaehyun would always make sure Taeil knows about the bossy client he had for the day or how his manager complimented him with his project he’s working on with the latter burying his face on his chest.
They would normally spend the night talking about the past years, how Taeil supposedly ignore Jaehyun’s advances (“I didn’t ignore you! I thought you we’re just playing around, like you know, how friends are?” “That’s the problem, you always think of me as a friend, never more. You are such a dense cutiepie back then but I still love you more than ever.”), and how Taeil proposed to Jaehyun at the children’s playground when they were on their way home.
But last night, and the night before that, was different. Jaehyun smiled at him, as usual, but there’s something about it that made Taeil think it was somewhat…forced.
They also exchanged small talks but Jaehyun excused himself to go take a shower first and sleep ahead of him because apparently he had a long day. Taeil understood it and didn’t force his husband to talk about it so he let him be, but the mornings were nothing different from the previous nights.
His husband still awkwardly tried to avoid spending so much time around him in some circumstances that made Taeil conclude that something weird is happening with Jaehyun. And what that weird thing is, Taeil absolutely has no idea since the day before it first happened was more than perfect as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary in bed, talking, whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, and drowning in each other’s warmth with Jaehyun’s home cooked meal served during dinner time.
Nothing happened during that day that would result to Jaehyun avoiding him and making excuses just so he couldn’t hang out with Taeil the next day.
Well, he did accidentally bite Jaehyun’s sensitive nipples when they we’re foreplaying that night but then again, that’s an absolutely stupid reason for him to act like this.
“Wow, that’s really weird. He usually wouldn’t miss the chance to kiss the living daylights out of you. Are you sure you didn’t do anything to him?” Doyoung asks as he drags his chair to get back to his table and takes a small container filled with chocolate balls near his laptop that their pastry chef made for them. “Tch. It looks like it’s really bothering you that you even write my name as the cafe’s head chef in your report,” he jerks his head to the finished report that’s sitting on Taeil’s table, facing him.
“Ah, shit. I’ll change it later. But I don’t know, I’m just waiting for him to share what’s bothering him or if he’s mad at me. He’ll tell me if he’s ready,” he says, “Ah, I did accidentally bite his sensitive nipples that night. Was he mad at me for that?”
“You’re stupid.”
“Yeah.”
Doyoung takes a small bite of the sweet snack. “But Taeil, what if Jaehyun’s never ready to talk about it? Are you just going to wait and wait until you two are okay again and never get to know the reason why he was distant in the first place?”
What Doyoung said made Taeil think hard. He guesses he was just used to Jaehyun being very vocal with how he feels except when they’re fighting and would take some time to address the problem on hand before they grow some balls to talk about it. Maybe he was too used to waiting, but what if waiting won’t work this time?
“I’ll try to talk to him but not tonight. I have to think about what to say first or else I’ll just fuck it up,” he says with finality in his voice before he get’s himself a chocolate ball from Doyoung’s container.
“That’s good. Try not to ignore some issues like what you two sometimes do. It’s better to have confrontations than going back to normal and pretend like nothing happened.”
Doyoung’s right. He’s making sense but Taeil’s decision is final. He’ll talk to Jaehyun tomorrow night.
Or the day after that.
Doyoung won’t know.
Taeil ended up prolonging the agony until the weekend, two days after his talk with Doyoung.
He remembers sleeping alone on their bed, as his husband texted him about going home late because of a new deadline his boss gave him, with his brain supplying itself with possible reasons on why Jaehyun seemed distant than ever.
It’s never good to sleep alone with your thoughts swimming in every direction, making it hard for you to control and reorganize it. He tends to think a lot when he’s left alone, especially on days where the two of them aren’t okay.
But why are they not okay?
They were fine during their first wedding anniversary, they even laughed a lot as they reminisced their first month together back in college.
Everything was fine, so what happened?
“He doesn’t love you anymore, ahjussi!” the neighborhood’s most mischievous middle schooler had exclaimed then stuck his tongue out after secretly listening to the conversation he had with Doyoung that Friday afternoon. He ran with his paper bag full of bread (accidentally knocking out the potted plant near the door) when Doyoung attempted to chase after him for eavesdropping.
“Yangyang you little brat! Come back here!”
That’s how the new thought clouded his mind, that Jaehyun probably realized on their anniversary that he’s better off without Taeil, and that he has found someone else worthy of his love, affection, and attention.
But then again, why? Did Jaehyun think he’s the only one trying in this relationship just because Taeil isn’t as clingy and affectionate as he’d hope him to be? Did he finally realize that he actually prefers someone who will immediately reciprocate his skinship in public without acting all shy? Did Jaehyun really find someone else like what that Yangyang kid told him that afternoon?
Was Taeil not enough?
“God, that kid was too fast. My legs are burning from running after him,” Doyoung said, hands resting on his knees to catch his breath. “Why are you sulking? Your glummy face might scare Jisung and Jaemin,” but then Doyoung’s eyes widened in realization, “Oh for fuck’s sake, don’t tell me you believe what that brat told you!?”
Not really, but he considered it as one of the possible causes.
He remembers his husband quietly opening the door to the bedroom as he pretended to be asleep, tiptoeing his way to the bathroom and getting under the blanket with his arms slowly snaking around Taeil’s waist. It’s been awhile since the last time Jaehyun cuddled him like this, his hot breath tickling the hairs at the back of Taeil’s neck.
Taeil was finally able to sleep that night, thoughts that had been bothering him for days long forgotten as he pushed himself closer to Jaehyun’s warmth.
But the peaceful feeling didn’t last long.
He wakes up early that Saturday with Jaehyun’s side of the bed cold and empty. He’s confused, turning around to face the empty side and figured Jaehyun probably went for his usual morning run, as what he usually do but only after waking him up with a kiss on the lips. The blissful feeling he had last night is long gone.
He checks his phone to see if Jaehyun texted him but only got to see Doyoung’s texts about the report the owner wants to get on Monday.
Taeil decides not to text him back until he’s done talking to his husband about the real problem here. He’s walks around their cold, silent apartment and to their kitchen, leaving him alone with his messy thoughts which will only inevitably put him in another sour mood. The ugly feeling comes back as fast as it left last night.
He didn’t really get to have a peaceful sleep last night as the happenings in his real life made its way to his dreams too. Even in his unconscious mind, he’s been reminded of the things that should be immediately addressed and end whatever is happening to their relationship but his judgment and common sense are easily overruled by fear.
His fear that he might put their relationship in more trouble. So he chose to keep silent until he’s ready.
He’s ready now, he thinks, at least a bit confident he could try this morning. He’s thinking of what he should say to Jaehyun after he comes back when a tear rolls down his cheek and into the kimchi stew he’s stirring in front of him.
He pays it no attention, letting another tear roll down as his mind supplies him with possible conversation starters.
“Hi. Are we fighting?” That just sounds stupid because if he were to be honest, they are in no way fighting, but they might as well be with Jaehyun’s weird behavior around him.
“Jaehyun, we need talk.” That sounds rather intimidating.
“Jaehyun, did I do something? You’re acting weird these past few days and it’s really bothering me.” Taeil thinks it’s much better than the other two.
But before he could think of a fourth one, he hears the door opening and the sound of keys dropping in the glass bowl in the hallway. He stays silent as he continuously and unnecessarily stirs the soup, his back facing the door to the kitchen.
“Oh, good morning. Why are you up this early?” he hears Jaehyun’s deep voice from the living room, and he could tell that the taller is changing his shirt with a dry one. When Jaehyun didn’t hear a reply from Taeil, he clears his throat and says, “I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me. I think I’ll go back to sleep.”
Before Taeil could nod his head and decide to just talk about whatever they have later, his mouth opens up with the most unexpected question he’s ever asked.
“Jaehyun, do you still love me?”
He stops stirring, back still facing Jaehyun.
“What?” Is it surprise he’s hearing from Jaehyun’s voice? Hurt? Disappointment? Taeil isn’t sure.
“Do you still love me?” He wants the ground to just open up and swallow him whole because really, all the thinking he did earlier about how he should open the topic went to waste. But he’s here now and there’s no going back.
“Taeil, baby, w-what are you talking about?”
Baby. Taeil breaks down, and he doesn’t know if Jaehyun honestly doesn’t know what he’s talking about or just pretending not to.
He drops the ladle he’s holding and faces his husband. “Jaehyun, don’t pretend that I didn’t notice you going distant. I know how much you’ve been avoiding me! You don’t even let me hold your hand! And I don’t know why. I don’t why we’re being like this all of a sudden! We were okay on our anniversary! Tell me, Jaehyun, did I do something wrong?”
Taeil doesn’t know what’s been spewing out of his mouth as tears pour down his face, the emotions he’s been keeping for days breaking out of its walls. He couldn’t clearly see Jaehyun dropping everything he’s holding and rushing to where he is, eyes searching for his own in obvious concern.
He takes a step back when Jaehyun attempted to hold him in place until his back hits the counter. “I don’t know what I did wrong. You’ve been avoiding me and you don’t even talk to me, Jaehyun. Do you still lo—”
“Oh my god, Taeil, please oh my fucking god this is a very huge misunderstanding,” Jaehyun whispers in panic as Taeil sobs harder in his husbands arms, completely powerless to push the younger away. Taeil was instantly wrapped in a warm and careful embrace, a hand carefully rubbing his back in an attempt to calm his nerves down.
Jaehyun rests his chin on Taeil’s head. “Oh no, Taeil baby, you did nothing wrong! Fuck. I’m sorry I made you feel like that. It’s my fault. This is all my fucking fault. I love you so fucking much—“
“Then tell me what happened. Why were you avoiding me?” Taeil whispers, face buried in his husband’s white shirt.
“I’m sorry. Taeil, I’m so sorry. Oh my god, I did not plan for this to happen. Taeil, I swear I planned on telling you this sooner!” The taller of the two unwraps his arms and holds both of Taeil’s arms in place so he could look at him properly.
“I…I lost our wedding ring. I was so scared to tell you this because I don’t want you to think that I’m not taking good care of my ring. I-I lost it and I was too afraid and didn’t know how to tell you so I opted to avoid everything that might lead us to talk about it.”
Jaehyun looks down. “I didn’t plan on making you feel like this, Taeil. I was planning to look for it again and perhaps tell you when I know what to say. Taeil, baby, I’m so sorry I made you feel like I’m avoiding you. I’m such a shit husband. I am sorry—“
If it was possible, his tears would come rolling back into his tear glands.
“You what?”
“I lost the ring.”
“You lost the ring? You mean, the wedding ring?”
Jaehyun nods his head.
“And you didn’t talk to me because of the ring?”
“Well…”
Taeil can’t take it anymore, though he doesn’t know if it’s the relief or the stupidity of the situation just because the two of them chose not to communicate properly.
He slides down the floor as he can no longer cry without his knees threatening to give up. He may look like a huge mess as he cries and laughs at the same time. This is such a ridiculous situation.
Is he really crying or laughing? Taeil just hopes Jaehyun doesn’t think he finally lost it.
He cries, combined with choked laughs, with his hands covering his eyes. Jaehyun squats in front of him and wraps him around his husband’s warm arms to calm him down. He knows his husband wants to look at him funny but the former chose to comfort his crying husband instead.
“You bastard! You are so stupid! I am stupid! You could’ve told me the moment you found out you lost the ring!” Taeil attempts to hit him on the chest. “Jaehyun, I wouldn’t mind if you just told me what happened.”
God, Taeil is beyond glad Jaehyun only lost his ring!
Every single scenario that has crossed his mind, from Jaehyun realizing he deserves more than what he gets from Taeil, Jaehyun finding someone else who is probably is much better than Taeil in many ways, to Jaehyun planning to divorce him, sounded absolutely stupid now that he’s faced by the only man who accepted him for who he really is wholeheartedly.
“I thought you’d be mad because that ring was so special to us, to me. You bought the rings with your first three months of pay on your new job. You bought it even though it cost a lot because you knew I loved it so much when we first visited the store, and suddenly I lost it. I was being careless. I don’t know where I put it. I didn’t take good care of it.”
Taeil remembers the first time Jaehyun saw the rings. His fiancé was more than mesmerized by the beauty of the yellow gold ring sitting prettily on a black velvet box inside a separate glass case surrounded by huge faux diamonds.
Just by the look on Jaehyun’s face, Taeil knew it had to be that ring.
“Do you like that?” he asked, not caring about how much it cost as long he gets to see his fiancé’s eyes lighting up like that.
“Ah, it’s pretty but I think there’s gonna be prettier rings on the other side.”
Taeil knew Jaehyun only said it because he thought it was too pricey for their budget, but what he didn’t know was the fact that Taeil has saved up enough so he’ll be able to buy whatever ring Jaehyun would like.
Anything for Jaehyun, really.
Taeil holds Jaehyun’s face, thumbs gently rubbing the latter’s face. “Oh, Jaehyun, baby, it’s fine. I’m in no way mad at you for what happened. In fact, I’m so happy right now that you only lost a ring! I thought something else happened because you know how my mind works. Jae, it’s just a ring. It’s fine, though, I would’ve liked it more if you told me the first time.”
“God, this is so stupid. All this happened because I couldn’t handle confrontations,” Jaehyun closes his eyes to feel Taeil’s touches. “But, don’t cry now. I’m really sorry for putting you through this.”
“It’s fine, jae. And I’m sorry for making such conclusion. I’m sorry for ever doubting you.”
“It’s fine, baby. I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing apologizing already. What’s done is done,” Taeil smiles and wipes the tears off his cheeks. “And I’m sorry I kept what I felt from you too. I also should’ve talked to you instead of waiting for you to say something. God, look what we’ve done! I look like a mess now, all because we forgot how to talk to each other!”
“You’re still as beautiful as the first time I’ve seen you, Illie. And I’m sorry. I promise I’ll look for the ring again. I won’t give up until—“
Taeil hushes him up with a quick kiss on the lips. It’s been a while, Taeil thinks, and he still tastes as sweet as he remembers.
“You talk too much. Just kiss me already. It’s been days since the last time you did.”
Jaehyun smiles before leaning in to kiss him. “I love you, Taeil. So damn much,” He says in between sweet, soft kisses. He kisses each side of Taeil’s cheeks, his faint scar, his nose and the corner of his mouth.
Taeil rests his forehead on Jaehyun’s. “Let this be our lesson, okay? Let’s promise to talk to each other and make sure this won’t happen again. I can’t stand being away from you again.”
“I promise. Let’s act how partners in life should. I love so much, Taeil.”
“I love you too, Jaehyun. And don’t worry about the ring, I can help you find it tomorrow.”
Jaehyun slightly pulls away to look at Taeil in confusion. “Tomorrow? Why the specific time?”
“We haven’t done what husbands normally do for days. And I missed you so much that I’d rather do it than look for the ring.”
“Do what?”
Taeil’s eyes lowered to look at a specific spot, hoping that Jaehyun will get what he means. When he’s met by confusion, je slowly puts his hands on either sides of Jaehyun’s waist, thumbs making circles on the exposed skin like he has all the time in the world. He finally looks up to Jaehyun already biting his lips so hard that Taeil’s worried it might bleed.
His hands snake under the shirt, cold hands touching hisn warm body, up until his right hand cups Jaehyun’s slowly hardening member like it has its own mind.
Jaehyun gasps and it’s a cue for Taeil to touch more, rub more, until Jaehyun snatches both his hands and whispers, “God, Taeil, you are going to be the death of me.”
Taeil’s sure the breakfast he’s supposed to make can wait since he’s been served with a whole new meal for that morning.
“Taeil! Taeil! Oh my god, Taeil baby, I found it!”
He bolts up from the bed, alarms going off in his mind as he hears his husband crying for his name inside the bathroom. He lifts the duvet off his naked body (still a bit disorientated), his hair sticking out in every direction and runs to where his husband is.
“Jae, are you okay?”
He opens the door without caring so much that he isn’t wearing anything.
Jaehyun almost shoves the ring he’s been looking for, for days in Taeil’s face. “I found it! I found the ring! I just remembered putting it inside the first aid kid when I accidentally cut my finger while cooking for our anniversary! Jesus, fuck, I’m so happy I found it! Oh my god, Taeil!”
Taeil smiles at Jaehyun practically jumping in joy as he puts on the yellow gold ring with tiny diamond beads pattern on his ring finger, the gems sparkling impressively under the dull light of their bathroom.
“I found it, Taeil! Look!” Jaehyun looks like a child on a christmas day as he lifts his left hand for Taeil to see, dimples adorably displayed for the older to admire. The happiness in Jaehyun’s face was priceless and Taeil can’t help but reach for his husband’s cheeks and squish it together.
“You’re so adorable, you know that? And I’m glad you found it, baby. The ring still looks as breathtaking as the first time I put it on you,” he places a soft kiss on Jaehyun’s lips in which the latter gladly responded to.
He feels Jaehyun’s arms slowly wrapping around his torso and he’s pulled towards him. “And why are you still naked, if I may ask?”
The cheeky look on Jaehyun’s face doesn’t go unnoticed by the equally cheeky husband Taeil.
“I was hoping I’d get to do you when I wake up,” Taeil pouts, playfully pressing his lower body to Jaehyun. “But it’s fine if you don’t want to. I mean we just had a tiring night, with what, our stamina and all, so it’s fine if you don’t wanna do it this morning—“
“God, Taeil, stop teasing me and just do it!”
Taeil tilts his head in feign innocence.
“Do what?”
“Just fuck me all you want, damn it!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”