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Dating Soobin was a dream. Like an actual dream, Yeonjun was constantly pinching himself to make sure it was real. That he really did get to bring Soobin coffee every morning and sit with him at lunch and spend his afternoons after school cuddling him and doing homework together. He actually got to do those things, he had a boyfriend now, he had done it! He was no longer pathetically pining from a distance and clinging to the brief glimpses he caught of Soobin throughout the day. Nope. Now he could flirt openly and tell Soobin how pretty he was to his face, and he could literally cling onto the boy whenever he wanted to, which was often.
Suddenly high school didn’t seem all that pointless and he woke up looking forward to suffering through another eight hours of mandatory education. All because of Soobin, who always brightened his day with his smiles and laughs and presence and wow, Yeonjun was so whipped. Where Beomgyu used to tease him for his crush, now he teased him for how gone for Soobin he was. All five boys sat together, both couples as well as Soobin’s best friend Hueningkai who was now Beomgyu’s lacking and always ganged up on Yeonjun when Beomgyu started to make fun of him. Yeonjun didn’t even care that much though, because he was happy and falling in love and that’s really all he could focus on.
It was a bit difficult the first week or so, figuring out how to navigate their relationship in public considering they existed in such separate social spheres at school. Nothing much had changed outside of their little bubble, meaning that Yeonjun was still very popular and Soobin was still very shy. When news got around that Yeonjun had a boyfriend, and that said boyfriend was the nerdy shy kid from the junior class, suddenly Soobin was getting a lot more attention than he was used to. It was mostly harmless, because nobody dared to give Soobin a hard time, but a good handful of people had started giving Yeonjun a hard time. It was mostly jealous girls and boys who didn’t understand why Yeonjun wasn’t interested in them, and it was easy enough to ignore, but Yeonjun worried about Soobin seeing.
He didn’t want the boy to be insecure about their relationship, even if it had only became official a few weeks ago. He talked to Beomgyu about it, and he advised that Yeonjun just ignore his admirers and enjoy being with Soobin fully. If Yeonjun remained unbothered, Soobin would see that, and be reassured. Yeonjun took the advice and did his best to ignore the notes in his locker, the lingering smiles across the hallways, and the occasional conversational approach. It went fine for a while, and he and Soobin were happy, but when people started to come up to him while he was with Soobin and started to flirt in front of the boy, that’s when Yeonjun decided he had had enough. Soobin deserved to be treated with respect and their relationship did too. The fact that some people thought it was appropriate to waltz up and say that they would be a better match for him than Soobin while Soobin was listening, it made Yeonjun’s blood boil.
He and his boyfriend deserved more respect, and Yeonjun wouldn’t stand by any longer and let them be disrespected.
The opportunity to fully display loud and proud that he was extremely happy in his relationship came a few days after his decision to not put up with the disrespect anymore. He had spoken to Soobin about it earlier, and even though the younger insisted none of it bothered him, he gave permission for Yeonjun to do what he needed to do. Yeonjun was glad for it, communication was key, and he never wanted to spring a bunch of PDA on Soobin if he wasn’t comfortable with it. The boy loved skinship, but being in private and being in public were two very different things.
It was freezing cold, winter break getting closer and closer, and Yeonjun was glad he had two cups of coffee to keep his hands warm. He could see his breath as he climbed the stairs up to the school entrance. He bowed at a few people who waved at him, smirked at the people he knew hated him, and blew obnoxious kisses to Beomgyu and Taehyun who were lingering outside the doors. Beomgyu stuck his tongue out at him, making Yeonjun giggle, and then he went inside. It was gloriously warm, and he sighed in relief, shoulders relaxing.
He rolled his neck, took a sip of his own coffee, and then started looking for Soobin. He was always there first, because his bus dropped him off so early. He used to hide out in the library, but now that he was dating Yeonjun, he had started waiting by his locker. Yeonjun started to smile as he turned the corner and saw Soobin leaning against the rows of lockers, reading something on his phone. He must have put his coat in his own locker, because he was only wearing a long-sleeved cream cardigan over a purple shirt. Yeonjun always looked forward to seeing what Soobin was going to wear each day, because he had an eye for fashion and he always looked so fucking soft and adorable it made Yeonjun’s heart ache.
He sped up his steps just a little bit, smiling wider. “Hey you,” he greeted. Soobin’s head snapped up, and he put his phone away, smiling brightly. “Good morning, hyung!” he replied, dimples showing. Yeonjun giggled, coming to a stop in front of the boy. The couple locked eyes, and Soobin blushed like he always did, and Yeonjun scrunched his nose like he always did, and they really were sickening. How could someone see such a heartfelt interaction and still believe they could convince Yeonjun that they were better than Soobin? It was just ridiculous.
The two shared a chaste kiss, and then Yeonjun handed Soobin his coffee. He accepted, cupping it with both hands and taking the lid off to cool it down. “How did you sleep?” he asked, taking a cautious first sip. Yeonjun turned, unlocking his locker. “I slept well, after I finished my stupid history essay,” he said, carefully setting his coffee down as he slung his backpack off. Soobin moved around to Yeonjun’s other side, facing him as he sipped his coffee. “I told you not to leave it for the night before,” he teased, a twinkle in his eye. Yeonjun stuck his tongue out at him, shoving his notebooks next to his textbooks. “I work best under pressure, okay?” he retorted. Soobin smiled, tilting his head as he looked at Yeonjun. “I just don’t want you getting stressed out too often,” he said sweetly.
Yeonjun blushed, glancing over at Soobin and smirking as he dug around for his calculus homework. “Good thing I have an excellent new way to relieve my stress,” he jeered. Soobin’s eyes widened and his ears turned a pretty red as he turned away, pressing his back against the lockers. “Oh my God,” he whispered. Yeonjun laughed, putting his materials in his bag and then untying his scarf and taking off his coat. He hung both garments up on the little hooks, grabbed his coffee, and then closed his locker, throwing his backpack back over his shoulders. He chuckled, reaching out and pinching Soobin’s cheek. “You’re so cute,” he cooed.
Soobin smiled, peeking over his coffee cup at Yeonjun. “You’re cuter,” he replied. Yeonjun choked on his coffee, cheeks burning as he spun away, Soobin’s laughter ringing out. “Aishhhh, stop it,” he muttered. Soobin covered his mouth as he giggled, shaking his head a little. “You’re not the only who can give out compliments, hyung,” he stated. Yeonjun scoffed, playfully hitting Soobin’s arm. “Now I look like a tomato!” he complained. Soobin scrunched his face up adorably as he leaned in a bit closer. “More like a pomegranate,” he decided. Yeonjun gasped, hitting Soobin again. “That’s even worse!” he cried. Soobin laughed brightly, dodging Yeonjun’s attacks, holding his hand up.
“I take it back! I’m sorry, forgive me!” he played along, smiling. Yeonjun grinned too, enjoying being playful with his boyfriend. He loved that they could be this way, teasing and poking fun at each other, so casually. He went to tickle Soobin’s side when suddenly someone was patting his shoulder. “Yeonjun-ssi!” a high-pitched voice rang out. Yeonjun immediately deflated, smile disappearing for a second as he closed his eyes and forced himself not to snap. When he opened his eyes, he saw Soobin looking at him, before glancing at whoever had interrupted them, a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.
Yeonjun hated it, but he plastered a smile on and turned around. He recognised the girl, she was in his year and pretty popular, known for her family name more than anything. “Yumi,” he said, forcing himself to bow. “What’s up?” he asked. He was painfully aware of Soobin’s presence behind him, and he hated that he was once again having to witness someone flirting with his boyfriend. He knew that if the roles had been reversed he wouldn’t be able to just silently take it. Nope. He was possessive, he didn’t even like when Hueningkai hung all over Soobin when they were together. Soobin had much more self-control than Yeonjun.
Yumi, not even acknowledging Soobin, clasped her hands together as she twisted on her heels a bit. If Yeonjun was supposed to be impressed, he wasn’t. He blinked a few times, his expression threatening to break. “There’s a bonfire tonight,” Yumi said, voice piercing. “Everyone is going to be there,” She looked up at Yeonjun hopefully, and Yeonjun could only nod, smile feeling so forced he didn’t understand how Yumi didn’t notice. “That sounds fun,” he replied. He gripped his coffee cup tightly, and he wanted to look over at Soobin, but he couldn’t because Yumi kept talking. “Yeah! It does! Are you…do you want to go?” she asked, fluttering her lashes. The ‘go with me’ wasn’t said, but it was so clearly implied it made a fire erupt in Yeonjun’s mind. So fucking inconsiderate, yet again.
His hand clenched into a fist and he was about to turn her down when Soobin suddenly rested a hand on his shoulder. “Hyung,” he said softly. Yeonjun’s face immediately relaxed as he twisted and looked at his boyfriend, smiling genuinely. Soobin looked at him a little intensely, and Yeonjun felt a trickle of arousal drip down his spine, but he pushed those thoughts away. He couldn’t help it, okay? Soobin didn’t usually look at him like that. “I have to get to class,” he said, voice quiet. Yeonjun smiled, nodding. He switched his coffee to his other hand as he went to hug Soobin like he always did, but Soobin surprised him.
The boy lifted a large hand to caress Yeonjun’s cheek and jaw, holding his face in such an angle that it would be impossible for Yumi to misinterpret anything. Yeonjun’s eyes widened as Soobin kissed him, fully and in public. It wasn’t just a peck, either, he moved his lips against Yeonjun’s in such a way that Yeonjun’s eyes fell shut and he kissed back, melting into it a bit. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he felt the ghost of Soobin’s tongue against his lower lip, pushing them apart. Yeonjun exhaled shakily as Soobin just teased, not doing anything too scandalous. He pulled away then, leaving Yeonjun a little breathless and a lot shocked, blinking at Soobin, cheeks flushed.
Soobin smiled gently, running his thumb over Yeonjun’s cheekbone before dropping his hand. “See you at lunch!” he said brightly, a direct contrast to how he was literal seconds ago. Yeonjun gaped, before nodding, waving at him as he walked down the hallway. He took a few seconds to gather himself, before looking back at Yumi. Her expression was so appalled it almost made Yeonjun burst into laughter. He contained himself, though, and just ran his hand through his hair a few times. “A bonfire, you said?” he asked, unable to keep the smile off his face. His boyfriend was possessive of him, he was allowed to gloat over that. Yumi only swallowed, nodding a few times in succession.
Yeonjun grinned obnoxiously, taking a drink of his coffee. “Perfect! My boyfriend loves bonfires, so we’ll both be there,”. He made to leave, but because he was petty, he pat Yumi’s shoulder as he passed. “Thanks for the invite!” he added, before walking away, giggling to himself.