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“So who are you taking to prom?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Seungmin replied, eyes not leaving the logistics list he was reading through. “Don’t ask stupid questions Jisung.”
“Not really considering Prince Charming is off receiving his third confession today.” Jisung mused. Seungmin simply rolled his eyes and passed the stack of papers to him to file away. They were currently in the student council room to double check what needed to be done before the big event.
“Doesn’t matter how many confessions he gets because I know he won’t accept any of them.”
“Aww that’s really sweet.” Felix said, smiling from where he was seated on one of the desks waiting for the two student council members. “I still don’t get why you need to hide your relationship.”
“See, I’d rather not have Hyunjin’s fanclub try to ambush me at every corner.” Seungmin stated as he packed his things. “Besides, I already have you lot to disturb my high school experience.”
“We’re spicing up your high school experience my dear friend,” Jisung said as he leisurely draped himself across Seungmin’s shoulders. “Also, Seungmo’s right Lix. You weren’t the one that received angry letters in their locker from crazy fans when they thought me and Hyunjin hated each other. They’re scary man.”
“True true,” Felix laughed as he picked up his things. “Come on, Hyunjin said he’d wait for us at the gate.”
It wasn’t as if Seungmin was insecure about dating Hyunjin, no “what if people think I’m not good enough for the school’s prince” sob story. Not at all. Seungmin knew that he loved Hyunjin for no other reason than being Hyunjin and Hyunjin loved him back in the exact same way. But when they both decided to become an official thing back in second year, Seungmin was really not keen on the sudden amount of attention he would receive from dating the school’s resident heartthrob. Not to mention that by then, Hyunjin had gained somewhat of an unofficial fanclub that seemed to busy themselves with keeping tabs on Hyunjin’s school activities, friends, likes and interests, and most importantly, relationship status. As much as he loved Hyunjin, he preferred to keep their relationship a private matter, which Hyunjin wholeheartedly agreed on. Other people didn’t need to know they held hands underneath their desks, neither did they need to know that the variety of bracelets Seungmin wears on rotation were all made by Hyunjin, or that the daisy necklace Hyunjin wore everyday underneath his uniform was actually Seungmin’s that he gave him on the basis of “I like how it looks more on you”. They didn’t need to know that Seungmin‘s stationery was ever changing because every time they studied together their stationary would get jumbled up and they never bothered to sort them out knowing that it would just happen again. They didn’t need to know about the time they had snuck out at night during a field trip to gaze at the stars, Seungmin tucked in Hyunjin’s embrace, back against his beating heart. Other people didn’t need to know how butterflies filled Seungmin every time Hyunjin whispered “I love you” against the shell of his ear with only the stars as their witness because that was meant to be enjoyed between them and them alone.
“Seungmin!” Hyunjin happily exclaimed as he threw himself into his boyfriend’s arms.
“We’re here too, you know.” Jisung said as he flicked Hyunjin in the arm. Hyunjin promptly retaliated by flicking Jisung back in the forehead, eliciting a yelp out of him.
“You know I really wonder how no one has found out about you guys yet.” Felix chuckled.
“That’s because they’ve been acting like a married couple even before they started dating.” Jisung replied, rubbing his forehead. “If you ask me, they were practically dating in first year too.”
“Excuse you, I'm extremely subtle in school. I’m affectionate with everyone.” Hyunjin said, linking arms with Felix to prove his point. “We’re all affectionate with each other, me and Seungmin blend in perfectly.”
“It’s in the eyes man, you don’t see me staring at Felix like I’m about to lay my life down for him.”
“But what if you did though.”
“Bro.”
“Bro.”
“Oh?”
“I’m leaving all of you.”
“SEUNGMIN NOOOO!!” All three of them whined as they all glomped onto Seungmin.
Seungmin groaned as he trudged along to the train station with all three of his very much fully grown friends attached to him like whiny children that didn’t want to walk. Deep down though, they all knew they would never leave each other (Seungmin would never admit it aloud but then again he didn’t have to). Really, that’s all he needed in his high school life, precious moments shared with precious people that belonged to them and them alone.
-
“To summarise, food catering will be ordered by Eric, I’ll be contacting the djs to handle music, and Lia will be liaising with the gardening club on using their flowers for the corsages and decorations. Any additional logistics that are not on the list are to be reported to Seungmin. Meeting dismissed.”
Immediately the sounds of chairs grating against the floor, papers being put away and shuffling feet filled the student council room as students bade each other goodbye until only Seungmin and Jisung remained. With a loud huff Jisung slumped tiredly in his chair.
“Good job Mr Pres,” Seungmin said as he placed the paper containing the meeting minutes over Jisung’s eyes like a night mask. “Last event before you can finally retire.”
Jisung made a tired noise in response from under the paper. “Yeah I’m gonna go retire to the countryside with my future five cats and three dogs. Feel free to visit me whenever but not before 12pm.”
Truth be told, Seungmin never envisioned the playful Jisung ending up as student council president but here they were, at the end of their term with Jisung seated at the head of the table with Seungmin serving as his vice president. Originally, Jisung had run for the position just to keep Seungmin company in the elections since “no one's gonna vote me for president anyway it’ll be fine” but somewhere along the lines of his incredible ability to use words, empathetic nature and overall charismatic personality Jisung had unwittingly gained the support of the student population. And honestly, Seungmin was happy he did. Jisung, on top of being extremely smart was also very creative and despite Jisung initially freaking out over his new position, the many sleepless nights, last minute deadlines and “Jisung what the fuck do you mean you can’t find the plan outlines”, student life had definitely become brighter since he took over.
“You gonna ask Chan hyung to dj for prom?”
“You bet.” Jisung lifted the edge of the paper to grin at him. “He’s already involved in alumni activities so he’ll probably say yes. Plus he loves me so he’ll definitely say yes.”
“I would retort but you’re probably right about that.” Seungmin began packing both their things so they could head home as Jisung scanned the meeting minutes one last time.
“Wanna order a couple corsage for you and Hyunjin?”
“I don’t know how much of keeping a relationship hidden you understand but people in secret relationships don’t typically parade around in couple corsages.”
“Aww don’t be like that, Hyunjin would love it! Tell you what I’ll order one for me and Felix too so we can say it’s a squad thing.” Jisung reasoned, already opening the order form on his phone to submit the order.
Seungmin sighed. Not the first time he’s been swept along in Jisung current and certainly not the last.
“Do whatever you like.”
Jisung‘s smile faded and he looked at Seungmin for a moment with an unreadable expression. Seungmin raised an eyebrow in question, and as if reading his mind, Jisung opened his mouth to explain.
“You know, asking if you were bringing Hyunjin to prom was a legitimate question.” Jisung began. “There’s a difference between being at prom with him and actually taking him as your date. I know that you guys don’t want to be public with your relationship but if you ask me I think you guys can afford to enjoy prom together as a couple. We’re literally graduating in less than a month, you don’t need to worry about people disturbing your peace after that.”
Jisung got up and slung his bag over his shoulder.
“Plus, you know Hyunjin. He probably really wants to do the couple dance with you.”
“Anyway let’s go I want ice cream.” And just like that Jisung had his heart shaped smile back on his face, whining as he tugged Seungmin out of the door as if he hadn’t just thrown Seungmin’s thoughts into entropy.
-
That weekend Hyunjin had decided he was very much in need of attention and ambushed Seungmin at home with snacks before tackling him into his bed for his long awaited cuddle session. And cuddle they did, the couple currently snuggled up against each other against the bed frame, Seungmin absentmindedly playing with Hyunjin’s hands. They were very nice hands in Seungmin’s opinion, long and slender fingers that curved into prominent knuckles, attaching them to soft palms. Seungmin lightly traced the prominent veins that adorned the back of his hand, tickling a breath of giggles out of Hyunjin who laced their hands together to restrain Seungmin’s wandering fingertips. Yep, Hyunjin had very nice hands, very nice hands that fit perfectly in his.
Of course, dating in secret had its shortcomings. They couldn’t go on dates in public near school, nor could they be overly affectionate in school (a real burden to the cuddle bug that was Hyunjin). Seungmin often felt a twinge of guilt every time Hyunjin was whisked away to receive another hopeful confession and Hyunjin frequently lamented over the many couple pictures saved in his phone that could never be posted on his social media.
(“Hwang Hyunjin STOP using our group chat as your personal social media. Me and lix are tired of seeing you be lovey dovey with Seungmin.”
“Actually I find it pretty cute.”
“Ha suck on that squirrel.”)
“What are you thinking about?” Seungmin asked when he noticed Hyunjin staring at him.
“You.” Hyunjin answered without missing a beat.
“You’re so cheesy.” Seungmin replied, lightly jostling his boyfriend who currently had his head on his shoulder.
“I prefer the term romantic.” Hyunjin scrunched his nose at him. “But really, I was just thinking about how weird it is that we’re graduating when it seems like yesterday when we entered.”
“I don’t know about you but my high school experience didn’t exactly fly by with all the tests and events that I suffered for.”
“You’re right I can’t believe I’ve spent three years not being able to fawn over you in public.” Hyunjin sighed, dramatically putting more weight on Seungmin.
Seungmin shifted so Hyunjin would be in a more comfortable position, smiling fondly at him. “You still do that though.”
“Yeah well,” Hyunjin turned to face him and Seungmin was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that their faces were barely centimeters apart. He could easily observe the way Hyunjin’s long lashes fluttered, brushing against the little mole under his eye, barely concealing the desire glinting in his eyes. “I can’t do this in public.”
Seungmin felt heat steadily creep up his neck as Hyunjin leaned in, even after all this time he still had that effect on him. His heartbeat had always been in tune with the melody of Hyunjin’s ministrations.
A loud ding from Seungmin’s phone made both of them jump, effectively yanking them out of their reverie. Patting his pouty boyfriend’s cheek, Seungmin grabbed his phone to check the notification, groaning at what he saw.
“Bad news, the gardening club only has enough flowers for the corsages and not the decorations and Jisung wants to video call to figure out how else we’re gonna decorate the main hall so that we can still be on schedule on Monday.”
Now it was Hyunjin’s turn to groan. “He has the worst timing.” he whined as he flopped onto Seungmin’s lap.
“There there baby,” Seungmin soothed as he grabbed his laptop from the bedside table. “You can stay down there okay the camera will only show me from chest up anyway.”
Hyunjin didn’t wipe the pout of his face but nodded and adjusted himself so that Seungmin could properly face the camera. Seungmin smiled down at him and tapped his nose one last time before joining the call.
“We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our beautiful, floral, cottagecore themed prom decoration plans.” Jisung said as his video showed him pretending to wipe tears away.
“Is it too late to fire him as president?” Seungmin asked, unmuting himself.
“Seungmin, please we are in mourning, show some respect.”
“Honestly if it weren’t for the fact that he has the biggest brain out of all of us when it comes to event planning I would have supported you on that.” Eric’s voice joined in as his video box lit up.
Jisung gasped dramatically. “This is absolutely tragic. I can’t believe my entire core committee hates me, even after all we’ve accomplished together, all the late nights spent planning events, all the...”
Hyunjin rolled his eyes at Jisung’s lamenting and Seungmin tuned it out in favour of carding his hands through Hyunjin’s hair, smoothing out the soft dark strands. It was getting pretty long, Hyunjin often wore it in a half ponytail (Seungmin had to adapt and overcome so that his brain didn’t short-circuit every time he saw him) and since they were basically just waiting to graduate the school had let it slide even though it technically went against dress code guidelines. Maybe Seungmin could convince him to try braiding it one day.
“Hello earth to Seungmin, did you hear what we just said?”
“What?” Seungmin immediately snapped up to look back at the screen, wide eyes blinking in confusion at the expectant faces on screen. “Sorry I didn’t catch that.”
“It’s rare that you get distracted in meetings, what’s so interesting about your crotch man?”
Externally, Seungmin stoically blinked at them. Internally, Seungmin swore at Jisung. Frankly speaking he was close enough with the rest of the core committee that he didn’t mind them knowing about his relationship but announcing it by revealing that he had his boyfriend lounging on his lap in the middle of a meeting seemed a bit too risque to him. Not that they were up to anything but high schoolers tended to squeal at anything remotely intimate.
“It’s a cat.” Seungmin stated simply, trying to ignore the way Hyunjin was trying to contain his laughter by burying his face into his stomach.
“Aww cute is it yours?” Lia asked.
“No it’s not mine,” Seungmin said as he poked Hyunjin’s dimple, Hyunjin playfully trying to bite his finger in response. “Just a cat that likes to wander into my house and demand attention.”
Seungmin couldn’t hold back his laughter when Hyunjin stuck out his tongue at him at that remark.
“I think you should just adopt it Seungmin, you look so in love right now.” Eric replied.
It’s a good thing that his room had bad lighting because Seungmin really hoped that his blush wouldn’t be visible on camera. Clearing his throat, he tried to steer the conversation away before anyone asked to see his very much not a cat of a boyfriend.
“So you guys were saying?”
“Oh right!” Lia quickly opened her notebook again. “The gardening club can only provide flowers for the corsages and since we’ve already ordered the food, the ideal situation would be to work with what the school has for decorations because trying to reallocate the budget would be a huge pain in the ass. So, any ideas?”
Seungmin began shaking his head before feeling a soft tug on his shirt. Looking down, he was met with Hyunjin staring back up at him quietly mouthing words. Seungmin blinked a few times trying to read his lips.
Performing Arts Festival. Lights.
“How about the fairy lights from the Performing Arts Festival?”
“Seungmin I could kiss you, that's genius!” Jisung exclaimed, excited smile lighting up his features. “We could have something like a galaxy theme, Lia write that down!”
With the main issue out of the way, the meeting proceeded smoothly with them contacting the performing arts clubs and planning a rough outline of the new theme for the decorations. In about half an hour, Seungmin was able to close his laptop and turn his attention back to his now snoozing boyfriend.
“Hey sleepyhead, we’re done.”
Hyunjin stretched like a cat (how appropriate) but made no attempt to move. “Mmm about time...” he mumbled.
“Sorry about that,” Seungmin smiled apologetically, “but hey at least everyone thinks your idea is genius.”
“Jisung wouldn’t think it was so genius if he knew it was my idea.” Hyunjin playfully scoffed as he got up. “Anyway, I gotta get home for dinner so I should get going.”
“I’m really sorry we got interrupted.” Seungmin apologised again, taking Hyunjin’s hand in his own.
Shaking his head, Hyunjin smiled and intertwined their fingers. “Not your fault, don’t worry about it.”
“Oh and by the way,” Hyunjin said, meeting Seungmin’s eyes. “You’re wrong.”
Hyunjin let out a puff of laughter when Seungmin looked back at him in utter confusion.
“I am yours.”
Quickly, Hyunjin pecked his cheek before skipping out the door.
“See you on Monday!” he called as he closed the door to the room, leaving a very stunned and very flustered Seungmin standing in his room.
I’m yours.
“Idiot.” Seungmin mumbled to himself, hand coming up to touch his cheek. “I’m the one who’s yours.”
-
“BIG NEWS!!!” A girl burst into Seungmin’s classroom, immediately running to her group of friends and slamming her hands on the table. Seungmin recognised her as someone who regularly bothered him with questions about Hyunjin even though he never really entertained her. She was probably here to deliver some news related to Hyunjin again, maybe he set a new record in sports class, maybe he was spotted saving a stray dog from incoming traffic, maybe he finally decided to fuck it and bleach his hair, maybe-
“Hwang Hyunjin has a crush on someone!!”
Well Seungmin wasn’t expecting that.
Felix, who was sitting opposite Seungmin raised his eyebrows and whistled. “Is it still considered a crush if you're already dating him?” Felix asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Seungmin just hummed noncommittally and was about to lean closer to eavesdrop when his phone screen lit up.
days since hyunsung last fought: 3
hanji: so hwang hyunjin I hear you have a crush
hanji: for your sake your crush’s name better start with k and end with im seungmin because you’re not allowed to break my bestie’s heart
hanji: also we have no time to resolve your love affair arc in our high school season finale like dude seriously we’re about to graduate
yongbokie: damn hyunjin if you wanted to add more plot to your high school experience you could have like
yongbokie: challenged me to a rooftop fight or smth
yongbokie: the love affair trope is a little too overused in my opinion
hyunie: I wish my best friends had more faith in me
hyunie: OF COURSE IT'S SEUNGMIN WHO ELSE WOULD IT BE
hyunie: I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’D EVEN DOUBT ME ;_;
hyunie: and aren’t you guys the ones constantly coming for me for being whipped??
hanji: touché
yongbokie: man’s got a point
seungmo: hyunjin
hyunie: SEUNGMINNIEEEEEEE I CAN EXPLAIN ;____;
hyunie: please don’t be mad
seungmo: I’m not mad hyunjin don’t worry
seungmo: what happened tho
hyunie: okay hold on let me type it all out
yongbokie: we’re holding
seungmo: take your time
hanji: yeah
hanji:...
hanji: actually I take that back TYPE FASTER OLD MAN I HAVE A MEETING
hyunie: basically I got stopped and dragged away to receive another love confession from this girl from our year and she asked if we could go to prom together and I said no of course because I’m a VERY FAITHFUL BOYFRIEND and I told her that I didn’t feel the same way but then she grabbed my arm as I tried to leave and insisted on at least exchanging contact information to keep in touch after graduation and said something like “you may not feel the same way about me now but maybe you will in the future so let’s just give it a shot” and at this point I’m panicking bc yo this girl needs to let me go and I just blurted out “I have someone else I like” and I think she wasn’t expecting that so she was in shock or smth so I managed to escape and now I’m in the dance club room hiding
hyunie: oh and btw jisung I found the fairy lights in here
hyunie: and also
hyunie: FUCK YOU?? YOU WERE THE ONE ASKING FOR THE STORY I SHOULD HAVE JUST DMED SEUNGMIN
hanji: AAAAAAAAA IM GOING TO BITE U
yongbokie changed the chat name to days since hyunsung last fought: 0
seungmo: ahh that makes sense
yongbokie: yeah I was thinking 3 days was too long
seungmo: that too but I meant Hyunjin’s situation
hyunie: I’m sorry minnie I messed up ;-;
hyunie: I don’t think anyone thinks it’s you though
hanji: that’s the real shocker like seriously who ELSE does hyunjin make goo goo eyes at
hyunie: well would you look at that the fairy lights just broke
hanji: maybe your crazy fans were right maybe I do hate you
seungmo: it’s really okay hyunjin I’m not mad and it’s not that big of a deal
seungmo: at least there’s only a few more weeks till graduation
seungmo: also please don’t break the fairy lights or I’m stringing you and jisung up as the decorations
hanji: kinky
hyunie: that’s hot
yongbokie: kim seungmin dom agenda
seungmo has left the chat
hanji added seungmo to the chat
hanji: accept your dom responsibilities kim seungmin
“And so the plot thickens.” Felix grinned at Seungmin as Seungmin planted his phone face down and massaged his temples. Burying his head in his arms, he decided he would rather not deal with his friends or the oncoming questions about Hyunjin’s so-called crush from other students and maybe if he pretended to be asleep hard enough no one would bother him.
(It did not work.)
-
For the next day Seungmin was ambushed at every corner by nosy students trying to get in on the latest gossip, some starting off a little more subtly like actually having a conversation with him before slipping in a “so is the rumour actually true?” while others skipped right to “Who does Hwang Hyunjin like?” as a greeting. Even the reporting club had sent representatives after him and if Seungmin had been a less kind individual he would have cut their budget while he still had those administrative powers because really, what kind of reporting club dedicates their main scoop on a rumour ? Seungmin also thought it was unfair that he seemed to be suffering the brunt of the questioning, why wasn’t Jisung or Felix being targeted as much as him?
(What Seungmin didn’t know was that those spawns of Satan he called friends were gleefully directing everyone who came up to them to him just to disturb him.)
Needless to say, on top of all the prom planning and preparations, Seungmin was annoyed. Right now, all he wanted to do was get to the cafeteria with Jisung and use Hyunjin and Felix as a shield against the onslaught of questions.
“Seungmin? I have something to ask you-“
“No I do not know who Hyunjin has a crush on, please leave me alone already.” Seungmin snapped, turning to glare at whoever was speaking.
Instead of another student reporter, nosy classmate or Hyunjin fan, he was met face to face with a very confused looking girl blinking at him. Seungmin recognised her as Jina, one of the council sub committee members, a very nice girl that Seungmin had worked with on multiple occasions. Oops.
“Oh no that’s not what it’s about at all.” Jina hurriedly assured.
“Sorry Jina, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Seungmin said apologetically. “What do you need help with?”
“Uhm...” Jina nervously cast Jisung a glance. Seungmin noticed the tint of pink that coloured her cheeks, did she run here? “...do you mind if we go somewhere private?”
-
“Sup Seungmo,” Jisung greeted as Seungmin sat down next to him. “What did Jina need from you?”
“Is it more prom stuff?” Hyunjin asked from across the table, sliding Seungmin’s lunch to him.
“You could say that...She asked me to go to prom with her.”
“WHAT-” Hyunjin half shot up in his seat.
“Calm down, I said no of course.” Seungmin said. Hyunjin sunk back down in his seat but the tension lingered on his frame.
Felix jokingly began to massage Hyunjin’s shoulders, though all attempts to placate him were lost when Jisung next opened his mouth.
“Oooh looks like our puppy is popular, I’ve got to hear this, do tell us what happened.” Jisung grinned widely as he slung his arm around Seungmin.
“It’s really nothing much,” Seungmin sighed, not really knowing how to address the subject. He wasn’t used to receiving confessions, though as a side effect of being with Hyunjin, he had seen the many ways they could be carried out, letters, flowers, chocolates. All that knowledge didn’t really prepare him to receive his own confession though.
(Seungmin, being the lovestruck idiot he was, never noticed the hushed whispers and lingering gazes centred on him. He was, after all, too busy being whisked away into Hyunjin’s orbit.)
“She confessed that she had feelings for me for a while and asked if we could go to prom together as a couple. Apparently she was going to wait to ask me to dance with her for the couple dance but she was too nervous to do that.”
“Makes sense, asking someone out during the couple’s dance is brave .” Jisung said, propping his chin on his hand.
“Man can’t believe Seungmin has gotten a prom confession before me.” Felix pouted. “Why don’t I get a prom proposal?”
“Well maybe that’s because you already have an unofficial boyfriend.” Jisung lightly bonked Felix on the head. “Stop thirsting for other men when you already have Changbin hyung.”
“But he’s graduateeeed,” Felix whined, pout not leaving his lips. “He can’t take me to prom.”
“If I disturb Chan hyung enough to bring him along to dj will that satiate you enough so you don’t become more unofficial than you already are?”
“Yes.”
“Okay fine I’ll-”
The sound of Hyunjin’s chair clattering sliced through the conversation and all three boys turned to look at him in surprise.
“Sorry...I’m going to get some fresh air,” Hyunjin mumbled, not looking at Seungmin. “See you later.”
And just like that Hyunjin hauled his bag over his shoulder and swiftly strode out of the cafeteria.
Seungmin sat there for a moment in shock, thoughts scrambling to churn out an explanation for what just happened. He couldn’t be jealous that Seungmin received a confession could he? What else could possibly be bothering him? Did he really think Seungmin would have accepted? Did he doubt that Seungmin-
“Seungmin.”
Jisung’s voice yanked the brakes of his hurtling train of thoughts.
Jisung nodded to the door. “Go after him. If you leave him like that you’re gonna get lost in your assumptions and he’s gonna beat himself up over it, he’s pretty sensitive about these kinds of things.”
“We’ll pack your food for you.” Felix cast a reassuring smile to him.
“Thanks guys,” Seungmin murmured. Without a second to lose, Seungmin grabbed his bag and made after his boyfriend.
“10 bucks says they end up going to prom together.”
“20 says they won’t but they’ll end up doing the couple dance together.”
“You’re on Han.”
-
“Hyunjin! Where are you going?” Seungmin called out as he struggled to keep up with the taller boy. Damn him and his nicely proportioned long legs.
“I’m just going for a walk, it’s nothing!” Hyunjin shot back without slowing his pace.
“Hyunjin, why are you acting like this? I don’t understand!”
“I already told you it’s nothing, I just need to cool off for a bit!”
“HWANG HYUNJIN.”
Without thinking, Seungmin grabbed his shoulder and pushed him against the wall, caging Hyunjin in at either side with his arms.
Seungmin and Hyunjin locked eyes, both staring intently at each other and refusing to break away, trying to read the other’s expression. For several moments, all that could be heard between them were their panting breaths mixing together, the tension settling on them like a weighted blanket. Hyunjin’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, a nervous habit of his that drove Seungmin just a little bit insane.
It was Seungmin who snapped out of it first.
“Sorry,” Seungmin quickly backed up and cast a quick glance at their surroundings, thankfully the corridor was empty.
“It’s fine,” Hyunjin muttered softly, now refusing to meet his eyes.
“Hey,” Seungmin gently took Hyunjin’s hand in his. “Whatever’s bothering isn’t nothing alright, please talk to me.”
Hyunjin turned back to look at him, unreadable emotions swirling in those dark orbs. Finally he sighed and returned the hold in his hand.
“Not here, follow me.”
-
They ended up on the rooftop. Not the main rooftop that they sometimes hung out on but a more secluded area that could only be accessed by the staircase at the far end of school. It was a lot smaller than the main roof, with just one air-conditioning ventilator rumbling in the corner to keep them company.
“I didn’t even know this place existed.” Seungmin said as Hyunjin led him to the shaded side of the stairwell enclosure.
“Well,” Hyunjin smiled lopsidedly at him, sitting down on the floor, “when you’ve spent all three years of your high school life receiving confessions you kinda learn where every secret spot is.”
“Well at least I’ve unlocked being dragged into an empty classroom.” Seungmin joked as he sat down beside his boyfriend.
Hyunjin’s smile faded, drawing his knees to his chest, he curled himself into a ball, choosing to stare at his knees instead of Seungmin. “Right...I need to explain myself huh...”
Seungmin hummed, looking at the sky while he let Hyunjin gather his thoughts.
“Take your time.”
“It’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you.” Seungmin said softly, reaching to rub between Hyunjin’s shoulder blades.
Distantly, he heard the lunch bell ring but he didn’t really care about getting back to class, not like they were even having classes anymore.
“Are you jealous?” Seungmin ventured a guess.
Hyunjin mumbled into his knees, not lifting his head.
“Something like that.”
“Were you scared I would leave you?”
“No!” Hyunjin suddenly sat up, startling Seungmin.
“I could never doubt you like that,” Hyunjin said, his entire heart and all its whirlwind of emotions on display in his eyes.
“It’s just,” Hyunjin bit his lip. Seungmin gave his shoulder a squeeze.
“I feel jealous that other people can like, love you so openly.” Hyunjin began, the tension leaving his body at the admission.
“It’s like, I feel jealous when I see other couples be able to, be a couple in public. And then I get jealous when I think about how if anyone else dated you they’d be free to do that too. But then I feel bad when I think about how that would burden you, I mean seeing how many people won’t leave you alone just from me admitting I like someone already makes me feel guilty. But-“
Hyunjin paused and sighed, leaning back to rest his head against the wall.
“That doesn’t stop me from wanting to show the whole world I love you.”
Hyunjin turned his head slightly to peek at Seungmin.
“Pretty selfish of me huh?”
Seungmin gently pushed Hyunjin’s head to lay on his shoulder, his other hand naturally slotting itself with Hyunjin’s.
“You’re not being selfish.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t notice how you felt earlier.” Seungmin apologised, rubbing calming circles into Hyunjin’s hand.
“That’s cuz I made sure you never noticed, dummy,” Hyunjin blew a puff of air at him. “I’m just that good of an actor.”
“Yes, yes,” Seungmin said as he patted his head. For a moment, they simply sat there, watching clouds pass and basking in each other’s presence.
“Do you want to make our relationship public?” Seungmin asked hesitantly.
Hyunjin shook his head. “Nah, imagine the chaos that would cause. I’m at peace with just waiting till we graduate and run off to university.”
“Think you can restrain yourself till then?”
“Hey, I’m not the one who pinned his boyfriend against the wall in the middle of the corridor.” Hyunjin teasingly grinned up at Seungmin. “Not so subtle if you ask me.”
“I- well- at least no one was there!” Seungmin protested. Hyunjin’s eyes crinkled into crescents at his flustered state.
“Not gonna lie though,” Hyunjin mused, letting his voice drop lower and taking Seungmin's chin in between his fingers to turn his face towards him. “I really wanted to kiss you when you did that.”
Seungmin felt his entire face heat up, unable to control the way his breath hitched at Hyunjin’s actions. Inside his head, Seungmin swore Hyunjin must be internally purring at the sight because it had long been established his boyfriend loved to do everything in his power to rile him up. Hyunjin had basically perfected the art of plucking his heartstrings to suit his dance. As if reading his mind, Hyunjin stuck out his tongue and dragged it slowly across those stupidly attractive lips. This man would be the death of him.
“Oh yeah?” Seungmin asked, heartbeat thumping in his ears and eyes transfixed onto Hyunjin. “What stopped you?”
“Oh you know, the fact that we were in a public space where anyone could walk in on us, the fact I was kinda going through it at that moment, my impeccable self restraint, just to name a few.”
Seungmin could feel Hyunjin’s breath on his lips.
“So what’s stopping you now?” Seungmin whispered, locking eyes with Hyunjin.
Hyunjin didn’t answer. He just closed the distance.
-
The next week was filled with a flurry of activity for Seungmin. As soon as he had managed to hunt down every box of fairy lights in school, Jisung had summoned every student volunteer, slapped the design plan on the table, and unleashed them upon the main hall.
After hours of cutting holographic paper into stars and planets, climbing up and down ladders to hang lights, and preventing a group of students from launching Felix to the ceiling to hang said lights (“Think about it, it'd be so much faster!” “You know what else is fast? Breaking your neck.”), the main hall had been transformed into a gorgeous galaxy of twinkling stars.
Seungmin stood and admired their handiwork. He really had to give it to Jisung and his genius brain for coming up with the space themed concept. The dark curtains of the hall had been drawn over the wall length doors at all sides and were now covered with fairy lights arranged in milky ways and constellations, coupled with planet and star cutouts scattered throughout (and the occasional alien in a spaceship courtesy of Jisung). The hall truly looked magical.
“You planning to stay here until prom or what?”
“Quiet you, can’t a man admire his hard work?”
Hyunjin chuckled and slinked over to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, hooking his chin on Seungmin’s shoulder.
“You’ve worked hard,” Hyunjin hummed, patting Seungmin on the head.
“Yo Kim Seungmin we gotta- oh am I interrupting something?”
Seungmin jumped slightly and tried to shake Hyunjin off before realising it was just Jisung. Seungmin sighed in relief.
“No.”
“Yes.” Hyunjin answered at the same time as him, still stubbornly refusing to detach himself from Seungmin.
“Well I came to tell you we gotta go but you know what I’ll just leave you two to it, here catch!”
Hyunjin’s hand quickly shot up to catch the set of keys aimed at his face.
“Just remember to lock up when you’re done,” Jisung said as he turned towards the door.
“Oh and by the way,” Jisung’s head popped back into view as he leaned back, devilish grin on his face.
“Try not to get up to any funny business.”
Seungmin rolled his eyes as Jisung’s obnoxious cackles faded further down the hallway.
“He’s so annoying, why are we even friends with him again?” Hyunjin made a jabbing motion toward the door with two fingers as if he could poke Jisung’s eyes out.
“Right? You guys should have just stayed enemies.” Seungmin scoffed. “Maybe we really should fool around just to spite him.”
“Ooo I like the sound of that,” Hyunjin purred right next to his ear before biting his earlobe, making an indignant noise of protest when Seungmin lightly flicked his forehead instead of reciprocating.
“Behave, we’re still in school.”
“Always so careful,” Hyunjin drawled but released his hold around Seungmin’s waist. “The security guard ain’t no snitch you know.”
Seungmin briefly wondered if he should be concerned about how Hyunjin knew this little tidbit of information but decided to let it slide because it really wasn’t his problem to deal with. Instead, he chose to keep his mouth shut and simply trail after Hyunjin who had floated over to play with the photo booth props.
“Cute,” Hyunjin said as he picked up a glittery star stuck to a stick he had helped make. Hyunjin grinned at Seungmin as he dramatically bowed and presented the prop like a rose to Seungmin. “My little star.”
Seungmin laughed and took the star, reaching out to caress Hyunjin’s cheek with the back of his hand.
“My universe,” Seungmin cooed back with equal amounts of flair, cupping his cheek. Hyunjin blinked at him, taken aback at the sudden boldness. The effect didn’t last long though and soon he was laughing too, hand coming up to cover the blush on his cheeks.
“Geez, I thought I was the assigned cheesy one.”
“I’m just trying to be romantic.” Seungmin replied with a wink.
“Very charming.” Hyunjin giggled as he squished Seungmin’s face with both his hands. Seungmin scrunched his nose at him in response. “If you’re so romantic how about taking me for a dance?”
“Right now? There’s no music.” Seungmin tilted his head in confusion. Hyunjin thought he looked like a puzzled puppy, how adorable.
“Doesn’t matter,” Hyunjin replied, taking his hand and leading him to the centre of the hall.
“I don’t even know how to dance properly though,” Seungmin warned despite still letting himself be pulled along. Turning to face Seungmin with a smile warming his face, Hyunjin gently guided Seungmin’s hands to rest on his shoulders and then let his own settle on Seungmin’s waist.
“Just follow me, trust me.”
It was like Hyunjin had put a spell on him, the tension from his shoulders melted, thoughts of them possibly being caught vanished and his feet suddenly found it exceedingly natural to to move in tandem with Hyunjin’s. Perhaps it was the hypnotic sway of their bodies as they circled around the dance floor, perhaps it was the fairy lights that created a soft halo effect around Hyunjin that made him seem luminous. Perhaps it was the way Hyunjin was looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the universe, smiling with a fondness that Seungmin could never fully comprehend, his hands gently caressing his waist leaving tingles in his wake as they moved to the symphony of their footsteps and beating hearts.
Seungmin didn’t know what it was, but Hyunjin, clad in his crumpled school uniform, long hair thrown into a messy ponytail and glitter from decorations somehow stuck to his cheek, looked like the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on.
Perhaps Seungmin had just always been pulled into Hyunjin’s gravity like how the earth circled the sun.
“See, isn’t it easy?”
“Yeah, a little bit too easy,” Seungmin teased. “Where’s all the explosive dance moves you always show off in performances?”
“Oh? Well,” Hyunjin grinned back mischievously. Suddenly, Seungmin felt himself being spun and bent backwards, for one exhilarating moment Seungmin thought he was about to fall, if not for the firm hands supporting him from behind. Hyunjin leaned over him, stray strands of hair hanging down to frame his face which still had the same cheeky grin on it. “Is this exciting enough for you?”
“Very exciting,” Seungmin replied breathlessly but smiling nonetheless. “But never dip me again without warning please I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.”
Hyunjin merely laughed as he swiftly spun them back into their previous position.
“Noted, don’t worry couples usually just stick to swaying back and forth with each other.”
Ah.
Seungmin’s smile faded as he felt guilt begin to gnaw at the pit of his stomach.
“I’m sorry we can’t do the couple dance together because of me.”
“Hey, don’t look so down,” Hyunjin brought one hand up to pinch Seungmin’s cheek. “That doesn’t matter to me.”
Hyunjin leaned forward to rest his forehead against Seungmin’s.
“ You matter to me.”
Hyunjin let his words linger in the air for several beats before he looked up to meet Seungmin’s eyes, the same reassuring smile still easing the knot in his stomach.
“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable on a day where we’re supposed to be having fun okay?” And with that Hyunjin backed away, removing his hands from his waist. Seungmin was about to curse himself for ruining the moment but Hyunjin, with his magical touch, dispelled such thoughts once he reconnected them by taking his hand.
Happily bouncing along, Hyunjin pulled Seungmin towards their bags.
“Well, I’ve had my couple dance with you already, let’s go back home and then focus on enjoying prom night with Jisung and Felix!”
Seungmin turned his head to look at the clock on the wall and oh shit they had ten minutes to get out of school before the security guard locked them in. He could have sworn the last time he looked they had a good hour to spare but then again Hyunjin had always managed to enchant him like that.
And when they walked out of school holding hands, the security guard didn’t say anything.
-
And just like that, prom night had arrived. The graduating student council members had all agreed to meet earlier to make sure everything was in its place for the big night but really it was more of an unspoken arrangement for them to congratulate themselves for a job well done by being the first to monopolise the photobooth and pretty picture taking spots.
“Felix and Hyunjin said they’re on the way.” Seungmin said as he made his way over to the corsage collection booth with Jisung, intending to collect their orders before the crowd arrived. Jisung was currently adjusting his suit after the council members had decided to haul him on their shoulders for one photo. Seungmin had to admit, unlike the countless school days in which Jisung quite literally looked like he rolled out of bed to get to school in all his fluffy-haired, bleary-eyed glory, tonight, his best friend looked good. Jisung was wearing an all black suit with a belt that cinched his waist nicely, his hair had been swept to the side and he had even painted his nails black to match, something that he had been wanting to do for forever. Reaching over to his waist, Seungmin helped to tug out a crease from Jisung’s belt that he had missed.
“Thank you sweetie,” Jisung grinned as he made a kissy face at him.
Seungmin rolled his eyes and gave his ass a pat in response. “No problem darling, you look good tonight by the way.”
“Aww thanks, you’re looking pretty fine yourself,” Jisung said, giving him a once over. Seungmin was dressed in a simple suit with a string tie that had a pretty brooch nestled in the centre. Jisung cheesily winked at him as he passed him two corsages. “Careful with the sweet talk baby or I might whisk you away for the couple dance before Hyunjin.”
“How charming of you but I’m not doing any couple dancing tonight.”
“You never know~” Jisung sing-songed as they made their way nearer to the entrance to look for their friends.
Felix was easy to spot amongst the groups of students now making their way into the venue with his freshly bleached hair. He looked very cute in his vest suit and yellow tie, freckles on full display.
And then Seungmin laid eyes on Hyunjin.
Hyunjin, who was standing in front of him in a navy blue suit which hugged his shoulders and wrapped around his waist to highlight his lithe silhouette. Instead of being gathered into his usually half ponytail, his long black hair framed his face in elegant waves, drawing attention to his delicate features. Delicate features which included the pair of twinkling eyes that were looking right back at him.
Maybe breathing was overrated.
“Cute, we match.” Hyunjin giggled, teasingly tugging on Seungmin’s tie which was similar to his own. “You look very handsome tonight.”
“Thanks,” Seungmin remembered that breathing was, in fact, a necessity. “You look…”
Stunning. Gorgeous. Ethereal. Like an adonis crafted straight from the hands of God.
“...great. You look great.”
Hyunjin smiled and instinctually reached out to link their hands before remembering where they were, playing it off as reaching for the corsages instead.
“Aww, you got me a corsage?”
“Correction, I got us corsages.” Jisung cut in, brandishing the two he had bought for himself and Felix. “Because what kind of best friends don’t get squad corsages together?”
“You know what? I'm actually behind that.” Hyunjin grinned, giving Jisung a high five after slipping his corsage on.
“What are you guys waiting for? Let's go party!” Felix whooped, slinging his arms around them.
The rest of the night proceeded with its festivities that included, but were not limited to, dancing in several permutations of pairs between the four of them in a mess of limbs and laughter, Jisung somehow ending up at the dj booth with Chan to belt out his rendition of “Clarity”, Seungmin somehow also joining him for a pretty legendary performance that received many approving shouts, Felix pouncing on Changbin the moment he had arrived to help Chan, and Hyunjin being roped into a dance battle with the rest of the dance club members. The night went on, charged with the energy of youth as the students celebrated the closing of a chapter in their lives.
“Alright everyone, are you having fun?” Chan’s voice boomed throughout the speakers which was received by a chorus of cheers. “It’s time for tonight’s most exciting announcement!”
Chan paused for dramatic effect.
“The results of who is prom king and queen!”
Everyone whooped and whistled in response. A thought at the back of Seungmin’s head vaguely registered that Jisung should be the one making this announcement, but Chan being Chan had taken it upon himself to be the unofficial emcee of the night so that Jisung could enjoy himself.
Unsurprisingly, Hyunjin was named prom king, an announcement met with several squeals, applause and a sigh on Hyunjin’s end. Reluctantly, he left his friends to make his way to the stage in all his princely glory. Yeji, a pretty girl from the dance club was named prom queen and was just as enthusiastically received as she made her way gracefully upstage.
Seungmin politely clapped as Chan placed the crowns on their heads. Unintentionally, his ears picked up on the conversations floating around him.
“Gosh, both of them are so beautiful!”
“Exactly, don’t the two of them go well together?”
“They look stunning together as prom king and queen!”
“The two legends from the dance club, what a pair!”
“They look more like siblings if you ask me,” Seungmin mumbled to Jisung and Felix, not quite aware of the slight frown that settled on his brows.
“You’re right but I also think you’re jealous.” Jisung whispered back.
“They haven’t even turned to face each other once this whole time.” Felix chimed in, trying to suppress a laugh. “They’re acting as if they haven't seen each other on a weekly basis for three years.”
After a few more moments of awkwardly standing on stage the two had bowed and left the stage, politely waving off the boisterous shouts of some students for them to share a dance together and instead making their way back to their respective groups of friends.
“Why do they still want to see us dance together? We've already performed together so many times before,” Hyunjin whined when he rejoined the group, promptly removing the crown.
“For the gossip factor, you know how highschoolers are.” Jisung replied.
“Although now everyone is going to think you didn’t want to because there really is someone else you like.” Felix patted Hyunjin on the shoulder.
“And they’re right.” Seungmin said without thinking, eyes widening once he realised he had said his thoughts aloud. Hyunjin blinked in surprise at him before breaking out into a smile and throwing himself on Seungmin’s arm gleefully.
“That’s right Seungminnie there's only one person I want to dance with~” Hyunjin cooed as he snuggled into Seungmin’s shoulder like an affectionate kitten, Seungmin trying to shrug him off and turning his face away to hide the pinkness dusting his cheeks.
“They’re sickening aren’t they,” Jisung nodded his head towards the couple in fake disgust.
“Can’t believe we suffered alone for three years.” Felix dramatically sighed.
The two pretended to be scandalised for a while more before exchanging mischievous grins and promptly attaching themselves to Seungmin’s other arm to coo into his other ear because even if they were graduating, Seungmin can never catch a break.
-
Many photos and a few more milling around with other friends later, the night was whittling down to a close. Hyunjin and Felix had just wandered back from taking pictures with the dance club when the lights began to dim and the music melded into a slower, more romantic melody.
“And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, it’s the couple’s dance!” Chan’s voice once again flowing through the speakers, and again being met with cheers. Seungmin really had to hand it to Chan for being able to hype up the students even with the slightly cringey announcements he had to make. Then again, Chan had always been charismatic and many students still fondly respected him as the previous president that welcomed them into the school warmly as freshmen.
By the time the music had properly transitioned into a romantic ballad, everyone had moved to form a circle to give the couples space to dance in the centre. Several of the more known couples had begun to trickle in from the sides, some of them smiling at each other as they made their way into the centre, some being ejected out from the crowd by their friends’ insistent pushing. One student bravely made their way across the space to hold out their hand to someone, presumably their crush, and everyone cheered supportively when their feelings were reciprocated by a hand in theirs. Other students who weren’t participating in the dance had begun to sway in rhythm to the music and some had even taken out their phone flashlights to wave in the air, creating the illusion of a dance floor encompassed by stars.
Seungmin felt Hyunjin hook their pinkies together where their hands were resting side by side, well hidden by the bodies of other students surrounding them. Peeking at him from the corner of his eye, Seungmin watched as Hyunjin gazed wistfully at the couples twirling across the floor, dreamy look in his eyes. Seungmin knew his boyfriend well enough to immediately know that he was likely visualising the two of them being in their place.
I still don’t get why you need to hide your relationship.
I think you guys can afford to enjoy prom together as a couple.
Seungmin took a deep breath.
That doesn’t stop me from wanting to show the whole world I love you.
It’s now or never.
Seungmin fully grasped Hyunjin’s hand and started pulling him to the front of the crowd.
“Seungmin, what are you doing?”
“Just follow me.” Seungmin turned back to lock eyes with Hyunjin. “Trust me.”
With Hyunjin’s hand in his and his wildly thumping heart, Seungmin pushed through the crowd of students to emerge on the dance floor.
Seungmin could already feel the hushed whispers and curious glances weighing on his skin but tried to focus on letting his hands find their place on Hyunjin’s shoulder instead, just like two nights before.
“You’re such a big idiot you know that?”
The firm grip on Seungmin’s waist grounded his senses, dispelling the discomfort of the unwanted attention. Seungmin looked up at Hyunjin and his thoughts cleared like storm clouds met with sunshine.
Ah.
That’s right.
There was only one person he was doing this for.
Hyunjin, who was holding him close, guiding him as their steps followed each other in perfect harmony. Hyunjin, who looked just as endearing to him when he was dressed like a prince as when he was dressed like a pauper. Hyunjin, who had the biggest smile on his face, stars in his eyes, and was looking at him the same way as he had two nights ago and as he had been all this time.
Hyunjin, who loved him so overwhelmingly much. Who he loved so overwhelmingly much.
“You really didn’t have to do this for me,” Hyunjin sighed, the pure joy flowing off his frame in waves being more than enough to assure Seungmin that he was, despite his words, bursting with happiness.
“I wanted to,” Seungmin whispered back, looking back at him with the same amount of admiration shining in his eyes.
“Thank you.”
For a moment, they just existed in each other’s presence, lost in their own little world, moving as one to the serenade of music.
“You know, I really want to kiss you right now.” Hyunjin said softly.
“What’s stopping you?”
Hyunjin chuckled.
“Minnie, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but literally everyone in this hall is staring at us.”
“That doesn’t matter to me.” Seungmin whispered, taking Hyunjin’s chin in between his fingers, looking directly into his eyes.
“ You matter to me.”
And with that, Seungmin closed the distance.
Seungmin registered a loud whoop that sounded like Jisung, followed by someone yelling “fucking FINALLY” that definitely sounded like Felix, along with several other gasps and a couple of cheers that sounded like they belonged to his other friends.
All that became second priority though when Hyunjin kissed him back with just as much fervour, the feeling of his soft plush lips against his coupled with the taste of his strawberry lip balm being more than enough to make his head spin. Seungmin felt Hyunjin wrap his arms around his waist and soon he was being swept clean off his feet. Seungmin separated their kiss to laugh freely, clutching onto Hyunjin’s shoulders as he spun him through the air.
“This boy is mine!” Hyunjin giddily proclaimed, practically about to explode from excitement and pent up feelings from the past three years.
Seungmin laughed again, not giving a damn that Hyunjin was causing a scene or that he would probably never hear the end of it from anyone he knew. After all, none of that really mattered to him. Cupping his face, Seungmin leaned down to rest his forehead against Hyunjin’s.
“I’m yours.”
-end-