Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Okay," Minhyuk says calmly, his hand stern on Hyungwon's knee. "It's okay. Don't panic."

"I'm not panicking," Hyungwon retorts, with a voice obviously laced with nothing but sheer panic.

Minhyuk looks him in the eye.

"You're okay," he repeats, rubbing his best friend's knee comfortingly. "Come on, it's really not that bad. Even Jooheon managed to do it."

"I don't know how Jooheon is related to this," Hyungwon retorts.

The helmet feels weird on his head.

His grip on the reins is strong and heavy. He's holding them wrong, but no matter how much Minhyuk tries to convince him to let go and grab them properly Hyungwon won't listen. He holds them as if his life depended on it.

And it would, no doubt, if Minhyuk wasn't holding the horse's bridle.

"I've never seen you so scared," Minhyuk notices, half amused and half impatient.

It's been fifteen minutes since Minhyuk saddled up the mare and all Hyungwon managed to do was mount her.

"I'm not scared," Hyungwon argues.

Minhyuk rolls his eyes. He's known Hyungwon for ten years. He knows when Hyungwon is scared.

"Sure you're not," he mocks and Hyungwon manages to look scandalized for a moment before the mare huffs and he returns to panicking.

"Hoseok gave us forty minutes," Minhyuk reminds Hyungwon.

"Hoseok should be here to stop you from this madness," Hyungwon comments just as the mare huffs again. Hyungwon tightens his grip on the reins. "What is he doing?" he asks frantically, although it's obvious the mare isn't doing anything. "God, Minhyuk, what is going on?"

"She's not doing anything," Minhyuk tells him calmly. "Relax. She's just waiting until you're ready."

"Until I'm what?"

Slowly, Minhyuk starts regretting his decision to teach Hyungwon how to ride. He breathes in and out, willing himself to stay calm.

"Ready," he repeats. "It's okay, take your time. You don't need to be scared."

"I'm not scared."

"Yes, you are, you big baby." Minhyuk pats Hyungwon's knee. "Now, loosen your grip—yes, that's it, you're doing great—and keep the reins short. They can't be loose. More. Hyungwon, more. Wait—not like this. Okay. Like this, yeah."

Hyungwon finally holds the reins properly and Minhyuk nods, satisfied.

"Good. Now, stay like this, and I will let go—"

"You can't let go!" Hyungwon cries out, distressed.

"Hush. Don't scream when you're on a horse," Minhyuk reprimands him. "I'm still here. I just need to check the stirrups."

"The what?" Hyungwon asks, distracted as his eyes shift back and forth between Minhyuk and the reins.

Minhyuk stares at him. "Stirrups," he repeats.

Minhyuk lets go of the bridle, and Hyungwon has the urge to cry out again. He doesn't, mainly because he's afraid to scare the mare when Minhyuk isn't holding her in place. He waits, the time flowing agonizingly slow, as Minhyuk checks the length of the stirrups and then walks up to Hyungwon's left side.

"This one is still too long," he says as he grabs Hyungwon's leg. "Come on, let go. I need to adjust it."

Hyungwon obeys. When Minhyuk adjusts the length of the stirrup Hyungwon peers at him. Minhyuk is experienced, Hyungwon knows he is, and he looks professional right now. Minhyuk is in his element and Hyungwon can't help but admire him. For knowing what he's doing and for not being scared at the thought of approaching such a huge animal.

Honestly, Hyungwon has no idea why he agreed to let Minhyuk teach him how to ride a horse. He hates the past Hyungwon.

"Seriously, why would Hoseok even allow you to stay here longer just to torture me using his parents' horses—"

"Hyungwon." Minhyuk stares right in Hyungwon's eyes as he interrupts the younger. "I'm literally an instructor here," he reminds his friend.

This does make Hyungwon shut up.

Minhyuk holds the stirrup. "Try it now."

Hyungwon rests his foot on the stirrup again. Minhyuk checks the length again and nods in satisfaction when he deems it good.

"Great." Minhyuk grabs the mare's bridle again. "The reins?" he asks, making sure that Hyungwon hasn't loosened his grip on them. "Okay. Now, we can start."

"Start what?" Hyungwon asks.

"The riding lesson," Minhyuk tells him. "That's literally why we're here."

The color drains from Hyungwon's face.

"I think I've learned enough," he claims weakly. "I've never mounted a horse before. I'm fine if we finish like this today."

The moment that Minhyuk furrows his brows, unable to hide his disappointment, Hyungwon wants to take his words back.

"We haven't done anything today," Minhyuk says. "Come on, you promised."

That's right. Hyungwon promised. And Minhyuk was overjoyed when Hyungwon told him he would do it. Hyungwon himself felt happy when Minhyuk grinned at him, excited to teach Hyungwon how to ride a horse.

"Right, I promised," Hyungwon agrees. "Sorry. Let's do it."

Minhyuk bites his bottom lip. "If you don't want to I'm not going to force you."

"No, I want to," Hyungwon assures him quickly. "Really. Just, uh, just give me a moment, okay?"

"Okay," Minhyuk nods. Then, he smiles comfortingly. "And don't worry. No matter how scared you are, remember she's more scared than you."

Hyungwon gapes at Minhyuk. "She's scared?"

"No!" Minhyuk laughs, patting the mare's muzzle. "God, relax. I was just joking."

"Don't joke like that!"

Minhyuk laughs more. "Don't worry," he says. "She's experienced. She's one of the calmest horses here, she's used to new people who don't know how to ride."

Hyungwon looks at him in distrust, and maybe it really wasn't the best time to joke.

"You're okay," Minhyuk tells Hyungwon again. He's said it a dozen of times today. "We will begin slowly. Are you ready?"

"No."

Minhyuk blinks. "Well, will you be ready today?"

"No."

"We're starting."

"No, Minhyuk, wait—"

Minhyuk shushes him, and Hyungwon, who is on top of a very dangerous animal that could throw him off if she wanted to, who isn't experienced at all in this whole riding a horse thing, as opposed to Minhyuk, feels he has no right to say anything now.

"When you want the horse to walk, you need to give a gentle squeeze. It's a signal," Minhyuk explains as he presses Hyungwon's leg to the mare's side to demonstrate how he should do it. "Remember, gentle. Don't kick her. Try it."

After he lets go of Hyungwon's leg to hold the reins by the bridle instead Hyungwon tries to give the mare an experimental squeeze but nothing happens.

"She has to feel something," Minhyuk laughs again. "It should be gentle, but not too gentle."

The younger huffs. "I'm doing what you told me to."

"I know, baby," Minhyuk soothes him. "Come on, try again. A little harder this time, but not too much."

Hyungwon tries again. He gives another squeeze with his lower legs, and at first he thinks the mare still hasn't felt it, but then she starts walking.

And is Hyungwon surprised.

"Wait!" Hyungwon cries out, but thankfully he doesn't let go of the reins. He sits still, frozen, terrified with what is going on, as the mare walks slowly.

"Hyungwon! You're riding!" Minhyuk exclaims, walking next to the mare, the reins still in his grip.

He looks at Hyungwon and sneers at Hyungwon's petrified expression.

"Watch where you're going," Hyungwon tells him.

Then, he shifts his eyes at the ground beneath him and his breath hitches.

"Don't look at the ground," Minhyuk instructs him. "Look between her ears."

"Easy for you to say that!"

Minhyuk looks at Hyungwon again and clicks his tongue. "You're very tense. Try to relax. Straighten your back."

"I can't be relaxed and keep my back straight!" Hyungwon complains, exasperated. "I'm on a horse if you haven't noticed!"

"That's how you ride a horse."

Again, Hyungwon doesn't feel like he has any right to object. He tries to do as Minhyuk has instructed him. He knows that he's not doing it completely right, but Minhyuk's expression relaxes so it must mean it's still better than before.

"That's right, just a little more!"

Hyungwon tries, but his panic makes everything much harder.

"Fuck," he curses. "Why is she walking so fast?"

Minhyuk looks dumbfounded. "That's her slowest gait."

There have only been a few incidents when Hyungwon thought he would love to strangle Minhyuk. Today it happens again.

"Maybe you want a pic?"

"Shut up."

Minhyuk stays silent for a moment. Hyungwon forces himself to look at him.

"I'm serious," Minhyuk says then. "Come on, how many times have you been on a horse before, you said?"

"Minhyuk, no." Hyungwon is stern, and Minhyuk pouts. "I'm not letting you take a pic of me when I'm about to die wearing sweatpants."

"These are some good-looking sweatpants you have," Minhyuk tries to compliment him.

"No."

"You're no fun," Minhyuk complains, shaking his head. He leads the mare, and when they reach the fence they turn right. "But at least you seem more comfortable now. Who knows, maybe we can get her to trot today!"

"To what?" Hyungwon shrieks.

"It's the second gait!"

"I know what trot is!" Hyungwon states, offended. "You're not letting her do that!"

"Get ready—"

"Minhyuk!"

Minhyuk bursts out laughing. "I was just joking! Calm down!"

He keeps laughing, as if he was the funniest person ever.

The sun is shining brightly. The wind is blowing gently, the birds are chirping, and they have twenty minutes left but one of them won't live long enough to see the end of the day, either because Hyungwon will fall off the horse, break his neck and die in his ugly sweatpants and worn T-shirt, or because he will kill Minhyuk as soon as his feet touch the ground again.

Sometimes Hyungwon appreciates being friends with Minhyuk. Sometimes he's even grateful for it.

Sometimes he wants to end their friendship.

"I'm so done with you."

He doesn't even bother hiding it.

Minhyuk laughs. He's spread on Hyungwon's couch, claiming to be oh so tired, as if he did anything tiring when it was Hyungwon who has just experienced the worst day in his life.

"It wasn't that bad," Minhyuk consoles him, as if Minhyuk knew what Hyungwon was feeling. "Even you have to admit it was the best idea I've ever had."

There are a lot of things that Minhyuk claims to be his best ideas. It doesn't sound special anymore.

Hyungwon snorts. "You were out of your mind when you came up with this shit."

"You still agreed to it," Minhyuk points out. "And I was an awesome instructor, wasn't I?"

Hyungwon scrunches his nose. Minhyuk might be right. But.

"Doesn't change the fact that you're my least favorite person right now."

And Minhyuk pouts at that. "Am I?"

"You totally are." Hyungwon huffs.

He is a little offended. Because first Minhyuk tricked him to promise something, then he took full advantage of it to make Hyungwon miserable, and now he won't even acknowledge Hyungwon's pain. Minhyuk is the worst person ever.

Hyungwon won't let himself remember that actually Minhyuk never forced him to anything, and it was Hyungwon's weak heart that landed him in this position.

Minhyuk is still pouting, looking like a kicked puppy, and Hyungwon hates the comparison. Because Minhyuk is a grown-up man, a fucking adult with a job who spends most of his days complaining about capitalism. Adults shouldn't be compared to puppies, but Minhyuk never was an average person to begin with.

"I thought you loved me," Minhyuk says then, and he sounds so sad. Hyungwon knows it's another trap, Minhyuk is just playing so Hyungwon will admit there's nothing to be mad about.

But here's Hyungwon's one vice: he's prideful. Extremely so, at times.

"What part of 'least favorite person' don't you understand?" he asks.

And, oh no. Minhyuk's pout gets bigger.

"Scoot over," Hyungwon says before Minhyuk has the chance to start guilt-tripping him. "You're taking up the whole space."

Minhyuk blinks at him. "I'm tired."

"No, I'm tired," Hyungwon argues. "You just kept walking for like twenty minutes."

"It's you who was sitting on a horse!"

"It wasn't sitting on a horse!" Hyungwon objects. "I was busy trying not to have a panic attack the whole time, do you have any idea how fucking exhausting it was?"

"So you admit you were scared!"

Minhyuk sounds weirdly satisfied. Hyungwon rolls his eyes. "Just, move. I wanna lie down too."

Reluctantly, Minhyuk does. He observes Hyungwon as the other lies down comfortably on the couch.

The couch is small, definitely not meant for two grown-up men to lie on it, and so it takes Hyungwon a while to find a comfortable position without worrying about falling from the couch. He's pressed against Minhyuk's side, his head resting on Minhyuk's shoulder.

As soon as he's comfortable he closes his eyes.

"You're going to sleep when I'm here?" Minhyuk asks, surprised. Maybe a little offended.

Hyungwon grunts in response.

But he doesn't get to fall asleep. Before he can, or before Minhyuk has the chance to complain about him, there comes the sound of someone unlocking the front door. Minhyuk sits up to look at the door expectantly, disregarding Hyungwon's whining. He can't rest if Minhyuk keeps moving. Besides, it's probably just his roommate, anyways. No reason to get up.

And of course it is his roommate.

"Oh, hi, Minhyuk," comes Hyunwoo's voice. "Hyungwon didn't tell me you were coming."

The couch is right in front of the threshold. Hyungwon knows that Hyunwoo can see them clearly, and that their position could be questionable at least, but he doesn't care.

It's not like Hyunwoo hasn't seen them like this before.

"Hyungwon himself didn't know Minhyuk was coming," Hyungwon mumbles loud enough for Hyunwoo to hear, still keeping his eyes closed.

Minhyuk shoots Hyungwon a glare.

"Hyungwon should be always prepared that Minhyuk is coming," Minhyuk says, as if Hyungwon should have learned that already. As if Hyungwon should be used to it. What a ridiculous idea, Hyungwon thinks.

Minhyuk lies down again, fidgeting before he finds a comfortable position, and Hyungwon just waits until Minhyuk stops moving so he can finally rest.

"Aw, look at you two," Hyunwoo coos, stepping into the living room. "Cuddling like the loving boyfriends you are."

Hyungwon sighs. He hides his face in his hands, not ready to deal with all the teasing again. "We're not boyfriends," he says, and it should be a habit already, but it still aggravates him that his friends think they are.

No matter how often he tells them they're not they refuse to acknowledge that and Hyungwon doesn't understand why.

Minhyuk makes a sad sound. "Hyungwon doesn't love me today."

"Oh god, shut up."

"Anyways," Hyunwoo says, shaking his head. "I'm gonna be in my room, don't want to disturb you two, lovebirds."

Before Hyungwon can complain at Hyunwoo, because he and Minhyuk are not lovebirds, the door closes after his roommate.

When Hyunwoo is gone Minhyuk chuckles, and Hyungwon wants to ask what's so funny, but he feels too tired to even talk anymore.

Unfortunately, Minhyuk doesn't.

"Hey," he starts. When Hyungwon doesn't respond Minhyuk nudges him. "Hyungwon. Are you listening?"

Hyungwon hums in response. Maybe he is tired, but he is not an asshole, and if Minhyuk wants him to listen, he will.

"There's this competition at the end of the month." Minhyuk tries not to smile. Hyungwon opens his eyes to look at him. "It's nothing big, but it's the first time I'm doing something in months."

He plays with his fingers, the smile spreading on his lips.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come see me participate. Although, as I said, it's nothing big, so it's alright if you don't want to—"

"I'll come."

Minhyuk blinks, his grin widening. "Wait, you will?"

"Sure." There's no way Hyungwon wouldn't. "If you want me to, then yeah. When is it exactly?"

"Twenty ninth," Minhyuk says. He is buzzing. "It's Saturday," he adds.

Hyungwon nods. "Okay then."

"Really?"

"If you want me to." Hyungwon chuckles but then looks sternly at Minhyuk. "But only if you won't pester me about teaching me how to ride again."

Minhyuk rolls his eyes but his smile doesn't disappear. "Okay then."

And the next thing Hyungwon knows, his arms are full of Minhyuk, who threw himself at him. Minhyuk's arms are wrapped around Hyungwon's neck, his face buried in Hyungwon's shoulder as he muffles his shriek.

"Minhyuk, stop," Hyungwon raises his voice, slightly exasperated, but still fond. "Fuck, I have neighbors."

Minhyuk doesn't listen, as Hyungwon should expect. He fidgets in Hyungwon's arms, tightening his grip, and Hyungwon is about to suffocate.

The door to Hyunwoo's room opens and soon he passes the living room.

"Don't mind me, I'm just getting some snacks," he says, but then stops to look at the two. He raises his brow. "But if you wanted some privacy, I'd recommend staying in your room," he tells Hyungwon before going to the kitchen.

And all Hyungwon can think is, for fuck's sake.

In all his unorganized, chaotic life there is only one rule that Minhyuk established. One he swore to never break, and one he's breaking right now.

To avoid drinking at all costs, unless special circumstances arise.

It was obvious that drinking was not Minhyuk's forte when they were students at a university. It was obvious even earlier, before that, when Hyungwon stole some alcohol from his father's minibar when they were still underage.

(It's something Hyungwon doesn't recall very often, the second-hand embarrassment too strong to make himself suffer again. It's a taboo. Hyungwon knows how much Minhyuk hates being reminded about the whole incident, too.)

So, for this very reason, Hyungwon stares at Minhyuk when the latter appears by their table in the local bar with a glass of beer in his hands. Minhyuk slides on the seat next to Hyungwon.

"Who is this for?" Hyungwon asks, cautiously, as he gestures at the glass that Minhyuk has just placed on the table.

"Me," Minhyuk answers shortly, ignoring Hyungwon's surprise, before talking to everyone else by the table. "By the way, Kihyun called. Said he had an emergency at work and will join us later."

Kihyun very often has emergencies at work. Everyone is used to it. Hyungwon doesn't bat an eye. At least, not at this.

"Why are you drinking?" he asks.

At the same time, Changkyun says, "tell him to hurry."

"I can't tell Kihyun to hurry." Minhyuk rolls his eyes. "You tell him if you're so impatient."

Hoseok is sitting next to Changkyun, facing Minhyuk. He sips his beer, watching the exchange. Jooheon is still at the counter.

"And where the fuck is Hyunwoo?" Changkyun asks Hyungwon.

Hyungwon shrugs. "Probably on his way."

Hyungwon is Hyunwoo's roommate, not his parent. He doesn't know what Hyunwoo is doing, where and when.

Changkyun leans back in his chair, letting out a long, agonizing sigh. "We planned this weeks ago and they're still late!"

"Relax, they will come," Minhyuk attempts to calm him down. "Emergencies happen, it's not like he could predict it."

Just then Jooheon comes back with two glasses of beer. He gives one to Changkyun before placing the other in front of his seat and sits down on the other side of Hyungwon. "What are you talking about?"

"Kihyun and Hyunwoo ditched us."

"No, they didn't," Minhyuk argues. "Changkyun is just sensitive because he wants to get drunk tonight but can't before Kihyun gets here and gets drunk himself."

"The only way to get drunk in peace with him around is to wait until he's drunk as well," Changkyun explains. "Do you know what Kihyun's nagging means?"

Minhyuk gives him a look, and suddenly Changkyun seems to remember that Kihyun and Minhyuk used to live together a few years back.

It must have been hard.

"Okay," Changkyun gives up. "You win."

For some reason, Minhyuk looks weirdly proud hearing that.

Minhyuk likes it when others give up a bit too much.

"So that's it?" Hyungwon asks, and everyone looks at him, confused. Minhyuk's brows are furrowed, probably having forgotten how much of a deal it is that he's drinking alcohol.

Hyungwon, however, didn't forget.

"Changkyun wants to get drunk, so you're drinking too?"

"It's just one beer, what's the matter?" Minhyuk asks, lost.

One beer should not be a big deal, obviously. But Hyungwon can't help but remember all Minhyuk's embarrassing moments after drinking, however no matter how much he wants to remind Minhyuk about them he knows that Minhyuk would hate it if he did that in front of everyone. So Hyungwon just shifts uncomfortably in his seat, hoping that Minhyuk will at least take it easy tonight.

"I'm just worried," he mumbles.

"Calm down." Hoseok laughs, propping his chin on his hand. "Minhyuk is a big boy and he can make his own decisions, like choosing when to drink alcohol."

Hoseok is right, of course. Hyungwon knows that.

But Hyungwon must still seem unconvinced, because Hoseok sighs. "Come on, you can trust your boyfriend sometimes."

The thing is, Minhyuk never can be trusted, but that's not what Hyungwon decides to pay attention to.

"He's not my boyfriend," he says.

Minhyuk is the only one who doesn't react. The other three at the table just give each other knowing looks.

"Sure," Jooheon says. He sounds as if he has just heard the most ridiculous story, and Hyungwon loses all will to try to prove his point.

They're right. It's not his job to look out for Minhyuk.

Except it is, Hyungwon realizes a few hours later, when the bar is closing and the seven of them, together with Kihyun and Hyunwoo, have to leave. Minhyuk spent half of the night laying on Hyungwon. He was chatty, and Hyungwon didn't realize how drunk Minhyuk was until they had to get up and leave.

And was that an experience.

"Watch out," Hyungwon hisses, grabbing Minhyuk's wrist as Minhyuk loses his balance, about to crash into the table, and pulling the older to him.

Minhyuk collides with Hyungwon's chest and giggles. Hyungwon wraps his arm around him, trying to keep him in place, so Minhyuk won't fall or, worse, wander off God knows where.

"That's why I told you not to drink."

"Are you mad, Hyungwonie?" Minhyuk teases. His cheeks are flushed.

Hyungwon wants to be mad, because even though Minhyuk is not his responsibility Hyungwon knows that the older won't be able to go back home on his own. And Hyungwon wants nothing more than to go home and fall asleep.

But he can't be mad, not when Minhyuk snuggles closer to him, chanting, "don't be mad Hyungwonie, I'm sorry, don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad," Hyungwon says.

The others are gone, probably having left not realizing that Minhyuk is a mess. Hyungwon supposes they're waiting at them outside. He makes sure they haven't left anything behind and then tries to maneuver Minhyuk to the exit.

And, like Hyungwon expected, their friends are waiting several meters away, talking lightly in front of a convenience store.

"Took you long enough," Kihyun comments when he notices Hyungwon and Minhyuk.

Minhyuk is still leaning heavily against Hyungwon.

"Someone drank too much," Hyungwon tells them sarcastically.

He looks at Minhyuk, but it seems that Minhyuk either hasn't heard him or didn't realize Hyungwon was talking about him. Or simply doesn't care. That could be it, too.

"Hyunwoo and Changkyun went to the store, you need anything?" Jooheon asks. Hyungwon shakes his head. "Minhyuk?"

"No," Minhyuk says, more like whines, and Kihyun furrows his brows.

"Will he be okay to get home like this?"

Probably not, Hyungwon thinks.

"He's staying at my place," he decides quickly.

Minhyuk blinks, surprised, but doesn't seem to mind. He grins. "I'm staying with Hyungwonie?"

And then he jumps. Trips, loses balance, and almost falls again, but then Hyungwon grabs his shoulders instinctively.

"Why can't you stay in place?" he huffs. He doesn't know who will die sooner: Minhyuk with his clumsiness or Hyungwon from heart attack.

Kihyun gives them a knowing look.

"Make sure he drinks some water," Hoseok tells them.

Hyungwon nods. He knows that. He had to take care of a drunk Minhyuk more times than he would want to admit.

When Changkyun and Hyunwoo finally come back everyone says their goodbyes. Hyunwoo just shrugs when Hyungwon informs him Minhyuk is staying the night at theirs, and the three walk to the apartment. It's two in the morning, but the apartment is in a walking distance.

Minhyuk sobers up a little. He doesn't need Hyungwon to support him anymore, but he stays pressed to Hyungwon's side, and it's difficult to walk like this, but Hyungwon isn't going to say anything about that. When Minhyuk complains that it's cold, Hyungwon takes off his jacket and helps Minhyuk put it on, then puts his arm around Minhyuk. It’s summer, but tonight is pretty cold.

The whole way back home Hyungwon can feel Hyunwoo's eyes on him.

They don't talk, apart from Minhyuk's sporadic comments about whatever he can think of. Hyunwoo speaks only when they're home, taking off his coat and shoes.

"You want to shower first?" he asks.

"You can go now if you want to," Hyungwon says.

So Hyunwoo does, and Hyungwon gives Minhyuk some water before searching his closet some clothes that Minhyuk can change into. He gives Minhyuk a pair of his sweatpants and a white shirt.

Minhyuk tells Hyungwon he's too tired to take a shower now so Hyungwon lets him be. He doesn't look when Minhyuk changes in his room, but he does when Minhyuk falls on the bed and starts whining again.

"I want to pee."

"Don't fall asleep," Hyungwon tells him sternly. "You can sleep in my bed without taking a shower but don't fucking fall asleep without peeing first."

Minhyuk groans. "But I'm tired."

"I don't care."

In the end Hyungwon manages to usher Minhyuk to the bathroom. Then he showers, and when he finally goes to bed Minhyuk is fast asleep. He hogged the whole duvet, holds it in his arms and between his legs, and Hyungwon isn't really annoyed when he needs to take a blanket from the living room.

The next morning Hyungwon wakes up to Minhyuk sleeping beside him.

It's late, probably too late, and they shouldn’t be sleeping, but Hyungwon ignores it. He hides his face in the pillow and falls asleep again.

The next time he wakes up he doesn't feel tired, but he's still sleepy. Minhyuk is gone from the bed. Hyungwon stays there for half an hour before he finally gathers enough energy to get up. He goes to the kitchen and finds Hyunwoo and Minhyuk there. Minhyuk is sitting by the table, probably chatting Hyunwoo's ear off, and Hyunwoo is busy making something on the stove.

"Wow, you finally got up," Minhyuk exclaims.

Hyungwon hums. He slumps on the seat beside Minhyuk's and crosses his arms on the table, then rests his head on them.

"You can't be still sleepy," Minhyuk laughs. "You slept for ten hours."

"I'm hungover," Hyungwon complains. "Shut up."

"How can you be hungover when you were less drunk than I was?"

Maybe because Hyungwon drank thrice as much alcohol, but he's not going to continue whatever conversation Minhyuk wants to have with him.

"Anyways, I'm making ramen," Hyunwoo says then. "You want some?"

Hyungwon takes a moment to think about it. His throat and mouth feel weird, and he isn't hungry at all.

"No," he answers. He isn't even sure if he wants to think about food right now.

Minhyuk clicks his tongue. "You can't go around hungry."

"I'm not hungry."

"You always say you're not hungry."

Hyungwon gives up and decides to stay silent. Minhyuk would win anyways. He stays unmoving, waiting for something to happen. For someone to say something, probably.

Unsurprisingly, it's Minhyuk who does say something first. "I'm leaving after lunch. Sorry for staying so long."

Hyungwon knows the words are directed more at Hyunwoo than at him.

Hyunwoo shrugs. "It's okay. You can stay however long you want to."

Minhyuk laughs sheepishly. "I don't want to bother you."

"You're not a bother."

Hyungwon finally looks up. Minhyuk is grinning at Hyunwoo, who turns off the stove. He takes some bowls and pours ramen for him and Minhyuk, and Hyungwon thinks maybe he wants some. He eyes the bowls in envy, but doesn't say anything.

He will get some later. Minhyuk won't let Hyungwon live if he finds out he was right after all.

"Here you are." Hyunwoo places the bowl in front of Minhyuk and Minhyuk beams at him.

"How are you going back home?" Hyungwon asks as Minhyuk starts eating.

Minhyuk swallows. "I thought about taking Uber," he says. "I don't really want to go to the bus stop. I'm lazy today."

"I can drive you home."

Minhyuk looks surprised. "But you're hungover."

"It's not this bad, I can drive today."

It doesn't seem that Minhyuk is convinced to let Hyungwon drive him. He glances at Hyunwoo, uncertain, before setting his eyes on Hyungwon again. "But I don't want to disturb—"

"It's no problem," Hyungwon cuts him. "Eat slowly and don't talk. I don't want you to choke."

And, to Hyungwon's relief, Minhyuk doesn't try to argue anymore.

"This is the last box."

"Put it on the table."

Hyungwon drops the box. He stretches his arms and groans, already feeling the knots in his muscles after all the physical activity. Then he plops down on the chair, taking a look at the place.

It's Hoseok's new studio room, and although it's smaller than his previous one the localization is better and the rent is slightly cheaper. It looks more comfortable, too, or at least Hyungwon supposes it will after Hoseok takes care of all his belongings. For now, the room is littered with many boxes scattered around.

Hoseok takes two glasses from one of the boxes and pours them mineral water. He places one glass in front of Hyungwon, who makes a strained sound of gratitude.

"Are you going to unpack everything today?" Hyungwon asks as Hoseok puts the water in the fridge.

"Nah. Too tired for this."

Hoseok falls heavily on the couch, almost spilling his water.

"Let's just rest for now and then we can grab dinner or something," Hoseok proposes. He pauses for a moment before adding, "unless you have plans."

Hyungwon checks his phone. It's six in the afternoon. "I'm busy later, but I will manage. What do you want to eat?"

"There is a pizza parlor nearby, what do you think?"

"Great. You want to order and eat here or go there?"

"Let's go there," Hoseok says, resting his legs on the couch. "I don't want to look at this mess while eating."

So they do. Once they decide they're okay to go after a short rest they leave the room. Hoseok leads them to the parlor, talking about how it's nice he's going to live in this neighborhood now because it's closer to his workplace than the previous one and the subway station is just five minutes away. Hyungwon nods, looking curiously around. The neighborhood looks nice, indeed. Nicer than the one he lives in currently, even. Hyungwon's neighborhood is loud and sometimes he can't sleep because of some drunks yelling on the street, but at least Minhyuk lives nearby.

The pizza parlor has air conditioning, and Hyungwon doesn't know when he felt so relieved last time when they sit down by one of the tables.

A waiter gives them menu and Hoseok tells Hyungwon to choose which pizza he wants to eat, because Hoseok can eat anything anyways. After Hyungwon decides Hoseok orders and at the same time Hyungwon checks his phone.

There's no new notification from anyone. Usually, his phone is spammed the whole day, but it's been a few hours and nothing.

He locks the phone when Hoseok is done ordering their pizza.

"Something's wrong?" Hoseok asks, examining Hyungwon's expression.

Hyungwon shrugs and puts his phone on the table. "No, nothing. Why?"

"You look disappointed."

"I'm just tired," Hyungwon lies. He stretches his arms and yawns. "I'm not used to so much physical exertion."

Hoseok laughs. "That's why you should visit the gym more often."

"I do go to the gym often lately," Hyungwon huffs. How dares Hoseok undermine Hyungwon's efforts? "I even tried to drag Minhyuk once but he's even worse than I am."

"Okay, okay." Hoseok lifts both his hands in a sign of giving up. "I was just joking, no need to get all defensive."

"I'm just saying I do go to the gym."

"Proud to hear that," Hoseok says. He does look a little proud. They both know that Hyungwon started exercising regularly thanks to Hoseok's never-ending persuasion. Everyone claims it is a huge achievement. "Anyways, what plans do you have later, if you don't mind sharing?"

"Just going to Minhyuk’s for a movie night," Hyungwon says, trying to sound indifferent. He automatically checks his phone at the thought of Minhyuk, but there's still nothing.

Minhyuk didn't tell him he would be busy today. Not that Minhyuk has to. Hyungwon just wasn't prepared for silence.

"Oh." Hoseok nods. "Have fun on your date."

Hyungwon shots him a glare. "It's not a date."

"Yes, yes, I know, not a date, whatever you say."

"Seriously, though." Hyungwon frowns, straightening in his seat. "What's with all of you joking about that? Like, yeah, it was funny and all, but it's getting boring now and instead of stopping everyone is mentioning it more often."

It did start innocently. Anyone would make some small comment, and Hyungwon and Minhyuk would just shrug and laugh it off. But the joke is still ongoing, and honestly, Hyungwon is getting tired of it.

"It's like I can't hang out with Minhyuk or even mention him without anyone saying something weird."

"We don't mean anything bad by it," Hoseok says sheepishly. "I don't know, you two are just so domestic with each other, and you don't even live together. You hang out whenever you both have free time and mention each other a lot and just, no one else does it."

Hyungwon rolls his eyes. "What's wrong with spending time with your best friend?"

"There's nothing wrong with that," Hoseok consoles him. "You just have this vibe, you know?"

"What vibe?"

"You know." Hoseok makes a gesture with his hands, as if Hyungwon was supposed to know. "Couple-y vibe."

Hyungwon wets his lips. Okay, maybe he is very close to Minhyuk, but it still doesn't have to mean they're together.

"You do know that we're not dating, right?" he asks, suddenly unsure.

Maybe his friends really got the wrong idea.

"Yes, I know." Hoseok sounds a little impatient. "And others know too, I'm sure. But you don't always act like just friends."

Honestly, Hyungwon doesn't know how he's supposed to respond. He's confused, because he has never even thought that their behavior may be different from what the others are used to.

"There's nothing going on, though." Hyungwon shifts in his seat uncomfortably.

Hoseok nods. "Honestly, I didn't know the joke bothered you so much."

Hyungwon doesn’t feel especially bothered by the joke, but he does find Hoseok’s statement annoying. No matter how he feels about it, it's not like he didn’t try to make their friends stop joking.

"I will stop," Hoseok promises. "Explain to others that it makes you uncomfortable. I'm sure they will stop, too."

"It's okay," Hyungwon says. "Just, remember that there's nothing between me and Minhyuk."

"Alright."

Explaining how this makes Hyungwon feel sounds a lot like a hassle. It's just an innocent, harmless joke. Hyungwon isn't going to be dramatic over it. He will just wait, and hopefully the joke will die down, eventually.

Besides, Minhyuk doesn't seem bothered by it at all.

It's getting dark when Hyungwon knocks on the door to Minhyuk's apartment, a bag with snacks in his other hand. He doesn't need to wait long before Minhyuk yells, the door's open, come on.

Hyungwon gets inside and closes the door.

Minhyuk is sitting on the floor, in the middle of his living room, staring at the box where he keeps his movies with a frown.

"You should stop leaving the door open and announcing that to anyone that knocks," Hyungwon scolds him from the threshold to the living room before going to the kitchen.

He leaves the bag there and then returns to the hallway to take off his shoes. Then he joins Minhyuk.

"I knew it was you," Minhyuk tells him, unbothered. "If I don't expect someone to come I do open the door myself, you know."

"Still, someone could have heard," Hyungwon points out. He sits down on the couch. "Stop doing that or someone's going to rob you one day."

Minhyuk still doesn't seem to listen to Hyungwon.

"Hey." Minhyuk turns to Hyungwon with a pout and puppy eyes. "We've got a problem."

Hyungwon raises his brow.

Minhyuk gestures at the box. "I don't feel like watching anything that we haven't seen yet."

"What about Netflix then?" Hyungwon asks.

Minhyuk hums, thinking. "Honestly, I don't feel like watching anything new at all."

"You can choose something you've already seen," Hyungwon tells him. "By the way, I brought some snacks."

"Cheetos?" Minhyuk asks, hopefully.

"Of course."

He texted Hyungwon an hour earlier that he was dying to eat Cheetos tonight, so Hyungwon had no other choice than to buy it. If he didn't Minhyuk wouldn't let him live tonight.

"I got us soda and popcorn, too," he adds.

"Nice."

Minhyuk takes the box and hides it in the cabinet under the TV. Then he takes the laptop from his desk and sits down on the couch next to Hyungwon. Minhyuk turns on the laptop. The poor thing is old, works slowly and loudly, and every time Minhyuk uses it Hyungwon's scared it will explode at one point.

The device is balanced on Minhyuk's bare thighs, and the thought about it exploding stresses Hyungwon out.

"What do you say about watching anime?" Minhyuk asks.

"Sure, just choose something funny and with not many episodes."

Minhyuk nods, staring at the screen. It will take ages for the laptop to turn on finally. He groans, lifting the device and putting it down next to him on the couch instead. "I don't care that I'm broke, I'm buying a new laptop." He looks at it reproachfully, hugging his knees. "When will it start?"

"Patience." Hyungwon rests his hand on Minhyuk's knee.

"I am patient," Minhyuk says.

Hyungwon gives him a look.

"What? I am!"

"You wouldn't leave me alone for one hour before I got here because you couldn't wait," Hyungwon reminds him.

Hyungwon knows that he felt weird without getting Minhyuk's spam for the whole day, but the moment Minhyuk finally remembered about him Hyungwon wished he didn't. It was impossible to focus on anything because of the constant notifications and Hyungwon had to put his phone on silent as he helped Hoseok organize his boxes after they were done with their dinner.

"By the way." Hyungwon looks at Minhyuk curiously. "What were you doing today?"

Minhyuk thinks for a moment. "I had students in the morning and then practiced before the competition," he says. "Why?"

"You were silent today. It was weird."

"Aw," Minhyuk coos, cupping Hyungwon's cheek and stroking it gently. "Did you miss me?"

"I just thought something happened—"

"So you were worried about me!" Minhyuk exclaims.

Hyungwon sighs as Minhyuk grabs Hyungwon's arm and presses himself entirely to Hyungwon, nuzzling his face in Hyungwon's neck before looking up at him.

"What?"

"Was it very hard to survive a whole day without me?"

"What are you talking about, I can survive a whole day without you," Hyungwon argues. "We don't see each other every day."

"But you missed me," Minhyuk sing-songs.

"I was just wondering."

"That's so cute!"

"Write the password." Hyungwon nods at the laptop.

Minhyuk detaches himself from him, and Hyungwon rubs his arm but the relief is only short-lived. As soon as Minhyuk is done he returns to his previous position, clinging to Hyungwon's arm. He melts against Hyungwon's side and lets out a sigh.

"I'm so tired," he whines, resting his head on Hyungwon's shoulder. "Today was so hard, I don't want to do anything."

Hyungwon blinks. "We don't have to watch anything today," he says. He observes Minhyuk, worriedly. "If you're tired and want to sleep early or something it's okay, we can always—"

"No," Minhyuk reacts quickly. "No, no, I meant tomorrow. I don't want to do anything tomorrow, I just want to laze around and do nothing all day."

Hyungwon leans back. "Are you sure you're okay today?"

"Yes." Minhyuk tightens his grip on Hyungwon's arm. "I'm not giving up a movie night, what the fuck."

"I'm just making sure."

Minhyuk sighs, but then smiles at Hyungwon. "You know, you're really sweet. You're always so worried about everything."

Hyungwon stares at Minhyuk, confused. "I'm not always worried," he says defensively. "I'm just trying to be nice."

"I mean, since we're boyfriends—"

He stops and wriggles his eyebrows, and Hyungwon has no idea what it's supposed to mean.

"Not you too."

Minhyuk laughs. "Please, it's hilarious."

"Hilarious?" Hyungwon asks. "You mean the joke? It's more problematic than hilarious, just a few hours ago Hoseok was making comments."

Minhyuk gasps, placing a hand on his chest and looking incredibly offended. "Hoseok talks to you about it? He's never mentioned it to me when we're alone, I feel so left out!"

"Maybe you don't talk about me enough," Hyungwon teases. "He talked about it only because I mentioned you today."

Minhyuk gapes at Hyungwon with wide eyes. "You talk about me?"

"Please." Hyungwon rolls his eyes. "As if I weren't allowed to talk about my plans with my best friend."

"I just feel honored," Minhyuk explains. "Chae Hyungwon is talking about me."

Hyungwon shakes his head in amusement.

"You're going to talk about it all the time now," he says as realization dawns at him. "You will tell everyone about it, adding some weird details for this twisted version, just so they can laugh about it more."

"Of course I am," Minhyuk laughs again. "Please, our friends are boring. What other entertainment do they have?"

Hyungwon groans. "You're the worst."

The thing is, there is nothing wrong with being called Minhyuk's boyfriend, Hyungwon thinks a few hours later when he's in his car, driving back to his shared apartment with Hyunwoo after midnight.

Minhyuk offered him to stay the night, but Hyungwon has to be up in the morning. He would hate to disturb Minhyuk, who complained how tired he is and how much he wants to sleep late on Sunday.

"That's a shame," Minhyuk said when Hyungwon was getting ready to leave. "It’s been ages since you stayed over, and you even have a toothbrush here."

Hyungwon knows that Minhyuk likes it when he stays the night, and honestly Hyungwon likes it too, but he can't neglect his responsibilities. So here he is, going back home, left alone with his thoughts.

The thing about Minhyuk is that he's easy to date, Hyungwon supposes. Minhyuk is very vocal and expressive, so Hyungwon doesn't think there would be any place for miscommunication. He's also very bright and positive, people like him easily. However Hyungwon looks at it, Minhyuk is lovable. Hyungwon would know. He's Minhyuk's best friend of many years, after all.

And yet the jokes and comments always leave him feeling weird. Not exactly bothered, at least not in a way that Hyungwon would expect. It’s hard to explain, Hyungwon doesn’t understand it himself.

He likes to think it's because they're best friends. They know each other better than anyone. Hyungwon has seen Minhyuk's worst and most embarrassing moments and vice versa. It should be weird to date someone who knows him this well.

Except it doesn't feel so. Reluctantly, Hyungwon recognizes that this is not the problem.

He thinks he knows what the real problem it is that he has with the jokes. It's because Minhyuk knows him so well. There's no other person Hyungwon would want to know him like this, no other person he can imagine getting to know him like this.

The mere thought of them being something more makes Hyungwon scared. If any of his thoughts were to happen—nothing ever will, it's just an if—Hyungwon would risk losing a best friend.

And that thought terrifies him more than anything else.

But Hyungwon knows, deep inside, that if they weren't so close, maybe he would want to date Minhyuk. Maybe he would have a crush on him.

Minhyuk seems to be an easy person to fall in love with.

Hyungwon shakes his head, irritated. There's no reason to think about it now. Minhyuk probably doesn't think about it, so Hyungwon shouldn't either.

He tries to keep his thoughts at bay for the rest of the ride.

I'm coming over, reads the text that Minhyuk sends to Hyungwon one day.

And then comes the next one: I'm upset.

Hyungwon frowns. It's Friday, almost a week after their last movie night. He's lying on the couch in the living room. Hyungwon returned exhausted from work and decided to do nothing more than just simply existing for the rest of the day.

What happened?

It takes a few minutes for Minhyuk to respond, and when he does, it's with a simple: :/ .

So Hyungwon tries again: Is it an ice cream upset or...?

It's a 'you can give me beers and I will drink every single one of them' upset.

Shit, Hyungwon thinks.

"Hey," he says to Hyunwoo, who's doing something on his laptop at the table. Hyunwoo looks at him with a curious expression. "Minhyuk is coming over, is it okay?"

"Sure." Hyunwoo blinks. "But if you told me sooner I'd go somewhere or—"

"It's sudden." Hyungwon sits up. "If it's a problem I'll tell him we'll go to his place instead."

"No, no." Hyunwoo waves his hands. "It's okay, Minhyuk is always welcome here."

Minhyuk's only rule is: to avoid alcohol at all costs, unless special circumstances arise. Hyungwon thinks it's safe to assume that right now is a special circumstance, so he asks, "by the way, do we have beer?"

Hyunwoo blinks, surprised. "Are you and Minhyuk going to drink?"

"Yeah."

"There are two bottles left, I think."

Hyungwon nods before sending another message to Minhyuk.

I have two bottles of beer in the fridge

This time, the response comes almost immediately.

I'm going to the store to buy more. I'm on my way btw.

"Minhyuk says he's coming right now," Hyungwon tells Hyunwoo. "He'll be here in half an hour."

"Okay, I will go to my room before he comes."

"Wait, no." Hyungwon stares at Hyunwoo. He doesn't want to lock Hyunwoo in his room, it's his apartment, too. "You can hang out with us, we're all friends after all."

Hyunwoo smiles a little awkwardly. "Yeah, but I'll leave you two alone. I need to work some more anyways."

Hyungwon isn't sure how much of this is true, and how much Hyunwoo made up just so he would have an excuse not to hang out with them. Either way Hyungwon isn't going to force Hyunwoo to stay if he doesn't want to, although the thought that his friends avoid staying alone with him and Minhyuk makes him slightly uncomfortable.

"Stay, we can always go to my room," Hyungwon tries again.

He hates it when Hyunwoo feels like he should give them space.

But Hyunwoo just says something quietly, and Hyungwon can't hear him clearly, although he does catch something that sounds a lot like don't wanna disturb. Then Hyunwoo disappears in his bedroom.

As predicted, Minhyuk comes about half an hour later. Hyungwon opens the door for his best friend.

"I bought four bottles," Minhyuk says as a greeting.

Hyungwon nods, not really surprised, and he lets Minhyuk inside.

"I don't know how much I will drink today, but I figured it's better to buy too many than not enough," Minhyuk explains as he takes off his shoes. "I didn't know how much you'd drink either but I suppose it will be more than me anyways. You can keep whatever is left, by the way. I won't drink for the next month probably."

He doesn't sound as bright as usual. His shoulders are slump, his brows are furrowed, and there are dark circles under his eyes.

"I will put them in the fridge."

They go to the kitchen. Minhyuk opens the fridge and puts all the bottles there, while Hyungwon waits, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Is it okay if we start with the bottles that you had in the fridge before?" Minhyuk asks, and when Hyungwon nods he grabs the two bottles. Minhyuk closes the door to the fridge and puts the bottles down before he starts searching the drawers to find the opener.

Hyungwon observes Minhyuk quietly before asking, "do you want to stay here or go to the living room? Or, to my bedroom?"

"Wherever you want to." Minhyuk shrugs.

He finally finds an opener in the third drawer and immediately opens the bottles.

Hyungwon doesn't like how gloomy Minhyuk looks.

"Let's go to my room, then."

Hyungwon doesn't know what happened that put Minhyuk in this kind of mood, but they will be the most comfortable in Hyungwon's bedroom. So they move there, both of them holding a bottle of beer.

Once they're there Minhyuk immediately crawls on Hyungwon's bed, careful not to spill the beer, and leans back against the wall with a heavy sigh. Hyungwon joins him and Minhyuk rests his head on Hyungwon's shoulder.

Hyungwon looks at him, worriedly. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asks.

Minhyuk shrugs again, staring at his legs. "I don't know what I should tell you."

He takes the first sip and sighs again.

"It's just a bad day, I guess."

Except Minhyuk doesn't have bad days, not this bad. Minhyuk's bad days mean evenings filled with complaining as Minhyuk talks Hyungwon's ear off through the phone about anything that has upset him. It doesn't mean looking miserable as he tries to get drunk in his best friend's company.

"Something did happen," Hyungwon says.

Minhyuk lifts his eyes, and he looks so lost.

"You don't have to tell me," Hyungwon assures him. "I don't want you to tell me if you don't want to talk. Just, I will always listen to you, you know that, right?"

Minhyuk rests his head on Hyungwon's shoulder again.

"Yeah, I know."

He doesn't say anything else for a moment, and Hyungwon waits.

"It's not that something very bad happened," Minhyuk says finally. "Today just everything was going wrong. Small things, and it's probably stupid to worry about them so much, but I've made so many mistakes today. I've never felt so much like shit before."

Hyungwon sneaks an arm around Minhyuk's shoulders. Minhyuk shifts closer and takes another sip of his beer.

"I just want to do well for once," Minhyuk tells him. "Why am I such a fuck-up?"

"You're not." Hyungwon squeezes Minhyuk's shoulder. "You're good at what you're doing. Mistakes happen, it's normal."

"Not these mistakes." Minhyuk sounds bitter and frustrated.

"But you said it yourself, it's small things. Usually you wouldn't feel so bad about them."

Suddenly, Minhyuk sniffs, and Hyungwon starts to panic. Oh no.

"Minhyuk?" Hyungwon asks, alarmed. "Are you crying?"

"I'm not crying," Minhyuk huffs and his voice breaks, and Minhyuk is definitely on the verge of crying. "I don't want to cry."

Hyungwon puts his bottle on the bedside table. Then he takes Minhyuk's and puts it there as well, before grabbing Minhyuk's shoulders to bring him for a hug. Minhyuk easily accepts, burying his face in Hyungwon's shoulder.

Hyungwon rests his chin on Minhyuk's head and rubs his back.

"You're alright," Hyungwon reassures Minhyuk. "Bad days happen, but it doesn't mean you're a fuck-up. You're anything but."

"It doesn't feel like it," Minhyuk says.

He leans heavily against Hyungwon, and when Hyungwon lies down, Minhyuk goes with him. It's much more comfortable like this. They lie on their sides. Minhyuk has his arm thrown around Hyungwon's shoulders and Hyungwon has his on Minhyuk's waist, their other hands lie awkwardly between them, but Hyungwon still thinks it's better like this.

Minhyuk doesn't look at him, choosing to stare at their hands instead, and it hurts Hyungwon to see Minhyuk so sad.

"It's just one day," Hyungwon says. "You're stressed now, but you will do better next time. You will see."

"I don't think I can do better," Minhyuk admits.

Hyungwon takes Minhyuk's hand and squeezes it reassuringly. "I know you can. It's because of stress but believe me, it will be better."

Minhyuk presses his lips in a thin line before moves closer to Hyungwon so he can cuddle the younger properly. When Minhyuk is pressed against him Hyungwon drops a peck on the crown of his head.

"I feel so tired."

"It's okay." Hyungwon starts drawing slow circles on Minhyuk's back. "Just rest tonight."

Minhyuk hums, and Hyungwon can't help but wonder how came someone so wonderful like Minhyuk can doubt himself so much.

Just like the last time that Minhyuk got drunk, he spends the night at Hyungwon's again. He drank a whole bottle of beer, and then started another one, but was too drunk before he even got to drink half of it. But because no beer goes to waste in this household, Hyungwon finished it instead, apart from drinking two other bottles.

The next day Minhyuk still looks a little down, but he isn't as crestfallen as he was last night, and he actually smiles when Hyunwoo greets them both in the kitchen, his laptop and some papers messy on the table.

It's not his best smile, but visibly some of the last night's stress is gone and Hyungwon is happy to see that.

"I'm making breakfast," Hyungwon announces at the same time as Minhyuk sits down by the table. "Hyunwoo, did you eat?"

"Yeah, and actually I'm leaving in five minutes."

"Aw, we didn't even get to hang out yesterday," Minhyuk whines, pouting.

He rests his elbows on the table and props his chin on his hands, looking at Hyunwoo with puppy eyes. Too bad it doesn't work on Hyunwoo. He's not Hyungwon.

"Sorry, Min," Hyunwoo apologizes as he gets up from the table and starts packing the papers in his briefcase. "It's important, but next time you come here I will be here, too."

"You must," Minhyuk says.

Hyunwoo smiles warmly at him and ruffles his hair. Minhyuk grins at him.

Hyungwon feels something weird in the pit of his stomach.

"Ramen?" Hyungwon asks, as if he could offer anything else.

Minhyuk doesn't seem to mind, though. "Yes, please."

His expression is dreamy as he smiles at him and Hyungwon just smiles back before he starts preparing the food.

"Have a nice morning, then," Hyunwoo says, and suddenly he's awkward again, although he wasn't just moments ago. "Glad to see your date went well," he teases.

For the first time in a long period Hyungwon hesitates about telling Hyunwoo that they're not dating. Before he can, though, Minhyuk is already laughing.

"It was the best," he sing-songs. "Hyungwon was a total sweetheart."

Hyunwoo looks at Hyungwon with a cocked brow and Hyungwon feels warm all over. He wants to say that Minhyuk is just joking, but the words die in his throat, and before he can get himself to do anything Hyunwoo is already out of the kitchen. Hyungwon won't run after him just to explain Minhyuk's joke, so he gets back to making ramen.

"It's really such a shame that Hyunwoo didn't get to spend some time with us," Minhyuk says once they both hear the door after Hyunwoo close. "He's getting more and more awkward with me."

So Minhyuk probably doesn't know that it's not Minhyuk himself that makes Hyunwoo awkward.

"He's not awkward because of you," Hyungwon answers before Minhyuk can overthink it and start sulking.

Minhyuk blinks, slowly and unevenly. "How so?"

"He's known us for years but still isn't used to how close we are," Hyungwon tells him.

Domestic, was what Hoseok told him a few days earlier. Hyungwon wonders if he can really call the way they behave with each other domestic.

"Hyunwoo had a long time to get used to that," Minhyuk says, taken aback.

Hyungwon shrugs. There's not much he can do about it. "That's just how he is."

They don't talk much when Hyungwon is busy preparing ramen, and even less when they're eating. Minhyuk makes sporadic comments or says whatever he can think about in the moment, but there's nothing to actually talk about.

"Say," Hyungwon starts when they're done eating and he puts the bowls in the sink. He will take care of them once Minhyuk leaves. Or, maybe Hyunwoo will, if Hyungwon is lucky. "What do you think when everyone jokes about us?"

"Jokes?" Minhyuk asks, confused. Hyungwon looks at him with a frown and Minhyuk realizes what Hyungwon is talking about. "Ah, this. Dunno, it's pretty funny when they make comments all the time, don't you think?"

"I don't know." Hyungwon sighs as he sits down again by the table. "Isn't it weird?"

"Why would it be weird?"

"Because we're not together," Hyungwon says, as if it was enough, but Minhyuk still seems confused. "You know, if you get a boyfriend one day, won't the joke bother you?"

Minhyuk hums. "I think they'll stop then. The joke will last only as long as we're single."

"Okay, but if there's someone you like and you want to flirt and—and they still don't stop, won't it bother you then?"

Minhyuk juts out his bottom lip in thought. "If I start crushing on someone and the joke bothers me I will probably tell them about it. I guess they will stop then."

It doesn't seem that he minds the jokes, though, and Hyungwon is lost. He feels weird for giving it so much thought when Minhyuk doesn't seem to think about it at all.

"And you—uh, you're not crushing on anyone now, right?"

Minhyuk stares at him. "Uh, no, why?" he asks. "You know I would tell you."

"Oh."

There's much more that Hyungwon wants to ask but doesn't know how. Minhyuk seems to know that there's more to it, judging by the way he observes Hyungwon closely.

"Why are you so awkward suddenly?" Minhyuk asks. "You're more awkward than Hyunwoo, and that's something."

"I'm not awkward."

"I can see that there's something more but you don't want to tell me," Minhyuk points out. "I get it, you don't have to tell me everything, but you're never so tense!"

"I'm not tense," Hyungwon says, irritated.

Why does Minhyuk have to be so nosy? On the other hand, it's not like Hyungwon doesn't want him to be.

Actually, it's better than Minhyuk being oblivious to everything.

"It's just that," Hyungwon stops, biting his bottom lip. Okay, maybe Minhyuk was right. Maybe he is a little awkward. "I have been thinking about it a lot, you know."

"About the jokes?"

"About dating."

Minhyuk looks shocked and Hyungwon feels so stupid for blurting it out just like this.

"I mean—" he clears his throat. "—it's been so long since I had something serious with anyone, since we both had, and somehow the jokes make it... you know."

Hyungwon regrets everything. He regrets his life. He regrets ever talking to Minhyuk.

He wishes the floor would swallow him.

"I... know?" Minhyuk echoes. "You mean, the jokes made you think about dating?"

"Don't tell me you're not thinking about it at all."

"Of course I am." Minhyuk states. "I want a relationship. Maybe not necessarily now, but it's nice to have someone, I guess. And I hope I will get to have a relationship at some point." He then sighs in thought. "Life can be pretty lonely otherwise."

Hyungwon nods. He swallows hard.

Somehow the thought of Minhyuk dating someone, some hypothetical man doesn't sit right with him, even though he knows he has no say in this.

"Do you sometimes wonder," Hyungwon starts, unsure, "if you would make a good boyfriend?"

"I don't know, I hope I would?" Minhyuk says, more like asks, as he rests his chin on his palm. "I think I would try. Honestly, I have no idea what it means to be a good partner," he admits. Then, Minhyuk chuckles. "I guess the biggest problem would be my clinginess."

"Oh yeah, that's annoying," Hyungwon comments.

Minhyuk makes a scandalized expression. "Hey!"

"I'm just stating the truth," Hyungwon tries to defend himself. "Like a good friend should!"

Suddenly Minhyuk kicks Hyungwon's shin under the table and Hyungwon glares at him.

"You deserve it," Minhyuk states with a proud smile.

They stare at each other before both of them burst out laughing. Minhyuk buries his face in his arms on the table and Hyungwon massages his shin as they try to calm down.

"You're so stupid," Hyungwon says with no malice.

Minhyuk lifts his head and looks at him with shiny eyes and an amused expression. He chuckles again and then sighs in thought, his eyes never leaving Hyungwon.

The sudden change makes Hyungwon a little uncomfortable.

"What?"

"You would be a good boyfriend," Minhyuk tells him.

Hyungwon blinks, confused. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Minhyuk smiles warmly. "You're caring, you know? You're always here when I need you, and you always make me feel calm. It's like, no matter what my problems are, I can always take a break when I'm with you. You have this kind of aura."

"Aura," Hyungwon repeats. "You're making up stuff."

"No, I'm not," Minhyuk promises, and he looks so genuine Hyungwon doesn't know what to think about it. "You're also funny and handsome. Whoever ends up dating you will be lucky."

Sappiness is not Minhyuk's thing. It's more Hyungwon's, but even he doesn't get sappy very often, so the sudden confession takes him aback.

"Uh, thank you?"

Minhyuk frowns. "Don't look at me like that." He slaps Hyungwon's forearm slightly. "I know you the best, of course I know if you're a catch or not."

"A catch?" Hyungwon laughs. "Minhyuk, how much have you drunk yesterday?"

"Not that much!" Minhyuk complains. "Ugh, I only wanted to have a nice moment here, why do I even try."

Minhyuk is late.

It's probably nothing, people are late all the time. But Minhyuk is hardly ever late, he comes too early if anything, and Hyungwon can't help but frown. He texted Minhyuk five minutes ago where he is but no reply came.

Hyungwon checks the time on his phone. It's still early enough and Hyungwon knows he may exaggerate but it's not like he can actually convince himself to stop worrying.

He's lying on his bed, trying to busy himself with his phone while he's waiting. It's raining outside and for a short second Hyungwon wonders that maybe Minhyuk decided not to come in this weather after all, but he quickly dismisses the thought. Minhyuk would have texted him if he wanted to cancel their plans.

Hyungwon's waiting ends a few minutes later when there's knocking against the front door. He gets up, half relieved that Minhyuk is finally here, half exasperated that the other kept him waiting and made him worried.

When he opens the door he's greeted with Minhyuk's grin.

Hyungwon furrows his brows at the sight of Minhyuk. His hair and clothes are wet. There's a backpack on his back. He's not holding an umbrella.

"Sorry for coming late," Minhyuk says sheepishly.

He walks past Hyungwon into the apartment and Hyungwon closes the door after him.

"I wanted to text you but my phone died. Can I charge it in your room?"

"Sure." Hyungwon just shrugs. "Did you forget your umbrella? Have you seen the weather before you left?"

"I didn't forget," Minhyuk tells him, placing his backpack by the wall before he starts taking off his shoes. "Hoseok drove me here and I thought there's no point getting my umbrella when I just needed to run from his car to your building."

Hyungwon observes him closely. "You can take a shower if you want to."

Minhyuk smiles brightly at Hyungwon. "Aw, really?"

"I will get you some clothes. You can leave yours in the bathroom."

So Minhyuk showers and fifteen minutes later he steps out of the bathroom. He's wearing one of Hyungwon's oversized T-shirts. It almost slips off his shoulder, and the sleeves reach past his elbows. He seems comfortable, though.

His hair is still wet, a towel hung on his shoulders. He's holding Hyungwon's hair dryer. Hyungwon knows that Minhyuk probably tried all hair products that Hyungwon keeps in the shower, but he doesn't say anything. He's again lying on his bed, and when Minhyuk walks in he sits up, gesturing for the other to come closer.

"Give me the towel and sit down on the floor."

Minhyuk obeys happily. He closes his eyes when Hyungwon puts the towel on his hair and starts drying it.

"Wow," Minhyuk says with a light tone. "If I knew this is what I get when I show up all wet at your doorstep I would come every time it's raining."

Hyungwon frowns. He puts a little more force into drying Minhyuk's hair and Minhyuk starts screaming as he hits Hyungwon's arms. "Wait, stop!"

"I wouldn't let you in if you tried that on purpose," Hyungwon tells him. He puts the towel on the backrest of his desk chair.

Minhyuk looks at him, feigning betrayal.

"You would get sick and be a total jerk to me the whole time because you'd think you're dying," Hyungwon continues.

"Not true," Minhyuk argues. "I'm nice when I'm sick."

"No, you're not." Hyungwon takes the hair dryer and plugs it in.

"You're saying that only because of that one time in high school when I had flu and wouldn't let—" Minhyuk's words are cut off when Hyungwon turns on the hair dryer. Minhyuk looks mildly irritated that Hyungwon didn't wait for him to finish, but sits calmly as Hyungwon starts drying his hair.

Hyungwon's fingers are gentle as they run through Minhyuk's hair. Although it doesn't take long, Hyungwon takes his time, making sure that the hair is completely dry before turning off the dryer. He doesn't want to risk Minhyuk actually getting sick.

When he's done he turns it off, unplugs and leaves the dryer on his desk, next to the snacks he got earlier from a convenience store.

"What are we watching today?" Minhyuk asks as he takes a bag of chips and plops down on Hyungwon's bed. "Did you choose anything?"

"I dunno." Hyungwon sighs as he unlocks his phone and taps on the Netflix app. "Movie or drama?"

"Movie," Minhyuk decides quickly, opening the bag. He fishes out a big piece and puts it in his mouth happily, breaking the chip in half with a loud crunch. "I've finally started watching Itaewon Class, don't wanna start anything else."

"I watched that," Hyungwon mutters. "We can watch the next episode if you want to."

"Nah." Minhyuk takes another chip. "Still wanna see a movie."

Hyungwon nods, reading the titles, deep in thought, because nothing seems really interesting. Minhyuk makes himself comfortable against Hyungwon's pillow, and before Hyungwon knows he's taking almost the whole bed. When he realizes that he sends Minhyuk an exasperated look and slaps his thigh.

"Don't take the whole bed," he complains.

"There's still plenty of room left!" Minhyuk argues. "Hey, pass me soda, would you?"

Hyungwon raises his brows, as if Minhyuk really expected him to serve Minhyuk when Minhyuk was acting like a brat.

Minhyuk rolls his eyes. "You're closer," he says. "Come on, you only need to use your hand. I would need to get up to have it."

Hyungwon sighs again. He's weak. He lets Minhyuk do whatever Minhyuk wants to do. It shouldn't be like this, Hyungwon should be firmer, but he ends up taking the can and giving it to Minhyuk.

Satisfied, Minhyuk takes it from him.

As he does, the sleeve of his (Hyungwon's) T-shirt rolls up a little, but enough to show something very red on his arm. It catches Hyungwon's attention and before Hyungwon knows what he's doing he grabs Minhyuk's elbow.

"Wait," he says, and Minhyuk looks confused. "What is this?"

He rolls up the sleeve further. There is a red bruise there, and it wasn't a trick of light. It's larger than Hyungwon thought, and it looks painful.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

"Oh," Minhyuk whispers, eyeing the bruise on his arm. He shrugs. "Nothing, just a small accident."

He rolls the sleeve down. Hyungwon lets go of Minhyuk's elbow, his brows still furrowed in concern. Minhyuk, on the other hand, doesn't seem worried at all.

"What accident?" Hyungwon asks.

Minhyuk shrugs again. He opens the can and starts drinking the soda, and Hyungwon's frown deepens.

"Minhyuk."

"It's really nothing," Minhyuk says, pulling out from the can quickly, a little of soda dripping down his chin before Minhyuk wipes it with the back of his hand. "Accidents happen."

"What kind of an accident?"

Minhyuk takes a second too long to answer, and when he does he mutters something so quickly and quietly Hyungwon doesn't get it at first.

"What?" he asks, squinting his eyes, as if that would help him hear better.

Minhyuk sighs. "I fell off a horse."

Hyungwon blinks. A second passes. Another one. Minhyuk stays still, waiting for Hyungwon to say something, because him being frozen was definitely not a reaction he expected.

"Wait." Hyungwon inhales sharply. "You fell? Off a fucking horse?"

"Yeah. Those happen," Minhyuk says as if it was no big deal. As if Hyungwon wasn't having a mental breakdown, or something.

Minhyuk fell off a horse and hurt his arm. He could have broken it. It's probably a miracle it isn't broken. How can Minhyuk be so calm about it? He could have broken his arm, or maybe, if he fell a little differently, he could have hurt something else. He could have broken his neck, for example, and Hyungwon is panicking at this point.

"Hey." Minhyuk smiles. "I'm okay," he laughs.

Laughs. He laughs. He fucking laughs. Minhyuk has the audacity to laugh when Hyungwon is imagining how his best friend could be dead at the very moment.

"How—" he begins but stops, doesn't know how to finish. He doesn't know what he wants to say. He just wants Minhyuk not to laugh when he's talking about something as serious as falling off a horse. "What do you mean, you're okay? You're hurt! You fell off a horse, Minhyuk!"

"Yes, not for the first time," Minhyuk says lightly and Hyungwon gawks at him. "It's normal. It doesn't happen often, though. Don't look at me like that, I'm alright!"

"I'm just trying to understand!" Hyungwon exclaims. "You fell! You could have broken your arm!"

"I didn't," Minhyuk stresses, exasperated. "Hoseok was there. He took me to ER and I got an X-ray, everything is fine. That's why he drove me here today and why I was late in the first place."

"But still, why are you so calm about it!"

"Because it's not the first time," Minhyuk says simply. "Seriously, don't make such a fuss. It's alright."

Hyungwon stares at Minhyuk, unable to understand how exactly getting hurt is alright. But before he can argue more Minhyuk pats Hyungwon's cheek, gently but condescendingly.

"Come on, you big, big baby," Minhyuk coos at him sweetly. "You were supposed to choose a movie."

Honestly, Hyungwon doesn't feel like watching anything anymore, but Minhyuk is smiling at him again, and he actually looks alright, so maybe Hyungwon should really drop the subject. Even though he doesn't want to, with the thought of Minhyuk doing anything dangerous unable to leave his mind.

Hyungwon scowls as he punches the keys, glaring at the screen as if his laptop offended him and his whole family. He doesn't notice Hyunwoo looking at him from the couch where he was reading a book.

It continues like this for a few more minutes before Hyunwoo finally closes his book and sits up straight. "Hey, you okay?" he asks.

Hyungwon looks at him, his scowl remaining, and Hyunwoo raises his brows.

"Yeah," Hyungwon mutters. "Just working."

Hyunwoo nods, his eyes never leaving Hyungwon. Hyungwon doesn't care, just keeps on hitting the keys as he tries to keep his head clear enough to write the damn email. The lingering thought of Minhyuk makes it difficult, though.

Minhyuk is busy today. He's busy very often, just like Hyungwon, but when they're free at the same time they always try to spend the time together. It's not an obligation, more like tradition at this point. And sometimes they break it, and it's okay. Things happen, and it's never a problem when one of them cancels their plans.

But this time Minhyuk is busy with Jeonghan and Hyungwon doesn't know how to be calm about it.

There's something weird about Minhyuk and Jeonghan. Or at least, used to be. Hyungwon isn't sure what, he never dared to ask, mainly because he thought that Minhyuk would tell him in due time. But Minhyuk never did, he was secretive about it instead.

Best friends, his ass.

It was during their university days. Hyungwon was suspicious that maybe Minhyuk had a crush on Jeonghan, and from what he saw, it could be requited, although he didn't know Jeonghan well enough to say for sure. The two were weird together, and Hyungwon waited patiently for Minhyuk to come to him to talk about it, but before he did they graduated. From what Hyungwon knows, Minhyuk lost contact with Jeonghan, and their lives continued like this.

Until yesterday when Minhyuk sent him a text saying that he's cancelling their plans because he had a sudden encounter with Jeonghan and the two of them wanted to make plans to catch up.

Now, here Hyungwon is. Abandoned and alone.

Fucking Jeonghan. And fucking Minhyuk. Now Hyungwon is thinking about them again, when he tried so hard not to.

Hyungwon didn't notice that Hyunwoo left the room at some point and realizes only when Hyunwoo returns. "Hey, did you see the kitchen scissors?"

"Check in the drawer," Hyungwon says, as if Hyunwoo wouldn't think to check the place where they usually leave it.

"I checked. It's gone."

Hyungwon frowns. "Oh," he says.

He tries to remember when he used scissors last time, and it takes him a while to remember that it was Minhyuk who did, when he came over a few days ago. Hyungwon told him where the scissors were, and Minhyuk took them, but later Hyungwon didn't care where Minhyuk left them.

And then, he's enlightened. "Check the second drawer from the fridge," he tells Hyunwoo.

Hyunwoo disappears in the kitchen, and a few moments later he shouts thanks!

Hyungwon sighs and looks at his screen again. Oh, right. The email.

He doesn't remember what he wanted to write.

Hyungwon tries to recall what he wanted to put in it. He starts typing again. The sentence sounds awkward and Hyungwon wants to die.

Hyunwoo comes back from the kitchen and sits down on the couch again, taking his book.

"Why did you put the scissors there?" he asks and Hyungwon glances at him, not understanding, before he remembers what happened a few moments earlier.

"Minhyuk did, probably," he says simply, turning his attention back to his laptop. "That's where he keeps them at his place."

It takes a second too long for Hyungwon to realize how easily he talks about Minhyuk being comfortable at their place. Hyunwoo told him some time ago that he doesn't mind, but now Hyungwon thinks that maybe he does mind after all.

"Sorry," he apologizes sheepishly. "Next time I will make sure he doesn't misplace anything."

"No, it's okay," Hyunwoo says. "By the way, isn't he coming today?"

It should be ridiculous how fast Hyungwon's expression darkens.

"No," he just says.

His attitude clearly confuses Hyunwoo. "Really? I thought you had plans."

"Well, plans changed," Hyungwon cuts him. "He's busy."

"Busy with what?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Hyungwon asks. "I'm not his fucking nanny."

He wishes he didn't know. He really does.

The worst thing is that it isn't Hyungwon's business. Minhyuk may be meeting Jeonghan right now and that's totally okay. Minhyuk can spend time with whomever he wants to and Hyungwon has no right to mind. He doesn't understand why it bothers him so much.

He looks at Hyunwoo, who seems surprised by his outburst. Hyungwon sighs, massaging his temples.

"Sorry," he says. "He's meeting an old friend from university. They haven't seen each other in years."

Hyunwoo nods, and his expression changes slightly. It's as if there was something more, something they both should know about it, but only Hyunwoo is aware of. Hyungwon frowns but decides to ignore his roommate and go back to work instead.

However, Hyunwoo doesn't let him.

"You know that there's nothing bad in meeting your old friends, right?" he asks.

Hyungwon stares at him. "Of course."

It should be a given.

"But there's nothing bad in admitting you're jealous, either."

Hyungwon blinks in confusion. "But I'm not jealous."

Hyunwoo's expression is unreadable and Hyungwon has no idea what it means.

"You know," Hyunwoo starts, and suddenly he sounds much older, as if he was about to share some worldly wisdom to Hyungwon. "I don't want to interfere in whatever this is, between the two of you, but remember that Minhyuk won't be yours forever."

Hyungwon straightens his back, even more lost than before. "What?"

"You can't just hope that he will be there all the time. You should either accept that he is going to find someone one day, or, if you don't want to accept it, you should do something about it."

"Do something about what?" Hyungwon asks. "What do you mean?"

Hyunwoo looks at him. "Are you sure you're not jealous?"

Weirdly, Hyungwon is at a loss for words, and Hyunwoo nods.

"That's what I thought."

"I'm not jealous," Hyungwon repeats, a bit too late.

Hyunwoo sighs. He gets up. "Sure you're not," he says, and he sounds so unconvinced that Hyungwon wants to start arguing about it, although there's no point. "Just, remember. Nothing will change if you don't do anything."

And then he leaves Hyungwon dumbfounded in their living room.

Hyunwoo has no right to be, well, right.

He isn't. He shouldn't be. Hyungwon tells himself that Hyunwoo meant something different than what Hyungwon is thinking about now, but the more Hyungwon tries to convince himself the more he realizes that he's just lying to himself.

Hyungwon doesn't know if it makes everything easier or harder.

It's both, he decides in the end. Because now it's so much easier to accept what Hyungwon feels and what he wants, but it's also much harder to accept that the outcome may not be what Hyungwon hopes for. The thought that Hyungwon finally realized what it all is about, only to have his hopes crushed, is painful. And Hyungwon is scared to touch the subject.

It's also hard to hang out with Minhyuk and act as if nothing was wrong. As if Minhyuk's mere presence wasn't enough to make Hyungwon doubt in everything.

They're on Minhyuk's bed. Minhyuk reads some book while Hyungwon stares at his phone, lost in thoughts.

His occasional sighs are what gets Minhyuk's attention.

"Why are you so tense?" Minhyuk asks when Hyungwon sighs for another time that day.

He puts his hand on Hyungwon's nape and starts rubbing slow circles on the skin.

It's so normal. Minhyuk always does everything without a thought, and Hyungwon is used to it. Minhyuk being so lovely shouldn't send him into an existential crisis.

Hyungwon both does and doesn't want to tell Minhyuk about his dilemma. A part of him, a very big, unsure, and insecure part of him screams at him that he should wait. Maybe Hyungwon has felt lonely for way too long and now he's going crazy, and he reads his close friendship with Minhyuk wrong. He doesn't want to touch the subject only to realize that he's been mistaken the whole time.

Another part of him, much quieter, tells him that he would never be mistaken when it comes to Minhyuk of all people. They've been together for way too long, and they've been way too close. Any misunderstanding of this sort would have been cleared long ago.

"Seriously." Minhyuk frowns worriedly as his fingers start scratching gently Hyungwon's nape.

It's pleasant, and Hyungwon tries to relax his shoulders. He drops his phone next to him.

Minhyuk's concern is prominent in his gaze and in his actions, and Hyungwon's throat feels tight. Can Minhyuk not be an absolute angel in the very moment that Hyungwon is having a breakdown because of his possible (certain) feelings that he has for his best friend?

"What is stressing you out so much?" Minhyuk asks.

"Work, I guess," Hyungwon says.

He closes his eyes as Minhyuk keeps trying to help him relax.

"You're working too hard," Minhyuk complains. Hyungwon is about to die. "You should take it easy. I know you're a perfectionist, but this can't be healthy."

"Yeah, yeah."

Hyungwon doesn't see Minhyuk's frown deepen. "I'm serious."

Hyungwon opens his eyes and turns his head to look at Minhyuk. Their eyes meet and Hyungwon swallows. "I will take it easy," he promises. "Don't worry, please."

There's a moment of silence before Minhyuk manages a smile for him. "I can't help but worry about you, baby," he says sweetly, and Hyungwon returns the smile.

Minhyuk's fingers still feel wonderful.

"You worry too much," he says. Minhyuk's fingers stop massaging his nape and Hyungwon whines in discontent.

Minhyuk's smile widens as his arm drops beside him. He still looks concerned, but not as alarmed as before. "Remember, you promised. You better keep it."

"I will." Hyungwon nods. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Minhyuk moves closer to Hyungwon. He rests his head against Hyungwon's shoulder and Hyungwon puts his arm around Minhyuk to be more comfortable as Minhyuk returns to reading his book.

It's calm like this. It's like nothing would bother them right now, and yet Hyungwon can't help but be bothered by the thoughts that keep swimming in his head. He wants to tell Minhyuk about at least some of them, but he's scared. He doesn't know how he should start. He's scared of ruining everything, but he doesn't even know where everything begins. What if something changes because of him? What if it ruins their friendship?

What if Minhyuk hates it when Hyungwon tries to explain everything to him?

Hyungwon spends long minutes wondering what he should do before he finally coughs awkwardly. Minhyuk looks at him, and Hyungwon feels stupid.

"By the way," he starts, and he must sound so uncomfortable. Minhyuk must be wondering. "How did it go with Jeonghan?"

"It was pretty nice," Minhyuk says.

It would be nice if Hyungwon knew what pretty nice could mean in that context.

"We went to a pub. Spent there more time than I thought I would, but I had fun."

Hyungwon frowns. "You went to a pub?" he asks. "I thought you said you wouldn't drink this month anymore."

Minhyuk snorts at Hyungwon's comment. "I didn't," he calms Hyungwon down. "I had non-alcoholic beer. But Jeonghan suggested that place, and I didn't know where else we should go, honestly. Usually when I'm hanging out with you we're at home, so I had no places to think about."

Hyungwon knows he shouldn't pay this much attention to it but he can't help himself when he smiles. "You thought about me?" he teases.

"Yes, and let me tell you, we should stop being lazy and go somewhere," Minhyuk says, exasperated. "I don't know any calm places to hang out with friends here!"

Hyungwon chuckles at that. While it did help improve his mood, he's still nervous. And he still doesn't know where he should go from there. How to direct the conversation. He starts playing with his fingers, and Minhyuk, being attentive as he is, of course notices how Hyungwon isn't himself today.

"Something's wrong." It's not a question but a statement, and Hyungwon doesn't have to respond, but he feels stupid for staying silent. Minhyuk looks in his eyes. "Hyungwon, what's going on?"

"Nothing," he lies, knowing well that Minhyuk won't buy it.

"Bullshit," Minhyuk says, closing his book and putting it next to him before he pays his full attention to Hyungwon. "You're different today. Are you upset?"

Hyungwon hesitates, wondering if now is the right time to tell Minhyuk about everything.

"Oh no," Minhyuk mutters as he cups Hyungwon's cheeks. "You are upset."

"No, wait," Hyungwon says. He grabs Minhyuk's wrists, but doesn't remove Minhyuk's hands. "I'm not upset."

"You look upset," Minhyuk observes. "Either way, something must have happened."

Hyungwon inhales. He isn't upset, just nervous. "Actually, nothing really happened—"

"Something must have happened," Minhyuk argues. He looks determined. "You should say when something is wrong. Please, don't keep everything to yourself."

Hyungwon stays still for a moment. He's scared what Minhyuk will think.

Now is not a good time, he thinks. He can't say anything now.

But he can't choose to say nothing, either.

"It's stupid," he finally decides is the right thing to say.

Minhyuk shakes his head. "If it upsets you, it can't be stupid," he says firmly. "Don't think it's stupid, I promise it's not. Whatever it is."

"No, but it really is."

Minhyuk bites his bottom lip. "Even if you think it's stupid, it's probably not worth keeping it to yourself if it upsets you," he says. "Sorry, I don't want to force you to tell me anything, you don't have to tell me, I'm just worried—"

"Minhyuk," Hyungwon tries to cut him when Minhyuk starts rambling.

"—just, if you promise to talk to someone about it—"

"Minhyuk." Hyungwon finally manages to interrupt him. "Actually, if I am telling someone about it, it probably should be you."

Stop, you idiot, he thinks. Now is not the time. Definitely not the time. Now is the worst time ever.

"I will always listen to you," Minhyuk's voice is so warm that Hyungwon almost melts. "Remember, I'm here for you."

Oh, fuck it.

Hyungwon takes a deep breath. He can't believe he's about to do it. "I'm just scared," he admits.

Minhyuk frowns, taken aback. "Of what?" he asks and Hyungwon swallows thickly.

How does he even explain something like this?

Hyungwon doesn't answer immediately, and Minhyuk waits patiently. He doesn't rush Hyungwon. He lets Hyungwon take his time, must know that whatever it is it demands some kind of preparation that Hyungwon couldn't do earlier.

The atmosphere between them is strange, like Hyungwon feared it would be, although he knows Minhyuk tries to make sure Hyungwon is comfortable to share whatever burdens him.

Maybe it's only Hyungwon that finds the situation awkward.

Hyungwon wets his lips. "It's weird," he says finally, as a warning.

Minhyuk doesn't even blink. "You can say anything. You know I won't judge you."

That's true. Minhyuk would never. But somehow it does little to placate Hyungwon, and he wishes he could take his words back.

However, Hyungwon has said too much already, and he can't back off now. Minhyuk will have more questions then and the more Hyungwon prolongs telling him the truth the worse it will turn out.

"You remember when we talked about dating?" he asks.

Minhyuk looks confused for a split second, clearly not having predicted that Hyungwon would bring up that of all things, but still nods.

"Remember what we said?"

"Are you still thinking about that?" Minhyuk asks instead of answering. "Are you worried about finding someone? About being a good boyfriend?"

Hyungwon doesn't know what to say, so he just nods. Minhyuk smiles reassuringly.

"You have nothing to worry about," he tells Hyungwon calmly. "I'm sure you will find someone you love, and you will be a great boyfriend to them."

"The thing is," Hyungwon continues. He thinks his chin is trembling. His stomach feels tight. He rubs his hands together. "I don't think I will ever meet someone like that."

Minhyuk's expression changes, and suddenly he looks so sad. Hyungwon doesn't know why until Minhyuk speaks up. "Hyungwon, no," he says, taking Hyungwon's hands in his. "You can't think like that. You will find someone."

"No, that's not what I meant," Hyungwon tries to explain sheepishly. It feels weird to hear Minhyuk try to comfort him like this. "It's about something else."

Minhyuk waits for Hyungwon to explain it to him, but Hyungwon doesn't know how.

Hyungwon looks in his eyes. It feels like a mistake. Like the worst, dumbest mistake in his whole stupid, idiotic life. Hyungwon should have kept his mouth shut.

But he didn't, and he can't stop now, so he says, with as much sincerity as he can muster, "you're so important to me."

Minhyuk blinks. "You're important to me, too," he responds without hesitation.

He squeezes Hyungwon's hands reassuringly, and Hyungwon thinks he will explode.

"I didn't mean like that," Hyungwon tells him. "I don't know how I should say it, but the thing is, you're the most important person in my life. I can't imagine meeting someone who would be more important to me than you are."

Minhyuk looks lost. For the first time he seems so lost that he doesn't know how to keep up his comforting demeanor.

He stares at Hyungwon with eyes filled with confusion and fear strikes Hyungwon once again.

Still, he can't back off.

"Even if I meet someone that I can fall in love with and build a romantic relationship with, I can't imagine them being more important to me than you are," Hyungwon continues. He tried to prepare himself, there were many things he was supposed to say, but he forgot everything and now he's saying whatever he can think about. "It sounds weird, I know, but please, just listen."

"Hyungwon," Minhyuk says, and his voice sounds different than it was just moments ago. "What are you talking about?"

Hyungwon bites his bottom lip.

He doesn't know what Minhyuk expects to hear. It feels like a mistake. Hyungwon didn't know how Minhyuk would react, and so he didn't know how to prepare himself for whatever Minhyuk would tell him. But now, when Minhyuk is trying to figure out everything, Hyungwon feels like he should have never said anything.

He really ruined their friendship right now, didn't he?

Hyungwon looks at their hands, clasped together on top of his thighs, refusing to lift his eyes.

If Minhyuk rejects him, that's fine. Hyungwon can deal with it. If only their friendship would stay like this, unchanged, he can deal with it. But what Hyungwon can't deal with is how sorry Minhyuk will look while rejecting him.

How ridiculous, he scoffs in his thoughts.

"Hyungwon," Minhyuk calls his name, but Hyungwon is still too scared to look up.

But then Minhyuk starts stroking Hyungwon's hands with his thumbs, and somehow, because of this, Hyungwon has no other choice than to lift his gaze and look at Minhyuk's face.

"I'm not sure if I understand what you're trying to tell me," Minhyuk begins. "I'm slow, you know. You need to help me here."

He tries to smile. Minhyuk is not slow. He is sharp, and bright, Hyungwon has always known that, and he knows that Minhyuk tried to joke just now to loosen the tense atmosphere, but unfortunately, he failed.

"Are you maybe—" Minhyuk pauses, as if searching for the correct word to use. "—confused?"

"Confused?" Hyungwon repeats.

"I'm sorry if I read it wrong, or misunderstood what you tried to tell me, but..."

He trails off. Hyungwon looks at him expectantly.

And then, Minhyuk continues, "do you think you have... romantic feelings towards me?"

Hyungwon stares at Minhyuk for a few long seconds before he finally nods slowly.

Minhyuk lets out a long sigh. Hyungwon doesn't know what it means. He wants to retract his hands, but Minhyuk is still holding them, and Hyungwon doesn't dare to move. Minhyuk's small caresses against Hyungwon's knuckles bring him comfort that Hyungwon needs.

"Please," Minhyuk whispers. "Say it. Because I can't afford to be mistaken about it."

Hyungwon's breath hitches. "You're right," he says. "I think I do—" he exhales shakily, "—have romantic feelings towards you."

Minhyuk nods. His thumbs don't stop caressing Hyungwon's hands.

"But you're not sure?"

"There are so many things I'm unsure about," Hyungwon admits. "But please, tell me what you think about it. Are you weirded out? Do you want me to leave? I wouldn't blame you if you wanted—"

"Hyungwon." Minhyuk cuts him off, his voice is firm. "Stop worrying. I'm not weirded out."

Hyungwon blinks. "You're not?"

Minhyuk shakes his head. Hyungwon lets out his breath, not having realized that he's been holding it.

But Minhyuk's expression is still unreadable as he stares with unfocused eyes at their hands, and Hyungwon still doesn't know what it means.

Then, Minhyuk lifts his head, his eyes meet Hyungwon's, and asks, "do you want to kiss me?"

The question takes Hyungwon aback. "Do I want to what?" he asks, thinking he must have misheard it.

"Kiss me," Minhyuk repeats. "Because you can."

Hyungwon is speechless. He wants to, of course he does, but it's so sudden and he doesn't know if he should. He doesn't know if Minhyuk wants to. Maybe Minhyuk is just trying to see how serious Hyungwon is about this confession of his. Maybe Minhyuk is testing him. It wouldn't make sense, Minhyuk wouldn't do that, but Hyungwon can't really think straight.

He doesn't answer.

"You can tell me," Minhyuk assures him. "Don't think you can't tell me something. That's literally the last thing I want."

"Honestly, I want to," Hyungwon answers.

Minhyuk nods. He smiles slightly. "Then, you can."

"But how can I—"

"Simply." Minhyuk shrugs. "If you want to," he repeats.

Minhyuk's smile widens, and Hyungwon thinks this smile is all the confirmation that he needs.

He moves closer to Minhyuk, looks in his eyes. They're still as warm as they were ten minutes ago, before Hyungwon started this whole confession. Hyungwon searches for reassurance, and he thinks he finds it.

Hyungwon cups Minhyuk's cheeks. When he leans in, Minhyuk closes his eyes, and Hyungwon hesitates only for a moment before he finally kisses Minhyuk.

It's so weird to have Minhyuk's lips against his, Hyungwon thinks. He tries to absorb everything that he can from this moment. He wants to remember everything, the softness of Minhyuk's lips, his warm breath that tickles Hyungwon. The way that Minhyuk's right hand rests gently against Hyungwon's cheek while his left one holds Hyungwon's shoulder.

And then Hyungwon opens his mouth and the ten years of their friendship are thrown out of the window.

Hyungwon is scared. He doesn't want to do something that Minhyuk may not like. The movement of his lips is slow, hesitant, as if the smallest thing could upset Minhyuk. Minhyuk, on the other hand, responds to everything that Hyungwon does. He lets Hyungwon lead the kiss, but doesn't fail to show that whatever Hyungwon is doing, Minhyuk enjoys it.

He's unsure at first, but with Minhyuk's response, with the way he sighs into the kiss, tilts his face to the right and repeats whatever Hyungwon is doing, Hyungwon gets slightly more confident. His hands travel to rest on Minhyuk's sides. He relaxes and lets himself sink in the comfort of Minhyuk's presence.

Nothing has ever felt so right before.

When finally Hyungwon pulls out he keeps his eyes closed for a few more seconds. He swallows, opens his eyes and looks at Minhyuk's flushed cheeks. Minhyuk is looking back at him, his eyes shining, grinning at Hyungwon, and Hyungwon feels a sudden wave of relief hit him.

He chuckles. Hyungwon rests his forehead against Minhyuk's shoulder, and Minhyuk immediately places his hand on top of his head. Minhyuk's fingers run through Hyungwon's hair, and Hyungwon thinks he could stay like this forever.

"Well," Minhyuk says quietly. "Do you regret it?"

Hyungwon wets his lips, wondering what he should say. "I don't," he says finally. "If you don't regret it either."

Minhyuk lets out a small laugh. "I don't," he promises.

Hyungwon smiles. "Then neither do I."

They stay like this for a moment.

Hyungwon still doesn't know what it means. Questions and doubts are still running through his mind and he knows he should voice them, but he doesn't know how. He doesn't want to say anything that Minhyuk may misunderstand.

But Minhyuk seems to notice Hyungwon's hesitance. He always notices.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks.

Minhyuk brushes his thumb across Hyungwon's cheek, watches his expression carefully when Hyungwon lifts his head, and Hyungwon sighs.

"I don't know what it means," he says. "What you think about it."

Minhyuk hums. He lowers his gaze in thought before looking at Hyungwon again. "You know, I think I'm the same."

Hyungwon frowns, not understanding, and Minhyuk chuckles.

"There were so many times when I wondered how it would be, to date you," Minhyuk admits with a small smile. "There were times when I almost confessed."

Hyungwon pulls away slightly, his brows furrowed. "What?"

Minhyuk just nods, his smile never leaving his lips.

"Why didn't you?" Hyungwon asks, confused.

It's true that Hyungwon was terrified of confessing his feelings to Minhyuk, but he still did it because he thought that it's the right thing to do. That Minhyuk should know. Hyungwon didn't want to hide something like this away from Minhyuk, even though he was risking so much. And even though he had never a reason to think that Minhyuk would feel the same.

But now Minhyuk is telling him that he likes Hyungwon back and Hyungwon wonders if he said nothing, would Minhyuk never say anything about it either?

"I didn't think you reciprocated," Minhyuk admits then. "You know, you always hated it when someone would mention that we're dating."

Hyungwon blinks. All the moments when his friends would joke about him and Minhyuk come back at him. He never thought that Minhyuk would mind so much if Hyungwon denied it, but now it turns out he always did.

He's so stupid.

"I'm such an idiot," Hyungwon whispers, resting his forehead against Minhyuk's shoulder again. Minhyuk laughs at his words. "Fuck, I'm such a dumbass."

"You didn't know," Minhyuk comforts him.

It doesn't help that Hyungwon is, in fact, a dumbass. Minhyuk never complained about these jokes, and Hyungwon knew he shouldn't either. It's not like they actually bothered him. Hyungwon doesn't know why he was always so set on making sure that everyone knew there was nothing between him and Minhyuk.

If not for this, there could be something between the two of them long ago.

Hyungwon is a dumbass.

"At least you realized you like me, too," Minhyuk adds lightly.

Hyungwon lifts his head. Minhyuk's eyes are warm and comforting, and Hyungwon wonders why he was so stubborn and denied himself this for so long.

Minhyuk likes him too. They could be together, if they wanted to.

They're so close to that, Hyungwon realizes breathlessly.

"So," he starts, and he should know that Minhyuk won't reject him now, but he still feels nervous. "Do you want to date? Me? Like, do you want to be my boyfriend?"

Minhyuk bursts out laughing, and Hyungwon feels stupid for asking. The question sounded stupid. Cringey. He should have never said anything. He should take the words back.

But before he can, Minhyuk grabs his right hand and holds it gently. "Of course I want to."

His smile is so bright and he sounds so happy, Hyungwon can't help but grin back at him. Then, Minhyuk kisses him.

It's only their second kiss, but it doesn't feel like it. Hyungwon is more certain now. Everything feels right, and when Hyungwon sighs in the kiss Minhyuk smiles against Hyungwon's lips.

When Minhyuk breaks the kiss he doesn't let go of Hyungwon. They're still so close, their noses are touching, and Hyungwon lets out a shaky breath. It still feels surreal.

But he's still afraid.

He should tell Minhyuk, he knows. He wants to tell him. Hyungwon doesn't want to keep anything from him anymore.

So he takes a deep breath.

"But," Hyungwon says, and Minhyuk immediately recognizes the change in his voice. He pulls out further so he can look at Hyungwon when Hyungwon shares his doubts with him. "I'm still scared."

"Why are you scared?"

Hyungwon bites his bottom lip. "What if we don't make it?" he asks, afraid to look Minhyuk in the eyes. "What happens if we break up?"

Minhyuk lets a moment of silence pass between them before he speaks up. "If we break up?" he repeats, clearly confused. Hyungwon nods. "Hyungwon, do you always start your relationships with asking what happens if you break up?"

"No, it's just, I never care about things like this," Hyungwon says, and he's worried because he doesn't know if he can explain it right. He doesn't want Minhyuk to misunderstand him. "But it's you. What if we're not good as a couple? I don't want to lose you if anything goes wrong."

Minhyuk contemplates for a moment, and Hyungwon waits nervously for what he has to say.

"You know," Minhyuk says finally. "I don't want to lose you either."

Hyungwon nods, but Minhyuk isn't done.

"If we want to be together, I think we should try," Minhyuk tells him. "Because if we can make it, I don't want to regret not trying. We could be so happy."

"But what if—"

"If something happens between us and we decide to break up," Minhyuk interrupts him, "then, well. We will just break up."

"Do you think we will just go back to being friends, like this?"

"As I said, I don't want to lose you," Minhyuk says seriously. "It depends on us what happens later. If we decide we're not good together as a couple, I think it's up to us if we go back to being friends instead of becoming just ex boyfriends."

Hyungwon nods. "So, you think we should give it a try?"

"Seriously, you're probably the only person I want to be with," Minhyuk admits. "But only if you want it, too. I don't want to force you to do anything."

"I want it too," Hyungwon answers, and probably it's the first time since his confession when he sounds so assured.

Minhyuk grins at him. "Then, let's try," he says. "We're boyfriends now."

It sounds simple enough.

The next day Hyungwon finds himself back in Minhyuk's room, waiting as Minhyuk is getting ready for their date.

It looks like being with Minhyuk needs proper training. Lesson #1: patience. And Hyungwon is about to nail it.

"We have time," he yells—very patiently, Hyungwon would say—so Minhyuk can hear him in the bathroom despite the running water.

He's sitting by Minhyuk's desk, his chin propped on his one hand, a phone in the other one, just so he can busy himself with something.

The water stops and Hyungwon waits for Minhyuk either to emerge from the bathroom or to yell something back, but nothing happens and a few moments later the water is running again. Hyungwon sighs. He puts the phone on the desk and then hides his face in his hands.

"There's no need to rush," he yells again.

"Shut up," Minhyuk finally yells back.

Minhyuk turns off the water again but this time he finally exits the bathroom. He looks annoyed but can't hide his smile as he stands in the threshold to his room, both hands on his hips.

"I'm going on a date," he says seriously. "I need to look like a living, semi-normal human being."

He says it as if Hyungwon didn't know. He says it as if Hyungwon was his best friend that was supposed to help him doll up and not his date instead. His boyfriend. It's been only one day and the word still feels foreign on Hyungwon's tongue. Hyungwon still has to ask himself if the previous day really happened and he didn't imagine it. He will get used to it soon enough, though. He hopes he will.

Minhyuk is going on a date and as far as Hyungwon is aware, he is the only one that invited Minhyuk for a date recently.

"You're ready," Hyungwon tells him, only for Minhyuk to disagree as he makes his way back to the bathroom.

"No, wait, I'm almost done, I promise."

"Minhyuk, it's been twenty minutes."

Minhyuk makes a weird sound that somewhat resembles a mix of a roar and a screech before turning to look at Hyungwon again with narrowed eyes, his hand on the door knob. "Almost. Done," he repeats and disappears in the bathroom again.

Ten minutes later and they're finally leaving, although Minhyuk is still complaining that Hyungwon came too early and Minhyuk couldn't get fully ready. Hyungwon gives up trying to convince Minhyuk that he was actually on time, as they agreed. Now Minhyuk is pouting as he gets into Hyungwon's car, and Hyungwon doesn't know how to explain to Minhyuk that he's perfect already. With his black clothes and light blond fluffy hair Hyungwon finds him stunning, to which Minhyuk just waves his hand.

"I need to make extra effort," he says, putting on the seatbelt. "It's not like everyone was born with a perfect face like you."

Hyungwon feels warm at the compliment and the next words he had die in his throat. So he just mutters something about Minhyuk being handsome and starts the car.

The day is sunny but it's not hot and Hyungwon thinks it's ideal for a date. He hopes it is.

He doesn't remember the last time he was on a date.

"Where are we going?" Minhyuk asks, fingers tapping on his knees in impatience. "You didn't want to tell me earlier."

"It's a surprise." Hyungwon says.

Minhyuk frowns. He sinks further in his seat and crosses his arms. "I don't like surprises," he complains.

And Hyungwon just chuckles. "Yes, you do."

Yes, Minhyuk does. And Hyungwon doesn't need to be his boyfriend to know that, this is a lesson he has learnt long ago, as his best friend. But there is another lesson he has to learn right now. It's lesson #2: PDA.

As soon as they exit the car Minhyuk reaches for Hyungwon's hand, and when Hyungwon gives it to him Minhyuk entwines their fingers. Hyungwon blinks at him and Minhyuk smiles.

It's one thing to be touchy with each other when they're with their friends. Being affectionate comes natural to them, especially to Minhyuk, and they don't notice it most of the time, so it was only a matter of time until they would start doing it in front of the others. But they're still their friends, a safe place. Public places are not necessarily safe, but Minhyuk doesn't seem to care. And Hyungwon thinks that maybe he doesn't care either.

But he still needs some time to get used to it. Thankfully, the weight of Minhyuk's hand in his own brings some comfort, so it won't take long.

"So," Minhyuk asks as they're standing in the parking lot, next to Hyungwon's car. "Where are we going?"

Hyungwon needs a moment to remember that Minhyuk doesn't know. He's too busy staring at him to think straight—he's too busy being gay to do anything that is straight, Minhyuk would comment—so the only answer he can muster is: "uh."

And then Minhyuk's grin widens, but only for a short moment before he leans in to kiss Hyungwon's cheek.

This provides more chaos in Hyungwon's thoughts, whose only reaction now is: "oh."

Minhyuk laughs. "You're cute," he says.

He squeezes Hyungwon's hand, and somehow this grounds Hyungwon. He blinks, embarrassed. "Let's go."

Their fingers are still entwined and Hyungwon leads Minhyuk.

Hopefully, Hyungwon soon will nail the lesson #2 as well. It shouldn't be too hard, he thinks, when they're sitting in a coffee shop. It's simple, Hyungwon knows, cliché even, but he didn't know what would be proper. It's not like they haven't spent time together before, so Hyungwon doesn't quite understand why it's stressing him out.

But the place is nice, the coffee is good, the cakes are delicious, the music is pleasant, and Minhyuk's eyes are shining as he tells vividly a story that happened two days earlier during a riding lesson when he instructed a kid. Hyungwon listens eagerly, a small smile on his lips as they wait for their coffees and cakes.

They're still holding hands, and Hyungwon can't stop himself from rubbing small circles on Minhyuk's knuckles as he stares in his eyes.

Yes, he thinks. He's about to nail it, too.

"Finally," Changkyun exclaims as he sits down by the table in a bar.

Hyungwon, Minhyuk and Kihyun chose to seat on the couch by the wall while everyone else is sitting on the chairs. Minhyuk looked eager to make sure that they would get those seats, and Hyungwon didn't know why until they sat down. He understood only when Minhyuk hugged his arm to rest his head on Hyungwon's shoulder.

He should have expected that, honestly.

No one seems bothered by that, although Changkyun rolls his eyes and Kihyun and complains why Minhyuk had to choose to sit next to him, and does anyone want to switch their seats, maybe? But no one notices it when Hyungwon and Minhyuk interlock their fingers under the table, and Hyungwon can't help but smile because their friends don't even know.

They will tell them, of course. But they haven't talked about it yet, and Hyungwon isn't sure when the time comes, but from what he sees Minhyuk wants to keep it a secret for a little longer. Hyungwon wants to keep it a secret, too. He wants to have a few more days just for them.

"What do you mean, finally?" Minhyuk laughs.

His thumb brushes Hyungwon's and Hyungwon holds his hand a little tighter.

"It's not like we haven't met three weeks ago or something," Hoseok comments.

"No, but Changkyun is right!" Jooheon says. "We used to hang out together all the time but now we're always busy."

He sounds bitter. Hyungwon snorts. "We're working," he reminds Jooheon. "It's not like we can choose not to work."

"Yeah, it's a good thing that we managed to meet again so soon," Minhyuk adds.

Kihyun shifts beside him uncomfortably. Hyungwon frowns, wondering if he imagined that, but Kihyun does seem weirdly awkward. He's never awkward, though, and for a moment Hyungwon wonders if maybe Kihyun noticed that something changed about him and Minhyuk. Maybe he knows that they're together now.

It's not that Hyungwon doesn't want his friends to know about them at all, but he isn't ready to tell them about it now. His hold on Minhyuk's hand loosens and Minhyuk looks at him questioningly, so Hyungwon grabs his hand again.

He hopes Kihyun won't ask them anything.

"We should already plan our next meeting," Jooheon offers.

Hyungwon grimaces. "I don't know if it will work—"

"No, it's a good idea," Hoseok interrupts him. Then, he looks straight at Minhyuk. "Maybe the evening after Minhyuk's competition?"

Minhyuk's eyes widen but Hoseok stays calm and unbothered. Minhyuk sits up straight, not letting go of Hyungwon's hand, but before he can say anything Kihyun cuts in. "Great idea."

"It's twenty ninth, right?" Changkyun asks casually, and Minhyuk looks at the younger, confused.

So he hasn't told them, Hyungwon supposes.

And yet they know.

Hoseok nods. "Yeah, it's Saturday—"

"Wait," Minhyuk says suddenly, "wait, why does everyone know about it?"

Jooheon looks at Minhyuk as if Minhyuk should know but it only puts Minhyuk into further confusion.

"The question is," Hoseok says, "why didn't you tell everyone about it? Do you know how ridiculous it was?"

Minhyuk is speechless, but Hyungwon knows if he were to say something, it would be something like oh, fuck.

"I felt so bad when I started talking about it and realized they don't know," Hoseok continues. "Why didn't you tell them?"

"Because it's nothing big!" Minhyuk exclaims loudly, although Hyungwon knows that he isn't mad at Hoseok. He's just shocked. "Seriously, it's definitely not big enough to tell everyone about it."

"But we wanted to know," Kihyun says simply. "Hoseok seriously thought you would tell us, he mentioned it once when we hung out with Hyunwoo some time ago."

"Yeah, imagine how fucking surprised we all were," Hoseok adds, scolding Minhyuk. He sounds disappointed that Minhyuk decided to keep it a secret. "And then I had to text everyone and it turned out that you only told Hyungwon!"

"What?" Minhyuk shrieks in betrayal as he turns to Hyungwon. "You knew Hoseok was telling everyone about it?"

"I didn't," Hyungwon says in defense. "He texted me to ask if I knew about the competition and I told him I did, that's all! I thought you mentioned to him that you wanted to tell me or something."

"How nice to hear it's only Hyungwon you would tell about something like that." Kihyun rolls his eyes.

Minhyuk gnaws at his lip. He looks troubled, and Hyungwon feels sorry for him, but he really doesn't know what he can say or do to help him right now. So he just squeezes Minhyuk's hand tighter, hoping that he can show Minhyuk reassurance this way.

"I didn't mean to hide anything," Minhyuk mumbles, embarrassed. "It's just, it's such a small thing, I didn't want to make a fuss about it," he explains, and hesitates before he adds, "I didn't know you'd make such a big deal out of it."

"Please," Changkyun snorts, although Hyungwon knows he's saying it fondly. "Of course we would want to know about that."

Minhyuk groans and covers his eyes with his palm. "It's so stupid."

"Stop with that," Kihyun frowns, slapping Minhyuk's thigh. Then, he takes a sip from his beer. "Besides, twenty ninth is a good day to meet. I will still have time."

Minhyuk turns to Kihyun with curious expression. Hyungwon looks at Kihyun curiously, waiting for Kihyun to elaborate, when Minhyuk asks, "time for what?"

Kihyun glances at Minhyuk with a troubled smile, and soon he looks at everyone else when he sets down his glass. "You see," he starts, shifting in his seat again. He's still awkward, and Hyungwon knows that it is not about him and Minhyuk being together. "I'm moving out."

"And going where?" Minhyuk asks, oblivious.

Kihyun's expression saddens. "To Incheon."

Everyone looks at each other. Kihyun waits patiently, gauging everyone's reactions.

Hyunwoo is the first one to say something. "Why? Did you get a new job, or something?"

"Yeah," Kihyun says with a small shrug, but it's obvious he's not as indifferent as he wants to come across. "I'll get paid much more in the new job, and the rent is cheaper there."

Minhyuk blinks. "You're leaving?"

"I will move out next month," Kihyun explains.

Hyungwon looks at Kihyun with a frown. Everyone looks gloomy at the news, and Kihyun laughs. "Why are you all like this?"

"You're moving, Kihyun!" Jooheon exclaims. "To another city!"

"That's, like, an hour away," Kihyun adds. "Seriously, I'm still going to come here when you want to meet. I will just be busier next month, and I won't be in Seoul all the time anymore, but it's not like I'm moving across the country or something!"

"Still, it's so weird," Minhyuk mumbles, and when he realizes what he has said he turns to Kihyun. "I mean, I'm happy for you! It's so good that you found a better job, I'm just surprised!"

"I know." Kihyun laughs again. "Thank you."

"Well," Changkyun says, grabbing his bottle and lifting it. "Let's drink."

"I can't believe," Minhyuk says when it's only him and Hyungwon.

It's past midnight. When everyone was saying their goodbyes Hyungwon decided to walk Minhyuk home, to which Minhyuk just smiled sweetly. As soon as they disappeared from their friends' eyes Minhyuk interlocked his fingers with Hyungwon's again, grinning at him as he did so. Hyungwon smiled back.

"Kihyun is moving out," Minhyuk continues, his voice sad. "He's always lived here, ever since I first met him."

"He got a better job there," Hyungwon reminds him. "It's normal for people to move out. Besides, he said he would still visit, it's really not that far."

Minhyuk sighs. "I know, but it still feels strange."

Hyungwon smiles at him comfortingly. "We will get used to it, you will see."

Minhyuk hums. "I guess we will," he says. "But, doesn't it make you think?"

Hyungwon blinks. He looks at Minhyuk, confused. "Think about what?" he asks.

Minhyuk wets his lips, as if contemplating what he should say. "Think about everything, I guess," he answered, only further confusing Hyungwon. "Life, and so on. We don't know what's going to happen, do we? Where we would end up."

To be honest, Hyungwon has never thought about that, and so he isn't sure if he understands what Minhyuk is talking about.

"Where do you think you would end up?" he decides to ask.

Minhyuk shrugs. "I don't know," he says. "I always thought I would just stay here, but I don't know it for sure." Then, he looks at Hyungwon, uncertainly. "What about you?"

Hyungwon thinks that what Minhyuk may be actually asking him is, do you think we would still be in the same place?

"I'm not planning to move out anytime soon," he tells Minhyuk. "I like it here. I have my life here, I don't know if I would be able to give up on that so easily."

Minhyuk nods. Hyungwon isn't sure if Minhyuk found comfort in his words.

A moment of silence passes between them before Minhyuk speaks again. "I don't want to give up on the life that I have here, too."

Hyungwon smiles. "Good."

He doesn't know what else to say, and Minhyuk doesn't say anything else about it either. They just walk in silence, the neighborhood quiet at this time. No one is out at this hour, and Hyungwon basks in comfort of having only Minhyuk's presence with him.

"You know," Minhyuk breaks the silence again a few moments later. "I didn't expect they would be so mad that I didn't tell them about the competition."

"They always like to know everything," Hyungwon says. "To be honest, I can't blame them. I would want to know about it, too."

"But you did know about it."

"That's why I'm not mad," Hyungwon says simply.

Minhyuk just chuckles. "Yeah, right. But it's different. You're my boyfriend, of course I would tell you."

"I wasn't your boyfriend when you told me," Hyungwon notices.

Minhyuk rolls his eyes before punching Hyungwon's arm. "Details. Besides, you were almost my boyfriend, no one would be able to tell the difference, honestly."

"That's true," Hyungwon admits. He rubs his arm. "Anyways, I'm glad you told me. If it turns out it's such a privilege," he teases.

"Shut up," Minhyuk says.

They turn right and enter Minhyuk's street. Minhyuk sighs at the sight of his apartment complex.

"Do you think they noticed anything about us?" he asks.

Hyungwon thinks about the answer for a moment. "No, I don't think so. As you said, they wouldn't tell the difference," he says. "But I thought for a moment that Kihyun knew, somehow."

Minhyuk looks at him with raised brows. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Hyungwon nods. "He was nervous, I thought it was because he realized, but then it turned out he was planning to tell us that he's moving out."

"I hope no one realizes," Minhyuk tells Hyungwon. "It's not that I don't want them to know, I just think it would be better if we told them on our own instead of waiting for them to figure that out," he explains.

Hyungwon can't help but agree. "Especially since I would always tell them that we are not together."

Minhyuk laughs at the mere mention of that. "Right."

"I still feel stupid," Hyungwon admits. "I should have never said it, now I don't know how to react when they joke like that."

"We will tell them soon, then," Minhyuk says as they stop in front of the door to Minhyuk's apartment complex. "Not now, I still want to have these few days of peace, but soon."

"Okay," Hyungwon easily agrees. It seems like a good idea to wait.

Minhyuk smiles at him and Hyungwon smiles back. It's late, they shouldn't be standing like this in front of Minhyuk's building, but Hyungwon doesn't want to leave at all. Minhyuk doesn't seem to want to go either.

"What are you doing tomorrow after work?" Hyungwon asks quietly.

Minhyuk looks apologetic. "I have training," he says. "But we can meet later, if it's not too late."

Hyungwon nods. He doesn't know what time Minhyuk will finish his training, but he would wait however long he needs to if Minhyuk would want to meet him afterwards. Hopefully, Minhyuk won't have any more injuries.

The bruise on his arm still hasn't disappeared. It's much darker than the first day.

"Text me when you're done," Hyungwon says. "If you still want to meet. Don't worry about it if you're tired," he adds.

Minhyuk just smiles brightly at him. "Okay."

Then Hyungwon kisses him on the cheek. He's still shy about it, but Minhyuk looks so happy that Hyungwon can't help but smile at him, too.

But it's too little, and Minhyuk makes sure that they're alone before he presses his lips against Hyungwon's. It's not a proper kiss, it's more like a peck, but Hyungwon feels that he's ready to combust when Minhyuk pulls out and looks in his eyes.

"Get back safely," he tells Hyungwon.

Hyungwon promises he will. Minhyuk is right, he should get going. Minhyuk should go, too.

But they still don't want to leave.

"Remember to text me tomorrow," Hyungwon reminds him and Minhyuk nods.

He kisses Minhyuk again, for the last time, he swears, because it's really late, and Minhyuk giggles against his lips. After that they finally manage to say good night to each other, and when Hyungwon is on his way back home he can't stop smiling, loving how light he feels.

"How are you doing?"

Hyungwon doesn't know what to do when he steps into the kitchen one morning. He just woke up and wanted to make breakfast for himself when he found Hyunwoo there, preparing his papers for work.

They haven't really talked that much ever since Hyunwoo made Hyungwon realize that he was jealous and he should do something about it. It's Hyungwon's fault, he knows. He avoided talking to Hyunwoo since then, mainly because he didn't know what to say. Hyungwon thought he should tell Hyunwoo about everything that happened, as a grateful friend after receiving good advice, but at the same time he doesn't really want to do it now.

He told Minhyuk that he also doesn't want anyone to know just yet.

"Fine," Hyungwon just says. He thinks that Hyunwoo may be talking about him and Minhyuk, so he prefers to stick to simple answers. "Have you eaten breakfast already?"

"Yeah. There are some eggs left, if you want to."

Hyungwon nods, eggs sound nice. He takes the box from the fridge and puts it on the kitchen counter before he prepares everything he may need.

He remembers when Minhyuk tasted his eggs for the first time and spat everything instantly. Hyungwon's pride was hurt, but he didn't say anything. Then, Minhyuk vowed to teach Hyungwon how to make eggs properly.

It was when Minhyuk was still roommates with Kihyun. Hyungwon remembers how Kihyun watched them, telling Minhyuk not to even try because Minhyuk isn't all that good at cooking either, to which Minhyuk told him to shut up. They spent an hour in the kitchen, and when they were done the eggs were amazing and Minhyuk would bask in it for the next few months, saying that Kihyun's position as the best cook is endangered. It was an empty threat, of course, no one would take that seriously, but it is a nice memory now.

At least, now Hyungwon knows how to make edible eggs.

"How are things with Minhyuk?" Hyunwoo asks then, and Hyungwon freezes momentarily.

He wished Hyunwoo wouldn't ask him about Minhyuk.

"Good," Hyunwoo says simply as he grabs a pan and pours a little of cooking oil on it. "You saw him a few days ago," he adds, as if Hyunwoo needed to be reminded.

"Yeah, but you know what I mean."

Hyungwon sighs. He really doesn't want to talk to Hyunwoo about it.

But he can't avoid him forever.

"We're good," he decides to say finally. "He's stressed about the competition, you know, so he's mainly focused on that recently."

It's not a lie, Minhyuk is worried about the competition, and he does train a lot, but to say that he's mainly focused on it is a bit of a stretch. And what Hyungwon is saying is not the full truth either, but Hyunwoo doesn't need to know that.

Thankfully, it seems that it's enough for Hyunwoo, who just nods with a smile. "He will do great, I'm sure."

Hyungwon nods. "Same."

Their conversation ends here, with Hyungwon focused not to ruin his breakfast, and Hyunwoo getting ready to work. When the door closes after him Hyungwon sighs, relieved.

The day of the competition is hot. Hyungwon is sweating and the small portable fan is his only relief.

He thinks he will die from overheating.

They're already seated, waiting for the competition to start. Only Hoseok is with him, the rest couldn't find enough seats next to them so they had to go further away. Hyungwon didn't want to sit so far away, and so they got separated.

When Hyungwon first came he was surprised seeing the crowd. There are more people watching the competition than Hyungwon would expect for such a small thing, as Minhyuk called it.

"It's show jumping," Hoseok says.

Hyungwon knows. Minhyuk didn't tell him, but Hyungwon realized once he saw the course with obstacles. But since that's the only thing that he really knows about this competition, he asks, "so he only needs to jump over these?"

"Yes, in allotted time," Hoseok adds. "He has seventy-five seconds to finish the course. And he has to have as few faults and penalty points as possible."

Hyungwon looks at the course, curiously. "What faults?"

"Basically, he can't knock down an obstacle, the horse can't refuse to jump," Hoseok counts and stops shortly before adding, "he can't fall off the horse."

Instantly, Hyungwon is reminded about the ugly bruise on Minhyuk's arm.

Hoseok notices the way Hyungwon's expression hardens.

"He will be okay," Hoseok assures him.

"I mean, he did fall off recently, didn't he?"

"Yes, and he was alright," Hoseok reminds Hyungwon. "Besides, it was Minhyuk's fault. He was distracted that day and couldn't focus, so he made a mistake which resulted in the fall."

Hyungwon looks at Hoseok, surprised to hear him say the fall was Minhyuk's fault. Hyungwon may know nothing about horse riding, but he's still about to open his mouth to defend Minhyuk, even though he has no idea what Minhyuk should be defended against.

Still, Hoseok notices Hyungwon's strange reaction.

"I'm saying it as his mentor," Hoseok says in an attempt to calm down Hyungwon. "It was a bad day for him, but now Minhyuk will be focused solely on the competition. He's good at it, you know. He knows what he's doing. So, really, he will be okay."

It does sound calming, but Hyungwon still isn't fully convinced. Even so, he decides to drop the subject, and chooses to ask another question instead.

"How will he know which way to go?" he asks, eyeing the course. It looks complicated. It doesn't seem that there is any particular order of the obstacles, and Hyungwon doesn't even know which one is first. "There are no directions."

"Earlier he had the time to walk around. He knows the order."

Hyungwon sighs. He thinks that if it was him, he would forget the order of the obstacles soon after memorizing it. But Hoseok is right, Minhyuk knows what he's doing. It's not his first time participating in this kind of a competition.

Soon, there is the loud sound of the mic, and a few moments later the commentators say their greetings. They talk about today's competition, comment the weather, and by the time the competition actually starts Hyungwon already feels bored. He can't wait to see Minhyuk.

"Minhyuk is sixth," Hoseok tells him right before the first pair appears on the course. A man on a bay stallion.

Hyungwon nods.

He watches the pair carefully. As Hoseok said, the riders seem to know which way to go. The pair finishes the course with no faults, but Hoseok states their time isn't as good.

"The first pair has it the worst, honestly," he says as the rider exits the court on his horse. "The rest can analyze the first pair's mistakes and have the time to prepare themselves for the more problematic parts of the course."

The second pair has no faults as well and finishes two seconds earlier, but the third pair knocks down two of the obstacles and by the end of their turn they have eight penalty points. By the time they're done Hyungwon feels bored again. There are still two pairs before Minhyuk, though, so he waits patiently.

And when it's finally Minhyuk's turn, Hyungwon's breathless.

Minhyuk is seated on a black stallion, dressed in a black jacket and white breeches. Hyungwon is too far away to see his face clearly, and the helmet casts a shadow on it, but he thinks his expression must be serious and focused. When the stallion gallops to the starting point Minhyuk looks elegant, his form is relaxed, and Hyungwon is stunned. He looks like he belongs there.

The commentators introduce Minhyuk and the horse, and Hyungwon stares at his boyfriend nervously.

And then, Minhyuk starts.

The horse jumps over the first two obstacles, and it looks natural. It's quick and with no problems.

But when they get to the third one Hyungwon furrows his brows.

The horse jumps, but it looks strange to Hyungwon, as he watches the horse's massive body and thin legs. For a split second Hyungwon is worried that the horse will fall. He doesn't, and Hyungwon is relieved, but he feels stupid for thinking that when he hears Hoseok whispering, good, that was good. Hyungwon really doesn't know that much about how the jumps should look like, and he realizes that he was worried for nothing.

Then Minhyuk turns, the horse jumps above three more obstacles before running to the seventh one, and Hyungwon recognizes it as one of the more problematic. Two riders gained penalty points for knocking it down already and Hyungwon clenches his fists in anticipation, holds his breath, only to release it when Minhyuk's horse manages to jump over the obstacle without a fault.

He's doing well, but Hyungwon feels nervous again when Minhyuk finally approaches the last obstacles. There's three of them, put much closer than usually, and someone has already gained penalty points there. Again, there are no faults, and when Minhyuk reaches the finishing point Hyungwon can't stop the smile that spreads on his lips.

One of the commentators announces Minhyuk's time: 70,42 seconds.

Hoseok screams in joy and Hyungwon does too, although he isn't sure how good it is.

But Hoseok is so overjoyed that Hyungwon can't doubt that Minhyuk did very well, and his heart swells with pride.

Hyungwon tries not to let his hopes too high, though. Minhyuk is just sixth. There are more competitors after him, but Hyungwon knows that for now Minhyuk has the best time out of everyone.

He watches the next pairs, relieved whenever there is a fault, and worried when someone finishes in about seventy seconds, like Minhyuk. Hoseok mutters everything to himself, which helps Hyungwon keep track.

"That one has four penalty points," Hoseok says when the commentators announce that the time of one of the competitors was 70,26 seconds. "His result won't be better than Minhyuk's."

When the competition ends Hyungwon can't help but shake his legs in anticipation until he hears the results.

Lee Minhyuk. 70,42 seconds, no penalty points. Second place.

Silver.

Hyungwon is blinking in disbelief, his hands are shaking, and when suddenly Hoseok grabs him and pulls him for a hug it finally dawns on Hyungwon.

Minhyuk is getting a medal.

They both wait impatiently as the award ceremony starts. Minhyuk is there, seated proudly on the horse, smiling so brightly that even though he's far away Hyungwon can still see it. He smiles, too, proud as well, when Minhyuk dismounts the horse to stand on the podium and receive his medal.

Hyungwon applauses him, and when the ceremony ends and Minhyuk leaves, they leave their seats and Hoseok pushes Hyungwon towards the tent where Hyungwon knows Minhyuk will be.

"Go to him," Hoseok tells Hyungwon. "I will get the others."

Hyungwon just nods.

He goes to the tent, almost runs, impatient to see Minhyuk right now. He wants to congratulate him, to tell him how well he did, and he thinks if he doesn't do it right now he will combust.

Minhyuk is already waiting outside. He isn't wearing his helmet, his hair is disheveled. The medal on his chest reflects the light.

As soon as Minhyuk sees him he grins widely and Hyungwon wastes no time to hug Minhyuk, who laughs in Hyungwon's shoulder, the heat forgotten now.

"Congratulations," Hyungwon breathes out. "You were amazing, holy shit."

"I told you," Minhyuk says shyly. "It was just a small competition, nothing big to—"

"Shut up," Hyungwon cuts Minhyuk's words, who only laughs louder, and Hyungwon hugs him tighter. "Let me be fucking proud."

"Sorry," Minhyuk giggles. "You're right, be proud. Praise me."

Hyungwon pulls out slightly, only enough to see Minhyuk's face. "I don't even know what to say. You were awesome."

"It's just a silver medal."

"It's as good as gold," Hyungwon argues. "For me, it's gold."

Hyungwon doesn't think. He knows he doesn't, generally his ideas aren't the best, but right now he abandons any last bit of logical thinking. On the spur of the moment he leans in and captures Minhyuk's lips, and maybe Minhyuk isn't that good at thinking either, because Minhyuk melts as Hyungwon kisses him.

When Hyungwon holds Minhyuk, his arms wrapped securely around his boyfriend, Minhyuk rests his hands on Hyungwon's shoulders. Hyungwon deepens the kiss, wants to pour everything he feels in it—wants Minhyuk to know just how much he feels, how proud he is, god damn—but a sudden yelp of surprise brings him back.

Hyungwon pulls out, opens his eyes, and then sees Minhyuk who looks as confused as Hyungwon feels before a familiar voice gets their attention.

"So," Kihyun says, his arms crossed, and all their friends beside him, staring at the two with wide eyes. "You've always done that as friends or is it a recent thing?"

To say that the celebration after is awkward is not enough. Hyungwon has never felt so embarrassed in his whole life.

And, from what he can see, neither has Minhyuk.

"I can't believe," Jooheon says, glaring at the two of them with scrutinizing eyes. "You two had the audacity to say there was nothing between the two of you for years. Years."

They're at Kihyun's. Changkyun suggested the place, saying they don't know if they will be able to meet all together before Kihyun moves out and it could be a nice goodbye party of sorts. Kihyun wasn't pleased when he heard that Changkyun was bossy about his own place, but it didn't take long for him to agree in the end.

There are bottles of beers on the coffee table and one bottle of soda for Minhyuk, who claims he doesn't want to get drunk anytime soon, much to Hyungwon's relief.

They are waiting for their pizza.

"In my defense," Minhyuk starts, seated on Kihyun's couch, Hyungwon's arm around his shoulders. He hesitates when Jooheon glares at him again, but continues, "I never said anything like that."

Hyungwon stares at him. So he's going to leave Hyungwon like this?

Minhyuk looks back at him and smiles apologetically.

"Well," Hyunwoo hums, not really concerned that Hyungwon didn't tell him about his relationship. "That's a surprise."

"That's bullshit," Kihyun corrects him, glaring at the couple just like Jooheon. "You've been together this whole time and never wanted to tell us? I could understand that, but you kept denying it all the time!"

"I think you're getting the wrong idea," Hyungwon tries to defend them. "We haven't been together this long."

"Yeah, we wanted to tell you," Minhyuk says before adding, quietly, "someday."

Kihyun narrows his eyes, shifting his gaze from Minhyuk to Hyungwon then back at Minhyuk. "What do you mean, you haven't been together this long?"

Hyungwon tries to do math in his head. "A week?" he says, unsure.

Minhyuk nods. "Something like that."

"You've been together for a week and didn't tell us?" Jooheon repeats, scandalized. "We met around that time! Were you already together then?"

Hyungwon doesn't want to admit that they were, so he stays silent. So does Minhyuk, and their silence speaks for itself. Jooheon rolls his eyes in disbelief.

"I can't believe!"

"Neither can I," Kihyun agrees.

Thankfully, it seems that it's only the two of them that take great offense in not being told sooner. Hyunwoo is calm about it, having expected Hyungwon to do something about his relationship with Minhyuk for some time. Changkyun seems indifferent to the fact that they tried to hide it, but interested in having something to talk about for the next weeks. Hyungwon knows him, and he knows that's what Changkyun is going to focus on in the near future. And honestly, he doesn't mind.

Hoseok is the only one who looks both happy and surprised for the two.

"Who cares," he says with a wide grin. "You got a boyfriend and a medal!"

"You're happier about it than Minhyuk is," Changkyun notices, to which Minhyuk chuckles.

"Of course he is," he confirms. "He trained me."

For a moment, Hoseok seems burdened. "I'm just genuinely happy for Minhyuk," he mutters.

"At least you are," Hyungwon groans. "Because how long can someone sulk that they didn't know immediately about someone's new relationship status?"

Kihyun looks offended, ready to explain to Hyungwon exactly why it's such a big deal that he didn't know about him dating Minhyuk earlier, but before he can Hyunwoo cuts in.

"They'll stop soon enough," he tells Hyungwon. "They will forget about it."

He looks at Kihyun and Jooheon, giving them a significant look. Jooheon stays quiet and unmoving, but Kihyun makes a show of rolling his eyes at Hyungwon and Minhyuk's secretiveness.

Minhyuk laughs at him. "Come on, it's not like we planned to hide it forever. We just wanted a few days of peace."

"A whole week of peace, you mean?"

"It's just a few days," Minhyuk repeats. "What's wrong with waiting?"

"Honestly," Jooheon says then. "We just find it kind of ironic. That you two would deny it for so long, only to end up together."

"And hide it from us," Kihyun adds.

"Don't try to argue," Hyungwon whispers in Minhyuk's ear as Minhyuk opens his mouth to answer. "Just let them be. Kihyun is stubborn as fuck."

But Minhyuk is just as stubborn, so he doesn't let them be, as Hyungwon advised him. "Next time you wait with telling me something I will remind you about that."

Kihyun frowns. "If I decide to wait with telling you something, you will have no right to be mad about it anymore," he states. Minhyuk sticks out his tongue.

Hyungwon sighs, squeezing Minhyuk's shoulder. "Behave."

"But Kihyun—"

"Is just jealous," Hyungwon offers and Minhyuk accepts that.

In the background, Kihyun makes a choking noise. "I'm jealous of that?" he snorts. "No, thanks."

At the same time, Hyunwoo groans. "One last meeting in who knows how long," he says, probably to himself, but everyone's attention turns to him. "And we still can't behave like normal, civilized people."

Minhyuk looks like he needs to stop himself from saying, guess whose fault it is. Hyungwon pinches him in an attempt to tell him to keep his mouth shut, and Minhyuk looks at him, more surprised than betrayed, but doesn't say anything in the end.

So he lets it be, and it doesn't seem that Kihyun wants to talk about it anymore either, so the topic shifts naturally from there. And when twenty minutes later there is a ring bell to the door and Kihyun gets up to collect their pizza, everyone moves to the kitchen.

Hyungwon gets up, too, but before he can follow the others a gentle hand catches his own. He turns his head, sees Minhyuk's smile, and raises his brows in question. Minhyuk just shakes his head, and Hyungwon doesn't understand, so he asks, "what?"

And Minhyuk chuckles, his eyes are shining as always, and he looks genuinely happy, so happy that Hyungwon's heart warms up.

"Nothing," Minhyuk says simply.

But it doesn't seem like nothing. He squeezes Hyungwon's hand, entwines their fingers, and they are perfect together. And before Hyungwon can ask more questions, Minhyuk shuffles closer, rests his forehead on Hyungwon's shoulder. He looks peaceful like this, and Hyungwon reaches with his other hand to grab Minhyuk's as he pecks the crown of Minhyuk's head.

"There is something," he says with a small smile.

Minhyuk lifts his head, looks at him, and his lips stretch in a wide smile. "I'm happy," he says.

He doesn't explain, but Hyungwon thinks he understands without explanation. But before he can say anything, there are impatient calls from the kitchen, and Changkyun threatens they won't get any slices of the pizza. So they part with gentle laughs, but Minhyuk's hand stays safe in Hyungwon's.

Hyungwon murmurs, "I'm happy too," just as they enter the loud kitchen, and the way Minhyuk glances at him, his smile still remaining, tells Hyungwon that he has heard him.