Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sunoo is more than excited to start adulting . He loves the thought of finally taking a step closer to freedom and it starts with finally renting his own house. Yes, after years of submerging himself into the exploitative nature of capitalism — and with the help of his parents who gave him half of the down payment — he finally gets to afford renting an actual house, not an apartment unit that barely fits him and his stuff. At least he’s got a yard now where he can live his gardening dreams. And maybe he can throw parties and actually fill his house with guests.

The neighborhood is a little bit weird, though. It’s not as bright as he wants it to be. The houses look a bit gloomy and old. And some of the neighbors look at him like they’ve never seen a human before. But the rent is cheap and the landlord assured him that the neighborhood is safe and peaceful. Sunoo wasn’t sure if he could ever find a place as good as that anywhere else for its price, so he bites in and signs the three-year lease. Two weeks later, he’s driving to the new neighborhood with sunshine smiles and a bright vision ahead.

The house has a wide fenced yard which the landlord allowed him to turn into a garden. It’s well-kept despite the fact that no one has lived there for the last ten years. The house itself has two floors. The first floor is where the living room, kitchen, and dining area are situated. There’s also a bathroom and small laundry area. The second floor contains two bedrooms, but Sunoo turned the other one into an office where he could do most of his work.

Sunoo settles in nicely with the help of his parents. They finish unpacking and decorating everything within the day, which is a lot more productive than Sunoo expected. And then they say their goodbyes before it gets too dark out for his parents to drive back. He looks around his home and sighs in relief as he envisions a freer life that he’s about to live. It’d be a little bit lonely living alone, but he makes it his personal goal to befriend many of his neighbors. That mission would have to start tomorrow, though, because he is a bit tired and hungry after all the work they’ve done for the day.

He fixes himself a simple dinner of egg fried rice and chicken nuggets. He eats while getting some sketches done. At 11 PM, he locks all of his doors and windows, turns off every light in the house, and basks in the pale moonlight shining on his bedroom window. The full moon looks beautiful. Even though it’s his first time living alone in an unfamiliar neighborhood, he feels a sense of comfort that everything will be okay. It doesn’t take long for him to finally fall asleep, ignoring the wolf’s howl echoing in the distance.

There’s a tip that Sunoo learned from his mom when it comes to making friends in the new neighborhood: rice cakes. Yes, always make sure to give your neighbors rice cakes. Who doesn’t love the traditional sweet and sticky dessert? No one! So, Sunoo made sure to bring the rice cakes that his mom premade for him. He sticks them in the microwave to heat them up then individually packs them into his basket. All he has to do now is knock on his neighbors’ doors and introduce himself. Hopefully, the landlord is right and his neighbors are indeed nice.

He smiles at his own reflection in the mirror and hopes that it would get him a friend or two. Or three. If it were up to him, he’d want to hang out with all of the people in their neighborhood, but that doesn’t seem realistic. He thinks that he looks presentable and approachable enough. His rice cakes don’t look suspicious too, so he finally steps out of the house and heads on to his first location.

The closest house is the one across the street. It drastically looks gothic as compared to his own house. It reminds him of that one house meme. It looks intimidating on the outside, but who knows, maybe the interior looks a lot better? Besides, who is he to judge someone else’s house?

Sunoo crosses the street with a slight bounce on his step. He walks through the paved pathway, noting the pretty and sparkly stones embedded on the cement. He thinks that the house must have been grand and beautiful at its prime. But now, the peeling gray paint on the walls and the dried up grass truly show its age. He wonders if it belongs to an old couple who don’t have the time and effort to fix their yard. He should probably lend them a helping hand next time.

He makes it to the porch and gently presses the doorbell. The ominous sound echoes inside the house, but Sunoo patiently waits. There was no response. He waits for a few more minutes before pressing the doorbell again. But again, there was no response. Sunoo pouts and thinks it’s a waste not to meet the closest neighbor to him. But he guesses he can’t help it. Maybe they’re out doing groceries or meeting friends. It’s the weekend after all.

“Hey there!” someone calls out behind Sunoo. He turns to see a guy who looks to be around his age. The guy is wearing a baby blue bucket hat. “You must be our new neighbor?”

Sunoo gets off the porch and walks his way to meet his new neighbor. He greets him with a smile. “Yes, hello! I’m Kim Sunoo.” He puts his hand out for a shake which the other one takes gladly.

“Yang Jungwon. I live just a few houses down,” Jungwon says. Then he gestures to the house behind them and says, “The one who lives there isn’t really available throughout the day. If you need anything from him, you should try ringing his doorbell after sunset. He’s uhh… He works in the morning.”

“Oh, I see,” Sunoo says. “Even on weekends?”

Jungwon nods. “He’s a busy guy. Lives alone so he really just relies on himself.” Jungwon looks down on Sunoo’s basket and raises a brow. “You’re bribing neighbors with rice cakes?”

Sunoo laughs and scratches the back of his head. “Just being traditional, I guess.” He gets a small box of rice cake inside the basket and hands it to Jungwon. “Here you go.” Then he bows politely. “Please take care of me. If you need anything, of course, you can come down to my house as well.”

Jungwon smiles and tells Sunoo that the rice cake looks delicious after he takes a quick peek. Then he invites Sunoo over to his house. “I’ll introduce you to my boyfriend. It’s been a long while since we had new neighbors. Come on.”

Sunoo feels relieved that he’s finally made at least one friend. Or is ‘acquaintance’ a better term? He and Jungwon aren’t exactly friends yet, but he hopes that they will be soon. They kind of have the same vibes and Jungwon treats him nicely. Jungwon tells him all about the neighborhood, and assures him that their neighbors are nice people. They pass by some of their neighbors along the way and Sunoo makes sure that their share of rice cakes as well. One of the older grandmas pinches his cheeks and tells him that he looks scrumptious. Sunoo giggles because grandmas always have a weird way of saying he’s cute, but he likes the compliment nonetheless.

One of the houses they stopped by had a pumpkin patch in the front yard. A guy with blonde hair squats in front of one of the pumpkins and harvests it with a scythe. He looks a bit scary when he looks at Sunoo with a blank face.

“Hey, don’t glare at the new neighbor,” Jungwon scolds him. They stop by the fence and wait for the guy to approach them, a newly-harvested pumpkin clutched in his arms. “This is Kim Sunoo, our new neighbor. Be nice to him because he makes rice cakes.”

“Actually, my mom made these,” Sunoo clarifies. He hands a box to the pumpkin guy too, and in exchange, the latter hands him the newly-harvested pumpkin. “Uhm… Thanks?”

“Eighty-five,” the guy murmurs.

“Sorry?”

Jungwon laughs awkwardly and pats Sunoo in the back. “This is Nishimura Riki. He’s a bit weird because he has an obsession with pumpkins.”

“It’s a family business,” Riki corrects. “My family grows pumpkins and makes pumpkin products. Keep that one,” Riki gestures to the pumpkin on Sunoo’s arm. “It’s good for pumpkin soup. If you want to carve pumpkins for Halloween, you come here and I’ll give one to you. Don’t waste your money on low quality produce.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sunoo says with a bright smile, grateful for the offer even though he still doesn’t know how he feels about being glared at. Maybe that’s just Riki’s so-called ‘Resting Bitch Face’. He can’t help it so Sunoo lets it slide. Maybe he just needs to get to know Riki more. He and Jungwon look like they get along.

They bid farewell to Riki for the meantime and continue their way to Jungwon’s house. They arrive shortly at a pristine two-story house with white and gold interiors. The front yard looks perfectly manicured and there are flowers growing on bushes. “Welcome to mi casa,” Jungwon proudly announces. He leads Sunoo to the paved pathway and into the house’s interior. Jungwon’s house looks neat aside from the kitchen which was full of cooking paraphernalia. Behind the counter was Jungwon’s boyfriend — Sunoo assumes — with lips pouting out in concentration.

Jungwon’s boyfriend looks up and smiles when he sees them. He moves over to the other side of the counter while wiping his hands with a paper towel. “Ah, you must be the new neighbor. I hope my Jungwon didn’t bother you too much.”

Sunoo chuckles and shakes his head. He notes the endearment that slips out of the other’s mouth and guesses that he and Jungwon must be so disgustingly in love. “Not at all. I’m glad he showed me around the neighborhood.” They shake hands and the other introduces himself as ‘Jay’.

While they share niceties, Jungwon takes care of whatever was cooking on the pot that Jay left for a moment. “Mushroom soup again? This is not an obsession anymore, hyung. It’s a disease.”

Jay rolls his eyes and turns to Sunoo. “I’m actually a mycologist. I study mushrooms that’s why you’ll most likely see me foraging around the neighborhood or bringing nothing but mushroom-related food during dinner parties. Jungwon is an animal behaviorist.”

Jungwon turns off the stove and transfers the huge pot of mushroom soup on the counter. “Sunoo-hyung. Please join us for lunch. We’ve got plenty of food to go around and it’d be nice to chat.” Sunoo doesn’t need a lot of convincing especially when it comes to invitations that involve socializing. Plus, it’s rude to decline such an offer. He wants to show Jungwon and Jay that he’s comfortable enough to share a meal with them even though they’ve only met.

Jungwon sets the table and Jay takes his basket to the counter. When they’re all settled in, Jay fills their bowls and plates. Sunoo enjoys the hearty food and makes sure to invite the couple to his home next time. “Why’d you move to this neighborhood, Sunoo-ssi?”Jay asks in between spoonfuls of soup.

“Please, talk to me informally. I’ll be staying here for a long time so I want us to be comfortable with each other,” Sunoo says. “It’s actually my first time living alone. I just searched for a house with cheap rent with a good enough environment for me to work in.”

“May I ask what you do for a living?” Jungwon chimes in.

Sunoo nods. “Yes, of course. I’m a digital artist and animator. I draw stuff for mobile apps and video games. I actually love it because I could just stay at home and have more freedom to live my life as opposed to a nine-to-five office job.” The two share his sentiments. Jay says that he mostly does his research at home and only goes to the university for conferences or when he needs to use the library resources. Jungwon’s job isn’t a fixed one. He has a few clients that he meets every week, but other than that, he just spends his time doing whatever in the house too.

Jay then asks him in which house he’s moved in, but Jungwon answers it for him. “He moved in right across from Sunghoon-hyung’s house.”

“Oh. You should bring a rice cake to Sunghoon later when he’s uh… available,” Jay says. “He appreciates it. He doesn’t have many opportunities to socialize because of his job.”

“But he’s nice,” Jungwon interjects. “He might seem cold on the exterior—” Jay chuckles for some reason. “—But he’s really kind once you get to know him. You won’t be able to meet him frequently, though, because he’s busy at the blood bank. He’s a medical technician there.”

Sunoo nods and expresses his excitement to meet more of his neighbors. Jay and Jungwon also share about their two other friends, Heeseung and Jake, who are unfortunately out of town for vacation. They assure him that they’ll hold a small get together next week so they’d have a chance to get acquainted. They finish lunch after taking a bite of the rice cakes that Sunoo gave to them. They say their compliments to Sunoo’s mom for making a delicious batch and hope to have some more of it in the future. Sunoo insists on helping in cleaning up, but Jay insists that they can take care of it. Eventually, Sunoo decides to go back home so Jay and Jungwon can rest comfortably on their own.

His basket got significantly lighter throughout the day after handing out the rice cakes but he makes sure to leave a box for his neighbor from across the street. When he gets back home, he settles on his office chair and gets to work. He particularly despises doing linework on his art, but he’d rather finish it early than have his boss nag at him. 

At around 6 PM, when the sun has completely set, Sunoo sits back and stretches his arms out. He stands and stretches some more after sitting down for hours while working on his designs. He hears a car approaching and turns to see a classic black mustang pulling up to his neighbor’s driveway. It must be Park Sunghoon. He remembers the remaining rice cake in the kitchen and makes sure to give it to him later. He’ll just let his neighbor rest for a bit. It must be tiring to work all day, Sunoo would know.

He goes downstairs and re-heats the rice cake, hoping that it still maintains its chewy texture. Then he cooks beef and re-heats the mushroom soup that Jungwon and Jay gave him for lunch. After he cleans up, he decides to go across the street and finally meet his neighbor, the one who apparently likes vintage and gothic designs, judging by the style of his house. When he makes it to the porch, he presses on the doorbell once again, just like earlier that morning, and waits for a response. Someone calls out, “Just a moment!”, from inside the house. And then the front door opens and Park Sunghoon finally shows himself.

Sunoo doesn’t know what he expected when he thought of his new neighbor, but he was definitely a lot more handsome than what he imagined. Park Sunghoon is tall and pale. But his beauty marks look attractive on him. His all-black outfit emphasizes his skin as well, making him stand out against the black interior of his house too.

“Hello,” Sunoo greets with a smile. “I’m Kim Sunoo. I just moved in across the street, and I just wanted to greet you and give you this.” He carefully hands Sunghoon the box of rice cakes and sticks his hand out for a shake. When Sunghoon holds his hand, his skin feels extremely cold, it almost made Sunoo gasp in surprise. Sunghoon immediately pulls away when he notices Sunoo’s eyes on their hands.

“Sorry about that,” Sunghoon says with a calm tone. “I was… Getting the ice cream out of the freezer.”

“It’s fine,” Sunoo says. “I’ll be on my way now so you can rest. Jungwon said you were busy all day so I won’t keep you long. It’s nice to meet you and I hope you take care of me,” he says with a polite bow.

Sunghoon nods at him and gives him a barely-there smile. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Sunoo-ssi. I hope we get along as well.”

Sunoo smiles for the last time and waves goodbye to him. He hears the front door shut softly behind him on his way back across the street. Later that night, he sees the lights on Sunghoon’s house come to life. He wonders if his neighbors liked the rice cakes. He hopes they do. Sunoo puts an end to that day again and falls asleep. When morning comes, the house across the street looks isolated again.

The rest of the week passes by without a hitch. Sunoo establishes a daily routine that works for him. He wakes up around seven or eight in the morning. Then he makes breakfast and watches the news. He does some work until lunch time when he goes downstairs to cook food. He rests by watching a movie or playing a game, but for the past three days, he’s been researching gardening more. He plans on cleaning up the yard on the weekend and maybe buying plant seedlings. He reminds himself to ask Jungwon about the flowers in their garden and how he could grow some for himself.

In the middle of the week, he finally gets to meet Heeseung and Jake. Heeseung had pretty eyes and was a little bit flirty with Sunoo, but he knows that his neighbor was just joking around with him because he’s dating Jake, according to Jungwon. Jake was also nice and all smiles at him, though Sunoo was a little concerned about the wounds on his face and the gauze on his forehead.

“Just a little vacation accident,” Jake chuckles sheepishly. “Don’t worry, Sunoo-ssi. I’m fine! I will be flawless once more.”

In the afternoon, he lounges on the porch and admires the sunset while sipping on his homemade americano. Some of his neighbors greet him as they pass by his house while they walk their dogs or take jogs. So far, he feels content and happy with the way things are now. He really should start with his new project, which is beautifying his yard. He wants to grow fragrant flowers so his house would smell immaculate during spring. And once he gets the hang of it, maybe he can plant a tree too. Of course, he’d have to ask his landlord about it and get permission.

Sometimes, when he stays on his porch until the evening, he gets to see his neighbor — Sunghoon — drive by to his house from work. They don’t get to exchange hellos just because Sunghoon drives behind his house where the garage is and most likely takes the backdoor. The only proof of life that Sunoo gets aside from that is the light that shines out of Sunghoon’s windows all throughout the night.

That is, of course, until one Saturday when Sunoo starts cleaning up the yard. He diligently mows the lawn and picks out unwanted weeds and wallflowers that he doesn’t want to keep. He’s wearing appropriate gear from head to toe: a wide-brimmed sun hat to protect his face from the harsh sun, yellow work gloves, faded dungarees, and his yellow rain boots. He occasionally sneezes in the middle of what he’s doing because of the sunlight. It’s a rare phenomenon that he finds bothersome at times. He breaks out a sweat after an hour of picking out weeds and dried up plants on the side of his fence. Then he senses some movement on the other side of his fence. He looks up to see Sunghoon looking down on him.

His neighbor is dressed in black from head to toe. He was wearing black gloves and holding a large umbrella that casts a shadow on the entirety of his body. Somehow, the image looks funny to Sunoo. He stands up and greets Sunghoon. “Hi, there. This is a rare instance. You don’t have work today, Sunghoon-ssi?”

Sunghoon nods and hums silently in reply. Then he looks at the trash bin beside Sunoo. It was full of discarded plants and other unwanted stuff that Sunoo wanted to get rid of. “You’re fixing up your yard.”

Sunoo looks at his yard and sees how fast his progress has been. It’s mostly fine now. He just needs to replant grass seeds on the sparser areas. Then he’d take care of azaleas as suggested by Jungwon. “Yeah. I think it’d be pretty soon. It’d be nice to look out once spring comes.”

“I see,” Sunghoon says before slowly looking at his own yard. Not to be mean or anything, but Sunghoon’s yard looks sad. The grass looked brown more than gray and weeds were growing everywhere. There was also random debris littered everywhere. “I’d get started on my own, but my work has been keeping me too busy. I don’t have time to take care of my house anymore.”

Sunoo removes his glass and takes a step forward to get a better view of the yard. It doesn’t seem hopeless. They just need to work on it continuously and really spend some time and effort to make it look better. “Well, if you want, I can help you with it,” Sunoo offers. Sunghoon looks back at him with a blank face again. “I’ll lend you my lawnmower if you don’t have one. And I can buy some grass seedlings for you too once I go shopping for plant stuff.”

“You don’t have to. I don’t want you to bother.”

“It’s fine, Sunghoon-ssi!” Sunoo insists. “Of course, I need your permission. But it’d be a fun project. I don’t have anything to do anyway. I usually finish work early and I can definitely spare some time.”

Sunghoon purses his lips and just stares at Sunoo for a while, like he’s weighing his choices. Sunoo really doesn’t mind helping his neighbors out. It’s true that he’s got a lot of free time. Besides, it’s a good opportunity to get to know Sunghoon more. It’ll be nice to have more friends, right?

“Ah, don’t think about it too much, Sunghoon-ssi. I promise I’ll just stay in the yard. I won’t rob your house or anything,” Sunoo jokes. But he doesn’t think it lands well, judging by the fact that Sunghoon didn’t even give him a chuckle.

“I’m not worried about that,” Sunghoon says. “I guess I’m just a little bit embarrassed.”

Sunoo chuckles and shakes his head. Then he walks with Sunghoon back to his yard. Sunoo removes his sun hat when they get under the shade, Sunghoon doesn’t let go of his umbrella. With his hands on his hips, he looks around the yard and inspects the areas that need more attention. “I think we can fix this up in two weeks.”

“Sunoo-ssi, you really don’t have to. I’ll be busy throughout the week. I’ll only be available on the weekends.”

“That’s fine!” Sunoo tells him. “We can just get more things done during those days.”

Sunghoon inhales but looks at Sunoo with a resigned smile. “Okay. I really want to take care of my house more, but… Yeah. Thank you, Sunoo-ssi.” Sunoo gives him a thumbs up like the lame kid he is, but he just hides the awkwardness behind a cough. “I’ll pay you for it.”

“No way! This is all for free. I mean, you’ll have to shoulder the grass seedlings. But the labor is free.”

“I’d have to repay you somehow,” Sunghoon insists. “If you won’t accept money, then… Can I just cook you dinner?” Sunoo looks at him in surprise and feels his cheeks warm up all of a sudden.

Dinner? Like a friendly dinner, right? Probably. Sunoo’s mind is definitely not going anywhere out of that zone. Why is he panicking? Just because a cute guy is offering to cook him dinner doesn’t mean he’s interested, Kim Sunoo! Sunoo isn’t interested in him either. He just wants to be friends. Yes. Friends. Sunoo needs to calm down.

“Okay…” Sunoo smiles awkwardly.  “Okay. Well then… I’ll go and uhm… Get the rest of my work done! See you when I see you, Sunghoon-ssi. I’ll start in your yard next weekend. I’ll just finish mine for the meantime.”

“No pressure, Sunoo-ssi,” Sunghoon says quietly. “And, please, do call me ‘hyung’. I feel like we need to be more comfortable if we’re going to start on this project.”

“Of course, hyung .”

Sunoo finally finds the time to go shopping for gardening stuff in the middle of the week. His yard is slowly coming to life after working on it some more. This time, he needs to invest in seedlings. He’ll get some grass seedlings and pots and soil for the azaleas. He’s planning on buying a bird feeder too. Jungwon eagerly accompanies him and helps him navigate around the shop. He seems to know more about gardening than Sunoo.

“I didn’t know you had a pet cat,” Sunoo opens up while they were looking through the available seedlings.

“Pet cat?”

“Yeah,” Sunoo says. “I saw Jay-hyung walking around the other day carrying a black cat in his arms. He seems so fond of it. For someone who has strong and sharp features, he really does go soft on animals, huh?” Sunoo thinks Jay just has a knack for anything cute. Jungwon’s very existence attests to that.

Jungwon pauses momentarily and looks at Sunoo while pulling his blue bucket hat down. “Oh. We don’t have a pet cat. That must have been one of my client’s pets. We had a session a few days ago. Sometimes, Jay-hyung ‘borrows’ them to de-stress.”

Sunoo nods in understanding. “Ah, I see. You two would be good furparents, though. I’m sure of it.” Sunoo doubles the grass seedling packs that they got which made Jungwon quirk an eyebrow at him in confusion. He giggles and explains the reason immediately. “I forgot to tell you that I’m helping Sunghoon-hyung fix up his yard.” Jungwon’s confused face turns into a more surprised one. “He saw me cleaning up my yard last week and he expressed how he wants to make his yard prettier. But he doesn’t have the time to actually work on it so I volunteered.”

“That’s so nice of you, hyung,” Jungwon remarks as they move to the flowers’ section.

Sunoo shrugs. He really doesn’t think it’s a big deal. He likes helping people out and he likes getting more practice when it comes to gardening. “He said he’d cook me dinner as thanks. I didn’t want to accept his money.”

“ Oh ,” Jungwon says with a sheepish smirk. Sunoo pretends that he doesn’t see it and diverts his attention to the roses. He waits for Jungwon to tease him about it after confessing the other day that he finds Sunghoon attractive, but he’s glad that Jungwon bit his tongue back. He can feel the younger staring at him with a knowing smile on his face, though.

He wants to move on from the topic, but he remembers something that he never really asked Jungwon about. “By the way, I have a question.” Jungwon acknowledges him with a hum. He sniffs the azaleas for a moment before speaking again. “Why does Sunghoon-hyung dress up like that? I mean, I’m not one to judge his fashion sense, but he’s always covered up. Last time I saw him, he was even wearing gloves. And he’s got this gigantic umbrella that could really be a roof in that size,” he laughs.

“You’d feel bad laughing like that,” Jungwon says with a slightly serious tone.

Sunoo looks at Jungwon with an intrigued stare. Was it offensive? Did he cross some kind of line? “What do you mean?”

Jungwon sighs and looks at the peonies growing on the pot. “Sunghoon-hyung has this… rare skin condition. He gets painful blisters when he gets exposed to sunlight that’s why he always dresses up like that. It’s also the reason why he doesn’t go out during the day. It’s safe for him to work at the blood bank since it’s still an enclosed space, but it’s definitely more difficult for him now that he’s assigned in the morning shift.”

“Oh… I didn’t know,” Sunoo says with remorse. Now he really does feel bad.

“Yeah. We feel bad for him, but what can we do?” Jungwon shrugs. “When you work with him in the yard, please make sure that he doesn’t get exposed to sunlight, okay?”

Sunoo takes that to heart and reminds himself not to give Sunghoon a hard time. Everything makes sense now, though: the outfit, the reason why he rarely sees Sunghoon during the day, and even why his skin is so pale.

When they get back from their shopping trip, Sunoo chances a rare encounter with Sunghoon. It was already dark out, safe enough for Sunghoon to take his trash out in front of his house for the garbage collectors tomorrow. Sunoo crosses the street and calls on him. “Hyung!”

Sunghoon looks up and gives Sunoo a polite smile before setting his garbage bag down and putting his hands in his pockets in a laid down manner. Sunoo tries to ignore the obvious blush that creeps up in his cheeks at the sight. “Sunoo. Good evening.”

“Good evening, hyung,” he says. “I just want you to know that we can start working on the yard on Saturday. I bought grass seedlings for us to use and some seeds for moon flowers to complement the dark exterior of your house.”

“That’s nice. Thank you, Sunoo. Just tell me how much you spent and I’ll pay you back,” Sunghoon tells him with a boyish smile that definitely made Sunoo’s heart skip a beat. But he doesn’t focus on the sensation and instead fidgets with his fingers.

“Also, hyung. I just want to tell you that I’ll do my best not to give you a hard time.” Sunghoon raises an eyebrow in question. “I heard about your… uh… condition.” At that, Sunghoon visibly frowns and looks at his hand. “Jungwon told me, but only because I asked why you had a giant umbrella the other day.”

Sunghoon suddenly gives him a breathy laugh. And then he reaches out to pat Sunoo on the head. “It’s okay. I was going to tell you anyway. Everyone knows about it, so don’t worry. And thank you for saying that. I’ll do my best not to give you a hard time too.”

Sunoo freezes when he meets eyes with Sunghoon, but he immediately breaks eye contact and steps back before he gets a heart attack. “Well, then. See you on Saturday, hyung,” he says. “Please rest well.”

“You too, Sunoo.”

Sunoo jogs on his way back across the street. He can’t help but feel the warmth on his cheeks. He presses against them with his palms and wills himself to calm down. Has it really been that long since he last dated? Is this his brain being weird and looking for some kind of affection and validation? He slaps himself to clear his head. He needs to get a grip! He shouldn’t go all weak for his neighbor whom he barely knows!

He distracts himself even further by submerging himself in hours of work. He diligently colors and shades his illustrations just so he’d stop thinking about the way Sunghoon smiled at him. It’s ridiculous. He’s ridiculous.

It wasn’t surprising to quickly finish up cleaning Sunghoon’s lawn. Both of them worked hand-in-hand to get all the weeds out and prep the soil for the seedlings tomorrow. Sunghoon hands him a cold glass of iced tea as they retire on the porch. The sun is slowly setting in the distance and they feel like they’ve spent a productive day in general.

“Are you tired?” Sunghoon asks.

“Just a little bit,” Sunoo replies. “But I’m glad about our progress! We’ll just plant the seedlings tomorrow and then get started on the flowers.”

Sunghoon hums in agreement as he gulps down the contents of his own glass. “What would you like for dinner?”

Sunoo’s eyes widen in surprise. When Sunghoon sees him like that, he laughs. It’s the first time Sunoo sees Sunghoon laugh like that. He often gets small smiles or blank expressions most of the time. But this, his laugh? It’s a different story. It really does make Sunoo’s heart flutter a bit.

“As my thank you, remember?” Sunghoon clarifies. “I promised I’d cook you dinner.”

“Ah! Right,” Sunoo awkwardly laughs.  He looks back at the half-finished yard and drinks the sweet iced tea to calm himself down. “I’m down with anything, really. I’m not picky with food. Maybe you can surprise me.” Sunghoon nods and looks at the yard too, seemingly admiring the hard work they’ve put in it. “I’m curious, though, hyung,” Sunoo asks. “What made you decide to fix your yard now?”

Sunghoon sits back and lets the answer linger for a while before answering briefly. “Halloween is coming soon.” Sunoo asks him what he means. “You know how no one’s lived in that house for ten years? It didn’t look as pretty as it does now. It obviously looked like no one lived there so the kids would skip that house for trick or treat. Because of how my house looked, they’d skip my house too.

“I didn’t mind it before. I was honestly fine with it. Maybe a little disappointed because I always make sure to prepare candies. But now that you live there, I’m sure a lot of kids would come knocking on your door. I don’t want my house to be the loser house, you know?” Sunghoon playfully pouts. Sunoo thinks that he’s imitating him but he doesn’t call Sunghoon out on it.

Sunoo rolls his eyes and says, “Well, then. Let’s make sure those kids will get those candy bars, huh?” Sunghoon chuckles along with him and pats his head again. Sunoo tries to be nonchalant about it, but it really does make him a little too gaga over Sunghoon. Perhaps he should just accept the fact that he has a tiny crush on his neighbor by now because there’s really no way of explaining his feelings otherwise. It’s not that bad, right? He won’t act upon it, anyway. It’s just fun to look forward to something like weekends with Sunghoon or their short conversations at night when they coincidentally — that’s what Sunoo tells himself to make him sleep better at night — takes out their trash.

“Actually, hyung, I’m thinking of throwing a small party on Halloween. It’d be nice to socialize with the neighbors and maybe play some games. We could also hold a halloween costume contest just for fun!”

“Hmm… What are you planning to dress up as?” Sunghoon asks.

Sunoo already planned out his costume months ago. He’ll dye his hair pink a week before Halloween to truly embody Prince Gumball. A lot of people say he looks nice in pink. He might as well listen to their suggestions. He relays that information to Sunghoon who only nods at him. “I don’t really have plans on dressing up, but I’ll definitely show up at your party if you’re going to hold one.”

Sunoo smiles brightly and makes a mental note to put in extra effort on his costume this year. He never falls short of looking fantastic during Halloween, but he’s got another excuse to be extra pretty, he thinks. He doesn’t think Sunghoon is superficial, but it’s nice to get some compliments from him.

Sunoo invites Sunghoon for dinner, but the latter politely declines and says that he has some work to do. He also tells Sunoo to look forward to the dinner he’ll prepare soon. Sunoo reminds himself again that it’s just a friendly dinner to thank him for the yard and not a date . And then they say their goodbyes and retire to their own houses for dinner.

Another week passes and Sunoo starts collecting Halloween decorations and other party stuff before the month ends. Jungwon accompanies him as always. The two of them start decorating Sunoo’s house bit by bit, starting from fake cobwebs to giant spiders made of foam. He tells Riki that he’ll be needing a couple of pumpkins, not only for decoration, but for party games as well. The younger tells him that he’ll get the pumpkins ready before the event and promises to attend it as well.

During the weekend, Sunoo checks on his and Sunghoon’s yards. Sunoo’s lawn looks prettier though the grass needs to grow some more. The flowers will take time but he’s excited for those too. Sunghoon’s yard looks much better as well. He also helps Sunghoon decorate for Halloween by setting up fake coffins and skeletons on his porch.

While they were busy decorating, Heeseung peeks from Sunghoon’s fence and smirks flirtily at Sunoo. “Well, hello there, Sunshine. You really are a vision with those overalls on.” Sunoo blushes but rolls his eyes, so used to Heeseung’s actions. He knows quite well how in love the older is with his boyfriend. “Yard’s looking good, Hoon.”

Sunghoon doesn’t acknowledge him, prompting Sunoo to elbow Sunghoon to get his attention. It doesn’t work. “Heeseung-hyung. I’m hosting a party on Halloween. I’m inviting you and Jake-hyung. I hope you can come in your costumes!”

Heeseung breathes through his teeth and shakes his head. “That’s unfortunate, Sunshine,” he says. “Jake and I are actually going out of town on the 31st. Sorry. But we’ll bring you something nice from our trip.”

“Aww, hyung…” Sunoo pouts petulantly. He doesn’t get to hang out with Heeseung and Jake often because they’re both busy with their respective jobs. He was hoping to get closer to them during the party, but he guesses he can’t help it. “It would have been fun with you there.”

“Oh, Sunshine.” Heeseung theatrically clutches on his chest and heaves. “Don’t do that. It’s bad for my heart! You are too adora—”

Heeseung’s voice gets drowned out when Sunoo feels a pair of cold hands pressing against his ears to cover them. He looks at Sunghoon and could barely make out his words as he says “Don’t listen to him anymore, Sunoo. He’s weird.” And then Heeseung says something again that Sunoo couldn’t decipher before walking away while shooting finger guns and winking at Sunghoon. When Heeseung was finally out of sight, Sunghoon gets his hands off of Sunoo and resumes cleaning up their tools.

“Why’d you cover my ears?”

Sunghoon shrugs and works quietly. Sunoo forgets about it eventually but still feels sad that Heeseung and Jake won’t be able to come to his party. It really would have been fun. He’ll even set up a karaoke machine because he knows Heeseung loves singing so much that Jake complains about it. He told Sunoo one time that he stayed up all night when Heeseung kept blasting Taylor Swift at 3 AM.

“By the way, Sunoo,” Sunghoon breaks the silence. “Should I bring something for the party?”

“There’s really no need, hyung. Just come as my guest,” Sunoo reiterates.

It doesn’t matter, though. One week later, Sunghoon shows up at his door with bat-shaped cookies and a bottle of red wine.

“Hyung, I told you not to bring anything!” Sunoo says. But he couldn’t say no once Sunghoon handed him his contributions. Sunoo mouths a ‘thank you’ before turning back to his kitchen to finish the chicken tenders. “You came early. We still have like thirty minutes before the party.” Sunoo belatedly realizes that Sunghoon wasn’t following him. “Hyung?” He retraces his steps and sees Sunghoon still standing on his doorway with an awkward — almost embarrassed — look on his face. “Hyung. What are you doing still standing there?”

“Uhm… You didn’t tell me if I could come in.”

Sunoo snorts. Why does he find that so cute? Is Sunghoon normally this shy? “Of course, you can come in, hyung. You’re my guest.”

“Okay then…” Sunghoon finally steps inside the house and looks around. Sunoo hopes he likes the decor. “Your house looks nice.” Then he zeroes in on Sunoo, eyeing him from head to toe. “You, too. You look nice.” It’s a basic compliment, really. But Sunoo can’t help but blush furiously at it. “That must have made a dent on your wallet, with all the details on your costume.”

“No, it’s not that expensive,” Sunoo says while pinning his crown back on his head. “At least I didn’t come in a boring red plaid shirt and blue jeans,” Sunoo bites back sarcastically. “Hyung, this is a costume party! What are you supposed to be? An average college guy or something?” Sunoo laughs.

“Oh…” Sunghoon says as he looks down on his clothes. “I’m supposed to be Marshall Lee.”

Sunoo’s laughter turned into a coughing fit. His brain goes haywire when he realizes that they are basically in a couple's costume. Was it intentional? Is Sunghoon messing with him because he told him that he’s going to be Prince Gumball? Or is he playing with him because he figured out that Sunoo has a big fat crush on him?

Either way, the doorbell becomes a good distraction. Sunoo hurriedly opens the door to more guests and tells them to make themselves at home. He turns on the music when they get to the living room and tries to ignore what just happened earlier.

Sunoo tries his best to focus on the party and have fun. He left the guests to their own devices aside from facilitating some of the games. He receives lots of compliments for his costume and the quality of alcohol he’s serving. But no matter how hard he dances to the music or how many people he’s conversing with, his eyes always trace back to Sunghoon. His neighbor casually chats with the other guests over a glass of wine, and he just looks so good while doing the bare minimum. Sunoo sort of wants to cry because he promised himself he’ll never act upon his feelings or else their friendship would get ruined.

Jungwon somehow senses his dilemma, but just like always, he doesn’t initiate that conversation. He just gently sips on his margarita and waits for Sunoo to burst or something. It’s almost mocking, really. Jungwon — with his hyper-realistic cat ears — just stares at him through his glass. Sunoo wants to comment on how lame he and Jay dressed up for the party. Jay — dressed in a gender-bent version of Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service — looks ridiculous with that red bow on his head. They’re lucky Sunoo loves their company.

“Just say something, Jungwon. I know you’re itching to make fun of me,” Sunoo rolls his eyes. They’re currently taking a break on the staircase and just watching the chaos of the party unfold. 

Jungwon chokes on his margarita. “Who? Me? I could never do such a thing!”

But Sunoo slaps him playfully on the arm and they both fall into fits of laughter at how ridiculous they both look — like teenage kids hiding somewhere in a party they’re not supposed to go to even though Sunoo is the host. “I’m just…” Sunoo groans. “Look at him, Jungwon.”

“He’s not my type.”

“Of course, he’s not your type! But he’s my type!” Sunoo admits. He blames it on the alcohol mixed with his frustration to actually talk about his feelings to someone. “He’s tall and nice and he’s just so…” He groans again because he can’t put into words just how much he feels for Sunghoon. “He even showed up as Marshall Lee. He’s definitely doing it on purpose, but why? I don’t want to assume that he likes me too, but he’s giving me enough reasons to do so! And it’s so frustrating!” He emphasizes each word with a slap on Jungwon’s arm.

Sunoo feels all warm inside whenever he sees or even just thinks about Sunghoon. He’s definitely treading into a more dangerous zone with his feelings and he doesn’t know how to cope with it. Jungwon suggests just confessing to Sunghoon. But Sunoo would rather eat glass than embarrass himself. He doesn’t want Sunghoon to think he’s desperate!

“It’s so easy for you to say. You’re not the one who confessed to Jay-hyung,” Sunoo points out. He gulps down the rest of his beer and sets the empty bottle aside.

Jungwon chuckles and nods in agreement. “I’m just that cute, I guess.”

“Ew.”

Their attention shifts to Riki all of a sudden when the latter — sporting a Grim Reaper costume, complete with the scythe he uses to harvest pumpkins — looms over a guest and scares them. Jungwon accidentally snorts out his margarita.

Then Sunoo’s mind was all over Sunghoon’s again when the latter catches his eye from across the room and waves at him. Sunoo waves back and gives him a smile. He mouths ‘Are you having fun?” to which Sunghoon replies with the lame thumbs up that Sunoo always does. Then Sunghoon raises a piece of chicken tender before biting into it. It’s such a mundane act, but it makes Sunoo’s heart flutter. Sunghoon is so pretty and nice and kind. And maybe Sunoo is just a little bit deprived of affection, but he really wants to get closer to Sunghoon. Even just as a friend.

However, the floating feeling stops when he sees Sunghoon vomiting and falling to the floor. Sunoo instantly stands up but he can't move his legs in shock. Jungwon and Jay immediately run to Sunghoon’s rescue. A crowd gathers around them until Sunoo barely sees the top of their heads. By then, his feet mindlessly takes him to the crowd and he pushes his way in. He sees Jay and Jungwon carrying an unconscious Sunghoon out of the house. Jay yells for everyone to make way. There were gruesome pelts around Sunghoon’s mouth and cheeks and he almost looks like he’s smoking up, but Sunoo couldn’t see it clearly because Riki was suddenly blocking his way and pushing him away from the crowd.

“What happened to him?” Sunoo’s voice cracks when he speaks. He feels hot tears streaming down his face, but Riki keeps telling him that Sunghoon is fine. “I… What…?”

One of the guests inspects the chicken tender that was on the floor, the one Sunghoon just bit into. “Does this contain garlic?” he asks Sunoo.

“I… I cooked it with garlic. I.. I don’t know why that matters?”

But the guest just looks apologetically at Sunoo and shakes his head. Riki provides an explanation. “Sunghoon-hyung… He’s severely allergic to garlic that’s why he had to be rushed out and treated. Don’t worry, Jay-hyung is taking care of it now.”

“Jay? Shouldn’t we call an ambulance?”

“It’s fine, hyung. Jay-hyung knows what to do. I promise that Sunghoon-hyung will be better soon, but right now I need you to calm down and let them do their work. Don’t worry, okay?”

Despite Riki’s assuring words, Sunoo still can’t help but burst into tears. He doesn’t know how the night turned out as terribly as it did, but all he could do was let Riki hold him against his chest as he sobs.

Jay and Jungwon said that Sunghoon is fine and that Sunoo could visit him anytime he wants the day after the party. But he doesn’t believe them and he stays away from doing anything that remotely reminds him of that night. His guilt is eating away at him. He wants to apologize to Sunghoon, but he doesn’t know how. He didn’t know about his garlic allergy! If he did, he would have prepared better alternatives.

So for the days following that incident, he locks himself at home and focuses on his work. He stays out of the kitchen as much as he can just so he won’t remember the way Sunghoon fell on the floor. And at night, when he sees Sunghoon’s house lights turning on from across the street, he draws his curtains in and sleeps in the dark. He pauses his yard project for another week. And then another. He feels grateful for Jungwon and Jay for not forcing him out of the house. He tells them that he just wants to feel alone for a while, and they respect him. The only guests he accepted for a few minutes were Heeseung and Jake who were back from their trip. Jake has scratch marks peeking out of his chest, but Sunoo doesn’t comment on it. The two of them gave him a pot of African violets to add to his garden, and he generously accepts them.

But before they leave, Jake turns to him sullenly and says, “You should probably visit Sunghoon soon. I know you feel bad about what happened, but we all know it wasn’t your fault. And I promise you that Sunghoon doesn’t blame you too.”

Sunoo just gives Jake a tight smile and tells him that he’ll think about it.

Sunoo does think about it some more and prepares for his visit. He should probably bring flowers or fruits. But he can’t be sure if he’s allergic to anything else. Maybe he could make those rice cakes? They won’t be as perfect as his mom’s but he’s sure that Sunghoon isn’t allergic to them. In the end, he lets another day pass without going across the street to visit.

So imagine his surprise when one night, just after his work, Sunoo hears the doorbell ringing. He feels like he already knows who was on the other side of the door, but he still feels nervous to finally face him. He takes a deep breath and tries to walk his way to the door without tripping on his own feet. He opens it and sure enough, there Sunghoon was, dressed in his all-black regalia. He looks better now like what Jungwon and Jay kept telling Sunoo, but Sunoo still remembers how he looked that night.

“You still haven’t visited me,” Sunghoon says with a gentle and almost hurt tone. “I’ve waited for you.”

Sunoo looks down and fidgets on his fingers. He doesn’t know what to say or how to even begin with his apology. The moment becomes tense and the air feels heavy. It suddenly becomes more difficult to breathe.

“I still owe you dinner, you know,” Sunghoon adds.

“You don’t have to anymore.”

“No. We’re eating dinner now.” Without another word, Sunghoon pulls Sunoo by the hand and practically drags him across the street. Sunoo protests behind him, but Sunghoon doesn’t listen. He’s a lot stronger than Sunoo thought he would be so it didn’t take him much effort to bring Sunoo in his house. Sunoo is just thankful that Sunghoon didn’t have to resort to carrying him on his shoulders.

Sunoo doesn’t know what to expect about the interior of Sunghoon’s house, but he wasn’t all too surprised to see that it looks similar to its exterior. There were dark walls and vintage-style furniture. It looks like a Victorian house if it weren’t for the flat screen TV mounted above the fireplace.

Sunghoon doesn’t relent and continues to pull him toward the dining area where the table is set rather elegantly. It was a candle-lit dinner with red wine and perfectly-cooked steak and mashed potatoes that made Sunoo’s stomach growl.

Sunghoon squeezes Sunoo’s hand gently and says, “I’ve prepared this for hours so I hope you enjoy it.” Then he lets go and pulls a chair out for Sunoo to take.

“Hyung,” Sunoo calls hesitantly, mind still a mess. Sunghoon shakes his head and gestures for him to sit down. And then he assures him that they will talk after dinner. Sunoo sighs and slumps his shoulders. He doesn’t want to come off as rude so he sits down and waits for Sunghoon to join him.

They pull their napkins out and place them on their laps, pretending to be in a fine dining restaurant rather than a suburban home. And then Sunghoon fills their glasses up with wine. Sunoo can’t take his eyes off of him, mostly out of guilt. He eyes his mouth where the pelts appeared that night, but there seems to be no trace of them at all, like that incident never happened in the first place.

“Sunoo, just eat,” Sunghoon tells him. Sunoo sighs again, but does what he’s told.

If it weren’t for the fact that he still feels bad about what happened, Sunoo would have moaned at how immaculate the steak tastes. But he holds it off and tries to savor it as much as he could. He thinks that his masking wasn’t all that effective if Sunghoon smiles like that at him. Sunghoon’s eyes turn to crescents and he watches Sunoo eat with much gusto.

“Hyung... “ Sunoo whispers when he grows conscious of his face. He tries to look away, but Sunghoon follows him and maintains eye contact.

“Do you like it? It’s not my recipe. Jay helped me with it,” Sunghoon confesses. It makes sense in a way because the steak sauce is definitely made from mushrooms. Sunoo nods shyly but continues to stuff his face with the food.

Sunghoon stops him for a while and reaches out to wipe away the sauce on the side of his face like a mom would do to her child. For Sunoo, it was just a heart attack waiting to happen because of how close Sunghoon was to him. He could smell Sunghoon’s fresh cologne and he could see just how long his eyelashes are in this proximity. Sunoo feels his cheeks heat up. After the entree, Sunghoon stands up to give him a slice of pumpkin pie for dessert. “This one’s a recipe from Riki.”

Sunoo can’t help but giggle because he can picture Riki teaching Sunghoon how to make pumpkin pie with a blank face. It’s funny because Sunghoon must have looked the same. Sunoo digs into the pumpkin pie and clenches his fist at how good it tastes as well. It’s not too sweet, which is probably the best compliment one can give to a dessert. He’d like to pass on the cavities. He can see in his periphery how Sunghoon smiles at him again and notes that the latter scooted his seat closer to Sunoo.

“Thank you for helping me out on the yard, Sunoo,” Sunghoon says gently to him. Sunoo looks him in the eye and wills his heart to calm down, but it doesn’t. It keeps on racing madly. “And also for being so nice to me. You...” Sunghoon shyly looks away for some reason. “You really make me happy.”

Sunoo freezes and repeats ‘Calm the fuck down, Sunoo’ in his head like a mantra. He can’t be too happy about hearing that when he almost killed Sunghoon with that damn chicken tender!

Sunghoon tries to say something more, but Sunoo cuts him off by standing up and bowing apologetically. He doesn’t mind the fact that his waist and back hurts because of the angle. He almost yells, “Sunghoon-hyung, I’m sorry!”

“Sunoo…”

He feels his blood rush to his head but he lets himself feel that burning sensation. He doesn’t straighten his posture and remains bowing. “I should have asked you and all of the guests, really, if they had any food allergies. I’m sorry that I caused you to get sick and hurt. I really didn’t mean it, hyung. And I’m sorry if I didn’t visit sooner because I didn’t know what to say and I was scared that you’d be mad at me. I’m sorry if I—”

“Sunoo!” Sunghoon practically pulls him by the shoulders to make him look at him. Despite his hurried apologies, Sunghoon was smiling at him, his eyes turning to pretty crescents again. “Calm down. I’m not mad at you and it wasn’t your fault. I promise. I’m fine.” His cold hands grab Sunoo’s and he brings them up to his equally-cold cheeks. “See? I’m fine…”

For some reason, seeing Sunghoon up close and getting to feel how smooth his skin was and how nonexistent the pelts were made Sunoo breathe out in relief. A huge weight was taken off of his shoulders. Sunghoon is fine and he’s not mad. That doesn’t mean that Sunoo should do better next time, but he could finally get rid of all the guilt and start with Sunghoon all over again. Sunoo can’t help but take Sunghoon into his arms for a hug. He feels cold against Sunoo’s warm body, but it doesn’t feel awkward. Sunghoon hugs him back and pats his hair reassuringly.

“I’m sorry, hyung. I’m glad you’re fine.”

Sunghoon chuckles. “Don’t ghost me like that again.” He pinches Sunoo’s side, making the latter jump. Sunoo pulls away slightly to glare at Sunghoon. “I really did miss you, you know.” Sunoo couldn’t hold his stare any longer and shyly looked away. Then slowly, he pulls his arms back away from Sunghoon until Sunghoon holds Sunoo’s hand instead. It’s cold but his hold on him was firm and with much intent.

“I want to show you something, okay?” Sunoo nods and lets Sunghoon take him upstairs. They stop by the lounging area upstairs where a table is situated in front of the window. The vase sitting atop it was full of fully-bloomed moon flowers. “Jay gave me these special fertilizers. They grew so much over the weeks. I wanted to show you, but you didn’t visit me.”

The moon flowers bloom in the direction of the moonlight and their fragrance smells divine. “They’re beautiful, hyung,” Sunoo says as he inspects the pristine petals. Moon flowers only bloom at night and they last for only a night or two before wilting away. But judging by the flowers on Sunghoon’s vase, they are in much better shape.

Sunghoon picks one of the flowers and snaps it off of its branch before tucking it in Sunoo's ear. And then slowly, he lets his gentle fingers push Sunoo’s face to the side so they could look at each other eye to eye. Sunoo feels nervous all of a sudden — the good kind of nervous — and feels his breath hitch when Sunghoon looks at him fondly.

“Sorry about that garlic thing again,” Sunoo blurts out, prompting Sunghoon to burst out in a short chuckle.

“You didn’t know. Next time, I’ll make you a list of things I’m allergic to.” They both smile.

And then the air feels heavy again, and Sunghoon just looks at him like he’s taking all of Sunoo’s features in, committing them to memory. His thumb brushes against Sunoo’s lips ever so slightly, making Sunoo swallow the lump on his throat. Sunoo doesn’t want to assume what’s going to happen next, but he’s sure that whatever it is, he’ll probably like it.

“Sunoo, may I?” Sunghoon asks politely like the gentleman that he is. Sunoo breathes in and closes his eyes, waiting.

Sunghoon’s lips are soft when he presses against Sunoo’s. They are a little bit cold, but Sunoo doesn’t mind. The lingering sweetness of the pumpkin pie makes up for it. Sunghoon holds him by the chin before breaking away, their lips making a soft sound as they part. But Sunghoon doesn’t really move farther away and neither did Sunoo. They’re just waiting, testing the waters until Sunghoon leans forward again and kisses Sunoo more deeply this time.

His cold hands move down to Sunoo’s waist to pull him closer, and Sunoo instinctively coils his arms around Sunghoon’s neck to pull him in too. Kissing Sunghoon felt nice and he will most probably scream into his pillow later when he gets back home. But for the moment, he forgets all his worries and basks in Sunghoon’s presence and the fragrance of the moon flower that envelopes them.