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When he first heard it, he thought it was a joke, just Ni-ki being a smartass. Sunoo was sitting on his bed with his back against the headrest, scrolling through his Twitter timeline. Next to him, Ni-ki laid, breathing softly.
The taller boy had come into the bedroom a couple of minutes earlier, and upon spotting Sunoo on the bed, he had immediately headed for him, and laid down next to him, saying he was taking a nap.
Sunoo didn’t mind, of course, just shuffled slightly closer to the wall, so the other had more space. Ni-ki’s breathing evened out soon enough, and Sunoo didn’t think more of it. Like mentioned, he truly didn’t mind. Ni-ki seldom snored.
But then he heard Ni-ki’s voice.
“Sunoo”.
It was spoken softly, but still loud enough that Sunoo reacted to it. He blinked. Who told Ni-ki to stop using honorifics? Did he think he could say it while Sunoo was doing something else, as if he couldn’t hear? Sunoo sighed, getting ready to tell the other off, but when he turned his head to him, he closed his mouth shut. Ni-ki was quite obviously sleeping. Sunoo furrowed his brow. Had he misheard?
He shrugged at himself, and went back to his screen, reading through the posts on it. Having a secret account was fun, because as long as he was careful, no one would know it was him behind the account. It also gave him a chance to see and interact with Engenes in a way he couldn’t when he was Kim Sunoo. He enjoyed it, even if he knew he was technically not allowed to have an account like this. But that just meant he had to be careful.
“Sunoo”.
Okay. That was not his imagination. Sunoo furrowed his brow, as he looked at Ni-ki sleeping on the mattress next to him. He was sleeping, but he was also saying Sunoo’s name without honorifics.
Sunoo let out a breath through his nose, looking at his dongsaeng. Ni-ki looked small, laying sleeping next to him. Cute, making his chest feel warm amidst it all. He couldn’t wake him up to reprimand him for using casual language, and maybe it had just been a one-time thing?
“Sunoo”.
Or maybe not . This was quite bothersome. Sure, Ni-ki might be taller than him now, and maybe he looked as if they were the same age - Sunoo couldn’t help having a cute face! - but that didn’t mean Ni-ki could refer to him without the correct title. He was two years older, and that meant Ni-ki couldn’t say his name as he saw fit, native Korean or not.
He was still in the middle of contemplating whether to wake the other up or not, when Ni-ki turned over on his side. Ni-ki reached out with his hand, and the way Sunoo was sitting against the headrest meant he grabbed hold of Sunoo’s bare thigh, his shorts having scooted up on his leg. With his big palm on Sunoo’s leg, he shuffled closer, stopping with his nose almost against Sunoo’s hip.
“Mm”, the boy mumbled. “Sunoo”.
Oh. Sunoo regretted changing into shorts after his shower. Ni-ki’s warm fingers were gripping the soft flesh of his thighs, and it was a bit too much. Especially with Ni-ki’s face against his hip. What should he do? Should he wake him up? This could get embarrassing. Sunoo knew he would feel embarrassed if he woke up and found he was sticking to his dongsaeng like a leech.
But…
… it was nice .
Sunoo took a deep breath, and lifted his screen to his face. He had befriended some Engenes on Twitter. Maybe he could ask for help? No one would know. He bit his lip, and clicked on the icon to write a tweet.
He kept it short and concise, and pressed send.
💞SUNOO SUNOO💞 @nottherealsunoo
Not Enhypen related, but my dongsaeng went to nap next to me and I heard him say my name (without honorifics!!!) but he’s asleep, and now he’s hugging my leg!!! Moots help!!! What do I do!!
Immediately after, he felt stupid. He was not on social media to gush about his awkward crush on his younger group member. He quickly moved to hover his finger over the three dots, to delete the tweet, when he got a like. Sunoo swallowed, and decided to maybe keep it up. A few moments later he got a reply. He glanced down at Ni-ki, still sleeping, and then checked what the user had written.
bibi ⭐️ @flckr2005
@nottherealsunoo wahh unniiee that’s so cute no way T-T
His followers thought he was a girl, and he hadn’t corrected them. He definitely wouldn’t now. Sunoo let out a sigh. Yes, it was very cute indeed, but that did not help!
He replied to them.
💞SUNOO SUNOO💞 @nottherealsunoo
@flckr2005 No because it’ll get awkward 🥺😰 I just know it 🥺🥺
He got another response, and went to check it too.
🦧🦧🦧 @67854365suns
@nottherealsunoo Dongsaeng or boyfriend?? ))
Sunoo felt his face heat up. Not helpful either! He settled for just liking the reply, not wanting to be mean to a fan, but talk about putting ideas into his head! Awful .
He was interrupted in his frantic thinking, when Ni-ki once more moved, adjusting his position. His hand moved slightly at that, reaching further and now touching the much more sensitive part of his inner thigh.
“Sunoo… s’good…”
He could almost imagine the hot breath he’d feel, had he not worn shorts and boxers between Ni-ki’s face and his skin. He should really, really wake him up.
He was interrupted by his phone buzzing. A new reply.
MINTY 🍫 @enhaengenesunshine
@nottherealsunoo That’s so sweet I’m jealous. Are you sure he’s not awake? 🥺 Sounds like something out of a drama! 🥺
Sunoo glanced down for a short moment, and then turned to his phone again.
💞SUNOO SUNOO💞 @nottherealsunoo
@enhaengenesunshine I’m positive 🥺. I feel awkward 🥺. He doesn’t know I like him and I know he doesn’t like me.
Every nerve in his body was hyper aware of Ni-ki’s grip on his skin. He felt uncomfortable, too hot, and part of him wished he would just wake up. But another part, the bad part of him, wished Ni-ki could stay forever like that, clinging to him like he was a pillow. All in all, it was conflicting.
His phone buzzed again.
MINTY 🍫 @enhaengenesunshine
@nottherealsunoo I mean, if he speaks informally… either he’s a shitbag (haha) or he feels really comfortable with you! If it’s the latter… welll… he might like you more than you think
Sunoo felt his face heat up, and he sighed. Maybe he was naive, expecting young girls to offer him any sort of reassurance to his current problem. He simply liked the reply, and then logged out of the account. He had to be careful, after all.
When set and done, he put it next to him on the bed, between the wall and his leg, and looked down at his dongsaeng. Ni-ki was still holding onto his leg in a sure grip, letting out small breaths against his shorts. The words ‘ he might like you more than you think ’ kept running through his brain. All in all, it wasn’t very realistic. Maybe if he had actually been a 18-years-old girl, crushing on her 16-years-old dongsaeng. Maybe then it could’ve been realistic to imagine that Ni-ki liked him back as more than just a hyung, or a friend. Maybe then, him saying Sunoo’s name while hugging him close in his state of unconsciousness could be explained that way.
He took another second, just looking at Ni-ki’s soft and relaxed face. Then he put his hand on the other’s shoulder, physically forbidding himself from touching the soft-looking cheek. He allowed himself to focus on the warmth of it for a short moment, and then he softly shook Ni-ki.
He saw the moment consciousness slipped back into the boy, as he groaned, hugging Sunoo closer.
“No, Sunoo”, the boy moaned, and it made Sunoo’s heart clench in his chest. No honorifics.
He swallowed, shaking the boy again.
“Ni-ki, wake up. I need to use the bathroom”, he lied.
He saw Ni-ki furrow his brows at that, and then open his eyes, blinking once, twice. And then the boy froze.
“Hyung?”, he said, sounding uncertain.
Sunoo swallowed, brain latching onto the sudden use of honorifics, and felt the hand on his thigh loosen.
“Yeah?”
Ni-ki then, in a quick motion, rolled over on his back. He looked embarrassed, Sunoo could note, before the boy threw his arm over his face, shielding it from view.
“Uh… sorry. Didn’t mean to grab you”.
Sunoo let out a breath, and then forced himself into his role of a hyung. He let out a soft chuckle. It sounded natural.
“It’s fine”.
He caught a glimpse of a pout below Ni-ki’s arm, and it made his heart feel too big for his chest. Ni-ki was cute. So cute.
He took a moment to wonder if he should confront the other about not using honorifics, but considering how embarrassed the younger boy already looked, he decided not to. It had nothing to do with the words ‘ he might like you more than you think ’. Nothing. It wasn’t as if he would scrutinise that statement for several nights to come, wondering if there could be some truth to it. He was quite a master at breaking his own heart at this point.
Sunoo swallowed, and then cleared his throat.
“Well, I’ll just…”
Ni-ki took down his arm, face still a bit flustered, and nodded.
“Sure”.
Ni-ki moved on the bed, sitting up. Sunoo watched him sit up on the edge, putting his legs down, and then getting up on his feet. He sat still, just following Ni-ki as he took slow steps to his own bed on the opposite of the room. When Ni-ki had sat down, looking back at him, only then did he find his strength to move.
He put his own legs over the edge, and got up, giving the other a smile. Ni-ki didn’t return it, still looking embarrassed.
“I’ll go now, you should continue sleeping if you’re tired, Ni-ki”.
The boy just nodded, and Sunoo saw him lay down on his back, rolling over so his back was facing Sunoo. Sunoo suppressed a sigh, and started walking to the door. Walking out and closing it behind him, he thought he could hear a groan from the other, but it was cut off by the door being shut.
Sunoo didn’t necessarily need to use the bathroom, but still his feet took him towards it. He could take a shower, maybe. He hadn’t done that yet today. He needed some time to ground himself before he did something he would regret. Such as acting on the words of Engenes.
Walking into the bathroom, undressing and turning the shower on, the words ‘ he might like you more than you think ’ wouldn’t stop repeating themselves in his head. Those, together with Ni-ki’s flush, made his heart ache, and when he got under the water, he turned down the temperature of it so he could focus on nothing but the cold. It didn't feel nice, he was sensitive to cold, but nothing felt worse than hope.