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It’s been a while since Sungchan and Shotaro started dating. The vivid memory of their mutual friends freaking out over them—mostly because they're considered one of the purest people in their friend group—finally becoming a couple constantly replaying in their heads. The first few days of dating each other could only be described as adorably awkward. Even the slightest touch would make them blush and panic. Soon, those small touches turned into hand holding, then cuddling, now—My goodness , get these two off each other.
It’s only natural, after all, they’re each other’s first. It’s normal to be shy, fidgety, and blushy when the person you've been pining for 4 years suddenly becomes your boyfriend. At least in Shotaro’s case. He is head-over-heels in love with his boyfriend, always clinging to him whenever he gets the chance because of how comfortable the boy feels. He feels at home when he’s with Sungchan, feeling the warm, and safe sensation in his chest was only the cherry-on-top on their relationship.
Naturally, they fell back into their old dynamic, just with the extra “boyfriends” label. Eeek! Boyfriends . He still couldn’t believe it, it was almost surreal. Anyway, everything just falls into place when he’s with him. They bicker like an old married couple, hell, they act like one. Always in their own little world, quietly holding hands in silence as they bask in each other’s presence.
The library was their favorite spot to hang out. Their whole relationship started in the library, really, but the details aren’t important. It’s quiet, the low hum of the air conditioners and occasional creaking of the entrance doors accompanying them as they scan the pages of a book they’re reading together. They always sat on a couch that was situated in a more quiet area—the area where the books aren’t related to anything about school—near the back of the library. Some windows shine light on the couch next to them, and another was directly under the air conditioner, so this couch was deemed the perfect couch. The cold air hits just right and the warmth from each other’s bodies as they’re shamelessly intertwined on the small space, cuddling. It’s comfortable and witnessing the other’s reactions is always fun.
“You done, Hyung?” Sungchan asks, his pointer finger buried underneath the paper, ready to flip the page.
“Not yet,” He replies, eyebrows furrowing as the main character starts doing something that goes against the character development they went through the chapter before. Ugh, that's his biggest pet peeve.
His boyfriend only smiles, “Take your time, Hyung.” How can he be so… nonchalant!? Was he even reading the book?
Nevertheless, Shotaro is whipped . A smile crept up his lips at Sungchan’s patience. Speaking of… “Okay, I’m ready now.” As Sungchan turns the page, Shotaro’s mind wanders to a thought he had a week ago. He subtly turns his head to look at Sungchan, his lips in particular.
Why? Because his boyfriend’s lips look so… perfect. So kissable! It’s dangerous, Shotaro doesn’t even know if he’s a good kisser—gosh, he hopes he’s a good kisser because he doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Sungchan! How does K…Kissing even work!? He’s seen it in movies, read it in books, gave his mom a peck on the cheek or two or a hundred, but… really kissing was all new territory for him.
Does Sungchan even feel the same way? Oh gosh, what if he’s been the only one thinking impure thoughts this whole time!? He wanted to know what those lips would feel like on his cheek… yes, his cheek. He can’t imagine going lips-to-lips with the boy, he might die!
“Hyung?” His thoughts are thankfully interrupted by Sungchan putting down the book, finger marking the page they stopped on. “You alright? You seem out of it.” His usually bright eyes are filled with worry, brows asymmetrically furrowed. His hands dart to Shotaro’s neck, then to his own, comparing their temperature.
Shotaro only shakes his head—shaking the k… kissing thoughts away as well—sending Sungchan a smile to assure the poor boy. “Relax, Channie, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? You want me to walk you home or?”
“No, no! No need, Chan.” He grabs his hands, giving them a light squeeze. “I’m okay, I promise.” Sungchan leans in slightly making Shotaro’s heart skip a beat. Oh my God, was this it?
Just as he thinks that, Sungchan pulls him in for a hug instead. Not like he’s saying hugs are bad, no, no! It’s just as good as, cough, kissing, yup. “We can stop reading for a bit if you want? You hungry?”
Gosh, he’s starving . If this were a movie or something, his stomach would be comically growling and Sungchan would smile and bring out a whole buffet. Oh well, he wasn't entirely wrong. As he nods his head, Sungchan smiles and reaches into his bag revealing two sandwiches and two cartons of banana milk. The sandwiches were a little smushed and Shotaro recognized the wrapper of the sandwich place that's right across the street, but his heart just felt so full at the gesture!
"Oh my gosh, Sungchan. How long were those in there?" He teased, reaching out for the more smushed one but Sungchan gave him the less smushed one. One more kind act he'll burst, he swears.
"I bought them for lunch and forgot to eat." He laughs awkwardly, pulling his hands up in front of his face in defense.
He's right in doing so as Shotaro lands a soft blow on his shoulder, "Jung Sungchan! You haven't eaten lunch yet!?" He whisper-shouts, subconsciously pouting afterward.
Sungchan only rests one of his hands in Shotaro's hair, unfortunately ruffling it up. "Hyung, I'm eating right now okay?" He says, simultaneously taking a bite out of the sandwich and flashing him a grin. Oh gosh, how could Shotaro stay mad at that face?
"Okay, fine." He laughs, leaning his head on Sungchan's shoulder as he eats the sandwich given to him with a smile. "Tomorrow though I'll feed you myself if you don't eat."
The other hums, a small smirk on his lips, "Maybe I shouldn't eat then." This earns him another soft smack and an adorably angy—yes, angry spelled like that—Shotaro. "Okay, okay, sorry! I promise I'm eating properly."
They both calm down now, just basking in each other's presence as they did before. Was eating allowed in the library? No. Could the librarian see them? Also no. This spot truly was perfect.
Shotaro closes his eyes in bliss, this peaceful moment away from the stresses of the world outside this space. It's just him and Sungchan, holding hands and eating sandwiches. He wouldn't dare ask for a better setting to spend his time with Sungchan. The boy was all he could ever want in a person. Kind, thoughtful, gave the best hugs, and has a nice voice to listen to too. He wanted to express how much he’s thankful for Sungchan, and how much he loves him for who he is in an intimate way. He was just too gosh darn shy!
Feeling a boop on his nose, he opens his eyes a little flustered, seeing Sungchan with the book they were reading in his used-to-be sandwich hand. "Wanna continue?”
Well, he couldn’t say no to that, couldn’t he? “Of course I want to!”
The book they were reading was nearing its end, yet it was still in the middle of its climax was a little concerning. The main character just got done with their major character arc, but then a plot twist happens and it turns out the ultimate goal of the main character didn’t exist in the first place. Shotaro is absolutely frustrated by it. Right here, at this line, the main character just walks away from all their now existing problems as they haven’t spent the entire book enduring pain and suffering to get to where they were.
“You seem frustrated.” Sungchan laughs, pressing the space in between Shotaro’s eyebrows and ruining his reading flow.
“Aaaah!” He whines, swatting Sungchan’s hand away. “Yes because I feel like everything they just did the past hundred chapters is useless.”
The other only hums, nodding his head, “I could see why.” He says as he flips the page when Shotaro taps on his finger. “I kind of empathize with them, though. If I spent my whole life doing something only to find out all my effort was wasted, I would also fall into a depressing, self-destructive state of pure disappointment and frustration.”
Wow. He had no idea that combination of words could come out of Sungchan’s mouth. “But they’re just so different! It’s as if they’re not even the same person.”
“Well, that’s what depression does to you.” The way Sungchan speaks is slow, calming in a way, it’s almost hypnotic. “There may be an imbalance of, well, happy hormones and an inflation of more stressful hormones in their brain and it doesn’t know what to do with it. So what comes out is a time bomb of a rash, overly sensitive, and overall unstable human being. So being faced with a situation like that…”
Oh wow. Shotaro has no damn clue what Sungchan is saying, even though he knows his boyfriend used dummy terms to explain with that gigantic BS Psychology brain of his. It’s not like he isn’t listening! He loves it when Sungchan nerds out like this. Yet as he speaks with that soft voice of his, flailing the hand that was holding Shotaro’s around as he’s so lost in his train-of-though, all he thinks about is, “I wanna kiss you.”
“What?”
“What?” Shotaro’s caught in a web of tomfoolery, clown-ness, and stupidity. Did he really just say that out loud!? Really!? A bright red creeps up his cheeks, using his free hand to pat his face in an attempt to hide it. “Ahaha—Nothing, continue what you were saying!”
“Hyung!” Sungchan smiles, a little too big for it to be just a regular smile. “That’s literally all I could think about the past couple of days. K-Kissing you, I mean.”
They’re idiots, two bright red idiots cuddling on a couch together with only a book in between them. The breeze of the air conditioner felt a little colder and it felt really, really hot at the same time. Shotaro’s heart wouldn't stop beating so loud, turning away from the other to rest his hand on his chest. Sungchan felt the same way, all this time. It almost felt like they were confessing to each other again, the fear, the nerves, and the stress all lifting from their shoulders and leaving behind a rush of adrenaline. He turns back to look at Sungchan who’s also patting his chest—book and snacks long gone, by the way—trying to calm himself down. Shotaro feels reassured somehow, that he’s not alone… and that just a little peck wouldn’t hurt.
So he leans in, heart beating like crazy as he puckers his lips to plant a kiss on Sungchan’s cheek. From there, it blooms into a bright blush as he whips his head back to look at Shotaro who’s equally as flustered.
“Hyung!?” His usually calm and soft voice cracks when he tries to speak. In any other situation, Shotaro would laugh and tease the younger about how he’s still going to grow, despite him not needing to. Yet given the situation they’re in, he didn’t even have the power to laugh or even notice because his heart was louder than anything else reaching his ears.
They’re sitting there in silence again, this time too hesitant to say anything to each other as they were both as embarrassed as the other was. Shotaro didn’t know whether to explain himself or apologize, staying silent is a completely valid option! Maybe not in this situation.
There wasn’t much time to think on it more, though. Sungchan wraps his arm around Shotaro to pull him closer and lands a soft, long kiss on his cheek. When he pulls away, Shotaro can still feel it and reaches to his cheek to hover his finger over it because he wouldn’t dare touch it.
When he looks back up at Sungchan, he’s looking away but he could clearly see the big smile he’s trying to hide, “We’re even now.”
Shotaro, for once, laughs at that. Though, it was more like hushed giggling because they are in a library after all. He falls to his side and covers his mouth as he laughs to suppress the noise, saying in between breaths, “You’re so cute, Chan!”
The other scoffed, lips pouty, “Says the one who’s beet red right now!” He retorts.
“Puh- leeaaasee! You’re just as red as I am!” He almost screams when Sungchan lands on top of him in protest, burying his head on his chest.
“Whatever,” He says, huffing. Wrapping his hands around the other for a hug, Shotaro promptly adjusted his position so he was lying his head comfortably on the armrest of the couch.
He’s staring at the top of Sungchan’s head, tangling his fingers in his hair. He smiles fondly when he retracts his fingers and Sungchan whines for him to put them back, so he does, running his hands through the boy's hair and reminding himself why he fell in love with him in the first place.
Maybe one day they’ll be one of those couples shamelessly but modestly kissing each other lips-to-lips in public spaces. But who cares? They’re practically like that already, just without the kissing.
“I love you,” Sungchan mumbles to Shotaro just loud enough so he can hear, he can practically feel him smiling.
He laughs softly, impulsively planting another kiss on his head as he whispers, “I love you too, Sungchan. Mwah!”