Chapter Text
6:08pm
To say the least, things were definitely getting out of hand. Way out of hand.
But at the same time, what did they expect?
Well... Anything but this, really.
"Oh, I'm so happy for my baby!"
"Mom..." Haknyeon quietly whines, attempting to remove his mother's hands from cupping his cheeks. "Please don't squish my face."
From across the room, he makes eye contact with his fiancé—causing Haknyeon's cheeks to flush.
"Okay, okay." Although his mother raises her hands in surrender, she keeps her precious, giant smile on her face. "But you can't blame me. I'm just so excited for you. My youngest is getting married!"
"I know." Haknyeon awkwardly chuckles. "I can't believe it either..."
His mother raises a few questions about the wedding details, even suggesting a few things here and there.
And little by little, more guests begin joining the conversation, making Haknyeon's hands get clammy. It didn't help that there were basically five different conversations happening all at the same time.
"-with gorgeous fairy lights decorating the trees! And, oh! Paper lanterns!"
"We attended a beach wedding last June, and it was absolutely beautiful-"
"You should have the ceremony at sunset."
"-out of season and basic. Trust me on this. Emerald green, gold, and a white-ish beige color would-"
"-many kids are you two planning to have?"
"You should enjoy a couple of years as husbands first before talking about kids."
Haknyeon's mind was swirling with so many emotions. He couldn't respond to any of them without stuttering, and he could feel himself getting sweaty. At some point, he could physically feel his words getting stuck in his throat.
And just as he was about to excuse himself from the overwhelming situation, arms snaked around his waist from behind—his back meeting a firm chest.
"Sorry, but I'll have to steal my fiancé for a bit, if that's alright."
Haknyeon turns his head to his savior, catching a good look of his fiancé's sharp jawline and plump lips as he charmed the guests with his signature smile. It took Haknyeon all his willpower to divert his gaze elsewhere.
Get it together, Haknyeon!
Busy trying to pull himself together with the whole situation, Haknyeon doesn't notice his fiancé tugging him into a room until he gets through the door. He snatches his hand back almost immediately.
6:46pm
Haknyeon takes a couple of deep breaths. "What's happening? This wasn't in our agreement, Sunwoo."
"I know-" The younger looks up at the ceiling and silently groans.
"You said it would just be a small engagement party for our parents and selected friends, so I agreed." Haknyeon bites his nails. "There's literally an entire village in our living room!"
This was all too much for Haknyeon. Starting to feel himself having trouble breathing, he undoes a few buttons of his polo—missing how Sunwoo's eyes watched his fingers.
Haknyeon paces around the room with a frown, while still biting his nails from time to time. "They're going to find out."
"No, they're not-"
"Yes, they are!" The older insists. "T-They'll all figure out what we've done, a-and everything will go downhill-"
"They won't find out-"
"-I'll have to pick up more part-time shifts because of my stupid pride-"
"You won't need to do-"
"This was a bad-n-no! This is a bad idea!"
"Haknyeon hyung-"
"-and you'll probably end up having an arranged marriage-" Haknyeon stops mid-sentence as he gets spun around.
The younger placed one of his hands on Haknyeon's shoulder, while the other caught his wrist. Their chests were merely a couple of inches apart.
"Hyung," Sunwoo says in a gentle tone. "Breath. You're overwhelmed."
At least one of us seems to be handling this well...
Haknyeon's lips parted as he blinked a few times at Sunwoo. Instead of using his voice, which seemed to be lost for the nth time that night, he slightly nods his head and takes a deep breath, just as Sunwoo told him to do.
How did it even get to this? Oh, right.
Five months ago, Haknyeon was struggling to make ends meet.
He received another eviction notice because he hasn't been able to pay his rent. Hyunjae, his older brother, offered to help him, but he refused, saying that although he deeply appreciated it, he wanted to figure it out by himself first. It's the only way he'd learn. And partly because of his pride.
Looking back at it though, maybe he should've just accepted his brother's offer instead.
Working overtime and picking up a part-time shift in a local bookstore just wasn't enough for his daily necessities, rent, and student debt.
This was all supposed to be temporary—his jobs, living situation, everything—allowing Haknyeon some time to figure out what he really wanted to do in life. It was difficult to do so, however, when the universe kept throwing problems right smack into his face.
Eventually, it all led to desperation.
And desperation led Haknyeon straight to him .
One day, Haknyeon came home from doing a quick errand during his day off. Right when he reached his apartment, he spotted Sunwoo standing right outside his door—waiting for him.
Confusion was an understatement.
The two had met in college through mutual friends. They ended up being in the same friend group, but they weren't that close.
In time, life got them all busy after graduation. Nonetheless, from time to time, they would try to have dinner together.
Haknyeon hasn't been able to attend the last three gatherings due to overtime or his part-time job (and saving money by cooking whatever he had in his fridge instead of going out), and Sunwoo stopped attending after his grandfather passed.
It was the first time the two had seen each other in almost two years.
Coming from that, there were so many questions and assumptions running through Haknyeon's mind at that time—why did Sunwoo show up all of a sudden, and how did he know where to find him?
Sunwoo noticed the older's wariness towards him—immediately letting the older know that Chanhee, their mutual friend and the only person Haknyeon has had continuous contact with, had told him where he had lived or where to find him.
It eased Haknyeon's mind by a bit, but he eventually realized that the younger didn't mean to bring harm upon him. Not wanting to be rude and have the conversation in a hallway where his neighbors could eavesdrop, the older invited him into his apartment and offered him a glass of water.
Sunwoo, to the older's surprise, went straight into the reason behind his visit once he had taken a sip of water.
And that brings them to where they are now.
"Better?" The younger's comforting smile never faltered as he drew small patterns on Haknyeon's wrist.
Haknyeon didn't say a word, instead, simply nodding and trying to fight the heat that threatened to crawl up from his neck to his face. It was tough, especially when his mind began to hyperfocus on their close proximity and the younger's warm, gentle touch. On top of that, he can't help but recall their conversation that day.
-----
Flashback.
Five months ago.
'Hyung, I want you to marry me.' Sunwoo looked straight into his eyes.
The older second-guessed his hearing and scrunched his brows in confusion. 'W-What?'
Sunwoo kept a straight face. 'Marry me.'
'Are you messing with me right now, Sunwoo? Do you hear yourself?' Eyes squinted in suspicion, Haknyeon probed the younger for any sort of explanation that would help him understand the odd situation. 'We haven't talked in the past two years, and now you're asking me to marry you?'
'Yes hyung, I know what it sounds like.'
'I mean, I guess?' Haknyeon scratched his head. It's not that he didn't find Sunwoo attractive; the younger was definitely his type, but there was no romantic interest nor feeling's present. 'I'm not sure if you're familiar with developing romantic relationships, but at least take me out on a few dates first before you ask my hand in marriage...'
The younger chuckled in response.
'Why? Why are you laughing?'
'No, you're right. It's common courtesy to take someone out on a date and establish intimacy first before getting married.' Sunwoo shook his head in amusement. 'But in this case, that won't really be necessary... It'll be a fake marriage.'
Haknyeon stared at him like he had gone mad.
'Look,' Sunwoo said as he clasped his hands together. 'I found out my parents are planning an arranged wedding for me. They found someone already, and I'm supposed to meet that person in a couple of days.'
Clearly confused, Haknyeon frowned. 'You're betrothed then? What does this have to do with me?'
'Well... Not yet, but I don't plan on waiting around to be engaged to someone my parents chose for me.'
'Okay... So wait,' Haknyeon pursed his lips in thought. 'You want to fake marry someone so that your parents won't push through with the arranged marriage?'
The younger nodded. 'I know my parents. They'll do whatever it takes for it to happen. A fake marriage is the only way I can get out of it.'
'I mean, moving to another country might just solve it.'
It made the younger chuckle once more.
Haknyeon didn't realize the ends of his own lips curled up ever so slightly upon hearing the younger laugh.
'I wish. My parents would just come after me.'
'Point taken. But... What's in it for me? W-Why me in the first place?'
'It'll only be for at most a year. We'd date for a bit, get engaged after a few months, have a civil wedding, and then get annulled on mutual terms after another few months. I'll pretend to be so heartbroken, and that would probably save me more time to focus on my company before my parents attempt to set me up again.' Sunwoo said so easily. 'You'd stay with me the whole time. You don't need to worry about rent, electricity, food, or water. I'll even drive you and pick you up from work from time to time, or you can use my car. I'll have you covered. It's the least I can do if you agree.'
Haknyeon's ears perked up at the benefits he'd get if he agreed. This would solve a lot of his problems, at least for a year. This would help him focus on other matters, especially his career. He bit the inside of his cheek while he listened to the younger.
'I know we aren't that close, but after giving it a lot of thought, I'd rather fake marry you than some complete stranger. We don't know each other that much to have all of this really affect our relationship with one another.' Sunwoo sheepishly rubbed his ear in embarrassment. 'Y-You can give it some thought before you give me an answer, especially the benefits you would get out of this since I know this really is a lot to ask from you.'
With lips pursed together, the older nodded and silently weighed the pros and cons of this 'marraige'. He then spotted the eviction notice on his refrigerator and froze. Haknyeon hoped that Sunwoo didn't see it when he entered, but then again, it's impossible to miss it.
Haknyeon got a good look at the younger's face—looking just as desperate as he was.
'I'll be honest with you,' He placed his hands flat on the table and stared at Sunwoo with a serious yet slightly embarrassed expression. 'I am having some trouble... financially... A-And this would actually help me a lot-'
'Really?' Sunwoo said too quickly, with almost too much enthusiasm. Upon seeing the older look taken aback with his tone, Sunwoo apologized and shook his head. 'S-Sorry, that came out wrong and rude. But I can assure you that I'll have you covered until the end of this whole agreement, which would give you some time to get back on your feet.'
'I just don't think I'd feel comfortable in... I don't know, leeching off of you?'
'Oh no, please. There's no need for you to feel like that, especially since my mind was already set on covering those things for you. I'm the one who's asking much more.' Sunwoo smiled reassuringly at the older. 'You'd live with me but you'd have your own room. It's just really to back up our story and make it look like we're in a very serious relationship. And if you still feel uncomfortable about 'leeching off', which you definitely shouldn't at all, you can buy groceries or pay for gas from time to time.'
Haknyeon bit his nails. The more he thought about it, the more he was sold on the arrangement. There were just a few more things Haknyeon had to settle before he gave Sunwoo his answer.
'What about any sort of PDA? Would we need to...?'
'If we're out in public, we would need to show some sort of affection to one another, but nothing will go as far as anything sexual.' Sunwoo responded so naturally. 'We'd have to hold hands, hug, and maybe kiss each other on the cheek from time to time, but that's really it. I promise.'
The older nodded his head and closed his eyes for a minute before finally stretching his hand out in front of him and the younger. 'But under no circumstances will we ever kiss or have sex. Strictly business.'
Sunwoo stared at Haknyeon's outstretched hand with his mouth agape in confusion. Then it hit him. His eyes lit up in joy and clasped his slightly larger hand with Haknyeon's. 'Of course! Strictly business.'
'Then yes,' Haknyeon smiled. 'I will fake marry you, Kim Sunwoo.'
-----
7:02pm
Sunwoo brushes away some of the strands in front of Haknyeon's face—leaving tingles across the older's skin.
"Thank you." Haknyeon quietly mumbled while avoiding eye contact. He hurriedly walks over to the other side of the room and made it seem like he wanted to look out the window for some sort of comfort. In reality, however, Haknyeon was actually trying to create a space between the two of them—convincing himself that he didn't want to be all up in Sunwoo's personal bubble.
There was a chance that Haknyeon may have continued to sigh loudly, along with biting his nails, because Sunwoo was suddenly right beside him and removing the older's poor nails away from his teeth.
"Hey, they're not going to find out." Sunwoo says once more with more conviction and a comforting lopsided grin this time around. "I promised, didn't I? Don't you trust me?"
As the older softly giggles at him, Sunwoo feels a small wave of pride within his chest—like it was an accomplishment making Haknyeon smile at him like that.
"Yeah, you did promise..." Haknyeon bit his lip.
Still wanting to lift Haknyeon's mood, Sunwoo hooked their pinky fingers together and grinned even bigger. "And I intend to keep my promise, hyung."
-----
7:17pm
Fifteen minutes passed before the two decided it was about time to get back to their (fake) engagement party. But it wasn't without Sunwoo making sure Haknyeon had finally calmed down from his previous mini-panic attack.
Haknyeon was grateful.
The moment they got to the garden area where the party was held, dinner was about to be served.
The rest of the night went smoothly. They talked to their relatives and friends with much ease as compared to before.
Sunwoo stayed by Haknyeon's side the whole time, squeezing his hand every time he sensed the older's panic, to which Haknyeon would look up at him and smile thankfully.
It was a bigger celebration than Haknyeon had expected, which meant more people they had to lie to. Although Haknyeon carried quite a lot of guilt on his shoulders, having to lie to his family as well about his relationship with Sunwoo, there were some moments where Haknyeon felt like they weren't lying at all.
It scared him a bit.
The two kept their boundaries with each other when they were alone. Haknyeon often stayed in the kitchen or the living room, while Sunwoo would always be in his home office. In the beginning, they ate separately—mostly because the younger had a deal he had to close and spent most of his days in the office. He still made sure to accommodate Haknyeon in his own home, but as soon as he closed the deal, that was when he made more effort to spend time with the older.
Both of them easily slipped into a routine.
It was as if they had shifted from simply being roommates to long-time friends living together.
They would eat together more often; at times, Sunwoo would help Haknyeon in the kitchen; they go to the supermarket together; they have lunch and dinner 'dates' outside when they're both free; they play video games or watch movies in the living room; Haknyeon would accompany Sunwoo during family events as, of course, his boyfriend; and Sunwoo kept his word about bringing and picking Haknyeon up from his work when he could. Things like those.
And from time to time, Sunwoo would bring home small gifts for the older—flowers, plushies, and even the chicken wings from a shop two hours away that Haknyeon had told him he had been craving.
There's no denying that there were times that Haknyeon would get confused by the younger's gestures, knowing that it would start to complicate things, but Sunwoo always told him that it was for their fake relationship, which is why he had to do such things.
Haknyeon often brushed off the mixed emotions he felt because, for one, as he gradually got to know Sunwoo through this whole arrangement, the younger was not the kind to toy with someone's emotions. And two, they needed to act like a real couple for people to believe that they were actually together—for the plan to work.
-----
8:24pm
Nothing more than just friends. Nothing more than just helping each other as friends.
"-you excited for it, hyung?" Sunwoo peers down at him, tapping him by the waist, when the older only looks up at him without responding—snapping Haknyeon out of his trance.
"O-Oh! Yes, that's right. I'm very, very excited." Seeing the hidden, amused smirk in Sunwoo's smile, Haknyeon coughs out of embarrassment. He whispers to Sunwoo. "W-What are we excited about again?"
The younger chuckles, whispering back to him. "Our 'honeymoon', hyung."
Haknyeon's eyes widen as the apples of his cheeks turn pink.
"So, where are you two planning to go?" Sunwoo's mom looked at the two fondly—witnessing the 'young love' of her son and future son-in-law.
"Oh! Hyung actually wanted to take care of the planning for that." Sunwoo, deciding to be playful, passes the question to the clearly flustered older. "Where are we going again, hyung?"
"O-Oh, uh, well..."
The thing is, they didn't have any plans for the honeymoon because there was no reason for any sort of 'honeymoon-ing' at all. Haknyeon needed to come up with a quick, yet believable lie.
"I-I was, uh, thinking w-we could go to Jeju for our honeymoon..." It sounded more like a question than a statement.
The older sends a pleading look at Sunwoo, in hopes that he will help him think of a lie. To his disappointment, Sunwoo looked at him amusingly while trying to keep in his smile by biting his lip.
That jerk.
Haknyeon scowls at him through his eyes, causing Sunwoo to finally break into a giant grin.
"Oh, that sounds wonderful!"
Nodding his head, the older sneakily elbows Sunwoo's side when he hears a soft snicker, causing the latter to hold back a chuckle.
"My family has a small villa a few minutes away from Hamdeok Beach, and it's really beautiful later on in the summer. I was hoping we could take long walks by the shore, go swimming, maybe even snorkeling or scuba diving-"
As Haknyeon begins to get invested in the conversation about his hometown just as his future mother-in-law was, he doesn't notice Sunwoo moving behind him with his hands around his waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.
"-very peaceful. Oh! Canola flowers would be in season too. The field is so breathtaking, Mrs. Kim. I've been there before, but nothing beats going there with someone special." Haknyeon lightly giggles to himself as he suddenly recalls a memory. "The last time I went there, I swore to myself that the next time I would go, I would be with someone I love and would be spending the rest of my life with them."
"That's sounds so lovely, Haknyeon." Sunwoo's mother endearingly smiles. "I'm so happy that you will finally be able to go back with Sunwoo this time around."
Oh right.
Before he could say another word, Sunwoo squeezes his waist like before, finally realizing that he was basically snuggled up to Sunwoo's chest. Not that he was complaining or anything, but the older had to remind himself that this was all for show. And yet, he couldn't help but feel the tingles on his cheeks.
When Sunwoo's mom reaches out for Haknyeon's hand, gently caressing her thumb against his fingers, Haknyeon swallows the guilt as tears begin to brim her eyes.
"I am so thankful that you're here beside my Sunwoo... I always worry about him." The way she laughs makes her eyes crinkle. "Before I met you, I thought you weren't real, knowing how Sunwoo is sometimes. But right when I met you, I knew I didn't have to worry anymore."
"Mom," The younger, somewhat embarrassed by his mother's confession to his (fake) fiancé, pipes into the conversation. "Please don't cry. You'll be cried out even before the wedding at this rate."
"Oh, I can't help it. I just haven't seen you as happy as you are with Haknyeon." She grabs a tissue from her purse and begins to dry her tears with a giant smile. The younger's mom shifts her gaze to Haknyeon and thanks him once more.
"I should be the one thanking you, Mrs. Kim." Haknyeon leans his head towards Sunwoo's, and smiles in contentment. "You raised a wonderful man."
-----
10:08pm
Finally. I thought it would never end.
Feeling exhausted and parched, Haknyeon plods to the kitchen in his pajamas to get a glass of water.
As soon as the engagement party ended, Haknyeon expected him and Sunwoo to go about the rest of the night separately. It drained the older's social battery to zero, making him want to simply curl up in bed and fall asleep while scrolling through his phone. And it would make sense for Sunwoo to want to do the same. Which is why it surprises him to see the younger leaning against the kitchen island with a glass in nothing but navy blue shorts and a white tank top.
"Why are you still up?" Haknyeon walks over to the cupboard and grabs himself a glass as well. "I thought you were asleep already."
Looking over his shoulder, the older catches Sunwoo staring at him in deep thought.
Haknyeon finally gets a good look at the younger.
This was how Sunwoo dressed all the time in the house, but something felt different. All of a sudden, Haknyeon notices a lot more things about him: his arms are toned, the tank top showed off his collarbones, his cheeks seemed to be a bit flushed from his shower, and his tanned skin glistened.
Has it always been like this?
He brushes off the feeling in his stomach.
"Sunwoo?"
The younger snaps out of a trance-like state, shaking his head. "Sorry, what?"
Haknyeon lets out a light laugh, trying to play off the awkwardness. "I asked you why you're still up, and you didn't respond. You were just staring at me, so I'm assuming something is on your mind."
"No." Sunwoo immediately says, startling the older. "I mean, no, nothing is on my mind. I was just, uh, spacing out."
"Uh, well... Okay?" Haknyeon turns around and makes his way over to the fridge to get some ice and a pitcher. He tries to ignore the fact that he felt Sunwoo's eyes follow his every movement.
The two finish their drinks silently from opposite ends of the kitchen. From time to time, their eyes would meet, causing both to quickly look away.
Not being able to withstand the atmosphere in the kitchen, Haknyeon breaks the silence by clearing his throat and setting his glass down on the counter.
"So..."
Sunwoo immediately turns his head towards the older, giving all of his attention to him. He repeats after Haknyeon. "So?"
The older's fingers tap on the counter while trying to come up with a topic of conversation. But nothing.
What am I supposed to say? Okay... This is getting real awkward... Just say something! Anything Haknyeon!
"The honeymoon." Haknyeon blurts out without a second thought.
Damn it. Okay, anything but that would've been good.
"Wait, no. I mean, uh..." Shaking his head, Haknyeon attempts to shift the topic to something that wouldn't add to the awkwardness in the room.
Sunwoo chuckles. "What about it?"
"Oh, n-nothing really. I was just, uh, caught off guard awhile ago." Haknyeon wanted nothing more than to stick his head through a wall, especially if it meant for this conversation to end. "And, uh, I guess I-I want to apologize for not paying attention to the, uh, conversation. I definitely would've been able t-to handle it better if I was paying attention."
Okay, that's kind of a good save.
Mentally patting himself on the back, Haknyeon misses the way Sunwoo lightly laughs.
"I think you steered that conversation well. It actually sounds nice." Sunwoo admits, leaning on his forearm.
The younger's honesty causes Haknyeon to bite his cheek, hoping that would calm the tingling feeling in his tummy.
"How come you never told me about that?" He shakes his head upon hearing himself. "Not that you have an obligation to tell me anything. What I mean is that, um, you never, uh, mentioned that to me when we talked about our love life before..."
"Oh, I don't know... I didn't really think about it again until yesterday." The older bites the inside of his cheek and then breaks into a soft giggle. "The last time I saw the Canola flowers was when I was nineteen. It's been six years since I last thought of it. I was a hopeless romantic before, I guess, but now I'm a lost cause with no leads in my career or love life."
"What do you mean 'no love life'?" Sunwoo interjects, almost defensively. "I'm right here."
As Haknyeon laughs louder, Sunwoo begins to grin.
"I'm your fiancé."
" Fake fiancé." He says in between chuckles as he corrects the younger. "But I guess this is the closest I'll get for a long time."
"And it better stay like that." With his playful remark, Sunwoo can't help but close the gap between the two of them as he watches the older throw his head back in laughter.
"Then you better step up your game and treat me better, Kim Sunwoo." Haknyeon's eyes sparkled with amusement—playfully squinting at the younger.
"Are you trying to say that I don't treat you well?" Sunwoo stood in front of him, cocking his head to the side, and looking entertained as the older teased him.
While staring directly into the younger's eyes, Haknyeon simply shrugs his shoulders as if he were playing hard to get.
All of a sudden, without thinking, he finds himself matching Sunwoo's stance and lightly poking his chest as a form of taunt. "Unless you want to see someone else sweep me off my feet and become their fake partner-slash-fiancé with benefits."
Sunwoo holds back a smirk, raising a brow at the brazen older.
Haknyeon continued to run his mouth, playfully taunting the younger. The kind of situation he was setting himself up for didn't register with him until it was too late. Until he felt his back against the kitchen counter with Sunwoo's arms on either side—caging him.
"What a shame. I thought we were doing great together, but I do appreciate the criticism." The younger looks down at him. His smirk slowly turns into a sweet smile. "Maybe we should be more physically intimate with one another, I think that would help. Don't you think so, hyung?"
Wait. Huh?
"Wh-What-" Haknyeon's breath hitches when Sunwoo moves his face closer to his. He makes a lame attempt to move his face away from the younger, but freezes when he feels Sunwoo pull him closer by the small of his back. "S-Sunwoo-"
"Yes, hyung?" Sunwoo softly says.
There were so many things running through Haknyeon's mind.
One moment they were at opposite ends of the kitchen, and then all of a sudden, he's against the counter with Sunwoo holding him so dangerously close compared to what he's used to. Not just that, but the strange feeling in his stomach came back. It wasn't the kind that made him feel like he wanted to throw up or visit the bathroom. It was the kind he would get when he felt agitated or nervous.
Nervous? Why would I be nervous? Oh god. Are we... flirting? Is that what's happening?
A small squeak escapes his lips when he feels Sunwoo's hand come into contact with his skin.
Haknyeon's eyes watch the younger's trailing down to his lips.
Sunwoo's lingering eyes cause Haknyeon to unknowingly lick his lips. As soon as Sunwoo spots the pink tongue darting out to soothe the dryness of the older's own lips, his eyes snap back to Haknyeon's eyes.
And just like that, a sudden realization hits Haknyeon like a ton of bricks.
It's all clear now. It finally makes sense.
To Haknyeon at least.
How Haknyeon would unknowingly wait for Sunwoo to come home so they could have dinner together. How he notices the small crinkles on Sunwoo's nose when he laughs too hard. How Sunwoo's eyes light up when he gets excited or is mischievously up to something. How Sunwoo had a passion for producing music and inspired Haknyeon even more to find what he's passionate about. How Sunwoo would often fidget with the ring on his right middle finger when he was nervous. How Haknyeon began to spend more time debating what to wear every day up to his pajamas. How he would smell the flowers that Sunwoo would bring him more often as compared to before. Or how Haknyeon finally caught himself looking forward to even spending two minutes talking to Sunwoo in the morning before they parted ways and drowned themselves in work for the rest of the day.
Oh my god.
Sunwoo brushes his fingers against Haknyeon's cheek before his eyes travel back down to his lips. And without a second thought, the older carefully places his hand on Sunwoo's bare shoulder.
Haknyeon's heart was racing for multiple reasons, one of which just so happened to be the fact that he had fallen for Kim Sunwoo and didn't even notice.
"Haknyeon hyung,"
Just hearing the younger say his name causes him to feel a blush crawl up into the surface of his skin.
Sunwoo's voice was so gentle, causing Haknyeon to melt right in front of him. His finger traces along the older's skin—travelling from his cheek, nose, chin, and the corner of his bottom lip. Sunwoo's lightly bites his own lip before meeting Haknyeon's eyes once more.
"May I?"
Haknyeon hums in confusion. It takes him a few seconds to catch up to what the younger was asking permission for.
A kiss?
A mini alarm goes off in his head as Haknyeon begins to overthink.
Did he mean that? We've never done that apart from the cheek or hand, maybe that's why he's asking for permission? He looks like a good kisser... Get it together Haknyeon!
Sunwoo lightly chuckles watching the older clearly panic over his question. Without another word, Sunwoo leans in until their noses were practically touching.
Oh my god, this is literally uncharted territory. Is this really happening right now?!
There were so many thoughts and emotions swirling through Haknyeon's mind, one of which was that he was about to kiss his fake fiancé, whom he just found out he had fallen in love with despite their agreement not to do so.
Overwhelmed, Haknyeon decides to let fate and the universe handle the situation. If they were about to kiss, then he would gladly kiss him back. If not, then that's alright too, since this kind of intimacy was not part of their deal. Although, Haknyeon definitely had high hopes and was leaning towards the former as Sunwoo gradually leaned in even closer.
Haknyeon flushes into a bright pink, slightly tightens his grip on the younger's shoulder, immediately squeezes his eyes shut, and silently hopes that their fake relationship will finally turn into one that's real.