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After Kim Dokja woke up, it was just a series of firsts, one after the other.
Yoo Joonghyuk remembers one night, when he had entered the hospital room after being unable to fall asleep. (In general, he never got much sleep; not during the scenarios, nor afterwards. He always admired his companions’ ability to actually rest--well, except for Dokja. Dokja never rested).
He flicked on the light impulsively, and then, cringing at the brightness, flicked it back off. He tread to the side of Kim Dokja’s bed quietly, shutting the door behind him. Yoo Joonghyuk watched him sleep, listening to the sound of his soft breathing.
Kim Dokja woke up for the first time a few months ago. It was all smiles and hugs then, light-hearted insults and empty threats. Then came the questions; the “why”s and the “how”s.
Kim Dokja didn’t answer any of them.
To this day, no one else knows why he did what he did.
Yoo Joonghyuk, although he doesn’t want to admit it, gets paranoid when Kim Dokja is left alone—even more so at night. He felt scared that he might not wake up again. That everything that they did… was for nothing.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and pulled up a chair. In the darkness, he makes out the shape of Kim Dokja’s hand, and gently placed his on top of it.
He instantly felt startled at the temperature—why is it so cold? With his other hand, Yoo Joonghyuk placed it on Kim Dokja’s chest, and felt his heartbeat.
Steady and calm.
Kim Dokja eyes began to flicker.
Yoo Joonghyuk flinched.
The former blinked rapidly, and Yoo Joonghyuk felt his heart rate start to pick up.
“Bastard,” Kim Dokja muttered groggily. “What are you doing?”
Yoo Joonghyuk instantly retracted both of his hands, shoving them into his pockets. “Nothing.”
“Were you holding my hand?”
“No,” Yoo Joonghyuk vehemently denied, turning his face away.
Kim Dokja smirked his trademark smirk, and Yoo Joonghyuk had the sudden urge to punch him and run away.
Kim Dokja sat up. He then reached out his arm and pulled the other man’s hand out of his pocket, intertwining their fingers together.
“Can’t sleep?”
Yoo Joonghyuk didn’t respond.
“Are you worried about me?” Kim Dokja teased.
Yoo Joonghyuk’s breath hitched. “No.”
“Hah. You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, that you’re sure, or yes, you were worried about me?”
Yoo Joonghyuk, eyes still trained at some random spot on the wall, after a moment’s hesitation, muttered out, “The second one.”
Kim Dokja laughed briefly, and then they both fell silent. A minute or so later, he pointed out the window. “Look. The stars are so beautiful.”
Before he could respond, a message rang in Yoo Joonghyuk’s ears.
[Your ■■ is “Demon King of Salvation”.]
Startled, Yoo Joonghyuk blinked rapidly. Did I hear that correctly? There’s no way that’s right. He had come to terms with the fact that he most likely just didn’t have any sort of ■■, and to be honest, he mostly forgot about it. But this…
“Hey, are you listening to me?”
Yoo Joonghyuk cleared his throat and looked back at Kim Dokja. While Joonghyuk was lost in his thoughts, he somehow managed to get out of bed and sit by the window.
They were still holding hands, however.
“What were you saying?”
“The stars. Aren’t they pretty?”
“Mm… yeah,” Yoo Joonghyuk agreed, but he was distracted.
Truth be told, while the stars in the sky were pretty, the man sitting next to him--leaning against the window with his cheek propped up by his hand and staring at the sky in an awestruck manner--was way prettier.
“Oh. It’s raining,” Kim Dokja absently muttered, looking at the sky.
Yoo Joonghyuk turned around to look at the Industrial Complex. “Should I go back and get an umbrella?” he asked.
They had been walking outside for a bit, since Lee Seolhwa said that it’d be good if Dokja gets some fresh air. Yoo Joonghyuk refused to let him go alone, so there they were, walking hand-in-hand through the city.
Kim Dokja laughed. “No, it’s fine.” He gripped his partner’s hand tighter and started running, pulling Yoo Joonghyuk along with him, who allowed him to with zero change in expression.
The rain dripped onto Dokja’s face as he closed his eyes, smiling playfully as if he were a little child.
He looks so peaceful, Yoo Joonghyuk mused. Just then, he was met with a sudden urge to turn and lightly press a kiss to Kim Dokja’s eyelids.
So he did.
Kim Dokja opened his eyes and stared at Yoo Joonghyuk, a light blush on his pale cheeks.
Then, he titled his face upwards and kissed his companion on the lips.
When they pulled away, Kim Dokja said, “You taste like rain.”
That was--not what I expected him to say after our first kiss. Yoo Joonghyuk’s eyebrow twitched. “What.”
Kim Dokja laughed again, grabbing Joonghyuk’s soaked collar and pulling him in to connect their lips once more. This one was longer, more desperate; yet, still tender and cautious.
Dokja’s hand moved to his companion’s hair. He messed it up and tangled his fingers through it.
Yoo Joonghyuk scowled at him.
His face scrunched up. “Damn protagonist genes,” Kim Dokja muttered, and stepped back, his head slightly tilted. “It still looks good, even soaking wet.”
While Kim Dokja continued his attempt to destroy Yoo Joonghyuk’s hair, the latter watched him with a blank but fond expression, not able to form coherent thoughts.
Just then, Yoo Joonghyuk noticed something.
“Are you,” he started, “crying?”
Kim Dokja beamed. “Of course not! It’s just the rain,” he said, but the crack in his voice gave it away.
“You--”
“Dokja-ssi, Joonghyuk-ssi?”
Both of them turned in the direction of the voice. Yoo Sangah walked towards them, an umbrella over her head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you two to be out when it’s pouring like this, especially since Dokja-ssi is still recovering,” she reprimanded. However, her soft eyes showed that she wasn’t especially angry.
She glanced briefly at the (lack of) distance between the two men, and noted their kiss-swollen lips, but didn’t mention anything.
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded, wrapped an arm around Kim Dokja, and, along with Yoo Sangah, the three of them walked back to the Industrial Complex, listening to the blissful pitter-patter of the rain.
“I love you.”
Yoo Joonghyuk’s head snapped up.
There. That was that. Three simple words.
Kim Dokja blushed and turned away. “Ah, sorry. That came out suddenly,” he murmured.
Yoo Joonghyuk just stared, the words constantly repeating in his head.
I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
“You’re not--you don’t have to say it back,” Kim Dokja said.
Yoo Joonghyuk nodded. He walked to the light switch and turned it off, with his body seemingly moving on autopilot. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know why such simple words were affecting him so much. His throat felt clogged up.
He walked back to Kim Dokja’s hospital bed, pulling the covers over him. Yoo Joonghyuk closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to his companion’s forehead.
I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
“Goodnight, Kim Dokja.”
He left the room.
“Wake up,” Yoo Joonghyuk commanded, poking Dokja in the shoulder.
It was the next morning, and the sun was just barely shining through the window, illuminating both of their figures.
Kim Dokja sleepily whined, “What is it?”
His eyes were still shut tight.
Yoo Joonghyuk paused for a moment, then slipped his hand under the covers, holding his partner’s hand. He cupped Kim Dokja’s cheek with his other hand. He lowered himself onto the chair, and bent down, lips brushing against his ear.
He smirked and nipped the top of it, to which Dokja yelled, “Hey! You bastard!”, and squirmed away.
I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.
Yoo Joonghyuk moved closer again. “I love you too,” he finally whispered.
Kim Dokja’s eyelids instantly opened. Since he was still facing away, Joonghyuk couldn’t see his expression, but he could hear his heavy breathing. After a moment, Kim Dokja simply repeated, “Bastard.”
First handhold, first kiss, first “I love you”. This was just the beginning.
There were many firsts to come. There were many things that might happen in the future, and many things in the past that still needed to be sorted out. But for now, this was okay. This was enough. Even if they had reached the epilogue, it wasn’t over yet. The story will still continue. Today, tomorrow, and for all of eternity.