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“Thanks for picking me up, Beoms,” Yeonjun sighed as he fell into the passenger seat of Beomgyu’s beat-up but reliable Camry. His dongsaeng shot him a smile as he pulled them out of the train station parking lot. “No problem, hyung. Anything to get Soobin off my back about how much he misses you,” he replied. Yeonjun blushed, settling his backpack between his feet. His suitcase was in the trunk. Enough clothes for the week he’d be spending in Daegu.
“Do you think he’ll be happy I’m here? He typically likes knowing when he’s going to have company,” he mumbled, a bit of anxiety fogging up his already sleepy brain. Beomgyu laughed loudly, shaking his head as he drove them onto the winding highways. The mountains rose up around them and Yeonjun was once again reminded of how beautiful Daegu really was. “I wouldn’t call you company, hyung. Of course he’ll be happy your here. He’ll be even happier when he realises you came to visit him to let him know that your program is ending early and you’ll be home permanently soon.”
Beomgyu’s words comforted Yeonjun, and he let out a relieved sigh, leaning back in the seat and closing his eyes for the duration of the thirty-minute drive to Beomgyu’s apartment. He hadn’t wanted to leave at first, not when his best friend and his closest dongsaengs couldn’t come with him. The fashion design program was a year long extension tacked onto the end of university degree, an added layer of certification that could help open doors as far away as Paris and New York City if Yeonjun worked hard enough.
His friends and family encouraged him to go, practically threatened to metaphorically disown him if he didn’t. “This your dream,” Soobin had said the night before he was scheduled to leave. They were sitting in his bedroom in the apartment he shared with Beomgyu and the only light were the glow-in-the-dark stars Soobin had put on his ceiling when he first moved in. Yeonjun was terrified, so scared of being in the big city all by himself, but Soobin had been there. He had taken Yeonjun’s hands in his and squeezed them, whispering promises that Yeonjun had no choice but to believe in.
When he left the next morning, the last thing he saw before the train pulled around the corner was Soobin blowing him a kiss, surrounded by Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai. Yeonjun’s entire world, stationary as he propelled forward into the unknown.
But it had been fantastic. Seoul was a vibrant, fast-paced environment that Yeonjun found himself absolutely adoring. He honed and sharpened his fashion skills in ways that he hadn’t even imagined before, and he was able to work with some of the top designers in the country. It was a privilege he would never take for granted, and each night he remembered to thank his friends, Soobin in particular, for encouraging him to take the risk. He would’ve felt so much regret if he had passed it up.
However, now that the program was wrapping up a few weeks early thanks to Yeonjun’s proactiveness in his capstone, he was starting to miss everything again. He missed Daegu, the mountains, the slower pace, and the people. His friends. His family. The boy that had held his heart since he was sixteen years old.
“Beomgyu-yah, wait,” Yeonjun called as they stood outside the door to his unit. Beomgyu turned from where he had been prepared to put the key in the lock. He raised a brow in confusion. Yeonjun bit his lip, his heart in his throat and an undoubtedly distressed expression on his face. “I…I think I’m going to confess. To Soobin,” he blurted out.
Surprisingly, Beomgyu’s eyes widened. Yeonjun wasn’t sure why, considering the younger knew all about his soul-crushing feelings for the boy. But then Beomgyu’s face morphed into one of glee and he shrieked, gasping and clapping his hands. Yeonjun panicked, grabbing his hands and shushing him. “Yah! Keep it down!” he hissed. Beomgyu quieted, but giggled some more, grinning like a maniac. “Sorry! I’m just so excited for you! Years of pining are finally about to be over!” he whisper-yelled.
Yeonjun rolled his eyes. “He may not even like me back, don’t get your hopes up too soon.” Beomgyu’s smile dropped at that and he levelled Yeonjun with an unimpressed look before unlocking the door.
“I’m home!” he called out obnoxiously. Yeonjun’s heart beat faster in his chest as he crossed the familiar threshold, dragging his suitcase with him. The apartment felt as homey as always, with mismatched furniture and the subtle scent of cinnamon in the air from one of Soobin’s candles most likely. Speak of the devil, Yeonjun could hear Soobin from down the short hallway where his room was. “Did you get the ice cream I asked for?” he called back. His voice sounded so sweet, so much better in person than over the phone, and Yeonjun kind of felt like crying. He gripped his suitcase as Beomgyu winked at him, before marching into the living room. “They were out, but I got you something even better,” he cried.
He motioned for Yeonjun to come further inside, so Yeonjun took off his shoes and left his bags at the door, going to stand beside Beomgyu. When he did, he faced the hallway and not two seconds later Soobin emerged. He was tall as ever, his black hair hanging in waves over his forehead, his reading glasses pushed up high on his nose. He looked absolutely breathtaking. Which made sense, because Yeonjun suddenly couldn’t breathe.
Soobin’s eyes were downcast as he walked toward them, scratching at his elbow. “If by something better you mean anything except chocolate caramel—.”
Yeonjun’s face broke into a watery smile as Soobin lifted his head and his gaze immediately landed on Yeonjun. Yeonjun watched as Soobin’s jaw dropped, his perfect mouth forming an ‘o’ in surprise and his eyebrows about flying off his forehead. Everything in Yeonjun’s mind narrowed to Soobin alone, even Beomgyu’s happy cheers fading to background noise. Soobin blinked a few times, walking a couple steps closer, and he seemed like he couldn’t form words.
“What? H-hyung? What are you doing here? What happened to your program? Are you…are you okay?!” He came to a stop right in front of Yeonjun and Yeonjun could smell his familiar cinnamon vanilla cologne and he started laughing, though it sounded a bit more like a sob.
“Surprise?” he choked, and Soobin’s look of mild concern vanished and his face transformed into an expression of sheer ecstasy before he yanked Yeonjun into his arms. Yeonjun laughed again, wrapping his arms tightly around Soobin, relishing in the feeling of their bodies pressed together for the first time in months. Soobin’s grip on him was strong and warm and everything Yeonjun needed. He was glad his program was ending early now, because he wasn’t sure how he was going to survive leaving this all over again.
Soobin’s face was buried in his neck and his hair was tickling his nose and he was so real it hurt. As Yeonjun melted into him, he closed his eyes and just let himself drown in the embrace. He was finally home.
“How long are you here for?” Soobin asked as they laid in bed together. Yeonjun was propped up on his side and Soobin mirrored him. It reminded Yeonjun so much of his last night in Daegu before leaving. But now he was older and Soobin was older and things had changed. They were about to change even more. “A week,” Yeonjun answered, reaching across the space between them to take Soobin’s hand in his. This wasn’t uncommon, him initiating skinship. Soobin only smiled as Yeonjun intertwined their fingers and gave them a squeeze. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were coming,” he pouted. He looked so adorable in the moonlight it made Yeonjun want to die.
Instead he smiled cheekily, moving close enough to flick Soobin’s nose. “I wanted to surprise you. Am I not a nice surprise?” he teased. Soobin blinked a few times, cheeks rosy red. “You’re the best surprise I could ask for, hyung,” he whispered. Yeonjun blushed too, eyes darting away as his heart worked overtime to mitigate the intense feelings swirling in his gut.
It was time. He had to confess.
“Soobin-ah, can I tell you something?” he asked quietly, making eye contact again. He had no reason to be scared. This was his best friend. This was his most important person. Soobin sat them up, nodding. His round eyes were flooded with worry, and Yeonjun reassured him with a soft smile, shuffling closer until their knees touched.
For some reason, he felt lighter than he had since leaving. It was as if the universe was encouraging him forward. “I like you,” he breathed. “I like how you always call me to tell me goodnight, I like how you send me money for coffee when you know I’ve had a shitty week, I like how you just always know exactly what I need. And I…I like how I feel when I’m with you.”
He took a deep breath as he finished and then he waited for Soobin’s response. The younger had a similar look to earlier in the day, lips parted and eyes alight in surprise and a touch of confusion. But his cheeks burned a deep, crimson red and his hands were holding Yeonjun’s so tight it hurt, though Yeonjun didn’t dare pull away.
His heart was about to fly out his chest while his stomach did somersaults and he was opening his mouth to clarify just exactly what he meant by ‘like’ when Soobin spoke.
“This is real, right?” he breathed, voice breaking a little. Yeonjun nodded, taking one hand to rest it on Soobin’s cheek. “This is the real,” he echoed. Fuck, his mind was going a million miles a minute but all he could focus on was Soobin. The way his eyes bore into Yeonjun’s, the way he leaned his cheek into his hand, the way his lips looked so fucking pretty reflecting the moonlight.
Those same lips lifted up into a smile and then Yeonjun was being yanked forward, haphazardly dragged onto Soobin’s lap and then their lips were touching. He only had enough time to gasp and latch onto Soobin’s shoulders before he was kissing back. He kissed back with all the energy he had, enthusiastically tilting his head and prodding his tongue at Soobin’s lips to prompt him to open up for him. And when he did, he licked inside his mouth with reverence, the heat and the bliss fogging up his mind and making his entire body heave a sigh of relief at finally having Soobin the way he’d wanted him for years.
And it appeared Soobin felt the same, with the way he curled his fingers into Yeonjun’s hair and pressed their chests together, meeting his enthusiasm every step of the way. When they parted, breathless and overwhelmed, Yeonjun felt like a new person. He stared at Soobin in a new light, and Soobin stared back at him.
Things felt so different. But for Yeonjun, different felt right.