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“I told you we should have taken the other hiking trail down. It would have been way faster”, whined Jisung behind you. Chan, who was right in front of you, looked back, his hood nearly falling off.
“This is the safer option, Sung.”
“Just for your information, my socks are wet”, announced Seungmin from behind Jisung. You started to laugh.
“Mine too.” And with this all three men started to laugh. When you started your hike early in the morning, the sun was still shining but just as you had half of the distance behind you, it started to rain. At first it wasn't much but soon the intensity increased. Now 2 hours later you all were soaking wet.
“We should be at our car in about 15 minutes”, announced Chan after looking at his phone. Seungmin, Jisung and you made a loud “yay” sound, which had Chan laughing but still shaking his head.
When you finally reached Chan's car, you hurried to get in.
“How could the forecast mess up so much? It wasn't supposed to rain till next week”, whined Jisung, taking off his shoes and socks to dry them a bit. As he did, you turned up the temperature but still shivered.
“There will be some traffic jam”, muttered Seungmin, his eyes glued to his phone. You let out a sigh and rubbed your arms to try and warm you up a bit.
“I'm hungry.” You couldn't hold back and started to giggle.
“You sound like a child Jisung”, laughed Chan but then looked briefly at you. “There should be some snacks in the gloves box. Can you look?” You opened the gloves box carefully and took out a few protein bars. Your mouth twisted for a second. It wasn't like you hated protein bars but you didn't like the consistency that many protein bars had. You gave Jisung and Seungmin each one bar and opened one for yourself. Just as you were ready to take the first bite you could hear Chan making a soft sound. You eyes him from the side, let out a sigh and held the bar in front of his mouth. With a light giggle he bit into the protein bar and began to chew.
“Not even a thank you? And I thought you were a gentlemen”, you muttered under your breath but loud enough to be heard, holding back a grin that was starting to spread on your lips.
“Thank you”, he mumbled with his mouth still full.
“Hyung, you are so disgusting! Don't talk with your mouth full”, Seungmin laughed and reached forward to close Chan's mouth. As Chan and Seungmin continued this little fight, you laid back and began to eat your own protein bar. At least the consistency was somewhat manageable.
When Chan stopped the car in front of Seungmins and Jisungs apartment complex, you still felt cold.
“Say hi to Minho and tell him to make you some hot soup”, said Chan, looking back at the two men. Jisung started to laugh.
“You know him, Hyung. He probably already did it but gonna act like it's nothing.”
“And he is gonna nag about us going out on a hike today”, Seungmin continued with a soft smile on his lips and a certain warmth in his voice.
“It's so sweet but disgusting at the same time”, you commented with a laugh and only a few would notice that it was actually a sad, longing one. You felt Chan's glance on you but chose to ignore it. Chan waited until the door to their apartment complex felt shut behind Seungmin and Jisung. For a moment you two stayed silent.
Chan turned towards you a bit in his seat.
“Are you still cold?” You nodded slowly as you rubbed your hands together.
“Should have put on something more warming”, you sighed. Chan started the car.
“If you want you can come with me. You can take a bath that will warm you up and after that I will drive you home. What do you think?” He was saying it so casually but you noticed his fingers drumming against the wheel, giving him away. But why would he be even nervous, you thought.
“Won't your girlfriend find it weird when another person takes a bath in your bathtub?” You thought you said something wrong when Chan kept silent, but them he let out a low sigh, as he rubbed his neck.
“We broke up a couple of weeks ago”, he whispered. “So no need to think about her.” His words made you speechless for a moment.
“What?” He looked at you for a second before he focused his eyes back on the street. “Why… didn't you tell me? We have been friends for ages.” Friends… that's all you ever gonna be, you had to remind yourself. Even though you sometimes wished for more. Chan let out a short laugh which didn't sound real. He stayed silent for a moment, it seemed to you as if he was trying to find the right words.
“Well… I guess it was never really the right time. I didn't want to bother you with this when I knew you had a lot on your mind because of work.” Your hand found Chan's shoulder softly patting it.
“That's really kind of you but you could never bother me, Channie”, you muttered. Chan hummed at that and looked at you for a moment, a soft smile on his face. “Please come to me next time when something happens. Just because you are older, doesn't mean you have to keep everything to yourself.”
Chan stopped at the parking lot in front of his apartment complex but instead of getting out he leaned over the central console and pulled you into a hug. It was so out of the blue you started to laugh at his action but soon you melted into his hug.
“You really are cold. Let's get you inside”, Chan whispered as he backed away and opened the door. You followed him and together you walked into his apartment complex. Everything was still the same. Well it wasn't that long ago that you were last here but it had been at least 3 months. You placed your shoes next to Chans.
“You can already start the water. I will look for some clothes you can wear and also a towel.” With a short nod you agreed and nearly sprinted to his bathroom to start the water. The sound of the water made you feel calm. As you watched the water get higher and higher in the small tube, Chan knocked at the bathroom door.
“Can I come in?” As You turned, you hummed and watched as Chan opened the door. He held his hands out and you grabbed the pile.
“Thanks, Channie”, you said with a smile that Chan returned. For a moment he stayed where he was. “Chan?”, you asked with a light chuckle. You weren't sure but it seemed as if Chans ears were getting redder. He muttered something under his breath which sounded like an apology and escaped his bathroom. This was a bit strange, you thought as you watched him leave. You pulled your still slightly wet clothes off your skin and got into the warm bath. You let out a low hum and closed your eyes for a moment.
It took a while but slowly your feets were getting warmer again. Then suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Chan?”, you ask confused.
“I'm sorry… I need to take my medicine now and I forget to take them out before you got in.” Without even seeing him, you knew he was embarrassed. “Can I come in?” You felt a sudden rush of panic rise up in you. You sat up and turned your back towards the door. Only your head and shoulders were over the water.
“Come in”, you shouted after a deep breath and a few seconds later you heard the door.
“Really, I'm sorry I didn't take them with me”, he muttered as he started to go through his bathroom cabinet. You started to giggle. How absurd this situation was. When you turned your face to watch him, you saw his red ears but also the wide smile on his face. “This situation is kinda strange isn't it?”
“It is”, you laughed and smiled at him when his eyes found yours. For a moment you two just stared at each other.
“Did the bath warm you up?”, he asked as he turned towards you a bit. Maybe you should find it strange that he still was in the bathroom, but you didn't.
“Yes it did. Thanks again for inviting me”, you said. “I will probably get out soon.” This got Chan moving again, as if he forgot you were sitting in the bathtub naked. He coughed and turned around.
“Sure. I will be in the living room.” With that he went out, closing the door quietly behind him. You let out a sigh as you stood up and got out of the bathtub. You patted yourself dry and got into Chans clothes. It felt oddly domestic having his clothes in your body. You let it a sigh as you watched yourself in the mirror. You left the bathroom, finding Chan in his small living room. When you entered he looked up from his phone some words already on his lips but he stopped.
“What?”, you asked with a light laugh on your lips, looking down on the slightly bigger shirt and shorts. “I know it's too big but at least it's comfy.”
“You didn't ask why we broke up”, he muttered all of the sudden, looking at everything but you. This took you by surprise.
“I thought because you didn't tell me before you didn't want to talk about why you broke up.” You walked up to him and sat down next to him. “Why did you two break up?” Instead of answering directly he grabbed one of the pillows and started to play with it.
“Well you see… I really liked her but there was still somebody on my mind. Somebody that was not her”, he started to explain. “And I really tried to forget that person but I couldn't and my Ex noticed that. We talked about it and broke up.” You let out a hum and nodded. As you looked at Chan, you noticed that he was holding back. It seemed like he wanted to say more but he didn't.
“There is more, right?” Slowly he nodded. “Will you tell me?”
“That somebody…”, he began but stopped for a second. “That somebody is you.” Saying that you were surprised was an understatement. You were speechless, didn't know what to reply. All of this time he also liked you? “And I… I know that you most certainly don't feel the same. And that's alright. Maybe it's a bit selfish but I just needed to get this off my chest.” He rambled, still playing with the pillow in his lap. “You just looked so… like home right now. As if we were in a relationship. And… I just needed to tell you this.” Slowly, very slowly to not scare him, you placed your hands on his and noticed that his hands were shaking the tiniest bit.
“You know”, you began to speak, forcing yourself to stay calm. “You are wrong.” Carefully you rubbed over the outside of his hand. His eyes found yours and he looked so confused.
“What?”, he asked quietly.
“You are wrong when you say, you know I don't have feelings for you. I do have feelings for you and that for an awful long time, if I'm honest.” His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. Slowly, without looking, he placed the pillow to the side.
“Can I kiss you?” You didn't answer him, instead you leaned in and placed your lips on his. You felt his hands that found their ways towards your cheeks, cupping them. For you that wasn't enough. You needed him closer. You placed your hand on his side and slightly pulled it towards you which he understood and closed the distance between you two. He let out a low hum when you started to carry his back with your fingertips and deepened the kiss. You didn't know someone could be so passionate but still so careful and soft.
Sadly you two were still human beings that needed air to live so you parted but only a few centimetres. You felt his warm breath on your lips which sent shivers down your spine. You let out a sigh and leaned your forehead against his.
“It feels like a dream”, he whispered under his breath, a soft smile on his lips. A light laugh escaped your lips.
“Then this is a dream I never want to wake up from”, you answered as you leaned in again and gave him a short kiss.
“Stay tonight?”, asked Chan after the kiss.
“Is this a question or a statement?” You tried to sound serious but soon you started to giggle. He gave you a soft slap against your knee, which had you laughing even harder. All Chan did was pout.
“I will stay”, you answered his question. “And now stop the pouting, Channie.”
“Only if I get another kiss”, he answered with tinted cheeks. And who were you to deny his sweet request? So you gave him another soft kiss and honestly you could do this forever.