Chapter Text
- All image credit belongs to the rightful owner. -
Shin’s room smelled faintly of vanilla body lotion and strawberry lip balm, his signature scent, not even on purpose.
The soft glow of fairy lights tangled around his bedframe cast a warm blush on the walls, and of course, the bedsheets were pastel pink. Handpicked by him, obviously.
“You’re literally a doll” his best friend muttered, flopping down next to him, their arms brushing, staying that way. “Like if someone cracked you open, I swear you’d bleed glitter.”
“Then don’t crack me open” Shin replied without missing a beat, brushing some of his silky bangs behind his ear. He was in an oversized baby tee and little cotton shorts that made him forget how to speak for a second.
“Can’t help it. You’re like… crackable.” He nudged Shin’s thigh with his own, grinning when Shin gave him a lazy side-eye and leaned closer anyway.
They were always close. Always touching. Thighs pressed together, fingers brushing, sometimes tangling. No one questioned it anymore, not even themselves.
Shin picked up the tiny plush keychain dangling from the bag his best friend had brought. “You got me another pink bunny?”
“Limited edition” he said proudly, chest puffed. “Saw it and thought, ‘Shin needs this.’”
“I always need pink bunnies” Shin mumbled, deadpan but a smile curled at the corner of his lips. He leaned in, nudging their foreheads together. “You’re so whipped.”
“You love it.” he whispered.
“Mmhm.”
They kissed. Just a small one. A peck. Like they always had since they were kids. On the lips, barely a breath of a thing but so familiar it barely registered as odd anymore.
Except it always did register for him. Just not for Shin. Not yet.
Shin pulled back, flopping onto the bed with a yawn. “You staying over, right?”
“Always.”
He slid in beside him, curling just close enough to feel Shin’s breath on his neck. His heart was loud in his ears, but his voice stayed steady.
One day, maybe Shin would kiss back with something more than habit. But until then, he’d take whatever pieces he could get.
Shin leaned against the vending machine like it was a runway backdrop. His glossy lips were pursed in mock thought as he scanned the drink options, finger hovering mid-air.
“You’re making this dramatic on purpose” his best friend said from behind, arms crossed, backpack slung lazily off one shoulder. “It’s a juice box, not a designer bag.”
Shin turned slightly, fluttering his lashes. “But what if I want the cutest one?”
“Then I’m buying it” he said immediately, already shoving coins into the machine. “Obviously.”
Shin smiled like that was expected. Like it was right. He didn’t even say thank you. Just accepted the pastel pink peach juice, poked the straw in and took a sip. Loudly.
Some girls walked by, whispering not-so-subtly.
“Are they, like, dating or just really… weird?”
“I heard they’ve been a thing since elementary school.”
His best friend just smirked. “Obsessed fans” he whispered near Shin’s ear.
“They’re jealous” Shin replied, tilting his head onto his friend’s shoulder for no reason at all. “They wish they could kiss me whenever they wanted.”
His friend nearly choked. “You say that like I kiss you constantly.”
“You do.”
Shin took another sip of his juice, eyes innocent, lips stained glossy peach. He tapped the straw against his bottom lip like a tease.
There were more stares. People never really knew what to make of them. Too handsy, too close, too everything. But always laughing. Always synced up like they were made to fit.
“Do you want a kiss right now?” Shin asked suddenly, eyes half-lidded with a smirk.
His heart flipped, but he stayed cool. “You offering?”
Shin shrugged. “You’d take it.”
He would. Of course he would.
Instead, he leaned in, gentle as ever, and kissed Shin’s cheek close to the corner of his lips, just enough to be almost something.
Shin blinked, a little slower than usual. “That was sweet.”
“Like your juice.”
There was a pause. Not awkward. Just thick with unsaid things. The kind of pause that could tip if someone let it.
But then the bell rang.
Shin straightened his shirt, smoothed his hair. “Come on. We’re gonna be late for math.”
“You hate math.”
“I like sitting next to you.”
And just like that, they were walking in sync again. Shoulder to shoulder, brushing every few steps. A pair of almost-lovers hiding behind their own comfort. Maybe not ready to name it. But never trying to leave it, either.
Shin didn’t mean to watch him laugh like that.
But he did.
From across the hallway, Shin stood by the lockers, lips pouting just slightly, arms crossed over his soft cardigan. He looked like a sulking doll someone left on display, perfect but annoyed.
The cause? A girl. A pretty one. Laughing too loudly, hair flipping too often, standing just a little too close to his best friend.
And worst of all, he was laughing back. Not the soft, sleepy smile he gave Shin but the full-body, teeth-showing kind that made Shin’s stomach churn.
He hated her.
She handed over a stick of bubblegum, and he took it.
Shin’s eye twitched.
That was their gum brand.
He pushed off the locker with way too much grace for someone that angry and stomped (or rather, floated angrily) toward them. He didn’t even try to hide the glare this time.
“Oh hey, Shin” the girl said, blinking. “We were just—”
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Shin cut in, fake smile sharp. His gloss sparkled in the light like a weapon.
His best friend blinked. “Shin?”
Shin grabbed the bubblegum from his hand, unwrapped it, and popped it in his own mouth. Chewed once. Loudly.
“Gross.” he said making a face, even though it was the exact same flavor he always made them share.
Then he grabbed his best friend’s wrist. “Come with me.”
The girl opened her mouth, confused. “Wait-”
“No” Shin said simply, dragging him away.
Once they turned the corner and were out of sight, he stopped, let go, and pouted deeper.
“You laughed. At her. Like… real laughing. You don’t even laugh like that at me.”
Saint blinked, slow. “Are you jealous?”
“I’m not jealous,” he lied.
“You stole my gum.”
“I didn’t steal. It was mine first. You gave me that flavor back in eighth grade when I cried after failing the chemistry quiz.”
“That’s not a reason to eat it out of spite.”
Shin looked up, huffing, eyes wide with something sharp. “You’re mine. Okay? Even if we’re not calling it that. Even if you laugh at other people. Even if they don’t get it.”
A pause. Then a soft breath.
“I want you to laugh with me. I want all your gum. I want your dumb hoodies and your stupid teasing and your forehead and your kisses—”
“Shin.”
He stopped rambling.
His best friend stepped closer, warm hand brushing Shin’s jaw.
“You already have all of that.”
“…Really?”
“You’ve had it since forever. I just didn’t know I was allowed to say it.”
He leaned in and kissed Shin again—soft, deep, and nowhere near a joke.
And this time, Shin kissed back.
Really kissed back.
Later that night, they were tangled up in Shin’s bed like always. But this time… it felt different.
Shin was curled into him, head on his chest, their legs twisted under the pastel pink blanket that smelled like his fabric softener and sugar lotion. The bunny plushies were shoved to one side, making room for them.
Neither of them had said the word boyfriend yet. But everything in the room was saying it for them.
Shin’s fingers played with the hem of his shirt, tracing lazy shapes on his stomach, while his lips barely brushed against his collarbone with each breath.
“Hey” his best friend said softly, breaking the quiet.
“Hmm?”
“Are you gonna pretend you didn’t throw a fit over gum today?”
Shin pouted against his skin. “I said I wasn’t jealous.”
“You ate it out of my hand like a feral cat.”
“You were laughing at her jokes.” Shin muttered. “She probably doesn’t even know your favorite hoodie smells like hot chocolate and cologne.”
“She also probably doesn’t know I literally fall asleep better when your hair is in my face.” Saint added playfully chuckling.
Shin blinked, cheeks going a little pinker than usual. “…You like my hair in your face?”
“Yeah. It’s soft. And smells like strawberries. Which is unfair, by the way.”
Shin looked up slowly, chin resting on his chest, lips shiny and curved in a smile. “So I can keep being clingy?”
“You’re not clingy,” he murmured, brushing a hand through Shin’s soft bangs. “You’re just… mine.”
Shin’s breath caught.
He didn’t say anything. Just slid higher up and kissed his jaw, then tucked himself fully under his chin again.
“I like hearing that.” he whispered.
“You’ll hear it again.”
They laid there, heartbeat to heartbeat, the kind of quiet that didn’t ask for more. Shin traced circles on his ribs. He squeezed Shin’s waist gently in return.
Nothing needed defining right now.
They’d been something for a long time.
But tonight?
They were everything.
- To Be Continued -