Work Text:
“Why’s your face pale, Hee?” Wang Gakyeon asked.
Jin Cheonhee waved his hands quickly.
“It’s nothing,” he dismissed, taking a sip of his coffee.
Wang Gakyeon and Jin Cheonhee had both finished their respective works and were chilling together in a cafe. As best friends for over ten years, the two had gotten so used to each others’ presence that they understood the other without saying anything.
“There’s definitely something wrong with you,” Wang Gakyeon noted, eyeing Jin Cheonhee with displeasure.
“It’s nothing, I told you…” Cheonhee smiled wryly.
The truth was… it really was something.
Cheonhee tried not to think about the flower petals he had been coughing up recently, but the concern on Gakyeon’s face was so evident that he couldn’t help the flashbacks that ran through his mind.
About six months ago, Cheonhee had a new apartment neighbor. The guy had just moved in, and he was apparently a businessman of sorts.
His name was Yeo Halyun.
Cheonhee wasn’t a busybody, and since he was a surgeon and worked really late hours, he wasn’t one to talk and chat with his neighbors. Hell, he barely even knew who lived in the apartment opposite him.
Cheonhee met Yeo Halyun through pure coincidence. At that time, Cheonhee had just finished a really late night shift in the hospital and arrived in his unit feeling haggard and worn-down. As luck would have it, Cheonhee lost his apartment key.
He had been exhausted, too tired to even curse his misfortune. Cheonhee had proceeded to slump down on the ground, thinking of just sleeping there for the night.
Cheonhee didn’t know how long he had been slumped there, but Yeo Halyun arrived in his unit and saw him. The two had locked eyes for a while, before Cheonhee shyly averted his gaze — this guy was just too handsome, okay??
Yeo Halyun asked him what happened, and Cheonhee ended up explaining everything. Yeo Halyun kindly let him into his apartment for the night, and Cheonhee slept on the man’s couch.
One thing led to another, and Cheonhee and Halyun became friends, sometimes even visiting each other’s apartment.
Friends.
Now that… that was the problem.
God, how he hated that word, Cheonhee thought.
He didn’t want to just be friends with Halyun.
His stupid, stupid heart wanted more.
“Hey, Cheonhee, Cheonhee?” Wang Gakyeon’s voice brought Cheonhee back to reality.
“I asked you, what’s wrong?” Wang Gakyeon said.
“I’m fine, I’m probably more tired than usual because of the surgeries… You know how it is in a hospital,” Cheonhee reassured.
“How’s your father?” He asked instead, diverting Gakeon’s attention. At the mention of her father, Wang Gakyeon groaned.
“He’s as stubborn as ever,” she grumbled. “I told him there’s no need, but he insists on setting me up on blind dates!”
Cheonhee laughed at that. Gakyeon’s father was really….
“Like, is it my fault I’m still single?!” Wang Gakyeon screeched.
A few customers glanced at her, and Wang Gakyeon hurriedly covered her mouth.
“…Anyways,” she continued, lowering her voice. “He thinks that it’s because of my bad personality that I haven’t found a boyfriend yet…”
“Isn’t that true though?” Cheonhee teased.
“You punk!” Gakyeon hissed.
Cheonhee laughed at his best friend’s expression.
Thankfully, he had successfully diverted her attention….
Cheonhee leaned on the side of the lift as he watched the numbers change one by one.
His meeting with Gakyeon had ended, and he was on his way home… Just a few more floors, and he would arrive.
Cheonhee absentmindedly opened his phone and clicked on his photo gallery.
The most recent photo was one he had sneakily taken when he had dinner in Yeo Halyun’s place. When was it again? Probably yesterday.
Cheonhee smiled softly to himself.
Yeo Halyun inviting him to dinner at his place was not uncommon, and although Yeo Halyun’s cooking skills sucked (that was a severe understatement), Cheonhee relished every moment and every bite he ate in that place.
Yeo Halyun wasn’t finished cooking when Cheonhee arrived yesterday, and seeing the man he liked hard at work, with a pink apron wrapped around his waist….
Cheonhee gave in to temptation and snapped a few pictures, hiding his phone when Halyun turned to look at him.
“What?” The man had asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing,” Cheonhee had replied.
Yeo Halyun….
They had started out as friends, but really, what Cheonhee wanted was for the other to love him, kiss him, marry him…
“Cough, cough, cough!” Jin Cheonhee’s eyes widened as he coughed, his lungs hurting and his chest aching as he coughed and spluttered like his life depended on it.
When his coughing fit ended, Jin Cheonhee looked at the flower petals on his hand, splattered with drops of blood, and winced.
This was really….
Unfortunate.
As a doctor himself, Cheonhee was no stranger to the term “Hanahaki Disease”. It was a terrible illness, a strange one that seemed more like a curse rather than a sickness. It happened when one person was in love with another, and the other person did not return the same feelings.
Cheonhee had seen the pictures, the textbooks and diagrams of the disease.
Flowers would take root in the lungs, growing and obstructing the airway until the person started coughing up flowers — and blood.
If left untreated, the lungs would soon be filled with so many flowers that the breathing was completely obstructed, leading to death.
It was a horrid, painful experience, and Cheonhee remembered seeing patients in the hospital, writhing and coughing, their breathing labored…. Friends and family of the patient would often beg the patient to just get treated, but the patient would refuse.
Why?
The reason was simple.
The treatment was brutal — by cutting off the flowers and taking it out of the lungs (a surgery that was more than doable), the patient would lose their feelings and emotions, becoming, more or less, like a robot.
Not only would they lose the feelings they once had for the target of their unrequited love, they would also lose all feelings entirely…..
And who would want that?
Also, without getting explicit consent from the patient that they were allowed to proceed with the surgery, doctors like him were not allowed to operate on the patient and cut away the flowers, meaning the patient would die.
Most patients chose not to have the flowers cut off — some ended up with their own happily ever after, with the person they loved returning their feelings, but some… ended up dead.
Cheonhee took out a tissue from his bag and wiped his lips, making sure there was no more blood on his mouth.
No one knew how the Hanahaki disease actually started, and Cheonhee didn’t care that much about its origins. All he knew was that he had this disease, and he had it because he was in love with his hot neighbor, the one and only Yeo Halyun, who didn’t love him back.
“If anyone finds out about this…”
Jin Cheonhee chuckled darkly.
If his father found out, he would be furious, to say the least. And if Wang Gakyeon found out, she was bound to tell his father….
He couldn’t let anyone find out about this.
Ever.
Yeo Halyun had just came home from work and he slouched on the sofa, fishing out his phone from his pocket.
As soon as he opened his phone, Yeo Halyun’s eyes landed on the messaging app, and he clicked it. His fingers hovered above a certain person’s number, and Yeo Halyun bit his lip.
Jin Cheonhee.
He still remembered the first time he saw Jin Cheonhee. At that time, he had seen the young doctor from a distance — even from that distance, though, Yeo Halyun could see how handsome this person was. The man was obviously tired and rather worn-out, but his eyes were kind and so gentle.
Yeo Halyun had been curious, at first, and then he began to notice him more and more. He was glad that this cute guy was living right next to him, but he was also upset because clearly, clearly, this person had never noticed him.
In the end, Yeo Halyun had casually pick-pocketed Cheonhee’s apartment keys when he found an opportunity. Sure enough, when he “arrived at home”, Jin Cheonhee was sitting by his door, half asleep, unable to get inside his apartment.
At that moment, Yeo Halyun took his chance, and, playing the role of a good guy, asked Jin Cheonhee if he would like to sleep in his apartment, at least for the night.
It was a gamble, really — things could go south and this Jin Cheonhee could end up getting suspicious of him….
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Jin Cheonhee had entered his apartment, tired and bleary, and after a few gentle coaxing from Yeo Halyun and some warm drinks, the man simply fell asleep on his couch.
Yeo Halyun: “…”
The ease at which this person trusted him, even sleeping on his couch with no worries, was concerning.
…Sure, Yeo Halyun wasn’t a bad guy, and he wouldn’t do anything to this person, but shouldn’t Cheonhee be more cautious of strangers???
Well, in any case, Yeo Halyun ended up befriending this Jin Cheonhee, and their relationship was steadily improving.
The main problem here was…
Yeo Halyun took a deep breath.
Jin Cheonhee was as oblivious as a rabbit.
Yeo Halyun had dropped countless hints — hints that he was in love with Cheonhee and wanted their relationship to go further than friendship.
For starters, Yeo Halyun often invited Cheonhee to his place to eat. Not only that, Halyun would personally cook for Cheonhee, and the two would often sit side by side on the sofa and fall asleep watching TV (Halyun convinced himself this was considered cuddling).
Doing all this together… wasn’t it just like an old married couple???
Cheonhee, though, didn’t seem to realize it.
Fine, since this person didn’t get his hints, Yeo Halyun had decided to drop more hints.
He started taking Cheonhee out to the movies, casually draping an arm around the latter’s back, and even hugging him goodbye.
…Cheonhee still didn’t react at all.
If Cheonhee acted disgusted or weirded out, then Yeo Halyun would understand.
If Cheonhee started blushing or stammering, then Yeo Halyun would be pleased.
Jin Cheonhee, though, did neither of those things!
It was infuriatingly difficult!!!
Yeo Halyun felt that when fate arranged for him to meet the man of his dreams, they had decided to level up the difficulty and make this an Extra Hard Challenge or something.
Yeo Halyun had taken things up a notch when he took a selfie with Cheonhee and then put it as his phone wallpaper. He then proceeded to casually show it to Cheonhee.
“Look, I made this our wallpaper,” Yeo Halyun had said, showing his phone nonchalantly at Cheonhee.
“Oh,” Cheonhee said, nodding.
Yeo Halyun, who was observing Cheonhee’s face for any change of expression, was severely disappointed.
There was no reaction??? Nothing at all!
“Could you send that image to me?” Cheonhee had spoken up, and Yeo Halyun had felt his heart beating wildly.
Did this person realize…?
“I want to save it, it’s proof of our friendship, after all,” Cheonhee had said.
…Yeo Halyun’s smile was so stiff that he wondered if Cheonhee noticed.
Friendship. Friendship!!!!
That damned word!!!
Sometimes when he was bathing, Yeo Halyun would yell at the shower-head, pretending it was Cheonhee’s adorable confused face.
“I want to fuck you!!! Not be friends with you!!! ARGHH!!!!”
…Of course, Halyun made sure not to scream too loudly. After all, Cheonhee was living in the apartment right next to his, and the soundproofing in this building was… not that good.
Yeo Halyun took a deep breath and opened his gallery.
Sometimes, when Cheonhee stayed over, Yeo Halyun would snap candid pictures of him and his adorable face. There was this one picture that he had of Cheonhee fast asleep, hugging a bolster with Halyun’s jacket draped over him.
It was so warm and domestic, so sweet, that Halyun sometimes lied to himself that this, this was his boyfriend.
Not just a friend.
Speaking of his photo gallery, Yeo Halyun grit his teeth at a particular memory.
Once, when Yeo Halyun was so fed up with Cheonhee’s clueless-ness, he decided to take a risk.
…Yeo Halyun sent a thirst trap.
He basically took a photo of himself, upper body bare, highlighting his figure and toned muscles, and then sent it to Jin Cheonhee.
About five minutes later, when he was sure that Cheonhee had seen it, Yeo Halyun deleted the image and sent an “Oh I’m sorry I sent that wrongly” to Jin Cheonhee, wanting to gauge the man’s reaction.
To Yeo Halyun’s utter disappointment, Cheonhee replied about five minutes later with a [Don’t worry, it happens].
Yeo Halyun had nearly coughed up blood in frustration.
“It happens”.
“It happens”!!!!
What was that supposed to mean??? Had Cheonhee done this too, taking a photo of himself and sending it to others?? Was that why he could just casually say ‘it happens’?!
Yeo Halyun had been utterly furious and sulked for three days, during which he still invited Cheonhee to his place (as usual), but did not cook for Cheonhee at all. Instead, he ordered take out.
What made it even worse that when Cheonhee heard that they were ordering take-out, he didn’t seem miffed and didn’t seem to understand that this was Halyun’s way of sulking…
Instead, Cheonhee seemed rather… pleased. Yeo Halyun had no idea why.
…All in all, Yeo Halyun’s attempts at courting and flirting with Cheonhee hadn’t gone well.
Was he destined to stay single? Yeo Halyun wondered.
Well, he would rather stay single than not be with Jin Cheonhee….
But not being with Cheonhee was also torture, okay?!
One day, as Cheonhee was wrapping up from work, he received a text message from Yeo Halyun.
[Dinner at my place. As usual?]
Cheonhee could not stop the smile that grew on his face, and he typed out a [yes!] in reply.
Anticipation wound its way into his heart, and Cheonhee’s actions quickened. He wanted to leave work quickly and meet Halyun!
As soon as he packed up his things, Jin Cheonhee headed out of the hospital and walked to the subway, humming a tune, his steps giddy with excitement. He was almost at the subway station when his steps faltered and he suddenly made a sharp turn, hiding himself in a corner.
“Cough, cough cough!! Cough, cough!”
Cheonhee’s coughing fits continued for about a minute, his lungs heaving painfully as he struggled to breathe. His eyes were watery and Cheonhee’s nose felt stuffy, his head throbbing a little.
When he looked down, Cheonhee saw several blue flowers on the ground, mottled with drops of blood and liquid. This time, it wasn’t just bits of flower petals. He had actually coughed up whole flowers.
…His disease was getting worse, Cheonhee realized.
The realization made him sick to the stomach, and Cheonhee had to remind himself to breathe, to ignore the pain and not cough again.
It took a while for Cheonhee to regain his composure, and when he did, he realized that his hands were trembling.
He wasn’t feeling well.
He really, really wasn’t feeling well.
His chest felt heavy, as if something was pressing down on him and obstructing his breathing. Every inhale and exhale he made seemed to be accompanied by the sound of whistling air traveling through his clogged airway. The mere act of breathing became labored, and every breath Cheonhee took was a struggle — he couldn’t get enough oxygen unless he opened his mouth wide.
…Didn’t he read somewhere that this was the symptoms of the middle to late stages of the disease?
Why was it progressing so quickly?
Cheonhee shakily took out his phone, his eyes zeroing in on Yeo Halyun’s latest text message.
[What do you want to eat? What about spaghetti?]
Jin Cheonhee bit back a whimper and typed a reply slowly.
[Sorry. Can’t go today. I just remembered that I need to meet my friend.]
Yeo Halyun’s reply was swift, catching Cheonhee off guard.
[A friend?]
[Is it that Wang Gakyeon you mentioned before?]
Cheonhee pulled his jacket around himself tighter and typed a [yes] as a reply.
Then, not bothering to reply anymore, Cheonhee stumbled out of the alley and walked to the subway station.
He really needed to rest… He felt awful.
Yeo Halyun held his phone tightly, almost crushing it with the strength of his grip.
Cheonhee had initially said yes, so why did he suddenly change his mind? Why? Why???
It was because of that Wang Gakyeon—!
Yeo Halyun still remembered how Cheonhee talked about her, the way his eyes lit up as he smiled. They had been friends since they were around eight or nine, and they had remained close even as the years went by.
They were friends, at least in Cheonhee’s words….
But what if they were childhood sweethearts?
Yeo Halyun felt his stomach twist in envy.
How could he, a mere neighbor, compare to Cheonhee’s friend of over ten years?
Was this Wang Gakyeon someone Cheonhee secretly liked? So much so that he could casually change his mind and leave Yeo Halyun, just to rush to her side??
Yeo Halyun’s thoughts were spiraling, and his ride back home was filled with him glaring at the other poor people on the subway.
When he arrived at his apartment, Yeo Halyun grumpily unlocked the door, slamming it shut and dropping his keys on the table.
…What was the point of arriving home this early if Cheonhee wasn’t here?!
Yeo Halyun set his bag down and went to the kitchen to wash his hands.
When he switched on the tap, though, Yeo Halyun frowned.
The water flow was unusual.
Usually at this hour, if Cheonhee wasn’t home, the water pressure would be much more than this…. Yeo Halyun was familiar with it, since he had been living here for a while. If the water pressure was less, that meant that he was sharing the water with others, and since his room was closest to Cheonhee’s, Yeo Halyun knew that their two units were quite connected, and this meant Cheonhee was using the water.
For instance, if Cheonhee started using the water heater before him, when Yeo Halyun started bathing, his water wouldn’t be as warm as it should be, because Cheonhee was still using the water….
Yeo Halyun paid attention to these kinds of things, so now that he switched on his water tap and the water flow was… less than usual….
It could only mean one thing.
Cheonhee was home.
Yeo Halyun was stunned, and he hurriedly closed the water tap.
If Cheonhee was home… Why did he say he was going out?
Yeo Halyun hurriedly shook his head.
Maybe Cheonhee had stopped by at home to change his clothes or something, since he was going to meet that friend (Yeo Halyun rolled his eyes at this thought). It was annoying, but it made sense.
“Yeah, that must be it…” Yeo Halyun decided.
There was no way Cheonhee had lied to him just not to meet him, right?
He was thinking too much….
Four hours later, though, as Yeo Halyun laid in bed tapping away on his computer, he was 100% sure that Cheonhee was home.
The soundproofing in the building was bad to begin with, but ever since he had suspicions that Cheonhee was at home, Yeo Halyun had been observing and paying attention to the movements in Cheonhee’s unit.
If he heard Cheonhee leave the apartment, that meant he was just overthinking things.
After waiting and waiting, though, Yeo Halyun realized that Cheonhee hadn’t left at all.
Instead, it seemed like he was coughing.
He was coughing really badly, too, from the sounds of it.
The hacking and coughing sounds hadn’t subsided even for a moment — it seemed to be getting worse.
Yeo Halyun had pretty much guessed what happened at this point.
Cheonhee was probably not feeling well, so he decided to just stay at home instead of meeting him…
What Yeo Halyun couldn’t understand, though, was why Cheonhee decided to lie.
Also, Cheonhee had initially said yes to meeting at his place… If he knew he wasn’t feeling well, why did he say yes in the beginning?
For some reason, Yeo Halyun felt like something was amiss, as if something was wrong and he needed a little more information to grasp the situation.
There was a strange unease in his stomach, too.
When he heard Jin Cheonhee’s painful coughs yet again, Yeo Halyun knew he couldn’t stay still.
He flung his computer away, putting on his slippers and leaving his apartment.
Jin Cheonhee was obviously sick, and he had to take care of him.
Cheonhee was curled up in bed, sweat sticking to his forehead. His blanket had been pulled up to his chin, a box of tissues on the side of his pillow. Scattered around his bed, falling to the floor and staining the ground red were flowers of all shapes and sizes, stained with blood and saliva.
Cheonhee whimpered and buried himself deeper in the blankets, trying to regulate his breathing and make sure he wasn’t trembling anymore.
Of course, he failed.
Instead, Cheonhee felt another burst of pain and itchiness in his throat. Quickly, Cheonhee pushed away the blankets, just in time for him to start coughing and wheezing, retching as more and more flowers tumbled out of his mouth.
His mouth felt incredibly dry, his limbs ached, and he just wanted to sleep forever.
God, he missed Halyun’s cooking, even now.
Even after all this pain he was going through, Cheonhee realized that he did not, for one second, regret falling in love with Yeo Halyun.
Was this what most Hanahaki patients felt, too? Cheonhee wondered.
Knock knock knock!
Knock knock knock!
Cheonhee’s eyes widened in confusion.
Why was someone knocking his door?
“—onhee! If you’re not answering, I’ll go inside myself! I’m worried!”
Cheonhee let out a soft chuckle. It seemed like Hanahaki patients would even hallucinate and hear the voice of the person they liked…
How delusional…!
Bang!
Cheonhee wanted to laugh when he heard that sound.
His imagination was for sure amazing, going so far as to make sound effects… As if Yeo Halyun would actually come here and hug him, telling him it’d be alright….
“Cheonhee!”
???
Jin Cheonhee’s eyes were as wide as saucers when he saw the person he liked standing in the doorway of his room, taking in the situation inside.
Oh god.
He was done for.
Yeo Halyun had knocked on Cheonhee’s door, at first with modest politeness, and then with increasing volume and frequency.
When there was still no sound inside and no movement whatsoever, Yeo Halyun promptly broke inside the unit, dashing inside for Cheonhee.
He was terrified of what he might see, afraid that he would be too late, or that Cheonhee was severely sick, or had a terrible fever….
In any case, nothing he had imagined could’ve prepared him for the mess he saw in Cheonhee’s bedroom.
There were blue flowers scattered on the bed, on the blankets and on the ground, each flower marred with blood and fluids.
It took Yeo Halyun five seconds before he understood what this was.
Hanahaki disease.
Unrequited love disease.
Yeo Halyun felt like he had been doused with cold water.
Cheonhee… had this disease?
For how long?
How could he have missed the signs?
And worst of all… who was the person that Cheonhee was in love with?
Yeo Halyun swallowed the lump in his throat and gingerly approached Cheonhee, whose eyes were wide open in shock.
“Sorry… I heard you coughing from next door and I got so worried about you that I burst inside… It was rude of me, I’m sorry,” Yeo Halyun whispered, kneeling by Cheonhee’s bedside.
Cheonhee tried to move and sit up, but Halyun pushed him back gently.
“No… just rest,” Yeo Halyun said softly.
Cheonhee sank back to the bed and looked at him sadly.
For a while, the two were enveloped in silence.
“…How long as it been?” Yeo Halyun asked, breaking the silence.
“I don’t know, I’m not sure,” Cheonhee replied, smiling wryly. “I’ve had it for quite some time, a-and I’ve been pretty busy in the hospital, so I’m not sure when it started…”
Yeo Halyun was silent.
“You must think me so pathetic,” Cheonhee finally spoke, a bitter edge to his tone, “When I’m stupidly in love with my friend.”
Yeo Halyun’s eyes snapped at Cheonhee’s and he shook his head immediately.
“You’re not pathetic,” Yeo Halyun said sternly.
He swallowed thickly.
So his guesses had been right.
Cheonhee was in love with that friend, Wang Gakyeon.
No wonder…
“I’m sorry,” Yeo Halyun said, moving to hold Cheonhee’s hand gently.
“What are you apologizing for?” Cheonhee asked incredulously. “It’s not your fault…”
Yeah, Yeo Halyun grit his teeth. It was that Wang Gakyeon’s fault!
“Is there anything I can do to…” Yeo Halyun trailed off.
What should he say?
To ease your pain? To help you?
“Well, it would help if you suddenly fell in love with me,” Cheonhee joked sarcastically, “But seeing how bad my Hanahaki disease is getting, I think that’s out of the question…”
Yeo Halyun frowned at Cheonhee’s words.
“It would help if I suddenly fell in love with you?” Yeo Halyun echoed, looking at Cheonhee in utter confusion.
“Yeah,” Cheonhee shrugged. “Don’t you know how the Hanahaki Disease is healed? It’s when the unrequited love becomes requited love, you know?”
Cheonhee eyed Yeo Halyun strangely.
“You didn’t know that?” Cheonhee asked.
Yeo Halyun felt like his brain was buzzing.
“When the unrequited love becomes requited love…?”
“Yeah… Hey, don’t worry about it, I know feelings can’t be forced… I’m just embarrassed you had to find out this way,” Cheonhee had a self-deprecating look on his face.
Yeo Halyun blinked slowly.
“So… I’m your unrequited love?” He asked, not daring to believe it.
“Uhh… Yes,” Cheonhee replied, gulping nervously.
“I’m… the person you’re in love with?” Yeo Halyun asked again, looking into Cheonhee’s eyes.
“…Yeah…”
“But, I-I’m also in love with you,” Yeo Halyun stuttered out, feeling his heart hurt.
“What?” This time, it was Cheonhee’s turn to look stunned.
“…You’re in love with me?” Cheonhee asked, a hopeful note in his voice.
“Of course!” Yeo Halyun exclaimed. “Why else would I send you a shirtless pic of myself?!”
“You said it was an accident!” Cheonhee bit back.
“I was obviously lying!” Yeo Halyun yelled back. “What kind of idiot sends that kind of picture accidentaly?”
“I thought it was really an accident! And I was so glad you only deleted the message after I finished downloading it to my phone and made some backup photos!” Cheonhee roared.
“…”
“Wait…” Cheonhee pushed himself upwards, pushing away Yeo Halyun’s hands that were trying to push him down again.
“I feel better,” Cheonhee stated, patting his chest and massaging his throat.
“What?” Yeo Halyun asked nervously.
“You’re not lying, are you?”
“I’m not,” Cheonhee stated. He really did feel better, and the weight and pain in his chest were gone.
“Halyun.”
“Hm?”
“I have a crazy theory,” Cheonhee said slowly.
“I think my Hanahaki is gone… And I think our previous theories about this disease is wrong, too. The person who gets the sickness may not know that the other person is also in love with them…”
“In that case, the Hanahaki disease is when someone assumes or thinks that the love they have for someone else is unrequited….” Cheonhee explained, his doctor mode on.
“We previously assumed that the Hanahaki Disease meant that the love was definitely unrequited, but what if it’s not? I’m pretty sure some researchers published some findings on this, but I dismissed it because it was too vague… Now that it’s happened to me for real, I think I should follow up and—mmph!”
Yeo Halyun had moved to sit on Cheonhee’s bed, captured his lips in one swift motion, and was now kissing Cheonhee with vigor, holding the back of Cheonhee’s head and devouring him like a man starved.
When the two finally seperated, Cheonhee was slightly panting, looking at Yeo Halyun with misty eyes.
“Hee,” Yeo Halyun’s tone was stern, “You literally just found out that I loved you back and that your disease is cured, and the first thing you want to do is research?! Shouldn’t we talk first?”
“…You sound like you’re complaining,” Cheonhee smiled, looking at Yeo Halyun’s obviously displeased face.
“And so what if I am?” Yeo Halyun raised an eyebrow.
“Then… you should let your boyfriend coax you?” Cheonhee grinned cheekily.
“Oh, so that’s what you are now, hm?” Yeo Halyun grinned, hugging Cheonhee tightly.
“My god… I was so worried…” Yeo Halyun sighed, embracing Cheonhee with all he had. “I feel like today has been a rollercoaster of emotions…”
“Yeah, this is like… the most stressed I’ve been in a while. Well, other than when I’m doing surgeries in the hospital…”
“You should’ve told me,” Yeo Halyun groaned, nuzzling into the crook of Cheonhee’s neck.
“You’re one to talk,” Cheonhee snapped back, but there was not bite in his tone.
The two men hugged for a while, enjoying the realization of their requited unrequited love.
“…I can’t believe you’ve been in love with me this whole time,” Cheonhee spoke up.
“And I can’t believe you were in love with me too,” Yeo Halyun chimed in.
“I mean, were there signs? How could I have missed them?” Cheonhee muttered.
“…You were an idiot,” Yeo Halyun lamented.
“Are you saying you were not?” Cheonhee glared at his now-boyfriend.
“…Well, maybe… this is why we’re a match made in heaven?” Yeo Halyun suggested, a teasing smile on his lips.
“Hmm,” Cheonhee smiled.
“Makes sense.”
Mini Theater:
Yeo Halyun, sulking: We will order take-out!!
Jin Cheonhee: Oh my! What joyous occasions is this?
Yeo Halyun: ???