Archive of Our Own

Anton was busy overthinking and fighting a raging hangover in his bedroom when the front door of his apartment suddenly slammed open, startling him. Within seconds, the door to his bedroom followed suit.

"Tell me it's a lie,"

Standing in the doorframe was Anton's beloved older cousin, Park Wonbin, who was sporting an uncharacteristic furious look on his pretty face.

"What is a lie?" Anton asked in confusion.

"Don't play dumb," Wonbin said as he narrowed his eyes at Anton.

"I'm being serious," Anton replied.

With a sigh, Wonbin walked over to where Anton was sat on the bed.

"I don't know how it's like in America or anywhere else but in Korea, you are not supposed to behave like this," Wonbin said and Anton, still confused, simply stared at him for a few seconds before replying,

"What has America got to do with this?"

Wonbin sighed. He placed one of his arms on Anton's shoulder and gave it a firm, slightly threathening squeeze.

"What I'm saying is, dear Chanyoung, that you are not supposed to chase after your cousin's crush when he explicitly tells you everyday that he likes him."

And what his cousin was referring to finally clicked on Anton's mind.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Anton said as he removed Wonbin's hand from his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

This time, it was Wonbin's turn to be confused.

"Did you hear that from Sohee?" Anton asked. Wonbin quickly gave him a nod, he did just come back from a gossip session with Sohee.

"Well, all you need to know is that I was being stupid and you don't have to worry about anything because I like Sohee, not Eunseok hyung,"

Anton said and Wonbin's usual grin instantly returned to his face.

"I know you would never betray me,"

Wonbin said. He promptly stood up and left Anton's room but not before blowing him a kiss from the doorframe and wishing him good luck. Anton sighed. This stupid misunderstanding was why he was sat there overthinking about the events of last night on his bed.

Last night was Song Eunseok's, Wonbin's crush, birthday party and as Wonbin's cousin, one of the few friends Eunseok had met in real life, and owner of the flat where the celebration was held in, Anton was, of course, invited to the older's birthday party.

Sohee, Anton's actual crush, was also invited to the party. Sohee was Sungchan's, Eunseok's best friend, younger brother. But Anton didn't know Sohee through this connection, he had known him long before he knew either Sungchan or Eunseok because the two of them were classmates during high school.

Anton, who had moved to South Korea during his high school years, had found it difficult to adjust to the majorly different high school curriculum despite intense private tutoring. Sohee, who just happened to be bright and perfect, was Anton's seatmate who was always willing to help him understand every difficult subject even if it meant he had to spend a couple more hours studying at night.

And that made Anton fall for the older man.

And he fell hard.

Anton couldn't count the amount of time he almost leaned in to kiss Sohee when their faces were mere inches away from each other during their study session. He held back, obviously, because it was wrong to do so with someone who didn't share his feelings.

Sometimes, when their study session ran too late, Anton would excuse himself just so Sohee could focus on his own thing while Anton would pretend to go home but instead of doing so, he would turn around from the library door to sit in a secluded corner to stare at Sohee and drew him.

Wonbin told him that beauty privilege was the only thing preventing everyone from calling him a creep.

Anton was tall, handsome, athletic, and good at music; he would have been someone else's perfect boyfriend if not for the fact that he was a pathetic loser who was hopelessly in love with his seatmate.

He did try to get over Sohee. Being popular meant that Anton did get a few confession letters throughout the years and numerous chocolates during valentines. He even tried going on a few dates with some of the prettiest and most handsome girls and guys at school.

But at the end of the day, none of that could erase his feelings for Sohee.

And Anton was lucky that, unlike himself, Sohee never really received that much attention. He didn't understand how because Sohee was cute and perfect but Anton simply consider himself a lucky man because it simply meant that there was less competition for him.

So now you might be asking the question, if Sohee had no suitors and Anton was pining for him, then how come the two of them were still not together?

Well, if you asked Wonbin, then the answer would be because he was a coward but if you ask Anton, he would tell you it was because the moment was never right.

The two of them did spend a lot of time together but most of them happened within the confine of their classroom or in the library when they were studying. Other than that, Anton noticed that Sohee never really hang around anyone else as he preferred to spend most of his weekends studying in a study cafe, where Anton would tag along whenever possible.

There was that one time in their senior year when the two of them weren't doing what high school seniors would normally do. Sohee was the one who suggested it, that they should take one day off to go for a picnic. Anton had actually agreed to go on a date with a girl earlier that week in an attempt to make Sohee jealous so he quickly texted the girl an apology since Sohee didn't end up being jealous anyway.

The weather that day was perfect. The sky was clear and it was neither too cold or too warm. Sohee was dressed in a pair of shorts and his usual hoodie while Anton was dressed in his expensive white sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans.

The night prior, Anton had asked his private chef to pack a lot of food that would be good and easy to bring for a picnic and had asked them to specifically use the most premium ingredients they had in the house. Sohee, on the other hand, simply showed up with two store bought gimbab and a bag of potato chips to share between them.

Halfway through the climb, Anton noticed that Sohee was struggling to walk up the short hill so he offered to carry his bag, to which the older hesitantly agreed. All that exercise and swimming practice really did pay off in the end because Anton didn't feel tired at all from carrying both his and Sohee's bag.

When they reached the top, the two of them quickly set up their little spot, putting down a blanket to sit on and taking out all food they brought. Sohee was amazed by the selection of food Anton brought with him, tasting each of them with sparkling eyes, which almost triggered Anton's cuteness aggression.

As they ate, they talked about all sort of things, mainly surroundibg the topics of their childhood and family. As the sun set above the skyline of the city below them, Anton discreetly took a box out of his bag.

Inside it was a necklace made of white gold with a small pendant at the center in the shape of a duck made up of topaz, Sohee's birthstone, and tiny diamonds. It was an expensive piece of jewellery that mo eighteen years old could ever afford unless they came from a well-off family.

But before Anton could drag the box put of hus bag completely, Sohee had shifted the conversation to the topic of his family situation. Perhaps it was the late might that made Sohee sentimental but he began telling Anton about how sickly he was as a child such that he had to be held back one grade, a fact that his parents found disappointing even though they never admitted it. Eventually, when his parents divorced when Sohee was six, his mother left with his two sisters. His father, who eventually remarried, weren't too keen on taking care of his sickly self and that was how he ended up in the care of his aunt and was raised alongside his cousin.

And so, after hearing that, Anton slowly put the necklace back in to his bag, where it still remained with him until now, because it didn't feel that right to confess at that moment and Anton never really had any more right moment after that.

Well, that was until last night happened. During Eunseok's party, while Wonbin was too busy taking care of drunk Eunseok, who had unfortunately just puked all over Anton's shoes, and Sungchan was too busy making out with the Japanese student that Wonbin befriended, Sohee and Anton were suddenly left alone.

They were hanging around the kitchen area and Anton's bag was nearby and so, just like how it was back in their senior year, Anton discreetly took the necklace out of his bag again.

And yes, before you start asking the question, yes, Anton always carried that damn necklace everytime he went to see Sohee, which was a lot of time, just in case he needed to confess. And yes, Anton had had to go back to the store he bought the necklace from to get a new box just because the old one was too damaged from being carried around Anton's bag for years.

"Sohee,"

Anton began. His cheeks were flushed and his heart was racing from both nerves and alcohol.

"It's Sohee hyung, you brat,"

Sohee replied with a smile. He was also sporting a faint blush on his cheeks from the alcohol even though he had drunk considerably less than Anton due to his lower tolerance.

Okay, maybe the timing wasn't that right because Sohee was slightly drunk but Anton really needed the alcohol to help him.

"Sohee, I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a notification popped up on Sohee's phone. It was from Instagram and someone called Jaehyun had sent Sohee a message saying Are we still going out tomorrow?

Sohee simply glanced at the message and turned his phone off without answering it. As for Anton, all he could hear was the sound of his heart shattering into a thousand different pieces.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

Anton was at a loss for words so he did the dumbest thing he could possibly do.

"Can you be my wingman for my Birthday party?"

Anton didn't know why he said that or how he could even come up with those words.

But once the dam was opened, he couldn't stop himself from vomiting words he didn't mean.

"Yeah, so, my cousin Wonbin, you know him, and he likes Eunseok. I also like Eunseok hyung and you know, Wonbin, he is like Wonbin, so I need to use a different strategy,"

What was he even saying.

When Anton looked back up, Sohee looked momentarily stunned but quickly let out a big laugh.

"Of course I will help you,"

Sohee sounded excited and it made Anton want to cry even more so before that could happen, he quickly excused himself to the bathroom, knowing full well that Eunseok was still there throwing up. After forcing himself in, he immediately broke down before Eunseok and Wonbin.

Eunseok was already not himself so he didn't pay Anton any mind but Wonbin simply scooted over and gave him a big hug without saying anything. Now that Anton thought about it, he must have had a shit night having had to deal with two crying drunkards.

And that brought us to the present. It was now the 20th of March and if what Anton read last night was right, Sohee would be going out with Jaehyun today.

As Anton heaved out a huge sigh, a message popped up on his phone. It was from Sohee.

This is your last chance to tell me what you want for your birthday >:[

Anton almost typed out I want you to not meet this Jaehyun today but he held himself back and instead replied with a simple Just come over tomorrow hyung

Anton let out another sigh and plopped down on his bed. He closed his eyes, body still tired from the late night and hangover.

When Anton woke up from his sleep, the sun had set and the aroma of food had spread to his room from the kitchen.

Anton slowly crept towards the living room, head still hurting from the lingering hangover. Stood in front of the stove with his back facing Anton was Wonbin, who was busy scooping some spicy stew to two bowls.

"Hello,"

Anton greeted as he entered the doorway. Standing there, he could see Eunseok seated on the dining table, head hanging between his arms on the table.

"Are you okay hyung?"

Anton said as he took a seat across from Eunseok. He muttered something in reply but it was too incoherent for Anton to understand.

Few seconds later, Wonbin came and joined them on the table with three bowls of the soup. He took a seat next to Eunseok and patted the older's head lightly in comfort.

Anton looked at Wonbin and muttered You guys together yet?

Wonbin only gave him a smirk in reply and pulled his turtleneck down, revealing an array hickey. Anton instantly gave him a look of disgust.

The rest of the dinner went smoothly. Wonbin's hangover soup really did work wonder because both Anton and Eunseok did regain their strength after the meal. The three of them chatted for a bit before he left for the night, which, for obvious reason, was disappointing for Wonbin.

Anton didn't get to check his phone from the moment he woke up until Eunseok left the apartment. When he finally opened them, he saw that Sohee had sent him a message and had also posted something on his Instagram story.

Curious, Anton quickly opened the app and saw that Sohee had posted a selfie of himself and another man, which Anton came to learn as Jaehyun from the account tagged.

That instantly gave him a bad mood, so bad that he almost didn't want to check the message Sohee sent on kakaotalk.

But, of course, Anton changed his mind not even a minute later and it simply read

I've got your gift!! Do you want to meet me for a bit before the party so I can give it to you?

Anton was feeling petty. It was a common knowledge that hus mental age regressed to that of a pre-pubescent fifteen years old whenever he was around him.

And so Anton replied like how a fifteen years old would when their crush broke their heart.

No

In a bad mood, he immediately threw his phone to the side, where it bounced and fell to the carpeted floor. He took out his laptop, opened a streaming site and put a random Korean drama that he barley paid any attention to.

In the midst of all that, Anton missed a text from Sohee asking You okay?

❀❀❀

When Anton woke up the next day, it was like he was a whole different person. Well rested and with no hangover, he no longer felt the anger and annoyance he felt the day before.

Groggily, Anton fumbled about the bed to look for his phone and remembered that it had fallen from the bed the day before.

He quickly retrieved it to check the time and it was surprisingly really early in the morning. So Anton, in a relaxed mood on a Sunday, checked his phone and saw that Sohee had sent him a message.

You okay?

Anton's eyes immediately widened and the memory of how he felt the night before came rushing in. He looked at the cold No he sent to Sohee and immediately started to overthink.

If he thought his chance was low before, it must be completely gone now.

And so, without thinking any further, he immediately hit the call button. Sohee didn't answer for the first couple of rings and Anton was about to give up when the line finally connected.

"Hello? Chanyoungie? What's up?" Sohee sounded sleepy on the other side. It was a Sunday and Anton knew that Sohee always woke up late on the weekends. That made him felt bad.

"Do you want to see me before coming over tonight?" Anton asked.

"I thought you said no last night?" Sohee replied, confused.

"Yeah sorry, I had something planned before but it got cancelled," Anton lied smoothly.

"Okay sure,"

Anton instantly lifted his fist in a silent Yes!

After the call ended, Anton made his way to the living room, humming as he ate a whole tub of yoghurt with some granola for breakfast.

At nine, Wonbin finally woke up and joined Anton in the dining room. By this point, the younger had finished his breakfast and was slowly sipping his cup of coffee as he scrolled through random videos on his phone.

"Happy birthday cousin,"

Wonbin greeted as he slid into the seat opposite of Anton, who gave him a smile and mumbled a quick thanks. He gave Anton his birthday present, a new hat and some other accessories that the younger had eyed but did not buy when they shopped together in the mall a month before. It was touching and Anton quickly went around the table to give him a big hug.

The two of them chatted as Wonbin ate his breakfast, which simply meant a cup of coffee with milk. Half an hour later, they were both done and started getting ready to leave for the supermarket.

Wonbin was the one driving. They first made their way to Eunseok's apartment, which was on the opposite side to the supermarket but Wonbin was the one driving so Anton just piped down any commentaries he had so that the older man wouldn't just dump him on the side of the street.

They reached Eunseok's place at half past ten in the morning and it took him around fifteen minutes to get ready, having clearly just woken up when Wonbin knocked on his door. With Eunseok joining them, Anton then got demoted from the passenger seat to the backseat.

It was then when Eunseok gave Anton his present, a new pair of shoes, which looked almost exactly like the one he puked on two days ago. Anton let out a small laugh and gave the older a hug from the backseat as a thank you.

The three of them picked up some breakfast for Eunseok before finally reaching the supermarket by eleven thirty.

Wonbin immediately went straight to the meat and vegetables, taking everything they needed for tonight's hotpot. It was, of course, Wonbin's treat, even though Anton had insisted that he could pay for it but all his words fell on deaf ears.

So here they were, shopping everything they needed and didn't need because all three of them were easily distracted.

It was almost one in the afternoon when the three of them finally came out of the supermarket with a huge cart full of items.

Anton looked at the clock in worry. He hoped that the lunch rush was over and that they would be able to get home quickly because he wanted to make sure he had time to put on the best outfit before seeing Sohee.

But halfway through the drive home, he suddenly received a text from the older man.

Will it be okay to meet at 4 instead?

Anton simply stared at the message for a few seconds. He can already feel his mood going down.

Anton
How come?

Sohee
I'm still out running some errands, sorry

Anton
Are you with Jaehyun?

Sohee
Yeah, why?

Anton didn't reply. He simply closed his phone to allow himself to calm down. It was his birthday and he was going to have a good time.

The hours passed by quickly and Anton soon found himself loittering around the park he agreed to meet Sohee in. The older showed up five minutes to four and it was clear from the way he panted heavily that he had run as fast as his legs could take him to reach the destination.

"Sorry, sorry, I missed my bus,"

Sohee said in between breaths. Anton placed a comforting hand on his back as the older leaned on Anton to support his weakened legs.

It was then did Anton notice a large paper bag that Sohee was carrying. Out poking from the top was what looked like a dinosaur tail.

"Is that for me?"

Anton asked as he pointed at the bag. Sohee let out another big breath before replying,

"Ah yes, sorry,"

He quickly handed the bag to Anton, who excitedly opened it up. Inside was a huge plushie in the shape of ankylosaurus, Anton's favorite dinosaur, some books on musical composition, and two Isaac Asimov novel, one of which he already owned since he bought them last week.

It was a loaded gift but Anton couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at how rushed it felt, like Sohee just grabbed some things he thought Anton would like without giving it a deeper thought.

"Thank you,"

Anton said with a forced smile. Sohee gave him a smile back and he looked like he was about to say something as he reached into the pocket of his hoodie but quickly caught and stopped himself.

They spent the next hour or so circling the park and catching up, talking mainly about Eunseok's birthday party two days ago and how drunk all of them got, especially Eunseok. Anton mentioned how he got a new pair of sneakers from Eunseok to replace the one that was thrown up at and that made Sohee laugh.

Then the conversation shifted towards Anton's supposed crush on Eunseok and what strategy they should use tonight to which Anton quickly avoided the topic, stating that he was too shy to discuss that right now.

The two of them then took the bus back to Anton's apartment, arriving just before Wonbin finished setting up the table. At exactly six that night, Sungchan and Shotaro also showed up, cheerfully telling Anton happy birthday and giving him the classic men gift of expensive alcohol.

The dinner went relatively uneventful. Shotaro did most of the talking, telling them about his childhood in Japan and how he and Sungchan met each other at university.

At some point, Wonbin opened the champagne they got earlier today, pouring each one of them a glass and toasting for Anton. It was then followed by more wine, beers, and spirits being opened and soon, everyone abandoned the dinner table and moved on to the couch to chat some more.

It felt like Eunseok's birthday all over again. As the six of them get more drunk, they began to split into a pair of two, Sungchan and Shotaro, who were busy whispering sweet nothing to one another on the loveseat, Wonbin and Eunseok, who were busy having a playful argument with one another, and lastly, Sohee and Anton, who were sat across from the former two, body slightly leaned towards one another.

Anton was about to lean further into Sohee when the latter abruptly stood up and pulled Anton towards where Eunseok and Wonbin were seated.

And it was at that point did Anton remembered that he hadn't told Sohee that his crush on Eunseon was fake.

"What are you both talking about?"

Sohee asked as he took a seat on the handle of the couch next to Wonbin while Anton just stood there next to Sohee with his heart beating fast.

"Ah we are talking about that one time Eunseok hyung's earbyd died in the library and he didn't realise he was playing his music out loud for ten minutes,"

Wonbin giggled. Eunseok gave him a playful shove.

And the tone Sohee used to speak his next few words could only be described as one a middle aged ahjumma would say when they were trying to set their son up with their crush.

"Oh yeah? I'm sure our Chanyoungie here would love to hear more about it,"

Eunseok immediately looked at Sohee weirdly.

And so did Wonbin.

And so did Sungchan and Shotaro, who weren't even part of the conversation but had accidentally overheard that last part.

Even Anton looked at Sohee weirdly before realising that he was simply trying to play his part as a Wingman.

"Ah, I think Sohee hyung and I are going to get some fresh air,"

Anton said but instead of dragging him towards the balcony, he instead dragged Sohee towards his bedroom.

"I thought you want me to help you,"

Sohee said once they were both settled inside Anton's room. He was seated on the bed while Anton was seated across from him on the office chair.

"You don't have to anymore,"

Anton said and Sohee's face immediately turned sad.

"Sorry," He said and Anton immediately felt bad.

"No hyung-"

"And I'm also sorry about the gift,"

Sohee said. He fell quiet for a few seconds, fumbling about with his hand as if he was hesitating to say something.

"You know, the truth is, I have another gift for you,"

Sohee finally said. He reached into his hoodie jsut as he did back in the park but this time, he pulled out a black box and handed it to Anton, who immediately opened it.

Inside the box was two necklaces made pf silver. One of them sport a pendant in the shape of a moon, with an aquamarine at the center, while the other one sport a  pendant in the shape of a sun, with a topaz at the center.

"Hyung, this is-"

"It's a couple necklace,"

Sohee said, looking dejected.

"I custom ordered them a month ago for your birthday and went to pick it up with Jaehyun yesterday,"

Sohee said as he fumbled with a loose thread on his hoodie.

"When you told me that you liked Eunseok two days ago, I tried to cancel the order but it was too late to do so and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable by the necklace so I got you some other presents in a rush,"

Sohee continued. He looked really sad and Anton would have jumped up and given him a hug had it not been for the fact that he was too stunned by Sohee's words.

So all this time my, my feelings are not unrequited?

"You can just treat it as a friendship necklace Chanyoung-ah, I-"

"Hyung,"

Anton said, cutting Sohee's midway through his rambling. He opened his drawer and took out the black box containing the necklace he had been meaning to give Sohee in the last few years.

Sohee's eyes widened when he saw the name of the brand written on the box. Clearly, whatever was in that box was so much more precious than the necklace he had just given to Anton.

In one smooth motion, Anton opened the box and took its content out. The necklace, crusted with diamonds with topaz at the center, still looked as shiny and glimmering as it did back then.

Slowly, Anton bent his body and clasped the necklace on Sohee. He then steadily moved back to admire the necklace on its rightful owner and it looked perfect.

"I love you," Anton began, voice trembling from nervousness.

"And I have only ever loved you in the last few years, no, in my life,"

Anton continued. He reached out one of his hands to grab Sohee's equally trembling one.

"All those girls I dated, it was to make you jealous. And Eunseok hyung, I never liked him, I said it because I saw the text from Jaehyun and it made me feel jealous,"

Anton finally said and before he could stop himself, he quickly leaned forward to kiss Sohee on the lips and to his delight, the older immediately started kissing him back.

What started off as a kiss immediately escalated into something more. Soon, Anton's hands were trailing all over Sohee's body, first exploring above his hoodie and soon reaching underneath it. It didn't take long for both of their clothings to come off and Anton had to quickly excuse himself and sneaked into Wonbin's room to steal some lube and condoms.

And let's just say, that night, Anton received the best possible birthday gift.

❀❀❀

Anton was the first one to wake up that morning. Next to him, hair a mess and without a single piece of clothing was Sohee, who was still sleeping peacefully.

Anton gave the older a small kiss on the forehead before he quietly crept towards the door and out of the room.

It was Monday morning and Anton was glad that his first class wasn't until one in the afternoon. Sohee, however, had his first one at ten and so Anton would have to wake the older in around an hour or so.

The apartment was a mess after last night. Anton didn't know what had happened since he spent the rest of the night doing God knows what with Sohee in the bedroom. Anton glanced at his cousin's bedroom, whose door was slightly ajar and could see Eunseok sleeping peacefully while hugging one of Wonbin's cat doll. His cousin himself was nowhere in sight.

In the living room, cuddled together peacefully on two sofas joined up to form a bed was Shotaro and Sungchan and to Anton's horror, he could see both of their pants lying on the floor next to the makeshift bed. It was fortunate that, for the very least, the two of them were thoroughly covered in blanket.

"Had a good night?"

Anton turned his head towards his right where his cousin was standing in front of the toilet door. Wonbin's eyes were slightly bloodshot from the lack of sleep but he otherwise looked fine, no trace of being hangover or whatsoever thanks to his abnormally strong tolerance.

"Yeah, you?"

Anton replied and Wonbin just gave him the same smirk when he was asked the question two days ago. It was then did Anton realised that he wasn't wearing his own clothes but Eunseok's.

Wonbin walked past Anton to re-enter his bedroom. It was still early in the morning and the sun was barely rising and Wonbin was probably just trying to catch some extra sleep.

But before he entered the room, he turned his head back towards Anton and with a playful smile, he said,

"If you ever need more protection, just come here and ask your hyung. I don't like it when people take my stuffs without permission."