Work Text:
Daeyoung pulled his body away from the mirror he was leaning against and turned towards his back to look at the reflection in front of him.
A thin fog bloomed where his breath met the elevator mirror. He watched the cloud fade, shoulders barely moving as he sighed troubled again. This time it was more controlled as he was trying to calm his nerves and swallow the sadness that started to bloom inside of his stomach again.
The elevator doors slid open on the top floor and released Daeyoung into the air-conditioned, eerily calm hall. The floor-to-ceiling windows filled the office with blinding light. Late April had come and the Meguro River was gathering the freshly fallen cherry blossoms on top of its surface, soft colors slowly moving where the current breathed. The view was probably so pretty.
Talking about pretty, Daeyoung thought. He balanced the cardboard tray with two drinks and nudged the glass door open with his shoulder.
Yushi didn’t look up right away. He almost never did when Daeyoung entered his office. He was at the table near the huge windows, jacket gone but tie still in its place. His jacket being off was enough to indicate that he was not in the mood, it was one of those days. Daeyoung was not exactly sure that his boss even slept tonight.
There were two untouched ceramic cups on his table like they were some museum artifacts. Cold and unmoving, just like the man in front of him who was so controlled yet so stubborn. Daeyoung was just so sure that Yushi did not like those two different variants of coffees that were served to him earlier that day.
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?” the man asked without looking up from his computer.
“I was at the counter, trying to pay with one hand while holding the coffee tray with the other, Tokuno-san.” Daeyoung bowed, every motion deliberate to show his respect. Living in Japan for three years, teached him all the important cultural things and language hierarchies in society. “I apologize for contacting you so late.”
He set the carton tray down on the marble table. It was only 7:54 a.m. Work didn’t start until 9. Daeyoung knew how crazy it sounded, but he also knew Yushi. It was his way of letting him know that he was in some mood.
Yushi finally looked up from the screen. His expression was composed, but the tightness around his eyes gave him away. “You don’t usually take that long,” he said.
Daeyoung perfected his composure in front of his boss, unsure whether he was met with a question or an accusation. “Traffic was heavier than usual,” he replied simply.
Yushi hummed in a low, unimpressed sound. “You could’ve answered my call, at least,” he said, as if he’d rehearsed it. As he leaned back in his chair, his gaze on Daeyoung lingered, sharp enough that Daeyoung almost looked away with his cheeks red. “I was starting to think you’d decided not to come in.”
Daeyoung blinked. “It’s not even eight, Tokuno-san.”
“Well that explains nothing,” Yushi finally glanced over his way. “You sprinted from the parking lot?”
“I’m a fast walker, Tokuno-san.” Daeyoung nudged one of the cups toward him. “Your hazardously specific, unhealthy order.”
“Yushi,” Yushi corrected him. His hands found the cup and delicate fingers opened the lid quickly. He was inspecting the lid like it might confess something to him, Daeyoung bit inside the right of his cheek. “You made sure they had squeezed two handfuls of syrup, didn't they? You know I have so much faith in you, Daeyoung.”
“Handfuls are not the right units for syrups, Tokuno-san,” Daeyoung smiled. “But yes.”
“Mm.” That was a praise, in the language book of Yushi. This new change in their coffee route was suggested by Daeyoung so that his sugar intake would decrease. It was his way of holding everything in control so that Yushi’s health would not be affected next to the extra stress of his work everyday. Daeyoung needed him safe and sound, forever if possible. Yushi cleared his throat after taking a sip, his eyes curious. “Will the other cup stay on the table forever?”
“Extra,” Daeyoung took the tray in his hands, bowed slightly, showcasing it to Yushi. “In case your new friend Mei-san arrives at the office.”
A small pause. Daeyoung feels the tension bloom but then, silence, per usual. “Wrong,” Yushi said bluntly. He looked bored, like Daeyoung’s words were boring him. “She won’t arrive, cause we are not seeing each other anymore.”
The tray suddenly felt comically heavy and unbalanced on Daeyoung’s hands. “Oh,” Daeyoung coughed awkwardly. “So the spare is… going to the trash.”
Yushi was acting as if Daeyoung didn't understand the simplest thing in the world and sighed. “It is yours, genius. And I have a first name.”
The coffee was gone in the trash soon enough. Daeyoung knew not to touch it, not to get hopeful about anything that came from Yushi, who was just looking at the trash with a blank expression. As Yushi sat down and settled into his seat, Daeyoung stood over him and focused all his attention on the weekly plan. He spoke as his thumbs flew in the air. “Nine-thirty, Sato Holdings. Eleven fifteen, internal budget review. After lunch-”
“Cancel the first two. We need to talk.”
Daeyoung did not glance up from his tablet. “Both?”
“Both.”
“We worked a lot to convince Sato, Tokuno-san,” He needed to cheer Yushi up in order to go on with the day, it almost became his weekly habit now. “I moved mountains for it… Had dinner with one of the directors to consider us and visited the other in a kindergarten meeting of his kid just to get you that slot.”
“Use that bribe elsewhere,” Yushi said, looking amused. “I need to change the direction of my attention to something else. Didn’t you hear me? We need to talk.”
Daeyoung looked at his face directly, glasses about to fall from his face due to looking so down at his smaller boss. “Change your direction to what?” Even though the anticipation of an answer was making his mouth dry from nervousness, Daeyoung was still able to talk.
“To you,” Yushi said, clean and simple -like it was such an obvious answer.
Daeyoung fumbled his stylus and caught it mid-fall from his fingers. He tried not to think about the way Yushi giggled at him silently. “Me? Why me? We’re at work working, Tokuno-san. I don’t know what else to say.” He was a mumbling, nervous mess already.
“We are always at work.” Yushi’s voice softened as he was sighing from boredom. “However, today, we will also be honest.”
Daeyoung held onto his tablet on his chest. “About what?” He knew but he asked anyway.
“Would you like a list of things, Daeyoung-san?” Daeyoung gulped loudly, he was not expecting this nickname. Yushi’s gaze held steady though, his expression was almost comical. Like he was making fun of Daeyoung. “You refuse to use my name.”
“I do use your name,” Daeyoung insisted, thoroughly unconvincing. “All the time!”
“Yeah, in your confused head maybe,” Yushi said. “Try aloud. Let’s see if this building collapses.”
“My head is not confused. I’m just doing what I need to do. I’m setting my boundaries,” Daeyoung replied. He wanted to say ‘our boundaries’ badly but it was too late, there was not even a need for that detail anymore. “Yushi-san.”
Yushi sat up still on his chair, still looking up at Daeyoung from where he was seated. His mouth thinned. “You know it’s not that.”
The chair seemed closer to Daeyoung’s long legs than usual and his breathing felt heavier in the small space they have between each other. Daeyoung leaned on the back of Yushi’s chair, now leaning back a bit. “Do you really want the actual answer?”
“I refuse all other kinds.”
“You’re my boss. My job is to assist you, not tear down your walls.”
Yushi’s brow ticked, his expression was about to turn into a frown but he was too pretty to get mad at him, yet. He looked up at him with his serene brown eyes even more, it was one of his biggest weapons against Daeyoung. ”You’re treating this professional boundary as something that is impossible to pass by. I’m not an unbridgeable wall! You don’t have to crush down anything, just guide me. Trespass it.”
“In what way-?” Before Daeyoung could finish his question, fingers hooked around his silk tie he was wearing on a daily basis, it was just enough to make Daeyoung’s breath hatch. The world stopped turning but Daeyoung’s head got dizzier by the motion. As he was about to speak more, Yushi drew him in more too -slow but certain, until Daeyoung could feel the warmth of his breath against his mouth. For a fraction of a second, neither moved. Yushi stopped caring about getting his approval at some second cause his lips immediately pressed against his before Daeyoung could even nod at him.
It wasn’t gentle at all, the press of his lips demanded Daeyoung’s attention. He did not need any clarifications, he just wanted to be kissed by him. His top lip latched onto Daeyoung’s lower lip, sucking and kissing wetly. Then the pressure softened almost instantly, his fingers loosened on the tie and his lips against Daeyoung’s turned into something that lingered just shy of apology.
Yushi’s lips were warm, tasting faintly of his morning vanilla coffee and soft white florals layered with clean pine, just like the unmistakable echo of his cologne. Daeyoung could always smell him no matter how far Yushi stood.
Daeyoung’s right hand twitched at his side while also needing to steady himself with his left hand on the chair behind Yushi’s head. He felt the tension in Yushi’s shoulders ease when he didn’t pull away. Their kiss deepened, it was something both of them had been waiting for for a long time. There was no need to run away from it.
When Yushi finally let go, he stayed close to the air that got stuck between them. His hand stayed at the base of the tie, thumb brushing over the fabric as if memorizing the feeling it left on his fingertips.
“In the way that I have wanted you for three years,” Yushi said in the same tone he would address the expenses in the company, serious and straightforward. “You hidden behind the walls of our work and schedules like they are thorned with curses. I just want you to get past them and reach me.”
The worst part wasn't the statement itself. It was how steady it was. He wasn't asking him for anything, he was just confronting him with the facts.
Daeyoung’s heart skipped gracelessly. “We tried once,” he said, softer. “You remember how that ended.”
“Yes.” Yushi’s gaze didn’t flinch. “I know I had told you I didn’t do relationships and that my family expected a wife. Also after that night we had spent-” He gulped loudly, his eyes moving to the tie he was holding now -avoiding eye contact. “I regret not being clear with my intentions.”
“No matter what I do, I will only bring regret to you,” Daeyoung muttered.
Yushi’s eyes have never been this big due to shock. “How could you say that to me? When you are the most important person in my life?”
“You told me that you regret being together with me after that night. Now, you’re telling me that you regret not telling me everything. I’m clearly just a confusion for you, Yushi-san,” he whispered.
It was kind of true.
When Yushi’s mother hired Daeyoung, he became Yushi’s sixth assistant. Having gone through five assistants in the last eight months had been nothing short of a disaster, both for Yushi’s parents and for the company.
Beyond his lack of communication, the constant pressure of being expected to marry a woman made Yushi tense and irritable. He often clashed with his assistants, neglecting both his work and his responsibilities that he owed to his parents as an only child. So, Mrs. Tokuno finally decided to take matters into her own hands and personally chose an assistant for her son.
After finishing university, Daeyoung had packed up his life and moved to Japan, partly to gain experience but mostly to figure out who he was in a country that didn’t know him. He needed a job, any job, and during a slow afternoon at the café where he worked part-time, he started scrolling through his friend’s LinkedIn feed out of boredom while sitting next to him. That’s when he saw an opening for an assistant position under Tokuno Group.
He hadn’t thought much of it. In his mind, it was just another corporate internship so that maybe he’d make coffee, take notes and pick up a few lessons about leadership before heading somewhere else in his life. What he absolutely didn’t expect was to end up working for the Tokuno family’s only heir, the famously impossible, quietly dramatic in his own way, chronically overworked Tokuno Yushi himself.
Still, fate and Mrs. Tokuno had other plans. She’d met Daeyoung once, during his first interview, and immediately decided he was ‘the calm her son needed.’ Before Daeyoung could even process what was going on, he’d been promoted from hopeful applicant to personal assistant to the future CEO in the company.
Working with Yushi wasn’t even difficult. Daeyoung had a way of adopting Yushi’s problems as if they were his own. Daeyoung was someone that was wired to care about the person in front of him, that came with him automatically and instinctively. And honestly, it was impossible not to like Yushi.
He was professional, composed, perfectly put-together. But long before Daeyoung fell for that, he found himself getting caught on all the smaller things.
For one, Yushi was adorably short. Short enough that sometimes Daeyoung had to stop himself from reaching out and ruffling his black locks on his small head. The small scar on his cheek made him look even cuter with his cat whisker dimples when he smiled. It was embarrassing to admit that Daeyoung had a liking for this but it was the truth, this only made Yushi more attractive to him. He was a kind of beauty that almost burned if you got too close. Too cool and untouchable. God, Daeyoung liked him so much for it.
Of course, it wasn’t just Yushi’s looks that got to him. He was patient, serious about his work, capable to a fault, so understanding and underneath it all, unfailingly kind. There was not a single moment that made Daeyoung fall for Yushi but a collection of small things. When he’d found Yushi alone in his office, the city lights cutting faint lines of gold across his tired face, his usual stillness and jacket gone, he spoke up: “Do you ever get tired of being the one everyone expects things from?” Yushi was not a loud person, but at that moment he felt so quiet and small. It was something about his raw honesty that had stayed with Daeyoung for days.
There was one time with a senior manager that had snapped at Daeyoung, and Yushi’s tone had gone sharp enough to freeze the room. He was never loud, like mentioned, so this was a surprise to the whole meeting room. “I suggest you think twice before speaking to my right hand that way.” My right hand, Daeyoung’s ears kept on ringing for weeks.
Daeyoung tried to hide it, of course. This likeness, this adoration he felt towards Yushi was difficult to ignore. He had tried so hard to bury the warmth beneath clipped sentences and carefully neutral expressions of Yushi. He trained himself not to look up when Yushi adjusted his specs that fell on the tip of nose sometimes or smiled faintly at something Daeyoung had done clumsily in the office. But it showed in months anyway. Daeyoung’s voice would always get gentler when he spoke to him when they were alone, or how he lingered a second too long when handing him a file to brush their fingers.
Yushi noticed, because Yushi always noticed. He didn’t tease him but he met Daeyoung’s embarrassing moments with quiet mercy at first. He kept his hand lingering an inch too close, a question asked in a voice too soft, eyes remaining on his body a bit too long. It became their silent game. Both wanted something while disguising it as their routine, affection hidden in the space between professionalism walls and something far too human.
Then came the company’s Year-End Celebration Party. It happened right at the end of Daeyoung’s first year. They had both drunk just enough to find courage to do something about it, yet remained sober enough to remember everything -just to regret it later.
In a room reserved on the upper floor of the hotel where the party was held, two hesitant bodies finally found each other. Lips drawn together, the tension of a year’s worth of restraint finally breaking against their warm skin. Daeyoung's excitement was evident in his trembling body, while the confident Yushi embraced him with the same excitement. It was his Yu-chan that he had wanted to kiss, cherish and devour for the rest of his life that night.
And just like that, the magic and the perfect picture shattered. Regret crept in where warmth had been moments ago.
“This means nothing,” Yushi said, after the calm before the storm. His naked body leaving his side after their beautiful high, his voice calm, almost too calm. Daeyoung had just gone out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth so that he could kiss Yushi once more before going to bed together. “It was a mistake. You’re still my assistant, Daeyoung. There can’t be anything between us. I will still be Tokuno-san to you.” He was so firm, so clear where he stood. Daeyoung could not help but feel used, like his feelings had been toyed with. “My family’s already making arrangements, I’ll be married soon. Please, forget tonight ever happened.”
He stood there, distant but composed. The very image of control Daeyoung seemed to love and observe of him. Daeyoung wanted to cry, argue, to reach for him, to demand that Yushi look him in the eye and admit that what they’d shared hadn’t been some temporary desire. He wanted to tell him that he’d felt it too. Because the truth was Yushi’s hands had also trembled when he touched his heart, his breath had caught against his skin when kissing him.
Yet, fear settled heavier than courage ever could. The words stayed trapped in Daeyoung’s throat, and he did what he’d always done: obeyed him.
“Alright,” Daeyoung said softly, the word barely a breath. “Whatever you say, I’ll do it.” He forced a small nod, like that would make it real and hit in his head. Like agreement could dull his feelings and the pain. “It was nothing. It didn’t mean anything.”
He watched Yushi turn away from him first, the distance between them stretching wider than the night itself. For the first time, Daeyoung understood how quiet heartbreak could be. It happened quietly just like how Yushi would speak to him when they were alone.
Then, by time, suitors came and went. Finding a match for Yushi grew harder with each passing candidate, and Daeyoung learned to live with it. He’d taught himself how to silence his feelings: how to love Yushi quietly, from a distance.
They looked at each other in silence, again. The city moved far below them in broad daylight, people slowly entering the office, cars passing by in traffic loudly, everything was in place.
“Say my name,” Yushi murmured, the words were in his usual command tone yet it also had the hint of a request. “The name you used to call me.”
Daeyoung’s throat tightened. He was not expecting this kind of confrontation on a random Monday morning. “Y-” It snagged once, and he pushed through. “Yu-chan.”
The smallest expression flickered across Yushi’s face, Daeyoung’s eyes moved onto the scar on his cheek. He was so beautiful. “Good,” Yushi said, and the softness under the word was almost his undoing. “It’s much easier to breathe for me now.”
At least he is honest, Daeyoung missed that a lot from him. Then, as if Yushi hadn’t left Daeyoung’s thoughts for even a second, he started speaking as though he could read his mind.
“I’ll be honest with you,” Yushi murmured. “I don’t feel like being noble anymore.”
“Unexpected,” Daeyoung murmured, almost laughing. Yushi’s idea of losing control still had him looking so composed.
“I intend to be clear.” Yushi’s hand hovered near Daeyoung’s sleeve, respectful by habit. His fingers pushed Daeyoung’s glasses back towards his face. Then, he stood up from his chair, looked up at Daeyoung’s eyes directly. “I’m in love with you. I don’t care about the disguise I wore while I pretended otherwise. Everything I said was a lie and I’m incredibly regretful for being a coward.”
“The disguise you wore was just a suit,” Daeyoung said quietly. It was easier to make his dad joke than to admit his own hands were shaking.
“Suits are for corporate wars,” Yushi said. “I want peace… and a home.”
A foolish warmth climbed into his chest before he could stop it. He reached for a safer ground. “Your family-”
“Yes, they are important,” Yushi said. “And capable of learning new information.” He stroked Daeyoung's fringe, which revealed his forehead, with his fingers. “We will tell them. I will do the heavy lifting.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Daeyoung said. “I never want you to feel like you are forced to go against your parents, Yushi.”
“I want this, okay?” Yushi said sternly, and there was the dominance Daeyoung loved seeing on him. It wasn’t a demand, but a declaration that he would carry what needed carrying. “Let me do what I should have done two years ago already. Please.”
“Okay,” Daeyoung said, his voice low, the answer slipping out before reason could stop it. He was too hopeful. “But I won’t let you lose your family because of me.”
Yushi sighed dramatically, like this was so amusing to him. “If I lose anything through this, it won’t be them. It’s the fear that’s kept me from being honest and happy. And honestly, that fear has cost me too much already.”
Daeyoung huffed a laugh that didn’t resolve. “You make impossible things sound like our internal expense meeting policies.”
“Thank you,” Yushi said solemnly.
“It wasn’t a compliment, Darling.”
“I am taking it that way regardless.”
The silence between them this time wasn’t empty. It was as rare and exciting as an orange cat approaching closely and sitting on your feet. Yushi lifted his left hand again to find the edge of Daeyoung’s jaw. His hold was not possessive, not pleading but something calmer and harder: the exact amount of pressure it takes to say stay.
“Can I kiss you, Dae-san?” Yushi asked, and Daeyoung’s heart immediately dropped to his stomach. Not only was Yushi being so gentle with him but consent sounded so beautiful between his gorgeous teeth. Not to mention the nickname.
“Yes,” Daeyoung heard himself say, and then closed his eyes because it felt like a vow.
The kiss was brief and certain and new without being young. It was not their first time kissing, it even tasted more vanilla and less citrus which Yushi swore he didn’t wear as a cologne when Daeyoung bought it as a present to him last Christmas. Yushi pulled back first, disciplined even now. “I will not push from now on,” he said. “I will ask.”
Daeyoung found himself laughing louder than usual. “You just did both!”
“I intend to be consistent with my words.” Yushi exhaled, then smiled. He was so soft, it hurt. “Marry me.”
There was no grandness to it. That might be why it landed like a slap to Daeyoung’s face. It might have been the first slap he felt to his face after getting heartbroken by the same guy in a luxury hotel’s suite room. This wasn’t some grand gesture but something solid and real. Something he could hold on to.
“That’s not how this usually goes,” Daeyoung said, he was feeling dizzier by every passing moment.
“Usually is a poor unit of standard,” Yushi said, mocking him for his wording earlier.“It has never met us.”
“You’re serious,” Daeyoung found his voice losing its composure, caught somewhere between disbelief and awe. “We didn’t even…date.”
“I have been dating you in my head for years,” Yushi replied. “I’m thinking of this upcoming, late September. The weather will be so nice.”
Daeyoung almost laughed, he was scared of breaking the beauty of it all. He could not believe the man in front of him. “That will be the wedding season though. And you’ll hate the attention from the media. You always do.”
Yushi giggled. “I’ll probably hate what they’ll say no matter what,” he rolled his eyes comically. “What’s real and what I adore will be when the door closes and you’re here with me in our home.”
Daeyoung had to look away. The view of the river kept his stomach from floating off too, grounded in Yushi’s office. “I’m literally just a Korean guy, who fell in love with his higher class, Japanese elite boss. The power imbalance is just crazy and hard to ignore. Everyone will hate me, Yushi.”
“No they won’t,” Yushi said stubbornly. “You will be my husband. Anyone telling another story will be simply wrong.”
“You’re very sure about this,” Daeyoung said, weighing all the reasons it could go wrong. His mind went crazy with so many possibilities but feeling them lose their weight one by one the more he looked at Yushi’s serious face. Yushi nodded.
“Let me do the logistics then,” Daeyoung said, clinging to the first thread of control his instincts offered. “Legal team, HR, PR, investor relations. Your mother. Your extended family. My family.” Gosh, his parents! “I’ll draft talking points that sound like you, I’ll take care of everything.”
“Good,” Yushi said. There was relief in that one word. It was warm like the sunlight catching on their office. “You make everything so much easier to handle. I feel like I can win everything against the world with you.”
“And you make everything harder for me… Somehow worth it,” Daeyoung said, grinning for the first time in what felt like forever.
“That too.” Yushi’s eyes went bright with something almost playful. His smile was so wide, all of his teeth were in front of Daeyoung’s vision, it was so cute. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” Daeyoung said, and it came out like an exhale, like something that had been waiting at the edge of his breath. “Of course, I’ll marry you, Yushi.”
It was either the air shifted between them or maybe Daeyoung’s chest finally loosened around something that had been held too tightly for too long. Yushi didn’t rush forward but he simply moved closer. Daeyoung’s hands were immediately settled behind Yushi’s delicate back, embracing his pretty curves. Daeyoung leaned in so that their foreheads brushed before Yushi’s arms closed around his shoulders fully. Daeyoung felt Yushi’s breath against his shoulder blade, felt the subtle tremor of his body and the warmth that bled through both their shirts. Daeyoung was so happy at that moment that he could cry.
When Yushi finally pulled back, he didn’t go far. His fingers lingered at Daeyoung’s jaw, tracing the line of it as though to memorize the shape. Their eyes met after a single heartbeat of hesitation which eventually led Yushi to kiss him. Their lips simply longed for each other, Daeyoung could not stop kissing his lips.
When the kiss broke, the warmth stayed with them. Yushi’s gaze dropped to his desk, and he let out a small, steady breath. He sounded relieved and Daeyoung smiled to himself. He really needed this.
As Yushi turned and reached toward the desk drawer slightly, he drew out a small velvet box. He held it between them, the gesture calm, reverent. When the box finally settled in Daeyoung’s hands, it felt like both nothing and the most important thing in the world.
“You seriously planned this,” Daeyoung accused softly.
“It is the least I could do to show my respect to you,” Yushi murmured. The ring inside the box was a simple silver band. One of them was set with six small diamonds, while the other was with a bigger, single clear stone. It wasn’t ornate, just quietly beautiful, the kind of design that looked meant to be worn every day. It was so Yushi and him. Tasteful, inevitable and full of love. “We can change it if you hate it.”
“I don’t,” Daeyoung said quickly, then swallowed. “I like small diamonds on rings, it is simple yet meaningful.”
“I know,” Yushi said and he was not even smug. He was just adoring him.
“So you also know my ring size.”
“Of course, I do,” Yushi said, and slid the band on. It fit like it was meant to be worn by Daeyoung, made for him only. “I’m good at my job as a husband.”
“So am I,” Daeyoung said, dizzy, proud and so determined. “I’ll prove it to you from now on.”
“You have been proving it for three years to me already,” Yushi said, giggling. “This is just extra credit, so calm down Mr. Kim-Tokuno.”
Daeyoung leaned in to kiss him, because how could he not?
The office was packed since it was a Monday morning. Almost everyone has arrived at the office. Daeyoung needed to supervise this upcoming week schedule as well as today’s change of plans. Yushi straightened his tie, the one that he had been grabbing for a while now. Then he let Daeyoung sit on his big boss chair while he sat on his legs. Daeyoung started typing into his notes while his spoiled soon to be husband watched him.
Reschedule Sato, reslot budget review, draft internal memo about reporting lines, schedule dinner with Tokuno family, tea house with private room, nothing flashy, no press until family approval. He added: eat actual lunch with Yu.
“You are a responsible golden retriever,” Yushi said, almost fond. “I want to spoil you and also be bossed around in ways only we understand.”
Heat flared in Daeyoung’s face, he pretended there was an urgent fascination with his planner on his tablet. “You shouldn’t be allowed in public,” Daeyoung said, laughter slipping through his voice.
“Thank God,” Yushi said, “I am marrying you, not the public.” He held out his hand, Daeyoung took it. Thumbs caressing each other’s skin.
“Just one thing,” Daeyoung said after a moment, he wanted to sound casual but failed to not sound serious. “You never had to ask me to stay, Yushi. I already decided to be by your side once I fell for you, even after you rejected me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Yushi’s eyes softened, the tension in his shoulders finally easing. “I know,” he said quietly. Nervous hands playing with the hem of his shirt suddenly. “But… I still want to ask.”
Daeyoung huffed out a breath that was almost a cackle. “Then ask, Yushi.”
Yushi looked at him, like he could not believe the man in front of him was the man of his dreams. He wanted to make sure Daeyoung would still be here when he opens his eyes every single time. Then, he said it, simple and certain. “Stay with me, always.”
Daeyoung was not fearful this time. He would only obey where his heart led him to. “I will.”
Yushi smiled, it made the heavy air between them feel gentler now. He turned his body towards Daeyoung’s, pulling him into his arms. It was so much easier to breathe now, Daeyoung breathed his neck, inhaling his scent and enjoying what he had been missing for so long now. He melted into him before he could think of anything else.
He’d imagined Yushi saying he loved him a couple of times before, in one of those sleepless hours where the ceiling felt too high and Tokyo underneath his apartment sounded too loud to him. Sometimes he’d even dared to think about their previous kisses. But never this. Never a proposal, never a future. Those dreams were the possible realities for the people that Yushi was supposed to court.
Yet here he was, holding the man who’d made him believe in impossible things.
He smiled so wide that his cheeks started to hurt now. Lips nuzzling against Yushi’s shoulder, words barely a breath. “I love you, My Yu-chan.”
Yushi smiled, neat rows of perfect teeth flashing like a secret meant only for him. His hand came up to rest at the back of Daeyoung’s head, gentle and sure.
At some point in his life, Daeyoung had been certain he would have to watch Yushi build a future with someone else, far away from him. Life, he’d always thought, had a cruel way of rearranging what he believed was possible when it came to love.
Yet, for once, Daeyoung realized it had arranged his story just right.