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exactly at 11am chenle's ringtone suddenly blasting off, breaking the silence of his apartment.
the owner just groans while searching his phone, that's somehow nowhere near him, which is weird. he usually always put his phone beside his pillow before going to sleep (he need his doom scrolling session, you can't blame him). he found his phone under his bed (which is even weirder), wincing at the screen to see that the call already ended and throw his phone without care before trying to doze off again.
but guess what? luck is definitely not on his side today because his phone is shrieking again. he groans before answering the phone, grumbling a sharp, "what."
"oh, hey. did you just wake up?"
jisung.
chenle's eyes bulge open, he instantly sits on his bed. his head started pounding while the memories from last night slowly filled his brain.
he remembered that he went out with renjun to visit kun's apartment last night. a bunch of their chinese friends was also invited. they had a little get together, celebrating kun's promotion at his job. it was only supposed to be 6 of them, but once you invite yangyang, there's just no way that it's only gonna be a small number of people. all of them already know each other anyway, kun also doesn't mind so he can't really protest either.
"chenle?" jisung's voice fills his ears, pulls him back to reality that there's an actual person that he's talking to right now.
"uh, yeah? sorry, i just woke up. whats up?"
chenle should actually thank jisung for calling him because if he didn't, he might actually woke up at like 4pm. he still doesn't remember fully what happened last night but the fact that his head is pounding so hard can only mean one thing, he doesn't even know how he goes back safely to his apartment last night.
"nothing. just checking up on you. are you okay?"
"no. my head is killing me so bad, ji." chenle sighs and lies back down on his bed, closing his eyes.
"no one told you to drink that much, silly." he hears jisung chuckling while shuffles a lot from the other side. "i'm bringing you some food and meds for your hangover. i'll be there in 30."
"ahh you're literally the best. how am i supposed to function if i don't have you in my life, sungie." chenle said dramatically, before plopping back on his bed.. "how do you know i drank so much last night anyway?"
there's a beat of silence, but chenle think that's because jisung is still moving things around, based on his shuffling noises that somehow just got louder.
"you called me, asking me to get you home." the noises on jisung's line finally stop and he sighs, "i'm gonna be on my way now, okay? look at your texts and try to remember what you said last night. see you, chenle."
and he hung up.
chenle is staring blankly at his ceiling right now. what does jisung mean by that? did chenle say something embarrassing to him last night? did he do something wrong? did he puke in jisung's car? did he accidentally curse some stranger off the street? why is jisung so cryptic?
before his mind goes 120km/h, chenle unlocks his phone. jisung said to look at his texts, so he opened his messaging app. there's a few unopened ones since last night from kun, junhui, and renjun, asking if he's already home and safe. but the intriguing one is from yangyang.
yangsheep
if ure not giving me good news tmr istg i'll kidnap daegal
chenle furrowed his eyebrows, confused, and mumbled, "weird."
then he clicks open his roomchat with jisung. suddenly the lines in his forehead just got deeper when he saw what's in it.
steph乐
👈🏻
PARKjwi
?
steph乐
oH yrw Wale
PARKjwi
wale?
steph乐
N0OO
Wale
swKe
awslr
AWAKE
PARKjwi
r u ok?
steph乐
yed
um ok
yve smth tp twll u
that's it. that's the text. then there's a call history that jisung called him, they spent almost an hour on the phone. which is not exactly weird since they used to talk for hours even when both of them are sober. there's also really nothing weird from their texts though, so why did jisung tell him to look at his texts and to remember what he said last night?
chenle tried to remember what happened again, other than the obvious fact that he drank too much. he definitely remembers that they started the night by eating hotpot together in kun apartment's living room, with the door to the balcony opened wide. then they had a wild karaoke session, that's when the drinks started pouring. they also had quite a serious mahjong game, which chenle lost a few times and he had to drink (again). by the time they get to drink or dare, chenle is definitely not tipsy anymore.
he's hammered, but he assure the eldest that he's still fine so they allow him to play, and tell the others not to give him too much if he decided to not do his dare. which in hindsight, is a bad decision, because when you put yangyang and minghao together, they can only wreak havoc. both of them keep giving chenle full shot despite kun's earlier warning.
turns out, luck is definitely not on his side that night. the bottle chose him again for the 7th time.
kun, as the responsible eldest, stepped in before his favorite didi pass out on his apartment's floor, "okay chenle this is your last round, and you can't choose drink"
"not faaaaiiiirrrrrrr" chenle whines, protesting like a child. he act like he's still super sober even though his speech is already too slurred.
"you look like you almost passed out, le" almost everyone in the circle nodded, agreeing to what renjun said.
probably as a sign of reassurance, yuqi added, "we promise we won't give you any crazy dares like before"
"yeah man, it's not like i can ask you to suck on yangyang's toes again anyway" hendery chimed in, which got him smacked on the back from yangyang.
chenle can only sigh and grumbles, "fineeee. just give me a dare so i can sleep"
the others instantly made a circle to discuss his last dare. he can vaguely hear whispers, chuckles, a few slaps on someone's head and kun's stern voice during their discussion. chenle doesn't care. as long as the dare isn't too crazy, he'll do it. he's so close to doze off he can't wait to crash into kun's guest bedroom. he can already imagine how soft and fluffy the bed is gonna be, how warm–
"chenle" his imagination got cut off by shuhua's voice. their discussion lasted for a good 5 minutes. but still, chenle doesn't have any suspicions at all.
"yeah?"
"we want you to tell jisung how you feel."
oh.
suddenly he doesn't feel that drunk anymore. his heart beating a bit faster, hands starting to get clammy.
he chuckles to cover his nervousness, "w-what do you mean?"
chenle definitely knows what they meant. somehow even in his clouded mind, it's still clear as day.
"we want you to confess to jisung, le"
to this group, his big-fat-crush to jisung is not a secret anymore. these people are the ones he goes to when he's either having a mental breakdown or going through a gay panic mode, all because of a certain boy named park jisung. most of these people are the ones who watch his and jisung's relationship grow from mere kids that like to annoy each other, to a grown ass college students that they are now. these people are one of the firsts who accept him for who he really is after coming out. these people are the ones who know how long it took chenle to finally end his denial phase and accept that he is indeed having a crush on his best friend, park jisung.
chenle groans, "why are you making me do this?"
these people are basically his second family, why would they ask him to do this?
"what? are you scared?"
"it's not that im scared i just don't understand why would you guys ask me to do this"
"it's just a dare, chenle"
no, it's not just a dare. its years of friendship put on the line. it's not that simple.
"It's either you do it, or you drink again. but hey, we all know you're not supposed to drink anymore, right?"
————
chenle looks at his phone again, 20 minutes has passed since jisung said that he's on his way. his memory from last night hasn't recovered fully yet. all he remembered so far is only up till when he goes out to the balcony to receive jisung's call, with an excuse, "if i'm gonna confess my feelings at least let me do it in private."
the others only nod, letting him be, and continue their game. he remembers that he quietly took another can of beer with him, and kept rambling to jisung while drinking it, until his voice got too slurred for a normal human to understand. jisung, a gentleman that he is, asked him where chenle is and offered to bring him back home.
'huh, so i'm not the one who asked him to pick me up'
he doesn't exactly remember what he talks about, but one thing for sure is he did not confess his feelings last night. liquid courage be damned, even in his drunken state he knows that confessing to jisung is a really big step that probably gonna lead to their friendship to be broken. he's not taking that chance.
his memory while on jisung's car is really hazy, probably also because he fell asleep while jisung drove him home. there's really nothing much else that he remembers from then on. jisung probably helps him to go up to his apartment and tucks him into bed.
(there's nothing wrong with that. that's what friends are supposed to do when they're taking care of their passed-out-drunk friend. right?)
the beeping from his lock can be heard through chenle’s room, he scrambled off to his bathroom to try and make himself look a bit more presentable. when he finally goes out of the bathroom, jisung is already in his kitchen, reheating the food that he brought.
“careful there, i don't want you to burn my apartment down.
jisung jumps a little after hearing his voice, he looks back at him and smiles softly, “oh good! you're already off the bed.” he focuses back on the soup that he's currently reheating, trying so hard not to burn it down. “i'm only reheating this anyway, i can do that much.”
chenle quietly sits on his sofa, watching jisung work his way in his kitchen, he's currently pouring the soup into a bowl and preparing a glass of water with some meds that he brought, before pushing it in front of chenle. “don't worry, i didn't cook it. i bought it from your favorite restaurant. you're not gonna die after eating this.”
chenle scoffs before moving to sit on the floor and eats the soup, “hmm, it's good.”
jisung plops down on the sofa, turning the tv on, “of course it is. i told you i bought it.” he keeps browsing through netflix’s shows selection, looking for something to watch, “what do you wanna watch?”
“friends, please”
it's jisung’s turn to scoff now, “don't you ever get bored?”
chenle just shakes his head no, while keep eating his food quietly. jisung picks a certain episode which he knows chenle likes the most because the boy keeps talking about it. he looks at him while memories from last night come back again.
you see, just like any normal college student his age, he was up late last night working on a project that just doesn't seem to ever end. chenle’s text came at the right time where he started to get frustrated and needed some distraction. he knows that chenle is going to kun’s apartment with some of his chinese friends. so he wonders why this boy texts him out of nowhere, when he also knows that chenle is planning to crash on kun’s apartment instead of going home.
(“pretty sure i’m gonna get wasted, sung. it's better if i just stay at kun ge’s apartment. you also won't understand a thing because everyone is gonna speak in chinese.” he said, when jisung offered to go with him and be the designated driver).
it got weird when chenle’s texts come in full typos, and even weirder when chenle said that he has something to say (from what he can decipher). chenle usually just straight up said what he wanted to say, not like last night. so for the sake of his fried brain, he opted to just call chenle. it's late and he doesnt think that he has any remaining brain cells left to keep deciphering chenle’s texts.
instead of telling jisung what he wanted to say, chenle just keeps on rambling about the night. how xianyu made the best dipping sauce for hotpot. how junhui tells everyone about his plan to go back to china. how xiaoting is breaking down on a jay chou’s song but then dancing wildly after the next 5 songs. how he keeps on losing at mahjong and needs to keep drinking. how he keeps getting chosen at their drink and dare game.
and suddenly chenle goes quiet, only soft breathing can be heard from his line. jisung who has been listening intently picks up every emotion behind chenle’s story. this quietness is just too out of nowhere.
“le, are you okay?”
he hears chenle’s breath hitch a little, “yeah… yeah i am… jisung can you pick me up? i have something to tell you”
“you want me to pick you up?” jisung is already halfway out of his apartment, picking up his jacket and keys.
“yeah.. they dare me to say something to you..”
chenle sounds so small. this is definitely not the chenle that jisung is used with. it's like chenle can break down at any moment just based on his voice alone. jisung is worried. just what the hell are they daring chenle to say that make him become this small?
“okay.. okay you can say it to me later when i'm there.” jisung is already at his parking lot now, ready to be on his way. “i'll be on my way now. do you want me to hang up the call?”
jisung drives off to kun’s apartment at 2am, and chenle is rambling to jisung about anything while he’s on the way to pick him up. after he arrives, helps chenle to get on his feet, drives him back home, and even tucks him to bed, chenle still doesn't bring up what he's about to say.
even now, the boy seems like he still doesn't remember it, when it's the only thing that's bothering jisung’s mind since last night.
“le.”
“yeah?”
“what were you about to say last night?”
chenle who has been focused on watching his show suddenly freezes. he nervously chuckles, “i said that?”
jisung moves to sit beside him on the floor, his body facing him fully, “yeah, you keep telling me that you have something to say but you never did.”
“well, maybe it's better off for me to not say it then?”
“but you said that it's a dare and you need to say it or else minghao hyung gonna make you bald.”
“don't you think I'll look good bald?”
“oh come onnn i love your fried hair.”
chenle scoffs, “why are you so curious anyway? minghao ge won’t even know if i didn't tell you anything.”
“yeah but i don't want you to be bald, chenle.”
“liar.”
“you'll look too good, what if everyone started to have a crush on you?”
“what are you even talking about? i'll look ridiculous when I'm bald.”
“no, you're not. everyone will be dazzled by your shiny head and they will start to fall for you. what if i also fall for you? will you take responsibility?”
that last two sentences stunned chenle a bit, “you’re talking a bunch of nonsense, park jisung.” he scoffs and tries to focus on his show again.
jisung sighs loudly before taking chenle’s hand that he started to pick at again, “are you that worried?” he rubs chenle’s fingers before intertwining their hand.
chenle just nods, eyes still focused on the tv in front of him, “i just don't want anything to change.”
“but what if the change is a good change? do you still not want it then?” jisung studies chenle’s face. his eyes might be looking at the tv but he knows that his mind is definitely somewhere else.
chenle takes a deep breath, squeezes jisung’s hand before finally facing jisung. when they made eye contact, jisung could clearly see how scared chenle is. he feels bad putting chenle in this position.
they stay silent for a while.
before,
“i like you.”
both of them said at the same time.
“what?”
again, at the same time.
they both suddenly laugh at how ridiculous the whole exchange is. it’s really funny how both of them said the exact same thing not once, but twice.
jisung’s laughter died down first, “so, what? are we boyfriends now?”
chenle smacks his shoulder, “at least take me out on a date first??”
“as you wish.” jisung kisses chenle’s knuckles, “do you wanna go to that arcade center you've been talking about later?”
“not today pleasee.” chenle pouts and whines before resting his head on jisung’s shoulder. “my head is still killing meee”
jisung smiles softly, wraps his arms around chenle’s waist and kisses his temple, “okay, baby. we can go tomorrow or even next month. whatever you want.”
if you ask both of them, this moment still felt surreal. they’ve been friends for more than a decade. they know who each other's gay awakening is. they know who each other's first kiss is. they know each other’s first heartbreak. they’ve been through a lot of ups and downs together. they didn't even realize how they started to develop feelings for each other. but hey, it isn't love when it's not weird, right?
and now, they sit there, enjoying the domestic bliss that came over them. cuddling each other while watching chandler and monica finally getting married after facing a lot of problems.
when suddenly, chenle’s phone lights up, a text comes in.
yangsheep
so? do i need to go to ur place n make daegal my daughter?
steph乐
fuck off
daegal hates u
ure banned from my house
yangsheep
im omw with renjun
be there in 10
steph乐
if u wanna see me smooching jisungs face
then please
be my guest :)
yangsheep
gross
"smooching my face off, huh?" chenle looks at his side, only to see jisung smirks while wiggling his eyebrows. he locks his phone and throws it behind him. doesn't even care if yangyang and renjun are actually on their way to his house or not. he has a boyfriend to focus on right now.
"yeah. do you not like the idea?" chenle slings his hands around jisung's neck and pulls him down close until their forehead touch each others.
jisung smiles, "oh. i love it so much. i think i can even do it all day" his arms slowly snaking around the other's waist, before he finally closes their distance and kisses chenle softly.