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After years of (not so) silent yearning and pining, Jeong Jihoon is finally in a relationship with Lee Sanghyeok.
Several iterations of both teams’ rosters have witnessed how much Jihoon had struggled to even speak a word that isn’t related to League around Sanghyeok. Knowing, fed-up glances thrown at each other across the room whenever Jihoon’s tongue twists in something unintelligible whenever Sanghyeok asks him about his hobbies outside of the rift.
Eventually though, after endlessly spurring Jihoon on and helping him get over his crippling nerves around Sanghyeok, they celebrate with him when the midlane pair finally show up at a joint dinner hand in hand with blushing faces and dopey grins on their lips.
Their circle of friends thought that all would go smoothly now that their supposed biggest hurdle has been crossed.
However, they’re proven wrong when Jihoon comes back to the dorms after a date with Sanghyeok, and proceeds to crash out.
“I couldn’t do it!” Jihoon wails in despair, flopping onto the couch next to a now disgruntled Giin.
“Do what?” Jaehyuk questions dismissively from the adjacent seat, not looking up from his phone.
“I couldn’t kiss Sanghyeok-hyung.” Jihoon groans from behind his hands that have now covered his face in his anguish.
“Why not? Did the date not go well?” Giin asks curiously, locking his own phone and turning to Jihoon who has resorted to staring blankly at the ceiling.
“It went fine… great, even.” Jihoon answers with a sigh, not sounding happy at all despite his words.
“Then what’s the problem?” Jaehyuk finally looks up from his phone to send Jihoon an exasperated look.
“Me! I chickened out from kissing him when we were saying goodbye in front of his dorm because his teammates suddenly exited from the elevator.” Jihoon whines, his lips jutting out into a pout and his words blending together from how he’s speaking.
Jaehyuk and Giin glance at each other, catching how exasperated the other looks before fixing their gazes back on their midlaner.
“Isn’t he literally your boyfriend now? Just go on another date and kiss him then!” Jaehyuk suggests — unhelpfully in Jihoon’s opinion — before going back to back his phone and typing in rapidfire. Probably already spilling the beans to a certain support from Nongshim, who’ll probably gossip about it to their friends who are in different teams now as well.
“My heart is literally threatening to jump from my mouth at the thought of kissing him and you think I can just do that while feeling that way!?” Jihoon argues back, his head slumping onto the back of the couch in distress.
“Wow, you’re actually hopeless.” Giin mumbles, the corner of his mouth curling up into an amused smirk.
“But what if I embarrass myself in front of him!” Jihoon whines, his tall figure wiggling on the couch like a child throwing a tantrum.
“You’re overthinking it.” Jaehyuk replies noncommittally, his fingers still typing away on his phone like he’s running out of time.
“And being overdramatic about it,” Giin adds on with a huff of laughter.
“And nervous about it for no reason,” Geonbu adds from the kitchen, the sound of the microwave door opening following the statement.
“And being a pain in our asses about it!” Minkyu shouts from down the hall that leads to their rooms.
Jihoon doesn’t say anything in reply, just rolls his eyes at them before closing them. He sighs heavily, slumping back into the couch while he hears the rustling movements of his team mates around him. When he opens his eyes again he sees all four of them sitting around him, throwing different expressions at each other in silent conversation.
Jaehyuk startles a bit when he realizes that Jihoon is quietly observing them with a suspicious gaze.
“What was that all about?” Jihoon asks, squinting his eyes at all his team mates.
“Nothing you should worry about.” Kiin answers resolutely, his tone not really leaving much room for Jihoon to pry further.
Jihoon tries to stare down the answer out of Jaehyuk, but the other man simply averts his gaze away from him and starts to type away on his phone once again.
Minkyu and Geonbu switch the TV on and start flipping through the available shows for streaming, while Giin gets up from the couch and heads to the kitchen himself.
Jihoon sighs at his dilemma once again, before making a quiet promise to himself that he’ll try again next time. He’ll invite Sanghyeok out again and they’ll have a fun time, and he’ll have courage to do what he’s wanted to do for so long.
-
Jihoon finds himself grappling with his nerves as he walks in a park with Sanghyeok, hand in hand. They just came from one of their favorite restaurants, and the atmosphere during dinner was as light and easy as ever.
Now, as they’re surrounded by the strangely dimmer lights of the park, there’s a sort of anticipation charged in the air. Or maybe Jihoon is just hallucinating it from how much he’s trying to hype himself up to just kiss Sanghyeok.
Jihoon’s steps falter, slightly tugging on their joined hands, making Sanghyeok pause and slowly turn to look at him with that usual, careful consideration. Jihoon takes a moment to admire Sanghyeok under the park lights as they cast shadows that frame his face beautifully, the natural upturn of the corner of his lips looking even more enticing.
There’s a slow, romantic song that starts to play faintly in the distance, and Jihoon’s blood rushes through his ears at the thought of how nice it would be for their first kiss to happen at this moment.
Jihoon inhales slowly, gathering his courage as he takes Sanghyeok’s other hand in his, turning the older man to face him fully. He takes a step forward into Sanghyeok’s space, making the other man tilt his head up more to meet Jihoon’s gaze. The lights shine like stars in Sanghyeok’s eyes, and Jihoon’s heart skips a beat.
Jihoon’s body moves on its own, leaning into Sanghyeok as if pulled by gravity, and he catches how Sanghyeok’s eyes flicker down to his lips. The world seems to have paused around them as their faces inch closer, the air still with anticipation.
Just as their noses brush and their breaths start to mingle, a loud meow somewhere by their feet pops their little bubble.
Sanghyeok’s half-lidded eyes suddenly widen at the sound, carefully moving away from their close proximity before glancing down towards the source. Jihoon can’t help but follow his gaze.
At their feet sits a calico cat, looking up at them with an expectant glint in its eyes, screaming something like ‘pet me!’.
“Oh, hello there.” Sanghyeok greets the feline, who answers back with a sweet chirp, circling the older man’s legs in assessment.
Once it seems satisfied, it rubs its head against Sanghyeok’s leg, meowing softly one more time.
“You’re a friendly one, aren’t you?” Sanghyeok coos, letting go of one of Jihoon’s hands to crouch down and let the cat smell his now free hand.
Jihoon watches on as the cat takes a cautious sniff, before rubbing its cheek against Sanghyeok’s hand with another small chirp. Jihoon keeps holding Sanghyeok’s other hand, helping the older man not lose his balance as he properly squats down close to the cat’s level.
That cat is lucky it's cute, otherwise Jihoon would’ve shooed it away for ruining their moment.
And when Sanghyeok looks up at him with a big, sweet smile, eyes crinkling at the corners, Jihoon guesses he can forgive the cat for it. He can always try again.
-
Jihoon’s next chance comes when the rest of the T1 roster suddenly decides to have dinner together outside of the dorm, sans their captain. Not because Sanghyeok didn’t want to go, but more so his teammates adamantly wanted both of them to stay at the dorm and enjoy some time alone together.
“You guys won’t have this kind of time when the regular season starts! Just stay here and spend some quality time together!” Minseok tells Sanghyeok, pushing down on the older man’s shoulders to sit him back down beside a confused Jihoon on the couch.
“See you guys later, we already ordered you guys some food as an apology for not letting you come with us tonight. We got all your favorites.” Hyeonjoon tells them with a small smile as he shrugs a puffer jacket on.
“Bye hyungs, I’ll see if I can bring some food back for you too.” Suhwan says before filing out of the dorm after Minseok.
“Please don’t dirty the couch and remember to use protection!” Hyeonjun calls out teasingly, exiting the dorm before Sanghyeok could say anything in reply. Hyeonjoon follows his jungler out the door as well, shaking his head in exasperation.
The door clicks shut, and there’s an awkwardness hanging in the air as they register the whirlwind of chaos that just passed them by.
Sanghyeok clears his throat lightly to break the silence. “Sorry for them, I’m sure you know how they are.”
Jihoon just smiles and reaches for the remote. “It’s fine, hyung,” He reassures the older man, settling into the couch. “They’re right anyway. I do wanna take the chance to spend as much time with you as possible. Preferably without our team mates around.”
Sanghyeok chuckles lightly before relaxing against the couch, their shoulders touching. “Agreed.”
When Jihoon switches the TV on, a streaming platform is already open and waiting. Someone left a movie in the middle of watching, coincidentally on a movie that Jihoon has heard is good recently. Sanghyeok hums thoughtfully beside him.
“The others have been wanting to watch this for a while now, apparently it’s really good.” Sanghyeok says, turning his head to look at Jihoon. “Do you wanna try it?”
Jihoon tries to ignore how his pulse picked up after realizing how close he and Sanghyeok are sitting right now, a small smile instinctively twitching up on his lips as he nods wordlessly. He presses play, and the movie begins its intro.
Jihoon tries his hardest to focus on the movie, but it’s difficult when he can feel the warmth of Sanghyeok’s body next to him, their thighs pressed up against each other.
Eventually the movie captures his attention, not completely, but enough for him not to overthink every breath he takes in fear of disturbing the heavy silence that blankets the two of them. It’s enjoyable enough, the plot lighthearted but still interesting enough that it doesn’t bore him out. A nice, simple romantic comedy to watch with his own boyfriend.
As it goes on, they both get more comfortable adding little comments and silly remarks that get the other laughing, making their shoulders shake against each other. When the actual romance comes around, there’s a weird energy that charges the air — something waiting, expectant.
Jihoon thankfully holds back a jolt of surprise when Sanghyeok leans his head on Jihoon’s shoulder. Jihoon’s body surges with heat, the back of his neck and his cheeks feeling hot as he tries not to feel overly nervous about a little bit of contact.
Somehow he gathers the courage to slip his arm around Sanghyeok’s shoulders, letting the other man shift around into a more comfortable position, still resting his head on Jihoon’s shoulder. Sanghyeok’s soft hair brushes lightly against Jihoon’s neck, and Jihoon has half the mind to pay attention to the movie playing out in front of them.
The weird tension around them escalates, at this point almost a force pushing Jihoon to do something – anything. The thing he’s been wanting to do the most recently. When Sanghyeok lifts his head from Jihoon’s shoulder, Jihoon starts to fear that he may have ruined it somehow, but then he sees Sanghyeok turn his gaze to him, and Jihoon naturally turns his head to look back at the older man.
The movie continues to play and casts different shadows on Sanghyeok’s face, and Jihoon is enraptured, his breath catching in his throat as he takes in Sanghyeok’s features in wonder.
No one has ever gotten this close to Lee Sanghyeok, the almost untouchable Faker, the Unkillable Demon King and an icon to players everywhere. Only Jihoon has ever gotten the chance to map every detail of Sanghyeok’s face, to admire the beauty everyone might look over in favor of his god-like skills in League.
But to Jihoon, Sanghyeok has always been both beautiful and powerful.
Jihoon catches the way the upturned ends of Sanghyeok’s lips curl up a bit more into a small smile. Jihoon pushes down the lump of nerves in his throat and leans into Sanghyeok more, watching the other man’s face for any bad reaction.
When he finds none, Jihoon carefully pulls Sanghyeok closer into him in a burst of courage, revelling in the way he sees Sanghyeok’s breath catch. Jihoon sees the entire sequence of Sanghyeok quickly glancing at Jihoon’s lips, before the older man’s tongue peeks out to wet his own, eyes growing intense.
Jihoon ignores how his throat goes dry at the notion of Sanghyeok wanting to kiss him as well and shifts even closer, the other man’s warm breath cascading over his lips with how close they are now.
Jihoon can already imagine the softness of Sanghyeok’s lips on his, and for a second, he triumphantly thinks he can finally know how they feel on his own.
The second Jihoon makes up his mind and tries to go in for the kiss, a loud buzzing sound resounds in the dorm and slams them back to reality.
Sanghyeok clears his throat awkwardly, carefully pulling himself away from Jihoon’s hold. “That must be the food.” He says, voice sounding a bit strained.
“Yeah, uh,” Jihoon stutters intelligently. “I’ll help you bring it up.” He offers as the gentlemanly boyfriend he should be, despite the despair that’s creeping into his chest in the face of another failed attempt at kissing Sanghyeok.
His disappointment must’ve shown on his face, because Sanghyeok sends him a reassuring smile before taking Jihoon’s hand in his. Jihoon’s heart flutters at the feeling of Sanghyeok’s warm palm against his, their fingers intertwined, feeling so right.
As Sanghyeok hauls him to his feet so they can get their food in the lobby, Jihoon thinks he’ll always have another chance to try and finally kiss Sanghyeok. He just hopes it comes again soon.
-
With the regular season almost here, their practices have been picking up the pace. Filling their days up with mostly League-related things, Jihoon and Sanghyeok thankfully are still able to sneak in some time for them to see each other before things get really hectic.
Tonight is one such night, the pair happily going for a midnight snack run after finishing their obligations to their organizations for the day. They both opt to grab ice cream even though the temperature definitely doesn’t call for it, but they stave off the cold by sticking as close together as possible.
Sanghyeok’s arm is looped through Jihoon’s, the pair enjoying their ice cream in a comfortable silence as they leisurely walk back to Sanghyeok’s apartment. The older man opted to sleep there for the night since his schedule for tomorrow only starts late in the afternoon for once.
They eventually fill the silence with small snippets from the day; Jihoon tells Sanghyeok about a funny situation that occurred during practice that involved their bot duo, while Sanghyeok recalls the way his top laner and jungler playfully argued about a matchup for almost twenty minutes straight.
It’s always fun to spend time with Sanghyeok like this. Away from the stage lights, away from Faker and Chovy the rivals, existing just as Sanghyeok and Jihoon.
At the end of their walk, Jihoon drops Sanghyeok off in front of his apartment, and the weight of parting after a lovely night is suffocating as always. Jihoon knows he’ll see Sanghyeok again soon, maybe around the area, most likely on the rift, but the notion of next time doesn’t comfort him as much as it should tonight. Something still feels unfinished.
“Thank you for tonight, Jihoon-ah. I had a lot of fun.” Sanghyeok smiles up at him beautifully, the door to his apartment already unlocked. Jihoon’s heart lurches with affection for the older man.
“Yeah. It’s always fun with you, hyung.” Jihoon replies, squeezing Sanghyeok’s hand that’s entwined with his and receiving a squeeze back.
“Even on the rift?” Sanghyeok asks lightheartedly, teasingly.
“Especially then. There’s almost nothing like it.” Jihoon answers bluntly, honestly.
A smile blooms on Sanghyeok’s face at his answer, and Jihoon is stunned into silence, admiring the older man’s expression, committing it to his memory before they part ways for the night. Something surges within Jihoon’s chest, and without thinking much about it, he leans in to leave a light kiss on the soft swell of Sanghyeok’s cheek. No calculations, no planning, just pure instinct.
The action takes both of them by surprise, and Jihoon quickly clears his throat as if he could bury that kiss and his panic within the next moment.
“Good night, Sanghyeok-hyung.” Jihoon all but mutters as the awkwardness and nerves start to creep up on him, already turning away from the older man to make a break for the elevator.
He’s stopped in his tracks when Sanghyeok’s grip on his hand turns firmer, and with a strong tug Jihoon is whirled back around. A hand catches the collar of Jihoon’s jacket and with another pull, Sanghyeok finally, finally connects their lips together.
Jihoon makes a surprised sound, muffled by Sanghyeok’s warm and soft mouth moving against his, before pushing back with equal fervor. His eyes flutter close, savoring the feel and taste of Sanghyeok’s mouth, a lingering sweetness from the ice cream they just had.
Sanghyeok pulls him into the apartment’s threshold, leaning on the wall adjacent to his front door as it clicks shut next to them, their mouths never separating. Jihoon wraps an arm around Sanghyeok’s waist, feeling the older man’s lithe build settle comfortably in his arms. A small sigh leaves Sanghyeok at the action, their kiss turning more feverish as neither of them move to pull away.
Sanghyeok’s hands slide up from Jihoon’s shoulders to his neck, a shiver wracking his body when Sanghyeok’s thumb brushes over a sensitive spot below Jihoon’s ear. Long, slender fingers then tangle with the hairs at the base of his neck, absentmindedly playing with the short strands there and sending another jolt of electricity up his spine.
Kissing Sanghyeok is even better than he imagined. He doesn’t know how he’ll ever go back to not feeling the soft curve of Sanghyeok’s lips on his, moving so slowly and sweetly, clutching onto his neck and shoulders like the older man can’t stand even being an inch away from Jihoon.
Jihoon feels a shy tongue swipe his bottom lip, his mouth instinctively opening with a gasp at the feeling. He’s still a little clumsy, but Sanghyeok guides him with a hand on the back of his neck, gently tilting his head so their mouths slot together more comfortably. Something about the way Sanghyeok is confidently taking the lead — hopefully not minding how painfully inexperienced Jihoon is — lights a fire deep in the pit of his stomach.
Jihoon’s head spins and he doesn’t know whether it’s because of the almost hungry way Sanghyeok is kissing him or the lack of oxygen, but he lets himself be led, lets Sanghyeok take what he wants from him.
With one final, spine-tingling nip at his lower lip, Sanghyeok finally pulls away. Jihoon tries to catch his breath, his chest heaving as he reels from the kiss. Sanghyeok looks as dazed as Jihoon feels. The older man’s eyes are a bit unfocused, pupils blown wide. A sinfully pink tongue traces the swollen bottom lip, and Jihoon’s eyes are drawn to the movement like a fish caught on a hook.
“Finally.” Sanghyeok says with a small amused smile, still a bit breathless.
Jihoon can’t help but huff out a laugh as well. “You can say that again.”
Sanghyeok’s hand comes around from the back of his head to cup his face, absentmindedly tracing the beauty mark under his eye. “Was that your first?” The older man asks, looking up at him curiously.
“Um… yeah. Was I that bad?” Jihoon winces, his ears going hot in embarrassment.
Sanghyeok giggles. “No, it was just… obvious. I could also tell you’ve been wanting to do that for a while but,”
“I get too nervous every time…” Jihoon finishes with a pout, trying to shy away from Sanghyeok’s gaze but the older man keeps him in place with the hand on his cheek.
“It was cute. Do you still feel nervous now?” Sanghyeok pries, lips curling up into a knowing smile.
“A little.” Jihoon mutters in reply.
“Guess I’ll have to keep kissing you until you get used to it then.” Sanghyeok declares boldly, his thumb brushing Jihoon’s lower lip. Something in Jihoon’s chest trembles.
“W-well, I won’t say no to that.” Jihoon manages to stutter out, a shy smile curling on his lips.
“You don’t have anything scheduled for tomorrow, right?” Sanghyeok asks slyly, and Jihoon feels his cheeks heat up.
“Maybe just solo rank in the evening.” Jihoon answers honestly, making Sanghyeok smile mischievously.
“I have a lot of time then.” Is all Sanghyeok says before he takes Jihoon by the hand and leads them further into his apartment.
-
“Hey Jihoon, you look strangely happy today. Solo rank went well or something?” Jaehyuk asks curiously when Jihoon comes back to the dorm a day after.
“No, solo rank was hell. However, that doesn’t matter because I finally kissed Sangheyok-hyung yesterday.” Jihoon answers dreamily, making Jaehyuk reel from his honesty.
“WHAT!? But we didn’t plan anything yesterday– I mean,” Jaehyuk blurts in disbelief, scratching his head as Jihoon looks at the other man like a cat that has his prey backed into a corner.
“What do you mean you didn’t have anything planned yesterday? Who’s ‘we’?” Jihoon probes, sitting next to Jaehyuk on the couch.
“Nothing! Don’t look at me like that, you’re scaring me.” Jaehyuk replies in a panic, making Jihoon’s suspicion rise even more.
Jihoon continues to stare at Jaehyuk until the older man starts fidgeting in his seat, and all it takes is a raised eyebrow from Jihoon for his teammate to finally spill.
“Fine! We were in cahoots with the T1 guys to just, you know, set the mood for you and Sanghyeok-hyung. We were helping you!” Jaehyuk confesses, arms waving around wildly. Jihoon stares blankly at him, and Jaehyuk takes it as a queue to continue. “‘Cause they were getting sick of Sanghyeok-hyung moping around when you guys failed to kiss again, and we were also sick of you complaining! And you’re telling me you two finally did it on the one night we didn’t do anything? Unbelievable. I pulled out my best romantic songs playlist for that, you know?” The other man rants in rapidfire.
“Okay, okay, thank you, I guess. Even if it really didn’t take your help in the end for it to finally happen.” Jihoon says placatingly, but the smug smirk growing on his lips doesn’t ease Jaehyuk’s nerves one bit.
“Why are you smiling like that.” Jaehyuk demands more than asks.
“No, I’m just wondering how it helps you in the end, because I won’t be sorry if you accidentally walk into anything,” Jihoon cackles as Jaehyuk’s face pales at the implication, standing up from the couch. “Well! I’m gonna go, Sanghyeok-hyung said he wanted to call me before bed. Good night!”
Jaehyuk can only watch as Jihoon practically runs to his room in excitement, while shock and horror hold him still on the couch. He looks up at the ceiling when he hears Jihoon’s bedroom door close, wonders about his life decisions, before looking back down to his phone and opening their group chat to share the great (?) news.