Chapter Text
Seonghyeon was miserable.
That was the only way to describe how he'd been feeling for the past thirty-four days.
Yes, he'd counted.
How could he not, when it marked exactly how long it had been since the literal love of his life walked out of his arms and out of the future they'd built?
The boy who had been his universe.
The boy who would always be part of his story.
The boy he thought he would marry.
His boy, once.
Not anymore.
Now he was just Ahn Keonho.
Nothing more.
Not ever again.
The thought alone made his throat close.
As if he hadn't cried enough these past thirty-four days.
He'd counted those tears too.
And he was damn sure he'd be crying for the rest of his life if Keonho truly became the one that got away.
Seven years of dating gone after a single fight.
Except it wasn't a single fight, was it?
It was seven years of small cracks, unspoken pressure, old wounds they kept stepping around like broken glass.
It wasn't Keonho's fault—Seonghyeon knew that. So he had tried, really tried, to be patient.
Their problems weren't something their affection could fix. Their love burned bright, but the faultline beneath them was deeper than that.
He'd met Keonho when they were both twelve.
Keonho had always been soft-hearted, the boy who felt everything too deeply.
And when he gave that heart to Seonghyeon at sixteen, Seonghyeon swore he would protect it with everything he had.
Life had handed him something fragile, something beautiful, and he wanted to guard it forever.
Looks like I failed at that, he thought miserably.
Childhood sweethearts—that's what people called them. And there wasn't a better word. Same age, same class, glued together from the moment they met.
Through middle school, they were each other's only real friend. Through high school, they were still inseparable, only now with a deeper layer beneath it.
Boyfriends, he supposed. That was the simplest way to say it.
He'd watched Keonho navigate every rough patch with his parents, every doubt, every fear. And in return, Keonho had loved him with everything in him, fiercely and wholly.
Seonghyeon remembered standing at senior prom, staring at the way Keonho stared at him—wide-eyed, awestruck, like he was the only person in the world—and thinking he never wanted that look to disappear.
In college, fate kept them close: same university, same hallway in the dorms, even if their majors weren't the same.
Different dorm rooms, though, which annoyed Seonghyeon immediately.
He remembered meeting Keonho's roommate, Juhoon, and trying to convince him to switch.
"It's a triple room," Seonghyeon argued. "Two bathrooms. Think about it."
"Who are your roommates?" Juhoon asked.
"Martin and James," Seonghyeon said. "They're great—"
Juhoon slammed the door in his face.
Hilarious, really, considering four days later the five of them were a chaotic but inseparable friend group: Juhoon and James and Martin, and then the constant pair everyone said like a single word—SeonghyeonandKeonho.
Eventually, they branched out. Keonho grew closer to Juhoon, and Seonghyeon naturally drifted toward James and Martin.
It was good, he thought—for both of them. While Seonghyeon could talk to anyone, Keonho was shy, prone to shrinking behind him. Seeing him make his own friend made Seonghyeon quietly, deeply proud.
And it helped Seonghyeon too. He'd spent years building his world around Keonho, turning down hangouts because he worried about overwhelming him.
Keonho never demanded that—never once tried to control him. But he was delicate, and Seonghyeon had always been hyper-aware of everything that could bruise him.
He didn't want to add pressure to a heart already full of old anxieties.
So when Martin and James looked at Keonho with the kind of affection that promised they'd take care of him too, that was enough for Seonghyeon. Proof they were safe people.
Because there was never a question—ever—of whether he and Keonho were going to last.
They were the couple people pointed at and whispered, That. I want that.
After graduating, they all stayed in Seoul.
Still tight. Still steady.
Still orbiting each other the same way.
Always, always, SeonghyeonandKeonho.
Until now.