Archive of Our Own

一番目。

Go Hyun-tak honestly doesn't know how he ends up in this situation either.

A few months ago, Hyun-tak wouldn't have thought of a time when he could enter sophomore year peacefully and without another life-threatening injury or a bunch of high school gangster-wannabes waiting to beat him up every day. Everything went back to normal all of a sudden, and now Hyun-tak's biggest worries are his horrible grades, not how to stay injury-free.

Also, Hyun-tak would have never thought of a time when he's in a fully committed and exclusive fucking relationship with Keum Seong-je.

He's still having a hard time accepting that he can now casually say that sentence out loud. Because, honestly, what the fuck? They started this mess months ago, with angry fights turning into angry touches in the blink of an eye. Secret, humiliated, rushed touches in secluded alleys soon turned into bolder, burning ones in the privacy of their houses. And when they realized they were doing whatever that was with each other only, it didn't hurt anyone to make things official. Ugh, Hyun-tak still remembers how fucking awkward that conversation went. It hurts his brain just thinking about it.

Surprisingly, both of them agreed it would be best to keep their thing private for now. Hyun-tak would prefer not to deal with Baku's tantrum about Seong-je and how his "psychotic antics" would ruin Hyun-tak. And Seong-je definitely prefers not to deal with Baek-jin's judgmental comments about his choice in partners, which Hyun-tak finds very fucking offensive, by the way.

Actually, Hyun-tak finds Seong-je and Baek-jin's entire friendship weird as fuck. He hates the fact that Seong-je used to chase after Baek-jin like a dog begging for attention, while Baek-jin puts no one but Baku into his eyes. It's very pathetic, as he has told Seong-je many times. Unfortunately, Seong-je and Baek-jin actually managed to make up with each other when the Union disbanded; don't ask Hyun-tak how, he does not know either. And now they would meet up occasionally to talk shit about everyone in the entire Yeongdeungpo district, according to Seong-je. Hyun-tak doesn't think that's how a normal friendship works, but whatever makes Seong-je happy. They're still weird and very annoying; nothing can change Hyun-tak's mind.

Anyway. Back to Hyun-tak's and Seong-je's kind of relationship. Hyun-tak does everything in his power to avoid being caught by his friends and acquaintances. He can't say the same about Seong-je, though. Hyun-tak still doesn't understand why Seong-je insists on waiting to walk him home from school every single fucking day. It's not like Hyun-tak would disappear or suddenly be jumped if Seong-je lets him out of his sight for one day. Yeah, try telling that to Seong-je. He would find a million reasons to prove the exact opposite to Hyun-tak.

After many unsuccessful attempts, Hyun-tak finally managed to convince Seong-je to at least stay away from the school gate where the entire population of Eunjang High can fucking see him. Hyun-tak isn't exaggerating when he says everybody in this school knows who Seong-je is, and nobody enjoys his presence. Hyun-tak can already imagine his friends' reaction when they see Keum Seong-je standing outside their school. The least damaging thing would be a fight breaking out.

So, yeah. Hyun-tak doesn't give a fuck that Seong-je finds it humiliating to wait for him in the underpass. He eventually gives in to Hyun-tak's request after some coercion. Yes. It's exactly what you're thinking. Hyun-tak can still remember the way his throat, knee, and entire body ached.

Today is just like any other normal day. Hyun-tak says goodbye to his friends and quickly walks to the underpass before Seong-je loses his patience and comes over to pull Hyun-tak by the collar in front of everyone. That's one of Hyun-tak's recent nightmares, actually. Hyun-tak barely reacted when he was pushed into the wall by familiar hands, too used to Seong-je's antics every single day.

"You've been gone for too long, puppy."

Seong-je doesn't wait for Hyun-tak's response before leaning in and stealing his breath right away. Like any other time, their kiss soon turns messy. Seong-je uses his entire body to trap Hyun-tak, from his lips to his hands. It's not like Hyun-tak ever wants to run away from this, but Seong-je doesn't have to know that.

Hyun-tak quickly loses himself in Seong-je's touches. That used to be a bad thing because he was in denial and considered Seong-je and all of his touches the devil's doings. He hated himself every time he realized Seong-je had gotten into his head and made him lose all his sensible thoughts, which was not much in the first place. He also hated himself for liking whatever Seong-je did to him. Hyun-tak only found out recently that Seong-je was just unconsciously flirting with him, and they both apparently were fucking idiots.

Hyun-tak can say that they are still fucking idiots even right now. Because why the fuck are they risking being caught right in the middle of the road? As far as Hyun-tak knows, Seong-je isn't homeless yet, so they both have fully functional houses and rooms with proper locks. Why is he still being pressed into cold ass walls just because Seong-je couldn't keep it in his pants for like five minutes? This is fucking unfair.

"Seong-je," Hyun-tak tries to speak up before Seong-je borderline suffocates him again. "Seong-je, wait! Let's go somewhere quiet."

"Using my own lines against me, huh?" Seong-je smirked annoyingly. "We'll leave soon. Just a little more."

"Seong-je, I am not joking around! Get away from me, asshole! Someone might see."

"Let them see."

"It was literally your idea to keep this a secret!"

Seong-je decides to shut Hyun-tak up with his mouth, which worked effectively every time. Hyun-tak still hates how much control Seong-je has over him, especially in moments like these.

It was Seong-je who insisted on keeping things quiet in the first place. Because, according to him, dealing with questions from irrelevant people will be so annoying. Hyun-tak slightly agrees, of course, but a part of him still feels a bit unconvinced. He admits that's a hypocritical thought, because Hyun-tak himself doesn't want to bring up Seong-je to Baku at all, not in the near future, at least.

The sound of footsteps pulls Hyun-tak out of his thoughts. Wait, footsteps?

"Shit! What the fuck?"

Hyun-tak knees Seong-je right in the groin and shushes him. The footsteps are getting closer, along with a voice calling for…Hyun-tak's name?

"Fuck. Go, hide! Hide!" Hyun-tak blindly pushes Seong-je to a more secluded corner.

He would have to deal with Seong-je's whining later. More pressing matters are at hand right now. Hyun-tak tries to make himself more presentable and prays that his face isn't too red. Surely whoever is coming won't be too observant, right?

"Tak-ah! Oh, there you are." Jun-tae quickly runs up to him. "I've been looking for you!"

"Hey, Jun! What's up?" Hyun-tak hopes he doesn't sound like he has just run a marathon.

"Why do you look so red? Did you get into a fight?" Jun-tae asked, clearly concerned. "Should I text Baku?"

"No! No, I'm fine, really. I just uh…tried to feed a stray cat and had to chase it around, so." Hyun-tak laughed awkwardly. He really needed better excuses. Maybe he should create a list of potential excuses for situations like these.

"Okay, whatever you say. Anyway, you left your Maths notes in my bag earlier when we switched to correct the homework. Here!"

Jun-tae pushes the notebook in his hand to Hyun-tak. Really? This shit almost blew their cover? No wonder Hyun-tak always hates Maths. He resists the urge to curse like a sailor and thanks Jun-tae.

"You don't have to follow me all the way! Just give it back tomorrow." Hyun-tak argues stubbornly.

"Um…Tak-ah, you know we'll have a test tomorrow, right? Don't you need your notes to review?" Jun-tae reminded him. "Yeah, you definitely don't know that."

Fuck Hyun-tak's life. Okay, but at least he still has a couple of hours left to study. He'll just make Seong-je tutor him. Hyun-tak still thinks it's ridiculous that Seong-je can actually be good at Maths and any other subject without ever opening his books. Life really is fucking unfair.

"Thank you, Jun-tae! You're really a life-saver!"

"Yeah. I gotta go to my cram school now! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

Hyun-tak has to make sure Jun-tae is out of sight before finally letting out the breath he was holding. Now, where the fuck did that asshole go?

"Looking for me, princess?" Seong-je spoke in Hyun-tak's ear from behind, scaring the shit out of him.

"For fuck's sake. Call me like a normal fucking person!"

"I'm never normal about you."

"Why do you have to argue with everything I say?"

"It's my personality trait," Seong-je smirked smugly.

"You have a really shitty personality, then."

"Come on, let's go home," Seong-je holds both of their bags and Hyun-tak's hand. "I'll help you study."

Hyun-tak doesn't argue anymore and just lets Seong-je drag him away. His hand is warmed, his mind is at ease, and Seong-je is next to him. It's all Hyun-tak can ask for.

"A stray cat, really? You should work on your excuses, princess."

"Oh my God, just shut up for five minutes!"

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Meanwhile, Jun-tae is walking home deep in his thoughts, thinking how rude it was of Seong-je not to come out and greet him. Hyun-tak's boyfriend is still really rude after everything. Habits die hard, he guesses. But oh well, Hyun-tak will tell him and their friends whenever he's ready for it. Jun-tae would be lying if he said he wasn't looking forward to that day.

二番目。

Seong-je thinks Hyun-tak is an idiot, but that's his idiot and his only. So Seong-je has learned to put up with all the stupid shit coming from Hyun-tak's mouth.

It's hard to believe that someone like Seong-je can learn to become patient with another person. It's even harder to believe that said person is Go Hyun-tak, out of literally everyone. Seong-je can't explain how they got here either. Whatever, he'd just follow Hyun-tak around like he had been doing ever since they first met each other.

Sometimes they still fight over stupid shit. Seong-je always starts with a few punches to teach Hyun-tak some manners, and they would end up tangling in the sheets almost every time. Seong-je is trying to get rid of the almost. Hyun-tak is making his life a lot more interesting this way, if Seong-je is being honest.

Seong-je finds it funny. Every time they fight, Hyun-tak acts exactly like a dog that needs Seong-je's training, which he happily provides. And afterwards, Seong-je would cook them dinner, and Hyun-tak would complain about his friends and school, which Seong-je would pretend to care about. For fuck's sake, they are already living like a goddamn old married couple, and Hyun-tak doesn't even fucking notice. But Seong-je does, and he suffers every time he realizes how he seems to only be falling harder and harder for Hyun-tak every single day. Hyun-tak can't see how much effect Seong-je has on him, and how much he has on Seong-je in return. Seong-je hopes he never finds out and just stays stupid like that. His little dumb puppy.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

Hyun-tak looks up at Seong-je and asks. He's playing Candy Crush and cramping Seong-je's legs with his weight, too. But Seong-je likes playing with Hyun-tak's hair while he lies on his lap, so he doesn't complain.

"Hm? Thought you liked me being quiet?"

"Well, you've been quiet for too long. It's getting suspicious."

"Aw. You love my voice too much, don't you?"

"Can you not be an insufferable piece of shit for a second?"

Hyun-tak tries to get up and probably glares uselessly at Seong-je, but soon fails as Seong-je pushes him right back down, where he belongs. That results in more muffled curses that Seong-je can't give two fucks about.

"No, I can't, baby. You would hate me if I were sweet."

"I hate you right now!"

Hyun-tak keeps wriggling around just to be a brat. Seong-je has recently figured out the best way to deal with this Hyun-tak. After all, he's been an expert in pissing Hyun-tak off for a while now.

"Don't fucking tickle me! Asshole!"

Seong-je usually doesn't stop until Hyun-tak ends up breathless and turns red all over. What can he say? It's an effective method to shut Hyun-tak up. No matter how much Seong-je likes him (don't tell Hyun-tak), sometimes his puppy really needs to stop talking and behave. This is one of those moments.

This time, however, they are rudely interrupted by Seong-je's doorbell. Seong-je's family is normally all away during this hour, and Hyun-tak is already here, so who the fuck is at Seong-je's door? He has a guess about it already, and sincerely hopes that it would not be the case. Both of them freeze and turn to the door, holding their breath.

"Seong-je, open up. I have your package." Baek-jin's voice echoes through Seong-je's apartment.

Oh, fuck.

"Is that fucking Baek-jin?" Hyun-tak whisper-screamed and scrambled to get up from Seong-je's lap. "What the fuck? Seong-je!"

"Yes. And you need to fucking hide now."

The doorbell rings a couple more times, which panics both of them even worse. Great fucking timing, Baek-jin. Hyun-tak actually shuts up and follows Seong-je around nervously. He's probably going to blame Seong-je for all of this later when they're alone, but he's got to panic first.

"Bathroom. My room. Go, go, go." Seong-je pushes Hyun-tak into his bedroom and closes the door. He could have done the exact thing, but for a sexier reason if not for Baek-jin's stupid fucking ass.

"I'm coming! Stop abusing my doorbell!" Seong-je screamed at the door and tried his best to clean up the living room.

Hyun-tak's bag needs to be fucking gone. That goes in the kitchen cabinet, and his hoodie is shoved under the sofa. Seong-je stubbed his toe on the fucking table on the way to open the door, and he definitely will be a bitch to Baek-jin as revenge.

"I said I was fucking coming already."

Seong-je nearly barked into Baek-jin's face the moment he yanked the door open. Baek-jin was unimpressed. He invited himself inside, like always, and made himself comfortable without saying anything to Seong-je in return. Seong-je was used to this on any other day, but he just had to hide his boyfriend in his room and run around his house like a madman because of Baek-jin's sudden appearance, so this asshole really needs to get on with his bullshit soon.

"Here. What you asked for."

Baek-jin pulls a stack of notes from his backpack and carefully places them on the coffee table. Oh, right. Seong-je forgot he had asked (paid) Baek-jin to do these.

"Oh. Thanks, or whatever."

"You should pay attention to your studies more. We're graduating next year, you do know that, right?"

"Stop nagging me, mother. I'm naturally gifted. I don't need to do stupid homework to get good grades anyway."

They're not even Seong-je's homework in the first place. Those are Hyun-tak's, who Seong-je hopes isn't eavesdropping on them right now. Hyun-tak asked Seong-je to do those for him because he needed to catch up with the basics first, and basically had no time to do his homework. Yeah, Hyun-tak was honestly that hopeless. But again, Seong-je can't complain because he gets to spend more time with his puppy by helping him. Being smart has its perks, very rewarding perks, too. However, Seong-je has been busied these days and can't really find the time to finish Hyun-tak's mountains of homework. So he contacted Baek-jin and asked for a small favour (paid him). It's efficient, smart, and Seong-je can save his precious time for Hyun-tak. So it's a win-win situation for all of them.

"Whatever you say," Oh, right, Baek-jin's still here. Why hasn't he left? "Why does your house look tidy?"

"Huh? What the fuck?"

"It's normally not this clean," Baek-jin hummed and looked around.

Seong-je seriously reconsiders his relationship with Baek-jin. This is entirely his fault for letting Baek-jin get too deep into his space. Fucking hell. Seong-je starts to remember why he doesn't want to make friends in the first place—friends are nosy as fuck. And Baek-jin is the worst kind of nosy. Probably even worse than Baku. They're becoming more alike the more time they spend together. And that's the biggest risk for him and Hyun-tak at this moment. Seong-je should probably warn Hyun-tak about that.

Baek-jin's observation was right, nonetheless. Because Hyun-tak couldn't sit his ass down before wiping every corner of Seong-je's apartment first. He tries to stop Hyun-tak every time he comes over, and fails every single time, too. It's a horrible habit that wastes their precious time, and Seong-je makes it known to Hyun-tak how much he hates it. Now it's coming back to bite them in the ass.

"You're delusional. I'm always tidy."

Baek-jin gives him another unimpressed look, clearly not believing a single word of Seong-je's bullshit. But Baek-jin gives him the benefit of the doubt anyway, because he probably doesn't have the energy or interest to deal with more of Seong-je's bullshit.

"Anyway, can I use your bathroom?"

Shit. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"No!" Seong-je said loudly and blocked the door to his room. "I have some uh…problems with the toilet right now."

Baek-jin squints his eyes at Seong-je suspiciously. Seong-je begs in his head that Baek-jin once again ignore his bullshit and just get the fuck out, like he does all the fucking time. He absolutely does not know why Baek-jin is being so curious today.

"Really?"

"Do you want to see my shit that badly?"

"Should have never asked you anything. Goodbye, Seong-je."

Baek-jin grimaces and stands up to leave, finally. Seong-je walks him to the door because he needs to make sure Baek-jin actually leaves him alone and stops cockblocking him. Annoying fucking bastard.

"Yeah, yeah. Bye. Can you just leave now?"

"Stop being an ungrateful brat. I'm your only friend," Baek-jin said flatly as he put on his shoes. Seong-je did not ask for that reminder.

"Loud and wrong, asshole. Get the fuck out of my house."

Before Seong-je gets to smack his door in Baek-jin's face, the fucker blocks it with his hand and opens his mouth again.

"Tell Go Hyun-tak I say hi, and that he seriously needs to study harder. Don't let him fail Maths."

Well, fuck.

Seong-je stands frozen in the doorway even after Baek-jin left. That fucking asshole. Seong-je will break into his house and choke him with his own pillows. How the fuck did he even know anyway? Seong-je prays that Baek-jin keep their business out of his mouth and especially out of Baku's ears. He can already sense the problems coming their way, fucking hell.

"Is he gone?" Hyun-tak creeps up from behind him and asks suddenly, almost making Seong-je's soul leave his body.

"Yes. Thank fuck"

Hyun-tak sighs in relief, and his body visibly relaxes. Seong-je will not tell Hyun-tak about Baekjin's revelation any time soon. He doesn't want to be the asshole right now, no matter how hypocritical that sounds. And Seong-je frankly has nowhere near enough energy to deal with a panicking Hyun-tak right now. Whatever. That's a problem for future Seong-je to deal with.

Present Seong-je has more important matters to attend to. Wanting to remind Hyun-tak of their rudely interrupted time from earlier, Seong-je tries to wrap his arms around him, but gets pushed away. What?

"What's wrong, puppy?"

"You gave my homework to Baek-jin?"

So he did eavesdrop. Fuck Seong-je's life.

"I can explain—"

"You're such a fucking asshole!"

Hyun-tak ignored Seong-je and sulked for an entire week after that. Seong-je blamed Baek-jin for everything.

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Huminie ❤️

Hey. Is Seong-je actually dating Hyun-tak?

yup!

idk why they havent said anything to us yet tho

probably one of their weird foreplay games that requires secrets or sth

Please never mention foreplay and Keum Seong-je in a sentence again.

I want to puke.

lmaooo

三番目。

Has Hyun-tak mentioned how much he hates Maths? Because he really despises that fucking evil subject.

His teacher had given up on him, along with the entire class, a long time ago, and Hyun-tak's stupid ego stops him from asking for help. His friends are even more helpless. Si-eun tried, Jun-tae cheered from the side, and Baku stayed useless. The point is, Hyun-tak hates Maths, and he's hopeless. But these days, Seong-je helped a little. Hyun-tak hates to admit that it's kind of working.

Hyun-tak barely managed to pass midterms with his horrible grade. And to actually reach that horrible grade, only God and Seong-je know how much time Hyun-tak had to spend studying. Seong-je was appalled at how Hyun-tak basically had to relearn everything from 10th grade. But Hyun-tak couldn't help that his entire first year was spent in survival mode instead of studying like other normal students. It was entirely Seong-je's (and Baek-jin's) fault, so one of them has to deal with the consequences now.

Fortunately, Seong-je is a somewhat competent teacher. In only a short few weeks, Hyun-tak can now understand the basics and get himself a passing grade. He's bound to get better soon with Seong-je's help, so Maths can go fuck itself.

After surviving his midterms, Hyun-tak decides it's time for a celebration! That's why Hyun-tak is dragging a reluctant Seong-je to the arcade for their date instead of rotting around in Seong-je's apartment like every other Friday night.

"Puppy, let's just stay home. I can think of other fun things to do."

"No," Hyun-tak said for probably the fifteenth time that night. "We can do those later. Besides, you need to go outside more. You're gonna rot in your room soon."

"I won't rot if you're in there with me." Seong-je protested weakly.

"It's still nice to go out once in a while. Indulge me."

Seong-je just grunts in response and lets Hyun-tak drag him along. Hyun-tak knows he already won. They always go to the arcade for their dates, and Seong-je enjoys all of them despite whining like a bitch beforehand, so Hyun-tak has learned to ignore him and his lazy ass.

They eat first, as always, and then walk to their usual arcade. The staff there even remembers Hyun-tak and Seong-je already, most probably because of how much money they usually spend each time they visit. Hyun-tak doesn't really care, because they always spend Seong-je's money anyway. Fortunately, Seong-je is anything but financially responsible because he doesn't have to. Lucky Hyun-tak.

Hyun-tak drags Seong-je to the claw machines first, as usual, because he swears he can get the Cinnamoroll plushie this time. He failed, of course, and Seong-je stepped in to save the day. Hyun-tak only found Seong-je's smug face annoying for just a bit, but he got Hyun-tak his plushies, so he let Seong-je be annoying just for tonight.

Then they move to Mario Kart, where Hyun-tak totally smokes Seong-je's pathetic ass. The asshole knows how to drive a fucking motorcycle in real life, so how can he sucks this hard at Mario Kart?

"Another win! You really suck at this, you know?" Hyun-tak mocks, simply because he's finally significantly better than Seong-je at something. He's going to mock this in Seong-je's face for a long time.

"Shut your mouth. You're just obnoxiously good at cheating."

"Hey! I won fair and square. Playing with an actual cheating bastard like Baku for years has trained me."

"Why do you have to mention Baku. I got turned off like instantly." Seong-je groaned miserably.

"Since when are you fucking hard? And that's disgusting; there are children around. I might call the cops on you."

"I'm hard from watching you drive, baby. You gotta take responsibilities."

"I regret talking to you. For fuck's sake."

"Another round, then?"

"Game on, four-eyed."

Seong-je loses again, as expected. But while Hyun-tak is busy laughing at him, Seong-je suddenly straightens up and stares at something intensely. Hyun-tak can't see shit from where he's sitting, which kind of makes him worried.

"What are you looking at?"

"Is that newbie and his boyfriend? Please tell me I just need new glasses."

Hyun-tak's heart stops beating for a second. He takes a discreet look and finds out that, yes, Si-eun and Su-ho are standing a few claw machines away from them, probably also on a date. What a fucking coincidence.

"Yeah, that's them," Hyun-tak whispered. "If we move really quietly, would they see?"

"You fucking tell me," Seong-je whispered back, and Hyun-tak wondered how he could still be a piece of shit in a crisis like this.

"Hide! Get into the ball house over there!" Hyun-tak pointed to the children's ball house and pulled Seong-je out of his seat.

"Are you fucking crazy? No, I'm not hiding with kids!"

"I don't fucking care! Go!"

Hyun-tak doesn't waste more time listening to Seong-je's complaints, because he's pretty sure Su-ho just looked in his direction. He pushes Seong-je towards the ball house and makes sure he walks deep inside so no one from afar can see him. He doesn't care how humiliating it is for Seong-je, because again, it was his idea to keep things secret in the first place.

Hyun-tak had barely made it back to his old spot when Su-ho clasped his shoulder to say hi, and almost made Hyun-tak shit himself.

"Gotak! What are you doing here? Are you with Baku?" Su-ho asked cheerfully.

"Hi guys! No, I'm not with Baku. Just enjoying my time alone. Ha ha!"

"Really?" Si-eun squints his eyes and stares at Hyun-tak's face. Oh shit, he definitely knows something. Hyun-tak needs him to un-know whatever it is.

"Yeah, Si-eun ah. I just wanted to treat myself out after midterms."

"Oh shit, I totally fucked my tests up," Suho added usefully.

"Right? Me too," Hyun-tak laughs nervously and avoids Si-eun's gaze. "Anyways, why are you pausing your date for me?"

Please fucking leave me alone is what Hyun-tak desperately wants to say. He hopes his expressions are clear enough for them to understand.

"We just want to say hi. I swore to Si-eun that I saw you, but he didn't believe me."

"It's kind of unusual for Gotak to hang out here alone, isn't it, Gotak?"

Si-eun stares at Hyun-tak and waits for a response. Hyun-tak wishes he had jumped into the ball house with Seong-je. He clears his throat with difficulty and hurriedly thinks of an excuse. His hands feel clamy and he's pretty sure his sweat is visible on his forehead. Fuck his stupidly unlucky life. Why can't Hyun-tak enjoy his date peacefully for once? Thankfully, Su-ho comes in heroically and saves Hyun-tak.

"It's totally understandable to want to spend some time alone. I'd do the same if I had Baku bothering me every day. Am I right, Gotak?"

Ahn Su-ho is the greatest person alive, and Hyun-tak is so fucking grateful he woke up from his coma. He'd have to borrow Seong-je's credit card and treat Su-ho to grilled meat soon. He has become Hyun-tak's lord and savior with one sentence.

"Yes! Exactly! It's honestly a bit overwhelming, and I'm just trying to enjoy my time alone."

"Well, we shouldn't bother your alone time anymore, right, baby?" Su-ho turns to Si-eun and asks.

Ahn Su-ho has saved Hyun-tak's stupid ass so many times in the past five minutes, and he probably doesn't even know it. Hyun-tak is so incredibly grateful for his slightly simple-minded friend.

"Yeah. Let's go. It's nice to see you, Gotak." Si-eun said his goodbye reluctantly, definitely still doubting Hyun-tak, but he couldn't refuse his boyfriend.

"Enjoy your date, guys! See you in school next week!"

When the two of them are finally out of sight, Hyun-tak lets out the breath he's been holding for who knows how long. He really hates this. Hyun-tak doesn't want to hide from his friends and Seong-je's friends all the time. It's exhausting and basically pointless. At the end of the day, it's Hyun-tak's life, and he gets to decide who he dates. That's not his friends' decisions at all. The same goes for Seong-je. It's not even a big fucking deal, so he honestly doesn't know why Seong-je is making it one.

It must be nice to be like Su-ho and Si-eun. Hyun-tak knows his situation is entirely different, and it's no one's fault but Seong-je's. But nothing is impossible, isn't it? He just doesn't know how to bring this thought up to Seong-je, though.

Wait. Where is Seong-je? The fucking ball house, right.

He quickly gets into the ball house to look for Seong-je, only to find him play-fighting with kids. Huh? Seong-je notices him gaping and explains simply.

"Hey, puppy. Wait for me a bit, yeah?" He throws another ball at the kids on the other side, who all scream bloody murder. "Gotta win this for my team first."

Hyun-tak then proceeds to stand in the ball house like an idiot and watch Seong-je absolutely demolish a bunch of screaming children with rubber balls. He's surprisingly good at ball fighting, and it's so frustrating. Why does Seong-je have to be obnoxiously good at everything on earth, even the stupidest thing ever? It's unfair and too endearing for Hyun-tak's heart.

Seong-je also high-fived every kid on his team and did some kind of team hustling before finally jogging to Hyun-tak. He would never let Seong-je know how fucking cute that was. Hyun-tak hopes his stupid grin isn't giving his thoughts away.

"Had fun with your new friends?" Hyun-tak asked, smiling as bright as ever at his Seong-je.

"Yup! Did you get rid of newbie and his boyfriend?"

"They have names, you know? And yes, they're gone now."

"Good. Means we can finally enjoy the night alone."

Seong-je said suggestively, and Hyun-tak finds him disgusting. It's what they do every day. Hyun-tak thinks he can never get bored with living like this.

"Let's go home, then."

Hyun-tak grabs Seong-je's hand, and their fingers intertwine almost instinctively. He lets Seong-je say goodbye to the kids excitedly before dragging him away.

They swung their hands around all the way home like two stupid losers. But what can Hyun-tak say? He's a bit stupid when it comes to things like this, when it comes to Seong-je. Despite a few obstacles, Hyun-tak considers tonight another successful date.

ʕ⁎̯͡⁎ʔ༄

Si-eun smiles to himself as they walk away from Hyun-tak, too amused to hold back like usual.

"What's so funny?" Su-ho asked curiously.

"Nothing. Gotak is just too funny," Si-eun said cheekily. "He's so bad at lying that I pity him."

"Oh, I know, right? We literally stood and watched him being a cringy piece of shit with Keum Seong-je for like five whole minutes. How the fuck did he not realize?"

"Let's just leave them alone. Gotak will tell us everything properly when he's ready."

"Of course. Now, let me win you some plushies!"

四番目。

Seong-je thinks his family members are all assholes. It’s the truth that he has to live with since the moment he was born. But Seong-je also believes no one in that family, including himself, can be more of an infuriating piece of shit than his older sister.

Seong-je isn’t trying to bullshit anything, he swears. He knows he has a bad reputation for lying his way through many ups and downs in his short life, but Seong-je is serious about this. Or as serious as he can get.

Ever since Seong-je gained consciousness, no one who ever crossed his path has been more annoying than Keum Seong-ah. She’s the actual devil reincarnation if you ask for Seong-je’s professional opinion. She’s the golden child if you ask their parents, which is a cover Seong-ah has put on show for adults her entire life. Only Seong-je knows the cold, hard truth.

But, no matter how fucking annoying Seong-ah is, Seong-je still tries to look out for her whenever he can. Seong-ah also doesn’t care about anything besides her own shit, so Seong-je doesn’t need to worry too much anyway. She occasionally beats up some stupid fuckers who interrupt her studies. That’s a valid excuse, in Seong-je’s humble opinion. He’s done so much worse. So maybe Seong-ah really is the golden child.

As expected, Seong-je didn’t tell Seong-ah about all the Union bullshit until too late, so now it’s Seong-ah’s turn to worry about him all the fucking time. Seong-je is fine. He won’t be manipulated by another mob boss and end up being enslaved for the near future, that is for sure. But Seong-ah doesn’t believe his words, which is why she chooses to become Seong-je’s personal supervisor, apparently. She insists on checking if Seong-je is in school every fucking day, and makes sure he sleeps at home instead of wandering somewhere. She also tried to eat lunch with him instead of her friends, which got Seong-je teased for weeks after. He banned her from hovering anywhere near the second year’s area ever since.

That’s why it has been so difficult to spend time with Hyun-tak these days. His sister turning into mother hen is the reason Seong-je is sexually frustrated. And the universe where Seong-je tells his sister he has a boyfriend is far, far away. That is definitely not a good choice, even Seong-je’s admittedly limited brain understands that. Great. He loves his life.

Fortunately, Seong-ah is in her last year, which means she has a billion cramming classes after school. So some days, Seong-ah would be too busy to check on Seong-je. She normally asks for photo proof on those days too, fucking annoying bastard. Anyway, today isn’t one of those days, to Seong-je’s utter dismay. Seong-ah has texted him during the last period to wait for her in front of the gate. Seong-je does exactly what she said because he's trying to be a good little brother, praying that by doing that, Seung-ah would leave him the fuck alone. Seong-je, despite holding the title of the biggest asshole on planet earth according to Hyun-tak, actually cares for his sister more than he wants to admit. So fucking what?

Therefore, instead of doing literally anything else more productive, Seong-je is freezing himself like an idiot to wait for his sister. His lackeys laughed at his face when he told them why he had to stay behind, and Seong-je beat them up for it earlier. This is fucking annoying. And where the fuck is Seong-ah anyway? He went through his third cigarette already, and she’s still nowhere to be found. Maybe Seong-je shouldn’t have skipped his last period to wait for her then. He’s so fucking bored, and it’s entirely his own fault. But then, unexpectedly, someone else caught Seong-je’s attention.

Why the fuck is Go Hyun-tak in Ganghak at this hour and walking directly towards Seong-je’s directions?

Seong-je rushes to Hyun-tak and pulls him to somewhere out of sight. Seong-ah has eyes and ears every fucking where in this school, and he does not want to deal with her questioning now. Hyun-tak seems to get the wrong idea about Seong-je’s action.

“Puppy, what are you doing here?” Seong-je asked when they were finally in a secluded corner near the school.

Hyun-tak just scoffs in his face and pushes Seong-je away. Uh. What the fuck? Seriously, Seong-je needs to crawl into Hyun-tak’s head and see what the fuck is up in there that makes Hyun-tak so difficult to deal with.

“What? Am I not allowed here? Or do you have something to hide, huh?”

“Princess, do you hear how ridiculous you are?” Seong-je tried not to laugh; he really did. “You’re being funny on purpose, aren’t you?”

And Hyun-tak fell right into Seong-je’s bait, just as always. This is why Seong-je can’t stop messing with Hyun-tak all the time.

“Shut up! Why can’t you be serious for once in your pathetic life?”

“Okay, okay, fine. I’m sorry,” Seong-je said unconvincingly. Hyun-tak reacted accordingly.

“Fuck you.”

“Please do.”

“Fucking die already!”

Seong-je ignores Hyun-tak’s tantrum and buries his face in his puppy’s neck, hiding his shit-eating grin that would definitely get Hyun-tak to punch him right in the teeth.

“People would see us if you keep appearing out of the blue like this.”

“Would that be so bad?” Hyun-tak asked tentatively.

That gets Seong-je to pay attention again. Hyun-tak sounded almost…scared. Seong-je doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like to scare Hyun-tak anymore. Instead, Seong-je just wonders what dares to make his normally hot-headed and stubborn Hyun-tak this way?

“What do you mean, baby?”

“It’s just—I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Okay.

What the fuck?

“Are you fucking breaking up with me? Do you have someone else then?”

Seong-je won’t allow this, never. Everything is fine right now. Why is Hyun-tak suddenly acting this way? Whatever the reason, Seong-je would deal with it. He’d do anything except fucking letting Hyun-tak go. God knows how fucking difficult it was for Seong-je to accept his own feelings first, then convince Hyun-tak he felt the same way about Seong-je. They’re finally okay with each other after wasting a shit ton of precious time. So Seong-je won’t let anything get in their way. Not anymore.

“No! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Oh. Okay, nice. Seong-je worried for nothing then. Whatever.

“You sounded exactly like you were going to break up with me! What else am I supposed to assume?” Seong-je protested weakly.

“And you call me the idiot,” Hyun-tak sighed tiredly.

“So. We’re not breaking up, right?”

“No, of course not!”

Seong-je sighs in relief and drops his head on Hyun-tak’s neck again. Whatever Hyun-tak says next will never be as bad as that, so Seong-je doesn’t care.

“I don’t want to hide anymore, that’s all,” Hyun-tak said suddenly. “I want to pick you up from your school without having to wait in a corner like this. And I don’t care how annoying my friends or yours would be about it. I just want to be with you.”

Hyun-tak’s sincere words froze Seong-je for a good three minutes.

He has always thought Hyun-tak would hate being seen with him, with their history being incredibly complicated; Seong-je totally understands. He himself doesn’t give a single fuck, but he knows Hyun-tak does, a lot in fact. That was exactly why Seong-je planted the idea of them keeping things secret to Hyun-tak in the first place. The last thing he wants to do is to hurt Hyun-tak’s feelings by making him choose between Seong-je and his friends.

“Baby, of course, Fuck, just say it, and I’ll do anything for you.”

“Really?”

Hyun-tak sounds so small and unsure, and Seong-je feels his heart shattering into millions of pieces. It breaks his entire soul to know that Hyun-tak doesn’t fucking realize how far Seong-je would go to do whatever he asks of him, and how much he is loved.

Oh.

Yeah, so what? Water is wet, the sky is blue, and Seong-je loves Hyun-tak. It’s as easy as breathing for him. It’s a first for Seong-je, loving someone that intensely. He finds himself not hating the idea the slightest.

“Yes, a hundred percent yes. I'm sorry I made you ever think the answer to that is no."

"Stop being so cheesy!"

Hyun-tak pushes him away playfully. Seong-je doesn't budge and leans in closer instead. He holds Hyun-tak's hand tightly, hoping that it will show his honesty.

"You like it when I'm awfully cheesy," Seong-je kisses Hyun-tak's knuckles slowly, placidly. "Besides, the only reason I dragged you here is to hide from my psychotic sister. She’d never leave me alone if she knew about you.”

“Wait, you have a sister?”

“Yeah, but that’s not the point. The point is I really—”

Before Seong-je got to prove his sincerity with words instead of action like he'd been doing, Hyun-tak rudely interrupted him with a big smack on the back of his head.

“What the fuck? That’s a really big fucking point! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You never asked!” Seong-je got threatened with another smack that he thankfully dodged. “It wasn’t really relevant to any of our conversations.”

“Still. I want to know all about you. It’s unfair,” Hyun-tak starts to pout.

“Okay. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you more from now on. Happy?”

Seong-je feels like a dog, Hyun-tak’s dog. Hyun-tak only needs to flash one of his bright smiles that reach all the way to his eyes, and Seong-je would kneel right by his feet to do anything Hyun-tak asks. He doesn’t find himself pathetic at all, because that’s what Seong-je’s supposed to do.

“Fine. But you’re buying me ice cream,” Hyun-tak whined. "Can't believe I skipped class for this."

“Aw, that's so sweet, princess! You put in so much effort for me. I'm touched.”

"Learn to shut up as soon as possible, please," Hyun-tak groans.

"Make me."

"That's cheesy as fuck, asshole."

Seong-je leans in first, still with a bright ass grin plastered on his face, and Hyun-tak’s lips meet his in the middle. They move in sync, just as perfect as Hyun-tak himself. Seong-je finds himself, as usual, completely lost in Hyun-tak’s warmth, and he also thinks he wouldn’t mind doing this for a long, long time. Seong-je knows they really should get the fuck out of here and move to a more private place to resume their business, Seong-je’s bed, for example. But once he gets a taste of Hyun-tak, Seong-je doesn’t know how to stop himself from craving more. He physically cannot stop. It will kill Seong-je.

“Well, well, well. This is why you stood me up, little brother?”

Fuck. Somebody kill Seong-je right fucking now.

Both of them froze in their spot. Seong-je was the braver one and risked a glance towards the voice first. And there she was. Keum Seung-ah, Seong-je's biggest life problem right now, and multiple other times.

"Jesus fucking Christ. Just fuck off, please," Seong-je begs

"Hey, you fucking punk! At least let me introduce myself first!"

"I'm not fucking around, noona. Leave us alone."

"Do you want to fucking die?"

Seong-ah grabs Seong-je's collar and pulls him away from Hyun-tak's hold. Oh God no, he's going to be slapped around by his sister in front of Hyun-tak. This is the worst fucking day of Seong-je's life. He will never be able to look straight into Hyun-tak's eyes again after this. Right when Seong-je was about to be bitch slapped into another dimension, Seong-ah stopped. Actually, both of them froze because Hyun-tak stepped in front of Seong-ah and bowed a perfect ninety degrees.

"I'm so sorry for being rude. My name is Go Hyun-tak. It's very nice to meet you."

Hyun-tak finishes his little speech and looks up into Seong-ah's face, who is equally frozen as Seong-je. She snaps out of it first, though, and releases her death grip on Seong-je's collar to turn to Hyun-tak.

"Oh my God. No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for you to see that," She gestures towards Seong-je's direction and frowns disapprovingly. Seong-je gives her the finger. "I'm Seong-ah, this bastard's older sister."

Seong-ah shakes Hyun-tak's hands a little too aggressively, judging by the way Hyun-tak is looking his way to ask for help. Seong-je finds it a bit too funny to stop Seong-ah. He would, eventually, but he wants to enjoy this first.

"I'm still sorry. If Seong-je had told me about you before, I would have greeted you way earlier."

Both of them glare at Seong-je, Seong-ah clearly being fucking pissed, while Hyun-tak is sulking. Seong-je would like to deal with the latter first and ignore Seong-ah for as long as possible.

"Don't worry about it, sweet boy. It's all this fucker's fault anyway," Seong-ah said dismissively. "You're so pretty! And way out of Seong-je's league. What do you even see in that piece of shit?"

"Okay! Time to fuck off now, noona. Your fuck-off time is right now."

"I really like him," Hyun-tak said shyly. "I know he's an asshole like ninety percent of the time, but he's nice to me and treats me well. I wouldn't indulge him until now if I didn't like him enough."

For a moment, none of them says anything. Seong-je is a little too overwhelmed to do anything other than shut himself from screaming the L word in Hyun-tak's face. Seong-ah looks like she's thinking hard about something, which Seong-je sincerely hopes isn't his relationship.

"That's good to know. Hyun-tak, if he ever does anything fucking stupid, which I know he will eventually, just tell me, and I swear I'll tear his face apart for you."

"No one asks for your opinion!" Seong-je retorted.

"Um, thank you, noona. But I don't think that will ever be necessary," Hyum-tak reassured her.

"Just in case," Seong-ah winked annoyingly. "Now, I think I've overstayed my welcome a lot."

"You fucking think?" Seong-je scoffed.

"Shut up or I'm ripping you to shreds in front of your boyfriend," Seong-ah threatened unconvincingly. "I'll leave you two alone. Please come by our house sometimes, Hyun-tak ah. I'd like to hang out with you more."

"Yes, noona, I'll see you again later."

Seong-ah ruffles Hyun-tak's hair and flips Seong-je off before turning to leave and do some shit Seong-je couldn't care less about. Fucking finally. Seong-je swears the sky is bluer and the air is easier to breathe. Seong-ah probably carried around a shit ton of evil demon energy.

"Be home before twelve, Seong-je ah. And treat your boyfriend right!"

Seong-je wants to bury his face in a ditch. He tracks Seong-ah's retreating form until she can't be seen anymore. Thank fucking God. Seong-je really doesn't know how he got through that. But at least Hyun-tak is still here.

"So…ice cream? My treat." Seong-je offers.

"Of fucking course you're going to pay. Let's go."

Hyun-tak grabs Seong-je's hand and leads the way. It's nice. Seong-je wants to make Hyun-tak feel happy like this every day for as long as he possibly can. He wonders if Hyun-tak would let him.

"Tell me more about noona."

"Please do not make me do that."

Seong-je still had to, because Hyun-tak asked. He's always too happy to do whatever Hyun-tak wants.

五番目。

Hyun-tak's hand shakes while trying to open the door to his damn house, which proves to be an extremely difficult task thanks to Seong-je and his stupid, fucking wandering hands.

"Stop fucking touching me and let me open this damn door!"

"That's very hard, princess," Seong-je smirks into Hyun-tak's shoulder, while still refusing to keep his hands to himself. "Hard just like something I can show you."

Hyun-tak wants to kill Seong-je and then himself, with how fucking stupid that joke was. It was so horrible, he thinks he has never been turned off that fast before, even with Seong-je still enthusiastically grinding behind him in the middle of the fucking hallway where literally anyone passing by can see them. Seong-je's going to get them arrested for public indecency, and Hyun-tak will have to kill him. Regaining some of his composure, Hyun-tak opts to elbow Seong-je in the ribs so hard the bastard is forced to take a step back.

"You're not gonna show me shit if I can't open the door," Hyun-tak said as he finally managed to punch in his code aggressively and got inside. "Take off your fucking shoes. And we're going to my room, no more stains on the couch, Seong-je."

"Lead the way, princess," Seong-je replied, as if he hadn't had Hyun-tak's entire house layout memorized already.

They don't even bother with turning on the lights of Hyun-tak's room, as the afternoon sun is already enough. If he were conscious enough, Hyun-tak would be concerned that his after-school activity is being fucked senselessly instead of literally anything academically related. He hopes Seong-je can be a little less feral and a lot less horny in the future, especially with the university entrance exam coming up next year. Or else Hyun-tak would never finish his studies and fail his exams horribly.

"Hey. Get back here and pay attention to me," Seong-je downright whined.

Fuck. He's overthinking random shit again. That's one of Hyun-tak's many horrible habits that he's trying to get rid of. Seong-je finds it cute some days and annoying on others, because Hyun-tak won't pay attention to him if he gets too deep into his thoughts, which is not exactly ideal, especially in moments like right now. Seong-je, being Hyun-tak's self-proclaimed attention whore, would do anything to stop that from happening.

"You're such an attention-seeking asshole."

"Your attention-seeking asshole," Seong-je said smugly. But he was right either way.

Hyun-tak couldn't hold back his big ass grin even if he tried, for fuck's sakes. His life is all shit and giggles and sunshine and rainbows right now. He wants to throw up, but also thank whatever god that helped Hyun-tak come this way. It's weird how much he has changed over the past few months, and Hyun-tak is more often than not led into another dark trail of his own thoughts if he ponders too much about the funny way his life works. But it's fine, because he has Seong-je right here. And that makes everything okay.

Hyun-tak should probably consider being less emotional and philosophical when he's about to get laid. It's a horrible habit.

He was finally snapped out of his thoughts by a fucking bite on his neck. What the fuck? Is Seong-je becoming a werewolf?

"Motherfucker! No marks, you fucking dog!"

"A little bit too late for the warning, princess."

"Fuck you."

"Yeah? Look what we're literally doing, puppy," Seong-je chuckled. It made Hyun-tak violently ill with how lovesick he felt. And also violent with the normal urge to punch Seong-je straight in his stupid face.

Before Hyun-tak could do either, a loud knock, along with an equally loud voice, startled both of them.

"Gogo! Open up! I brought fried chicken for dinner."

Hyun-tak froze. Seong-je's jaw dropped. Neither could believe they were being cockblocked by motherfucking Baku out of all people. Seong-je mouthed a "what the fuck" to Hyun-tak, who honestly did not know what to fucking do. He didn't actually get to have time to think, though, because Baku suddenly decided he could use his brain.

"Why am I even knocking. I literally know your code," Baku laughed to himself, and the sound of it absolutely ruined Hyun-tak's life.

The agonizing beeping of his door quickly snaps Hyun-tak into action. Or else he would genuinely die in his own house today. Damn it. Hyun-tak would have told Baku when he's ready, when the day is right, when the weather is nice, or literally anytime except fucking now. Hyun-tak is definitely not ready for The Talk today, not with Seong-je still here, no matter how brave he forces himself to be.

That explains why Hyun-tak is currently pushing Seong-je towards his window despite the other's confusion and slight irritation, which Hyun-tak has absolutely no brain capacity to deal with right now.

"Climb out," He kind of begged Seong-je, desperately.

"What the fuck?" Seong-je whisper-yelled. "Tell me you're fucking joking right now."

Hyun-tak stays silent, looking anxiously towards the door. Baku's probably wandering around his kitchen now, his footsteps growing louder and closer to them.

"Hurry the fuck up, Gotak! Where the fuck even are you?"

"Hold on a minute!" Hyun-tak screamed at the door and pushed Seong-je even more persistently. "Go, go, go! For fuck's sake."

"What the fuck happened to not wanting to hide anymore?" Seong-je asked bitterly as he started to climb out of Hyun-tak's window.

"I'm sorry. I really am. It's just—I'm not ready yet. Please, Seong-je."

"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'm leaving," Seong-je sighed and left.

Hyun-tak stood in the middle of his room like an idiot for a while. He doesn't know why he's still such a fucking coward after everything they've been through. He wouldn't be so surprised if Seong-je actually gets bored with him after today. Hyun-tak has been stalling The Talk for two whole weeks now. It's not even that big of a fucking deal, not to mention the fact that it was Hyun-tak who brought the idea up first.

For fuck's sake. He really is a pathetic coward.

Hyun-tak doesn't even know why Seong-je still indulges him.

"What the fuck, dude? I've been calling you for the past five minutes," Baku flew into Hyun-tak's bedroom and spoke too loudly for his liking. "The hell are you doing just standing there?"

"Nothing," Hyun-tak lies. "Why didn't you call before coming?"

"Just wanted to drop by and give you some chicken. I gotta go now, though. Baek-jin's waiting for our date."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for the food. You should go now."

"Are you sure you're good, Gogo?" Baku asked hesitantly. "You know you can tell me if anything's up, right?"

No, Hyun-tak doesn't know that. That's why he's scared shitless to start a conversation that they should have had months ago. Hyun-tak honestly doesn't know how Baku would react. Hyun-tak doesn't know whether Baku can be as accepting as he had been with Baek-jin or not. And that scares Hyun-tak more than what he wants to admit to Seong-je. He bets that asshole understands either way, though.

"Yeah. I'm good. Just really tired," Hyun-tak lied again because he's nothing but a coward without Seong-je by his side.

Baku looks reluctant and definitely doesn't buy Hyun-tak's bullshit. But Hyun-tak guesses he looks shitty enough for Baku to drop the topic and go.

"Stop overpracticing and eat well, dumbass. You're being self-destructive again," Baku scolded.

"No, I'm not!" Hyun-tak totally is. "Get out of my house already!"

Hyun-tak pushes Baku to the door as they joke around some more, the tension from earlier slowly disappearing. Hyun-tak knows he can't avoid this forever, but he'd stall for as long as acceptable.

"Alright, Gogo. Eat your chicken, stretch, and stay hydrated! I'm going on a date now!"

"Yeah, yeah. Go already, you stupid lovesick fool."

"You're just jealous," Baku barked out a laugh.

Hyun-tak kind of is, but he will never admit that to fucking Baku.

"Just fucking leave already!"

"Bye, Gogo! Try not to miss me too much."

"Never! Stupid monkey."

Hyun-tak shuts the door and leans against it to breathe for a bit. He isn't hungry despite the alluring smell of the boxes of chicken that Baku left behind. He put everything into the fridge for later and falls face first into his couch, once again regretting all life decisions.

If he had known Baku would leave so fast, he would have asked Seong-je to stay. Now he has to be all alone, and it's fucking boring without Seong-je here. Fuck. That's really fucking pathetic. Hyun-tak should get a grip. Seong-je would tease him for being fucking down bad, of course, because that's his nature. But Seong-je would also coo at him for being so cute and say all kinds of cringy, loving shit to Hyun-tak, which he secretly, or not so secretly, enjoys. Hyun-tak would tell Seong-je that he loves him back.

Oh.

Hyun-tak really needs to see Seong-je right now.

He doesn't stop to think it through and realize that it's a criminally bad idea. Hyun-tak doesn't even fucking know where Seong-je is right now. But he has to see him. He doesn't want to overthink this and waste any more time. Because, frankly, there's nothing to overthink about Keum Seong-je.

He quickly grabs his phone and keys, wraps himself in a random jacket that definitely belongs to Seong-je. It's a Friday afternoon. Hyun-tak and Seong-je always meet on Friday after classes end, so they can spend the entire weekend together that way. It has been their habit even before fucking dating, for fuck's sake. Hyun-tak can still recall the time when he willingly fought with Seong-je on fucking Friday nights and sometimes even his weekends instead of doing other normal teenagers' activities. Honestly, it's a little stupid of them to realize their feelings and shit so late. The signs couldn't be fucking clearer. Hyun-tak wants to face palm himself and slap Seong-je every time he thinks too hard about all the time they wasted. Anyway, Friday nights have been their thing for as long as Hyun-tak can remember.

But Hyun-tak just kicked Seong-je out because of Baku, so no more Friday night activities for them today, unfortunately. Hyun-tak regrets it terribly; no one is surprised. He's trying his best; just let him be. Seong-je is probably mopping somewhere, and Hyun-tak has a couple of ideas exactly where the idiot is. There aren't that many places where Seong-je usually lounges anyway. His house probably isn't one of them. It's too empty, and Seong-je would easily spiral if he stayed alone with his thoughts for too long. Besides, Seong-je probably wouldn't want to deal with Seong-ah's insistent questions, either. That leaves the internet cafe, convenience stores, or the random park that somehow has become their designated spot for months now.

Hyun-tak beelines for the park, because of course that's where Seong-je is. Hyun-tak can confidently say he knows Seong-je even better than he knows himself the more they spend time with each other.

Undoubtedly, Hyun-tak finds Seong-je swinging himself back and forth stupidly on a swing, cigarette burning in between his lips.

"You look so fucking stupid right now," Hyun-tak said.

Not "I'm in love with you", or "I'm never ashamed of you, I'm just scared". None of that, or what he desperately wants to get off his chest. Because Hyun-tak really is nothing but a coward. He hopes Seong-je understands him enough to get the hint.

"You're really fucking shameless, you know?" Seong-je scoffed. "You kicked me out like a dog, and now what? You think some sweet words will work on me that quickly?"

"That's not what I—"

"It's working a bit," Seong-je interrupted.

Neither of them could hold back the giggles after that. Seong-je is so fucking ridiculous, and Hyun-tak is in love with this asshole. He finds it easier to accept than anything in his life. So he also finds saying it out loud as easy as breathing.

"I think I'm in love with you."

Seong-je froze, cigarette falling to the ground. His face is impossible to read. No teasing smirk, no anger, not even a little raise of an eyebrow. What the fuck does this mean? Hyun-tak wishes he could get into Seong-je's head and scream at his brain to fucking say something already, or Hyun-tak might actually explode with humiliation.

And then he starts laughing.

Keum Seong-je is barking out laughs after laughs to Hyun-tak's face when he literally just confessed to him. What the actual fuck?

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hyun-tak smacked Seong-je in the back of his neck and cursed his entire bloodline, Seong-ah noona excluded.

"Ow! Baby, that fucking hurt!" Seong-je whined.

That got Seong-je another more painful slap. Hyun-tak made sure it fucking stung. He can even see the red print of his hand slowly forming on the back of Seong-je's neck. Deserved.

"Don't baby me, fucker. What the fuck?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm just kind of surprised that you ended up saying it before me."

What?

"I was planning to make it a thousand times more romantic than this, you know. Like properly wine and dine you or some shit. But I guess this is fine, too." Seong-je sighed, clearly disappointed. "I love you, too, for a while now. You're a fucking idiot if you haven't noticed it."

Oh.

Oh.

"You're a fucking asshole," Hyun-tak picked up his jaw from the ground and said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, puppy."

"And a fucking nuisance. A pain in my ass." "Literally, right?" "Shut the fuck up!"

"Can't believe I was fucking scared. You're so annoying!"

"Hey, princess," Seong-je dodged another slap and held Hyun-tak's face in his hands. "Why were you scared?"

And that's the million-dollar question, isn't it? Why the fuck is Hyun-tak such a fucking coward all the time? Why should he be scared when it's just Seong-je?

"I don't know," He confessed honestly. "I'm always a coward, I guess. And I don't want to lose you. I was just so scared of everything, and I made you suffer for it. I'm sorry for that."

Seong-je's eyes softened at his words. Hyun-tak would have thought the fucker was close to tears if he didn't know Seong-je.

"You're not a coward. You were afraid, and that was valid. Don't dismiss yourself and your feelings like that again."

"Yeah. I guess you have a point."

"I'm always right, puppy," Seong-je said smugly, which earned him another smack. "Thank you for telling me."

"It's fine," Hyun-tak smiles, feeling like a massive weight was lifted off his shoulders.

"And I'm sorry, baby. I'll make sure you feel loved every single second of the fucking day from now on, okay? I'll make sure you won't ever have to be scared anymore."

"Does this also mean you're going to get way clingier?"

"Yes. Definitely," Seong-je confirms. Hyun-tak groans, already dreading their future.

Their future. Hm. That sounds nice.

"Now. Want to finish what we were doing earlier?"

"You just ruined the fucking mood," Hyun-tak grumbled. Seong-je just stares at him expectantly. "Yes. Fine."

Seong-je dragged Hyun-tak to his house and finished what he started earlier. He spent the night there because he could, because he was Keum Seong-je's boyfriend, and everyone should know that. Because Seong-je loves him and Hyun-tak loves him back.

Hyun-tak is happy, to say the least. He has a neck full of hickies, and that would be so fucking humiliating to explain, but still very happy with how things turned out. He would deal with the difficult part tomorrow.

ʕ⁎̯͡⁎ʔ༄

Baku thought he saw Keum Seong-je jumping from Gotak's window and walked the other way; he swears he did. The very suspicious mark on Gotak's neck was another sign as well. But Baek-jin didn't believe Baku when he called and said his visions might be getting worse, so that was probably the case. Because honestly, why would Seong-je and Gotak have to hide anyway? Literally the entire group knew already; they just all thought Gogo needed the time to properly tell them, like it was a big deal. It wasn't, by the way. Gotak is just dramatic like that.

Baku personally does not mind one bit. He's dating Baek-jin himself, so it's not like he has the right to say anything. He just hopes Gotak isn't stupid enough to overthink and assume that Baku would be angry. He is not, mind you! Contrary to popular belief, Baku isn't stupid enough to not see the very obvious tension between Gotak and Seong-je, even before their relationship started. So why the hell would Baku be mad? He's honestly happy for his friend, and Seong-je too, he guesses. They're a match made in heaven, or hell. Yeah, definitely hell.

Too deep in his thoughts, Baku reaches Baek-jin's house in no time. Oh, well. No more thoughts about his best friend's relationship. Gotak's going to figure things out soon, and it's not Baku's business to interfere. Gotak will tell him when he tells him. Baku hopes the other two enjoy their time, too. Because he and Baek-jin will surely do.

完。

"Yo, Gotak! Nice neck you got there!"

"Damn! You got mauled by a bear or something?"

"Oh shit!"

Whistles and yells echoed through the locker room as soon as Hyun-tak walked inside, revealing all the fucking marks Seong-je left behind on his neck. He already tried to kill Seong-je this morning because of them, and decided that nothing would fucking cover everything except a damn turtleneck. Which is unfortunate, because Hyun-tak could not show up with a fucking turtleneck to basketball practice, or he would sweat to death. So now he's dealing with the consequences of his own actions.

"Damn, Gogo!" Baku wraps a sweaty arm over Hyun-tak's shoulder. "Your boyfriend's a fucking vampire."

"Shut the fuck up, Baku!"

"No need to get defensive," Baku laughs cheerfully, too used to Hyun-tak's bitchy tantrums.

Hyun-tak takes a second to choose his words, then decides to just rip the bandage open. That way, he wouldn't have time to think too hard and run away at the last minute.

"Baku. I'm dating Keum Seong-je."

"Uh…Congratulations?"

"What the hell? That's it?"

"What else do you want me to say?" Baku asked, not at all surprised or shocked like Hyun-tak imagined. "I thought everyone knew already. You guys aren't really good at being subtle, you know?"

Wait, what?

"What the fuck?!"