Chapter Text
It was mid-January, and Seonghyeon and Keonho sat on a bench outside the HYBE building. Their breaths curled into the cold air every time they spoke, and the heat from the drinks in their hands brushed warmly against their faces.
They’d been talking about something stupid, Seonghyeon couldn’t even remember what anymore, because halfway through it, Keonho had suddenly blurted out:
“I like you.”
“Uh... yeah, I like you too, dude.” Seonghyeon nodded absentmindedly, taking another sip of his drink as warmth spread through his chest.
He knew Keonho didn’t mean it like that. He had no idea why he answered that way.
“No, not like that—” Keonho quickly cut in, shifting on the bench and turning more toward him. “You know what I mean.”
Seonghyeon shrugged, fighting back a grin. He wanted to tease Keonho a little. And at this point, he’d already committed too hard to the clueless act to stop now.
“What did you mean then?”
Seonghyeon finally looked up at him properly.
Keonho was already staring. His eyebrows were pulled together, lips pressed into a small pout, looking somewhere between annoyed and embarrassed. The tips of his ears had gone pink, whether from the cold or from what he was about to say, Seonghyeon wasn’t sure.
Keonho held his gaze for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
“Like…” he started, eyes flickering away for a second before returning to him. “Like in the way where I want you to be my boyfriend.”
For a beat, Seonghyeon just stared.
Then he broke.
A laugh escaped him as he bent forward slightly, shoulders shaking, and he shook his head.
“I knew that,” he admitted between laughs. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”
Keonho froze.
“You—”
The embarrassment on his face immediately twisted into disbelief.
“You asshole.”
“Language.”
“Yah!” Keonho shoved him hard enough that Seonghyeon nearly dropped his drink. “I’m over here confessing my undying feelings for you and that’s all you have to say?”
Seonghyeon was still grinning, unable to stop himself.
“What? You looked cute.”
Keonho stared at him for a few seconds, looking absolutely offended.
Then he stood up.
“Okay. Forget it.”
“Keonho—”
“Nope.”
“Keonho.”
“No.”
He only managed to get two dramatic steps away before Seonghyeon reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his coat.
“Wait.”
Keonho paused, though he refused to turn around.
Seonghyeon smiled a little softer this time.
“I like you too.”
Keonho whipped around suddenly, his cheeks pink and mouth slightly agape. They slowly gravitated back towards sitting on the bench side by side to each other. Keonho whipped around so quickly Seonghyeon almost laughed again. His cheeks were flushed pink, his eyes slightly widened, mouth hanging open for a second.
“Cool.” Keonho sipped his drink
Silence.
Keonho stared at him.
“Yah.” He narrowed his eyes. “I just confessed my undying love for you and that’s what you have to say?”
Seonghyeon let out a quiet snort.
“Shut up.”
Despite his words, Keonho was already smiling again, tilting his head side to side the way he always did whenever he was happy without realising it.
Cute.
The thought slipped into Seonghyeon’s head so naturally it startled him.
Cute?
He looked away for a second, rubbing the back of his neck.
“So...” Seonghyeon said, nodding slowly like he was coming to an important conclusion, “we're dating now.”
Not even a question.
Just a statement.
Keonho blinked at him.
“You just decided that?”
“You confessed to me.”
“And?”
“And I said I liked you back.” Seonghyeon shrugged like the logic was obvious. “That sounds pretty official to me.”
Keonho stared for a moment before letting out a small laugh through his nose. “Okay then.”
Seonghyeon grinned.
“So what do people do now?”
“I don't know.”
The answer came out quieter this time.
Suddenly Seonghyeon became very aware of how close they were sitting.
Somewhere in the middle of talking, they'd leaned toward each other without noticing. Keonho’s shoulder was pressed lightly against his, and every exhale sent warm air brushing across Seonghyeon’s cheek despite the winter cold surrounding them.
He swallowed.
Keonho seemed to notice too.
Neither of them moved.
They just stared at each other.
One second.
Two.
Three—
“Hey, we're heading back to the dorm now.”
Both of them practically jumped.
They turned toward the voice at the same time to find Juhoon standing there, hands in his pockets, staring at them with narrowed eyes.
He looked between them.
Then back again.
“…What?”
Keonho immediately smiled, a little too quickly, holding up his drink like evidence.
“Uh—nothing. We were just finishing our drinks.”
Juhoon stared.
Seonghyeon stared at Juhoon.
Juhoon stared back.
“…Right.”
They trailed a little behind the others in comfortable silence, their shoulders and arms brushing together every few steps as they walked side by side.
Neither of them moved away.
Juhoon kept glancing back at them, his eyes narrowing a little more each time, but the two of them were too wrapped up in their own little post-confession bubble to notice.
Or maybe they noticed and just didn’t care.
By the time they reached the car, Seonghyeon and Keonho climbed into the back first and slid into their seats. A few seconds later the others piled in one by one, filling the empty spaces with sleepy complaints and rustling jackets.
Everyone naturally left a bit of space between each other.
Everyone except them.
Keonho and Seonghyeon sat shoulder-to-shoulder, pressed close enough that their coats overlapped.
Martin paused halfway through putting on his seatbelt.
He looked at them.
Then looked again.
“Why are you two sitting so close today?” he asked, one eyebrow raising.
Without missing a beat, Seonghyeon leaned over and dropped his head onto Keonho’s shoulder.
“Body warmth.”
Martin stared.
Then visibly cringed.
“Oh my god.”
Beside him, Keonho tried to act annoyed, shaking his shoulder in an attempt to push Seonghyeon off.
“Move.”
Seonghyeon looked up slowly, staring at him with exaggerated betrayal.
“You're pushing me away?” he gasped. “After confessing your undying love?”
Keonho’s eyes widened.
“YAH—”
Martin slowly turned around.
Silence.
Juhoon slowly turned around too.
More silence.
From the front seat, James pulled down their headphones slightly.
“…Confessing what?”
Keonho looked like he wanted to throw himself out of the moving car.
“His undying love for me. Who else?”
Silence.
James stared at him for a few seconds before sighing.
“Okay. Whatever.”
He slid his headphones back on, clearly deciding he didn’t want to get involved.
Juhoon rolled his eyes too before turning back toward the window.
It was obvious they thought Seonghyeon and Keonho were just doing one of their usual weird bits again.
Keonho immediately whipped his head toward Seonghyeon.
His eyes were wide, eyebrows furrowed, an almost offended look plastered across his face.
Are you insane? was written all over it.
Seonghyeon only looked back at him and mouthed quietly,
"It's fine."
Keonho narrowed his eyes at him.
Clearly not believing him.
With a huff, he turned away dramatically, crossing his arms over his chest. Even from the side, Seonghyeon could see the faint pink spreading across his cheeks.
Cute.
Again.
Seonghyeon looked down for a moment before slowly moving his hand across the seat.
Carefully, like he was testing the waters, he rested his hand over Keonho’s.
Then gave it a small squeeze.
Keonho froze.
For a second, he just stared down at their hands.
Then he turned back.
The annoyed expression was already gone.
The corners of his lips tugged upward despite his obvious attempts to stop it.
He squirmed in his seat, shoulders hunching as he sank further into his slightly oversized winter coat, trying and failing to hide his smile.
Seonghyeon watched him for a moment.
Yeah.
Definitely cute.
Back at the dorm, it was almost midnight and CORTIS was slowly settling in for bed.
Juhoon stood in one of the bathrooms brushing his teeth, while James occupied the other, carefully going through his skincare routine. Martin was already lying in bed with a sheet mask on, headphones covering his ears as he mindlessly scrolled through social media.
Across the room, Seonghyeon and Keonho lay in their respective beds.
As a newly established couple, there honestly wasn't much they could do.
The two of them shared a room with Martin, and they’d already weirded him out once today. There was no need to traumatize him any further.
So instead, they settled for stealing glances at each other from across the room.
A few seconds.
Look away.
A few more seconds.
Look back.
Seonghyeon caught Keonho staring again.
Keonho immediately looked up at the ceiling.
Suspicious.
A small grin spread across Seonghyeon’s face as he reached for his phone and typed something out.
What?
His phone buzzed almost instantly.
I didn't say anything????
Seonghyeon looked over.
Keonho wasn't looking at him anymore, but his thumbs were moving suspiciously fast under his blanket.
He snorted quietly and typed back.
You keep looking at me.
A few seconds passed.
Then:
You keep looking at me too!!
Seonghyeon glanced over again.
This time Keonho was looking at him.
The moment their eyes met, Keonho yelped softly and buried half his face under his blanket.
Seonghyeon had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.
“Mind if I switch off the light? I think I’m gonna head to bed now.”
Martin’s voice cut through the quiet.
Both Seonghyeon and Keonho looked up before nodding slowly.
“Mm.”
“Yeah.”
A second later, Martin reached over and flicked the light off.
Darkness immediately settled over the room, the only light now coming from the dim glow of streetlights filtering through the curtains and the occasional brightness from someone’s phone screen outside.
Seonghyeon heard Martin shifting around in bed for a few moments, blankets rustling, pillows adjusting, before eventually going still.
Silence.
Real silence this time.
Seonghyeon stared up at the ceiling.
He thought about texting Keonho again.
Maybe something stupid.
Still looking at me?
Or maybe:
Goodnight boyfriend:)
The thought alone made heat crawl up the back of his neck.
He pulled his blanket higher over his face instead.
Nope.
Absolutely not.
After a few more seconds, he rolled onto his side, letting his eyes drift shut.
Across the room, another blanket rustled softly.
Then:
Buzz.
Seonghyeon’s eyes slowly opened again.
Goodnight.
The message popped up on Seonghyeon’s screen.
His lips tugged upward almost immediately.
Across the room, hidden beneath his blanket, he could just barely make out Keonho’s silhouette from the faint light slipping through the curtains.
Seonghyeon stared at the message for a few seconds.
Then another thing caught his eye.
Keonho is typing...
Seonghyeon blinked.
The little bubble sat there for a second.
Two.
Three.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
What's he doing?
Then—
It disappeared.
Seonghyeon frowned.
He waited.
Nothing.
No new message.
He stared at the screen for a few more seconds before typing:
???
Why’d you stop typing
Almost instantly:
Nothing just goodnight
Seonghyeon narrowed his eyes
suspiciously and looked over across the room.
Even in the dark he could see movement.
Keonho had somehow managed to pull his blanket even higher over his head.
Smiling to himself, Seonghyeon typed one more thing.
Goodnight babe :)
Silence.
Then from underneath the blanket across the room, he hears Keonho let out a slight gasp.
Very quietly.
Very embarrassed.
Very, very happy.