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Han Taesan wasn't stubborn, not by any stretch of the imagination.
His dad had laughed in his face the first time he'd said that because, apparently, he'd been so since even before he was born. According to him Taesan had never turned over to let the doctor get a proper look at him during ultrasound appointments. Then he'd been a week overdue. And even after that, it had taken a whole day before he'd finally graced the world with his presence.
Growing up, he'd admittedly been particular about his willingness to cooperate in certain situations. Especially when his mom tried to feed him eggplant. Give him any other vegetable and he had no problem but for some reason his mom had continuously insisted on trying to get him to eat that slimy, tasteless excuse of a food. She'd earned being called ahjumma for that, he still stood by it to this day.
Taesan would call it determined that he'd refused to give up on learning the guitar, even when his music teacher suggested he try the piano instead. It was only logical that he was the one who rode in the front seat of their dad's car— no matter what his brother and sister said— because he was the oldest. Resolve was what he displayed during high school when he'd tried playing that one game at the arcade over and over again to beat the high score even though he always fell a few points short.
…Okay so maybe Taesan was a bit stubborn.
He knew it wasn't a bad thing though, not really. If anything his tenacity was probably one of his strongest traits. Taesan never backed down from a challenge (except if his mom tried to force-feed him eggplant again, then he was running for the hills) and he put one hundred percent of himself into everything he cared about.
Which led him to his current predicament with one Kim Donghyun.
Donghyun was something of an anomaly in Taesan's otherwise average existence. He'd just kind of shown up one day out of the blue during fourth grade, like he'd spawned suddenly on the playground in his muddy yellow rainboots with a charming, gap-toothed grin and eyes so big and sparkly that 10-year old Taesan would have been forgiven for thinking they were marbles stuck in his head.
Taesan had learned quickly that they were kindred spirits of a sort because Donghyun was stubborn too. Maybe even more than him. But Donghyun was stubborn in a different way, like the relentless rays of the sun on a summer's day.
They'd become fast friends despite Taesan's best attempts at keeping the younger at arm's length at first. Donghyun had worn him down without even trying and before he knew it, they were doing everything together. Normally Taesan didn't care for personalities like Donghyun's— insistent, curious and just plain weird— but he was just so bright and soft and sweet. Everything Taesan had never known he'd been missing. He hadn't been able to help himself from being pulled into the younger's orbit.
His feelings noticeable changed from friendship to something more at the beginning of their second year of high school.
They hadn't seen each other in almost two months when that school year started, since Donghyun's family had gone back to Busan for the entire summer, and Donghyun had somehow grown more beautiful in their time apart. He'd always been good-looking by anyone's standards but something about a whole summer spent in Busan for the first time in years had done something to him. The baby fat on his cheeks had slimmed down, exposing sharp cheekbones and adorable dimples when he smiled his bunny-like smile. Donghyun's curls— which had always been wild and unkempt in their childhood— had become shiny and framed his face attractively in a rich shade of chocolate brown that made Taesan's fingers itch with the desire to slide his fingers into them and hold. His eyelashes framed those starry boba eyes that had always captivated Taesan's attention, thick and full.
Hands down, he was the most gorgeous person Taesan had ever seen in his life.
He had been no slouch himself though.
A growth spurt over that same summer had left Taesan towering over the younger by a few inches and Donghyun had started having to tilt his head back so they could look each other in the eyes, making him feel breathless like he'd just run a marathon. His shoulders had filled out and he'd taken up running and working out a bit so he'd packed more muscle onto his previously lean frame. He'd also dyed his own hair over the summer, a thick strip of blond wrapping around behind his ears that he'd noticed Donghyun couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of.
It was then that the dance had truly begun.
Neither of them had done anything about the obvious tension between them because— like Taesan had previously stated— they were both stubborn. They also shared the same proclivity towards playfulness and teasing, though Taesan would insist he was better at the latter. Sometimes he might have taken it too far but he was generally quite good at getting Donghyun to forgive him, the virtues of having been friends for years before his heart had decided to betray him. A bag of Donghyun's favorite jellies, a few tender nudges and wheedling looks usually did the trick and Taesan would be graced with Donghyun's lovely smile again.
Sometimes however, very rarely, Taesan had to put extra work into earn Donghyun's forgiveness. Like now, for instance.
They were both 20, in their second year of university and Taesan had evidently fucked up.
Okay so he might have had a few too many drinks at the house party Eujioo and Nicholas had hosted at their place recently. And as a result he might have flirted with a girl from his art elective class right in front of Donghyun. Now, given their usual games of cat-and-mouse, Taesan hadn't thought it had been a big deal at the time but apparently it was because Donghyun had been giving him the cold shoulder for over a week now and his usual methods of getting back into his good graces hadn't worked in the slightest. Candies had been shockingly pushed away. Puppy eyes went ignored. Taesan had barely been able to get out more than a "Hey" before Donghyun would turn on his heel and walk the other way.
Taesan wasn't above saying he was bit pissed off by the younger's behavior.
Donghyun had been talking to some guy from his biology class who Taesan knew had a thing for the younger and he'd just reacted. So what if he'd let the girl— Hana? Haerin? Some name that started with an H— get closer than he usually would have? So what if she'd touched Taesan's hair and laughed at every word he'd said? (He'd found that kind of annoying to be honest, it's not like he'd said anything all that funny. Plus her laugh had been obnoxious, nothing like Donghyun's cute, squeaky giggles.) It's not like he'd done anything wrong!
But now Taesan was in the proverbial doghouse while Donghyun was talking to that same guy. Again.
"I swear, you're both more stubborn than a pair of donkeys."
Despite knowing it was the truth Taesan resolutely ignored Sungho and continued to glare across the quad. Donghyun was smiling at Dumb Face and listening intently to whatever pointless drivel was spilling out of his stupid mouth. Something like jealousy burned in Taesan's throat like acid the longer he watched them.
Woonhak chose that exact moment to chime in. "You know all you'd have to do is actually apologize and he'll forgive you."
And yeah, he knew that too. It's not like he hadn't thought about doing just that. He hated being on the outs with Donghyun even if it was only for eight minutes, let alone eight days. It was practically torture at this point.
Maybe he shou— Taesan sat ramrod straight in his seat. "He's touching him."
The words came out in a low growl as his fists clenched into balls on the table. Dumb Face had laid his hand on Donghyun's shoulder, the touch too familiar for Taesan's liking. He vaguely registered Sungho and Woonhak calling after him but only once he was already almost halfway across the yard. His strides were quick and purposeful, fueled by determination.
Taesan saw the second that Donghyun registered his approach. His eyes drifted over Dumb Face's shoulder until their gazes caught. Caution was heavy in his blank stare but Taesan could see the surprise behind it and the hope behind that. It only strengthened his resolve.
"You're done here."
He didn't tear his eyes away from Donghyun's as he said the words but it was clear who they were directed at. Any protests from their undesired companion went largely unheard and Taesan just waved him off, not caring when the guy started cursing and lobbing threats at him as he stalked away. He wasn't particularly worried about any backlash, Dumb Face didn't look like he could fight his way out of a wet paper bag and Taesan had started boxing a few months ago. If he wanted to fuck around, Taesan had no problem handing him his ass to make his point if it came down to it.
Donghyun watched the exchange but noticeably didn't protest Taesan shooing off his would-be suitor. His face remained passive, a harsh comparison to his usual warm expressiveness. Taesan was the one that people called the ice prince but they'd obviously never dealt with a pissed off Kim Donghyun before.
But Taesan knew Donghyun better than anyone.
He could see the storm brewing under that glass-like façade. He could read the tension in his shoulders and the anxiety that was making his fingers fidget with the edge of his hoodie sleeves. The frown Donghyun was trying so hard to maintain shook at the edges, burgeoning on a pout.
They stared at each other in silence for a long moment that, surprisingly, Donghyun broke.
"What do you want, Dongmin?"
Dongmin. Only Donghyun and his family called him that anymore. He'd adopted Taesan as his primary name so long ago that his birth name felt foreign to him if anyone else ever used it. It never sounded quite as good as when it came out of Donghyun's mouth though, especially after eight days of not hearing it.
Taesan cut to the chase, sick of all the games now. He just wanted Donghyun back by his side where he belonged.
"I'm sorry."
I'm sorry for flirting with that girl right in front of you even though she meant nothing.
I'm sorry for letting it get this far.
I'm sorry that I haven't told you how I feel sooner than this.
Woonhak's prediction turned out to be correct because Donghyun's frosty demeanor melted in an instant. He exhaled a trembling breath and his pout came out in full force. He reached out and grabbed the front of Taesan's shirt, tugging at it persistently until he was close enough to smell Donghyun's vanilla shampoo. Donghyun rested his forehead against the centre of Taesan's chest.
"Idiot." His voice was small. Taesan finally caved into the urge to curl his fingers in Donghyun's hair, sifting through the soft navy strands. "Why… Why didn't you say it earlier? I was waiting for you this whole time."
Taesan used his grip on Donghyun's hair to hug him closer, curving his shoulders to shield him from any nosy onlookers. (Specifically his friends, whose stares he could feel burning into his back from the other side of the quad.)
"I'm sorry Donghyun-ah. I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long."
Donghyun let out a quiet whine. "Idiot… Stupid, stubborn, giant, handsome idiot. Why do I even like you?"
He thumped his head against Taesan's chest again, causing all of the air in his lungs to huff out in a half-chuckle. Taesan pressed a kiss to the top of his head, smiling to himself when he felt Donghyun nuzzle in closer like he was trying to carve out a space for himself in his chest. Like Taesan's heart already didn't belong entirely to him.
"Because you're stubborn, just like me. It's probably why I like you so much too."
Donghyun giggled and that was the laugh that Taesan wanted to hear for the rest of his life. That bright, hiccupping sound that would have been ridiculous on anyone other than Donghyun. The sound of Taesan's happiness.
"So we'll be a stubborn couple then." Taesan felt his head shift again and he looked down to meet Donghyun's eyes, sparkling and sweet as they turned into crescents from the force of his sunny smile. "I think I like the sound of that."
"So do I."
When Taesan ducked his head to kiss Donghyun properly a symphony of wolf whistles and cheers kicked up from the table he had abandoned such a short time ago. Jaehyun and Riwoo had joined Sungho and Woonhak now and the four of them were applauding like they'd just witnessed the greatest show of all time. Taesan raised a finger at them but didn't let it distract him from basking in the feeling of Donghyun's cherry-flavored lips under his own.
His own stubbornness had left him waiting for long enough, Taesan intended to make up for lost time.