Archive of Our Own

"Sungho, the bathroom is free! Go shower!" Sanghyuk's screams reverberate from the end of the hallway all the way to the living room.

Sungho hears him loud and clear from where he lays over the couch, but pointedly chooses to ignore. He adjusts the pillow behind his head and raises the volume on the TV.

"Park Sungho!!" Sanghyuk calls again, louder and angrier.

"What?" Sungho groans.

"Go shower! We're going out!" Sanghyuk commands, stepping into the living room. He stops under the archway with angry brows, arms crossed over his bare chest and a towel tied around his hips; amber rivulets drip from his wet, freshly-dyed orange hair and slide down his neck, "I'll not let you spend another Friday night rotting on this couch watching…".

Sanghyuk turns towards the TV and shoot the appliance a disgusted frown like it called him a slur, "What the fuck is this?".

"A documentary about the impacts of fast fashion on the environment" Sungho responds plainly, almost bored.

Sanghyuk stares at him for a few blinks. That brief time is enough for Sungho to think that Sanghyuk will give up and leave him alone, but what happens is quite the opposite. "That's it, you're coming with me!".

Sanghyuk lunges towards the couch, wraps his hands firmly around Sungho's bicep and pulls until Sungho falls to the floor. He jerks his arm back and digs his heels on the floor, trying to get rid of the grip Sanghyuk has on him. "Let go of me!"

"No! I'll not let my best friend become a single cat lady!".

"I'm allergic to cats, you moron!" with a swing of his leg Sungho kicks Sanghyuk squarely on the shin and successfully manages to pull his arm back. Sanghyuk yelps and skips back a few jumps on one foot, bracing his shin to soothe it while Sungho sits up on the floor to catch his breath, "What the fuck is wrong with you??".

Sanghyuk adjusts the towel around his hips, catching his breath as well. He runs his fingers through his damp hair, pushing back the strands that had fallen over his eyes in that whole ruckus, "If you don't go out with me tonight you'll die alone inside this apartment".

Sungho glares up at him, still a little out of breath, "That's a gross over-exaggeration".

"But you will! You think love will just knock on your door??" Sanghyuk is almost screaming as he motions towards the front door.

"And what makes you think I'm looking for love?" Sungho retorts from the floor, crossing his arms over his chest and his legs one over the other, sitting a little straighter. "I'm perfectly content being alone! I'm in my lone wolf era, focusing on myself, studying and doing lots of self-growth, as you can see".

Sungho gestures towards the TV with his whole hand as the narrator lists types of synthetic fabrics. Sanghyuk follows the motion with his eyes, but he doesn't look convinced; probably because it's an obvious lie. Sungho would love to have a partner, someone to cuddle at night, someone to laugh at his awful jokes, someone to get the pimples he can't reach on his back; but the whole 'getting someone' is such a hassle. If love could actually knock on his door, Sungho hopes it's in this life.

"Really?" Sanghyuk lifts an unamused eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest to mirror Sungho.

"Y-yes!".

"Oh came on, Sungho!" Sanghyuk rolls his eyes, but he still insists, "It will be fun!".

"Right! A loud, cramped place full of drunk, obnoxious people spilling their drinks all over my shoes. Just my type of fun!".

"If you go with me tonight I'll never bother you again".

"You said that last time".

They hold a staring contest for exactly three seconds.

"Fine!" Sanghyuk turns on his heels and walks down the hallway, throwing his hands up in surrender, "I give up on you".

"Fucking finally!" Sungho lifts his arms in the air, letting his body topple over until his back hits the rug. He stares at the white ceiling, relaxing comfortably over the fluffy fabric; this is so much better than standing on a dingy street outside a club for hours.

He turns sideways and props his head on his right hand so he can keep watching his documentary, playing with the long tuffs of their stained rug in between the fingers of his left hand.

Sungho screams from the living room as soon as Sanghyuk turns off the hair dryer, "I ordered pizza, wanna wait to eat some with me before you go?".

"No, Jaehyun's already waiting for me there, I gotta got" Sanghyuk responds from his room, his voice comes muffled as it attempts to cross the walls.

"I don't like that guy".

"Didn't ask!" Sanghyuk screams a little louder.

Sungho snorts a laugh. He couldn't care less about Jaehyun, actually, but Sanghyuk gets rilled up so easily that Sungho can't help but tease him a little.

"At least I'm getting dicked down good tonight" Sanghyuk says smugly as he steps inside the living room once again, hooking a silver hoop on his earlobe.

"Have fun. Wear protection" Sungho's tone is flat, unbothered, he keeps his eyes glued to the TV but catches Sanghyuk in his peripheral view.

"So, how do I look?" Sanghyuk asks, raising his arms to the side to better display his outfit. Sungho tilts his head to look at him properly.

It's the sluttiest thing that he — scratch that — that anyone has ever worn. A long-sleeve black net top with holes so big it barely counts as clothing sits close to his skin; over it is the shortest loose black cropped T-shirt on the face of the planet; ripped black jeans so low-rise that his happy trail is fully visible; an assortment of silver chains and hoops adorning his ears, neck and wrists; black leather platform boots on his feet.

"You look like a whore!" Sungho stares shocked, clutching his pearls like a horrified church lady.

"Perfect!" Sanghyuk grins wide. He shoves his phone and wallet on his back pockets and walks toward the door, "Don't wait for me".

"Wasn't planning to".

As the door clicks shut Sungho sprawls over the rug, ready to enjoy some peaceful alone time. His body relaxes so comfortably on the floor that there is really no need to climb back to the couch. He picks up his phone to check the delivery app, immediately throwing it to the side when the app tells him his order is still on 'preparing' status.

He lays there for a few more minutes, dozing off to the sound of the TV playing in the background. He nearly drifts off into sleep, but startles awake when the narration stops and the song gets louder. He stretches his arms up towards the ceiling and lifts from the floor with a groan — he should shower before his food arrives.

He barely steps out of the shower, the steam still curling around his wet body, when he hears three knocks on the front door. Sungho's head snaps towards the sound, eyes growing wide at the realization that he won't have enough time to get properly dressed before answering the door.

"I'm coming!" he screams from the bathroom, rubbing the towel hurriedly over his damp hair. He ties it around his waist as he walks towards the front door in wide strides. He stops right behind it and cards his hands through his mussed hair, gently tugging loose the knots that get caught in between his fingers.

"Sorry for making you wait…" Sungho apologizes even before the door is fully open — the words get caught on his throat when his eyes land on the delivery guy.

Sungho has never seen this man before, he is probably a newly hired. He would know since Chess Pizza is his favorite pizza place and he is acquainted to all their delivery staff.

The man is tall, taller than Sungho; a few strands of his pin-straight jet black hair stick to his sweaty forehead; he has thick, dark eyebrows; sharp, onyx eyes with long lashes (even the bottom ones); a tall, chiseled nose; flushed, smooth cheeks; insanely plushy pink lips, parted to push out soft pants; a jawline so sharp it could cut Sungho's pizza. The signature checkered Chess Pizza uniform is a stark contrast to this man's beauty; he should be a model, not a delivery guy.

Sungho is suddenly very aware of his exposed nipples, stuck in the predicament of covering himself up or reaching for his dinner; he chooses the latter. "Thank you, I… Wait, did you take the stairs?".

The man's eyes go wide at the assumption, like Sungho read right through him. He dips his head a little, "Y-yes… I couldn't find the elevator".

He's definitely new, 100% confirmed. Sungho scoffs, feeling sorry for the poor guy. "Did you see an orange metal door to the right of the entrance?".

The man looks up at Sungho with furrowed brows and nods twice.

"That's the door to the elevator. Did no one tell you that?".

"Ah… no" he dips his head even lower and Sungho can't help but finding him cute. He turns around and sets the pizza over the dining table.

"They did that to Jisoo too when he was new. Wait there, I'll get you some water" he announces, already moving towards the fridge. Sungho is still lacking clothing and very aware that the only thing separating him from a indecency complaint is a single layer of fabric, so he holds onto the knot on the towel for dear life.

"Ah! There's no need!" the delivery guy waves both hands in denial as Sungho approaches with a glass full of sharply cold water.

"I insist" he shoves the cup on the boy's hands and steps back inside the apartment to get the money from his wallet. The guy holds the glass gingerly in his hands, staring down at it for a few seconds. "It's not poisoned, you saw me pouring it".

He looks back at Sungho with gentle eyes, giggles and slowly raises the glass to his lips. He tips his head back and takes the liquid in four big gulps; his Adam's apple bobs all four times. A thin stream of water trails from the corner of his lips down to his jaw on the last gulp and he wipes it off his the back of his hand. He smiles wide with his perfectly white teeth and hands the cup back to Sungho, exchanging it for the money, "Thank you!".

Sungho has nothing nice or appropriate to say.

He is a huge fucking perv for thinking the handsome, flushed and sweaty delivery guy with liquid spilling out of his gorgeous, full lips right in front of him is kind of sexy. Well, when put that way...

"N-no need to thank me… ahm…" Sungho prompts, gesturing towards the man.

"Dongmin, Han Dongmin" he responds adjusting the delivery bag over his shoulders.

"Well… Thank you, Han Dongmin" Sungho finishes with a smile, "I'm Park Sungho, by the way. I think we'll see each other a lot".

"See ya, Mr. Park! Have a nice evening!" Dongmin bows slightly before making his way down the hallway.

The door clicks shut behind Sungho and he stares vacantly at the things inside his apartment. His mind goes quiet as his eyes jump from one object to the other, landing on the checkered cardboard pizza box that sits patiently over his table.

He snaps out of his daze, pushes his body away from the wooden door and walks towards his tasty dinner. His fingers curl around the cold, glass cup and as the looks down at the object he mutters a single word under his breath, "Dongmin…".

⋆.˚⭒⋆🍕⋆⭒˚.⋆

The week passes in a blur of routine, soul-sucking corporate work, long commutes and boring trips to the grocery store. When Friday finally arrives, Sungho is eager to enjoy the freedom of having the apartment all to himself.

As always, Sanghyuk will be out all night hooking up with his new fling and Sungho will catch up on the latest season of Love is Blind.

He takes his everything shower, puts on some comfortable clothes and skips happily down the hallway towards the living room, but abruptly halts when he rounds the corner.

A human-shaped blob is melting over the couch, work clothes and even shoes still on.

"What are you doing here?" Sungho asks indignant like Sanghyuk doesn't live here as well; the blob doesn't stir nor answer. Sungho takes a few steps towards him, glancing at the clock on the wall — it's half past nine. "Aren't you going out tonight?".

"No" Sanghyuk blurts, muffled against the couch's cushion.

"Oh, cheer up! You look like a chewed up dog toy!".

"I feel like one…" Sanghyuk turns his head to the side so he can breathe, his words sound slurred as they slip between his lips. He probably came back from work while Sungho was in the shower, threw his tired body over the couch and dozed off until Sungho woke him up just now.

Sungho rolls his eyes, curls his right hand around Sanghyuk's wrist and pulls. "Get up! When was the last time that you showered? You stink!".

Sanghyuk groans and resists the pulling, but he doesn't answer.

"When??" Sungho prods louder, still tugging Sanghyuk up.

"Yesterday…".

"Ew! Nasty! Go shower!" Sungho winces and pulls with even more force until Sanghyuk is finally sitting up straight. He leans forward limply, body heavy and eyes drowsy as he rests his forehead on Sungho's hip.

"I don't want to… My clothes still smell like him…" Sanghyuk's voice comes low and dreamy, like he is reminiscing of fond memories brought up by the smell alone.

"Jesus Christ, you're a mess! Come on, get up!" Sungho pushes Sanghyuk away from himself, slides his hands down the length of Sanghyuk's arms and grabs both his wrist, using the weight of his body to pull Sanghyuk forward until he is standing on his feet. He wobbles a little and leans forwards again, resting his head on Sungho's shoulder this time around.

"I'll never be happy again…" Sanghyuk whines against the fabric of Sungho's shirt, arms curling around Sungho's waist. Sungho sighs and warps his arms around his shoulders, giving him a couple of pats in the back.

"You and Jaehyun just had a misunderstanding, Hyuk. Get over him! You need to get out of this house! Have fun! Fuck someone else!".

"I don't wanna get over him, I wanna get under him! Stop trying to cheer me up, it doesn't suit you…" Sanghyuk keeps his whiny tone as he nuzzles his sweaty face on Sungho's shirt.

"I'm not trying to cheer you up! I need you to get out of my sight so I can enjoy my peaceful Friday alone!" Sungho pushes Sanghyuk away, but still holds him up by the shoulders — by the looks of it, he might collapse on the floor if Sungho lets go of him.

"Am I crying too loudly for you? Am I disturbing your lovely Friday night with my pitiful love life?" Sanghyuk's tone is mocking but he blinks up at Sungho with glassy, tear filled puppy eyes — threatening to spill on the next blink.

Sanghyuk it's trying to get Sungho to pity him and it's kind of working. It's weird to see his generally cheerful and easy-going roommate being all blue and dull. If Sanghyuk won't go anywhere, they might as well try to enjoy the night together — but he won't get pampered the way he wants to, that's too much.

"Yes!" Sungho responds harshly, turning Sanghyuk by the shoulders and guiding him towards the bathroom.

"I hate you" Sanghyuk groans, but doesn't resist being hauled around.

"The feeling goes both ways" Sungho shoves him inside the bathroom, "What do you want, I'll order us some food".

"Something extremely high calorie covered in cheese" Sanghyuk answers, taking in his surroundings like he hasn't fully registered where he is and how he got there.

Sungho rolls his eyes and pulls the door to the bathroom closed, "Pizza it is, then".

-

"If she marries that guy, I'll file a complaint against this show!" Sanghyuk screams pointing towards the TV like it personally attacked him, "How can she even consider marrying a guy like that??".

"He has a nice voice…" Sungho reasons.

"Yeah! A nice voice that says a bunch of bullshit!" Sanghyuk screams even louder; he looks utterly wronged by Sungho daring defending the guy to any capacity.

Then, comes three knocks on the door.

Sungho goes quiet for half a second while Sanghyuk's complaints fill the living room. He stands abruptly, cards his fingers through his hair and adjusts the hem of his shirt as he paces towards the front door. He curls his fingers around the knob and takes in a deep breath.

And sure enough, Han Dongmin is standing right outside his door. He looks so handsome; tired, but a little less disheveled than the other day. His eyes trail from Sungho's bare feet all the way up to his face and when their eyes meet, he smiles.

"Good evening, Mr. Park!" he greets brightly and Sungho winces at the formality.

"Gosh, I'm not even that old! Just call me Sungho" he responds, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly as Dongmin gets his pizza.

"Sungho hyung, then?" Dongmin confirms tilting his head. The action almost makes him seem innocent, but a smirk tugs at the corners of his lips.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Sungho averts his gaze and clears his suddenly dry throat. The way the use of that honorific made his interest in the boy peak is something he'll have to discuss with his therapist.

He reaches for the pizza box and attempts to keep the small talk going, "So, you found the elevator this time?".

Dongmin startles momentarily but his expression quickly morphs, smile growing even more mischievous; he looks delighted to be prodded like this. "And you have clothes on this time!".

Sanghyuk chokes from the living room and starts coughing furiously — Sungho won't ever hear the end of this. He pokes his head back in the living room, "Don't die! I don't wanna became a prime suspect!".

Sanghyuk coughs for a few more seconds, keeping his palm steadily against his chest. When he does speak his voice comes out raspy and breathless, "What was that??".

"None of your business!" Sungho screams already back at the door. He fishes the money from the pocket of his shorts and hands it to Dongmin. "Ahm… Thank you…".

It's hard to keep his head up and hold eye contact with the way he is blushing. Unfortunately for him, both his hands are too busy for him to cover his face up — he had forgotten about the whole 'towel situation', but apparently Dongmin did not. He giggles a lovely, twinkly sound.

"It's ok! Have a good one, Sungho hyung!" he waves, skips a couple of cheerful steps backwards, turns around and makes his way down the hallway.

The door isn't even shut all the way and Sanghyuk is already screaming, "Oh, my god! Who was that? Are you fucking someone??"

"I'm not fucking him" Sungho responds, slumping down on the sofa and placing the pizza box in between them.

"Then what was all that 'no clothes' talk??".

"As I said, it's none of your damn business!" Sungho opens the box, picks one slice and takes a huge bite. He wishes Sanghyuk would do the same to keep his loud mouth busy, but he just keeps going.

"How did you even find him? You never leave his house!".

"Yes, I do!" Sungho nearly chokes but still pushes through, painfully swallowing a piece that is way to big and not properly chewed on so he can defend himself quickly, "I go to the gym, I do laundry, I go to the store, I work…".

"Ah!" Sanghyuk interrupts with a full mouth and snaps his fingers, "He's from your work!".

"From work?" Sungho looks at him indignantly like he just made the dumbest assumption ever, because he did, "Do I work at Chess Pizza, Sanghyuk??"

"Well, I don't know what you do when I'm not around…" Sanghyuk takes another bite of his pizza turning his body towards the TV and giving Sungho a suspicious side eye.

"I feed the ever hungry capitalist machine! You know exactly where I work!!" Sungho is fully screaming now, gesturing wildly with both hands — even the one holding the last bite of his pizza crust.

"Yeah, yeah, I know… But if it's not that, then tell me, where did you two meet?" Sanghyuk flutters his eyelashes appealingly like that will get Sungho to answer.

"Nope".

"Why??" Sanghyuk whines, poking the side of Sungho's ribs. Before he can go in a second time, Sungho swats his hand away like the annoying fly he is. Sanghyuk retrieves his hand but keeps going with a pouty tone, "I always tell you about my love life…".

"And every single time I beg you to stop you just keep going, not even spearing me of the sordid details!" Sungho shoots him a piercing, narrow-eyed look that beacons Sanghyuk to stop, "Keep going if you want me to stain this rug red".

"Fine! I won't ask anymore…" Sanghyuk picks another slice of pizza from the box and Sungho sighs, relieved that this conversation is finally over. They both adjust over the couch, eat their pizza and watch the show in silence. It lasts one full minute. "He is cute though…".

"Sanghyuk, don't!" Sungho is already screaming in frustration, "I swear to god!".

"What?" Sanghyuk looks genuinely confused about Sungho's reaction, "Is he taken?".

"I—I don't... know…" Sungho's voice lowers gradually until his words trail off into silence, he worries his bottom lip with his teeth and turns his head until his gaze lands on the front door.

He had never considered that possibility nor considered if Dongmin would even be interested in boys to begin with. Sanghyuk just said three simple words, but they made this whole crush sound so, so immature and silly. He could simply ask Dongmin the things he wants to ask. How much courage would that take?

Sungho places his half eaten pizza slice back in the box; he isn't hungry anymore.

⋆.˚⭒⋆🍕⋆⭒˚.⋆

The next Friday night Sanghyuk and Jaehyun — who clearly made up — are eating each other's faces on the couch. Sungho bolts straight to the front door at the sound of the three knocks.

He opens the door hurriedly, steps outside and pulls the door shut behind him. The whole motion is so fast and jerky that Dongmin startles and takes a step back. "Hyung, good evening! Is everything ok?".

"Yeah, yeah, it's just…" Sungho peeks over his shoulder at the closed door, "My roommate has his boyfriend over and I think they'll get naked in about 20 seconds".

Dongmin scoffs as he gets Sungho's pizza, "Admit it. You're just envious, hyung".

"No, I'm not! Well, kind of…" Sungho bites the inside of his cheek. He is oversharing to a near stranger, but he wants to tell Dongmin about his love life. He fidgets where he stands, gathering up some courage and stringing the words in his head, trying to come up with a way to ask Dongmin any of the many questions that he has. Dongmin beats him to it.

"It's ok, hyung. I wish I had a boyfriend too…" he hands Sungho the warm, square, cardboard box with an equally warm smile and Sungho tries, really tries not to read too much into it. He stares at the boy with wide eyes soaking up this new, delicious, pizza scented information that Dongmin so kindly handed to him. Sungho isn't even blushing, he is just relieved that getting this precious data took absolutely no effort at all.

"Well, good luck with that!" he takes the box with a sheepish smile and exchanges it for the money. He doesn't add anything more after that, not being fully convinced that he won't say something dumb that he'll thoroughly regret later.

"See ya!" Dongmin lifts his right hand in the air, the other keeps hold onto the strap of the delivery bag. He walks down the hallway and Sungho follows him with his eyes until he rounds the corner and disappears.

Sungho stands by his front door, holding the pizza box in his hands and staring down the vacant hallway with a dopey smile on his lips. Dongmin's words echo is his ears, bouncing against the walls of his empty head.

"Did he just answer all my questions with one single phrase?" Sungho mutters as he opens the door.

⋆.˚⭒⋆🍕⋆⭒˚.⋆

It becomes routine after that. Every Friday, Sungho orders pizza from Chess Pizza and hurries towards the door eagerly at the three knocks.

One day Dongmin shows up soaking wet. Sungho runs inside the apartment to get him a towel, feeling sorry for making him come all this way under pouring rain. He mainly dries his arms and rubs the towel messily over his hair; when he hands the towel back the black strands stand wildly making it look like he has cat ears. It's so fucking cute.

Another day Sanghyuk is the one who gets the door. Sungho is on his death bed; feeling like a pile of hot garbage, burning up with a fever and becoming one with their couch. Dongmin asks about him and it makes his heart clench helplessly. Even though every fiber of his body screams in pain, he adjusts over to couch to peer at the front door just to get a glimpse of him. Dongmin shows up again after 20 minutes with a small paper bag full medicine for him; he told Sanghyuk he wasn't sure what to get, so he got it all.

One Friday Sungho can't avoid Sanghyuk's invites anymore and agrees to tag along with him to the club. Sanghyuk even lends him a nice looking — albeit sheer as a veil — long sleeve white crop top, because he has nothing nice enough to wear out. He does his makeup in front of the bathroom mirror (standard blush, dark shadow and eyeliner) and they order pizza to eat before they go. When Sungho opens the door he is greeted with a visibly stunned Dongmin. He gawks Sungho the whole time, stutters every word that he says and nearly forgets to collect the payment. It leaves Sungho all giddy.

⋆.˚⭒⋆🍕⋆⭒˚.⋆

Wednesday is the worst day of the week. It feels like every time something bad happens it's always coincidentally on a Wednesday. It's also right in the middle of the week — the furthest away from the weekend on either side — so it tends to be the worst day to get through, like it lasts twice as long as every other day.

Today is a Wednesday and as it tends to go, it's been hell.

Sungho woke up late, didn't had time to eat breakfast, missed the train, had to call his boss to tell him that he would arrive late for work, got lectured in front of everyone for poor time management, forgot to bring his lunch and only ate a bag of chips, three stale cookies and a cup of coffee the entire day, dropped said coffee on his pants — which left a huge stain — and took the most packed cart on the train back home.

He sighs as he walks the short distance between the station and his apartment complex, dragging his feet over the sidewalk, shoulders slumped, head dipped, hands shoved deep inside the pocket os his pants, cross-body letter bag nearly slipping off his shoulder. The sky looks absolutely beautiful, painted in shades of pink and orange as this godforsaken day finally comes to an end.

Sungho stops right in front of the building and gazes up towards the 6th level — the one where their apartment is. The living room light is on which means Sanghyuk is in a chatty mood. Generally he comes back home and goes straight to his room to play video games with his friends, so in the odd instances where he hangs around in the common areas Sungho will surely get an earful. Today is the worst possible day for that.

He sighs deeply and even considers sitting down on the curb just to rest and breathe for a few minutes. He really wants to just take a shower and lock himself up in his room, but he shouldn't go up with the lingering pulses of stress still coursing through his body; it wouldn't be a smart decision.

He slumps against the outside wall of the building and when he is about to slide his body weight down to sit on the ground he glances down the street; the streetlights turn on one by one as the day comes to an end, drawing long shadows over the asphalt. His eyes follow the path of lights until they fall on something he had never noticed before.

Down a set of stairs, almost hiding in the shadows, there's an empty park. It's small, just a few trees, some bushes and a playground; the old and rusted swings shriek as the wind makes them sway. It probably belongs to the building right behind it, but maybe no one will scold him for sitting there just a bit.

Sungho walks towards the park, mind processing all the events of the day. He thinks about getting a new job, about moving to another country and starting off fresh, he thinks about calling his coworker to apologize for being rude to her when she offered him a new coffee, he thinks about calling up his mom.

He throws his bag on the ground and sits down on one of the swigs, feeling the tension slip from his body as he relaxes a little. It was just a bad day. He can't be running away every time something bad happens, but maybe he really should call his mom.

Sungho swings back and forth, feeling the cold air of the early night seeping through his work clothes and hearing the stead shrieking of the swing. He lets his eyes fall closed. Trying to calm his racing mind, he pulls a lung full of air through his nose and pushes it out through his mouth.

"Hyung?" A simple word spoken in a timbre he recognizes. Sungho snaps his eyes open. Dongmin is perched at the top of the small set of stairs, hair swooshing in the wind.

"Dongmin? What are you doing out here?" Sungho stops swinging so he can hear Dongmin without the shrieking sound.

"I had a delivery to hand near here and when I passed by I recognized you sitting there" he explains as he makes his way down the stairs. He places the delivery bag down at the floor near the base of the stairs and makes his way towards the swings. "Is everything ok, hyung?".

Sungho doesn't respond, he knits his brows and resumes swinging once again, back and forth. Dongmin sits down on the swing besides his.

"Hard day?".

"'Hard' doesn't even begin to describe it" Sungho scoffs. Dongmin hums in acknowledgment and moves his swing as well. They stare straight ahead for a few seconds.

"Wanna talk about what happened?" Dongmin looks at him with gentle eyes and pursed lips, like he isn't sure what to say but can't stand the silence.

Sungho sighs and drops his shoulders. Poor Dongmin has nothing to do with any of this and Sungho doesn't want to bother him with it, but if he is asking — even if it's just out of politeness — Sungho should at least say something.

"I woke up late and it kind of spiraled out of control" he bites the inside of his cheek as he reminisces on the whole day. It was his fault for staying up late watching Vacation With My Ex. He can't blame it on the clock, can't blame it on his job, can't even blame it on Sanghyuk this time around.

"I see… Well, what are you going to do about it?".

"Nothing…" Sungho cards his fingers through his hair, "I just want this day to be over, that's it".

"Then why are you out here and not sleeping already?" Dongmin swings lightly and keeps his eyes glued to Sungho's profile.

"My roommate is feeling chatty and I'm not in the mood, so I figured it would be best to calm down a little before going in".

"How do you… Well, good choice, I guess. Staying out to get some air, calming your nerves so you can go in and avoid any tension between you two" Dongmin gestures with his hands as he speaks; Sungho has never noticed how pretty they are. "Well, is it working?".

"No, I still wanna drop everything, flee the country and change my name" Sungho mumbles, curling his hands around the cold metal chain of the swing as he moves again.

"O-k. Then maybe you should hang out here a little longer, hm?" Dongmin scratches the back of his neck.

The silence between them stretches for a couple of minutes, the only sounds being the swooshing of the wind as it rattles the leaves and the sounds of the swings. Dongmin pulls his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He is probably bored out of his mind, but Sungho really isn't in the mood for small talk and isn't being a good company right now, so he doesn't blame him. But Dongmin doesn't open any social media.

"Can I play you a song?" he asks with a closed mouth smile and glinting eyes, hand curled around his phone, digging his heel on the ground to stop the swing.

Sungho doesn't have the heart to deny him anything. Music doesn't sounds too bad, actually. It would at least fill the awkward silence, maybe even fix his mood. "Sure" he blurts.

Dongmin's long fingers tap against the glass screen hurriedly and soon the space between them is filled with the pleasant hum of music. It's a funky bass instrumental with some energetic drums, but no one is singing. It's good, very good. Sungho gets curious about the band.

"I've never heard this one before" he says, stopping the swing so he can hear it better just when some keys start playing.

"I know you haven't!" Dongmin's eyes sparkle, "I composed it!".

"You composed this? Dongmin, it's so good!" Sungho's jaw hits the floor, he points towards the phone with shock painted all over his face.

"Yeah…" Dongmin responds all shy, dipping his head to hide the slight blush on his cheeks and Sungho feels a surge of cuteness aggression towards him, "We have a band. We've been together since high school, but now that some of us are getting their music major our sound got much better".

"You're a music major?" Sungho asks with a smile on his face; Dongmin automatically became the coolest person on the planet.

"Uh-hm, third year" Dongmin lifts three fingers in the air, "I play the bass".

"That's so hot!" Sungho blurts before his mouth-to-brain filter can work, "I mean, i-it's really… Cool!".

Dongmin stares back at him with wide eyes; the color on his cheeks travels towards his ears as well. "I-It's fine… I guess…".

"It's more than fine! It's really, really cool! Do you have any videos of you guys playing?" Sungho asks, craning his neck to look at Dongmin's screen. Curse the swings for being so apart from each other.

"Ah, no… Sorry, hyung" Dongmin dips his head as his words trails off into silence. Sungho hurriedly tries to fix his mistake. He didn't mean to put Dongmin on the spot, he just wanted to get a glimpse of the face Dongmin makes when he looks down in concentration, or perhaps the way his fingers move over the neck of the bass… Just curious, that's all.

"It's ok! I was just asking. I love music too, but I never met anyone that plays so I got… Curious" Sungho explains, "I play the acoustic guitar myself, but I'm not very good at it…".

"Oh! Hyung! You should come play with us someday! It would be fun" Dongmin's voice grows louder with excitement, he leans his body forward to get a better look on Sungho's face without the chains of the swing in their way.

"Ah, no! I'm not at that level, I just play for fun, like… At parties and such…" Sungho retorts, shaking his head in denial, "Can you show me another one of your songs?".

Dongmin has a huge smile on his lips, he leans his body fully forward, resting his elbows on his knees as his fingers tap on his phone. He looks so happy to show his interest that it makes Sungho buzz too; even if the song wasn't good Sungho would gladly listen to it just to have something in common with him.

Soon the air fills with another song. This one is faster, more rhythmic, the type of song that makes you want to dance. Sungho can't avoid the way his head bobs to the rhythm, can't avoid the way his shoulder sway.

Dongmin smiles back at him, watching in silence as the music, his music, makes Sungho dance.

"This is the best thing about music" he says with a soft, gentle voice. Sungho looks back at him confused, "It has these healing powers, you know?".

"Healing powers?" Sungho parrots.

"Mhm…" he smiles, "Aren't you feeling better, hyung?".

Sungho assesses his own body and, yes, he is feeling much better. He still feels tired, but the stress did slip away while his body rocked to the music. Sungho suspects it wasn't actually the music that helped him relax. That, yes, maybe music does have healing powers, but maybe Dongmin has them too. Maybe the way he speaks, the tone of his voice, the glint of his eyes, the shape of his smile, maybe everything about him is akin to a paper bag full of meds and it does wonders to Sungho's body.

"Yes, actually" Sungho responds with a faint laugh.

"See? I told you! Healing powers!" Dongmin sounds excited, he must really love music. It's so cute Sungho could bite him. "If you have one second I can…".

Dongmin's phone beeps in his grasp and his smile drops immediately. Sungho doesn't mean to eavesdrop, but does anyway. He cranes his neck to peek at Dongmin's screen; a message notification appears on the top part of the screen, but Sungho can't decipher what it says given the distance between them.

"Hm… I gotta go. That's another delivery…" Dongmin informs, raising to his feet, adjusting his clothes and shoving his phone inside his back pocket. Sungho wants to say something to make the situation a little better, to maybe inflict the same happiness Dongmin's sole presence had on him.

"Please, let me listen to some more of your songs one day, hm?" he asks looking up at Dongmin and the smile comes back to his face instantly, "Maybe even live, what do you think?".

"I would love that, hyung! Lets play together one day" he responds.

Dongmin walks towards the stairs, the slight bounce on his pace makes it look like he is almost skipping happily. He hooks the delivery bag over his shoulders, climbs the stairs and waves back at Sungho with a huge smile on his lips before hopping on his bike and taking off.

Sungho should really get back inside before he catches a cold. He raises to his feet as well and picks his bag up from the ground. He missed the opportunity to get Dongmin's number again. Shit.

⋆.˚⭒⋆🍕⋆⭒˚.⋆

It takes a few weeks for Sungho to muster up the courage it takes. It's so dumb to feel so uneasy about simply ordering pizza, but the underlying truth is that this will be the Friday night when he'll ask Dongmin out — or at least try to get his number.

This 'crush' thing has been going on for months now and the only contact he gets with Dongmin is through Chess Pizza; this can't go on. He needs to have this boy one call away, needs to hear how his voice sounds in the morning, needs to be able to talk to him for longer then a few minutes every Friday (and that one horrible and marvelous Wednesday), to get to know him better.

He places his normal order — half pepperoni, half margherita — throws his phone over the dinning table and paces back and forth inside the kitchen, carding his fingers a million times through his hair.

Sanghyuk and Jaehyun sit side by side on the couch, not really watching some movie on TV. Sanghyuk has both legs thrown over Jaehyun's lap, body curled towards his, while the other boy plays with the hair at the back of Sanghyuk's head.

"You good?" Sanghyuk asks, peering over his own shoulder, hand playing with a button on Jaehyun's shirt. "You'll wear a hole on the tile if you keep pacing like that".

"I feel like throwing up" Sungho doesn't really answer him, placing both hands on the edge of the counter and letting his head hang forward.

"Yeah, do that! It works!" Jaehyun chimes, "Hyuk threw up all over me once and look at us now!".

Sanghyuk giggles and nuzzles his nose on Jaehyun's cheek as he undoes the top button of his shirt and now Sungho really feels like throwing up. "You guys are gross".

"I'll remember that when you start dating Mr. Pizza Guy" Sanghyuk shoots back, dipping his fingers under the collar of Jaehyun's shirt, finger caressing the sparse hair on his chest.

"That's the thing!" Sungho turns around, letting the back of his hips rest against the counter, hands on the edge of the marble on either side of his body, "What if I read the whole thing wrong? What if he is not actually interested in me like that?".

Sanghyuk lets out a defeated sigh, rolls his eyes and retrieves his hand from inside Jaehyun's shirt. As he adjusts over the couch to look at Sungho head on, Jaehyun bashfully fastens the button back up again.

"You're overthinking it, Sungho" Sanghyuk says, "You're just going to ask for his number, right?".

Sungho nods twice.

"Well, then you've got nothing to worry about. It's just his number. He probably won't deny giving you that… Just relax, man" Sanghyuk shrugs.

"Wow, that worked like a charm!" Sungho says in a mocking tone, "I'm suddenly not nervous anymore! Thank you so, so much for that! Have you ever considered charging for your precious advice?".

Sanghyuk shoots him a glare, crosses his arms over his chest and slumps back on the couch, "I hope he dumps your ass".

"Me too, man!" Sungho screams, pushes himself away from the counter and paces around once again, feet dragging over the smooth tile as his hands rest over his hips; he keeps his gaze on the floor and sighs, "I hope he does… Then I'll be able to get over him, shit- maybe if he dumps me I can move on with my life… I feel like I'm going insane…".

Sanghyuk and Jaehyun glance at each other and then back at the restless man that stands in the middle of the kitchen. Sungho opens the fridge, closes it, pulls out a chair from under the dining table, then shoves it back again, paces a little more. Sanghyuk purses his lips and simply watches.

"I need a cold shower" Sungho admits, pushing the hair away from his face.

"Yeap, you go do that". Sanghyuk's eyes follow as Sungho makes his away down the hallway. He whispers something to Jaehyun, but Sungho can't quite understand what and frankly, he doesn't even care, too focused on the butterflies fluttering inside his stomach, on the thoughts running wild inside his head.

A few minutes later he throws his body over his bed, hair damp and clinging to his neck, skin still warm and flushed — couldn't step foot under the cold stream — hands searching for his phone over his soft linens; the pizza in on it's way.

His breath hitches when Sanghyuk knocks on his open door to make his presence known. He crosses his arms and leans against the frame, "Hey, are you ok?".

Sungho sighs, throws his phone to the side and an arm over his eyes, "I don't know…".

Sanghyuk doesn't say anything, watching him with gentle eyes and furrowed brows.

"I feel so dumb, like… I have no right to be like this! I feel like I'm exaggerating, somehow. But I can't help it… I really can't do anything about it. I just keep thinking about him throughout the whole damn day. What little habits he might have? Does he snores when he sleeps? What brand of toothpaste he buys? Does he have any siblings? What kind of pizza he likes? Shit- I can't even smell cheese without thinking about him".

"Damn…" Sanghyuk sighs and lets out a small laugh, pushing himself away from the frame; he lingers by the door, "sounds like you're in love…".

"What??" Sungho snaps his eyes open, hastily lifting his body to prop his torso on his elbows. Sanghyuk has a closed mouth smile stretched over his lips, like he is being truthful. Sungho draws his brows in, feeling a lump forming on his throat, "Am I…?".

"Well… If someone went about their day thinking constantly about me I would think they're in love with me" Sanghyuk shrugs, arms still crossed over his chest.

Sungho let's his body fall back over the matters with a low ruff, arms resting limply on either side of his body.

He stares up at the white ceiling (love) letting the word echo inside his brain (love) feeling the simmer in his stomach turn into a full blown boil (love) feeling the heat of it make it's way up his chest (love) feeling the blaze settling firmly over his cheeks and ears.

Shit- Maybe Sanghyuk is right, he is in love.

Then comes two knocks on the front door.

Sanghyuk glaces unamused down the hallway and Sungho sits up so fast he nearly blacks out. He throws his legs over the edge of the matters, planting his feet firmly on the ground and sprints towards the door. Sanghyuk steps out of the way to let him through. He follows wordlessly as Sungho makes his way towards their front door and curls a hand around the handle.

Sungho's mind goes blank. He's got nothing. Not a single thought inside his tiny, little brain. The conversation they had inside his room sits forgotten over his bed, the speech he prepared in the shower slips completely from his mind, even the hour he spent talking about Dongmin with his mother this morning becomes nothing more than a distant memory now that his whole world zeros in on his hand curled around the handle.

A mere wooden door separates him from — what could be — his future and Sungho wants nothing more than to see him again; gaze into his dark, gentle eyes; hear the tone of his voice; feel the way his wide, almost childlike smile makes Sungho melt. So he pulls the door open.

"Yo, what up, Sungho! Long time, hm?".

"J-Jisoo?" Sungho's stomach drops down to his ass. His jaws hangs slack, eyes wide in shock scanning the man the definitely isn't Dongmin, hand gripping so hard on the edge of the door that the wood groans.

Sungho glaces back at Sanghyuk who looks equally shocked, standing in the middle of the living room like a Sim waiting for a command, a pained expression on his face.

In the few seconds it takes for Jisoo to bend down and pick Sungho's pizza, his mind runs a thousand miles per hour.

Is he too late? Is Dongmin gone? Does Dongmin not work for them anymore? Did Dongmin move to another country? Will Sungho ever see him again? Did he miss every opportunity he had? Is there no way back? Is Dongmin dead? Did he get run over by a truck? Is he in the hospital on the brink of death?

His vision blurs, his blood runs cold in his veins, there is a coil in his stomach and an unbearable pain in his chest, like a knife buried deep in between his ribs. Sungho needs to ask, he needs to know, he won't be able to live with the uncertainty. His throat grows so tight he nearly can't speak, making actual effort to swallow before timidly pushing out the question, "Jisoo, ahm.. Where is Dongmin?".

"Dongminnie?" Jisoo confirms, "Oh, he took the day off… He said something about his band playing somewhere, or something like that".

"Ooh!" Sungho's knees go weak at that, holding firmly to the door so he won't collapse on the floor. He places a hand over his erratic heart and breathes out a sigh of relief, "Thank god…".

"What? Why??" Jisoo looks a little lost, understandably so.

"I thought he was dead" Sungho mutters as he takes hold on the pizza box.

"God, no!" Jisoo blurts and laughs.

"Do you… perhaps know where he is playing?" Sungho asks with a tilt of his head and Sanghyuk scoffs behind him, shuffling towards to couch. Sungho is too busy staring at Jisoo's face to shoot him a glare.

"He did mention something… I think it had a number or something like that in it".

"Something with a number…" Sungho mutters, mind already racing through his sparse 'bar names' catalogue.

"Yeah. Sorry, I can't remember" Jisoo scratches his beard and shrugs.

"It's ok, that will help, I think... Thank you" Sungho hands Jisoo the payment.

"No problem!" he bows and as he walks down the hallway he turns to wink over his shoulder, "Good luck~".

-

Sungho closes the door, throws the pizza box over their dinning table and runs towards his room, one hand going for his phone over his bed, the other wrapping around the tracksuit jacket he keeps on a hook behind his door.

"Where are you going?" Sanghyuk asks from the couch as Sungho makes his way down the hallway, feeding his arm through the sleeve.

"Somewhere with a number" Sungho responds plainly, gaze fixed on the door.

"You don't even know where that is!" Sanghyuk raises to his feet and for a second Sungho thinks he will try to get in his way, try to put some sense in his head, but he just stops in the middle of the living room and stares, hands resting over his hips.

Sanghyuk is right. Sungho has no clue where Dongmin is. The only tip he has is vague as fuck and will probably have him wandering through the streets way into the wee hours, but Sungho feels restless, like there is a pull, an energy, a wave, something calling him, begging him to find Dongmin, tonight, now.

Sungho steps into his slip on shoes, bending down to pull the back over his heel.

"Are you really doing this?" Sanghyuk watches him pass his cross-bag over his head.

"I have to" Sungho responds dramatically as he adjusts the strap over his chest.

They stare at each other for a few seconds, heated, challenging, unblinking eyes. Sungho has made up his mind and nothing is going to stop him from crossing the threshold. Jaehyun sits on the very edge of the couch, wide puppy eyes darting between the two men, unsure if he should interfere.

"Gosh- I can't believe I have you as my emergency contact" Sanghyuk scoffs, throws his hands up and shakes his head in denial as he moves towards the kitchen.

"Sanghyuk" Sungho calls in a solemn tone as he opens the door, the other man lifts his gaze, "If I'm not back in the morning, tell my mother I love her".

⋆.˚⭒⋆🍕⋆⭒˚.⋆

Sungho paces down the street, the chilly air of the night cuts through his exposed shins — he really should have changed into some pants. He pulls the collar of the tracksuit jacket by the zipper until it covers the underside of his chin and pulls the cuffs over his wrist. His eyes are glued to the glowing screen of his phone.

As soon as the elevator's doors closed, his finger were busy searching for somewhere with a number in the name. He's eyes widened when he found an underground bar about 20 minutes away. 'Seven Notes'. Must be it, it has to be.

He looks anxiously from side to side, eyes falling back to his phone between every glance to check the GPS. 'You arrived at your destination' blinks in the screen and Sungho halts his steps over the sidewalk and frowns.

He looks to the left. Nothing, just a few houses and a faulty streetlight blinking non-stop. He looks to the right. Down a set of stairs a blue neon sign with the symbols '7𝅘𝅥𝅮' hums faintly above a wooden door. It's a dingy hole on the wall and if Sungho wasn't actively looking for it he would have surely missed it.

He stands at the top of the stairs, shoves his phone in the pocket of his tracksuit and takes in a deep breath. Faint music slips through the cracks of the door as Sungho makes his way down the steps. He pushes the door open and it gives with a creak.

The first thing that hits Sungho is the sound, fast paced and lively music mixing with the murmur of conversations and laugher. The second thing is the visual, the place looks so cool he almost feels bad for misjudging it. The walls are covered from top to bottom in old bottles of booze, black and white photographs of musicians, merch from different brands, stickers and doodles.

The wall right behind the bar is lit in a lovely warm yellow light, highlighting the various colors of the glass bottles messily placed over the shelving. An assortment of mismatched wooden furniture fills the main area of the bar, chairs and tables scattered over the black and white checkered floor.

It's decently full, but not packed. A few people linger around the bar, getting their fill and making small talk with the bartenders. A couple is tangled up in a heated kiss over the maroon leather couch pushed against one of the walls. A small crowd stands between the tables, nursing bottles of beer and watching the stage. And there he is.

Dongmin has never worn casual clothes around Sungho, so the new appearance is striking; the boy has got style. Distressed loose knit stripped sweater slipping from one shoulder and showing the white tank top he has underneath, flared light-washed jeans that go all the way to the floor, an assortment of silver chains hanging from his neck. He looks striking, like a true rock star.

His jet black hair is plastered to his sweaty forehead — much like it was on the day they first met — parted lips, brows furrowed in concentration. He looks down at his own hands, expertly moving over the neck of the bass; the silver rings on both his hands glint in the spotlight every time he plucks the strings.

Sungho walks towards the bar, eyes lingering on the man on top of the stage, only glancing away from him to order himself a beer.

He leans his body sideways against the counter, propping himself on one of his elbows and crossing one foot over the other as he clutches loosely to the cold glass bottle. Dongmin looks towards one of his band mates and smiles; it makes Sungho's stomach do a little flippy thing and he soothes it with another swing of his beer.

The girl walks around on the stage, bringing her guitar near Dongmin's bass as they finish what seems to be the last chorus. The drummer smashes the drums franticly and the lights flicker as they get through the freestyle bit. Once the girl lifts her hand in the air the small crowd erupts in cheers; claps and whistles filling the space.

Dongmin bends down to pick up a beer bottle near one of the monitors, brushing his bangs away from his forehead as he brings the rim of the green glass toward his lips. His hands stops mid air when he lifts his gaze and locks squared on Sungho's across the crowd.

Even in the low light it's easy to see the way his eyes widen and his jaws goes slack. Sungho smiles and tilts his head to rest over his own shoulder, his skin prickles with excitement. Dongmin blinks a few times, smiles back and takes a swing of his beer before setting it back down.

The drummer clicks the sticks three times to signal the start of the next song and they all jump into action. This one is much calmer, a sort of romantic ballad guided mostly by the keys, the type of music you play at the end of a concert. Sungho begs to all deities out there that this is really the last one.

Dongmin keeps pinning him from the stage; gaze flicking down to his bass then back at Sungho, like he doesn't want to miss Sungho in the crowd, like he is playing directly for him, like it's a serenade.

Every time he glances up Sungho feels a buzz taking over his skin, feels the way his breath becomes short and labored, the way his heart picks up speed. Even though there are about a hundred people inside this place, if feels like they only see each other, like the crowd is just a blur of passing people, unimportant, mere spectators to the electric pulsing tension between two near strangers feeling the unbidden pull of raw attraction.

Sungho isn't even drinking anymore, gaze fixed on the stage — on one particular man — not wanting to look away for even a second, too afraid to miss any of Dongmin's piercing glances.

When the music ends Sungho finally glances away, adjusting his posture and finishing his beer in two huge gulps. The crowd cheers once more as Dongmin slides the bass strap over his head and sets the instrument down on the stands. He greets his bandmates with smiles and daps before jumping down the stage. Immediately about a dozen people circle him and he greets them brightly, shaking hands and smiling.

Sungho pretends that he doesn't notice it, looking down at the bottle clutched in his grasp, stealing glaces at Dongmin here and there. And it's so fucking dumb. He came all this way for this man, went out of his way, stepped out of his warm apartment to confront the cold night air with bare shins and a dream, but now that Dongmin is actually right there his legs won't obey him, his heart races erratically, his eyes won't hold eye contact for more than a second, too afraid they might give away his true feelings.

"Hyung?" Dongmin's familiar tone calls before he steps besides Sungho, "What are you doing here?".

He has a wide smile stretched from ear to ear, a droplet of sweat slides down the side of his neck and Sungho has to make an actual effort to keep his nonchalant act from crumbling then and there. He clears his throat before speaking, "Just, you know… Friday night! Thought I'd step out to, you know… Get a drink, you know?".

Dongmin rests his elbow over the counter, body facing Sungho. He quirks one very unconvinced eyebrow and smirks, "Hyung, there is about 20 bars near your apartment".

"But this one had very good reviews" Sungho mutters back, dipping his head and using his fingernail to pick at the wet paper pealing off the coaster under his bottle.

Dongmin ruffs up a faint laugh and smiles, "Thank you for coming to watch it. I was really happy to see you in the crowd".

Sungho looks back at him with wide eyes. The breath catches in his throat and the muscles on his cheeks twitch in an attempt to keep him from smiling. Dongmin obviously can see through his act like he is looking out a window, that he can reading Sungho like an open book right now, but Sungho still tries keep at it, "Yeah, no problem…".

Dongmin thanks the bartender when she slides his beer over the counter and takes a swing of the bitter liquid before speaking again, "How did you find me?".

"Well… Someone didn't tell me that they would be playing somewhere today, so I had to put my informers to work" Sungho answers with a shrug and Dongmin laughs, the type of sound that makes the flowers bloom, that dissipates the gloomy clouds, that makes something beautiful and frightening grow inside Sungho's chest.

His composure makes an actual cracking sound over the music that is playing from the speakers now. Dongmin looks so fucking beautiful. His sweaty skin glows under the amber light of the bar, little droplets of sweat hanging on the tips of his hair, his long lashes cast shadows over his flushed cheeks, his rings click against the green glass and when his plushy lips press against the rim of the bottle Sungho feels like he might faint.

"Look I…" Sungho starts and stops, tongue darting out to wet his suddenly dry lips, "actually I came here because-".

"Wait, hyung". Sungho startles when Dongmin curls his long fingers around his wrist and hauls Sungho away from the bar. Both their bottles sit forgotten over the counter and Dongmin turns to peer over his shoulder, dark eyes cutting through the wet clumps of his bangs, "Can't hear you".

Sungho's heart beats like a drum in his ears. He stumbles to keep up with Dongmin, pacing in wide strides towards the bar's entrance. He pulls the door open and tugs until Sungho steps outside to close the door behind them, sealing the majority of the sound inside.

They stand at the base of the stairs, the cold night air creeps under the hem of Sungho's shorts. Dongmin slumps against the dirty beige wall, old paint chipping here and there. The blue glow of the sign over the door paints his features making him look ethereal, otherworldly. Here, in the silence of the night, Sungho's pulse grows so loud he positively thinks Dongmin can actually hear it as well.

He slumps on the wall across from Dongmin and tries to regain control of his breathing. Dongmin tips his head up to rest against the wall, letting his eyes fall shut. Sungho takes the sight of him in; the line of his throat; the way his jaw goes slack; the way his hands rest against the wall behind him; the way his sweater slips from his shoulder and exposes his collarbones.

Sungho swallows and attempts to speak, "W-why did you… bring me here?".

Dongmin opens his eyes but doesn't move his head, basically looking down at Sungho. He smirks, "My ears are still ringing from the music and I think the booze finally got to me. I couldn't hear you well in there" he swallows, "What were you saying?".

Sungho dips his head down and purses his lips, trying to come up with a coherent line of thought.

Where does he begin? What should he say? What shouldn't he say? He doesn't want to come off too strong, doesn't want to sound desperate. His fingertips tingle from nervousness, his ears are ablaze from shame, his legs shiver from the cold.

He chances a glance up and Dongmin has the most serene, gentle look on his face; relaxed brows, a slight tilt of his head. When they make eye contact in the small space between them, he smirks.

Sungho blames the single beer the had for his next words.

"I came out here to see you… You specifically" he admits with a sigh, dipping his head to avoid eye contact, "You see, the thing is that… I ordered a pizza tonight and you weren't the one at my doorstep… And not seeing you there— it made my stomach sink, and… I thought I was never gonna see you again. I know I sound insane right now and you have every right to reject me if you want to, but… The possibility of not having you around anymore, for whatever reason, made me realize I need you… closer to me".

He lifts his gaze to peak at Dongmin's reaction through his lashes. His posture is completely different now, shoulders tight, hands hanging limply on the sides of his body. His face is serious, brows drawn into a frown, mouth sealed shut. Well, Sungho already ruined this for him, might as well knock it out of the park. He dips his head again and scoffs.

"I like you Han Dongmin. I won't lie. An this— crush or whatever, has been consuming my entire existence. I keep thinking that there's so much I want to know about you. That I barely know much more than your name, but I feel so drawn to you. And I- I can't… I can't keep… You don't have to accept my feelings, but I need… I don't even know what— I don't even know… You. I don't know where you were born, or if you have a good relationship with your mom, I don't know how you like your eggs in the morning, or what flavor of pizza you like, but I know one thing— I'm sure of it! I like you, I do… You're so sweet, kind, driven and so fucking gorgeous, I feel weak every time you smile...".

Sungho only registers that Dongmin moved closer to him when his legs appear in his line of view. He curls a finger under Sungho's chin and urges him to look up. He looks like mirage up close, like he isn't even human, like a fever dream. That same relaxed expression from before takes over his features. Sungho's eyes dart in between Dongmin's. His heart was already speedy from blurting out his feelings into the dead of the night, but now, sharing this new proximity with Dongmin, it beats like it might rip a hole through his chest.

Dongmin moves even closer, silent. He tilts his head and closes his eyes.

"What are you—" Sungho's words are cut short by Dongmin's lips.

The hand he had under Sungho's chin slides to the side of his neck as he presses his body forward, trapping Sungho against the wall; and Sungho melts. Eyes fluttering closed. Hands coming up to circle around Dongmin's waist. Head tilting to allow Dongmin to move closer. Mouth parting to give Dongmin permission to dip in and he takes it.

The kiss is soft and slow, tasting like bitter beer and something sweet. His woody perfume mixes with the musk of his sweat to create an intoxicating scent that has Sungho's mind fraying at the edges. He feels like a teenager making out with his crush in some back alley, back pressed against the cold wall while Dongmin has his warm body against his, but he couldn't care less when the man he spent months longing for is right beneath his fingers, biting on his bottom lip and panting against his spit slicked mouth.

"It's barbecue chicken" he whispers.

Sungho blinks up at him a few times as the words cut through the fog in his brain, "Hm?"

"My favorite pizza flavor" he smiles, "It's barbecue chicken".

Sungho giggles and pulls him back down into another sweet kiss.

Maybe sometimes, love does knock on ones' door.