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Jeongin is just settling in for the evening when an insistent knock rings through his apartment. Currently sat on the couch in one of Hyunjin’s t-shirts and his own flannel pyjama bottoms, he’s definitely not expecting any visitors. In fact, he’s about to press play on the remote for a night of flicking between reality TV reruns, Titanic, and maybe even a couple of chick flicks if he finds himself feeling particularly adventurous.
Needless to say, he’s pretty confused by the loud banging outside.
Hyunjin is at a party right now, specifically as their old college friend Seungmin’s plus one. It was for a corporate party to open the working year, and while the man had offered to take both of them with him, Jeongin had declined. He didn’t particularly feel like wandering around an unfamiliar building making small talk with strangers all night. That kind of thing was right up Hyunjin’s alley though, so Jeongin had insisted that he go and have fun. They weren’t supposed to be back til late though, Seungmin letting them know that the whole event wasn’t likely to wrap up until it was past midnight. They left at quarter to six, and it’s only eight o’clock.
Grumbling a little, Jeongin hauls himself up from the sofa and shuffles towards the front door. He’d intended to have a quiet night in; pizza, movies, bedtime, and then wake up in the morning next to his slightly hungover fiancée. Whoever is at the door at this godforsaken hour clearly has other plans. Hopefully it’s just a late-night courier or something. He doesn’t really have the energy for much else at the moment.
He peeks through the peephole hesitantly, squinting as he tries to make out the figures through the little bubble of blurred glass with only the distant kitchen light to help him. It’s not a successful endeavour. All he can decipher is that the people aren’t very dangerous, and he supposes that’s good enough for now. He cracks open the door, and once he registers the two stood on his doorstep, he swings it open all the way. Confusion is written all over his face as he takes in a slightly red Seungmin and a swaying Hyunjin.
“Guys?”
Hyunjin’s eyes light up at the sight of him, and he turns to pull on the sleeve on Seungmin’s button down insistently. “Look, Seungmin! He’s wearing my shirt.”
“Took you long enough,” huffs Seungmin, lightly shoving Hyunjin forwards into Jeongin’s limp arms and ignoring the older’s comment. “He’s your problem now. Good luck!”
He lets his fiancée drape himself all over him, long limbs tangling themselves around his shoulders and waist. “Um, what do you mean ‘problem’? Did something bad happen? You’ve only been gone for two hours.”
Seungmin rolls his eyes. “He had too many drinks, and now he’s all weird.”
“Weird?” Jeongin shoots him an incredulous look as he pats Hyunjin on the shoulder. The angle is a little awkward, but he manages anyway.
“He keeps saying that he needs to tell you that he loves you so he can finally ask you out,” says Seungmin, shifting his weight so that his hip is popped, arms folded. He pays no mind to the indignant squawk that Hyunjin lets out.
“Shush!” hisses Hyunjin, glaring daggers at the man still standing in the hallway. “He’s not supposed to know yet!”
Jeongin almost chokes on his own saliva. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t know, man! I left him alone for an hour and when I came back he was like this!” Seungmin looks even redder than before, eyebrows raised high and hands held up in defence.
Jeongin turns to Hyunjin, gently cupping his cheek. “How many drinks have you had, baby?”
“Like two! I swear I’m not that drunk!” he whines as he stomps his feet, and Jeongin winces at the echo that rings down the empty corridor.
“Lies,” Seungmin spits out, turning to Jeongin with a grimace on his face. “The group of girls I rescued from him said that he was already on his fourth martini.”
“Nayeon kept giving them to me!”
“Nayeon was also drunk!”
One of the veins in Seungmin’s neck looks ready to burst, and Jeongin has a feeling that Hyunjin won’t be his plus one for the next few events at least, if not ever. He chuckles awkwardly, untangling himself from his fiancée’s grip and turning to face Seungmin. “I’ll take it from here,” he says, rubbing Seungmin’s arm sympathetically. The action draws a huff of impatience from Hyunjin. “I’ll let him know what he’s done tomorrow. No doubt he’ll come crawling back to you with an armful of apologies.”
Seungmin snorts before dragging the younger into a brief embrace. “Yeah, I look forward to it. Goodnight, Innie.”
“Night, Seungmin.”
The moment the door closes behind them, Hyunjin grips Jeongin by the wrists and spins him around, pulling him taught against himself. A few years ago this action might have rendered him breathless, but now Jeongin just giggles, leaning away from the older cheekily. Hyunjin pouts, tugging more insistently.
“Jeongin, I have something to tell you,” he says under his breath, watching the younger cautiously.
“Yes, baby?”
“I love you, and I want you to be my boyfriend.”
Jeongin blanches, arms falling limp by his sides. “Well, this is a backwards step, isn’t it?”
Hyunjin’s face drops as he slouches. “What do you mean?”
After a moment, Jeongin takes his hand and leads him through the dark apartment to the living room couch, urging him to sit down by pushing down on his shoulders. “Wait here,” he huffs, leaving the other on the living room couch and rushing off to the kitchen. When he returns, he has a glass of water and his phone. “Drink this.” While Hyunjin is busy drinking, Jeongin opens the camera app and presses record, propping the phone up against the TV. He’ll be damned if he doesn’t record this moment. It’s too absurd to let go. Felix and Jisung (their other friends from college) were going to have a field day over it.
“Did you really get so blackout drunk that you can’t remember our last three years together?” he starts, kneeling on the floor next to the older’s legs.
“’m just a bit tipsy, I promise!” slurs Hyunjin, lacing their fingers together. His dark brown eyes look even wider than normal as he stares down at the younger in wonder.
Jeongin is mildly concerned, understandably so. “I knew that you were a forgetful drunk, but this is ridiculous. We might need to take you to a doctor tomorrow.”
“Innie! The alcohol was good! Now I have the courage to confess my love to you!” Hyunjin’s eyes widen as he slaps a hand over his mouth, expression comically shocked. He looks like he’s just told the biggest secret of his life, rather than blatantly stated something that Jeongin has known for years. Not to mention that he’s already said it like three times in his drunken stupor.
“You’re gonna be so embarrassed tomorrow.”
Hyunjin’s bottom lip begins to tremble, eyes watering ever so slightly. “What do you mean ‘embarrassed’? Are you rejecting me?” He throws himself onto the living room floor, rolling around on the rug before curling up in the foetal position. “This is why I was so scared to tell you how I felt. I knew that you would never return my feelings.”
“Baby, we’ve been together for over three years. You proposed to me early last year. See?” He holds up his left hand, wriggling his fingers. A simple gold band with a small diamond set in the middle glints in the darkness. Hyunjin sits up to study it, gently taking Jeongin’s hand in his. He traces his fingers, angling his palm in different directions. He pouts a little, finally looking up to meet the younger’s amused eyes.
“It’s very pretty, Innie. Whoever bought it for you must have really good taste.”
Jeongin would be convinced that his fiancée is pulling his leg if it weren’t for the tears rolling down his perfect face, smearing the light layer of make-up he has on. He sighs, taking the older’s jaw in his hands to brush the droplets away, stroking his cheeks tenderly with his thumbs. “You’re not listening to me, baby. We’re engaged. We’re going to be married in less than four months. We’re visiting the venue to confirm decorations for the reception this Sunday.”
“We are? You aren’t going with your fiancée?”
Jeongin can hardly believe that he’s marrying someone this stupid before the end of the year. “Baby, you are my fiancée.”
“No, I’m your roommate who’s desperately in love with you and wants to be your boyfriend.” Hyunjin’s eyes fly open again. “Oopsy.”
“Hyung, I love you too.”
“But you’re getting married!”
“To you, you idiot!”
“But we’re not together? Not that I don’t want to be with you, I love you so much and I don’t understand why because we’re just friends and even though I have a crush on you my feelings shouldn’t be so intense.” He sighs, reaching out to caress the younger’s face before pulling his hand away as though he’s been burnt. “But I look at you and can’t help but want a future with you, to one day own a house and get married. To spend the rest of my days with you. To grow old with you.”
Jeongin already knows all of this, but his heart warms nonetheless and his cheeks flush a pretty shade of pink. Hyunjin catches this and gasps loudly, catching his hands between his own and bringing them to his mouth to press a chaste kiss to his fingers. “You do like me back!”
“Of course I do, Hyunjin! You’re my everything!” Jeongin’s patience is running thin.
“Then elope with me, Innie. Leave your fiancée behind. We can start a life together.”
Tired of fighting the older’s antics, Jeongin just agrees this time instead of pushing back. “I’ll follow you anywhere, hyung.”
They sit side by side on the floor in silence, listening to the sounds of the city below. Seoul never sleeps, and it’s never been more apparent to Jeongin til tonight. He can hear cars honking, the occasional squeal of tires. The bass boosts loudly from one of the clubs at the end of the road. There are people chattering away in the apartment below them. The glimmering lights reflecting off the glass buildings create a kaleidoscope of colours on the far wall of their apartment.
“Do you have anywhere that you wanna go for our first date?” Hyunjin’s voice is soft. Hesitant.
“I’m not sure, hyung. Did you already have something in mind?”
“There’s this really nice art gallery on the outskirts of the city.” Hyunjin all but whispers, toying with the ring on Jeongin’s left hand. “I’d really like to take you there and show you around. We can get lunch, too.”
Jeongin smiles to himself. It’s exactly what their real first date was. Hyunjin had given him a tour of a distant gallery with so much passion; he can remember the way his stomach swooped whenever the older had grabbed onto his hand with excitement, the warmth of his arm around his waist as he guided him between exhibits. Later they’d found a little market nearby with some street vendors and gorged themselves on tteokbokki and ramyeon, laughing like old friends because, well, that’s what they were. Old friends that maybe had a little more between them than just a platonic relationship. When they returned home that evening Hyunjin had attempted to kiss him goodbye, but they’d ended up bumping noses (it had actually been kinda painful). He’d been embarrassed, however Jeongin just found it endearing.
“Innie?” The older’s tentative voice brings him back to the present.
“It sounds perfect, hyung.”
The silence from before descends again. The nightlife beneath them seems to have quietened down. Jeongin can hear Hyunjin’s loud, steady breaths in the darkness of their apartment. He leans his head on his shoulder, and a long arm emerges to drape around his waist. It’s comfortable like this. Just the two of them, nothing else to distract from simply being in each other’s presence.
Jeongin thinks he wouldn’t trade these quiet moments for the world.
All good things must come to an end though, and Hyunjin’s stomach gurgles loudly to signify that their time is up and that they need to get going. Jeongin chuckles and reaches out to stop the recording, clutching his slightly warm phone to his chest. “Baby, go take your make-up off and have a shower,” he says as he drags himself to his feet. He turns around to grasp Hyunjin’s outstretched hands and pull him up too. “I’ll make you some dinner.”
Surprisingly, Hyunjin nods, embracing him tightly for a few moments before pressing a kiss into his hair and shuffling off in the direction of the bathroom. Jeongin already knows that his fiancée loves him. They crave each other, complete each other in a way that’s unmatched by anyone else. They tell each other they love each other every day, care for each other, can tell when the other is upset or feeling down. There was no doubt in Jeongin’s mind that he was loved, that he was wanted, and that they were meant to be. But tonight, despite being a little frustrating, has given him a new appreciation for Hyunjin. He loves Jeongin so unabashedly, and it warms the younger’s heart to hear Hyunjin speak of him so passionately (even when inebriated). He’ll need to return the favour somehow. Maybe they should go on that ‘first date’. Relive the lives of their younger selves.
The shower turning on startles him from his thoughts, soon followed by Hyunjin humming whatever tune had been occupying his head today. Jeongin shakes his head, grinning from ear to ear as he makes his way to the kitchen to reheat some leftovers.
:|:|:
Unsurprisingly, it’s difficult to wrestle Hyunjin into bed, the older still loudly proclaiming his love for him.
“Sleep,” Jeongin orders, tucking him in. “We’ll talk more in the morning.”
“What if you leave me?”
His face softens, the corners of his lips dragging upward into a tender smile. “I promise you I’m not going anywhere.”
When he finally crawls into bed a few minutes later after checking the doors are locked and lights are out, Hyunjin is quick to pull him into his chest. “I love you, Innie,” he mumbles into his hair. “You’re mine now.”
“Yours,” Jeongin whispers sleepily. “Forever and always.”
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Predictably, when Jeongin shows the video to Hyunjin the next day, the older is sufficiently humiliated (and very hungover).
He makes sure to send it to the college group chat, too.
With his fiancée’s permission, of course.