Rose Clouds

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/37721845.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: M/M
Fandom: NCT (Band)
Relationship: Jeong Yuno | Jaehyun / Lee Taeyong
Character: Jeong Yuno | Jaehyun, Lee Taeyong, Lee Jeno, Kim Dongyoung |
Doyoung, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Suh Youngho | Johnny,
Nakamoto Yuta, Na Jaemin
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Crack Treated Seriously,
Attempt at Humor, Enemies to Lovers, Childhood Rivals, they are good
boys but dumb, everyone is endearing, Pls don't take this too seriously,
Side Ships
Language: English
Series: Part 1 of tension!
Stats: Published: 2022-03-14 Completed: 2022-03-25 Chapters: 6/6 Words:
29976

Rose Clouds
by laikainspace

Summary

Jeong and Lee. Two names that stood side by side for over twenty years. Two men that
have supported each other through the highs and lows of life, law, and love. Two men that
shared a bond so special they hoped their own sons would carry on the tradition in the next
twenty years. Too bad their sons hate each other.

Or, Taeyong and Jaehyun can’t stand each other. Their dads are university best bros turned
corporate lawyers who share a firm. In return, they have shared almost every aspect of their
lives together, much to both their dismays.
 First Days
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Hyung!” a familiar voice called out to Taeyong who was walking across the crowd of excitable
university freshmen. Taeyong turned around to be welcomed by his younger brother, Jeno, club
pamphlets in his right grip and the strap of his backpack slung over his left shoulder.

“You seem excited,” Taeyong commented, reaching his hand out to ask for the pamphlets. Jeno
happily gave them to his older brother and followed in step as they walked through the busy crowd.
Today was the first day Seoul National University was open to welcome their students for the
academic year. Welcome week was the week before the semester classes started and students –
mostly freshmen– were able to check out any clubs they were interested in and move into their
dorms.

Taeyong, being a senior, had no real reason to be awake at eight in the morning trying to fight his
way through a large crowd of people shuffling to sign their names onto clipboards in hopes of
officially being part of the university life. But today was a special day. His baby brother Jeno, the
little Lee, was finally a freshman.

Jeno begged Taeyong to accompany him and look at all the booths to help him decide on an
extracurricular. Taeyong, the best hyung in the world, of course agreed. He was very excited for
Jeno to begin being independent and navigate his way through university. Just the other day, he
helped him move into his freshman dorm. Jeno insisted on living in a dorm instead of Taeyong’s
apartment just ten minutes outside of the university campus.

“I want to live in a dorm with the rest of the freshmen eomma!” Jeno all but whined to their mother
at the beginning of the year. “If I live with hyung, I’ll be missing out on all the university
experiences!”

“Aw, our little Lee doesn’t want to follow hyung around anymore,” Taeyong wiped a fake tear
away from his eye. His parents laughed since they knew Jeno was extremely affectionate and
clingy. As a child, he would constantly demand hugs from his family members. Even at 19, Jeno
regularly cuddled up with Taeyong whenever they had movie night back in their parent’s home.
The only difference is now, Jeno’s affection and cuddles come in the form of bear hugging you to
the ground until you’re left gasping for air.

“Which of these clubs are you interested in Jeno-yah?” Taeyong asked as he flipped through the
bright colored flyers to read the names. Debate. Robotics. Photography.

“I’m not too sure. I kind of just picked up any flyers they were handing out.” Jeno rubbed the back
of his neck sheepishly. “Some of the booths were giving free things so I thought why not.”

Taeyong laughed. The two Lee brothers continued walking until Taeyong stopped in front of the
astronomy booth where his friend, Doyoung, was aggressively shouting into a megaphone.

“Park Seojoon! Park Bogum! All of these are top stars. But the best stars are in the night sky!
Come join our club today!”

Taeyong shook his head and waved to get Doyoung’s attention. His friend placed down his
megaphone and gestured for Jeno and Taeyong to approach the booth. “Hey there he is! Hi little
Lee! Are you interested in joining the astronomy club?” He waved a blue pamphlet in front of his
face.

“Sorry hyung, I don’t really know anything about astronomy.” Jeno said regretfully.

“Aw that’s okay. Surprisingly, we got a lot of sign ups.” Doyoung held up a clipboard that was
more than halfway filled with names. The astronomy club’s booth was decorated with silver star
shaped balloons and a large banner. On the banner read their club name with cut out pictures of
Park Seojoon and Park Bogum taped around.

“What club are you interested in anyway?” Doyoung asked as he passed the clipboard to one of his
clubmates.

“Basketball actually.”

“ What? ” Taeyong and Doyoung’s eyebrows both shot up.

“I like basketball hyung,” Jeno answered as he took the flyers from Taeyong’s hand and tossed
them in a nearby trash can. “I think I’m decent. Plus, shouldn’t I have a good shot since I know the
captain?”

Jeno pointed at the booth that was right across them. The basketball team’s booth adorned the
school colors, blue and white. Just like every other booth, it had a banner representing their name.
But their banner also included the faces of the school’s varsity players showing school pride in
their newly purchased uniforms. Taeyong groaned and Doyoung laughed. In front of the basketball
team booth were the team’s star players in their letterman jackets that showed off their numbers.
Taeyong recognized most of them now that this was his fourth year in university. Some he still
didn’t recognize. One number that he did recognize –and would probably always recognize– was
the number 14 with the name Jeong printed across the back in smaller bold letters. Number 14 was
busy facing the booth, his back turned towards the crowd as he talked to his members.

Jeong Jaehyun.

Basketball captain.

Also the bane of Taeyong’s existence.

“Jeno-yah, you’re also good at taekwondo, remember when you took classes when you were 8?”
Taeyong tore his eyes away from Jaehyun’s back to look at his brother. “You were so good, don’t
you want to try picking it up again?”

“Not really,” was Jeno’s reply.

“Why don’t you join dance with Ten and me?” Taeyong tried again.

“I don’t really like dancing, hyung.” Jeno shrugged.

“Forget it, Yongie,” Doyoung smirked. “The little Lee has chosen basketball. Let him be.”

Taeyong groaned, “Jeno-yah, basketball is hard to get into. You have to try out. They have practice
regularly and once the season starts… how will you keep up with classes? This is your freshman
year, Jeno. Don’t you want to just be in an easy club? Like astronomy? I think all Doie does here is
look at stars once a month. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“Hey!” Doyoung smacked his arm.

Jeno smiled politely, his eyes almost turning into half crescents. “Sorry hyung. Besides, I already
spoke to Jae hyung about it.”

“You what?” Taeyong frowned. This was news to him. “Jeno, what are you doing contacting Jeong
Jaehyun of all people? Do you have a death wish?”

“What?” Jeno tilted his head, confused. “Why would Jae hyung try to hurt me?”

“Not Jaehyun,” Doyoung shook his head and pointed his thumb towards Taeyong. “But this guy
over here might.”

Jeno rolled his eyes. “Hyung, do you still hate Jae hyung or something? Aren’t you over that by
now? You’re both in your last year of uni.”

“I agree Jeno-yah,” a new voice joined their circle. Doyoung and Jeno turned to see Jaehyun
sauntering his way over with his two teammates, Yuta and Mark, in tow. Taeyong didn’t bother
turning. He knew that voice anywhere and even with his back facing him, Taeyong knew a stupid
smirk was painted on his stupid face.

He nodded his acknowledgment to Doyoung and completely ignored Taeyong.

Asshole.

“Jae hyung!” Jeno greeted warmly as he always does.

The Lees were born and raised well-mannered. Always showing kindness. Always showing
warmth. Manners maketh man after all. Both Lee boys were always respectful and polite to anyone
they met. However, Taeyong couldn’t bring himself to share the same warmth and kindness
whenever a certain somebody was around.

He was raised right, he swears. He would never intentionally disappoint his mother like this. But
he couldn’t help it whenever the devil himself was around.

“It’s great to see you Jeno-yah, I feel like I didn’t get to see you at all this break. When did your
family come back from your Europe trip?” Jaehyun stood right across Jeno and next to Taeyong.
Taeyong could feel their shoulders touching and he tried his hardest to bite back any remark that
was going to come out of his mouth.

He could be civil. He could do this.

“Just a few days ago,” Jeno answered. “Hyung and I spent two days back home and immediately
started getting my dorm ready.”

Jaehyun nodded, “You must be tired after such a long flight. But I hope you’re not too tired for
basketball tryouts?”

“Of course not,” Jeno shook his head and held a fist in determination. “I was just telling hyung and
Doyoung hyung about it.”

“Great to hear it,” Jaehyun nodded and turned to Yuta and Mark. “This is Jeno. The one I told you
about who is going to try out this year.”

“Hey man,” Mark extended a hand out. “Good luck, we need some new people on the team. You
played before?”
Jeno shook his hand and shrugged. “I play a little. I haven’t been on a team though. But, I’m
excited to try.”

“He’s good,” Jaehyun supplied, folding his arms across his chest. His whole shoulder to elbow now
touching Taeyong’s side. “I grew up playing with him in our neighborhood.”

“Awesome, but no favoritism, cap,” Yuta said playfully, punching Jaehyun in the arm. If it was
anyone else, they would have stumbled from the shove, colliding with Taeyong. But Jaehyun was
built like a statue and showed no signs of wavering.

“I don’t think that will be a problem considering Jeno is Taeyong’s brother,” Doyoung spoke up.
Taeyong shot him a look which Doyoung replied with a sheepish smile.

Jaehyung laughed, “don’t worry, I won’t let personal feelings mix on the court. Besides, my
relationship with Jeno is very different from my relationship with Taeyong.” He said this as he
turned to Taeyong, finally meeting his eyes and acknowledging his presence.

Taeyong stared back as he always does. Eyes glowering with malice. Jaehyun’s eyes were always
unreadable to Taeyong, but his strong eyebrows always helped him pull off that annoyed, irritated
look.

It was always cat and mouse between these two. Everything was a competition or a challenge.
Even something as stupid as staring at each other. The other would never back down. Even
something as trivial as breaking eye contact showed weakness. And Taeyong was no weak bitch.

Okay, maybe a little.

“We do not have any relationship at all,” Taeyong said, turning away after a good minute. He could
see a small satisfied smirk growing on the corner of Jaehyun’s lips. Shit. Taeyong mentally cursed
himself. “Besides, why are you even recruiting Jeno for your basketball team anyway? It’s not like
he’ll get to play this season.”

It was true. SNU’s basketball team never let first year players on the court during the season. For
the most part, they were glorified benchwarmers. They claimed their first year was to help them
train because the basketball team was the self proclaimed school’s pride. They hadn’t lost a game
in the last eight years. To ensure this streak, they only let the best and fully capable players onto
the court.

“I still want to try out, hyung,” Jeno said patiently. “I don’t really have experience playing in a
team anyway. My only experience was at Jae hyung’s court when we were kids.”

Taeyong remembered. He absolutely hated that Jeno would spend almost every Friday afternoon
dribbling the basketball around the Jeong's outdoor court. Jeno would spend most of his evenings
at the Jeong house while Taeyong bitterly studied away in his room. He hated having to do it but at
the time, Jaehyun just skipped a grade in primary school and Taeyong was not having it.

How could someone who spent most of his weekend dribbling a ball pass the exam that allowed
him to move up a grade level?

Jeong Jaehyun was the absolute worst.

Taeyong naively thought that if he studied hard too, he could skip a grade as well. Taeyong had
been almost torturing himself by studying so hard. Textbooks, notes, cram school. Way more than
was necessary or needed from a 10 year old child. Hard work pays off right? In the end, it did not
pay off. When he had his mother speak to the school’s administration about getting him tested, they
claimed it was too late in the school year and Taeyong would be promoted to middle school
anyway in a few months.

Taeyong cried and moped for a good week.

Jaehyun found out of course. Of course he did. Their lives were too intertwined with each other for
him not to have found out. If it was not gonna be from Jeno, it would be from their mutual friends.
If it was not gonna be from their mutual friends, it was gonna be from their parents.

The Jeongs and Lees were fated together even before Taeyong or Jaehyun were born. Even before
they met and married their wives. Jaehyun’s dad and Taeyong’s dad met in university where they
attended the same law school. Even though law was relatively competitive, they had an overall
good friendship and strong brotherhood all throughout their academic years. They both decided to
start a law firm together, JEONG and LEE Law once they both passed the board exam. Together,
they had won some of the biggest cases regarding corruption in the corporate world. The success
they shared together continued on until they both got married to two wonderful women. Then
eventually, they each had their own kids. They even moved to the same neighborhood where they
raised their family, three houses down from one another.

In contrast to their parents, who were partners in everything, Taeyong and Jaehyun were rivals in
everything. Taeyong wasn’t sure when it started exactly. All he knew was that the Jeongs were
always a constant in his life. His baby photos not only had his own parents celebrating his firsts but
so were the Jeongs somewhere in the background. Truthfully, Taeyong adored Jaehyun’s parents,
he just felt such sadness that their only son was so vile.

He wasn’t sure when this rivalry started but if he had to choose a time, pinpoint exactly when
Jeong Jaehyun ruined his life, it had to be when Taeyong was four and was showing everyone he
could recall different animals and their unusual facts. Something he learned at his daycare. Young
Taeyong was so excited to regurgitate this information he remembered reading off a book that was
mostly pictures than anything else. Everyone around the table was so excited to hear him talk
about elephants and the way they cleansed themselves with their trunk.

All eyes were on young Taeyong, this adorable boba-eyed boy.

Until, Jaehyun, at two years old, listening from his mother’s lap began clapping and babbling “el-e-
pant” while waving his chubby baby hands.

Everyone immediately began cooing and clapping for Jaehyun.

Taeyong frowned, his lower lip jutting out in a pout.

He wasn’t even done with his story and all the attention was on the grubby baby before him?

Unbelievable.

He didn’t even say elephant correctly.

Idiot.

From then on, it all went downhill. Everything was a little competition. Taeyong passed an
interview for the best primary school in the country? Jaehyun jumped up a grade to be right behind
Taeyong. Jaehyun joined taekwondo as a kid and worked his way to a black belt? Taeyong decided
to take up dance and win every competition there was. Taeyong won the school science fair
project? Jaehyun won the national spelling bee. Taeyong became debate team captain? Jaehyun
was elected the class president.
 It continued well into their teen years and now their early adult years.

It was constant back and forth. Snide comments. Eye rolls. Cold shoulders.

“Leave the kid alone,” Jaehyun’s voice snapped Taeyong’s voice out of his thoughts. Taeyong
looked up at him, annoyed that even in height Jaehyun beat him. “Basketball will be good for him.
It teaches him discipline and teamwork. Also, a good attitude. Something you might not be able to
teach him.”

As if like clockwork, something snaps. Taeyong saw red. The irritation he had tried to keep down
was too strong. His annoyance felt like a volcano building up with hot, molten lava ready to
overflow. He balled his fists and turned so he was facing Jaehyun directly. “ Jeong Jaehyun !”

“Here we go again,” Yuta muttered to Doyoung who sighed in return.

Chapter End Notes

this was purely self-indulgent nonsense. I haven't written in forever but thank you for
stopping by!!
 Tryouts
Chapter Summary

Taeyong and the group get back into the swing of university things: basketball games
and frat parties. Ten is a supportive friend.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The constant squeaking of rubber soles scratching against the polished wood flooring was enough
to make a grown man cry. Taeyong could not stand the squeak that would happen every time
someone aggressively moved their foot. Spending a Friday afternoon watching a bunch of sweaty
basketball players was not his idea of a good time. Squeak! The additional noise was more reason
for him to regret his decision of viewing the SNU basketball tryouts with Doyoung, Ten, and Ten’s
boyfriend Johnny.

“Nakamoto has really improved this year,” Ten commented from where he sat on Taeyong’s left.
To Ten’s left was Johnny, who hummed in agreement, heavily invested in the game.

Currently, the varsity players were playing a scrimmage match. Jaehyun, being captain, was on one
team while Yuta was on the opposing team. They had the scoreboard glowing orange read 6 - 5
with Yuta’s team leading.

They watched as a tall sophomore, Sungchan, passed the ball over to Jaehyun who dribbled the ball
and jogged down the court with Yuta on his heels. Thirty seconds were left on the clock.

Squeak! Their shoes went

Taeyong could feel how invested the crowd was with how quiet it was. Twenty-five seconds.
Squeak! Squeak! A player from Yuta’s team tried to steal the ball out of Jaehyun’s grasp. Jaehyun
side-stepped quickly and tossed the ball into the air, full concentration as he let it soar from the
three-point line.

Fifteen seconds.

Everyone held their breath.

The ball traveled slowly through the air.

Ten seconds.

The ball kissed the edge of the basketball hoop, rotating three times, then finally falling in.

Five seconds.

The timer went off.

The ball made it in.

Everyone stood to cheer. Even Taeyong, who was not having a good time, had to acknowledge the
excellent play and clap along.

“Fuck yeah!” Johnny stood up, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Yuta, nice try my man. But
you owe me 50,000 won!”

Yuta, from the court, rolled his eyes and pointed his middle finger directly to Johnny. “You have
no faith in me!” He shouted back, running a hand through his sweaty mane and walked towards
them.

“Not against cap, sorry man!” Johnny shook his head, yelling back.

Jaehyun caught a ball that was thrown to him, called out to the players on the court. “Water break.
Back on the court in five! Let’s get these tryouts started.” He began dribbling the ball as he made
his way over to them.

“Jae, thank you for making me 50,000 won richer.” Johnny laughed as his eyes went from Yuta’s
disgruntled face to Jaehyun’s.

Jaehyun let out a hearty laugh, dimples on display. “Hey, happy to help. Not going to lie though, I
really thought I was gonna let you down there for a second.” He stopped dribbling the ball, tucking
it under his left arm. His free arm clapped Yuta on the back, “not bad.”

Yuta nodded, a tired expression on his face. “Next time, Sungchan is on my team. Kid knows how
to pass. Plus, he’s as tall as a fucking tree.”

"Don’t try to strategize,” Johnny teased as he settled back next to Ten on the bleachers. An arm
went over Ten’s shoulders and if Ten were an actual cat, Taeyong assumed he would start purring.

“You’re always against me!” Yuta grumbled.

Johnny laughed, “don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you tonight. We’re throwing a mixer for new frat
pledges and just anyone who wants to come really. You showing up?”

“I’ll be there,” Yuta nodded.

“Cool. Jae?” Johnny asked, turning to Jaehyun who was idly standing by. “No excuses as a
member. You have to be there or else.”

“Or else what?” Jaehyun asked, teasing Johnny.

Johnny was the president of the most prestigious fraternity on the school campus. Almost every
member had a great grandfather who was part of the frat during their respective generation. In fact,
Johnny’s great grandfather was one of the original founders of the fraternity. Johnny prided
himself in his fraternity and Taeyong had to admit that it was pretty decent as far as frats go.

The boys regularly did charity work for the community and the school campus. They were always
raising funds through car washes, bake sales, and that dumb win-a-date auction. Of course that
event garnered a lot of interest and raised a lot of funds since everyone in the fraternity was more
or less conventionally attractive.

It always amazed Taeyong how women and men alike would donate almost millions in won to win
a date with Jaehyun every year.

Disgusting.
“I’m moving your room to a lower level with the freshmen,” Johnny retorted, hands playing with
the ends of Ten’s hair. Jaehyun snorted, now that he was in his last year of university, he had been
living at the frat house since he joined his very first. His room was right next to Johnny’s master
suite with its own private bathroom and decently sized closet for a university student.

“Alright, alright. I’ll be there,” Jaehyun finally said.

“Cool,” Johnny turned to Doyoung and Taeyong, “you two in?”

“Sure, might as well get drunk before classes start,” Doyoung replied then turned to Taeyong.
“Yongie?”

“I think I’ll pass,” Taeyong said, keeping his eyes on the opposite end of the court where Jeno was
lacing up his sneakers, getting ready for the tryouts to start.

“You always pass!” Ten whined, linking his arm through Taeyong’s, moving out from under
Johnny’s embrace. “Please show up. It’ll be fun. I’ll be there and Doie. We can get free drinks and
bail if it’s lame. Do you want to get laid? I’ll find you someone. Johnny, which of your frat
brothers are decent enough to bed Yongie here?”

Johnny choked on his laugh, “I don’t know babe. Let me ask Jae. Any recommendations?” His
eyes met Jaehyun’s. Jaehyun just let out a guffaw.

An actual guffaw.

Dick.

“Someone who doesn’t mind constant bickering and nagging maybe,” Jaehyun said, his eyes
quickly meeting Taeyong’s.

Just like clockwork, a match spark setting afire. Taeyong was about to rise out of his seat and lunge
at Jaehyun when Johnny interfered, using his ridiculously long arm to block Taeyong from
attacking.

“Whoa there guys, come on, not here,” Johnny said calmly. Johnny was used to Taeyong and
Jaehyun’s antics. Ever since Johnny moved to their primary school from Chicago when he was
nine years old. Johnny and Taeyong were classmates and became fast friends sharing a mutual love
for the same cartoons and snacks. Johnny had some interesting snacks that Taeyong had never
heard of before and was always willing to indulge Taeyong’s sweet tooth. He took such a liking to
Johnny that he had asked his mother to have him over for a playdate after school one day.

That was the biggest mistake of his life.

That same day, Jaehyun had followed them home from school, usually the Jeong’s driver picked
him up and took him to his mom’s workplace. Unfortunately for them, Jaehyun’s mom had errands
to do that day and needed the driver to accompany her.

Taeyong’s mom, being the angel that she is, offered to take Jaehyun home with them and even
keep him occupied at the Lee house until both their fathers were done with work later that evening.

So it was Johnny, Taeyong, and Jaehyun squeezed into the back of the Lee Range Rover.

Taeyong thought he and Johnny got along well but whatever the hell Johnny and Jaehyun had
going on was much stronger.
Taeyong didn’t know if it was because they both spoke fluent English. Johnny, who was born and
raised in Chicago and Jaehyun, who spent almost every summer in America with his mother’s
family.

Or maybe it was because they were interested in the same boring video games that Taeyong never
saw the appeal of. Personally, he was more into calm simulation games than the aggressive
adventure games that Jaehyun liked to play.

It only got worse after that play date, Taeyong felt more like a third wheel than anything else.

One day, Taeyong saw Johnny’s mom’s car pull into their neighborhood. Taeyong walked out of
his house to stand by the front gate, looking through the opening peep hole to see the car stop in
front of the Jeong residence.

Johnny got out with a backpack and was greeted by Jaehyun who was happily running outside to
meet him.

Taeyong huffed.

Traitor . He thought as he watched his new friend and mortal enemy skip their merry way through
the Jeong’s impressive glass double doors.

The next school day, Taeyong, being the petty child he was, dropped a neatly wrapped bento box
filled with kimbap on Johnny’s desk. “Jaehyun or me?”

Johnny looked startled, then started smiling slowly at the food presented in front of him. “What do
you mean, Yong?”

“I mean,” Taeyong put his hands on his hips. “You can only be friends with me or Jeong Jaehyun
and I want you to decide carefully.”

Johnny’s smile slowly faded into a confused grimace. At this point, he wasn’t sure if Taeyong was
being serious or not. “Uh… why do I have to choose?”

“Don’t you think Jaehyun is kind of …. Boring and unoriginal? His favorite things are everyone’s
favorite things or whatever he sees on advertisements.” Taeyong’s arms folded across his chest,
looking all business in his navy blue school uniform. “Plus, he has a big head that looks like a
coconut.”

“Well, no,” Johnny said slowly. “I like hanging out with Jaehyun and I like hanging out with you
too. Can’t we all be friends?”

Oh Johnny, pure sweet innocent and kind hearted Johnny. He was the best really. His blind
optimism and positive attitude truly was incomparable. Taeyong couldn’t tarnish and tear down an
innocent man. He sighed, shoving the bento box in front of Johnny. “Whatever.”

Throughout the years, Johnny became Jaheyun’s friend more than Taeyong’s. Although Johnny
was always friendly with Taeyong and invited him to his birthday party all throughout primary,
middle, and high school.

Still, Taeyong couldn’t help but feel dejected that he lost his first friend so fast to a coconut head
dimpled boy.

Primary school was awful since Johnny and Jaehyun became JohnnyandJaehyun , almost
inseparable. Wherever Johnny went, Jaehyun was there. And vice versa.
The only time Taeyong knew peace in his life was when Jaehyun moved to America for four years
when Taeyong was twelve. I finally did it, he thought to himself as his family dropped the Jeongs
off at Incheon airport. He would have felt more guilty thinking this as their mothers shared tearful
goodbyes and little Jeno, ever the sensitive, was sniffling quietly at their father’s side. But he
couldn’t help feeling a sense of satisfaction. He finally got rid of Jaehyun. No way was Jaehyun
going to give him trouble from across the world. It was the most peaceful four years of his life. No
annoying boy to ruin his day, month, or year.

It was nice not having to constantly feel like he had to prove something to everyone. Taeyong got
to just enjoy studying for the sake of learning. He got to dance for the sake of expression. He even
got to hang out with Johnny more since Jaehyun was gone.

The only downside was the constant updates from his mother and father on how the Jeongs were
doing. Since their dads shared a firm, Jaehyun’s dad lived in Seoul for half the year and flew
regularly to visit his wife and son in America.

His peace was cut short when Jaehyun moved back when Taeyong was sixteen. He hadn’t seen
Jaehyun in person in over four years but when he returned, the dimpled coconut head got rid of his
coconut head but kept the dimples. He looked different physically but everything else felt familiar.

It was worse because Jaehyun’s school in America had a different advanced system that moved
Jaehyun up to Taeyong’s year once he transferred back to Seoul. Now, they had to share classes
and even a graduation.

It made Taeyong hate him even more when everyone at his high school began gushing over the
new transfer student. Jaehyun always had love notes slipped in his locker, both girls and boys alike
wanting to be in his orbit.

“My money is on Jaehyun!” Yuta said excitedly, clapping his hands together as his eyes darted
between an irritated Taeyong and an unbothered Jaehyun.

Ten extended an arm out to smack Yuta on the back of his head.

Taeyong and Jaehyun continued glaring at each other with Johnny standing helplessly in between.
Eventually, Jaehyun had to turn back to his team “Okay, back on the court. Break’s over.” He
walked off, dribbling the ball he was carrying.

“Jeno is pretty good,” Doyoung commented as they watched the row of first years line up to do
some free throws. Every time it was Jeno’s turn, he easily got the ball into the net. Taeyong knew
he was decent at basketball but he didn’t expect him to be this good. Taeyong felt his heart swell
with pride.

Yuta blew his whistle to call attention to the boys on the court. “Let’s get into teams and do a quick
game.”

All the players shuffled to line up where they were being separated into two teams. Jeno joined his
team, looking a little nervous. Taeyong caught his eye from the crowd and flashed him a thumbs
up. Despite Taeyong not being thrilled about Jeno wanting to play basketball, he still hoped the
best for his brother.

A whistle went off and quickly the game began between the first years. As far as Taeyong could
tell, both sides were pretty good. They were a little sloppy with their passes and communication but
that was due to the unfamiliarity with one another.

Taeyong kept his eyes trained on Jeno as he caught the ball, dribbling it down the court. Just as
Jeno was going to go for a pass, a player on the opposing team knocked into his shoulder and sent
Jeno to the ground.

A loud whistle signaled for everyone to stop.

Taeyong and his friends gasped, all on their feet.

“Foul!” Jaehyun’s voice boomed through the court as he jogged up to where Jeno was on the floor.
Jaehyun lowered his eyebrows at the opponent who shrunk under his heavy gaze. “Are we playing
this rough for a scrimmage game?”

The first year had the decency to look apologetic and shook his head, “I’m sorry sir.”

“Uncalled for,” Jaehyun continued, extending a hand out to Jeno to pull him up. “Good players on
this team have good sportsmanship. Remember that.” The first year looked like he was going to
cry.

“Ball,” Jaehyun called out to one of the players who chased after the ball that went flying during
Jeno’s fall. Jaehyun caught the ball, bounced it a few times, and said in his captain-speaking voice,
“That’s all for today. We’ll let you know who made the cut. Thank you for being here and doing
your best.”

A low mumble of gratitude filled the air of the first years as they quickly disseminated, shuffling to
gather their things. Jaehyun turned to Jeno, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine Jae hyung, really. I think I suffered more from your fouls growing up,” Jeno’s eyes turned
into little crescents.

Jaehyun laughed.

“I hope hyung doesn’t give me an earful,” Jeno grimaced as his eyes met Taeyong’s from the
bleachers. His brother was staring at him with a mix of worry and agitation. Jeno walked up
towards him, Jaehyun in tow.

“Lee Jeno! Are you okay?” Taeyong asked as he made his way off the bleachers to meet Jeno
halfway. Ten, Doyoung, and Johnny followed after, all looking concerned.

“I’m fine, hyung,” Jeno replied, holding his hands out to show there were no scratches or bruises.

“Good,” Taeyong said and quickly reached for Jeno’s right ear, tugging on it. “What’s so good
about basketball, Jeno? Huh? All you do is get shoved. Is this really the extracurricular for you?
Doie’s astronomy club is still an option.”

Jeno yelped, smacking Taeyong’s arm away. “Hyung, I’m fine, stop babying me. It’s
embarrassing.” He rubbed at his now red ear.

“You did great, Jeno-yah,” Yuta said as he joined their little circle. “You should come celebrate
tonight at Johnny’s fraternity. Your first uni party.”
“Yuta, he’s just a baby. He can’t even drink yet,” Johnny pointed out.

“I won’t tell if you won’t tell,” Yuta shrugged, taking a swig from the water bottle he was holding.

“A party?” Jeno titled his head curiously. “Is everyone going?”

“It’s for the new pledges we recruited earlier in the week. But it's really welcoming to anyone who
wants to come by really.” Johnny nodded, “everyone who matters will be there.”

“That’s why Taeyong won’t be there,” Jaehyun piped up, holding the ball in front of his stomach.
Taeyong shot him a glare and tried to bounce the ball out of Jaehyun’s hold but his grip was
secure.

“You won’t be going hyung?” Jeno asked.

“I really need to get my apartment set up, Jeno-yah,” Taeyong replied. “Classes start on Monday
morning for me.”

“You still have the weekend,” Doyoung pointed out.

Ten nodded, linking his fingers through Johnny’s, “Yongie, you need to come! Come on, even the
little Lee will be there. You can stop by for just an hour, get some free drinks, and then bail.
Please!”

Ten jutted out his lower lip and whined.

“You know that only works on Johnny right?” Taeyong said, unimpressed.

“Lee Taeyong!” Ten smacked his arm. “What kind of best friend am I if I do not force you out
once in a while? Besides, you never know, you may get lucky tonight.”

“Ew,” Jeno made a face of disgust. “I’m going to get my stuff together.” He quickly walked off to
the opposite side of the court.

“So what do you say?” Ten asked, reaching for Taeyong’s hands. “We can dress up all cute and
it’ll be fun!”

Taeyong stared at his friend and sighed. Ten was relentless. He was like a stray alley cat that never
got tired of meowing for food. “Fine.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

It wasn’t so bad. It could have been worse. Taeyong never minded a good party but this past week
especially was long and tiring for himself. From flying back from their month in Europe to helping
Jeno get settled in his dorm, Taeyong never really got a break to rest. In fact, he hadn’t even been
in his apartment other than to sleep. His suitcases were still left ignored by his apartment entrance
way. He didn’t have to do much since Taeyong never had to move out once the semesters were
over, but he did need to set up his work station as he was a busy architecture major.
The party was in full swing by the time Taeyong walked through the doors with Ten and Doyoung.
For the first time since he got back to the school campus, Taeyong felt like a normal university
student back to his old routine. He loved Jeno dearly but his past week was mostly focused on his
younger brother than himself.

Taeyong even felt nice since he put in a little more effort in his outfit. He was wearing black skinny
jeans and a nice sweater, his hair styled up and out of his face to show a little forehead.

“Look who’s here,” Doyoung shouted over the loud music as they made their way to the frat
house’s kitchen. Taeyong followed Doyoung’s gaze to see one of their fellow architecture students,
Jihoon. Jihoon was a nice guy, tall and slender. He dressed fairly decent and was very studious.
Taeyong could always count on Jihoon if they were in the same project group.

Jihoon noticed Taeyong approaching and waved, “Taeyong, hi!”

Taeyong smiled back politely.

Jihoon also had a fat crush on Taeyong.

This hasn’t been confirmed but Doyoung and Ten swear by it.

He’s always looking at you!

He’s extra nice to you!

They would say.

Once all the architecture students gathered by the kitchen’s granite island, Jihoon offered Taeyong
an unopened drink. “I didn’t think I would see you here.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Taeyong said, shaking his head at the drink. “Thanks, but I’m only here
for a short while.”

“That’s too bad, I hope I can catch you before you leave,” Jihoon placed the unopened drink back
on the counter. “So, are you guys ready for our capstone project?”

“We haven’t decided on a topic,” Doyoung answered as he took one of the shots that the bartender
was making. “But there’s five available to a group. We should partner up if we want a decent
grade.”

“Definitely,” Ten agreed, “if Taeyong, Doyoung, and Jihoon are in the same group, we’ll
definitely get a good score. Sorry guys, I might be dead weight but please know I will provide the
moral support we need.”

They all laughed.

Just then, Johnny, Yuta, and Jaehyun joined them by the counter. Johnny and Jaehyun were dressed
in black button up shirts, a frat tradition for the first get together of the year. “I was looking for
you,” Johnny said to Ten as he kissed his forehead.

“Here I am,” Ten smiled up at Johnny. “Sorry babe, we were working on planning for our senior
project. We need to kill it or I will literally be killed… by my mom. She’ll kill me if I don’t
graduate.”

Johnny laughed, wrapping an arm around the smaller’s waist. Ten leaned his back into Johnny’s
embrace. “This is my boyfriend, Johnny.” He said to Jihoon who was starting to feel awkward in
the new circle of people. “Babe, this is Jihoon, we’re trying to recruit him for our senior project.”

“Hey man, thanks for being here tonight,” Johnny, ever the cordial frat president, extended a hand
out for Jihoon to shake.

Jihoon shook his hand and nodded, “Nice party.” He looked over at Taeyong, “so, Taeyong, I hope
I see you before you leave?”

“Maybe. But if you don’t, I’ll see you in class on Monday,” Taeyong replied awkwardly, fully
aware that everyone was listening in on their conversation. Jihoon smiled at that, eyes sparkling.
Taeyong felt a sharp nudge to his back from Doyoung who was making a big show of clearing his
throat.

“Definitely. Can’t wait.” Jihoon extended an arm out to give Taeyong a side hug to which Taeyong
awkwardly stood still for. Jihoon didn’t seem to mind. He pulled back with one last nod of
acknowledgement to everyone and then he disappeared in the crowd.

“Oh Yongie, please throw the poor man a bone,” Ten said dramatically leaning back into Johnny’s
chest.

Doyoung continued, “I agree, that poor boy has been crushing on you since second year statistics.”

“He seems decent,” Yuta commented, moving past everyone to get a plastic shot glass. He downed
it quickly and shook his head, feeling the vodka go down his throat.

“He is!” Ten agreed, “cute too. And smart. I think they’d be an adorable couple.”

“Just drop it,” Taeyong shook his head, “I’m not interested in him like that.”

“Will you ever be interested in anyone?” Ten whined.

It’s not like Taeyong was a prude or anything. He’s had his fair share of random hookups and one
night stands. Definitely not enough to be considered interesting but definitely enough to be
considered experienced.

“Leave him alone, babe,” Johnny’s arm that was around Ten’s waist, patted him gently.

“Is it so wrong that I want my best friend to get railed into next week?” Ten asked, which caused
Taeyong’s face to heat up.

“Okay, how many drinks have you had?” Johnny laughed, turning Ten to face him. “Let’s head
outside for some air alright?”

"That’s code for something,” Yuta commented as they watched the pair walk off into the frat’s
backyard.

“I’m going to make my rounds,” Jaehyun, who had been oddly quiet, announced. He nodded at the
group and walked off.

“Where’s he off to?” Doyoung asked.

“Who knows, but you know Jae, he barely shows face at these parties so everyone is probably
lining up to get his attention tonight. He’ll be busy attending to his suitors tonight.” Yuta downed
another shot.
Doyoung and Taeyong stayed together most of the night, enjoying the music and sipping on their
cups of alcohol in the frat house’s game room. The downstairs space had opened floor to ceiling
windows that opened to the backyard and obscure art pieces hung on the wall. In the center of the
room was a pool table where some party goers were playing.

Throughout their time at the party, they greeted and swapped summer stories with fellow
university friends they hadn’t seen since the last semester. Jeno even made himself known,
stopping by with Mark and Sungchan from the basketball team. Taeyong warned him that he had to
be home by midnight and to text him once he was back in his dorm. Jeno dutifully nodded,
showing only a hint of annoyance.

Some time throughout the night, Jaehyun and Taeyong ended up in the same room. Jaehyun was
now one of the guys playing pool with his fraternity brothers while Taeyong and Doyoung sat on a
nearby couch with their good friend, Taeil. The three on the couch were sharing their summer
stories and plans for their senior project, bonding in the sentiment of student stress and worries of
life after graduation.

Taeil was sharing some horror stories of old friends who were now in the workforce when
something caught Taeyong’s eye. A pretty and petite girl that Taeyong had never seen before made
her way to Jaehyun’s side.

Jaehyun, who was watching the ball he just hit miss a pocket, looked over at her. The boys at the
table were ooohing like middle school children. Taeyong couldn’t hear what she was saying but
watched as she whispered something into Jaehyun’s ear. Jaehyun listened carefully and took a step
back to laugh goodnaturedly. Taeyong was always amazed at how often people threw themselves
at Jaehyun.

Was he really that attractive?

To Taeyong, he’d always be that annoying coconut head boy who lived three houses down from
him.

Taeyong tried to tune back into Taeil and Doyoung’s conversation but found himself suddenly
feeling tired. “I think I’m going to head out now,” Taeyong announced, looking around the room.
No one seemed to be showing signs of leaving but Taeyong was never afraid to be the first to leave
a party.

“You stayed longer than I thought you would,” Doyoung looked at the watch on his wrist. “Let me
know if you need help settling into your apartment okay?”

Taeyong nodded and patted Taeil on the back, “you guys have a good night. Doyoung, please let
Jeno know I left if you run into him. Tell Ten I left since he was too busy sucking Johnny’s dick
most likely.”

Doyoung laughed, “will do. Get home safe, Yongie.”

Taeyong stood up and smoothed out the creases on his jeans. He made his way out of the room and
 through the crowd. The party didn’t seem to be dying out anytime soon but it didn’t seem as wild
as he thought it would be. He figured everyone was just excited to be back in the SNU environment
again.

As he made his way through the front door, Taeyong felt relieved and excited to finally be going
home to get some rest.

Back in his apartment, after a convoluted skincare routine, Taeyong was in a big t-shirt and sleep
shorts. He laid on his bed, his television playing a movie he wasn’t really paying attention to when
he heard the buzzer sound from his front door.

Taeyong frowned since he wasn’t expecting anyone so late. He got up and out of his bed slowly,
putting on his fluffy house slippers. He made his way to the front door, stopping to take a peek
through the peephole and smiled at the person he saw waiting patiently to be let in.

He swung his door open, only to be greeted by a warm embrace and a familiar pair of lips. Taeyong
smiled into the kiss, giggling as he pulled away from his eager boyfriend. “Jaehyunie.”

Chapter End Notes

hehe. thanks for reading!

 Something New
Chapter Summary

Briefly, how Taeyong and Jaehyun went from I hate you (aggressive) to I hate you
(tender). A new semester brings in some new things.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

If someone were to ever tell eighteen year old Taeyong that he spent a lot of his time bitching
about Jaehyun, he’d ruefully have to agree. If someone were to ever tell eighteen year old Taeyong
that the mere thought of Jaehyun could ruin his day, he’d argue that no , Jeong Jaehyun did not
have that much power over him. Then he’d bitterly sigh in agreement. If someone were to ever tell
eighteen year old Taeyong that he’d one day feel for Jaehyun something other than irritation, he’d
ponder for a brief moment and let out a snort. The ugly, farm animal sounding kind of snort. If
someone were to ever tell eighteen year old Taeyong that he would one day be making out with
actual Jaehyun in his kitchen apartment at a quarter to midnight, he would literally need three to
five business days to recover.

But here they were, Jaehyun pressing him into the cold quartz counter, hands gripping into his
oversized shirt causing it to bunch higher around Taeyong’s waist. Jaehyun’s lips molding into his
like a man drinking a glass of cold water after being out in the summer sun. He could feel
Jaheyun’s fingers slipping into his shirt to graze the skin on his lower back.

Taeyong pushed Jaehyun forward a little, his boyfriend still holding onto his waist and exhaling
heavily to catch his breath. Jaehyun leaned his forehead on Taeyong’s shoulder, arms spread out on
the counter to cage him in.

“We’re only sleeping tonight,” Taeyong said, running his fingers through Jaehyun’s dark hair.
Taeyong could feel his shoulder shake slightly from Jaehyun’s chuckle. He raised his head to look
into Taeyong’s eyes.

“Sorry,” Jaehyun pressed a light kiss on his forehead. “I just wanted to make sure my baby got a
good welcome back.”

He wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s frame. “Was I ever going to get boyfriend time by the
way?” He raised an eyebrow accusingly.

“Sorry,” Taeyong smiled at Jaehyun’s cute pout. He was actually so soft from the Jeong Jaehyun
that everyone else got to know. “You know I’ve been busy helping Jeno settle in. It’s been non-
stop since our family trip.”

“I demand more attention,” Jaehyun scowled dramatically and hugged Taeyong tighter. Taeyong
laughed, wiggling out of his grasp. He took Jaehyun’s hand and walked them to his room. Taeyong
moved to take off the heavy leather jacket Jaehyun was wearing. He was no longer in his button up
shirt from earlier and instead in a plain black t-shirt and dark blue plaid pajama pants. He kicked
off his shoes and sprawled out on Taeyong’s queen size bed like a starfish.
If someone ever told Taeyong this was how he would spend his Friday nights, he would not
believe them.

It’s been almost a year since the incident as Taeyong likes to call it. A year ago, before the start of
their third year in university, Taeyong had applied for an internship in Japan that allowed him to
work with a start up organization for two weeks that focused on sustainable living. This was a great
opportunity as it allowed him to network with professionals and university students from around
the region. Taeyong thought it was a good opportunity to productively spend the last three weeks
before the first semester would start.

He wasn’t sure if he would get accepted since there were only ten available slots for South Korea.
But luck seemed to be on his side and he was accepted. Taeyong was ecstatic to get to work on
something like this. He excitedly made the announcement to his mother about his plans and
immediately started packing and preparing.

That was the end of his luck.

Later that night when his family took him out for dinner in Gangnam to celebrate, the Jeongs were
also in attendance. Taeyong politely greeted Jaehyun’s parents while only sparing their son an
uninterested look that was lazily returned.

Once everyone was seated, Jaehyun’s dad was expressing the coincidence that both Taeyong and
Jaehyun would be flying to Tokyo to complete the same internship.

Taeyong almost fell off his seat.

Thousands of participants globally. Hundreds of applications across the country. Only ten available
slots based on random selection. And Jaehyun and Taeyong managed to get chosen to be not only
in the same program but the same cohort.

Taeyong blinked.

Once. Twice.

Shook his head back to full consciousness.

“Isn’t that great, dear?” Taeyong’s mom’s smiled at the two boys. “Now I won’t have to worry
about Taeyongie getting into trouble in another country.”

Taeyong bit his tongue as the adults began chattering amongst themselves. Their parents weren’t
oblivious to the animosity between Taeyong and Jaehyun, but they always chose to turn a blind
eye. They figured it was just a childish feud that they would grow out of. The bond and ties
between their fathers were too deep. If Jaehyun or Taeyong thought that some snarky replies and
cold shoulders would ruin almost three decades worth of brotherhood, they had to reconsider.
Besides, their fathers were lawyers, they could settle any dispute fairly.

“When do you guys leave?” Jaehyun’s mom asked the boys. She then turned to Taeyong’s mom,
“we should purchase their seats next to each other.”

“Uh,” Taeyong was about to interject but Jaehyun interrupted. “Appa already purchased the tickets
last week when I told him the news.”

Jaehyun’s mom frowned, “right. That’s fine. Just keep an eye out for Taeyongie okay?”
Jaehyun said nothing as the waiters came with their food. The dishes were neatly served as the
waiter rattled off the names of everyone’s orders. Taeyong was previously excited for the twelve
ounce steak he ordered but now, he didn’t know if he could eat. What were the chances that
Jaehyun would apply for the same internship as him? What were the chances they would both be
selected?

Taeyong considered backing out for a moment. But immediately shook his head at the idea. He
wanted this internship and earned it himself. He was not going to let something as trivial as
Jaehyun ruin his plans. With that, Taeyong tried to rid his head of any negative thoughts and began
cutting into his steak

The internship in Japan was great. They were working alongside an organization that wanted to
utilize recycled materials in constructing feasible everyday items that could be used for personal or
public use. They were working alongside actual project engineers. The architect inside Taeyong
was gleeful. He wondered for a moment why Jaehyun even wanted this internship. Speaking of
Jaehyun, even in another country he was ready to irritate Taeyong to no end. The two were in a
cohort with eight other people. They were tasked to create a design plan using any of the materials
the project leads were discussing. This project required a lot of collaboration and unfortunately for
all of them, they had not realized that Jeong and Lee, second generation, did not collaborate at all.

Every meeting was spent with the two constantly bickering that sometimes ended in either Jaehyun
or Taeyong having to excuse himself for a minute to get air. It got to the point that their supervisor
had to separate Taeyong and Jaehyun whenever they had to work in smaller groups. This was all in
the first two days of the program. Taeyong felt a little guilty. He genuinely liked most of the people
in his cohort. Despite them all being from the same country, they all attended different universities
from different cities. Except for Jaehyun and Taeyong.

Taeyong swore that the selection of the internship was rigged. Jaehyun bought his way into the
program. That was the only probable solution.

Regardless, Taeyong didn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable on his behalf.

So he swallowed his pride one evening and walked to Jaehyun’s dorm room that, ironically, was
three doors down from him. All of the interns in the program got to stay in the same dorm and have
a room to themselves. Taeyong sighed as he thought about what he wanted to say. He wasn’t
necessarily waving a white flag in surrender but he did have to come up with some solution. He
was rehearsing what he was going to say in his mind, double checking there were no loopholes in
his proposal that Jaehyun could ridicule him for.

While Taeyong was lost in thought, warm light engulfed him as Jaehyun slowly opened the door,
surprised to see him. Jaehyun was dressed casually in gray sweatpants, a loose white t-shirt, and a
black snapback turned backwards. “What are you doing here?”

“Hi,” Taeyong squeaked out awkwardly. He had been rehearsing what he was going to say to
Jaehyun and even came up with possible rebuttals to any of Jaehyun’s ridiculous comments. He
spent a good hour hyping himself up in the comfort of his dorm room. But now that he was in front
of Jaehyun, he suddenly felt unsure.

“Hi?” Jaehyun raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “What are you doing here?” His tone was
impatient, almost rude.

Taeyong felt the familiar agitation bubbling inside of him. Right. Why would he ever show
hesitancy around Jaehyun? This guy was not good natured and understanding. He was the son of a
lawyer, cutthroat and straight to the point.
Well, Taeyong was also the son of a lawyer so he held his head high becoming all business no
bullshit. “I came with a proposition.”

“Is that so,” Jaehyun folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame. “Do you
have a notarized contract?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, “It’s not that serious, Jaehyun.” He tapped his foot impatiently looking
down the hallway when he heard the sound of voices. Some of the interns were out in the city and
just getting back to the dorm. Taeyong looked at Jaehyun, “are you really going to make me stand
out here? I’m telling your eomma you’re being inhospitable.”

Jaehyun rolled his eyes and stepped aside, letting Taeyong in.

Taeyong looked around, all the dorms were set up the same. One single bed in the corner with a
large bay window that overlooked the school campus they were staying at. There was a door to a
small washroom, a mini refrigerator, desk, and a wooden cabinet bolted into the walls. Jaehyun’s
room was uninteresting but tidy.

Taeyong walked over to the desk, pulling out the rolling chair. He sat down and gestured for
Jaehyun to sit on the bed across from him. Jaehyun made an exasperated sigh but sat down
nonetheless.

“I think we should be friends,” Taeyong blurted out.

Jaehyun’s eyes showed momentary surprise and then they schooled themselves back to the same
indifference Taeyong was used to. “Why? You hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” Taeyong argued. “You hate me.”

“You hate me more than I hate you.” Jaehyun retorted, “I have never met anyone who hated
anyone as much as you hate me.”

Taeyong pursed his lips. He had him there. Shit. “I’m passionate.”

“So why are you bringing this up?” Jaehyun asked in the same impatient tone.

“Jaehyun, everyone is uncomfortable in our cohort because we keep fighting,” Taeyong began
fiddling with his fingers, eyes cast downwards.

“Then stop fighting with me,” Jaehyun replied.

Taeyong looked up and scowled, “ you stop fighting with me.”

“I don’t fight with you,” Jaehyun said, “I make a statement and you contradict everything I say.”

“Listen–” Taeyong started but Jaehyun cut him off. “You’re doing it right now , Taeyong.”

“Okay fine!” Taeyong grumbled, “we both fight with each other, okay. The point is, I don’t want to
ruin our intern project and I don't want people feeling uncomfortable. We spend eight hours of the
day working together and we’re here for the next two weeks. We might as well make it easier for
everyone by being on our best behavior. I’m saying this for the sake of the group, I won’t try to
argue with you on things. In fact, I’ll ignore you completely if that’s what you want. We don’t
have to be friends, but we should at least be civil.”

Jaehyun stared at him for a long while, which made Taeyong both annoyed and nervous. Jaehyun,
despite being nonviolent, was very intimidating. He didn’t speak much but his nonverbal cues said
it all.

Taeyong was about to stand in impatience.

Finally, Jaehyun responded, “fine.”

Fine .

It was fine.

The following day, Jaehyun and Taeyong were now showing signs of being cooperative and civil.
Their fellow cohort seemed to appreciate the alleviated tension. For the most part, the two were
busy doing their own tasks. Instead of the usual snide comments, all they exchanged were low
mumbles of acknowledgement or sometimes agreement.

Things were going rather well. Taeyong felt the cohort was getting even closer since they spent
almost every waking hour together. Taeyong even made a friend named Yejun. She was a smart
and timid girl from Busan. Taeyong and her were both into graphic design since he was an
architecture major and she was in civil engineering.

Again, Taeyong thought. What was business major Jeong Jaehyun doing at this internship?

Yejun and Taeyong got along well since they both had to use the same programs for their
respective courses. With their combined knowledge in design and construction, the two
volunteered to create the blueprints for their group.

For a moment, Taeyong could put Jaehyun in the back of his mind since he was too focused on his
tasks. Yejun and Taeyong were often so busy that some days they worked past the 5 o’clock sign
out time. They would often be cooped in one of the vacant study rooms the cohort would divide
into. Since there were no students on campus for the semester break, it was easy to get work done
in silence.

One night, Yejun and Taeyong were working diligently. Yejun pushed herself back on her rolling
chair away from the table. “I’m going to head down to the convenience store, Taeyong-ssi. Do you
want anything?”

“I’m okay, thank you,” Taeyong waved her goodbye while she left the room. Taeyong was
completely focused on the task in front of him. He was rendering the designs they did on his laptop
when the door of their study room opened slowly. Taeyong turned on his seat, questioning why
Yejun was back so soon when he was met with Jaehyun.

“Oh. Hi.” Taeyong greeted weakly. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to show the same
hospitality when they were with their cohort now that they were solo. But Taeyong found he had
no real reason to feel annoyed as of late.

Jaehyun stood there awkwardly for a moment with a nicely designed paper bag that smelled of
fresh bread. He extended it out to Taeyong who accepted it curiously. He took a peek inside to see
fresh bread rolls. They smelled delicious. “Are these for me?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun said, eyes darting everywhere except at Taeyong. “I wanted to make sure you had
something to eat. You and Yejun seem pretty busy. You know, since my mom called and she asked
how you were doing.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want word getting back home
that I left you to starve or something.”
Taeyong blinked at him. “Right, well, thank you Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun nodded, meeting his eyes for a brief moment. “Take it easy, Taeyong.”

With that, he left.

A week later, Taeyong and his cohort had to prepare for their presentation. All of the cohorts were
going to showcase the prototypes of their designs. It was rather exciting. All the work they had put
in for the past three weeks was probably the same amount of work that Taeyong usually did in a
semester worth of classes. Nonetheless, he was proud. The research, the discussion, the
determination, it made Taeyong excited to be part of something so great.

During the preparations of the presentation, most of the people in Taeyong’s cohort were rather shy
to present in front of their peers along with well known figures in the community and respected
professionals. That’s where Jaehyun stepped in. Taeyong finally realized how Jaehyun got into this
internship. Yes, he was neither an architecture, engineer, or other STEM major. He was a business
major. Business majors were persuasive, innovative, and savvy. The team may have come up with
a great design, but it was Jaehyun who really sold it, really making people believe that it was a
great design.

Taeyong had to stare dumbfoundedly as he watched Jaehyun speak. He was confident and
knowledgeable. His eyes meant business but his kind smile never wavered. He even handled the
questions from the intimidating CEOs who came to watch. At the end of the presentation, their
supervisors praised them and the crowd applauded.

Taeyong didn’t know what came over him.

He’s watched Jaehyun win a million awards, competitions, titles, and recognition throughout their
years. Taeyong had never, never ever done what he was about to do now. He walked up to Jaehyun
who was talking with some of the members of the cohort and tapped him on his shoulder. Jaehyun
slowly turned around, eyebrows raising in question.

“You did well, Jaehyun,” Taeyong said plainly. No hint of sweetness or adoration. No hint of
malice or mockery either.

The day before they were going to get ready to fly back to Seoul, the group decided to celebrate by
finally getting to unwind in the city together. The school campus they were on was a little far out
from all the exciting things, so they had to take one of the shinkansens. The group headed out of
the campus after a late breakfast and walked together to the train station. Since it was a weekend,
the train stations were relatively packed with off duty students and families.

They squeezed into one of the trains just before it got too packed. Fortunately, all ten of them were
able to get on before the sliding doors closed. Taeyong was squished in the middle of Yejun and a
group of salarymen.

Everytime the train stopped to unload people, a new batch would squeeze themselves in.

When it was almost their turn to get off, Yejun gestured for the door. Taeyong, who was busy
looking out the opposite window at the buildings blurring by, didn’t catch it. He didn’t realize that
most of his cohort members had gotten off the train until a hand yanked him on the back collar of
his jacket and dragged him out.

Taeyong shook off Jaehyun’s arm and crossed his own, “Jeong Jaehyun! Stop manhandling me.”

“You almost missed our stop,” Jaehyun pointed out then nodded at their cohort members who were
now walking to their exit. “Let’s go before you get lost.” Jaehyun began walking the same
direction their group was headed.

Taeyong pouted but obediently followed.

Akihabara was the exciting electric town everyone said it was. Once they walked out of their exit,
they were greeted by large crowds of people and bustling music. Eclectic character statues were in
every corner, tall buildings had signs of big technology brands, dozens of people lining up to either
get into stores or purchase food at the quirky cafes.

They had so much fun going into different shops. Trying their luck at the gachapon machines that
were placed around different street corners. They shopped, took photos, and laughed all throughout
the afternoon. Taeyong hadn’t even noticed that Jaehyun was by his side for most of it.
Surprisingly, the two were talking more, sharing little anecdotes whenever they saw an anime
character they thought Jeno would like or saw a peculiar themed cafe that they knew their mothers
would want to try. Maybe it was because they were the only familiarity in this foreign land with
these new people. But for the first time, Taeyong felt comfort in Jaehyun’s presence rather than the
usual agitation.

It was even more surprising that they would share laughs together when they brought up Yuta’s
anime girl crushes. They both pondered buying a body pillow of Yuta’s favorite anime girl but
decided against it at the last minute.

It was the longest they had gone being civil with each other and Taeyong couldn’t help but wonder
what would happen if it was always like this. Removing the animosity, jealousy, and
competitiveness Taeyong usually felt when he was around Jaehyun, he realized that he wasn’t so
bad.

Taeyong figured it shouldn’t be surprising that they had things to talk about when they had shared
so much of their lives together.

As the afternoon dwindled on, more money was spent, and they decided to end the day lining up
for fancy decorative crepes. Taeyong and Jaehyun were at the back of the line with their cohort
members. The sun began to set over Tokyo, rosy pink clouds mixing in with the orange sky. Down
in the city, shadows began to fade as night fell.

Jaehyun’s laugh caught Taeyong’s attention as he spoke to their group member in front of them. It
was a laugh he heard often but it sounded a little different to him now. Jaehyun turned when he felt
Taeyong’s eyes on him, dimples on display.

As the streetlights and building signs began slowly lighting up around them, Taeyong felt
something light up inside him too. It wasn’t the usual red anger he normally felt in Jaehyun’s
presence. That anger usually engulfed him wholeheartedly. It felt like molten lava crashing in
harsh waves. A time bomb down to the last ten seconds. A firecracker squealing before it bursted
into the night sky. It didn’t feel like the quick, burning irritation Taeyong was used to.

Instead it felt slow, steady and calm.

“Baby, the attention,” Jaehyun’s voice brought Taeyong back to where they were a year later.
About to cuddle in bed as boyfriends, albeit secret boyfriends. There was no real reason they had to
keep this a secret. But when you go from “fuck you” to “wait no, fuck me actually” it had caused a
great deal of turmoil for Taeyong.
It took him a while to adjust to his feelings and come to terms with them.

Did they really need to keep it a secret? Not really. They were certain their parents wouldn’t mind.
Their mothers would probably be ecstatic and their fathers would be pleased that they could legally
be family. Jeno would be shocked since Taeyong spent most of their childhood complaining about
Jaehyun but then he would be excited because he adored his Jae hyung.

Taeyong wasn’t too sure what his friends’ reactions would be. Johnny would probably be a
smirking asshole who shouts “I knew it!” the minute he hears. Ten would have a fucking field day
that Taeyong was finally getting laid on the regular. Doyoung would be confused but supportive.
Yuta would just be confused.

Since their relationship was still relatively new, Taeyong thought it would be easier to keep things
private. His relationship with Jaehyun was a lot to take in all at once. Taeyong was confused about
switching his feelings from anguish and hate to adoration and something akin to love. Jaehyun felt
the same way. He confessed after the first time they had sex, he thought he would wake up to
Taeyong holding a pillow over his face. Taeyong’s face turned red. From the embarrassment and
the round they just finished.

The pair knew they would have to tell everyone eventually. But for now, as their relationship
slowly bloomed into something more serious, more sturdy, they would rather keep it to
themselves.

They unintentionally shared almost every aspect of their lives growing up, much to their
reluctance.

For once, they didn’t mind sharing this one.

Taeyong switched off the television and lights then joined Jaehyun in bed. Jaehyun extended his
arms out, pulling Taeyong into a snuggle. Taeyong felt his heart racing as he buried his face into
Jaehyun’s neck. He was still getting used to his new boyfriend.

“I missed you,” Jaehyun whispered into the darkness. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too, Jaehyunie.”

A moment of comfortable silence.

“Hey Jaehyunie?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Jeno talked to you about joining the basketball team?”

Jaehyun hugged Taeyong closer, a laugh escaping his lips, “because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

“Hmm, I thought we agreed open communication was what we needed to have a successful
relationship?”

A moment of silence, Taeyong thought Jaehyun had fallen asleep and was about to try to fall asleep
himself when he spoke up.

“Hey baby?”

“Yes, Jaehyunie?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that your Jihoon classmate had a crush on you?”

Taeyong let out a laugh and snuggled into Jaehyun’s shirt, enjoying the fresh laundry detergent
scent, “because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”

After a successful weekend of university preparations and several rounds of intense lovemaking,
Taeyong needed to get ready for his first class of the semester. Jaehyun had spent most of the
weekend at his apartment, only leaving to get a new change of clothes or check in if Johnny had
any fraternity duties for him. Fortunately, Jeno was busy getting to know his new roommate, a
freshman named Donghyuck. Jeno texted that Donghyuck was loud and easily excited. Jeno was
unsure if he could handle being Donghyuck’s roommate because he seemed to leave his clothes
everywhere while Jeno was always tidy. Taeyong told him to stick it out and hope for the best. At
least for the first semester.

Taeyong had offered his apartment to Jeno since he had two bedrooms, far too much space for one
person. But Taeyong realized that if Jeno did move in with him, he and Jaehyun would not have a
place to have their quality time that involved certain bedroom activities. He was never going to step
foot in Jaehyun’s room in the frat house. It was too risky since Johnny was right next door and
most of the guys were loud and messy anyway.

Taeyong was packing up his backpack. He double checked that his laptop, iPad, sketchbook, pencil
case, and water bottle were inside. He stuffed his wallet and keys into his pockets and grabbed his
phone on the way out. As he locked his door, he heard his phone’s notification alert go off.
Taeyong glanced down and smiled at the contact name, sliding up to unlock his phone.

Morning baby.

Taeyong and Jaehyun have been official for almost five months now. The eight months prior, they
were what Ten would probably call a situationship . Skirting around each other, too shy to confess
for something more. Now that Jaehyun was officially his, Taeyong was still getting used to
Jaehyun’s boyfriend qualities like always texting good morning and using terms of endearment.
They made Taeyong’s heart do somersaults everytime. Taeyong pressed the button on the elevator
and typed his reply as he waited for the lift to come up to his floor.

Good morning, Jaehyunie! What time is your first class?

The blue bubble sent and within a few seconds, three dots began dancing on Jaehyun’s side of the
screen.

Not until 10. Yuta and I have econ. But we’re on campus already.
Yuta is trying to override into my business law class

since he found out Johnny was in it too. Lol

Taeyong chuckled as he read Jaehyun’s message and got into the elevator. He sent a reply.

Three of you in the same class?

Good luck to your prof.

Jaehyun’s reply came within an instant.

Am I seeing you today?

I think I have a break at 11:30 then my capstone meeting at 3.

I’m sure I’ll be with Ten and Doyoung though.

Are you guys meeting us for lunch?

I’ll check with lover boy if he plans to meet up with Ten.

Ok. I’ll be driving now.

Have a good class, Jaehyunie.

Thanks baby.

Be safe on your way to campus.

The elevator doors opened to the apartment complex’s garage. Taeyong stuffed his phone into his
pocket and made his way over to his car. He placed his hand on the handle of the driver’s side
door and stared at his reflection. He was finally in his last two semesters of university. This was it.
Pretty soon, he’d get to be Architect Lee Taeyong and design pretty buildings for people.

Taeyong smiled at his reflection with a small nod to himself. This was going to be a great
semester.

Taeyong strolled into his first class of the day with five minutes to spare. Doyoung and Ten were
already seated at the higher level of the lecture hall with Jihoon. Ten was really determined to get
Jihoon in their capstone group. He made his way up the stairs and greeted, “morning guys.”

They all turned to look at him ready to respond, but Ten was the first to speak, “Good morning
Yongie! Please further convince Jihoon we should work together for the capstone project. He’s
being difficult.”

Jihoon laughed, “I said I didn’t mind linking up, but I did promise Minjun that I would work on it
with him.”

“Why would you betray Taeyong like that?” Ten raised an eyebrow in question.

Jihoon glanced over at Taeyong for help. Taeyong sighed, moving past his friends to set his stuff
down. He began unpacking his computer from his bag. “Ten, leave him alone. Or, since it’s five to
a group, we can always invite Minjun right?”

Ten’s eyes lit up, “of course! Yongie, you’re so smart. This is why you need to be the leader of the
group. No one takes Doie seriously and I don’t ever know what the fuck is going on.”

Doyoung punched him in the arm.

Taeyong laughed and lifted his laptop screen to be greeted by a photo he took of Tokyo’s skyline.
Just then, their professor walked in, his slides already prepared and projected on the large screen
before him.

Ten and Doyoung quickly shuffled to their respective seats. Jihoon whispered to Taeyong, “is it
alright if I sit here?” He gestured to the vacant aisle seat on Taeyong’s right. Taeyong nodded and
focused as their professor called their attention with a greeting of welcome and encouragement for
the academic year ahead.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and all the students were busy rigorously taking notes.

At the end of the class, the trio left all groaning and stretching their muscles from the
uncomfortable seating positions. Taeyong rubbed at his neck when he felt Jihoon’s presence next
to him.

“I always hear about Professor Yoon’s intense lectures but never experienced it until today,”
Jihoon made a show of stretching out his right arm. “I think I have enough notes to write my own
textbook.”
Taeyong agreed, “you’re telling me. I don’t know how we’re gonna survive this semester.”

“You can do it,” Jihoon smiled at him. “By the way, is it alright if I text you about the capstone
details?”

“Sure,” Taeyong responded. “You’re going to be at the meeting at 3 right?”

Jihoon nodded, “I’ll see you then.” He waved to Doyong and Ten and walked off into the opposite
direction.

Ten slung an arm around Taeyong’s shoulder, “He is the perfect man. Please date him. I’ve
bothered him too much already. At least compensate for my annoying ass by dating him.”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, “You are so dramatic. And an annoying ass.”

“I’m just saying Yong,” Ten raised his arms up in surrender. “You can’t deny that Jihoon is total
husband material.”

The three were making their way across the campus to the closest cafeteria. This one was
conveniently located in between the architect building and the business building. This was the
usual spot for their friend group ever since Johnny and Ten had declared their undying love for
each other their second year into uni and forced their own friends to become each other’s friends.
Taeyong was livid at the time he found out that he had to spend regular break times around
Jaehyun. Taeyong considered always avoiding group hang outs but he didn’t want to put a strain on
their friends. Besides, he was happy for Ten and Johnny.

Since the situation was a little different now, Taeyong actually didn’t mind the convenience. The
three made their way into the cafeteria to their usual table by the tall windows that let in bright
natural sunlight. The business majors were already there, dressed in their dark business attire. One
of the caveats of their program. Taeyong tried hard not to stare at Jaehyun too much. He hated to
admit it but his secret boyfriend was hot.

Taeyong didn’t know if he should get his eyes checked because he must have been blind all of the
years he declared Jaehyun was bland and uninteresting. Yes, he was a coconut head most of their
childhood but a cute coconut head.

At their usual table was an unfamiliar fourth person. Ten reached the table first and greeted,
“looking good guys.” The four boys were all focused on the laptop in front of Jaehyun. Johnny was
the first to look up followed by the other three pairs of eyes.

Johnny’s face, previously concentrated, broke into a full smile, “hey babe. Saved you a spot.” He
pulled out the empty seat next to him. Taeyong thought Ten would prop himself on Johnny’s lap,
his favorite seat in the world he proclaimed. But with a new person at the table, Taeyong figured
Ten was trying to behave.

“Who is this?” Ten smiled over at the stranger while Taeyong and Doyoung took their seats.

“Hi! I’m Kim Jungwoo,” the blonde boy introduced happily. “I hope you don’t mind me crashing
your lunch.”

“Jungwoo is going to be our fourth person for our senior project,” Yuta explained, eyes back on the
laptop screen.

“It’s only the first day and we’re already working so hard,” Doyoung sighed and pulled out his
own laptop. “I can’t imagine what hell the rest of the semester is going to be like.”
Jungwoo nodded solemnly in agreement.

“Jungwoo, this is my boyfriend Ten. Doyoung. And Taeyong.” Johnny gestured down the table.
Each person offered a polite smile.

Jungwoo smiled, “nice to meet you all.”

Yuta looked up from the laptop, stress evident in his eyes, “guys, I don’t think we will make it out
of Professor Kang’s class alive on top of the senior project. I haven’t even attended his class, just
looked at the syllabus and I want to die. Fuck me.” He dramatically laid his head on the table with
a sigh of defeat.

“Not with that shitty attitude,” Jaehyun teased him, looking away from what he was typing.
“Besides, you’re the one that wanted to join us in business law. I told you Professor Kang’s
workload is killer.”

“I don’t like being left out of things,” Yuta complained, head still on the table.

“We’ll be okay, Yuta-ssi.” Jungwoo said encouragingly. “Besides, if Jaehyun is the leader of our
project, we will do well.” Jungwoo turned to Jaehyun, eyes sparkling in admiration. His hand
gently patted Jaehyun’s side then laid it to rest there.

Taeyong’s eyes stared at the hand for a moment then said, “have a little faith in yourself Jungwoo,
I’m sure you’ll do well. Jaehyun isn’t the only capable person in that class. In fact, Jaehyun has a
lot of other obligations so it’s probably best not to rely on him so much.”

Jaehyun’s eyes met his briefly over the laptop screen. He slowly closed the lid and leaned back on
his chair, Jungwoo’s hand slipping off from the gesture. “Taeyong, I’m sure you, of all people,
know how fully capable I am.”

Taeyong had to pause for a moment. Rewinding what Jaehyun said and analyzing carefully.
Capable. In what context. Was Taeyong overanalyzing? Oh no. Jaehyun has completely corrupted
his innocent mind with his perversion.

He was about to snap something back when Doyoung interrupted, “now, now play nice. We have
company.”

Jungwoo looked at Doyoung curiously.

“Don’t mind these two, they’re always at each other’s throats,” Doyoung explained. “Childhood
rivals or some shit like that.”

Taeyong shot a glare at him.

“Ah I see,” Jungwood laughed. “That’s good to know. I wasn’t sure what kind of relationship you
two had.” Jungwoo looked over at Jaehyun as he said this.

“Trust me,” Doyoung said, “there is no relationship between these two other than mortal enemies.
I’m sure they only put up with each other because we all hang out.”

Johnny and Ten nodded in agreement.

Yuta was too busy sulking in his corner.

Taeyong and Jaehyun shared the smallest of glances, one that would go unnoticed. Taeyong
 wanted to laugh. He used to worry about how difficult it would be to keep his evolving relationship
with Jaehyun a secret. Turns out it was fairly easy since their friends thought they fucking hated
each other.

Chapter End Notes

jaeyong be giving everyone whiplash. I kind of want to do something of a prequel for

the events leading up to jaeyong's internship and the aftermath of the incident lol

thanks for stopping by!

 Will They, Won't They
Chapter Summary

Taeyong and Jaehyun have had many arguments over the years but this was the first
one that seemed like it mattered. Also, Inspector Yuta to the rescue.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The next few weeks were busy for everyone. The architecture majors were in the early stages of
designing their building project while the business majors were outlining their business proposal.
As a result, Taeyong and Jaheyun hadn’t seen much of each other. Taeyong couldn’t believe that
he would ever find himself missing Jeong Jaehyun’s presence. Taeyong remembered vividly doing
anything in his willpower to avoid even breathing the same air as him.

Since their schedules were hectic and their relationship was unknown to everyone, the only time
they really got to see each other was whenever the group decided to hang out together. Most of the
time it was for lunch with everyone typing away at their laptops. Sometimes it was at the nearby
campus cafe where Mark worked part-time. Oftentimes, it was at the library when they could get a
study room big enough to occupy all of them. This is where the group was currently at. Laptops,
notebooks, an array of pens and highlighters sprawled over the long rectangular table that could
comfortably seat ten people.

Taeyong was seated directly across from Jaehyun, both of them exchanging short glances and
small smiles whenever they thought no one was paying attention to them. Taeyong hadn’t had
quality boyfriend time in almost two weeks. Their schedules were busy now that they had their
senior projects on top of their regular classes and extracurriculars. Taeyong was used to having
such a compacted schedule since he was in middle school. He never felt it to be bothersome. But
now that there was a we and not just a he, he couldn’t help but be irritated at all his
responsibilities.

Taeyong wanted to ask Jaehyun over to his place several times but since basketball training had
started, Jaehyun’s been having late nights. Their practice would usually end by eight and then
Jaehyun had his regular course load work to do. Taeyong knew Jaehyun was tired and since he
lived on campus, it was easier to just stay at the frat house than go to his boyfriend’s apartment.
Their business proposal was also occupying his time a lot. According to Ten, he barely got to see
much of Johnny these days too, since Jaehyun had them working at the fraternity house in between
classes. Taeyong knew Jaehyun was the lead of the group and since Taeyong also knew that
Jaehyun was a competitive perfectionist, he knew his boyfriend was probably driving everyone
crazy with revisions.

As the fourth person for their project, Jungwoo was also around more. Currently, he was revising
their report in between Jaehyun and Yuta. Johnny was on Jaehyun’s left with Ten seated next to
him, whispering into his boyfriend’s ear every now and then making Ten giggle. Taeyong envied
them for a moment, wishing he could be openly affectionate with his own boyfriend during times
of high stress too.

“Jaehyun-ssi,” Jungwoo tapped Jaehyun on his shoulder. “Can you look over the edits I made on
page three? I highlighted them so you can find them easy. I’m not too sure on the wording.”

Jaehyun nodded, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Since Taeyong and Jaehyun were mostly speaking to each other through text, Taeyong knew that
Jaehyun appreciated Jungwoo’s competence and efficiency. Since Jungwoo was spending more
time in their circle, Taeyong got to know Jungwoo a little more and concluded that Jungwoo also
seemed to appreciate Jaehyun’s competence and efficiency. Maybe a little too much.

Taeyong couldn’t really resent him for it since it’s not like Taeyong and Jaehyun had made their
relationship public. Jungwoo was a decent guy that wouldn’t try to interfere in someone’s
relationship. But since he was unaware there was any kind of relationship in the first place, the man
was trying to shoot his shot. Taeyong trusted Jaehyun but it was always awkward watching
someone flirt with your boyfriend.

Doyoung’s phone went off alerting him of a message. Doyoung swiped his phone to read and
turned to Taeyong, “hey, Jihoon’s meeting us.”

“Here?” Taeyong asked as there was a soft knock on the study room door. The study room was
completely enclosed with open glass walls and a door.

Jihoon waved from outside and opened the door slowly when Doyoung gestured for him to come
in.

“Jihoon, hi!” Ten said brightly. Using his leg, Ten slid the chair opposite of him out from under the
table. “Have a seat. Yong saved it for you.”

All eyes were on Jihoon who bowed in thanks, nervous with all the newfound attention, “ah thank
you. Nice to see everyone again.”

He slipped off his backpack and took the vacant seat next to Taeyong. He pulled out his laptop and
turned his body fully to face Taeyong, “sorry about last night, I hope I didn’t keep you up too
late.”

A loud cough escaped Jaehyun from across them. Taeyong glanced at him briefly as he patted his
chest with a fist, pretending to clear his throat.

Jihoon took out a hard drive from his backpack and handed it to Taeyong, “I think the file is too big
so I couldn’t send it.”

Taeyong received the item and plugged it into his laptop. “Thanks Jihoon. I’m not sure why I
wasn’t able to finish the design on my side. It kept crashing on me.”

“No problem, I’m happy to help.” Jihoon smiled brightly. “I really liked your ideas of changing the
materials by the way. I think they’d be better resources for the foundation.”

“Yongie, do you think we’re ready to submit the blueprint for review?” Doyoung asked.

“I think so,” Taeyong replied, “we need to look over the written part and make sure the numbers
are accurate.”

Doyoung nodded as he scrolled through a file on his laptop, “I’ll look over them again. Hey Ten,
can you check over the numbers too in case we miss something?”

Ten saluted like a soldier, “no problem boss.”

“I had Minjun send over the calculations last night,” Jihoon said to Taeyong, “sorry he couldn’t
make it today. He has a calc study group.”

“No problem,” Taeyong said as he moved the file from the hard drive and into his own laptop.
“We’ll try to meet up at the same time he’s free before we submit for review.”

“Man, this project is killer. I can’t believe we’re going to be working on this all throughout the
year.” Doyoung sighed. “We should celebrate once we turn in the first draft. Take any celebration
we can get.”

Jihoon nodded, “I’m down.” He looked over at Taeyong, “Yong?”

Taeyong nodded and ejected the hard drive. He handed it over, “sure. Let Minjun know too.”

“I think we’re doing pretty well,” Ten said as he closed the screen of his laptop. “Especially with
Yong and Jihoon. You two are such a power couple.”

Jaehyun, who was hyper focused on his screen, turned at that. Taeyong wanted the earth to
swallow him whole. He couldn’t blame Ten. Ten was that supportive bitch everyone needed in
their life. Since Ten thought Taeyong was going to die as an old maid, he was trying his very best
to set him up with a prospective suitor. That was highly unnecessary since Taeyong was currently
dating the hottest man ever. But no one knew that.

Jihoon smiled at that and looked over at Taeyong, “we make a great team, don’t we?”

Before Taeyong can say anything, Jaehyun spoke up. “I’m surprised you feel that way, Jihoon.
Usually Taeyong is difficult to work with.”

Everyone at the table looked over at Jaehyun whose eyes were still on the laptop screen in front of
him.

“I think Taeyong is great,” Jihoon said earnestly, suddenly feeling protective.

Bless his soul for defending Taeyong’s honor but he really did not need to do that.

Especially not from Jaehyun.

“You two make a great pair,” Jungwoo interjected from his seat with a smile.

Taeyong raised an eyebrow at that.

“Don’t they?” Ten smiled mischievously, reminiscent of the cheshire cat. He wiggled his eyebrows
at Taeyong knowingly. Taeyong shot him a look that said shut up, Ten . Ten must have
misinterpreted his message because he gave a thumbs up in return, obviously thinking he was
killing it as a wingman.

“Excuse me a minute,” Jaehyun said as he got out of his seat. He left all of his belongings on the
table and walked out of the study room, leaving everyone staring after him. The silence lasted for a
moment until Johnny turned to Yuta to ask a question about his part of the proposal. Just like that,
everyone went back to their work, talking amongst themselves.

Taeyong waited a good four minutes before excusing himself to use the restroom. He walked
through the large library, all the study tables outside were occupied by busy students. Taeyong
made his way out of the front entrance and down the hall where the vending machines were.
Jaehyun was standing in front of one of the drink machines, thinking hard about what he would
select.

Taeyong looked around before he called out softly, “Jaehyunie?”

Jaehyun spared him a brief glance and then turned back to his drink machine, his index finger
dancing over a few selections until he decided on a bottled iced Americano coffee. He waited for
the drink machine to light up and come to life before carefully dispensing it out. Jaehyun picked up
the bottle and turned to Taeyong, “don’t you need to go work with your boyfriend or something?”

Taeyong frowned.

Jaehyun sounded so cold.

Different from the fake back and forth banter they were putting up as a facade for the sake of their
friends. Even different from the real arguments they would have as self-proclaimed enemies who
despised each other.

It was a different tone that Taeyong wasn’t used to.

“Are you upset?” Taeyong asked, eyes scanning over Jaehyun’s face. Jaehyun avoided his gaze,
expression unreadable.

“I’m fine,” Jaehyun sighed and opened his drink to take a gulp.

“Jaehyunie–” Taeyong started but was cut off.

“I said I’m fine,Taeyong,” Jaehyun snapped, tone a little too harsh.

Something flipped inside Taeyong. A familiar feeling of agitation that he hadn’t felt in quite a
while. Whenever one of them would snap, it felt just like a single match being thrown into a forest
quickly burning everything in its path. Wildfire.

“Okay, I don’t know why you’re being an asshole right now,” Taeyong glared, voice raising a
little.

“Me?” Jaehyun scoffed, eyes finally meeting him.

It surprised Taeyong to see the familiar anger in his eyes that he hadn’t seen since they started
officially dating. Jaehyun’s eyes were usually playful, almost childlike. They sparkled whenever
they saw Taeyong. They turned into half moons whenever he was teasing him. Since dating,
Jaehyun’s eyes were less guarded, more vulnerable.

But now they were cold, rigid and defensive.

Taeyong wanted to say something mean back, hurting Jaehyun like how he hurt him. But he
refrained himself. He had spent years arguing with Jaehyun. Arguing over stupid stuff like who got
to sit at what side of the dinner table whenever their families ate at restaurants. Arguing over more
serious stuff like the ethical topics in their high school humanities class. Arguing over petty things
like their bad attitudes and snide remarks. Taeyong was always ready to argue with Jaehyun, any
place and any time.

Their mothers used to say they never ran out of arguments because their fathers were lawyers and
they spent a lot of their childhood in their office. But instead of working on winning cases with one
another like their fathers did, they were too busy winning cases against each other.
For the first time, Taeyong didn’t want to fight with Jaehyun. This was their first fight as
boyfriends. Taeyong wasn’t sure how vicious he could be without crossing the line. It was easier
when they were just acquaintances, not even considered friends, because they could say whatever
the hell they wanted with no repercussions. Whatever Jaehyun would hash out, Taeyong would
hash it out ten times harder.

The lack of response must have caused the brakes in Jaehyun’s head to slam. He said in a softer
tone, “I need to get back in and get my stuff. I have to go to class in a few… I have basketball
practice tonight, but I’ll text you later okay?”

His eyes searched Taeyong’s, silently asking if they were okay. Jaehyun looked worried and
uncertain.

Taeyong tried to nod reassuringly, “okay.”

Later that evening, Taeyong was typing away on his laptop to complete a research paper that was
due soon. It was almost nine and Jaehyun still hadn’t texted him since their dispute. Taeyong didn’t
bother texting him either. Whenever they got into fights before, they would say some harsh things
and ignore each other for the next few days. Neither of them felt guilty for anything they said or
did. They did feel bad for making their friends feel uncomfortable so they tried not to let it affect
their friend group. Eventually they would stop ignoring each other once the other did something
worth complaining about. Then the cycle would repeat.

No one ever apologized or even showed slight remorse.

They never expected the other to either.

The circumstances were a little different now.

Taeyong wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn’t want to be upset with Jaehyun but as he
analyzed their conversation earlier, he had every right to be. Usually Taeyong would admit that
anything Jaehyun did would set him off. Even something small and miniscule. He would admit that
sometimes he picked fights to pick fights even if he was in the wrong. Taeyong wasn’t sure if he
was going to be stubborn about this. But he feared that being stubborn might push Jaehyun away
and he did not want that.

Taeyong sighed, leaning back in his chair. He was seated at his small dining table. His back was
starting to hurt from sitting upright for the past two hours. He stood up and stretched out his arms
then checked his phone. No new notifications.

Taeyong frowned.

He could always text Jaehyun first but Jaehyun said he would text.

Taeyong sighed and decided that if Jaehyun didn’t text him before he would fall asleep then he
would at least send him a goodnight message. They were still boyfriends after all.

Taeyong placed his phone back on the table and walked over to his kitchen to grab a glass of water.
Just then, a buzz came from his front door. Taeyong’s heartbeat picked up as he set the glass on the
counter. He figured it could only be one person this late.

He opened the door to see Jaehyun standing there with a paper bag of takeout food and a hesitant
smile on his face. “Hi,” he said in a voice just above a whisper

Taeyong stepped aside and gestured for him to come in. “Hey.”

Jaehyun walked in and held up the takeout he was carrying, “did you eat already? I brought
chicken. The guys wanted to eat out after practice today but I really wanted to see you.”

“Oh, thanks,” Taeyong nodded as he closed the door, the alarm tone going off indicating it was
locked. “I ate already but I’ll join you. You must be hungry.”

Taeyong made his way to his kitchen to pull out bottles of Soju and water. He walked over to his
sofa and placed the drinks on the coffee table in front of him. Jaehyun followed him, hesitantly
sitting next to him and careful to keep a foot of space in between. He set the food on the table and
slowly began unpacking it from the paper bag.

Once the food was all set, Jaehyun stared down at his hands as Taeyong fiddled with the
chopsticks he was given. Taeyong was about to open his container of rice when Jaehyun spoke up.
“I’m sorry about earlier. You were right, I was an asshole.”

Taeyong turned to face him and saw a look on Jaehyun’s face that he had never seen despite all the
years they’ve known each other. Remorse.

“I was being a dick because I felt irritated that our friends didn’t know about us,” Jaehyun
continued. “I snapped at you when you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Jaehyunie,” Taeyong said softly.

“I just–I know you wanted to keep this a secret and I agreed to it at the beginning but Taeyong, I’m
really ready to tell anyone and everyone that we’re dating. That you’re mine and I’m yours,”
Jaehyun turned to look at him.

Taeyong felt horrible. Of course Jaehyun would want to go public sooner than him. How idiotic
was he to think that Jeong Jaehyun would want to keep their relationship a secret? He was a
romantic at heart. A dutiful and dedicated boyfriend. He was probably over being kept in the
shadows. But was Taeyong really ready to go public?

“I’m sorry Jaehyunie, I … just… I don’t know. This is my first serious relationship and after years
of hating you, I’m still trying to navigate this.” Taeyong bit his lip, an unfamiliar feeling bubbling
in his throat. Shit, was he going to cry? Years of fighting, arguing, and saying the nastiest things to
each other and never once did Taeyong ever cry. “But it’s not fair to you and I understand if you
don’t want to wait around anymore.”

Jaehyun’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as he saw Taeyong’s large dark eyes water, “wait, hey hey,
baby, what?” He pulled Taeyong into his lap, wrapping his arms around him to have them facing
each other. “I don’t want to not wait around. That’s not what I’m saying. You know I only ever
want to do what you want to do. If you want us to continue keeping it a secret then I’m okay with
that. I promise. I’d rather have you any way I can than not.”

Taeyong’s heart clenched at that.

Swoon.
Jeong Jaehyun was going to be the death of him.

He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on Jaehyun’s mouth. “I don’t want you to be upset
over dumb things though,” he said as he pulled away.

“I’m working on it,” Jaehyun sighed, eyes following Taeyong’s lips. “I don’t know why I got so
upset today but it did make me realize that I’m in this relationship for the long haul and I only want
to do what you’re comfortable with.” He kissed Taeyong’s forehead gently.

“It won’t be much longer,” Taeyong said, “let me just sort these thoughts out okay?”

Jaehyun nodded, observing Taeyong’s eyes if they were dry. “You’ve always been more calculated
than I am.”

“You’ve always been more confident and sure.”

“And impulsive,” Jaehyun pecked Taeyong’s nose and pulled back. “If Ten brings up you and
Jihoon being a good couple again, I’m going to smack him.”

Taeyong chuckled, wrapping his arms around Jaehyun’s neck, “Johnny wouldn’t let you.”

Jaehyun’s arms circled tighter around Taeyong’s waist, “I’ll fight him too if I have to,” he joked.

Taeyong leaned forward to press a quick peck on Jaehyun’s temple. “I can’t believe I would live to
see the day that Jeong Jaehyun would apologize to me. Wasn’t seventeen year old Jaehyunie going
around saying that apology was for the weak?”

Jaehyun laughed and hugged him tighter, “Well baby, I’m definitely weak for you.”

Taeyong groaned in embarrassment but was secretly pleased, “Jaehyunie!” He whined as Jaehyun
laughed, about to tease him for his red cheeks when Taeyong captured his lips. Jaehyun’s laughs
disappeared and were replaced with intense kissing. They hadn’t really seen each other in over a
week so they were making up for lost time.

Jaehyun pulled Taeyong higher up on his lap, grip on his thigh tight as his tongue poked into
Taeyong’s mouth. Taeyong let out a moan as he felt Jaehyun’s other hand reach for his bottom,
squeezing. Taeyong pulled away as Jaehyun moved to leave kisses down his neck.
“Jae..Jaehyunie..” Taeyong gasped as Jaehyun sucked lightly on his collarbone. “The food is
getting cold. You need to eat first.”

Jaehyun pulled away to place a gentle kiss on Taeyong’s lips. “True, I do need to keep up my
strength for the night we’re about to have,” he smiled innocently, dimples on display.

What a little shit.

Taeyong rolled his eyes and smacked his chest. “Don’t be a pervert, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun let out a laugh as he pressed gentle kisses on Taeyong’s jaw. “By the way, I never want to
see you cry because of me.” His mouth made his way by Taeyong’s ear and whispered hotly,
“unless we’re in bed.”

“ Jeong Jaehyun !”
Taeyong was meeting up with Jeno in the campus cafe one evening. Jeno, who made it into the
basketball team, had practice in about an hour and wanted to spend the hour with his hyung. The
two were seated at a corner table, the whole room busy with late afternoon coffee goers and
students who had evening lectures.

“Finally, you decide to show your face Jeno-yah, I was starting to think the only time I would see
you was in the family video call,” Taeyong teased as he sipped his coffee.

Jeno rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his green tea, “I’m sorry hyung. But you’re not the easiest
person to meet up with either, you know.”

“Being in my last year is kind of crazy,” Taeyong admitted, “there’s a deadline for everything.
Doie made Ten and I a time table of everything we need to get done from now until graduation.”

“Sounds fun,” Jeno said sarcastically, “I hope you’re taking care of yourself though.”

“I am,” Taeyong said, “how are you doing anyway?”

“Good, I’ve been enjoying my lectures so far and Hyuck and I made a roommate agreement,” Jeno
said.

“A roommate agreement?”

“Yeah, just some basic stuff so we don’t step on each other’s toes. Especially in such a small space
where our beds are literally four feet apart.”

Taeyong nodded, “have you made any new friends?”

“Kind of, I hang out with Mark and Sungchan a lot since I’m on the team,” Jeno answered,
“sometimes we all hang out with Hyuck and Jaeminnie.”

“Jaeminnie?”

“Yeah, he’s a boy I met in my psych lecture. Turns out, he’s Hyuck’s best friend from high school.
Small world. He’s cool, he comes over to the dorm sometimes and we play games” Jeno nodded.

“Oh?” Taeyong raised an eyebrow, noting traces of a small smile on Jeno’s lips as he mentioned
this Jaeminie. “Does my little Lee have a crush?”

Jeno’s eyes widened, “what? No. Why would you say that?”

“Your eyes lit up when you mentioned him,” Taeyong pointed out, leaning forward on his folded
arms. “So what’s up with you two?”

“Nothing,” Jeno insisted. “He’s Hyuck’s best friend.”

“Is he cute?”

“What does that matter?”

“So he’s ugly?”

“He is not ugly!” Jeno retorted rather too quickly then glared, realizing he fell into his hyung’s
trap.

“Have you asked him out?”

Jeno surrendered, there was no winning with Taeyong. Taeyong was so much like their dad.
Despite their father being a sought-after lawyer, Jeno was terrible at arguing and always felt
stressed whenever he had to lie. Their mother always said this was Jeno’s best quality.

“We went out for barbecue once without Hyuck,” Jeno admitted, “sometimes he comes over to
watch my basketball practice if he doesn’t have anything to do.”

“He must like you if he stays around for almost two hours while you practice,” Taeyong pointed
out, leaning his left cheek in his hand.

“A lot of people watch the practice,” Jeno said, “you know Jae hyung’s new friend Jungwoo has
been coming over from time to time. Sometimes Ten and Johnny stop by too. You’re the only one
who doesn’t, hyung.”

Taeyong recounted what Jeno said. “Jungwoo watches your practices?”

“Sometimes,” Jeno shrugged, “I think he waits for Jae hyung so they can go to the frat house after.
I think he might be interested in Jae hyung actually. Or maybe they’re just very focused on that
project they’re working on.”

Taeyong wanted to smack Jeno for saying all of this. But again, it’s not like Jeno knew his brother
was dating Jaehyun. Taeyong now understood where Jaehyun was coming from the other day. It
sucked having to hear about your significant other being paired off with someone else.

“Fine Jeno-yah, you wore me out, I’ll go check out your practice.” Taeyong finished his drink and
checked his watch, “we should go actually since we don’t wanna be late. I have my car. I’ll drive
us and we’ll be there in five minutes max.”

“Wait, what?” Jeno let out a confused yelp. “You can’t come today.”

“And why not?” Taeyong raised an eyebrow.

“Well, Jaeminnie is going to be there today,” he admitted, face red.

“Perfect! I’ll get to meet him too,” Taeyong said and stood up, taking his and Jeno’s empty drinks
to throw out in a nearby trash can. “Let’s go Jeno-yah.”

Once the two Lee brothers made it to the school’s gymnasium, some of the players were already
warming up. Taeyong scanned the court for Jaehyun but he wasn’t there yet. Mark and Sungchan
were on the court already, passing the ball to one another. They saw Jeno enter and waved.

Jeno looked over at his brother, “I’m going to head to the court soon. Will you be okay by
yourself?”

“Sure,” Taeyong scanned the bleachers, “where’s Jaeminnie?”

“Jaemin,” Jeno corrected, “his name is Jaemin. Don’t call him Jaeminie and please don’t embarrass
me, hyung.”

“Jeno!” a voice called out excitedly.

Taeyong and Jeno both turned to see a lean boy with dyed pink hair. He smiled brightly, showing
off his perfect teeth. Jeno’s eyes lit up and waved at him. “Jaeminnie, hey!”

Jaemin walked to where they were standing, “I brought you a pre-practice snack.” He lifted a small
bento box and a bottle of water.

“Wow, thank you,” Jeno bowed graciously and accepted it. “I’ll eat it well. This is my hyung by
the way, Taeyong.”

Taeyong gave him a small wave, “nice to meet you. I’m disappointed this is our first time meeting.
Please call me hyung”

Jaemin’s smile stayed on his face as he let out a laugh, “hello Taeyong hyung. I’m Na Jaemin.”

“Where do you usually sit when you watch Jeno practice? Do you mind if I join you today?”

“Not at all, please do.” Jaemin responded and spared a glance at Jeno.

Jeno looked nervously between his brother and Jaemin. “I need to get on the court. I’ll see you
guys later at break. Jaeminnie, thank you for the food really.” He waved goodbye to both of them,
but his eyes never left Jaemin.

Taeyong knew that look. His brother was whipped.

“Let’s take our seats, Taeyong hyung?” Jaemin asked and gestured for the bleachers. Taeyong
nodded and was about to move to follow him when the front doors of the gymnasium swung open
loudly and let in Yuta’s boisterous laugh.

Jaemin and Taeyong turned to see Yuta walking in his practice jersey with Jaehyun, who wore a
hoodie over his uniform. His hood was pulled up over his head and his hands were stuffed into the
center pocket. Yuta spotted Taeyong and walked over to him, Jaehyun following. “Hey Yong!
What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to support Jeno,” Taeyong answered, briefly glancing at Jaehyun’s questioning eyes.

Yuta nodded at that then turned to Jaemin, “oh hey Jaemin. Here to support loverboy too?”

Taeyong looked back at Jaemin whose face was heating up, “Hi Yuta hyung, uh… well…”

“Don’t tease him,” Taeyong chuckled lightly, noting how red Jaemin’s face was getting. He was
adorable. Jeno better not screw this up.

“Right, right, I was already busy terrorizing cap over here,” Yuta clapped a hand on Jaehyun’s
shoulder. “Taeyong, I hope you’re ready to fight with Jaehyun less because our boy is busy now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cap over here was sporting a nice dark hickey on his neck. He’s seeing someone! No wonder he’s
always missing in action whenever Johnny and I want to link up and go on multiplayer,” Yuta
smiled mischievously. “I would show you, Yong, but I value my limbs and know Jae is going to rip
them off pretty soon.”

Taeyong felt his face flush.

Yes, Jaehyun was seeing someone.

Him .

And Taeyong was an idiot for leaving his marks.

On the night that Jaehyun had come over to apologize with his chicken, the pair got a little carried
away in their nightly activities. They were a little buzzed from the soju and too drunk off each
other. Jaehyun had to swallow Taeyong’s desperate pleas with kisses while they rolled around in
Taeyong’s sheets. Taeyong tried his best to keep his marks below the neck line but now that he
thought about it, he did leave a mark on the space where Jaehyun’s neck meets his shoulder. That
was probably during their second round when Taeyong was straddling his boyfriend.

“That’s enough,” Jaehyun shook Yuta’s arm off him and walked onto the court, “hey guys, let’s
get ready. Line up. Practice starts in two minutes.” He called to his team, captain mode turned on.

Yuta shook his head then looked back at Taeyong, “I’m curious to know who has captured our
beloved Jae’s heart. You know the guy’s very intense. This person must be crazy.”

Taeyong’s throat ran dry and wondered for a moment if Yuta knew more than he let on. Yuta was
very easy going and easily confused. But maybe he knew more than he appeared, a double agent of
some sort.

“I hope it’s the pretty barista who works at the campus cafe so we can get free drinks,” Yuta
nodded to himself like it was the best idea he’d heard all day.

Nah. Yuta was a lot of things but a double agent was not one of them.

All the friends finally had time to meet up at the end of the week. Any time that any of them could
catch a break, they would happily do so. It was Friday when they were all seated in a sushi
restaurant that Johnny and Ten had invited them out to. Turns out, the pair were celebrating their
second year anniversary and wanted their friends to tag along.

“You two didn’t want to have a private dinner?” Doyoung asked as he picked up his sake sushi.

“We’re going to be checking into a hotel tomorrow morning,” Ten answered. “Johnny planned a
whole weekend getaway.”

“Good work, Johnny,” Yuta said as he placed down his drink. “Now, what have you found out so
far about the situation ?” Yuta’s eyes darted to Jaehyun briefly then back to Johnny.

“What are you two going on about?” Doyoung asked as he dipped his sushi roll into his soy sauce
dish.

Taeyong almost choked on his tamago roll.

“Yuta, over here, thinks Jae is dating,” Johnny replied, his arm going around Ten’s chair.

Jaehyun looked up from his plate, eyes meeting Taeyong’s secretly as everyone was too focused on
Johnny. Taeyong lowered his head in shame. Since Yuta’s revelation over the mark on Jaehyun’s
neck, Jaehyun has been relentlessly teasing his boyfriend over it.
I thought you wanted to keep this a secret baby?

My boyfriend is so cute and possessive.

Baby, next time place it up higher.

Do you want a matching one?

Jaehyun would mercilessly tease Taeyong until he was as red as a tomato.

“I don’t think , I know,” Yuta said and turned to Jaehyun. “You’ve never had a mark on your
perfect skin for as long as I’ve known you and I’ve known you since first year basketball tryouts.”

“Perfect skin?” Doyoung raised an eyebrow in question.

“Have you seen his skin?” Yuta asked and pointed a finger at Jaehyun’s cheek, “these are little
mochi cakes I tell you. Smooth and clear.”

“Okay,” Johnny nodded, “but where would Jae find the time to be dating someone? He’s busier
than ever this year.”

“Any rebuttal, Jae?” Yuta turned to his friend.

Jaehyun shook his head, “I really don’t.” He flagged a waitress down for more water. “In fact, I’m
curious as to what crazy theory you come up with.”

“Awesome, that means we have his approval to investigate, Johnny,” Yuta and Johnny high-fived
over the table.

“Okay, is it a guy or a girl?” Yuta asked and pulled out his phone. He opened his notes app and
began diligently typing like a journalist.

“I thought you two would do the investigating,” Jaehyun said as he sipped on his water.

“At least give us something to start with,” Yuta complained, “all I know is your mystery person
has an affinity for love bites. So, for all I know, you’re dating a vampire.”

“Fine, it’s a guy,” Jaehyun answered.

Johnny wolf-whistled. “Damn, I thought he was going to make us work for it more.”

Yuta was furiously tapping away at his screen, “but Johnny, that doesn’t give us much to work
with. Jae has a long list of admirers that include men and women. No person is immune to this
asshole’s charm.”

“Except Taeyong,” Ten piped up, looking at his best friend.

Yuta nodded, “don’t worry, Ten. Yong is the last person I would put on my list of suspects.” He
snorted and caught Taeyong’s eye. “Don’t take it personal, Yong. I respect you too much. I just
know you would rather eat your own hair than be caught dating this guy.” He jutted out a thumb in
Jaehyun's direction.

Jaehyun had the most shit eating grin on his face and chuckled, “you are so right, Yuta. Taeyong
would rather die than date me.”

What a little shit.

 Taeyong shot him a glare from across the table and this time, this exchange didn’t have to be done
in private. Their friends would assume it was just the usual glare they would throw each other
every now and then.

“So who are your suspects?” Doyoung asked Johnny and Yuta.

“Yeah, who are my potential lovers?” Jaehyun asked teasingly. He was enjoying this a little too
much.

Yuta looked down at his phone screen and began speaking like he was giving a class presentation,
“Mingyu from econ.”

Johnny nodded as if it made perfect sense, “he’s handsome and on the soccer team. I feel like Jae
likes people who have the same things in common with him.”

Jaehyun stared at his friends in amusement.

“My next suspect is Namgung from business law. He’s one of the top students in business law and
is always lending Jae his notes,” Yuta continued. “That’s all I have for now. I’m trying to narrow it
down to handsome, smart, and people Jae regularly interacts with”

“What about Jungwoo?” Ten asked, head tilting.

“What about him?” Yuta asked.

“He’s handsome, smart, and he and Jae have been spending a lot of time this semester,” Ten
pointed out as Yuta took notes diligently. Johnny and Doyoung nodded like the idea was fool
proof.

Taeyong wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Their friends were taking this seriously
enough to write notes.

“Good work team. We have narrowed it down,” Yuta nodded then turned to Jaehyun, “we are one
step closer to finding out who your secret lover is.”

Jaehyun let out a laugh, “whatever you say.”

As their friends went back to discussing who of the three would be the most suitable to fit the
description of Jaehyun’s boyfriend.

Chapter End Notes

thank you so much for all the kudos/comments! I'm happy you're enjoying this chaos.
 Reveal
Chapter Summary

The little Lee's birthday gathered everyone to Taeyong's apartment for a fun night of
music, games, drinks, and an interrogation?

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The loud music bounced off the walls of the dance studio Taeyong and Ten were in. They just got
word that their dance instructor wanted the dance team to host a spring showcase to welcome the
new members. Their instructor created a performance line up and the students were responsible for
choreographing. Usually Ten and Taeyong would be in almost every performance but since they
were busy with their capstone project and preparing for graduation, they opted to do one group
performance with the team and one duet.

As the music stopped, Ten was breathing heavily, hands on his hips. “Not bad, Yongie. I think we
got this.”

Taeyong nodded, pushing his bangs out of his face with a hand. “I think we should just change the
move at the last verse? What do you think?”

Ten went over the moves quickly in front of the mirror, mouthing to the song, “maybe move our
shoulders the same direction, do the spin, meet each other in the middle then do the jump opposite
directions?”

Ten began showing Taeyong what he was talking about as he moved his body. Taeyong stood
amazed. Ten was an incredible dancer and really knew how to convey emotions with movement.

When Ten stopped dancing, Taeyong applauded lightly. “Great, let’s do that.”

Ten walked over to his phone to restart the song that was playing through the studio’s speakers.
They got into positions, standing in front of the mirror covered wall as the music filled the room.

An hour later, the two grabbed their bags and headed out the studio as the next set of students came
in for practice. Taeyong wiped the sweat off his forehead. “You wanna grab some dinner?” They
walked out of the long hall of the arts building. The sun was just about to set, rosy pink cloud
streaks danced across the sky.

“Sure, but can we just do takeout and bring it to Johnny’s?” Ten’s eyes widened, showing his
overexaggerated puppy eyes. “I promised him I’d see him tonight since I hadn’t seen him since our
weekend getaway last week! They’re submitting their business proposal draft soon so Jae has them
working overtime.”

Taeyong knew since he hadn’t seen Jaehyun in almost three days. His poor boyfriend was too busy
finalizing their draft. They video called every night but Taeyong couldn’t help missing him. Which
was ridiculous since he went four years without seeing or talking to Jaehyun. Dating Jeong Jaehyun
had turned him soft.
They stopped by Taeyong’s apartment to take a quick shower and change, not wanting to be going
out and about in their sweaty practice clothes. Taeyong felt loads better after his warm shower,
slipping on a soft pink hoodie and some black sweatpants.

Ten, who was already showered and dressed, was typing away on his phone when Taeyong came
into the living room. “Perfect timing! I ordered pizza. It should be ready in about 15 minutes.”

Taeyong nodded and grabbed his car keys and wallet, “who are we feeding?” He asked as he
slipped on his shoes, Ten following behind him. The two made their way out of Taeyong’s
apartment and to the elevator.

“Us and Johnny. Jae and Yuta are there too. I think Jungwoo maybe,” Ten answered as the elevator
took them to the apartment parking garage. “By the way, do you think Jungwoo is going to join our
friend group?”

Taeyong paused for a moment just as the elevator doors slid open. A young married couple was
waiting to enter as they exited. Taeyong followed after Ten a little more slowly. “Why do you ask
that?” He asked and fished his key out of his pocket.

“I don’t know, since he’s been hanging out with Jae more often,” Ten shrugged, “he’s my
contender for Jae’s secret lover.”

Right.

For the past week, Yuta has gone all detective mode since he declared he would find the identity of
the culprit who marked Jaehyun’s neck with a kiss. Yuta was very passionate about whatever he
was interested in. Whether it was music, his anime, or basketball. Turns out, he was very
passionate about Jaehyun’s love life. In return, he got Johnny, Ten, and even Doyoung invested.

This was what their group chat was mostly filled with.

Observations . Yuta liked to call them. They were mostly accusations and whining that he wasn’t
making any progress. After narrowing it down to the three suspects, Yuta had decided to do more
investigating. And by investigating, Yuta mostly cornered them and asked if they were dating
Jaehyun.

One of his theories was shut down when he discovered Mingyu had a long time girlfriend. Yuta
had caught him after his soccer practice and was immediately disappointed when he saw Mingyu’s
actual girlfriend waiting for him.

Yuta frequently shared his little anecdotes in the group chat.

To which Taeyong ignored and Jaehyun would respond with a laughing emoji.

Everyone else was more invested as they responded with their theories and suggestions. Johnny
had suggested that he would talk to Namgung at their next business law class.

“Do you really think Jaehyun has a secret lover?” Taeyong asked as he unlocked his BMW doors.
They both got inside, Taeyong pressing the start button on his car and waited for the engine to roar
to life, his dashboard’s screen lighting up.

“Well, he did have a hickey and Johnny said sometimes he’s not in his room at night,” Ten
adjusted the passenger’s air conditioning vent to face him.

“What if he’s just sleeping around?” Taeyong tried as he pulled his car out of his parking stall.
“Maybe, but you know Yuta was saying that Jae has been cutting basketball practice shorter these
past few weeks,” Ten noted and drummed his fingers against the leather door panels. “Usually he’d
force them to do drills until nine at night. But most nights they end at eight. Jae also leaves right
after practice but doesn’t immediately head back to the frat house So even if he’s just sleeping
around, he’s doing it pretty consistently.”

Taeyong could not believe what he was hearing.

Their friends were insane.

“And you think it’s Jungwoo?” Taeyong asked as he turned the corner to see the pizza place in the
nearby distance.

“Well, it could be, they have okay chemistry plus Jungwoo is really nice,” Ten answered.

Taeyong frowned, “what makes you say they have good chemistry?”

“They talk often and are friendly,” Ten shrugged, “I think something could develop between them.
You know, they work mostly in Jaehyun’s room. Sometimes Johnny says that Jungwoo stays later
than him and Yuta. What if they’re getting it on once everyone goes to sleep?!” Ten squealed in
excitement, clapping like a seal.

Taeyong’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. He was going to have a word with his boyfriend
about this later.

Once they picked up the pizza, they made their way to the fraternity house. Taeyong parked his car
behind Jaehyun’s black Mercedes. Ten insisted on carrying the four boxes of pizza while Taeyong
carried the milk teas they bought for everyone. They were let into the house by an unnamed pledge
then made their way upstairs to Jaehyun’s room. Taeyong hadn’t been in Jaehyun’s room in
awhile. Not since they started officially dating. There was really no privacy in the frat house
despite Jaehyun having his own space.

Ten knocked on the door lightly with his shoe. Johnny opened it with a smile, “I don’t remember
my last pizza boy being this cute.” Johnny grabbed the boxes and dropped a soft kiss on the top of
Ten’s head. Ten smiled and followed in after him.

Taeyong stood by the door for a moment then joined in, walking down the little hallway that had
Jaehyun’s closet and bathroom, to the main part of his room. His boyfriend’s room was how he
remembered it, dark blue walls with gray curtains and bedding. Jaehyun had a large window
opposite the hallway with a loveseat pushed under the windowsill. A queen sized mattress in the
center of the room, placed in front of a flat screen television that was mounted on the wall. He had
a night stand on one side of his bed holding his record player that was currently playing a soft tune
that Taeyong recognized. He had a desk alongside the wall of his bathroom, right next to the main
entrance. Jaehyun preferred cool lights to warm lights, his lamps giving off low white hues. His
room smelled like fresh laundry. It was very Jaehyun.

Jaehyun was seated at his desk looking at his laptop. Yuta was sprawled on Jaehyun’s bed, flipping
through sheets of paper. Jungwoo was seated on the loveseat with his laptop. Johnny seemed to be
working on the floor since his laptop was on the edge of the bed alongside his phone.

“Wow, you guys are really busy,” Ten commented.

Jaehyun looked up at the voice, not noticing the new presence in his space. His eyes softened when
he saw how fluffy Taeyong looked in his pink hoodie.
“Jae, where can we put the food?” Johnny asked, looking around for possible solutions.

Jaehyun got out of his seat and walked past Taeyong, brushing against his arm. He came back
seconds later with a foldable table. He pulled out the legs and propped it on the floor, the table
reaching the same height as Jaehyun’s bed.

Johnny placed the pizzas on top while Ten grabbed the drinks from Taeyong to set them down.
Johnny took his seat on the floor next to the food and Ten joined him. Taeyong stood awkwardly,
not really knowing where to sit. Jaehyun’s room was bigger than most rooms in the frat house. But
it wasn’t really big enough to comfortably host six adults.

Jaehyun sat back on his desk chair and caught Taeyong’s eye, patting his lap subtly to tease his
boyfriend. Taeyong tried not to show any reaction as he stayed firmly in his place.

Johnny stood up, Ten following suit, “I’m just going to get Ten’s jacket from my room. You guys
can start. We’ll be right back.”

The pair left the room.

“Yong, can you help me get plates and napkins downstairs?” Yuta said as he sat up and stood,
putting on his slippers.

Taeyong raised an eyebrow but shrugged and followed, leaving Jungwoo and Jaehyun in the room.

Once they were outside the room, Yuta grabbed Taeyong’s arm and whispered, “Oh my god,
Yong, we did it. Fuck, I am so smart. Johnny thought this plan was going to be stupid but he still
went along with it.”

Yuta was talking a mile a minute, Taeyong trying to catch up. Before Taeyong could respond, he
pulled Taeyong into Johnny’s room next door where Ten and Johnny were waiting. Ten’s
excitement matched Yuta’s but Johnny seemed to only be playing along to appease his boyfriend.

“Okay what’s the plan now?” Johnny asked and sat on the edge of his bed.

“I don’t know,” Yuta’s smile faded a little, “I honestly didn’t think we would get this far.”

“What are we even doing?” Taeyong asked and sat next to Johnny.

Ten and Yuta shared a mischievous look. Ten answered, “we are trying to see if Jungwoo is Jae’s
secret lover.”

Taeyong gulped, “by doing what?”

“Well, they’re alone right now,” Yuta said, pacing back and forth. “The mood music is playing.
The lights are dimmed. We left them alone in an intimate space. They won’t know when we’ll be
back. We’ll wait it out at least ten minutes and then burst in. Just watch. We’ll catch them in the
act.”

Ten nodded.

Taeyong looked over at Johnny who shrugged, “I thought it was stupid but his other plan was just
to corner Jungwoo and ask him. We still need the guy for the rest of the school year so I rather he
not hate our fucking guts.”

Yuta shook his head, “I thought that plan was better. Quicker results.”
Taeyong sighed and went to check his phone. Just then, a message popped up on his screen from
Jaehyun.

Baby? Where are you guys?

Taeyong shook his head and began typing.

We’re hiding in Johnny’s room.

Yuta has the bright idea that if we stay away long enough

we’ll catch u and jungwoo in the act.

Wtf Yuta

He’s determined

Should i feed into his stupid theory by sitting next to Woo or something?

Don’t you dare, Jaehyun.

Taeyong didn’t mean to hit send but he couldn’t help his knee jerk reaction. He knew Jaehyun
would laugh at him for this.

Aww don’t be jealous baby

You know you’re my one and only

 Mhmm

Baby pls

Why don’t I go see what Jihoon is doing tonight

Lee Taeyong.

Jk Jaehyunie

You know you’re my one and only

You’re a menace

Your menace

Mhmm

But really, I’m starting to get hungry wtf Yuta

They made their way back to Jaehyun’s room after eight long minutes. Yuta insisted on waiting ten
but Johnny was getting impatient and hungry. Yuta and Ten led the way, barging the door open in
hopes of finally revealing Jaehyun's mysterious lover. Unluckily for them, Jaehyun and Jungwoo
were still in their previous spots, Jaehyun’s focus on the laptop in front of him while Jungwoo was
scrolling on his phone aimlessly.

They both looked up to the sound of Yuta’s heavy breathing. As his eyes darted around the room
for anything suspicious, his shoulder sagged slightly.

Jaehyun raised an eyebrow, “so where are the plates?”

As April rolled around, Jeno’s birthday was coming up and Taeyong wanted to celebrate his little
brother’s first birthday away from home. Away from home was an exaggeration since their
parents’ home was only an hour drive away from the campus. But still, Jeno’s birthday was on a
Thursday and they wouldn’t be driving home until Saturday to celebrate as a family.

“We should do something for your birthday, Jeno-yah,” Taeyong insisted as he scrambled some
eggs in a pan. Jeno had slept over last night since it was the weekend and they hadn’t had quality
Lee brother bonding time in awhile. Just like old times, the two stayed up watching whatever was
the current trending show and ordered chicken.

Jeno, who was setting the table, shrugged, “I don’t particularly care, hyung. We can celebrate with
eomma and appa on the weekend.”

Taeyong frowned and turned off the stove, “Jeno-yah, you’re turning twenty. You’re an adult now.
Let’s at least do something small here?”

Jeno took his seat and poured him and Taeyong each a glass of water. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Jeno-yah,” Taeyong snapped, using his hyung voice. “We’re having a party whether you like it or
not. You can invite your friends over if you want.”

Jeno smiled, eyes turning into half moons as Taeyong served him his eggs and toast. “Fine hyung.
Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?”

“No trouble at all.”

“If you say so. We can have a small get together here.”

“Great, who do you want to invite?”

“Can we invite some of the members from basketball?” Jeno asked. Much to Taeyong’s dismay,
Jeno has become a total jock since joining the team. Jeno regularly talked about sports and even
wanted to watch basketball games from their country’s official team. He was also spending a lot
more time with his basketball team members. Taeyong checked with Jaehyun, they were all decent
guys who wouldn’t corrupt the little Lee.

“Sure,” Taeyong responded with a nod as he took a bite into his toast.

“Is it okay if we invite Jae hyung?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because you hate him?”

Right.

“It’s your birthday, Jeno-yah.”

“Cool. I’ll text him.”

“Are you inviting Jaemin?”

Suddenly Jeno got shy, eyes staring intently at his breakfast. “I think so. I told him my birthday
was coming up and he said he wanted to do something for me.”

“Are you two dating or something?” Taeyong asked.

Jeno choked on air, coughing slightly. “Why do you ask?”

“You just seem to be getting closer these days.”

“Well, I confessed that I thought he was… nice. Someone I’d be interested in.” Jeno’s eyes looked
everywhere except for Taeyong’s.

Jeno was too sweet. One of the many things Taeyong adored about his little brother was how
openly affectionate he was. Ever since Jeno was a child, he wore his heart on his sleeve. He felt
everything wholeheartedly and intensely. Jeno was never afraid to hold his eomma’s hand in
primary school even when all the other kids outgrew it. He never minded when Taeyong would
smother him in hugs. He always told his parents he loved them. He always craved affection.

Taeyong hoped that whatever Jeno had going on with Jaemin bloomed beautifully. His brother
deserved it after all.

“I’m happy for you, Jeno-yah,” Taeyong smiled, deciding not to tease his brother too much. Jeno’s
face was still warm when he nodded, then looked up to meet Taeyong’s eyes. “What about you,
hyung?”

“Are you seeing anyone?” Jeno asked. “Did Ten hyung successfully get you that date with that
Jihoon guy?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, “no, I don’t know why Ten keeps pushing that. I don’t like him like that.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s just not someone I would be interested in.”

“What kind of person are you interested in? Maybe I know a guy.”

Taeyong chose his words carefully, “I mean, someone passionate about things. A good leader and
communicator. Maybe someone who’s into arts and good food. Someone I can just chill at home
with. A person I can talk to about anything.”

Jeno titled his head in confusion. “Are you describing Johnny hyung?”

Taeyong flicked his forehead with his index finger and thumb.

The day of Jeno’s birthday was rather busy. Luckily, Taeyong only had morning classes and no
other obligations so he could prepare for the get together later that evening. Taeyong looked
around his living room. He meticulously cleaned his whole apartment the night before. He made
sure there was enough room for people to walk around, moving his furniture a little closer to the
walls of the space. Ten’s karaoke machine was set up with a projector facing the wall since Ten
insisted they get drunk and sing. Taeyong also had an assortment of party games, including Jenga,
as requested by his childish boyfriend.

Doyoung and Ten were going to come by later with the food that they had catered, including Jeno’s
birthday cake that Taeyong had spent almost 120,000 won on.

The only thing missing were the silver foil balloons that Taeyong wanted to have hanging on the
wall to make the get-together a little more festive. He had to go pick those up in about an hour
from the party store.

Taeyong’s front door buzzed, signaling someone’s arrival. Taeyong walked over to the door and
opened it to be greeted by Jaehyun who was holding grocery store bags. “I got the drinks.”

Taeyong smiled and stepped aside, “put it in the refrigerator please.”

Jaehyun nodded and made his way to the kitchen.

Once Jaehyun completed his task, he made it into the living room where Taeyong was fluffing the
pillows on the couch. Jaehyun wrapped his arms around Taeyong’s waist and breathed in the scent
on his neck. “You smell good.”

Taeyong leaned into Jaehyun’s touch and smiled, “thanks Jaehyunie.”

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, I just need to get the balloons. Are you coming over later with the rest of them?”

Jaehyun shook his head, “I can stay actually. My afternoon class got canceled. My professor is just
posting the lecture slides for us to view.”

“Can you follow me get the balloons then?”

“Sure baby,” Jaehyun nodded, arms still wrapped around Taeyong. Taeyoned pressed a soft kiss to
his temple and wiggled out of his grasp, “great, let me just grab my keys and we can go.”

The two made their way down to the parking garage when Jaehyun asked, “your car or mine?”

Taeyong stopped for a moment to think, “We can take mine. The balloons are already filled with
helium so we’ll need to put my seats down to make space.”

Jaehyun nodded as they made their way to Taeyong’s SUV. Once they were seated inside, he
connected his phone to the speakers and played a song that he’s been humming the past couple of
days. Taeyong glanced at him before shifting the car into drive, Jaehyun seemed so relaxed and
comfortable in his car, his personal space. Almost like he fits into Taeyong’s life well. A year ago,
if someone told Taeyong that he would willingly let Jaehyun into his car and into his life, he would
not have believed it.

But looking back, it shouldn’t have surprised Taeyong that Jaehyun fit so well in his life. Taeyong
has always felt strongly for Jaehyun over the years, albeit it was irritation. But now, that strong
feeling really was turning into something like love. Jaehyun’s presence used to feel like dark skies,
a thunderstorm looming and ready to rain down. Taeyong wasn’t sure when exactly the feelings
shifted, but Jaehyun’s presence now felt like a warm summer day, right before sun sets and the sky
was filled with rose clouds.

“Jaehyunie?”
“Hm?”

“What do you think about telling our parents this weekend when we drive back home that we’re
dating?”

Jaehyun looked up from his phone, a slow smile spreading on his lips. “Sounds great, baby.”

“Great.”

After a few minutes of struggling to get the helium balloons into Taeyong’s car, they were all
packed and ready to head back to the apartment. Since there were seven silver foil balloons, Jeno
@ 20, the two tried to divide equally. Jaehyun carried the letters that spelled Jeno while Taeyong
carried the others. They struggled for another few minutes, getting it out of Taeyong’s car without
popping anything. Once they were successful, they made their way up the elevator.

They walked down the hallway to Taeyong’s front door, careful not to let the balloons float too
high. Taeyong stopped in front of his door when Jaehyun turned him around. Both of them
surrounded by floating balloons.

“Hey, I didn’t get to say this earlier, but you look nice.” Jaehyun said with a small smile.

Taeyong felt his cheeks heat up but couldn’t help smiling back. “You’re cheesy.”

“You love it,” Jaehyun teased and leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on the tip of Taeyong’s
nose.

“I do… and maybe, I also love you.” Taeyong whispered easily. He wasn’t planning to confess but
being wrapped in Jaehyun’s arms made it seem like the right time.

Jaehyun paused for a moment, eyes widening. Almost six months into their relationship, neither of
them had said the L word yet. At the start of the relationship, they decided to take things slow and
enjoy whatever it was they had, especially since they might not be sure how serious their feelings
were. From confessing feelings, to courting, to asking to be official, Jaehyun had always taken the
lead and did it first.

If Taeyong wasn’t such a lovestruck fool, he would have accused Jaehyun of being a competitive
asshole who wanted to oust him.

Maybe it was partly true. Jaehyun loved seeing Taeyong flustered and caught off guard after all.

But this time, it was Jaehyun’s turn to be surprised.

Taeyong quickly shook him out of his stupor by pulling him forward with his jacket and meeting
their lips. Taeyong held onto the strings of the balloons as he wound his arms around Jaehyun’s
neck. As if on instinct, Jaehyun’s arms went around his waist, the stench of the synthetic rubber
from the balloons filling the air around them. But Taeyong didn’t care as he kissed Jaehyun harder,
back hitting the door’s front buzzer. Finally. After almost a year of avoiding his feelings, he could
finally admit he was falling.

He was falling slowly and all at once.

And then he was literally falling as he felt his front door open. If not for Jaehyun’s strong grip and
quick reflexes, Taeyong’s entire backside would meet the cold, hardwood floor. Jaehyun held on to
him tightly and helped him upright as they were now in the entrance of Taeyong’s apartment. The
pair, still tangled in the balloons and each other, were met with Doyoung’s screech.
“What. The. Fuck.”

Indeed.

Jaehyun steadied Taeyong on his feet and grabbed the balloons from him then kicked the door
closed. Doyoung looked petrified, his scream causing Yuta to leave whatever he was doing in the
living room.

“What?! What?!” Yuta rushed over, eyes darting between a white-faced Doyoung, an irritated
Taeyong, and an unbothered Jaehyun.

“These two,” Doyoung said, eyes closed shut as if trying to erase the memory from his mind.
“These two were fucking kissing!”

“Who?” Yuta asked, looking around the entrance

“These two?”

“Who?”

Doyoung paused and looked at Yuta, “Yuta, there are literally two people in front of me.”

Yuta looked at Jaehyun and Taeyong. Taeyong’s face was buried in the palm of his hand while
Jaehyun looked at him. Yuta’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Jae and Yong?”

“Yes!”

“Kissing?”

“Yes!”

“Why would they be kissing? They hate each other,” Yuta said helplessly, running a hand through
his hair. “Unless… unless…” He pointed a finger sharply at Taeyong. “ You’re Jae’s secret
lover?!”

After the initial shock, the four friends made their way to Taeyong’s living room. Doyoung had let
Yuta and himself into Taeyong’s apartment to set up the catered food they picked up. Once they
had the newly revealed boyfriends seated, Doyong immediately called Ten and got into a heated
conversation. “Bitch you better get here right away.” “Fuck you, I’m picking up the cake with
Johnny. The bakery has a line.” “Well, find a way to make it to Yongie’s place in fifteen. You’re
not gonna wanna miss this.” “Miss what?” “We just caught Jaehyun and Taeyong fucking making
out.” “ WHAT?!”

Thirteen minutes later, Ten was punching in Taeyong’s door passcode, heaving like he sprinted to
get there. Johnny was a few steps behind, carefully holding Jeno’s cake in the box. Ten threw off
his jacket and bag, huffing as he surveyed the scene in front of him.

“Johnny, put the cake in the fridge please!” Ten ordered his boyfriend then stood next to Doyoung
and Yuta who both had their arms folded across their chest. “What is happening?”
“I don’t know, why don’t these two explain.” Doyoung threw his hands up, exasperatedly.

Taeyong and Jaehyun shared a look then settled back on the couch cushions. Jaehyun then leaned
forward a little, placing a hand on Taeyong’s thigh. The three stared at him and let out a
simultaneous yelp.

“We’re dating,” Jaehyun said.

Another simultaneous yelp came out.

Taeyong cringed at the high pitch sound as Johnny entered the room, eyes zeroing in on Jaehyun’s
hand placement.

“I need a drink,” Yuta shook his head and walked over to the counter where the drinks were laid
out. He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it until it was empty.

“You’re going to need to do more explaining than that,” Ten shook his head, “you two hate each
other…. What the fuck?! What did I miss?”

“We did,” Taeyong insisted.

“How long have you two been dating?” Johnny asked as he took a seat on the available armchair.
“Is this new?”

Jaehyun and Taeyong shared a look again then Jaehyun answered, “just around six months now.”

“Six months?!” Yuta shrieked, “you’re telling me this whole fucking time. I thought you two hated
each other?!”

“We did hate each other,” Taeyong pointed out then with a small shrug, “until about six months
ago.”

“Maybe a little more than six months, baby,” Jaehyun smiled, squeezing Taeyong’s thigh.

Doyoung, Yuta, and Ten’s eyes all followed the movement then gasped at the pet name that came
from Jaehyun.

“Baby?” Johnny had a smirk on his face.

Jaehyun rolled his eyes but did not move his hand.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Doyoung asked with a head shake.

“Because we knew you’d act like this,” Taeyong replied, folding his arms over his chest as he
stared at his friends.

“You can’t really blame us, Yongie,” Doyoung said, “you two are usually at each other’s throats.”

“And now they’re down each other’s throats!” Yuta interjected and shared a look with Ten who
gasped.

“So this whole time, you two were actually fucking and no one had a clue?” Ten was lightly
patting his cheeks, as if trying to wake up from this dream sequence.

“But you guys were just arguing over what movie to watch last week,” Doyoung said suspiciously.
“We needed to save face,” Jaehyun said with a shrug, “Yong didn’t want to make it public yet.”

“So you pretended to hate each other?” Johnny asked.

Taeyong and Jaehyun both nodded.

“Wait, you two had almost the worst fight in the world last June. Was that a real fight or some
weird foreplay?” Doyoung asked, recalling the big Jaehyun and Taeyong fight that almost split
their friend group up. That fight involved a screaming match that left Taeyong in tears and Jaehyun
punching a wall.

“Oh,” Taeyong said, head hanging in shame. “That was a real fight. We hadn’t confessed our
feelings yet.”

The air suddenly became thick as the six friends remembered the most excruciating two week war
Jaehyun and Taeyong had. It was the worst fight they had ever had. For two weeks, Jaehyun and
Taeyong avoided each other like the plague. This had caused their friends to hang out with them in
rotations. They were all sure it was going to put a divide in the friend group.

“Well, I’m glad actually,” Johnny spoke up, remembering how he was the middle man in the
Jaehyun and Taeyong war. “That you two are dating.”

Ten nodded, linking an arm around Johnny’s. “I am too! Two of my friends are dating? Hell yeah,
that means we can go on a double date!”

Doyoung nodded, “I mean, I guess it makes sense? Who else knows each other better than you
two?”

Yuta nodded, clapping his hands. “I’m happy for you two. I always knew Yong was the hickey
vixen.” He nodded assuringly.

Ten rolled his eyes, “fuck you, you were placing your bets on Jungwoo.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about bro,” Yuta shook his head, acting like that was the
dumbest thing he’s ever heard.

Ten pulled Taeyong up on his feet to hug him, “we really are happy for you guys. We’re so stupid
for not seeing the signs.”

When Ten pulled away from Taeyong, he shoved him lightly as Jaehyun stood up to catch him.
“What the fuck, Yongie!? You let me talk a lot about Jihoon bedding you when this asshole is your
boyfriend?!” He gestured to Jaehyun, looking distressed.

Taeyong raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Your boyfriend is a black belt! He goes to the gym regularly!” Ten cried. “Have you seen how
this asshole disassembles chopsticks?” Ten mimicked tearing apart imaginary chopsticks in the
air.

Everyone chuckled.

Jaehyun smirked and took a step forward, “I actually did not appreciate you trying to push Jihoon
and Yong, by the way.”

Ten yelped and moved behind Johnny.

 Just then, the front door opened to Jeno walking in with Mark, Sungchan, Donghyuck, and Jaemin
in tow. Jeno looked around hesitantly, noticing the serious atmosphere in the living room. “Are we
early?”

Everyone turned to look at the new group of people but Doyoung was the first to break the silence,
“Happy birthday Jeno-yah! Meet your new brother in law?” He gestured to Jaehyun whose fingers
were intertwined with Taeyong’s.

Chapter End Notes

lmao I love them. thanks for reading!

 Free Falling
Chapter Summary

Jaehyun and Taeyong reap the benefits of their new relationship. Also, they are in
love.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

“Hyung, the boyfriend is here,” Jeno called out as he knocked on Taeyong’s open bedroom door.

Taeyong was finishing up packing his weekend duffle with the clothes he’d need for their time at
his parents’ home. Taeyong zipped up the leather bag and slung it over his shoulder and nodded,
“let’s go Jeno-yah.” He followed his brother to the living room.

Jeno, Jaehyun, and Taeyong were driving back home to celebrate Jeno’s birthday with both the
Jeong and Lee parents. It had been a tradition to celebrate birthdays together since they were
children. The only years they were not able to fulfill this tradition was when Jaehyun had left for
America. Taeyong used to find it so annoying having to celebrate his special day by sharing cake
with his mortal enemy. Or having to see Jaehyun’s scowl whenever he handed him a gift that was
signed love yongie , even if it was bought, paid for, and written by his mother.

But now, Taeyong did not mind the tradition at all.

Having his boyfriend around for all the big moments in his life?

Hell yeah.

Jaehyun was seated on the couch, flipping through one of Taeyong’s extensive coffee table books.
He looked up when he saw the two brothers waiting. Jaehyun’s eyes lingered on Taeyong’s hoodie
for a while. It was a black hoodie that Jaehyun thought looked all too familiar. He raised an
eyebrow, “that’s my hoodie.”

Taeyong looked down at the hoodie trying to act surprised, “is it?”

“It’s my hoodie,” Jaehyun placed the book on the coffee table then stood up.

“It’s our hoodie,” Taeyong corrected.

Jaehyun scoffed teasingly, and took three steps to close the distance between him and Taeyong. He
planted a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s waiting lips. Taeyong smiled, wrapping his arms around
Jaehyun’s neck to kiss him back.

“Is this what it’s going to be like from now on?” Jeno whined.

Taeyong pulled away from Jaehyun and rolled his eyes at his younger brother. “You’re saying that
but you and Jaemin are going to be much worse, just you wait.”

Jaehyun laughed, reaching over to grab Taeyong’s duffle bag off his shoulder. “Let’s get going
guys. They’re expecting us for an early lunch.” Jaehyun took Taeyong’s hand and led him outside
the apartment. Jeno sighed dramatically then followed out the door.

Since the Saturday morning roads were fairly clear, the three made their way to Jeong and Lee
Law’s office located in the business district of the city. Their fathers’ office was located in a tall
gray building with floor to ceiling windows. Jeong and Lee Law occupied a whole space on the
eighth floor. Jaehyun drove into the underground garage, pulling out an ID card from his center
console to be scanned to allow him into employee parking.

Once parked in a reserved stall, the three got out to make their way to the elevator. As they were
about to press the button, a voice called out. “Jaehyun-ah!”

They turned to see Jaehyun’s mother walking up to them, waving her arms. Jaehyun’s mother was
a beautiful woman who did not look her age. She religiously followed a proper diet and exercise
schedule. She had fair and clear skin just like Jaehyun. She worked in real estate so she was always
neatly dressed and fashionable.

“Eomma,” Jaehyun smiled, walking up to his mom to give her a hug and kiss on the cheek. She
happily hugged her son and pulled away to look at the Lee brothers. “Jeno-yah! Taeyongie!” She
hugged each boy warmly then turned to the birthday boy.

“Jeno-yah, you look so grown. Has it really only been a couple of months since you left home?”
She pinched Jeno’s cheek playfully. “And you’re twenty already?! Little Lee is growing up so
fast.”

Jeno blushed but basked in the compliments.

“Here,” she pulled out a sealed envelope, “don’t tell your eomma or appa. Happy Birthday, Jeno-
yah.”

“Thank you,” Jeno bowed as he received the gift.

Mrs. Jeong looped her arm around her son’s. “Let’s all walk in together. Unfortunately, I am the
late one this time.”

They all got into the lift. Taeyong and Jeno asking Jaehyun’s mom about work. She responded
exasperatedly as she talked about the stress of the current housing market and clients who wouldn’t
settle for specific granite countertops.

As the elevator stopped at their destination, it slid open to reveal a waiting area with a long
entrance to double doors that had Jeong and Lee Law etched into the glass with black lettering.
Since it was the weekend, no clients were allowed in, so the receptionist desk sat unoccupied.
Jaehyun’s mom made her way to the doors and typed in the passcode to enter.

They entered the office floor to mostly silence. There was a distant sound of a copy machine
spewing out papers and the muffled voices of the few lawyers in their offices who were
unfortunately working on a weekend. They made their way down the hallways of doors that led to
office rooms. Jeong and Lee was a fairly successful law firm that worked with niche clients. Most
of the cases belonged to business owners or politicians. Taeyong and Jaehyun never thought much
of their dads’ profession until they heard about their cases on the news. The two were extremely
proud of their dads. Especially since when they first started out, it was just the two of them
working in a 360 square foot rented studio. Now, they had twelve lawyers and ten staff members
on their payroll. Unfortunately, none of the Jeong and Lee second generation were interested in
law.
At the end of the hallway were two adjacent offices. One read Jeong while the other read Lee. Mrs.
Jeong opened the office door that read Lee to be greeted by her husband and Taeyong and Jeno’s
parents.

"They’re here!” Taeyong’s mom smiled happily as she was typing away on her husband’s desktop.

“Boys,” Mr. Jeong greeted while Mr. Lee waved. “How was the drive?”

“It was quick,” Jaehyun said as his mother detangled herself from him to greet her husband with a
kiss on the cheek.

“Jeno-yah,” Mr. Lee extended his arms out, “Happy birthday, son.”

Jeno hugged his dad back then allowed himself to be smothered in his mother’s kisses. “You look
so thin! Taeyongie, are you not feeding your brother?”

“I do feed him but he's been so busy lately,” Taeyong said, leaning against his dad’s mahogany
desk.

“Hmm, and what are you even busy with, Jeno-yah?” their mother asked and tugged his ear lightly,
“is it that Jaeminnie you keep talking about whenever I call you?”

“Eomma!”

Everyone in the room laughed.

After getting reacquainted, the two families made their way to their lunch reservation in a private
restaurant room that had large windows overlooking the Saturday weekend foot traffic of
pedestrians.

Taeyong and Jaehyun were seated right next to each other, something both their parents raised an
eyebrow at but didn’t comment on. The lunch was lovely as they celebrated Jeno’s twentieth year
and caught up with what everyone was doing. As they got older, hanging out with their parents felt
like hanging out with old friends. Taeyong truly treasured any time he had with his parents and
now that he and Jaehyun were dating, he appreciated any time he had with both their families
together.

He used to hate having to share meals with Jaehyun or having to hear about what was going on in
his life. But now, he wanted to share all three meals with Jaehyun everyday, for a long, long time.

“So, what is going on this semester?” Mr. Jeong asked as he drank his water. “I know Jaehyun-ah
is very busy with basketball and fraternity duties.”

Jaehyun nodded, “It’s hectic but it’s okay so far, appa.”

“When is your first game, son? We should buy tickets to support you.”

“Our first game will be in three weeks time, I’ll make sure to reserve seats for you guys,” Jaehyun
nodded as he placed down his fork.

“Reserve seats for us too, Jaehyun-ah,” Taeyong’s dad said as he cut into his steak. “We want to
support Jeno’s first game of the season.”

“You’ll just be supporting me on the bench,” Jeno pointed out.

“And you’ll be the best bench warmer ever,” Mrs. Lee jabbed at her son who scowled.
“Taeyongie, we should make a banner.”

Taeyong laughed, “we should cheer loudly for our bench warmer.”

“Stop teasing me,” Jeno complained with a pout.

“You’re an adult now,” Mr. Lee laughed over the table, “it’s what you get.”

“Taeyongie,” Jaehyun’s mom said over the Lee family commotion, “I spoke with my architect
friend who needs an intern if you’re still interested.”

“Ahh, Jiwon?” Mrs. Lee asked, which got a nod in response.

“Thank you aunty, I’ll send in a resume soon,” Taeyong smiled excitedly. Since it was his last year
of university, he would need to start completing internship hours for some of his courses. Luckily,
Mrs. Jeong knew a lot of architect companies since she was in the real estate crowd.

As everyone began finishing their lunch, a waiter came in with a tiramisu cake. Lit candles
surrounded the happy birthday little lee frosted writing. Everyone sang happily as Taeyong’s mom
recorded Jeno blowing out the candles.

“I can’t believe how much the kids have grown up,” Mrs Lee commented as she scrolled through
the photos she took on her phone. Her husband nodded and began cutting into Jeno’s cake, serving
everyone.

“Jaehyun and Taeyongie will be graduating this year,” Mrs. Jeong said as she passed the slice of
cake down to Jeno. “Who knows if we’ll ever be able to force these two in the same room once
they can support themselves.”

Jaehyun and Taeyong briefly shared a look.

“That’s true,” Mrs. Lee looked up from her phone screen with a frown, “I hope you boys at least
come home for the winter holidays.”

Jeno stared at the couple from across his seat.

“That’s once a year?” Mrs. Jeong frowned.

“Don’t worry honey,” Mr. Jeong interjected, putting an arm around his wife’s shoulder. “I’m sure
we can come up with some excuse that they have to see us during the summer holidays too.”

“It’s two less plane tickets to buy if we ever go abroad on holiday,” Mr. Lee pointed out, taking a
bite of the cake slice on his plate. “By the way boys, we were planning on spending your next
semester break in Japan. Are you going to follow or will you be busy?”

“They’re too busy now,” Taeyong’s mom shook her head. “Pretty soon, they’ll be bringing their
partner home and the next time we’ll all get to be together is when one of them gets married.”

"Oh,” Mrs. Jeong sighed, “must they ruin the family dynamics.”

They knew their mothers were being dramatic for the sake of being dramatic but there was an
underlying worry behind what they were saying. They always knew that while Jaehyun and
Taeyong were in school and had their parents paying for tuition and housing, they had a say in
what they had to do. Of course, both sets of parents were not overbearing and controlling but
because of the Jeong and Lee bond, they insisted their families spend time together. Something
they knew their sons hated.

Once Jaehyun and Taeyong graduated and could support themselves financially, they technically
and legally had no obligations to their parents. This included being forced to break bread with the
person they despised the most.

Jaehyun and Taeyong were both family oriented boys who were easy to talk to but their mothers
were not sure how far their hate for each other would go. If their hate could lead them to openly
disobeying their parents.

Jaehyun squeezed Taeyong’s thigh under the table and looked at Taeyong who gave him a nod.
They might as well put their mothers out of their misery

“Eomma, we have something to tell you,” Jaehyun cleared his throat to get the attention of the two
women who were sulking.

Their mothers looked at Jaehyun while their fathers waited curiously.

“We’re dating,” Taeyong said and lifted his and Jaehyun’s hands that were intertwined from under
the table.

Both of their moms shared a look, eyes wide with surprise.

Their fathers shared a similar look, eyes wide with knowing.

“Surprise?” Jaehyun said with a small smile, not understanding his parents’ reaction.

“You’re dating? Each other?” Mrs. Lee shook her head in disbelief.

The newly outed boyfriends nodded simultaneously.

“This is great!” Mrs. Jeong smiled happily. “Wow, when did this happen?”

“About six months ago, eomma,” Jaehyun answered, lowering his and Taeyong’s hands on his lap.

“Six months?!” Taeyong got his eyes from his mom although hers seemed even larger and more
expressive. “Yongie, who told you to keep secrets from me?”

Taeyong’s face turned red, rubbing his neck with his free hand sheepishly. “Sorry eomma, it was
my idea. Jaehyunie wanted everyone to know sooner but–”

Jaehyun’s mom gasped, eyes shining happily, “Jaehyunie?”

Taeyong’s face was still red while he remained quiet.

"It’s about time,” Mr. Jeong nodded. “I knew there had to be something there.”

“Did you?” His wife asked, raising a perfectly trimmed eyebrow.

“They cared deeply for each other,” Mr. Jeong explained. “Even if they thought they hated each
other, they were always concerned over the other. You don’t care about someone that much if you
hate them.”

“I always wanted something to happen,” Mrs. Lee interjected as she took a sip of her mimosa. “But
they really disliked each other and I didn’t know if they would ever grow out of that.”
Mr. Lee nodded as he took a sip of his iced tea, “I agree. If they really just hated each other, they
wouldn’t be so affected by the other. There was always something there. I’m happy about this
news. Especially since no one is taking over the firm when we’re gone, we don’t have to split
assets three ways if they’re married. It’ll just be between Jeno and the couple”

“Married?!” Taeyong squeaked, “we just started dating.”

“Oh Taeyongie, please,” Mrs. Jeong rolled her eyes, “I know my son. He already knows when and
where he is going to propose. I should just make life easy now and start looking for your first
apartment after graduation.”

Mrs. Lee clapped happily at that, “we should look for one that is halfway between the business
district and halfway between home.”

Taeyong and Jaehyun shared a look again, chuckling lightly at their parents’ antics.

“I’m happy for the new couple,” Taeyong’s dad said as he raised his glass, “a toast.”

Everyone picked up their glasses of different beverages and clinked them against one another. They
all took their sips as Taeyong’s dad said to his wife, “but what will we do about Taeyong’s
arranged marriage husband?”

Jaehyun and Taeyong raised their eyebrows while Jeno verbalized his shock, “appa?!”

Taeyong’s dad laughed as his wife slapped his shoulder, “just kidding. I would have waited until
Taeyong was thirty before I wrote that contract”

Despite Jaehyun and Taeyong being on cloud nine with their newly public relationship, they were
still university students with many obligations. Jaehyun had started basketball season and Taeyong
was preparing for his dance showcase. The couple once again had barely any time to see each other
aside from messages and late night video calls.

Even with their busy schedule, Jaehyun tried to make it a point to take Taeyong out on a Sunday
date. They found this was their least busy day throughout the week. On these Sundays, they would
go out for lunch and try to do some activity that the other was interested in. One time, they went to
a record store that had vinyls from worldwide artists that Jaehyun wanted to check out. They spent
a good afternoon walking through the aisles while Jaehyun diligently read through the artists’
discography before deciding on which vinyls to buy. Another time, they went to check out a
contemporary art museum that featured just starting out artists. Taeyong enjoyed the vibrant colors
and creative art pieces. They spent the day looking around while Jaehyun snapped photos of
Taeyong. Sometimes they would just drive out of the city and find interesting parks and nature
stops to walk around and take photos. They didn’t really mind doing anything as long as they were
together.

Taeyong couldn’t believe how easy it was to spend his days with Jaehyun. He hoped he got to
spend many more of them together.
Being a couple meant constantly supporting each other in everything. It was very different from
how they used to act all throughout their childhood. Before, it would be trying to one up the other
and celebrating the other’s defeat more than their own success. Now, it was very different.

The night of Taeyong’s spring dance showcase went off without a hitch. He danced his number
with his team then did his duet with Ten. The crowd went wild with applause when they finished.
His friends and family were cheering and waving from the crowd. Taeyong smiled and waved
back, breathing heavily. When the showcase ended, Ten and Taeyong went out to meet up with
their support group. Taeyong was always used to Johnny being dramatic with his giant ass bouquet
for Ten, sweeping him off his feet–literally–and kissing him hard on the mouth. Taeyong used to
find them disgusting but now that he was also in a sickeningly sweet relationship, he couldn’t help
but coo at the pair.

His parents brought his usual bouquet of flowers and took photos with him, offering a
congratulatory dinner for all their friends. As they began planning on which restaurant to eat at,
Jaehyun, who was lingering on the sides, tapped him on his shoulder and presented a bouquet of a
dozen red roses. This was the first time Jaehyun had ever congratulated Taeyong on any of his
performances. Usually, Jaehyun would only attend these things with his mother pulling his ear and
forcing him to sit. Taeyong smiled shyly, mumbling thanks as his friends and family all squealed in
excitement then began teasing them.

Jaehyun pecked his cheek lightly and whispered, “you did great, baby.”

Taeyong felt his heart full. Years of animosity and competition, completely soiled by a cute
dimpled boy. If only young Taeyong knew having Jaehyun on his side, instead of against him, was
going to be this sweet.

The day of Jaehyun’s first basketball game of the season was a whole campus event. SNU was
playing a home game against one of their longtime rival schools. It created such buzz that this was
all the campus students could talk about for the week leading up to the game. The game was
hosted on a Friday night, the basketball stadium already filled with people adorning blue for the
home team and green for the away team. Taeyong was seated with his and Jaehyun’s parents to his
right as they waited for the game to start. To his left were four unoccupied seats that were
reserved. They were seated a good distance from the court, close enough to hear the coaches make
their calls but far enough that they wouldn’t be blocked by excited bystanders. Perks of knowing
the team captain.

Mrs. Lee and Mrs. Jeong had SNU colored pom poms that they were waving around while the
fathers were dressed in school colors. To Jeno’s relief, his mother and Taeyong did not come with
an obnoxious banner.

“Well, well, well,” a familiar voice said.

Taeyong turned to see Ten approaching with Johnny and Doyoung in tow. Ten’s eyes immediately
fell to Taeyong’s outfit. Oh right, Taeyong was going full on support for his school, wearing not
only royal blue but his boyfriend’s team number. In other words, Taeyong was in Jaehyun’s
letterman jacket. When Jaehyun first suggested that he wear his jacket, Taeyong wanted to outright
refuse. He did not mind that the whole world knew they were together. In fact, he wanted everyone
to know that he had the best boyfriend ever. But he was too embarrassed to be parading around
Jaehyun’s number at such a public event. Everyone assumed that because Taeyong has boba eyes
that no one can refuse, Jaehyun automatically gives him anything he wants. But it works both
ways. Maybe Jaehyun was worse. Jaehyun could be such a baby, whining and pouting for Taeyong
to wear his jacket. And who was Taeyong to deny his Jaehyunie anything?

So, here he was. In Jaehyun’s jacket.

Taeyong slid to the seat next to his, leaving the seat in between him and his mom empty for a
special guest. Ten sat on the next available seat, Johnny and Doyoung following suit. The friends
immediately greeted the Lees and Jeongs, keeping small talk short since they couldn’t hear each
other much over the loud stadium noise.

“You are full of support for the school, Yongie,” Ten smirked. “Maybe you should join the
basketball team too?”

Taeyong rolled his eyes, elbowing Ten playfully. “I’m trying to be supportive of my athlete
boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend,” Ten shook his head as he turned to face the crowd, “ugh I hate couples.”

“Me too, babe.” Johnny nodded in agreement as the two touched knuckles.

Just then, a new face walked up to where they were seated on the bleachers. Na Jaemin was
smiling brightly, looking very soft in a hoodie, his hair tousled. “Sorry I’m late. I just got out of
class.”

Taeyong waved and patted the unoccupied seat next to him then turned to Mrs. Lee. “Eomma,
Jaeminnie is here.”

Mrs. Lee, who was talking to her husband, turned at the interruption. Her eyes were shining bright
as she looked at Jaemin. “Jaemin! Hello! Please sit.”

Jaemin blushed, bowing in greeting and taking his seat in between Taeyong and Mrs. Lee. Mrs.
Lee had talked to Jaemin before, but only through video calls when Jaemin would be with Jeno
during their weekly family video calls. Taeyong enjoyed watching Jeno squirm under his mother’s
constant questioning. Jaemin took it like a champ though, politely answering and making small
talk.

Jaehyun would sometimes be with Taeyong when these calls happened but since the Lees knew
Jaehyun very well, he got away with a simple hello and small update of how his week was going
then was free to go.

Jeno and Jaemin haven’t admitted to being boyfriends yet but Taeyong knew they would get there
soon. Which was nice since Taeyong adored Jaemin. He was the right amount of fun and sweet.
Sometimes Jaehyun and Taeyong would invite the pair over to Taeyong’s apartment to watch
movies and hang out. Taeyong hoped Jaemin would be a regular part of their lives.

As Jaemin and Mrs. Lee began chatting, the basketball teams were being introduced by the
announcer sitting in the booth above the bleachers. SNU’s team ran onto the court one by one, loud
applause echoing throughout the stadium. When Jeno ran onto the court, Mrs. Lee began yelling
excitedly and recording on her phone. Jaemin waved at Jeno happily who noticed his family and
his crush. Jeno went full on eye smile, waving excitedly back. Yuta and Jaehyun were the last two
to run onto the court since they were known as MVPs and that this was their last season. For the
crowd who had been watching these two over their university basketball career, this was an
emotional moment. Loud applause and screams filled the air.

Once all the SNU players lined up, Jaehyun caught Taeyong’s eye and winked subtly. Taeyong bit
back a smile, this was all too familiar. Jaehyun on the court with a cocky look on his face while
Taeyong watched from the bleachers. The electrified crowd was unaware of the silent exchange
between the two. It reminded Taeyong of the first time Jaehyun conned him into going on a date
with him.

The game before them was probably one of the most intense games Taeyong had ever been to. He
had been to basketball games before, albeit it was out of force from Ten and Doyoung. During
those times, Taeyong would have a book on his lap or his phone to scroll through, not really
paying attention to the game. Now, he was heavily invested, following wherever the ball bounced.
Cheering whenever their team made a point and groaning whenever the opposing team scored. The
crowd was all focused as their team lived up to the reputation they had upheld. The cheerleaders on
the sidelines were waving their pom poms, chanting and hyping up the crowd.

Ten whisper-shouted into Taeyong’s ear, “isn’t that Jihye? The girl who won a date with Jae at
their fraternity bachelor auction last year?”

Taeyong frowned but nodded slowly, eyes on the beautiful cheerleader with dark pin straight hair
and cute dimples. Taeyong remembered being extra moody around Jaehyun when he found out that
they were going on a date last year. And this was during the time Taeyong was still confused about
his feelings!

Taeyong always wondered how things would have worked out if he wasn’t so stubborn and
permanently set to attack mode. Would he and Jaehyun have gotten together earlier? Would all the
arguing and confusion be avoided?

Taeyong wasn’t sure.

But as he watched Jaehyun score from the three point line, Jaehyun’s eyes immediately turned to
find him in the crowd, he realized he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

As the game was nearing its end, SNU leading by two points, the crowd became even more
restless. Everyone was on the edge of their seat as they entered the last quarter. Their opponent
made a shot that brought up their score, SNU only one score above. The ball was constantly being
passed and dribbled between green and blue, green and blue.

Taeyong felt his insides twist, he was so nervous and he wasn’t even playing.

Down to the last minute, SNU got the ball back in their hands, Jaehyun dribbling it down the court.
With thirty seconds to spare, he faked a pass then side stepped to toss the ball to Yuta who was
under the hoop. Yuta caught the ball quickly and jumped up, tossing the ball into the net before
anyone could react.

The buzzer went off.

The blue ocean of Seoul National University fans cheered.

After nearly fifteen minutes of chatter and cheering, the SNU team made their way back to the
locker room and the crowd began dispersing. Taeyong and the rest of them stayed seated, excitedly
reliving the game’s highlights.

Yuta and Jaehyun came out of the locker room with their team following behind. Everyone now
freshly showered and out of their uniforms. The boys were all chattering and congratulating each
other, mentions of a celebration party happening that night.

Jeno was the first to break away from the team, jogging over to where his parents stood with
Jaemin.

“Jeno-yah, you were so good!” Mrs. Lee hugged her son. “I am so proud of my little
benchwarmer.”

Jeno groaned, pulling away from his mother. “Eomma, please.”

Jaemin chuckled as he said, “congratulations on your win, Jeno.”

“Thanks, Jaeminnie,” Jeno said then gestured to the team that was still huddled in a large circle of
excitable boys. “It was mostly them though.”

“Don’t worry, Jeno-yah, you too will get to play soon,” Mr. Lee interjected, “Jaehyun-ah was also
a benchwarmer his first year and look at him now.”

Jaehyun’s parents hugged their son with their congratulations. Mrs. Jeong told Jeno that she would
be in the area on Monday and that he and Taeyong should have lunch with her. Taeyong nodded as
Jaehyun agreed. The parents bid their children goodbye and made their way out of the court. They
all took one car and had a long drive back to their homes. Jaemin and Jeno went off to celebrate
with Mark and the rest of their friends.

“That was the best game ever,” Johnny said once their friend group made their own circle in the
slowly emptying gymnasium. “This season is going to be incredible.”

Doyoung nodded, “nice play at the end guys.”

Yuta smiled, running a hand through his fresh from the shower hair, “thank you, thank you. I
would like to thank Cap for making the pass and myself for scoring the point.” He bowed.

“So where to now?” Ten asked, holding onto Johnny’s hand. “Let’s go get barbecue or something.”

“I’m down,” Doyoung said. “Yuta?”

“Cool,” Yuta nodded. “Jae and Yong?”

Jaehyun looked over at Taeyong with an eyebrow raised, communicating silently. Taeyong nodded
and said, “let’s go.”

As the friends made their way out of the gymnasium and to the parking lot that was also beginning
to clear away, Jaehyun tugged on the sleeve of his letterman jacket on Taeyong’s frame. “Hey.”

The sky above them was turning into pink and orange hues, the sun just about to set over the city.
Taeyong stopped to look at him, “hey.”

“So, I did pretty good in there,” Jaehyun shrugged, acting nonchalant.

Taeyong let out a chuckle and shook his head, playing along. “You did.”
“One might even say, good enough for a special reward.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun stuffed his hands in his sweatpants, his gym bag loosely hanging off his
shoulder.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it depends, what do you have to offer?”

Taeyong shook his head again, chuckling lightly. “Hm, how about hugs and kisses?”

Jaehyun’s face exaggeratedly lit up, “how many?”

“Five?”

“Five for winning the first game of the season?” Jaehyun teased, “that’s weak.”

“Five hundred?”

“That’s all?”

“Five thousand?”

“Better.”

“You’re so stupid.”

“Only about you.”

“Can you guys please stop being gross?” Doyoung’s voice cut them out of their moment. They
turned to see their friends who were waiting by Johnny’s Range Rover that was parked next to
Jaehyun’s car. It had already been decided that the new couple would drive to the restaurant on
their own to save their friends from witnessing the constant flirting.

“I think I much prefer the petty arguing to this,” Yuta complained. “At least that was entertaining
and somewhat funny.”

Their friends laughed as Jaehyun flipped him off.

Taeyong made his way to Jaehyun’s passenger seat door. Jaehyun rushed over to the door handle
and pulled it open, beating him to it. Taeyong was about to get in when his boyfriend stopped him.
“Hey.”

Taeyong looked at him expectantly.

“Can we get started on those five thousand kisses now?” Jaehyun asked with a small smile.
Taeyong simply shook his head for the third time but allowed Jaehyun’s lips to meet his.

As their lips touched, a familiar spark shot through Taeyong just like it did the first time they
kissed. And whenever else they would kiss. Taeyong wondered how long they would have to be
together for that feeling to fade away.

He really hoped it never would.

Chapter End Notes

ahh, this was so fun. thank you for reading along!! if you're interested, I am planning
to do a prequel to this story. it'll be a little lengthier and little more chaotic.

have a lovely day!

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