Jeongguk woke to the tantalizing aroma of something cooking. He stretched lazily, a smile tugging at his lips as he inhaled deeply, the scent already making his stomach rumble. Rolling out of bed, he followed the smell to the kitchen, stopping at the doorway.

There Taehyung stood, shirtless, stirring a pot on the stove. The early morning light caught on his honeyed skin, and Jeongguk's heart skipped a beat. His gaze trailed to Taehyung's bare back, noticing faint red lines he recognized all too well. Memories of the previous night flooded his mind, and he bit his lip, stifling a giggle.

Taehyung always made him feel so good. He was a service top, as Jeongguk liked to call him. He loved worshipping Jeongguk's body and then making love to him in the most passionate ways. Jeongguk had already forgotten what he was annoyed at Taehyung the previous day. Taehyung made sure to make it up to him the same night.

Taehyung, oblivious to Jeongguk's presence, moved with practised ease. He cracked eggs into a pan with one hand, his other already reaching for the spices. Jeongguk leaned against the doorway, savouring the sight.

Jeongguk was practically drooling. Taehyung had always been a great cook and Jeongguk loved eating whatever he cooked. Taehyung was passionate about cooking for Jeongguk and making sure he got 3 full meals a day.

Taehyung turned around to grab some utensils from the kitchen island and spotted Jeongguk. His eyes lit up when they landed on the younger.

"Hey baby" Taehyung grinned.

"Hey" Jeongguk said softly. "Good morning"

"Good morning to you too, gorgeous"

Jeongguk giggled. "What's for breakfast?"

"Rice with side dishes, soup, and pork. The eggs are for you."

"Yum," Jeongguk said, slipping his arms around Taehyung's waist. "Smells amazing."

Taehyung kissed his forehead, then his lips, soft and lingering. "I'm almost done. Go shower and come back—I'll have it ready by then."

"Okay" Jeongguk smiled at him before walking out of the kitchen.

After a quick shower, Jeongguk returned to find breakfast laid out on the counter. Sliding onto a stool, he hummed in appreciation as Taehyung pulled him close, burying his face in Jeongguk's neck.

"You smell so fucking sweet" Taehyung murmured, his voice low. "I want to eat you up"

"No!" Jeongguk whined but the grin never left his face. "My ass is still sore from last night"

"Maybe you should stop using all these fruit-scented bath products which make you smell like a ripe fruit and I might be able to stop getting all these unholy thoughts"

"Maybe you should learn to control yourself"

"Control myself? I'm afraid those words don't operate when I'm around you"

Jeongguk groaned. "Such a flirt! We have been together for eight years but you're still flirting with me like you met me yesterday"

Taehyung laughed. "Has it really been eight years?" He hummed to himself, "Yeah, we started dating when you were fifteen and I was seventeen, back in school"

"Yeah, I had just started high school and you were in the third year of high school"

"And after a year of dating, I graduated" Taehyung laughed.

"Why did it take you so long to ask me out?" Jeongguk whined. "I have known you since I was four. It took you eleven years!"

"If you liked me first, you should've asked me out!"

"I was too shy! You were two years older and looked like you had your life together—so confident, so cool. And you had such a promising future. I didn't even know if you liked guys! It didn't look like you did!"

Taehyung tilted his head, pretending to ponder. "I don't know about guys, but I did like you. Don't you think it was bound to happen, though? We were the only boys in the neighbourhood, so naturally, we became best friends. Then we ended up going to the same elementary school, middle school, and high school. Our parents were best friends, too—it was like the universe decided we were stuck together."

"Yeah you really stuck with me through and through. It wasn't a surprise that we fell in love"

"Hmm." Taehyung's gaze softened as he watched Jeongguk scoop up some rice and side dishes. Without a word, he picked up a piece of pork with his chopsticks and held it out. Jeongguk leaned forward, accepting the bite with an appreciative hum.

"I changed the recipe. Do you like it?"

Jeongguk's frown deepened—a sure sign he loved it. If Jeongguk looked angry when he ate something, it meant he loved it. "It's savoury and spicy. Definitely better than the sweet and spicy pork."

Taehyung grinned. "Noted"

He silently watched Jeongguk enjoy his food, eyebrows furrowing with every bite. It was something Taehyung loved about Jeongguk; how he made sure to enjoy every bite he took.

"It's funny" Taehyung muttered, "I don't even know if I had a crush on you back then. I think I was just... already in love."

Jeongguk giggled. "I knew I had a crush on you. But I don't exactly know since when, but I realized it when my heart started beating faster and I felt so happy every time I met you or when you talked to me. I used to tell all my friends how handsome you were and they gave me weird looks because I was surely talking about you more than I should have for a straight person"

Taehyung laughed. "I knew I wanted to have you close to me so I decided to say fuck it and ask you out. And I kind of felt like you had a crush on me because you were blushing whenever I held your hand or complimented you"

Jeongguk groaned, covering his face with his hands. "I was a goner!"

"You were" Taehyung pressed a kiss onto the side of Jeongguk's head.

Jeongguk peeked out from behind his hands, his voice softer now. "I'm so glad you asked me out. I never would've had the courage. I probably would've taken that secret to my grave."

Taehyung smiled, his tone teasing but gentle. "You bottle things up too much, my love. You've got to let them out—life's too short."

"I know." Jeongguk looked at Taehyung with heart eyes. "I love you."

Taehyung's eyes softened further. "And I love you."

Jeongguk flashed him a toothy grin, finishing up his food.

"What are you up to today?" Taehyung asked after they both finished eating. He picked up the dishes as Jeongguk walked over to grab water.

"I have a photoshoot for that fashion magazine I was telling you about"

"Oh right, that's today?"

"Yeah" Jeongguk sat back down with a glass of water in hand. Taehyung started washing the dishes. "I'm excited!"

"I'm excited for you! I'm sure you'd do well"

"There are going to be other photographers too. I hope they won't notice that this isn't my first time"

"Come on, baby. You won awards at university for your photography. You're going to kill it"

Jeongguk chuckled softly. "I wish I believed in myself as much as you believe in me"

Taehyung smiled. "Well, for now, don't forget who the fuck you are and go give your best"

"I will" Jeongguk whispered with a sigh. "Oh, I completely forgot!"

"What?"

"Hoseok asked if we could join him for drinks tonight"

"Tonight? What's the occasion?"

"Hyung, Hoseok's girlfriend broke up with him, remember?"

"Oh fuck" Taehyung cursed. "Yeah, I remember him saying so in the group chat last week"

"He said he wanted to meet up last week but my schedule's been hectic. So I told him that we will come today. You don't have anything planned for tonight, right?"

"So far, no"

"Okay, I'll talk to him and text you the address. Be there by seven? My shoot is supposed to end in the evening so I could make it by seven"

"But should I come? He's your best friend. What if he wants to talk to you privately?"

"No, he told me to bring you too. Besides, it would be nice. It's been some time since we went out to meet a friend"

"Okay then"

Jeongguk took out his phone, checking for messages when the other phone that was on top of the kitchen island vibrated. Jeongguk's eyes glided to the lit screen of Taehyung's phone, only to see a notification pop up. Jeongguk wasn't intending to, but the sender's name came into view.

Dongsik, the sender's ID read. Jeongguk's eyebrows furrowed together. Jeongguk hasn't heard about a Dongsik in Taehyung's life.

"Who's Dongsik?" the words were out of Jeongguk's mouth before he could stop them.

Taehyung turned from the sink, eyebrows raised. "Huh?"

"Dongsik," Jeongguk repeated, gesturing at the phone. "Never heard of him before."

"Oh, just... a colleague," Taehyung said, a little too quickly.

"Oh" Jeongguk gulped, nodding. He didn't want to pry. Taehyung was a software engineer. He worked with various people and clients, Jeongguk knew.

Taehyung never went into details about what he did. And Jeongguk never quite asked for details either. Being a photographer, he wouldn't understand what Taehyung does in depth anyway. And Jeongguk didn't want to bother him and ask him a lot of questions; as if Jeongguk was suspicious of Taehyung or anything of that sort.

Taehyung was a genius. He had participated in so many tournaments, competitions, and events and won awards from them more times than Jeongguk could count. IT, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Cyber Security, AI... Jeongguk only knew a fraction of what those were about. He never had any passion for technical things like that, so he had no knowledge of them.

Taehyung had jobs lined up when he graduated from university with honours in Software Engineering. He had another degree in Cybersecurity. Taehyung was a tech genius.

However, Taehyung decided to work freelance after he graduated. He had many clients, Taehyung had told Jeongguk. And Taehyung earned a lot. A lot more than Jeongguk. What Jeongguk made in a month, Taehyung made in a day, sometimes.

Therefore, Jeongguk knew that whatever Taehyung was doing, was not simple. And he understood when Taehyung said he was too busy to hang out with friends or stayed up the whole night.

However, Jeongguk also noticed that Taehyung had been sitting in front of his laptop on his massive computer screen more often, than he did the previous year.

Maybe it was just Jeongguk.

But he hadn't taken Jeongguk out on a date in three months. Not since Jeongguk graduated from university three months ago.

"He helps me out... with my work" Taehyung tried to explain. "Provides me feedback sometimes"

"So not a co-worker?"

"He kind of is... he's also a software engineer"

"Met him online?"

"Yeah, through my work"

Jeongguk nodded. "You've never mentioned him" he muttered, though not accusatory.

Taehyung shrugged. "I mean, I have never met him. He's just a colleague. I'm not close to him on a personal level"

"Right," Jeongguk nodded. True, it's not like Jeongguk tells Taehyung about every single he meets at work either. That was unnecessary.

"I should go now. I should be there in an hour" Jeongguk said, standing up from his seat.

"Okay love" Taehyung turned off the faucet and followed Jeongguk to the front door. He watched Jeongguk put on his jacket and throw his camera bag over his shoulder.

"Make sure to have lunch. There are leftovers from last night in the fridge if you don't have time to cook. Just make sure to eat something" Jeongguk said, walking over to the elder and wrapping his arms around his neck.

"I will" Taehyung smiled, circling his hands around Jeongguk's waist. "You too. Don't starve"

"You know I won't" Jeongguk muttered.

Taehyung pressed a soft kiss onto Jeongguk's lips. "Be safe. Call me when you're free"

"I will" Jeongguk smiled, pecking Taehyung's kiss one last time before turning around. He waved goodbye to Taehyung before opening the front door and walking out of their apartment.

"I love you!" Taehyung called after him.

"Love you too!"

🧊

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