< hey inhyuk is straight, right? ]

[ yeah why? >

< just asking ]

[ just asking? I don't believe you >

"I cannot breathe without you being right by my side..." Joonha starts to sing near my ear, and I smile but feel confused about the text from my best friend. "So can you pleeease...come over closer, hold me tight...right now...."

He keeps complaining about hearing me talk about Stray Kids all the time, but I am pretty sure he listens to them when he is alone. How would he know those lyrics if he was not?

"I'm going crazy now, I spend this night again..." he raises his voice to sing and moves back, but I give him a slap on the thigh to calm him down so that he does not wake Seunggil up. "Not so loud."

"If I was Han you wouldn't mind hearing me scream," he attempts to start an argument that I will not continue. "Sure, baby."

"Yeah, sure, baby," he throws his stronger hand on my thigh to take revenge but causes a loud skin-slapping sound to resound through the room because of my dress. "Damn," he does it again, but this time, cups my thigh, and while I am sending another text to my best friend to know what his question meant, he enjoys some more of this lewd sound, which forces me to stop him.

I look at him to send him the hints, but he smirks, his hypnotizing eyes staring into mine. "What?" he pushes his hand forth to do whatever he wants and touches my bare thigh again, and I chuckle, nervously. "We're not home."

"And...?" he whines his words, complaining about the restrictions and lack of freedom. "You can't do what you want, and you're drunk."

"I'm not drunk. If I was, I wouldn't understand you. I'm just a bit lightheaded or tipsy. I wouldn't get drunk with you if we're not home," he kneads my skin a bit heavily and causes me to clench my thighs, feeling his fingers on the inner part of it way too much to not be affected by the touches.

"Your dad's coming, so we'll do what you want once we're at your house," I control the spots he reaches, and I cross my legs, not liking how aroused he makes me when Yunseo and Seunggil are still around. "When will he be here?" he inches closer, unable to keep his hands to himself. "Soon. In a few minutes."

"Hm..." he pouts and rubs his fingers over my hip, and Yunseo comes back. He bends over the coffee table and passes a dish towel over it to clean. He is such a husband material. This is great to see him take care of Seunggil and the house like a responsible man.

40 minutes later...

"I'm not drunk, dad!" Joonha repeats the same over and over again, walking up the stairs to head to his bedroom. "Don't worry, Mister Jeon. I'll take care of him," I smile and relieve him, and he shows the same expression. "Thank you, sweetie. Have a good night and make sure to sleep tight as well."

"I will, have a good night too," I leave and join my sleepy man in the bedroom, and I close the door behind me.

"I hate vodka...I'm so fucking hot..." he pulls his t-shirt up and exposes his sun-kissed skin, his tattoo, and his abs that are slowly appearing with all the workout. "Take a shower before sleeping," I unzip the back of my dress, my head aching.

"Ugh...I'm worn out," he grumbles and throws his white t-shirt on the bed to grab his belt and opens it. "I'll take a shower if you take it with me," he puts a condition, and I take my dress off but hold it against my stomach. "You can't stay one day without showering at least once, so I know you're gonna do it no matter what."

He shakes his head and pushes down the zipper of his pants. "Not true," he pays a lot of attention to my body, and I grin but throw my clothing at his face to cover his eyes. He removes it pretty fast. "Take everything off..."

"No," I do not agree with this and grab our clothes to gather the laundry, but he holds my forearm once I approach him. "Why not?" he whines and gives a gentle pull to draw me closer to him. "Because your dad might walk in," I give him the exact reason why, and he rolls his eyes as if this was not valid enough. "You know he never does it. You're just looking for an excuse, little shit," he sits up, with difficulty, looking heavy.

I slap the back of his head and walk up to the laundry basket to leave the clothes in it. "Hey, don't slap me. It turns me on," he moves up from his spot but slightly loses his balance, and I step forth to grab my pajamas I left on the bed before leaving the house. I do not say anything about what I heard but smile, and out of the corner of my eye, I notice him inch closer.

In short seconds, he wraps his hand around my throat, crashes his lips on my neck, and sticks his body to mine. "I need help with my belt," he mumbles against my skin, which he is wetting with his tongue, and I do as asked. I direct my body towards his tall one and slide the leather belt away from the loops while he is passionately kissing my neck, and I drop it on the bed next to us. "Here."

"There's another one...inside," he smiles and brings his warm lips to mine to kiss, and since he is asking for it, I slide my hand into his unzipped pants and pretend to look for something. "Here?"

"A little deeper," he whispers and tightens his grip on my throat, his lips moving less and parting instead. I open my eyes to see his expression, his nose poking my cheekbone, I push a bit more further with my hand. "I can't find it," I smile at how much enjoyment and pleasure I can read through his features, loving how strongly he is grabbing my throat. "Harder..." he bites his bottom lip and thrust against my hand, but I stop and pull my hand out. "You shouldn't have drunk, baby," I retreat and free myself from his dominant grip, and his eyes open.

"Babe...please," he hurries his hands to my hips to shrink the space between us. "I don't know what's my body's problem, but I'm so horny right now, like-"

"But," I cover his mouth with my hand. "No," he bends his head back to be able to speak. "Listen, seriously, like, you know," he does not make sense at all, but I still listen to make him happy. "This week," he glides his fingers under the sides of my waistband and pulls up to squeeze the fat on my hips. "I had a lot...like...a lot of wet dreams," he raises his eyebrows, exposing what he would probably not have said if he was sober. "And...it felt so amazing. I don't even know why we had so much sex in my head these days, but it was so good...I envy the me in my dreams...I'm not joking..."

"Hm. That's great," I do my best to give a good answer. "It will happen one day. Are you that eager?" I smile and gaze into his eyes, his hands having a trip over my body as if the fact that I am bloated does not even disgust him. "Yeah...I wanna make one with you," his lips curve up, his words sounding softer and more loving than expected. "I wanna feel us make one, just wanna stare into your eyes while I'm giving you pleasure and feeling every inch of you...Let alone how much I wanna hear you whine and moan my name again...Whenever I think about it my heart pounds so hard. Literally. It makes me hard too, but you know," he finishes his pretty confession with his signature, and I laugh. "You know what I mean, hm?"

"Yes, I want all of that too, but you're drunk-"

"I am not-"

"Whether you're drunk or just tipsy, you're still under the influence of alcohol, so nothing's happening," I cut him off and clarify before he could try. "Take a shower now, and maybe, I'll sleep naked tonight."

"For real?" he does not grumble about the end I put to his fantasy, and I nod but uncontrollably glance down at his chain. "I will, but I want you to take a shower," I fix the pendant of it so that it is not in the crook of his collarbone anymore, and he pecks my lips. "I trust you, mommy," he calls me, suddenly, and walks into the bathroom.

Out of surprise, I stare at the door but feel a smile grow on my face, so I erase it and shake my head.

30 minutes later...

I walk out of the bathroom after a refreshing and comforting shower, and the first thing I do is check on Joonha.

He is not sleeping like I thought he would, his eyes are already on me. No phone or tablet in his hand, he is simply lying down on the bed. He does not glance away but remains focused on me, so I join him on the sheets. "You look sleepy," I smile at the sight of his adorable face, and he does it too. "I don't look. I am."

"Close your eyes then," I cover our bodies with the blanket and snuggle up against him to steal some of his warmth, and he wraps his arms around my body and lowers his body on the bed to rest his face on my chest. "Didn't you say you'd sleep naked?" he reminds me, not forgetting about such things.

"You want me to? You're already in just a pair of sweatpants, and I'm just wearing a shirt and underwear, so you feel less fabric between us," I run my fingers through his fluffy hair to play with it and relax, and he slides his hands under my oversized t-shirt, which I stole from his closet. "True, and honestly, it'd turn me on, so it's better like this," he presses my body against his strong one to cuddle like two koalas and not leave any air between us, and I close my eyes.

"I love you," he rubs his fingers over my back, putting a smile on my face, and I comb his hair back. "I love you too."

- Next day -

Sunday, September 25th, 2022.

9 am.

[ you're still not gonna tell me why you asked that? >

The text now sent as the confusion has not been cleared since last night's conversation, I walk out of Joonha's bathroom but quickly realize he is not alone. Right after his eyes went down, both Mister Jeon and I make eye contact, awkwardly, wearing nothing but my underwear and bra. Before I could hide my body with my arms or go back to the bathroom, he turns around and does the job for me.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"Put this on," Joonha stands right in front of me after nearly running and taking his hoodie off. "I didn't hear you," I pass my arms through the sleeves to cover what I did not want to put on display with his dad around. "It's fine," Joonha reassures me.

"We'll talk at the table. I'll wait for you for breakfast," Mister Jeon does not stay. "Alright, we're coming anyway," Joonha peeks at him, and he leaves without looking at us.

"You could have warned me..." I mention, feeling very embarrassed about what just occurred, but he chuckles as of this was funny. "I thought you'd hear us talk."

"I didn't. I wasn't paying attention," I put my phone down on his desk and tie my hair up while he is putting another hoodie on. "Well. Let's see the good side of it. You weren't naked," he thinks of the worst case, believing this could help to alleviate the painful awkwardness that dug a hole in my brain. "If you were wearing a bikini, that wouldn't be different, so let's see the bright side of it only."

"That means it'd be fine if I walk around the house in just lingerie when your friends are around?" I ask him to test how much this is alright, but he freezes on his spot and stares into my soul. "Completely different, my girl. In this case, that wouldn't be an accident," he throws one of my pants at my face, and I catch it.

"Put this on and come downstairs to eat," he walks past me and gives a small tap on my cheek. "I'm not, I'm staying here today. I don't wanna see your dad," I put my pants on to hide my skin underneath. "No matter how kind he is," I make sure he knows I do not have anything against him, and he scoffs but stays at the door. "Get out right now. I don't care. You'll learn from this mistake."

I get hold of my phone before doing so, then, out of weakness, I do as he tells me and step out of the room. He slaps my butt right when I am in front of him, but I do not do anything other than smile and check the text Hyunjin sent me.

< I told you. Fr. I was just asking like that ]

[ istg you're annoying me. Stop lying! I know you're not telling the truth >

"Who are you talking to?" Joonha wraps one arm around my neck and approaches his face from the side of mine. "Hyunjin."

"I thought it was the moron," he never gives a sweet nickname to his best friend, never respecting each other. I walk down the stairs with him but do not look away from my phone screen, waiting for Hyunjin's true answer, and preventing any other eye contact with Mister Jeon from happening.

< nothing! We were just hanging out yesterday and did some dumb stuff stop asking me questions! ]

[ you started this! What dumb stuff? I'm your best friend so you can tell me >

I do not give up on trying to know what this means, aware of his bisexuality and feeling like something is happening or has happened.

"Sit here," Joonha pats the chair next to him so that I stay close, and I get on it.

< its your bro, he's my best firndd too so no ]

[ your typos are exposing you. You're nervous >

< stfu I'm not ]

[ you are. I'm gonna come to your house or ask my brother if you don't tell me >

< I don't wanna talk about it by text ]

"I need to make a call, don't wait for me," I warn Joonha and his dad and leave the table, knowing this is important. I walk away and head towards the bathroom to lock myself in and call my best friend, who obviously needs my help or someone to talk to.

The phone rings for a few seconds, making me impatient, but he decides to pick up the call and not avoid me.

"I swear, y/n, it's not serious. I was just curious," he starts the conversation with enough information to make me worry and not change my mind. "What is that dumb stuff you're talking about? If something bad happened between you two, Inhyuk's gonna talk about it with me at some point, so there's no need to hide it. You know it."

"Y/n..." he repeats my name with a heavy breath, and I wait. I wait for him to let it out. "I just...I'm scared because I feel like- I mean, no," he stops himself when he was about to eventually talk. "Take all the time you need. I'm not in a rush, and I'll wait as much as I have to. I know something wrong happened, and I care about you and my brother, so I want to know."

"I'm not sure Inhyuk will be okay with me talking about this," he blurs everything even more, causing me some more stress. I have no idea what is going on, but I am very anxious because I fear that their friendship might have been broken for whatever reason. This scares me, I love them both. "Inhyuk will understand, no matter what this is about. You need to talk about it, it's taking a toll on you, otherwise, you wouldn't say all those things to me, so I don't want you to keep it to yourself. Inhyuk and I both share a lot of stuff, so you don't have to worry about anything."

He remains quiet for a moment, certainly musing and wondering how he should start, so I do not pressure him but give him the silence and time he needs.

"I don't know why this happened, but...we were playing, eating, and drinking together at my house, and at some point because of what was happening in the game, we started to talk about sexuality and stuff like that," he gradually explains and gives details, and I become nervous, now guessing where this is going. "We just...He was probably a bit, I don't know, we just..." he has a hard time phrasing one single sentence, but I listen, quietly. "He said that he was sure he's straight, but I asked him how could he if he never kissed a guy or something like that, and one thing led to another, and...uhm...I kissed him," he startles me with some news I would never have anticipated before and gets me pretty speechless. "The thing is that it wasn't a simple kiss, and he didn't stop, but it made me feel really good, and I took this as sort of hint, so I tried to go a little further without even realizing it, but when I touched him, he stopped everything, and he looked so uncomfortable..." his voice quivers, and I figure out that his emotions are taking over him. "He left my house right afterwards...I feel so fucking dumb and disgusting since that happened, you can't even imagine how much I regret it, y/n...He was my best friend since college, and I ruined our friendship like a piece of shit-"

"Hyunjin, calm down," I slow everything down so that he does not panic or lose his mind over this situation. "You didn't ruin your friendship. He's not going to ghost you or pretend that you don't know each other. It's alright. He trusts you, and you're the only one he goes to when he needs advices or help, so your friendship is not over," I reassure him as much as I can, knowing my brother more than he does. "No, y/n. You don't understand. He hasn't texted me since then. We're never gonna be able to talk without thinking about this."

"First of all, he hasn't texted me yet, so that means he's thinking. After such a thing, if he was truly disgusted or uncomfortable about it, I know that he'd have talked to me," I tell him the truth, being sincere and not sugar-coated anything only in order to make him feel better. "What did he even say before leaving?"

"I don't know why, but he apologized and told me he isn't into that, and then, he told me he should go home. I shouldn't have questioned his sexuality when he said he was straight, I caused this-"

"You didn't cause anything, Hyunjin. Stop," I refuse to allow him to blame himself when he is for sure assuming a lot. "I'm gonna talk to him once I'm back home tonight, okay? But let me tell you that if he was really afraid to ruin your friendship, he wouldn't have let a kiss happen, neither let it linger, so stop assuming, alright?"

"Alright...but please, wait and see if he talks about it on his own. If he doesn't, just...don't talk about it...I'll deal with it on my own," he acts like he would not need me to do this with him, but to not worsen his state, I tell him what he wants to hear. "I will, but stop worrying for now. You're both still best friends."

"Yeah..." he does not sound convinced at all. "Yes, you are. I'll call or text you as soon as I had a talk with him, okay? But you can still talk to him before that-"

"No, I can't," he does not think twice, so I get it. "Alright. We'll talk about it, take care," I put an end to the call, and he says the same words, so I hang up.

I heave a sigh full of heaviness. I still cannot believe what happened. I would never have expected this to happen between them. Never, but Inhyuk's reaction seems weird. This is not usual from him. Most of the time, he knows what he wants, he does not doubt, he does not give high hopes to anyone, nor allow someone to do something if he does not want it, so him kissing Hyunjin and not stopping anything right away is the most surprising.

I cannot wait to be able to face him and have a talk about it.

Now that this is over, I walk out of the bathroom and go back to Joonha and his dad.

As soon as I join them, they both look at me and give me their attention. "Something happened?" Joonha swallows his food and focuses on me, and I sit down. "Nothing bad, don't worry."

"Sure?" he asks so that I know I can talk, but I do not say anything about it yet. "Yes."

•••

10 pm.

"See you in two weeks, I love you," Joonha gives me a tight hug and kisses my lips after taking my luggage out of his house. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I love you too, and I'll miss you, but I'll be back soon. It's better than three weeks," I remind him of this horrible moment of my life, and he chuckles. "You're never gonna forget about that. I made it up afterwards, didn't I?"

"You did," I do not deny it, and he leans to kiss me again. "But we're together now, and it's gonna be so hard to be away from you for two whole weeks, so we'll eat lunch together this Wednesday, okay?" he plans, already fearing the upcoming weeks. "We will, I gotta go now, my brother's waiting," I hold him for the last time this week, and he does it too, tenderly.

"I love you," he tells me again as if he was afraid I could forget, and I smile in his chest. "I love you too."

He drops a kiss on my forehead, and I step back to pull away from him. I grab the handle of my luggage to move back and separate us, but he does not let go of my hand. "Tell me about that stuff that happened with Hyunjin once you can, alright? I wanna know."

"I will," I slide my fingers away from his clingy ones, and I wave at him to say goodbye, but instead of doing it too, he follows me. "Can I come with you and bring Choco?"

"No," I laugh and keep stepping away while dragging my luggage with me, and he pouts to attempt to get me by the emotions. "Who am I cuddle to sleep on the weekend now? I'm gonna have insomnia without you."

"I'll call you, so we won't be alone," I reassure him as much as I do it for myself, and he shows some happiness. "Good, but not enough. I can't hold you," he keeps going, and at some point, I reach my brother's car and cannot go any further. "Wait then," I lean forward and open the top of my luggage to get something. I grab the cardigan I wore today, and my fragrance. I spray some on it and hand him the clothing. "Keep it."

He takes it and holds it against him, and I put my fragrance back inside to close the zipper, but once I straighten my back, he wraps his arms around me and warms me up with his body. "I hate Sundays."

"I hate Mondays more," I encircle his neck with my arms and stand on my tiptoes, but Joonha leans to the side and knocks on the car window. "Sir, can I steal your sister, please?"

My brother does not answer but goes out, and he makes eye contact with him. "I mean...With good intentions, you know it, right?" Joonha's voice turns softer, pretending to be intimidated, and Inhyuk smiles. "No. I won't let you steal my sister," he heads to the trunk and opens it, so I roll my luggage towards him, and he heaves it up to put it inside.

"What about sharing a bit more equally?" he does not give up after a first failure, making my brother scoff. "Equally? What does that mean?"

"Well, you've been having her next to you for eighteen years now, so what about I have her for the next eight-"

"Don't even think about it. She wouldn't be able to stay away from me for so long anyway, hm?" he sets his threatening eyes on me, and out of honesty, I shake my head. "I'd still want to see you from time to time, but one week with you, and one week with him would be great," I touch Joonha's arm, but he does not agree. "No. You'll move out of the house at some point, so let me have those last months or years with you," he closes the trunk after speaking some words that are pretty painful to hear, and he heads back to the front of the car.

I do love him a lot and fear the moment I will not see him every day anymore.

"We'll see each other this Wednesday," I peck Joonha's lips and move up to the doors, open the passenger one, and get in to join my brother. "Don't go to be too late, you gotta work tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, mom," he dares to say that in front of my brother, my hand still holding the door open, I nibble on my inner cheek to not smile like a dumbass about this, and he waves his hand at me. "See you."

"See you, dummy," I close the door and giggle, and while Inhyuk is turning the ignition on, I bring the window down to still talk to my boyfriend, and we look at each other. "You changed your mind?" he hugs my cardigan, and I laugh. "No, stop making it hard to leave."

"I'm sorry, I'll leave too then. See you, Mister Jang," he says goodbye to my brother, being way too formal to address him. "Mister?" he bends his head to gaze at him, finding it pretty funny to hear this. "Yes, Sir. I always did."

"That type of thing doesn't work with me," he tells a lie, and I make sure to quickly expose him. "Unless I'm the one doing it," I smile at him, and he slaps my arm. "Shut up, it doesn't."

"I only believe you, Sir. Don't worry," Joonha cowardly sides with him like an ass-licker, and I gasp but hold back from getting out to punch him. "See you, baby! I gotta go and cry in my bed now!" he runs away to avoid a playful confrontation, and I smile, not even upset at all. When he reaches the door, he turns around and sends me a flying kiss, but I send a middle finger in return, and no matter the distance keeping us apart, my eyes manage to perceive the shock on his face.

He suddenly comes back, but my brother starts the car and leaves, forcing him to run and make me feel bad. Inhyuk peeks at him in the side-view mirror and chuckles, but Joonha eventually stops himself, so I take my phone and text him.

[ I'm sorry lmaoo it's my brother's fault >

< I'm gonna fucking kill you:) ]

I smile but leave my phone to focus on my brother. We need to talk about what happened, and I hope he will initiate it himself.

"So," I break the silence. "How was this weekend? What did you do?" I put my eyes on him, and he shrugs, remaining careful and never looking away from the road. "Nothing much. It was great, what about you? What did you both do?"

"We celebrated Seunggil's birthday last night, and today, we just spent some time playing and staying together," I tell him without being too specific. "Good," he nods, acting pretty weird and not showing many emotions, which means that what is happening in his head is serious.

I do not say anything more since I know I will fail and end up talking about Hyunjin first.

I glance down at my phone to answer Joonha's text and not feel awkward.

[ kill my brother instead. I didn't do anything >

< of course, your middle finger just decided to tell me goodbye and not tell the others about his move. Can't wait to see you this Wednesday. Can't wait:) ]

[ can't wait either:> I love you and don't do anything wrong to my cardigan, its my fav >

< can your brother see your text? ]

[ no >

< good. I'll cum on it every night ]

[ don't you dare! I'm gonna tell your dad to bring it back to me tomorrow >

< I'll tell him I don't know where it is ]

[ next time I come to your house ill steal your hoodies and use them as a carpet >

< id never let you do such a thing, I can stop you if I want to bbgurl. I'm getting buff from all the workout now, I'm soon gonna be able to lift you up with one hand ]

[ sure lmaoo >

< are you

"Have you talked to Hyunjin this weekend?" Inhyuk puts him forth, to my greatest relief, so I ignore my dumbass and answer him.