<Hoshi's Apartment>

Hoshi rubbed his eyes as he woke up. He chuckled slightly as he saw Woozi sleeping peacefully beside him.

He shifted a little closer, his arm slipping around Woozi's waist as he nuzzled his face into the younger's hair. A wave of tenderness washed over him, his heart swelling with a mix of emotions.

Woozi shuffled a bit in his sleep but his eyes remained closed as he whined, "Uh~ Soonyoung~ Don't!"

Hoshi tightened his arm around Woozi's waist, pulling the younger closer against his chest. "Sshh," he whispered, his voice low and tender, "I'm just holding you."

Woozi snuggled his face into the older's chest, "Shut up."

"You're so demanding when you're asleep," Hoshi commented, his hand now lazily tracing circles on Woozi's back.

"And you're so annoying." Woozi muttered in a muffled voice.

Hoshi pretended to be hurt by Woozi's comment, a mock gasp escaping his lips.

"Me? Annoying?" he said, feigning innocence, "I'm just trying to hold you while you sleep, and this is how you repay me? By calling me annoying?"

Woozi opened his eyes slightly, "Stop being mean in the morning!" He whined.

"I know, I know, I'm being too mean," Hoshi said, his voice still carrying a hint of amusement. "But you make it too easy. You're just too feisty in the morning."

Woozi finally sat up on the bed, "I woke up, alright?"

Hoshi watched as Woozi sat up on the bed, his eyes tracing the younger's movements.

"Yes, I can see that," He chuckled softly, sitting up himself so that he was now facing the younger. "But you're still being grumpy."

"Really?" Woozi looked at the older, "You were the one who started acting like I was unwell when I was being sweet to you that day."

Hoshi sighed, giving the younger a sheepish grin. "Okay, fair point. I may have overreacted a bit."

"Overreact? I started thinking that I failed to make you feel loved enough." Woozi muttered, "That's why it was a huge thing for you when I was being sweet."

"No, that's... That's not true," Hoshi protested, his voice slightly wavering. "You do make me feel loved. You always do."

"I hope so." Woozi mumbled.

"You do." Hoshi's voice was firm, his expression earnest as he stared into Woozi's eyes. He reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair behind the younger's ear. "You make me feel loved every single day. You have no idea how much you mean to me."

Woozi paused for a moment after which he smiled, "You mean a lot to me as well, really!"

Hoshi let out a soft exhale, his thumb caressing the younger's cheek. "Good," he said quietly. "I'm glad. I always want you to know just how much I care about you."

Woozi chuckled, "I love you!"

"I love you too," Hoshi replied softly, his voice filled with sincerity. "So much."

<Scarlett Cafe>

"I didn't expect you to agree for this." Mingyu chuckled as he sat across Wonwoo, in the VIP cabin they had booked in the cafe.

"For what exactly?" Wonwoo raised a brow as he leaned slightly on the table.

"For- umm-" Mingyu scratched his forehead, "Uh- meet-up."

"Meet-up?" Wonwoo teased.

"Date." Mingyu blurted out.

"Date? Really?" Wonwoo said with a chuckle. "Here I was thinking this was just a friendly coffee meetup. You really expect me to believe you want to date me?"

"Why won't I?" Mingyu raised a brow, "C'mon, you can't call us 'just friends'. You know we aren't."

Wonwoo rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "Yeah, yeah, we're not just friends. We're fake boyfriends, remember?"

"I want to remove that 'fake' tag." Mingyu muttered, staring deep into the older's eyes.

Wonwoo's breath hitched as he felt Mingyu's intense gaze on him. He wasn't used to the younger being so upfront about his feelings.

"Oh really?" he said after a moment, trying to keep his cool and feign nonchalance. "And what makes you think I would just go along with that?"

"Everything. Your eyes, your body language, everything you do makes it pretty obvious that you want to consider me." Mingyu leaned closer, resting his hands on the table.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about." Wonwoo said, his voice cracking slightly.

Mingyu chuckled as he stood up and walked around the table to stand against it, beside Wonwoo, "So are you also going to pretend that we shared a kiss? Earlier that day?"

"W-well, that was- that was just a spur-of-the-moment thing." Wonwoo protested, trying to sound nonchalant. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Which means you'll stop me if I try to do it again?" Mingyu raised a brow.

"Of course I would." Wonwoo said, a hint of defensiveness in his tone.

Mingyu leaned down, his lips halting just a breath away from Wonwoo's, "Say no just once and I'll back away instantly."

"No." Wonwoo said firmly, his voice shaky.

Mingyu smiled with a small nod as he slowly began to back away.

But soon enough, Wonwoo's resolve crumbled as he found himself being the one to pull Mingyu closer. He grabbed onto his collars and pulled him into a fierce and possessive kiss.

As their lips met, Wonwoo's mind went blank, all thoughts and inhibitions gone. The need for control was gone, replaced by a burning desire to have the younger.

Mingyu chuckled into the kiss as his hands gripped the older's waist firmly while he pushed his tongue in with a loud groan.

Wonwoo let out a stifled gasp as Mingyu's tongue slipped into his mouth, the sensation sending a shiver down his spine. He responded immediately, his own tongue meeting the younger's in an electrifying dance of desire.

His hands gripped Mingyu's shoulders tightly as his body pressed closer, seeking even more contact.

When they parted away, Mingyu grinned, "Wasn't that hard to accept that you do want me, Mr. Jeon."

Wonwoo let out a small huff, his face flushed and his breathing ragged. He had to admit, he had enjoyed that more than he cared to admit.

"Shut up," he said, but there was no heat behind the words. "Don't let it get to your head."

"So what are we going to call this? Still a friendly meet-up or a date?" Mingyu generously asked.

"A date, obviously." Wonwoo laughed along.

<Rose Quartz Mansion>

"Yeah, thanks!" Seungcheol groaned as he sat comfortably on the bed after Jeonghan had changed the dressing of his healing wound.

"No need." Jeonghan went to wash his hands and returned to sit beside the older.

"I still want to witness that myself." Seungcheol scoffed.

"What?" Jeonghan looked at him.

"You begging me to wake up." Seungcheol let out a teasing chuckle.

"You are definitely going to hell for this." Jeonghan rolled his eyes.

"Oh darling, I'm going to hell for a lot of things." Seungcheol winked at the younger, "Most of them being some thoughts about you."

"Oh yeah?" Jeonghan raised an eyebrow, trying to act nonchalant. "And what kind of thoughts are you having about me that are sending you straight to hell, hm?"

Seungcheol began to lean closer to the younger, "How about a quick demo?"

"Seungcheol, behave!" Jeonghan pressed his palm against the older's chest, "You're not even healed completely."

"Does it matter?" Seungcheol whispered in a husky tone.

"Yes, it matters," Jeonghan protested, his voice slightly breathless. He shot Seungcheol a stern look, even as his fingers fidgeted with the buttons of the older's shirt. "You're still injured, so no funny business."

"A little?" Seuncheol's deep voice echoed as his hands gripped the younger's waist to pull him closer.

"A little is still a no," Jeonghan retorted, though his voice was tinged with a touch of desperation. He was already struggling to keep his composure as it was, and Seungcheol's grip on his waist was testing his restraint.

"Why?!" Seungcheol whined.

"Because I said so," Jeonghan replied firmly. He tugged at Seungcheol's hand, gently prying it from his waist. "We can't just ignore the fact that you got shot, okay? You need to rest."

"Yeah, ever heard someone getting punished for getting injured?" Seungcheol rolled his eyes.

"It's not about punishing you," Jeonghan retorted, his voice slightly exasperated. "It's about making sure you don't do something that'll make your injury worse. And that means no fooling around, alright?"

"No one dares to scold me like this." Seungcheol muttered beneath his breath.

"Yeah, well, someone's gotta keep you in line," Jeonghan retorted, arching an eyebrow. "Especially when you're acting like a brat."

"Yeah, why not? You've got all the rights. Enjoy!" Seungcheol chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh, I will enjoy this," Jeonghan muttered, his voice laced with mock confidence. "But only because your sulky, grouchy face is kinda adorable."

"Shut up and give me a hug." Seungcheol wrapped his arms around the younger, squishing him within his embrace.

Jeonghan let out a soft laugh as Seungcheol immediately demanded a hug, his face slightly flushed as he leaned into the embrace.

He wrapped his arms around Seungcheol's torso, burying his face into the older man's chest. "You're such a big baby sometimes," Jeonghan mumbled, his voice muffled against Seungcheol's shirt.

"Hmm because I love you and your presence." Seungcheol mumbled.

Jeonghan's heart skipped a beat at Seungcheol's response. The older had a skill for making simple words sound so sweet and sincere.

"Mm," Jeonghan hummed in response, his face still hidden in the crook of Seungcheol's neck. "You're only saying that because I'm the only one who can put up with you and your grumpy self."

"Right." Seungcheol chuckled, "Because no one else would have dared to stalk me like you did and that too, with the intention of dating me. I never knew, that a love which I had called sinister, would bloom like this."

"Yeah yeah, stop glorifying yourself now." Jeonghan paused as he shifted slightly to look at the older, "But as a matter of fact, I do love you, a lot. I know that earlier, the things I did, were insane but thankyou for suggesting to restart fresh rather than ending them all."

"That suggestion required a lot of trust, Jeonghan." Seungcheol whispered, "I trust you with my life on line, really."

"I trust you too, you know," Jeonghan said softly, his eyes locking onto Seungcheol's. "More than I can even say."

Seungcheol pressed a kiss on the younger's forehead, "I love you."

"Love you too!" Jeonghan chuckled.

A/n : Another one ended. Although it could have been better but yeah, let's go with this!!

And a huge huge huge thankyou to all of you for having so much patience for this book as well as the others due to my long break😭✨

I'm really grateful for your understanding cuz I've seen many authors lose audience cuz of these kinda breaks which are inevitable to avoid but I'm so proud that my homies are still here, so thankyou sm!!

All I wanna say is that, we're so back!!!!

Anyways take care everyone!
-Jeonghanneyonghaseyo