Strawberry Lipgloss | Luwoo

58 (Ending 1/3)

*a few weeks later*

"Ten—what the hell am I supposed to do after college...actually be an adult!?" Jungwoo yelled as he paced the length of his friends dorm. "I'm only twenty three!"

A small sigh came out of the small boy as he listened to the younger's breakdown about graduation for the third time that week. They were all graduating in a few days and some were taking it better than others. "Jungwoo, we've been adults for years."

"How is Hendery going to survive without Yukhei?" Jungwoo muttered, momentarily stopping to put his head in his hands.

"Hey Ten what did you need?" Lucas asked as he walked into the dorm only to see his boyfriend in the middle of a breakdown yet again.

"You need to take your boyfriend somewhere else—I have class." Ten responded before grabbing his backpack and walking out of the door.

Walking over to his boyfriend, Lucas pulled the boy into his arms, "Baby, I thought we talked about everything yesterday?"

"Not everything!" Jungwoo sobbed as he shoved his face even further into the younger's shoulder.

After pressing a small kiss to the top of Jungwoo's head, Lucas pulled away to look at him. "Do you want to go back to your dorm before we talk about this, angel?"

Jungwoo wiped at his eyes with the sleeves of his sweater before nodding. "Yes please," he whispered before grabbing one of Lucas's hands.

Once they made it to Jungwoo's dorm, the boy had calmed down quite a bit. He wasn't quite sure why graduation scared him so much but his insides felt all jumbled up. Lucas walked over to sit on the bed before pulling Jungwoo down to sit on his lap.

"What's wrong, hm?" He asked softly, trying to coax the problem out of the boy.

A small whine came out of him as he felt his tears welling with eyes. Just the mention of his anxiety was enough to make him cry. "It's all just going s—so fast."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked softly as he ran his hands up and down the boys back

"I haven't thought about getting a job o—or moving away from here—any of it!" He cried, laying his head down on Lucas's shoulder.

"Jungwoo, you don't have to have a steady job and a house the second you graduate," Lucas said softly, trying to comfort the boy to the best of his ability. "I was going to wait a little longer to ask you this...but it might calm you down a little."

Lifting his head, Jungwoo look at the younger expectantly, waiting for the question.

"So...we've been together for awhile and since we are graduating—don't feel pressured or anything...but would you maybe—actually I don't really know if—"

"Yukhei just ask the question!"

"Do you want to move in together!" Lucas yelled back.

Jungwoo's eyes widened at the question, not knowing what he expected it to be. "Are you sure—I'm messy."

A small smile formed on Lucas's lips as he nodded, "I know you're messy, I'm sure."

"Yes—let's move in together."

✨✨✨

Jungwoo took a deep breath, breathing in until five then letting out all of his anxieties. He was graduating today and he didn't have any time left to prepare.

"Dong Sicheng," Echoed through the auditorium, causing Jungwoo to smile upon hearing his friends name.

He was closing in on the stage, only a few more people in front of him. He glanced back at Ten for reassurance, the elder giving him a thumbs up.

After what felt like an eternity, he was finally called up onto the stage. He shook the hands of the academic board before accepting his degree. Successfully making it down the stairs without falling, Jungwoo walked over to where the rest of the graduating class was sitting.

It only took a few minutes before Ten was seated next to him (after forcing some kids to scoot down). "We did it," He whispered, reaching over to intertwine one of his hands with Jungwoo's.

"We did it," Jungwoo confirmed, squeezing the elder's hand ever so gently.

It took awhile before the ceremony was over but by the end, Jungwoo wasn't quite sure what to do. Him and Lucas both graduated college faster than normal from dual credits in high school—but that didn't feel special anymore. A part of him wished they were still enrolled, not having to worry about graduation for another year.

When they were finally free to leave, Ten insisted on taking all sorts of pictures. Jungwoo would never say no to pictures, so he pushed down the melancholic feeling and forced a smile on his face.

The group started to slowly diminish as parents showed up to congratulate their kids. Jungwoo watched them leave one by one until it was just him and Lucas.

Lucas gestured to his mom talking to Jungwoo's parents before mumbling, "This all feels too real."

The elder forced his eyes onto the pavement before nodding, a tear rolling off the end of his nose and landing next to his foot. "I don't want this to be real," he whispered.

Putting an arm around his boyfriend, Lucas pressed a lingering kiss to his temple before mustering up his bravest smile, "We're going to be okay, baby. We still have our whole lives ahead of us."

"I don't know why I'm sad," Jungwoo admitted, his bottom lip quivering from the buildup of emotions, "I think I'm scared that all of this...you and all my friends are going to disappear. My life is here."

"Hey," Lucas prompted. He could feel tears of his own building up, "A part of your life is here, now it's time for the next part."

The elder nodded before leaning forward to wrap his arms around his boyfriend. "I love you," he said shakily, feeling comfort in the fact Lucas would never just disappear. 

✨✨✨

That night, they all went out for dinner together. The parents met each other and it went great.

Lucas in particular started to get comfortable with Jungwoo's parents. Jungwoo's father gave him a sense of security that he'd never had before.

They broke the news of moving in together that night when Ms Kim asked Jungwoo if he needed any help moving back in.

Maybe Lucas was right, he needed to look at this being just the next part of his life. And so far...this part of his life was coming together quite perfectly. 

———

Happy birthday Jungwoo 

Thanks for reading 💖