p e r s o n a l l y ☆ 2jae

f o r t y - s e v e n

Youngjae looked on with concern laced in his expression; it hit him just how precautious Jaebeom was being now that the school gate was right before them. It was currently the start of the lunch break and they had made it just in time to meet up with the others, but just in time to see the rush of all the other students too. One thing in particular was hammering at the forefront of Jaebeom's mind--

They were still holding hands.

Of course, Jaebeom was happy to be Youngjae's boyfriend, it meant more to him than anything and he definitely wasn't planning on leaving— but he would Youngjae be able to handle things too? Just because time had stopped for them didn't mean the rest of the world had stopped too. He couldn't imagine what the reaction would be if they walked in like that, and so his mouth dropped a little, a few weak syllables spilling out of his lips.

"If you don't want to hold hands now I understand, I mean— people will look at us and.. And—"

Youngjae softened his expression, meanwhile holding the elder's hand even tighter in his grasp and pulsing his grip once, twice, enough to reassure Jaebeom that he wasn't letting go anytime soon. He looked up, satisfied to see a small smile back on Jaebeoms's face.

Smiling suited him.
And they continued onwards.

People glared at them, eyes bulging comically or staring daggers into the interlocked fingers of the pair. It was unsurprisingly, but still a little disheartening.

"Yugyeom texted to say they were waiting for us in a spare classroom," Youngjae said in attempts to draw the elder's attention away. Although when he looked over he noticed Jaebeom was still lost in his own thoughts. 

"Focus on me," he reiterated, turning to gaze into Jaebeoms's eyes, "My hands are warm right?"

Jaebeom nodded, a child-like innocence on his face. He focused on Youngjae and the world felt okay again. It wasn't long before they found the rest of their friends, their volume from even within the closed classroom loud enough to be heard a mile away. The younger pushed his weight against the door, hand still clasped with Jaebeom's.

The sound made everyone turn to look at the door. Immediately their eyes drew to the intertwined fingers, the flushed faces and the closeness between the two that had entered. Youngjae felt butterflies swarming his insides and the duo looked back at each other with wary smiles. They didn't say anything for a while, waiting for the moment to settle and feel just right.

We should get it out the way, hit the nail on the head, say the thing that was already blatantly obvious. 

"We're.." Youngjae began faintly. He turned back to the others and felt Jaebeom squeezing his hand, small pulses-- just as Youngjae had done moments before to reassure him.  

"We're dating."

The group took in the information and it wasn't long before they let open arms and congratulations flood the room. Jaebeom and Youngjae knew that their friends would be accepting but the reassurance was always welcome.

"It took you guys long enough," Bambam said jokingly, earing a small flick on the forehead from the eldest of the seven.

"Congrats guys," Mark said, "I'm glad you guys got to sort through everything."

Out from behind Jackson bustled through with a look of comedic horror plastered across his face. Bambam complained a little about being shoved, rubbing his shoulder childishly whilst Yugyeom looked at him with amusement.