Right Here | SunNew / Sunric

「37」

★3rd Person★

The tension in the air thickened, suffocating them both. Chanhee stood shyly in front of Juyeon, who just finished locking the door. He stared down at the floor, suddenly interested in the white shower curtain floating just above the ground.

"Are you okay with this?"

Chanhee snapped his head back up, Juyeon's voice bringing him back to reality.

"What?" He genuinely did not hear Juyeon over his heartbeat drumming in his ears.

"I asked if you're okay with this, because if not we can just sit here and wait out the 7 minutes." Juyeon suggested, leaning against the counter with his back to the mirror.

"It's okay. It'd be kind of lame to skip out on a dare, right?" Chanhee genuinely had no idea where he was going with that statement, all he could think about before his turn was exactly that. How to skip out.

He was just talking to talk, he didn't know how to even start the dare. He was just buying himself time to collect his thoughts and relax .

"I like you, Chanhee. And I would never intentionally do something to make you uncomfortable, so if you're really not okay with this then we don't have to." Juyeon confessed, catching Chanhee slightly off guard.

What did that even mean? I like you.

"You like me?" Chanhee frowned. Juyeon nodded with a small smile.

"I have for a while, but I got caught in Younghoon's shadow and I never got the chance to tell you."

Chanhee felt sick. Not in a bad way. Just sick, he felt the heat rise in his throat and suddenly his palms are sweaty and he's having trouble breathing.

"I know I made mistakes in the past, things that are simply irreversible and can't be fixed with a simple apology. I know that. But I'm hoping I can prove to you that I'm trying to make up for everything I did." Juyeon said in a quiet tone, he wasn't looking at Chanhee, but rather down at his shoes.

"You were a part of the bet." Chanhee commented. He studied Juyeon's face for a reaction. But there was none, more so like he was just remembering what happened.

Then he just shook his head. "I tried to tell him it was a bad idea, but he somehow convinced me it could be fun. When I saw how you reacted at the party...that's when I realized the amount of damage he had caused, and how badly I'd fucked up in not stopping him. I'm really sorry, Chanhee. I never meant to hurt you, I really didn't."

Chanhee chewed the inside of his lips.

" 'Sorry' can't fix what you two did to me."

Juyeon simply nodded, like he had accepted that Chanhee probably wouldn't ever forgive him.

He was caught by surprise when Chanhee stepped closer and lifted his face with both hands on either side of his head.

They were so close Juyeon could feel the steady rhythm of Chanhee's breathing on his lips.

"But if you're really serious about liking me, I'm willing to let you try." Chanhee whispered, eyes glued to Juyeon's eyes.

Juyeon smiled and snaked his arm around Chanhee's waist, pulling him closer to kiss him full on the lips.

Chanhee wrapped his arms around Juyeon's shoulders, pushing their bodies closer.

The funny thing is that they didn't go any further than kissing. They were comfortable like this, kissing softly, just holding each other.

Right now this is just a game, and they would treat it as such. But it was because of this game that Chanhee would give Juyeon a chance to redeem himself. A second chance, if you will.