ASTRONOMY | SEUNGJIN

7 - Just friends

Maybe because the floor was cold and uncomfortable, Hyunjin couldn't sleep. He looked over at Seungmin, and it seemed like he wasn't asleep either.

"You good?" Hyunjin inquired. "You've been asking me that since earlier, do I not look okay?" Yes, in fact, he looked... lost.

"Just making sure," Hyunjin assured.

"And if I'm not good? What could you possibly do?" Seungmin quietly says, wanting to hear a response from the other.

"I'll be here to listen," Hyunjin replies.

"And if I don't talk?" Seungmin finally looked over to Hyunjin and made eye contact. "Then I'll just be here," Hyunjin said, staring directly into Seungmin's eyes.

"Why?" Hyunjin has been good to him, no matter how stubborn he is. He was curious.

"What do you mean, why? Can I not be a good friend?" He had a point, yet why be a good friend to someone who's not? "You're a good friend too, Seungmin, I hope you know that." How did Hyunjin know exactly what Seungmin was thinking?

"You know what? You can sleep here." Seungmin moved over to the side, giving space to Hyunjin. "No need, I'm okay here," Hyunjin retorted.

Lies, the floor was cold and hard; how can that be comfortable? "It's not an offer, though?" silence... "Okay, fine, but I'm telling you, I sleep mischievously."

"What?" Seungmin questions, how can someone sleep... mischievously? "What I mean is that I move around a lot.." Hyunjin explains. "Oh"

Though they were sleeping beside each other, Seungmin put pillows in the middle of the bed for, I quote, personal space.

The morning came, and everyone was still asleep except Hyunjin. He woke up with his arm wrapped around Seungmin's slim waist and a leg hovering over him, which of course belonged to Seungmin.

He tried to remove his arm without waking Seungmin up but failed miserably, so he decided to leave it as it was and go back to sleep since it was pretty early. Seungmin wakes up, and the first thing he sees is Hyunjin facing him, soundly asleep. "His hair looks soft," Seungmin mumbled, then realized their position.

Panicking, he removed his leg from Hyunjin and, in the process, fell off the bed, which resulted in a loud thud that awoke Hyunjin.

"Ouch" Seungmin muttered, still on the ground. "Are you okay?!" Hyunjin was slightly frightened but soon helped Seungmin get up. "What happened?" Hyunjin's face was full of worry. "Nothing, I just fell." He went to the bathroom and acted as if nothing happened.

Even breakfast looked fancy here, the thought of leaving after this meal devastated Hyunjin.

"Morning," greeted Felix, and Changbin came right behind him. They all ate at the same table, chattering. "Oh, by the way, where's your boyfriend?" Asked Changbin. "Boyfriend? I don't have one, though?" Hyunjin was confused.

"You mean the son of Mrs. Kim is not your boyfriend?" Changbin looked at Felix "You guys looked like you had something! The way you kept checking up on him and the way he only talks to you? Are you trying to hide it too?!" They have been mistaken! How could they possibly think that he and Seungmin had something?

"No, no, we're just friends," Hyunjin explained.

"You sure you want to just be friends?" Changbin asked with food in his mouth. "Of course, plus I'm a hundred percent sure he won't like me in that way." Why was this suddenly turning into an interrogation?

"The way you look at him says otherwise," Felix added.

"Enough with me; how about you guys? Why keep it a secret?" Hyunjin changed the topic. "We're just not ready to let anyone know yet, but soon enough we will. Right, Changbin?" Felix asked. "Of course, I can't wait till I can tell everyone that you're mine." He assured.

How sweet of them, Hyunjin thought. He wondered if he would ever get to love someone the same way, but right now he had other problems to think about. After breakfast, they exchanged numbers to keep in touch and then bid their goodbyes. He hasn't seen Seungmin since the little incident, so he was surprised to see him by the exit.

"Going home, Hwang?" Seungmin questions like that weren't obvious enough. "Yeah, bye, Seungmin." He patted Seungmin's head. Such little action, yet Seungmin was internally panicking.

"W-want a ride home?" Where did the sudden stuttering come from? "Sure," Hyunjin was used to riding Seungmin's car by now; in fact, he and the driver have been getting along.

Since both of them slept late last night, they fell asleep as soon as the car hit the road. Seungmin's head was on Hyunjin's shoulders, while Hyunjin's head was resting on top of Seungmin's. What a lovely sight to see, the driver couldn't help but take a quick snap while the traffic light was on red.

Like earlier, Hyunjin woke up first. They arrived at his stop, yet Seungmin was still asleep. Hyunjin slowly removed Seungmin's head from his shoulder and left.

"We're home, Seungmin." The voice of his driver woke him up. He got out of the car, and only then did he realize that Hyunjin had left earlier.

"He has a habit of not saying bye," Seungmin thought when his phone vibrated.

"Didn't want to wake you up earlier, but thanks for the ride. I hope you got home safely :)"

It was from Hyunjin. A faint shade of red filled his cheeks as he typed "No problem" Seconds later, Hyunjin received the reply from Seungmin. A two-word reply, yet Hyunjin found it cute-how odd.