freedom ;; xdinary heroes

twenty eight

"Gunil, I...—"

"I'm resigning."

Hajun stared at the younger for a bit, trying his utmost best not to break down in tears. "R-right. Do you, uhm... look, you don't need to quit because of me. You're indispensable to Starlight, and—"

"I know, and it sucks that I have to do this," Gunil agreed with a heavy nod, "but with what's happening between the two of us, I... I can't. I can't hurt myself any further by being around you when it's just hurting us both. You don't love me, and I don't love you."

"Gunil, please, I can't do anything without you—"

"Well, learn to, because I'm leaving," Gunil said firmly. "You never loved me. I shouldn't have allowed myself to fall so foolishly."

Hajun finally choked out a sob, resting his head in his hands to cover his face as he cried. Gunil felt his stomach turning, but he remained unfazed. "You know, I did fall in love. I fell in love so hard but you're just a selfish asshole that only cares about himself — and you're too locked up in your little bubble of self-righteous self-care to realise when someone has feelings for you."

"Hyung—"

"No, Gunil! I'm sick and tired of pretending that I'm okay with you leaving me!" Hajun yelled, wiping his eyes from their tears. "Yeah, it started as a fling. Yeah, it was a couple of one-night stands. But in the end, I fell in love. At some point, I wanted nothing more than to be with you. But here I am, crying like a little bitch just because I'm getting my heart broken."

Gunil pressed his lips together, trying to keep his emotions together, but watching as Hajun sobbed made him frown. "Hyung, I'm sorry, but..."

"I get it. You don't need to say it again," Hajun sighed. "I know you don't love me. You'll be getting the pay for the month worked so far on the 25th. I can sign a declaration of contract nullification, and you can pick it up whenever you need it."

Gunil nodded, silence falling over the two apart from Hajun's occasional sniffles. "I'm sorry that it came to this, hyung..."

"Just leave already. I can't look you in the eyes."

•

"A week suspension?"

Hyeongjun nodded, eating from the frozen yoghurt in his hands before pointing the spoon at Jungsu. "I told you he shouldn't have fought. Now he's in trouble with teachers and Mrs Oh isn't very friendly when it comes to stuff like this."

"But at least you're in a better position, right? Everyone that has been her victim won't be mistreated anymore," Jungsu said with hopeful eyes. "At least no one will be hurting my baby anymore, hm?"

Hyeongjun looked at him for a moment before nodding, eating of his yoghurt again. "It's just... now everyone knows that I'm not normal. I was always the weird one at school, pushed away from everyone. I'm always alone because no one wants to be my friend. I enjoy being alone, yes, but... it doesn't solve the fact that I don't have anyone..."

Jungsu put his hand to the back of Hyeongjun's head, pulling him forward to kiss his forehead softly. "I'm here for you. Okay? Seungmin is here for you, too. He'll hang out more often with you from now on, I swear. Considering that we're dating now, you no longer have a best friend."

Hyeongjun pouted, putting his head on Jungsu's shoulder. "If only we went to the same school. Everyone would be so jealous that you'd be dating me."

"How so?"

Hyeongjun looked up at him, eyes bright with innocence. "Because you're the prettiest boy I know."

Jungsu stared at him for a moment, cooing loudly as he reached to hug the taller boy. "Oh my God, that was so cute! I hate compliments, but I just love it when you call me pretty. I love being your pretty boy."

Hyeongjun hesitantly put his frozen yoghurt down on the kitchen counter, turning to face the other. "You're my pretty boy because... we love each other, don't we?"

Jungsu nodded, reaching over to hold Hyeongjun's hands. "Yeah, you're my special boy. My special little Hyeongjunnie."

"... can I kiss you?"

"Why are you asking?" Jungsu asked, laughing as he nodded. Hyeongjun carefully leaned closer, tilting his head as their lips made careful contact. Hyeongjun would have pulled away if Jungsu didn't hold him in place by his wrist, another hand placed on the back of the taller's head.

Hyeongjun yelped, rather surprised by Jungsu's boldness, but he complied, allowing the kiss to grow deeper. Jungsu pulled away for a second to tilt his head in the opposite direction, his hand moving through Hyeongjun's already messy hair. The blonde hummed against his lips, giggling as he pulled away for a second.

"You're allowed to hold me too, Hyeongjun..."

"I-I'm shy..."

"Fair enough, but I'm your boyfriend. There's no need to be shy," Jungsu spoke softly, their noses bumping as he placed soft kisses on Hyeongjun's lips. "Kiss me however you'd like, Jjunnie. It's okay."

Hyeongjun glanced unsurely up at the other before hesitantly putting a hand on Jungsu's waist and pulling him closer. Their kisses grew deeper, somehow, holding each other almost desperately as they tried to touch as much as they could without going too far. Jungsu pulled away suddenly, pushing Hyeongjun to lie down on the couch.

"Want to kiss like this?" Jungsu asked, putting his hands on either side of Hyeongjun's head. The other was nervous, heart beating wildly in his chest. He nodded, a sudden rush of excitement going through him as Jungsu hurriedly pressed their lips together, tongues fighting as their passion grew. Hyeongjun still had his hands on Jungsu's waist, not knowing what else to do with them.

Jungsu's lips trailed lower, down Hyeongjun's chin to his collarbone, where he began placing soft kisses. He nipped at his skin, eventually sucking and biting on the soft texture. Hyeongjun screwed his eyes shut, pressure building up in places they shouldn't.

"J... Jungsu..."

"Should I stop...?"

Hyeongjun shook his head, biting his lips together as he reached for Jungsu's hand. "No, but if you don't, I'll..."

"Me too," Jungsu muttered, peppering kisses on his neck. "I think we should stop, hm?"

Hyeongjun hesitantly nodded, a feeling of disappointment filling him as Jungsu pulled away. They clearly weren't done, but to prevent any accidents, they chose to stop. The tension was still thick in the air, and Jungsu wanted to fix it. He pulled Hyeongjun up, making him sit against the couch as he sat facing him on his lap.

"J-Jungsu, you said we'd—"

"You clearly still want to kiss me," Jungsu teased, smiling as the other grew embarrassed. "It's fine. Just let me kiss you. Nothing bad will happen — I swear."

Hyeongjun trusted Jungsu, so he nodded as their second embrace of the lips was just as fiery as the first. He felt nervous, but he had faith in his boyfriend that things wouldn't go too far.

Right?