Love Contract | haobin

Twenty-Three

"I like you too, Hanbin." Zhang Hao confesses after pulling away from the kiss, but doesn't move away from him.

"What? Do you really?" Hanbin asks, surprised. He's so relieved Zhang Hao actually likes him back. He was starting to get ready to get rejected.

"I do." Zhang Hao nods and takes Hanbin's hand. "I had admitted it to myself a while ago, but I didn't have the courage to tell you how I felt. I went over to Ricky's house earlier and had a talk with him. He really made me get the courage to confess to you, but you beat me to it."

"Really? I just came from talking to Gyuvin and he was the one who gave me the courage to confess."

"We have really supportive friends." Zhang Hao can't help but smile, not letting go of Hanbin's hand. "But weren't you going to work on a presentation? Did you really use that as an excuse to run away from me? We were being really awkward earlier."

"I do admit I still felt awkward, but no, I didn't use that as an excuse. I did have to work on a presentation, but since I knew I wouldn't be able to focus, I called my teammates and told them I'd send my part of the presentation later."

"When is it due?"

"Tomorrow."

"What?" Zhang Hao's eyes widen. "Why would you leave it for last minute?"

"They never had time. I was starting to think they'd let me do all the work by myself."

"Then why did you cancel on them? What if they don't do their part of the presentation?"

"That's why I'm planning on doing all the presentation by myself... just in case."

"What? There's teammates for a reason. You can't do all the work." Zhang Hao scoffs. "If you do, you better not add their names."

"This project is a really big class grade. I'd feel bad... Especially since I'm the one who cancelled last minute."

"But still... they left everything for last minute since they never had time. You're not the one at fault here. Plus, you're doing your part of the project, so it's not your fault." Zhang Hao tells him. "You have to stop being this nice to everyone. Just be this nice to me..." He pouts. "Wait, no... don't even be this nice to me. You shouldn't be this nice to anyone. Don't let anyone take advantage of your kindness... not even me."

"I know I don't have to worry about that, Hao. You'd never take advantage of it." Hanbin can't help but smile.

"Promise me you won't put their names on the project. If they don't do their part, just let them fail. They're already in college. I can't believe they're this irresponsible."

"I promise... Anything for my princess." Hanbin nods, making Zhang Hao feel his face heat up.

"Princess?"

"Gyuvin told me I give you the princess treatment." Hanbin laughs. "So he said it was obvious I had feelings for you."

"I did notice that, but I really thought it was just because you wanted to make our marriage seem real to others."

"So now that we confessed to each other..." Hanbin starts. "Will you tell me the truth about the letter you wrote to me for my birthday? That's how you truly felt, right? It wasn't just because you thought I'd read it out loud."

"Yeah, you caught me." Zhang Hao nods. "I admit that sometimes I used others as an excuse to get close to you and say things I wouldn't dare say when we were alone."

"Oh, I had almost forgotten." Hanbin notices the bouquet of flowers he's holding. "I got you some flowers. The flower shop worker told me these symbolize joy, innocence, and new beginnings. I thought these would be perfect for you."

"Thank you. They're beautiful." Zhang Hao smiles and takes the flowers from him. "I'll go put them in a vase."

"Okay, I'll go see what Yujin's doing." Hanbin's about to walk away, but Zhang Hao stops him.

"Oh, he stayed over at Ricky's house."

"Really? How come?"

"Ricky told me he'd take care of him while we talk. He said he'd drop him off later."

"Why don't we go pick him up instead? It's still early. We can have a family day out."

"Really? But I thought you had to work on your project. It's going to take you a while."

"No, it's okay. I had already started it, so it's not like I have to start from the beginning. I'll finish it when we get back home."

"Are you sure?" Zhang Hao puts the flowers in a vase with water, then walks over to Hanbin. "I can just tell Ricky to drop him off now. You can stay and do your project. We can have a family day tomorrow and every day after that."

"Every day after that?" Hanbin smiles. "I like that idea."

Zhang Hao just stays quiet, feeling his face heat up. He kind of just blurted it out, not thinking much of it. They only confessed to each other today, but they haven't talked about whether or not they'll stay married after these five months. Zhang Hao would obviously choose to stay married to him, but he doesn't know how Hanbin feels about it.

"Come on, let's go pick Yujin up." Hanbin takes his hand.

"What? I thought we were staying home. It's really okay. I know I wanted us to hang out earlier, but if you have a project to do, I think it's better if we just stay here so you can work on-"

Hanbin doesn't let Zhang Hao finish his sentence. He leans in and pecks his lips, taking Zhang Hao by surprise, which stops him from talking. "Sometimes you overthink too much, love." Hanbin tells him, making Hao's face heat up. He doesn't think he'll ever get used to hearing Hanbin calling him that. He feels so many butterflies in his stomach whenever he does. "I can just finish the project when we get back, okay?" Hanbin starts walking towards the door, but Zhang Hao stays still. "Come on, let's go... or do you want me to carry you, princess?"

'Yes.' Zhang Hao thinks to himself. "No no, I can walk." Zhang Hao rushes towards him and takes his hands before they walk out.

-

"Papas, where are we going?" Yujin asks them once they're all in the car.

"How about we go out to eat first and then we go to the park?" Hanbin suggests. "At night maybe we could even go to the movie theater."

"Or maybe we can leave the movie theater for some other time." Zhang Hao tells them. "Your papa Hanbin has a school project to do, so he can't stay out until late. We should just go out to eat, then go to the park, and then go back home."

"That sounds fun!" Yujin smiles, hugging his plushies tightly. "I really wanted to go to the park. Maybe I'll see HaoHao again! And Gunwook!"

"HaoHao and who?" Hanbin asks, not sure if he heard right. The name isn't as common, but then again, maybe it's just a coincidence. It can't be his brother Gunwook, right?

"My friend Gunwook." Yujin tells him. "He said his name's Park Gunwook. He said he has one papa and has a mama but doesn't see her much, so it's like he doesn't have one. He told me it was so cool that I have two papas and two last names!"

Hanbin stops at a red light. This is all too much for it to be just a coincidence. Did he really find him? Is the boy Yujin was talking to, really his brother?