Homeless ➹ 2jae [✓]

- 25 -

two weeks later

"Where the hell did they even go? I feel like I slept through the whole thing," Youngjae muttered, walking with Jinyoung and Jaebum.

"Jackson's taking Mark to meet his parents," Jaebum chuckled. "Ah, and soon we won't have Jinyoungie either," he said putting his arms around the two.

"Hey, I'm still here for two days! You can't get rid of me yet."

"Nooo," Youngjae laughed as he pinched his friend's cheek, "we don't want you gone~" They all laughed along.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to come?"

"No, Jinyoung, it's okay." Jaebum jumped behind Youngjae and hugged him over his shoulders. "You have fun! We'll be alright."

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So it seemed, just like that, Jinyoung had left to visit his parents in Mokpo. Youngjae and Jaebum were left alone in the dorm, and suddenly it was like their own world. The two of them alone never came across anybody's mind as particularly enticing, but Jaebum had a goal he wanted to accomplish.

From the moment they met, there was something only Youngjae could pinpoint. First, it was Jaebum's sheer beauty that caught his eye, but he'd felt this before and knew how it went. His heart would race and his head would spin, and he'd exchanged some glances that only meant anything to him.

Jaebum, though— Youngjae wondered if he felt something too. Youngjae wondered if all the looks they shared were more than just eyes meeting eyes for the older; whether Jaebum felt the same twisted feeling.

But one night, that first night when they were alone, Youngjae didn't have to wonder anymore. He didn't have to spend his time worrying about getting over another crush he had.

"Youngjae, let's chat," Jaebum told him. "Make room for me." He did as was told and moved over so Jaebum would have some room on the top bunk. For a moment or two, Jaebum didn't know what to start with. He had a whole conversation planned out, but forgot it in an instant— the second his eyes met Youngjae's.

"About what?" Youngjae asked, breaking the silence.

"About you," Jaebum answered admiringly. He'd lied on his side with his hand underneath his chin, looking up at Youngjae with tired but loving eyes.

"Yah, what's so interesting about me?" he chuckled.

"You. Tell me something I don't know," Jaebum smirked, causing Youngjae to blush.

"Um..." He bit his lip. "I play piano."

"Whoa, no way."

"Yes way," Youngjae laughed. "Have been since I was little."

"Like composition and stuff?" Youngjae nodded with a smile, and Jaebum's jaw dropped even more. "I've wanted to learn piano for a long time," he continued, turning onto his back.

"Remind me to teach you sometime," he smiled. "Anyway, tell me something about you now."

"What!? I thought we were talking about you," Jaebum pouted, and Youngjae covered his face while he laughed.

"No, it's only fair this way!"

"Ah, you're right." The older, defeated, puffed out his cheeks before he thought to say, "Well I was gonna say that I give really tight hugs but you know that," and Youngjae laughed at the memory.

"What is this? Tell me something new!"

"Youngjae-yah, you know everything~ Tell me more about you; your life," Jaebum pleaded. "I told you mine," he laughed, bringing a smile out of Youngjae."

"If you insist," he began. "Well, uh... My dad passed, too, when I was eleven. My mom struggled a lot for years. Lung cancer, treatments were too late... they couldn't save him. I got over it after his funeral, but Mom became so angry all of a sudden. She was verbally hostile and didn't bother with how she looked." Youngjae thought about his mother for the first time in a while, and everything was flooding back. "She kicked me out when I was fifteen, I... I said something I shouldn't have said..."

Youngjae looked down and scratched his arm.

"I've lived with Jinyoung ever since."

Jaebum looked at the younger curiously and asked, "What did you say?"

"I— Um..." Youngjae shook his head and bit his lip trying to find another way to say it, but there wasn't one. "I-I told her I was gay." The two were silent suddenly, both hearts beating out of their chests. They listened to each other's breathing and looked down at each other's feet. "Jaebum, I know I asked you a while ago but, really, why are you so interested in my life?"

Youngjae finally looked Jaebum in the eyes once again, his eyebrows slanting in curiosity. Before words, he felt Jaebum's hand touch his own, slide up his fingers and to his sweaty palm. The older opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he suddenly had no answer. He certainly hadn't expected for Youngjae to lean down and connect their lips so hurriedly, as if something would stop him if he didn't do it quickly enough.

Youngjae certainly hadn't expected Jaebum to kiss him back.

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a/n: fUcking finally!!!!!!!! my bubs :"]
hope you enjoyed this chapter! 💗