Sometimes Sweetly, Sometimes Achingly

Chapter 5

Jaehyun blinked. "You want me to do what?"

"Come on! It'll be so much fun," Taeyong insisted, smiling cutely to try and win the other man over. "Donghae-hyung does this every year, and I wanted to try it."

"Hyung," Jaehyun deadpanned. "It is five in the fucking morning and I am hungover as fuck. If you think I'm about to go anywhere right now-"

Taeyong dug through his bag and triumphantly pulled out a thermos. He unscrewed the cap and held the contents under Jaehyun's nose. Victory coursed through his veins when Jaehyun's eyes widened--exactly the reaction Taeyong had been hoping for. "But I made this coffee, and you know I can't drink it black," he pouted sadly.

"Don't you fucking dare give me those eyes," Jaehyun groaned. He rubbed his eyes aggressively and sighed, dragging a hand through his messy hair. "Fine. Just let me shower first, you psycho."

Taeyong beamed and skipped into Jaehyun's apartment.

Contrary to Jaehyun's more reserved and subdued personality, the living room of his apartment was surprisingly filled with color. The furniture looked expensive, but the walls really caught Taeyong's attention. One was painted a pale blue, and another was adorned with a bookshelf in the shape of a tree. The last two were filled with pictures. On one side, the wall itself was completely covered in a collage of photographs-Taeyong could make out sceneries and images of Jaehyun with his American friends. The other had framed photos of Jaehyun with his siblings.

No parents, Taeyong thought to himself.

He went up closer to the collage wall to examine the pictures more closely. Teenage Jaehyun was just as handsome as current Jaehyun, but the younger version's face was softer and more relaxed. He seemed to smile a lot more, with the two indents on his cheeks always visible.

Taeyong laughed when he realized Johnny featured in a lot of the pictures. Johnny...had certainly grown into his looks, to say the least. If Taeyong remembered correctly, Johnny and Jaehyun had been best friends in pre-school, and although Jaehyun went to school in America, they were still able to see each other often because Johnny's family temporarily relocated back to Chicago.

"Hey, I'm ready," Jaehyun stepped out of his room clad in a black sweater and jeans.

Taeyong waved him over. "You were so cute when you were younger," he teased, giggling as he pointed to a specific picture of Johnny and Jaehyun smirking into the camera.

Jaehyun burst into laughter at the sight. "Shit, we must have been like sixteen or something. Back when we thought we were straight."

"Did you take all these?" Taeyong asked, gesturing to the collage.

"Yeah," Jaehyun nodded. "I've always liked photography. Not enough to be serious about it, but it's just fun.

Taeyong tried imagining Jaehyun as a photographer. Somehow, that fit him all too well-at least, it made much more sense than Jaehyun being an accountant.

"Shouldn't we head out?" Jaehyun checked his watch. "The sun rises in an hour."

"Oh, yes!" Taeyong hurried back over to the couch to grab his things. "Let's go!"

"So why are we doing this again?" Jaehyun questioned as he pulled up by the river. After the initial effects of his pure black coffee had worn off, he was back to being grumpy, tired, and hungover.

Taeyong, on the other hand, was full of energy. He sipped on his hot chocolate and said, "Because I was bored and Donghae-hyung said this is fun."

Jaehyun knocked his head back against his seat. "Okay, fair enough. But then why did you drag me here, too?"