Waiting

Neung watched Kay leave for his shower, tasting the chaste kiss on his lips and smiling to himself. He couldn't believe Kay let him do that, as he had thought Kay would move to avoid being hit. Neung knew he could have stopped at any time but if Kay wasn't going to move...
Kay couldn't believe it. Neung had turned his small prank into a kiss. When Neung kept going after bonking noses, Kay's head had exploded with fireworks, and it wasn't even a proper kiss. Lips had met lips, yes, but it wasn't the type of kiss Kay wanted from Neung. Kay wanted the type of kiss he saw in dramas, the ones that you waited ten episodes and three almost kisses for. He wasn't entirely complaining, though, as he had made the choice to just stay in place after Neung turned towards him instead of looking at his shoulder. He sighed and got into the shower.
Neung heard the water start up and decided he was too distracted to keep playing his game. He knew if he just sat there, he'd go crazy, so he messaged Kay on Line, letting him know he was going on a walk. He left the room, taking one last glance at the bathroom door.
Once on the street, Neung picked a direction and started walking aimlessly. He tried to pinpoint when, exactly, his feelings for Kay had started changing. He recalled the time when they were ten or eleven, when they had kissed to see what it felt like, and how it had felt like nothing. It hadn't changed their friendship at all, since they had shrugged and kept playing their card game. At fifteen, Kay had his first boyfriend, which hadn't bothered Neung, since there were many, many attractive people at their school. When they broke up seven months later, Neung was there to pick up the pieces, but he wasn't attracted to Kay yet. Neung got a girlfriend at sixteen, which had ended after five months since she was going too fast for him, then a boyfriend for almost a year at seventeen. Kay had a few other boyfriends, but they never lasted longer than six months. Neither had dated for over a year now, though. After graduation, they had moved in together to save on costs. When they heard about the internship at a local hotel, Neung encouraged Kay to try out. Kay would only do it if Neung did too, which Neung had thought a little strange, but he was willing to at least try out. He hadn't expected to get the position at all. He had figured Kay would get it and that he would try to model. Neung knew he had a "playboy" face, even though he had only ever dated two people and was extremely loyal to both, at least until they went too fast for him and he had to leave. He had been excited to try his hand at modeling, and Kay had supported him, even though he didn't exactly approve. This had become even worse after Neung had tried to model at the (looking back on it, at least) sketchy place.
Neung stopped dead. Maybe that's when his feelings had started changing, or it was at least when he started noticing that Kay was right for him. Kay had been willing to come with him to the second meeting. When he burst into the room, Neung had been super happy to see him and he wasn't sure why. Kay had led him out of the room, then ran back to the room with the photographer for some reason. When Neung had asked about it, Kay had shrugged it off, but he had had a smug smile on his face. Neung had assumed it was a "I told you so" smile, but maybe it was something else. And then there was the time Kay got the street vendor food. Neung had seen how sad he looked and immediately ended his call with his cousin. He wasn't sure at the time why he had done that, but he couldn't stand seeing Kay sad. He would rather Kay be annoyed at him than sad. And what about the almost kiss? Neung had fallen on Kay and had been so tempted to kiss him, which hadn't happened with the other people he had dated. Neung needed a much stronger emotional bond to want to actually kiss, which neither his girlfriend nor boyfriend had understood. Neung liked the idea of kissing, and had enjoyed it with both his partners, but he couldn't imagine kissing on a first date. Where was the bond? Both his partners had kissed him, as he wasn't ready to make the first move. But with Kay...Neung could imagine kissing him first.

Kay stepped out of the shower, got dressed, and called out to Neung. Hearing no response, he frowned and walked into the bedroom. He didn't see Neung on the bed, playing his game, as he had expected. Kay pouted and checked his phone. Neung wouldn't leave without at least telling Kay where he had gone, even if he didn't explain. Sure enough, he had gone on a walk. Kay made a face but decided to leave it alone for now. He was probably just collecting his thoughts after that kiss. Kay touched his lips, just like he had done immediately after the initial contact. These lips had kissed Neung. Kay had had a crush on Neung for a few years now, and he was pretty sure Neung was starting to feel the same way. They had always been close, with Neung allowing Kay to touch him in ways he didn't let other people, such as Kay putting his arm around his waist. They held hands, which always felt electric to Kay, but he didn't let Neung know, since he didn't want to scare him off. When Neung had fallen on him, Kay had been desperately looking at Neung's lips, wanting to taste them. But Kay knew if he wanted Neung, he would have to go Neung's pace. Both of Neung's partners had made the mistake of going too fast, so Neung had left. With Kay and his exes, he had already made out a thousand times by this point, but Kay wanted to do this right. He still teased Neung, since he had always teased Neung. When Neung had asked who was more handsome, him or Valen, Kay had desperately wanted to say "you, duh" but wasn't entirely sure how Neung would take it, so he had chickened out and said himself. When Neung had said he would love anyone who made him beds with tight sheets, Kay had seriously considered it before deciding not to. He had gone along with Neung's dumb prank on Kin because he hadn't seen Neung that excited in a while. He didn't regret it, even though it had cost him more points, especially when Neung saw him looking dejected and had immediately come over to comfort him. Neung's concerned face always made Kay's heart flutter, even though he wished he didn't have to see it (well unless he himself had made Neung look like that, like when he pretended Neung had poked his eye), as it meant Neung wasn't happy. When Pong had made that stupid joke about why they were up all night, Kay had replayed it over and over, since he wanted that joke to be a reality.

The door opened and Neung came in. He was holding a bag full of groceries, which surprised Kay. Neung didn't really do the grocery shopping, as Kay was the cook. Kay knew that Neung enjoyed his cooking, but what was the reason for getting groceries? Was it because of the kiss? Did he want Kay to make him food for him as revenge? Kay seriously hoped that Neung wasn't going to freak out about it. (Also, he could argue that Neung kissed him, not the other way around) While Kay was staring at the groceries, Neung started talking.
"Umm...I passed the store on my walk and I know you haven't made anything for a while, so I thought you might want to cook again... I got the ingredients for your favorite foods..."
Kay looked at him in surprise. Neung got him HIS favorite foods? Neung was a bit of a picky eater and while he always preferred Kay's cooking to others, he still didn't like everything Kay made. This meant Neung was thinking about him. Kay's heart started racing, but he kept his voice neutral as he accepted the bag.
"Thank you, Neung. I'll start on that now so we can have it for dinner"
"Okay"

Kay started cutting the vegetables as the water started warmed up for the noodles. He felt Neung watching him, so he looked up. Before Neung looked back at his phone, Kay saw that his expression had looked very...soft. Like Kay was the only thing worth looking at. And when Kay glanced back up after going back to cutting vegetables, Neung was blushing and smiling softly. Kay couldn't believe it. Neung had to be feeling the same way he was. He just had to. But Kay refused to mess up the relationship. Neung would have to go his pace and Kay would have to wait. At least it seemed like he wouldn't have to wait much longer.