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Jaehyun, to Johnny, is a person full of surprises.
He's like one of those surprise bags Johnny used to have as a child. Youngho has discovered many sides of the younger in the short amount of time that they have been working together at the campus radio. At first, he had seen Jaehyun as some kind of, excuse his mode of expression, fuckboy. He had quite the reputation on campus, apparently he always had at least one girl clinging to his arm, talking animatedly to him, while Jaehyun's expression seemed stoic and bored.
Youngho has learned that Jaehyun isn't a very expressive person, he's reserved, shy and awkward around new people, but he listens well and tries his hardest to keep the conversation up and light. Jaehyun, on first glance seems very cool and collected, and while this is in fact the case, he has thousands of other sides to him. His whole body shakes when he laughs out loud, it's always some kind of variation of “ahahaha“, which Youngho finds endearing. He has a side to him where something in his brain snaps, and he goes absolutely crazy, singing to SHINee's everybody while headbanging, only to sit down again and smile shyly.
There's also a cute side to Jaehyun, where his voice turns soft, he smiles his trademark smile with deep dimples and he shrinks into himself, looking smaller than he really is.
However, there is nothing cute about the way he's bouncing on Youngho's lap, his hands gripping Johnny's knees to keep him steady, head thrown back and mouth slack. Johnny would be lying if he said he wasn't staring, getting more and more turned on by the low moans that escape the younger's lips. He has his hands on Jaehyun's hips, gripping so tight that he thinks he might be bruising the milky skin. Youngho snaps his hips up from time to time, meeting Jaehyun in the middle and he can tell how good it makes the other feel, with how his brows furrow and quiet whines leave his throat. Jaehyun's abs start to constrict when he's about to come and the sight has Johnny gripping tighter onto Jaehyun's hips.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,“ the younger chants, and then his hands go to his dick, stroking himself and he comes, strings of cum coming out in spurts, tainting his hand and landing on Youngho's stomach. It doesn't take him long to follow, with how Jaehyun gets even tighter. He rolls his hips up a few more times and then he's coming inside the condom, grunting. Jaehyun collapses onto his chest right after, not caring that he still has Johnny's dick buried deep inside him. They both are out of breath, chests heaving, and it takes a while until either of them is able to move. Johnny takes the first step and grips the younger's thighs and pulls him up a little so he can pull out and discard the condom. Jaehyun buries his face in Johnny's neck when he does so, still sensitive. Johnny's hand slides up his body then, and he's stroking the smaller's lower back in comfort.
“We should probably clean up,“ Johnny says and he can feel Jaehyun nodding against his neck. They clean up fairly quickly, Jaehyun still wobbly on his feet but he manages to shower without any accidents aside from the shampoo bottle dropping on the bathroom floor. Johnny changes the sheets while Jaehyun is in the shower, boxers low on his hips.
Jaehyun comes out of the shower fully dressed, hair damp and skin flushed. The younger shoots Johnny a small smile before he looks around the room for his shoes and socks. He sits down on the bed when he finds them and pulls them on, tying his shoelaces. He stands up when he's finished and looks up at Johnny, who is still standing in the same spot he was when Jaehyun came out of the shower.
“Thanks for... this,“ Jaehyun says awkwardly. “See you tomorrow, Johnny.“
The door to his apartment shuts close before Johnny can say anything in return. His apartment isn't far from campus, so Youngho is sure Jaehyun will return home safely, even in the dark.
He plops down on his freshly made bed, sighs deeply and reaches for his phone on his nightstand. 106 unread messages. Johnny yawns before opening his messaging app. He doesn't bother reading more than the past few messages.
Lee Family + John + Ten
Duckie: you know mark, i'm surprised that your head can be this empty when its this big
Johnny chuckles. The youngest are quarreling again.
Mark: Shut up Hyuck
Tae: Kids...
Me: Guys
Duckie: oh look, he's alive!!
Tae: Where were you, John?
Me: uh
Me: how do i say this
Me: i had someone over
Mark: ;))) Johnny had some fun ;))
Tae: Mark we have minors in here!
Mark: oh hyuck isn't as innocent as he seems
Mark: just yesterday i had to walk in on him making out with the sushi guy
Duckie: Mark I'll Kill You
Tae: ...
Tae: Donghyuck do you want to elaborate? :)
Duckie: i'd rather not
Me: guys....
Mark: sorry Johnny, go on
Me: well, someone came over so i couldn't text back
Me: what did i miss
Tae: Nothing much, just the usual quarrel between Hyuck and Mark.
Ten: was it the same guy again? you guys exclusive now?
Ten: also when will you finally tell us who exactly it is
Me: not like you ever asked who it is
Me: it's my coworker
Duckie: Jung Jaehyun?
Duckie: i thought the dude was straight
Me: thats what i thought too
Me: but he's bi apparently
Johnny doesn't know how to describe the relationship he has with Jaehyun. Lovers? Definitely not. Friends with benefits? He wouldn't even consider him a friend. They only really meet each other on their radio job, with Johnny living in his own apartment, while Jaehyun is living in one of the dorms of their college. They never cross paths on campus, they never meet each other in the little coffee shop near his apartment that Johnny frequents, and they sure as hell don't meet up and hang out.
They're not friends, yet he invites Jaehyun over to his apartment at least once a week for, what Johnny calls it, stress relief. It all started in finals week. Johnny barely has had time to eat, yet alone to get intimate with anyone that isn't his right hand.
So, when Jaehyun made a very inappropriate comment in the middle of their live brodcast, Johnny barely managed to hold back.
They were following their script as usual, everything going smoothly, with a few yawns here and there, whethe topic of grilling came up. It was the end of spring, summer just around the corner. Sweatdrops were already running down their foreheads with no AC in the small room. People liked going grilling with friends in summer. So when Jaehyun asked him if he liked sausages with a suggestive look that was only reserved for Johnny, he was already very confused. Johnny's very sex craving mind was no help either.
“I do. Do you like them, Jae-D?“ he had answered.
“Yeah. I only like them long and thick though.“ another suggestive comment with an even more suggestive look.
And, as ridiculous as the conversation was, it still got Johnny to react the way he did. He had Jaehyun pressed against the wall as soon as the broadcast ended, his hands on either side of Jaehyun's head, tongue in the other's mouth. They had stayed like that for a few minutes before Doyoung came in to take over the next shift, so they packed their things as quickly as they could and left for the older's apartment.
They radio broadcast after that had been quite awkward, both of them not being able to look the other in the eyes, Jaehyun having left early in the morning, before Johnny had woken up. Johnny remembers their first time quite clearly, Jaehyun on his knees, face in the pillows and moaning his name in a deep and raspy voice, while Johnny's hips were snapping forward frantically. He remembers the toned muscles, his firm but perfectly shaped ass, and how red the cheeks were after Johnny had spanked him, Jaehyun's moans getting higher and higher in pitch everytime his hand came down on the soft skin.
He doesn't remember how they ended up sleeping together the second time, or the third time, or the fourth time, but he doesn't really regret anything. It has become quite a routine for them, so Johnny's surprised when Jaehyun leaves as soon as they're done with work, not sparing Johnny a glance when he says goodbye for the night. He leaves the room in a hurry and the door slams shut after him. Johnny leaves for his apartment feeling a little disappointed.
They traded numbers on their fourth hook up, having worked together for over a month already, but neither of them had felt the need to ask for the other's number. Their texts after that have been mainly „come over?“ on Johnny's side, and „r u busy?“ on Jaehyun's side.
It's a breath of fresh air when Jaehyun texts him in the middle of the day, and even more so, when it isn't a bootycall.
Jaehyun
Wanna meet up? I need to talk to you.
Me
sure
Johnny isn't quite sure what to expect when he sees a very conflicted looking Jaehyun at the other end of the small coffee shop. They had agreed to meet up here, it's a five minute walk from Johnny's apartment and a even shorter way from Jaehyun's dorm. It's convenient. He orders himself an iced americano before he strolls over to where Jaehyun is seated in one of the high chairs. It screeches when Johnny pulls one of them back to sit on it, and it startles Jaehyun.
“Sorry.“ Johnny says with a sheepish smile.
“It's okay, just suprised me, is all.“ Jaehyun smiles but it looks forced. Johnny expected bad news, if Jaehyun was his boyfriend, he would probably break up with him now. But he's not his boyfriend. He's not even a friend. Johnny figures whatever Jaehyun is about to tell him can't be that bad after all.
“I'll, uh-“ Jaehyun stutters. “I'm just gonna get straight to the point. I-, uh, we,“ Jaehyun is nervous, his eyes darting around the room give it away. “We should end this.“ He gets out eventually.
“End what? Should I leave? We can just text if-“ Johnny spurts, perplexed.
“No, not this,“ Jaehyun waves his hands around in the air frantically. “I meant us, uh,“ Jaehyun coughs. “hooking up, you know.“ The youngers voice is quieter now, he doesn't want other people in the coffee shop to now about their sex life.
“Uh,“ Johnny says, perplex. “Sure? I just wanna ask, were you not satisfied anymo-“ Jaehyun throws a hand over his mouth, his ears red like cherry tomatoes. Cute. He makes a note in his head to add embarrassed Jaehyun to his 'The Different Facades Of Jung Jaehyun' memo on his phone later.
“NO! No, that's not it, I just-“ Jaehyun swirls his coffee with the black straw poking out of it. “I think I like someone, and I-, it just feels wrong you know?“
Johnny nods. That wasn't quite what he was expecting, he has never seen Jaehyun show interest in anyone, but then again, he has only known him for a few months. “Yeah, no, I understand. It's all cool, I don't mind.“ Johnny smiles reassuringly at him. “It was fun while it lasted, though.“ Johnny winks and the younger chuckles. Johnny leaves for his classes as soon as he finishes his coffee.
Surprsingly, the radio broadcasts remain lighthearted and comfortable. There's no awkward air around them, no forced small talk. Johnny thinks it's great. The broadcast goes by smoothly, maybe even better than before. Jaehyun seems to be more open than he usually is, he doesn't hold back when he talks and he speaks more animatedly than he normally would. It's something only Johnny would know, since it's only ever the two of them in the small room, in the middle of the night. He doesn't know what exactly triggers it, maybe Jaehyun is just in a good mood, maybe the person he likes has told him he looks cute today, because, well, he does, or maybe he's had his favorite food at the cafeteria today. Whatever it is, it's clearly doing them both some good, if the audience shares were anything to go by. It's not like the numbers are skyrocketing, but they're at least a little higher than they usually are.
Johnny asks him about it after radio ends.
“Huh? No, nothing special happened today,” Jaehyun looks confused. “Why are you asking?”
“You seemed a little more,” Johnny pauses to think of a fitting word, and Jaehyun's right eyebrow shoots up in wonder, “energetic today?”
“Hm, I don't feel like I did anything differently though?” Jaehyun says before he packs his things, says his goodbye to Johnny and exits the room.
There's that dumb thought that tells him it's because they broke things off the day before in the back of Johnny's head, but he's not quite sure what to do with it, so he just ignores it and leaves. It's wednesday, the day they would usually leave together so it's a bit weird heading back alone.
The first time Johnny actually sees Jaehyun on campus is when he visits Taeyong's dorm room. The younger is heading out of the library, a place Johnny frequented when he was a freshman, but hasn't visited in a while. It's a few minutes past noon, the sun shining bright, but Jaehyun looks like he just woke up. His hair sticks out in odd angles, eyes blinking rapidly to get used to the bright sunlight shining directly into his face. Johnny is about to call the younger's name when there's another person approaching Jaehyun, slinging an arm around his shoulders and smiling brightly at him. He's tall, the mop of hair on his head messy but stylish, and his smile shines brighter than the sun itself. He hears the guy over where he himself is standing, his loud laugh booming over campus. Jaehyun's face brightens immediately, his dimples making an appearance and the two of them walk off and into the starbucks at the other side of the street. Johnny knows for a fact that Jaehyun hates starbucks. He thinks it's overpriced and not worth the money. They had come to that conclusion on one of their broadcasts.
But he guesses, if that's the person Jaehyun likes, he'd even visit a starbucks for him. Johnny wouldn't have expected Jaehyun to be into loud, goofy guys. In fact, Johnny had always assumed Jaehyun would like his partner to be somewhat quiet and reserved, a little like himself.
He starts walking again, not noticing that he stopped in his tracks when he spotted Jaehyun earlier. He shoves the thought of Jaehyun liking taller guys somewhere in to the dark corners of his brain, trying to tell himself that Jaehyun likes someone already and he wants to smack himself, because why should he even care, it's not like Johnny likes Jaehyun. Right? Right.
Johnny doesn't mention it to Jaehyun on the job, he thinks there is no need to. After all, it's none of his business. They're not even friends.
Jaehyun texts him a few days later.
Jaehyun
Hey, sorry to disturb but I got sick and I can't come tonight, do you think you can handle radio alone?
If not that's totally fine!! I can still come in if necessary.
Me
no its okay I can handle it
get well soon :)
Jaehyun
Thanks, I'll try. ^^
The broadcast passes by fairly well, it's a bit lonely without Jaehyun around but he manages. Johnny is about to end the broadcast when he gets another text message from Jaehyun.
Jaehyun
You did so well! Thank you again for taking over, I owe you! :)
Me
no problem! r u feeling better?
Jaehyun
I think I'm mostly over it? Just a bit hungry but other than that I think I'll be fine again tomorrow.
Me
lol
don't you have anything to eat at your room?
Jaehyun
I forgot to go buy snacks so no :/ But i think I'll manage until tomorrow morning.
Me
whats your room number?
Jaehyun
306
Why are you asking?
Johnny?
Johnny doesn't bother answering.
Instead, he takes a detour on his way back and stops by the seven eleven nearby. He picks up a chicken wrap and a bottle of green tea and heads in the direction of the campus. It's not hard to find Jaehyun's room, it's fairly close to the elevator. He knocks on the wooden door and waits patiently for Jaehyun to open it. It takes a few moments, but eventually the door opens, a tired looking Jaehyun peeking through the gap. His hair is sticking up in odd angles and he looks paler than usual.
"Hey," Johnny greets, and Jaehyun looks at him like he just grew another head.
"What are you doing here?" the younger asks, clearly confused. He opens the door a little more, revealing a bit of his room.
"Bringing you this," Johnny shows him the chicken wrap and green tea. "It's not good to skip meals, especially when you're sick." He holds the items out for Jaehyun to take.
"I-, That's-" Jaehyun stutters, "You didn't have to." Jaehyun says in the end, staring at the food like they're a sack of gold, and grabs them a second later. "Thank you."
"I did it because I wanted to. And it feels lonely alone on radio so you have to get better soon." Johnny replies with a smile. Jaehyun returns it and opens the door fully, inviting the older in.
"Wanna come in? All I have left is about two week old cider and water, but I promise it's water of the best quality." Jaehyun says sheepishly and scratches his head.
"Oh I'm sure it is," Johnny laughs and steps inside the small room. It looks like Johnny expected it to look, not overly clean but not too messy either. There's a stack of books on his desk and a stray sock next to his bed.
"My roommate is out right now, so you can make yourself comfortable." Jaehyun says, sitting down on what Johnny assumes is his own bed. There's a Winnie the Pooh plushie lying on the pillows. It looks old and worn out, Jaehyun has probably had the stuffed toy since his childhood. Johnny goes to sit down next to him and watches as the younger unwraps the food.
"Enjoy your meal," Johnny says as Jaehyun bites into his chicken wrap like he's been starving for two whole weeks.
Time flies past fairly quickly, with Jaehyun munching on his food while they hold a light conversation, talking about school, their job and mundane things. Johnny is surprised when Jaehyun's love interest enters the room, hair messy and tired looking. He glances at Johnny for a second before he diverts his gaze to Jaehyun and sends him a look he can't decipher. When Johnny looks in Jaehyun's direction, he has a blush on his cheeks and he's clearly avoiding his gaze.
Johnny feels uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"Johnny, this is Yukhei, my roommate," he nods his head in greeting, "Yukhei, this is Johnny, my coworker."
The tall man grins. "It's nice to finally meet you." Yukhei says, "I've heard a lot about you, Johnny." the latter can hear Jaehyun groan and sees him bury his head in his hands. Johnny doesn't know what's up but he's sure the two would like to be alone. So, he decides to stand up and leave before he interrupts more of Jaehyun's alone time with Yukhei.
"I should get going now. It was nice to meet you, Yukhei." Johnny says and gives Jaehyun his full attention after. "Get better soon, I need you on broadcast ASAP." Johnny chuckles and Jaehyun nods.
He leaves the room and heads home, the air outside is chilly. Autmn is coming.
Jaehyun is back on the job three days later, looking better than the time Johnny visited him after work. He's still pale but his skin looks much healthier now than it did a few days ago. His hair is a bit messy, but that seems to be the usual lately. He's got his glasses on and a oversized sweater and Johnny has this dumb thought in his head that tells him the smaller male looks cute, but he surpresses it to the best of his abilities.
"You look cute," fuck.
Jaehyun looks at him with wide eyes, his mouth parted slightly and there's redness creeping onto his ears.
"uh," Jaehyun clears his throat, "thanks? I guess?" Johnny sees him scratch his head in embarrassment out of the corner of his eyes.
He chuckles in an attempt to cover the awkwardness that's thick in the air. He unknowingly takes a deep breath. Fortunately or him, the broadcast starts just a few moments later, the two of them falling into the routine that they've established over the past few months.
After the show, Jaehyun takes his time packing. It's a bit odd, normally Jaehyun seems to be in a rush, collecting his things as quickly as possible. Today, he's on his phone for a few minutes before he picks up his bag. And even then, he seems slower than usual. It's like he wants Johnny to leave first. Johnny doesn't ponder on it too much and leaves as soon as he has his things stuffed into his backpack.
He's standing in front of his front door, searching his pocket for his phone so he can turn on his flashlight and shine light on his lock, because it's too dark outside for him to be able to unlock his door, when he notices that his phone is nowhere to be found. He tries to think back on where he's seen it last and the most recent recollection of his beloved phone is in the studio. It's not a long walk, yet he still finds him cursing at himself and his memory that has about as many holes as a sieve.
can't help it he mutters to himself and turns around to collect his phone.
The lights in the studio are still turned on when Johnny arrives. He briefly wonders if Jaehyun forgot to turn off the lights when he left, but the door is still unlocked so Johnny figures he's still inside.
He makes his way inside the studio and he's surprised when he finds it empty. Johnny doesn't bother turning on the lights. He just goes and picks up his phone, the lights of the hallway illuminating the room enough for him to spot the small object.
He checks the waiting room before he leaves, and lo and behold, Jaehyun is lying on the small couch situated in the center of the room. Jaehyun looks up at him with wide eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Johnny? What are you still doing here?" the younger asks in surprise.
"I could ask you the same question," Johnny furrows his brows. He holds up his phone a second later. "I forgot my cellphone in the studio, I came back to pick it up." The only response he gets from Jaehyun is a small oh.
"Now, what about you? Are you planning on spending the night?"
Johnny was mostly joking, but the way Jaehyun scratches his head sheepishly tells him he wasn't completely wrong.
"Y-yeah. My roommate has his study buddy over and I don't want to disturb them so I'm spending the night here."
See, Johnny isn't a heartless person. In fact, he has been told that his heart is way too big for his own good. He's been rescuing stray dogs and cats ever since he was small, he has always offered his friends a ride home in high school as soon as he got his first car and he's known in his small group of friends to be the most romantic out of the bunch. So, it really isn't a surprise that he has Jaehyun lying next to him in his bed an hour later.
It's sort of nostaligic, Jaehyun in his bed that is. It's been a few weeks since they broke things off, but Jaehyun lying next to him doesn't feel weird or uncomfortable at all. If anything, Johnny likes it. Normally, they would be doing a lot more than just lying there, and with a lot less clothes, but they're both fully dressed from head to toe. Well, not from head to toe, because Johnny has a strict no-socks-in-bed rule, but they're wearing pants, so that's that.
Johnny is lying on his back, the alarm clock on his bedside table painting a faint 01:36 am on the ceiling in red flashes. It's silent, and he can hear the steady breath of Jaehyun beside him.
"Are you asleep?" Jaehyun asks a few minutes later.
"No." Johnny hums. "What's up?"
"Nothing really." A pause. "I can't sleep."
"Thinking about your crush?" Silence. Johnny isn't sure if he just overstepped a boundary.
Jaehyun answers with a quiet yeah after a few moments. It's too dark in the room so Johnny can't make out the look on the youngers face when he turns his head towards him.
"Tell me about him." Johnny isn't sure if he really wants to hear it.
"He's-" Jaehyun stops and Johnny can hear his smile in his voice rather than see it. "He's really nice. He's got this super cute laugh," Johnny disagrees. The guy sounded like a dying whale- his thoughts get interrupted by Jaehyun.
"he's tall, and his hair is really soft, and his lips are really nice, and his eyes are like the universe and-" Jaehyun stops yet again. "Sorry, I'm rambling."
"No, it's okay, tell me more." Johnny forces a smile. It would've been completely obvious and transparent if it wasn't pitch black.
"He's really bad at shaving, everytime we kiss his stubbles tickle me," Jaehyun laughs. "and-" Jaehyun's face is dangerously close to his own.
"and?"
"and he's really lame. He makes really unfunny jokes all the time, but I can't hold myself back from laughing, because he looks so cute when he smiles." Jaehyun says quietly. Their noses are touching. Johnny doesn't remember rolling onto his side, but his left arm tingles and starts to go numb. Next thing he knows, he's got fluffy hair under his fingertips and soft lips against his.
They kiss languidly like this for a few minutes. Johnny's hand made its way down to Jaehyun's waist, the latters fingers soft on his nape. They pull back for air.
"We- we should probably go to sleep," Johnny breathes.
"Yeah." Jaehyun whispers into the quiet of the night.
"Good night, Jaehyun."
"Good night, Johnny."
Johnny wakes up cold. The window is opened and cool air is flowing into the room. Johnny pulls his covers over his head and groans, before he pulls them off of him and sits up in bed. The other side of the bed is empty, and Johnny can't say he's surprised. It's always been like this. He gets up and scratches the small of his back when he opens the door and steps into the living room.
Jaehyun is sitting there, Johnny's shirt loose on his frame, the two week old newspaper Johnny hasn't thrown out yet in his right hand, and a cup of what he assumes is coffee in his left. Johnny is frozen on the spot. It's a rare sight. Scratch that, it's something he's never seen before. Normally, at this point Jaehyun would either be on his way out or already gone.
"Good morning," Johnny says, shuffling to the kitchen to get his own cup of coffee. Jaehyun follows him and leans onto the kitchen counter.
"Morning." Jaehyun is still in the sweatpants Johnny gave him last night, they're big on him and as if on cue, Jaehyun pulls them up so that they don't slide down his legs.
"Thanks for letting me stay over, I really appreciate it." Jaehyun starts.
"No problem. You would've probably broken your back sleeping on that couch," he laughs.
"Yeah, probably. Is it fine if I take the shirt with me and give it back to you after I've washed it?" Jaehyun asks.
"Sure thing. Give it back whenever," the older replies. "Are you leaving already?"
"Yeah, I have classes at noon and I still need to shower and everything." Johnny nods in acknowledgement.
Jaehyun is done changing and ready to go twenty minutes later. He doesn't bring up last night and Johnny wonders if the kiss was a dream. Jaehyun's lips are dreamy, that's for sure.
Johnny wants to slap himself at that thought.
"See you later, Johnny." Jaehyun says and leans up to kiss him on the cheek before he exits the apartment. Maybe it wasn't a dream after all.
The day passes by in a blur, his econ class as uninteresting as ever, but he pulls through. He grabs lunch with Mark, Taeyong and Donghyuck and Ten joins them a few minutes later.
"So, what you're saying is-" Ten pauses to swallow down his sandwich. "that you wanna get back with Jaewoon?" his clean and trimmed eyebrows are raised in a judging look.
"Jaehyun." Johnny corrects and the shorter mutters a whatever. "I never said I wanted to get back with him, we weren't even together, like, ever. All I said was that-," four pairs of eyes are staring a hole through Johnny's head at this point, "I might- I don't know, I might like him a little?"
"So you have a crush on him," Mark supplies.
"I don't-" Johnny protests but Donghyuck cuts him off. "You do, you even said it yourself just now."
Johnny flips him off. "I just- I don't know what to do," he sighs and buries his face in his palms.
"Just tell him. Jaehyun won't react badly to it, I know that for a fact." The youngest tells him.
"Wait, you know the guy?" Mark asks in disbelief. Johnny shares the sentiment.
"Yeah, he's roommates with Yukhei," He says nonchalantly. Taeyong, who's been looking back and forth at them this whole time, groans.
"Okay, stop, stop, stop. Who's Yukhei?" Taeyong looks at them with confusion painted all over his face.
"He's- uh. He's the guy I'm seeing," Donghyuck elaborates. "The one that helps me with my history homework,"
Now it's Johnny's turn to be confused. "You're seeing Yukhei? Does Jaehyun know about that?" Poor Jaehyun, Johnny thinks. Being in love with someone that's already in love with someone else. But then again, they're in the same boat.
"Huh? Yeah. He was actually the one that brought us together,"
"But I thought Jaehyun likes Yukhei?" Johnny spurts out and slaps a hand over his mouth just a second later.
"Did Jaehyun say that?" Donghyuck asks. "Well, no, I just assumed-" Johnny replies.
"Johnny, my dear. I knew you could be stupid, but this stupid? You're catching up to Mark." Mark slaps the back of his head. "Just tell him what you told us, I promise you it will go well." Donghyuck smiles and hooks his arms around his elbow and clings to him.
Johnny thinks telling Jaehyun he has a crush on him is easier said than done. Just a week or two ago he would've told his friends that the relationship between them is strictly platonic at best. He would have told them that they're not even friends, just as he has tried to tell himself that. Jaehyun and Johnny didn't talk much outside of their radio job, but the short conversations they have during commercial breaks are enough for Johnny to know that Jaehyun might just be the person he's looking for.
Scratch that, Jaehyun was exactly what he was looking for. Small, forced smiles at his lame dad jokes, huge laughters at Johnny's ridiculous actions and a soft dimpled chuckle when he's tired and Johnny cracks a joke. See, Johnny used to think that opposites attract, and that his next partner would be completely different, just like his previous boy- and girlfriends. Sure, Jaehyun and Johnny have their differences, but he can somewhat see himself in Jaehyun's personality. Jaehyun seems to be somewhat in the middle. He's different, but similar at the same time.
Johnny doesn't talk about his feelings with Jaehyun that night. Or the following night. In fact, two weeks have passed and Johnny is still munching on his fingernails whenever he just so much as thinks about confessing. There's really no point in it, he thinks, but Donghyuck's words always echo in the back of his mind. The words of the smaller boy give him hope, he sounded so confident and he seems to be fairly close to Jaehyun. Yet on the other hand, Johnny can't stop thinking about Yukhei. Jaehyun is already in love with someone else, he would only end up hurt if he confessed, so he just doesn't do it.
It's been almost four weeks and Johnny hasn't muttered a word about his grand discovery to either Jaehyun or his friends ever since he told them about it.
"Hey, Johnny!" Jaehyun calls for him before he's out the door of the studio. "Can I ask you something?" he asks when Youngho turns around.
"Sure, what's up?" Johnny asks and Jaehyun scratches his neck nervously.
"It's my best friend's birthday next week," Johnny nods, "and, uh-, he's throwing a party. So, I wanted to ask you if you uh-, wanted to come with me?" Jaehyun's eyes are searching his face for a reaction.
"Yeah, sure, I'd love to!" Youngho answers and he hopes he didn't sound too enthusiastic. His mind goes blank when Jaehyun directs a blinding smile at him.
Youngho doesn't know what he got himself into. He should have known better than to accept Jaehyun's invitation, because he has a shitload of homework and assignments do to and, normally, saturdays are the days he spends on his computer with his glasses high on the bridge of his nose and that same nose buried deep in his books. On this particular saturday, however, he finds himself standing in front of Jaehyun's dorm room. Jaehyun had asked him to pick him up so that they can go to the party together.
He raises his fist and knocks on the wooden door twice, and it opens almost immediately. Yukhei opens the door and at first he's not very happy about it, but the feeling disappears immediately after he spots Jaehyun and a familiar mop of blonde hair behind the tall male.
Johnny is a bit shocked when he sees Jaehyun in his full glory. His hair is parted in the middle and it looks messy but good, a dangling earring hanging off his left ear and his eyes defined with some eyeliner. He's wearing a white turtleneck with a silky black dress shirt on top. He looks good.
"Jae your date is here," Yukhei teases. Johnny's eyes go wide and he looks at Jaehyun but the younger is avoiding his eyes and his ears are red like little tomatoes but he doesn't say anything back to deny it. Yukhei just opens the door wider and lets him inside, but before he can say anything, Donghyuck is looking at him from head to toe.
"This is all you could put together?" The smallest says and Youngho looks down at his attire.
"Huh? Is it that bad? Should I go back and change? It's not a long walk anyways so-,"
"No, you look good." Jaehyun interrupts and this time he's looking at him, ears still terribly red, but he's smiling.
"What are you doing here anyways?" Johnny diverts his eyes back at Donghyuck.
"I'm going to the party too, obviously. Yukhei invited me. Why else would I be dressed up like this?" Donghyuck says, and twirls to show off the extravagant golden dress shirt. Jaehyun chuckles in the background.
"Anyways, we should drink something before we leave," Jaehyun says and gets up from where he's sitting on his bed to his desk. He pours vodka into three shot glasses that Johnny wonders where he got them from. He pours coke into the fourth glass and hands it to Donghyuck.
"I'm not letting a minor drink so you're getting coke." Donghyuck pouts but takes it anyways. Once everyone has their drink, they clink glasses and empty it.
The four of them leave not much after, it's already getting dark outside and the cold wind blowing gives him goosebumps. It's october already and it's still warm at day but the nights are cool. Youngho is glad he brought a jacket with him. They arrive at a frat house after a twenty minute walk that was spent with small talk and Donghyuck picking on Johnny. Jaehyun and Yukhei seemed to be in a deep conversation a few steps ahead of Johnny and Donghyuck.
The house isn't too big but also not too small, and Youngho can hear the soft thump of music through the walls. Johnny spots how Jaehyun pulls his phone out of his pocket and shoots someone a text. They walk up to the door and Jaehyun knocks, the door flies open not much later. A boy with blonde hair emerges at first and Jaehyun's face lights up. There's another guy that slings his arms over the other not much later. He recognizes the latter from his econ class. Yuta, a japanese transfer student that knows half of the campus and is the epitome of a frat boy.
"Sicheng!" Jaehyun shouts over the music, "Happy birthday!" he engulfs the birthday boy in a big hug. Yukhei does the same to both Sicheng and Yuta. Donghyuck and Johnny wish them a happy birthday too and they're all ushered inside by the enthusiastic japanese.
Time passes in a blur. As soon as they got in the house, red solo cups were shoved into their hands and the next second he's sat on a couch next to Jaehyun, watching Sicheng and Yuta play beerpong.
Jaehyun is already well past tipsy, having chugged more beers than he probably should have. Johnny is still very concious and he feels sober but that all changes when Jaehuyn rests his head on his shoulder.
"They're cute, don't you think?" Jaehyun says and Johnny follows the younger's eyes. He's still looking at the beerpong table, but there aren't any cups left on it. The both of them abandoned the game for the dancefloor.
"Yeah." Johnny responds. His breath hitches when Jaehyun grabs his hand and plays with his fingers.
"You know, you should drink some more," Jaehyun stands up suddenly, and it seems to be not so smart of a desicion, because he stands in place with his eyes closed, blinking the black in front of his eyes away. Johnny gets up, his hand still in the other's, and lets himself be dragged in the direction of the kitchen. The younger mixes malibu with juice and pushes it into his hand, smiling so bright it makes his eyes turn into crescents.
And, well, what can a man do when Jung Jaehyun himself is looking at him like this. So he takes it and he finds himself back in the kitchen about fifteen minutes later, this time with jungle juice in his cup.
"Wanna dance?" Jaehyun asks him over the music. They're back on the couch, and this time Donghyuck and Yukhei are playing beerpong against Sicheng and Yuta. He looks at Jaehyun, cheeks pink from the alcohol, and his eyes are wide and genuine. Youngho doesn't need much time to think.
"Sure," This time it's Youngho who gets up first and leads them to where people are dancing. Normally he's an awkward dancer, but he has enough alcohol in his system to forget about it. He has his arms at his sides, unsure of what to do with them, when Jaehyun takes his wrists in his hands and puts them on his waist.
"Don't be shy, we've done worse than this," Jaehyun says, smirk on his lips. Johnny laughs and grips his waist a little tighter when Jaehyun's arms wrap around his neck. They start moving to the beat of the music, their eyes locked. The smaller's dimples are showing with the soft smile on his face, and maybe Johnny can't look away, not like he wants to.
"You look good," Jaehyun whispers, the loud music almost drowns it out, but they're close enough for Youngho to hear.
"Yeah? Donghyuck didn't seem to like my outfit much," he says in a soft voice.
Jaehyun's palms slide down his shoulders onto his chest. He grabs the collar of his plaid shirt and tugs softly.
"I like it, though."
"Yeah? That's good." Johnny chuckles. "Did you put on makeup?" Johnny asks and Jaehyun hums.
"Donghyuck put eyeliner on me, said it was necessary," the younger laughs and closes his eyes to show off the makeup. "Does it look good?"
"You could wear a trashbag and probably still pull it off so, yeah, it does." Jaehyun says and Jaehyun laughs even harder at that, burying his face in his shoulder, his body shaking under his fingertips.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. I like your big fluffy sweaters the most though, they make you look like a marshmallow." Sober Johnny would not have the courage to say stuff like that out loud, but he's anything but sober, so he just says anything that comes to mind without being embarrassed. The embarrassment will probably hit him full force tomorow morning when he remembers, if he remembers. (Which he hopes, because he doesn't want to forget this moment at all.)
"I'll wear those more often, then." Jaehyun hums. He knocks their foreheads together and closes his eyes again. It's only when he opens them a few seconds later again, that Johnny realizes he's been staring at Jaehyun's relaxed features the whole time. They look each other in the eyes for a few more moments before Johnny speaks up.
"Wanna get out of here?" Jaehyun nods like he's been waiting for that exact question the whole night. He grabs Youngho's hand for the nth time that day and interwinds their fingers, leading them through the crowd and to the front door. The younger waves at Sicheng when he spots him and they step outside into the cold.
They settle on Johnny's apartment because they're unbothered there. Johnny has trouble unlocking his door, because one hand is still holding Jaehyun's firmly and he's still a bit dizzy from the jungle juice. He manages to get it open after about three tries and he lets Jaehyun inside first. He closes the door behind him and Johnny is surprised when Jaehyun is already gone. He can see him walking into his bedroom out the corner of his eyes, so he follows him. Jaehyun makes a beeline for his closet and the older snorts when the other rummages through his drawer full of oversized shirts.
Jaehyun seems to have found one he likes because he pulls it out and picks a random pair of sweatpants and walks into the bathroom with a slight drag of his feet. Johnny changes into more comfortable clothes too and he's just about to pull his shirt over his head when the door to the bathroom opens and Jaehyun peeks outside. They stare at each other or a little, Johnny still half naked, when the door closes again and Jaehyun shouts a muffled "don't forget to brush your teeth!".
Johnny does as he's told and steps into the small bathroom not much later, Jaehyun is currently removing the eyeliner to the best of his, still drunken, abilities. It's oddly domestic, Johnny brushing his teeth next to Jaehyun, the both of them gazing at each other in the mirror from time to time.
Jaehyun leaves for bed first, slipping under the covers and snuggling into the pillows. Johnny joins him not much later, cold toes knocking against his calves. They lie next to each other in a comfortable silence for a while when he hears shuffling next to him. Jaehyun is already looking at him when he turns to face him.
"Hey Johnny?" Jaehyun whispers.
"Hm?"
"Can I talk to you about my crush?" Johnny knows they have already had this conversation a few weeks ago, but this time he's not dreading it.
"Sure," he whispers back.
"He's such a nice guy. He goes out of his way to bring me food when I'm sick and don't have anything at home to eat. His laugh is adorable, he always wheezes in between and I think it's the cutest think ever. He's tall, taller than me, I have to stand on my tip toes just a bit when I kiss him, his lips are great too. Whenever I look into his eyes it's like I'm looking up at the sky. He shaved properly today so if I were to kiss him, his stubbles wouldn't tickle me, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. His dad jokes are really unfunny but I always laugh at them because he always gets so happy when other people laugh, and I just want to make him happy."
Moonlight is shining through his window, and with the little amount of light he's able to make out Jaehyun's smile in the dark. They're looking each others in the eyes, not able to look away.
Something in Johnny's head clicks at that. Donghyuck was right, he really is dumb.
"He sounds like a great guy if you ask me," Johnny jokes and Jaehyun laughs and whispers he is between them.
"Can I tell you about my crush too?" Jaehyun nods so he continues. "At first I really didn't know what to think of him, he has quite the bad reputation and seemed like a fuckboy at first-," Jaehyun punches his chest. "But when I started working with him and got to know him, I started to realize that he's the complete opposite. He's such an awkward guy at first, but when he warms up it's so fun to be around him. He has the prettiest smile, with the cutest dimples and his eyes crinkle too. He pouts his lips when he's reading and I think he doesn't notice it. His heart is so warm and full of love and sometimes it's confusing me, because there's so many sides to him that most people don't know about and I would love to discover more and more of those sides of him."
Silence. Then, "Johnny?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I kiss you?"
Johnny doesn't answer, instead, he puts his lips on Jaehyun's.
Jaehyun is still asleep beside him when he wakes up the next morning. He can already feel the hangover coming, his head throbbing with every second that passes. Jaehyun's back is pressed to his chest and Youngho's left arm is slung loosely over his waist.
Johnny gets up to grab some water and advil but there's a hand grabbing his wrist when he's about to pull away.
"Don't leave," Jaehyun says, his voice groggy from sleep.
"I'm not leaving you, I'm just getting some water and advil so I can go back to sleep," Johnny says softly. "You should take some too, your head must be killing you." Jaehyun groans in agreement and lets go of his hand.
He grabs two glasses, a bottle of water and a package of advil from the kitchen and heads back to the bedroom. Jaehyun is sitting up on the bed now, his head in his hands. Johnny hands him the glass of water and the medicine and watches as Jaehyun gulps down the water and the pill. He does the same a few seconds later and sets down both empty glasses on his bedside table. He sits back on the edge of the bed.
"Jaehyun?" the other hums in acknowledgement.
"Do you remember last night?" Johnny asks and turns to look at the younger.
"Yeah. Do you?" Johnny nods. "Did you mean it?" another nod.
"Good," Jaehyun sighs in relief. Johnny just lies back down in bed and pulls Jaehyun towards him so that they're lying down facing each other.
"What are we?" he asks and Johnny thinks about it. They're still not friends, but maybe Johnny never wanted to be friends. He always felt like he wanted more from Jaehyun.
"Boyfriends?" he replies carefully, his heart beating fast. Jaehyun teases him and acts like he has to think about it for what feels like minutes, but the sinking feeling in his stomach disappears when Jaehyun nods and says, "Boyfriends sounds good."
"Can we go back to sleep now I don't feel like getting up at all today," Jaehyun whines and Johnny gladly complies, pulls his boyfriend closer and falls into a light slumber not much later.