Archive of Our Own

If someone had told Jungwon a few months ago that he would be incessantly drooling over a sophomore boy in his university, he would have laughed in their face. But, Park Jay worked in mysterious ways, throwing that mindset of his straight down the drain. Because ever since Sunoo had introduced Jungwon to his sophmore boyfriend along with his close friends, he knew he was fucked.

It was impossible not to be charmed by Jay. He wasn’t like all the boys in high school that Jungwon had embarrassingly been engaged with, nor was he like the guys Jungwon had unwillingly met at the bar Sunoo frequently forced him to go to. He was… dare he say, the personification of Jungwon’s type to a T. Everything about him had Jungwon captivated - his sharp features, his attractive voice, his bold personality, the way he would attentively engage with anyone who spoke to him. It would take for an idiot to not fall for someone like him.

Jungwon always thought of himself as a confident person, but anyone could see how his interactions with Jay showed just quite the opposite. And damn, was it cringe-worthy. He would trip on his words, be caught staring at the other and constantly dissociate himself whenever he saw something that reminded him just the slightest of the elder.

So Jungwon’s heart totally doesn’t shatter into a gazillion pieces when he overhears Jay telling Heeseung, “Jungwon? No, he’s like a little brother to me.”

Ouch, brother-zoned.

And thus, after crying his heart out to Sunoo while watching their sixtieth rerun of Twilight, and threatening him to never mention anything about it to Sunghoon, Jungwon decides he needs to move past his months of endless pining. He had been doing a damn good job at attempting to ignore the elder, quickly ducking away when he saw him in his periphery or refusing to go anywhere he knew Jay would be. It was difficult, but Jungwon knew he couldn’t emotionally handle himself if he were to come face to face with him.

So, imagine Jungwon’s distress when Sunoo fails to mention that the party they were going to was Jake’s. As in, Sunghoon and Jay’s best friend, Jake. Therefore, of course, Jay is going to be at the party, Jake.

“Sunoo, I’m going back.” Jungwon says, crossing his arms and glaring at the other. Sunoo huffs before grabbing Jungwon’s arms, attempting to drag the other from his rooted position. Jungwon makes a strangled noise, using his other hand to grip the nearby lamppost to ground himself as Sunoo continues to pull him.

Sunoo stops, sighing loudly before frowning at Jungwon. “Wonnie, you need to stop this. You’ve barely left the house in two weeks, all because you’re afraid of running into Jay-hyung? I know you don’t want to see him, but you can’t keep avoiding him. Sunghoonie even tells me that he keeps asking where you’ve been.”

“I bet he doesn’t even care that much.” Jungwon shakes his head. Sunoo sighs, running a hand through his hair before saying, “Wonnie, he cares about you, I can literally see it with my own two eyes. I’m sure he missed not seeing you around.”

Jungwon feels an ache in his chest just thinking about Jay again, and he has to calm himself down before he starts bursting into tears again. “Sunoo,” Jungwon utters out, but no other words come out of his mouth. What else is he even supposed to say? That he doesn’t want to see Jay because he knows the elder will treat him in a way that plays with Jungwon’s naive emotions? That he doesn’t want to see Jay because he knows he’ll turn into a sobbing annoying mess if Jay even attempts to act all close and physical with him because he knows they can never be more than friends?

“Just come to Jake’s party today, you need to let loose and enjoy yourself. This could be a good opportunity to just forget about everything.” Sunoo continues, giving Jungwon his god-forsaken puppy dog eyes that would have had Sunghoon kneeling on the ground, but nope, it doesn’t work on Jungwon.

“Sunoo-”

“Please, Wonnie, I know you want to go”. Sunoo persists, and okay, maybe Jungwon is a little susceptible to Sunoo’s perfectly honed pleading look. He sighs once more, and lets himself be dragged by the cheering Sunoo to the booming house across the street. Cheap lasers dance across the front lawn, illuminating by the darkness of the night, as bass-boosted music that is too loud for the neighborhood's own good drowns out the sounds of shouting, laughing and singing.

Even before they enter the house, the stench of beer and sweat flood their senses. They enter an environment that is simultaneously hot and cold, and Jungwon already misses the fresh air of the outside world. Alcohol is strewn across the floor and people are dancing, vomiting and doing things much more explicit than NC16. Jungwon glances to his right to see a group of sorority girls taking off their shirts, people whooping in excitement. To his left, is the beginnings of a small fight between two boys, with others surrounding them in bets and cheers.

Jungwon feels an arm around his shoulder, and he looks to his right, trying to identify the owner of said arm.

Jake is nothing but wasted - his voice slurred, his eyes hooded and his smile dopey. “You guys came!” Jake exclaims, before resting his forehead on Jungwon’s shoulder. “Damn, Jungwon, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. You haven’t shown up to watch basketball practice with Sunoo in quite a while.” Jungwon gives Jake an awkward smile, one that goes unseen by the other.

Sunoo laughs before commenting, “Hyung, this house is super cool, where did you even find it?” Jake says something in response, though Jungwon can’t quite hear anything due to the music blasting in his ears, only making out the words, “Family friend” and “Free use.”

“It’s quite a big party.” Jungwon adds on, raising his voice so the elder can hear him. Jake simply laughs and nods his head. “Yeah, it went a little overboard but oh well, I’ll deal with it tomorrow when I’m sober.”

Jungwon wants to say something in return, but is interrupted when Heeseung pops around the corner and flashes Sunoo and him a large smile. Jungwon has never been so happy to see such a sober man in a crowd of intoxicated individuals.

“Nice to see you’re out of your hole, Wonnie.” Heeseung teases and Jungwon mumbles out a “Hyung'', when he ruffles his hair. “It took a lot of convincing.” Sunoo sighs, and Heeseung chuckles before grabbing Jake from Jungwon’s side. “Yah, Jake, it’s our turn at Beer Pong.”

Jake lets out a small gasp, not sparing Sunoo or Jungwon a second look as he grabs Heeseung’s arms and walks away. Heeseung stumbles behind him, turning back around to yell out a quick, “Stay safe! Take care of each other!” at Sunoo and Jungwon before disappearing into the crowd.

Sunoo wastes no time dragging Jungwon into what he believes is the main dance floor, and he lets himself go in the music. Usually, Jungwon would have no problem following suit, but he really could not get into it. He seriously couldn’t understand how Sunoo could act so confidently and brazenly without a sliver of alcohol in his veins.

Jungwon is about to ask Sunoo to follow him to get a drink, when two random girls start coming up to him, both equally giggly and equally drunk. They latch their hands onto each of his arms, boldly pressing their bodies against him.

“Hey there, I haven’t seen you before.” One of the girls drags out, and Jungwon has to hold back a shriek when the other places her finger on his cheek. "You’re so cute.”

“Are you a sophomore?” They continue to ask, moving closer to him as Jungwon tries to back away. Jungwon coughs awkwardly before replying, “I’m a freshman.” The girls glance at each other and coo at him. “Well, we wouldn’t mind doing it with a younger guy.”

Jungwon opens his mouth, visibly shocked at their comment before shaking his head. “Um… No thanks.” He says, and fuck trying to ask Sunoo to follow him, he’s getting the hell out of there now. They continue to press their proposal to him, and Jungwon stops listening to their comments in an attempt to search for an opening in the crowd to escape. He swiftly makes a lucky break from the girls, leaving before they have the chance to push for anything more.

Jungwon is fortunate that he is eventually shoved into the food and beverage table at a corner of the house. He cracks open a Coke for himself and leans against the wall. After a good five minutes of enjoying his people-watching, a crowd of girls rush by him and flock towards the entrance of the house.

Jungwon’s eyes naturally drift towards whoever they were crowding around, and his breathing falters when he catches sight of Jay entering the house with Sunghoon.

Jay looks undeniably attractive, with his dark-colored sleeveless shirt that perfectly hugs his body and cargo pants that makes him look ever so cool. His hair is parted towards the center, accentuating his facial features, sculpting him to look like a Greek God. Jay laughs at something Sunghoon says, and Jungwon’s heart swoons at the way his eyes scrunch and his mouth shows off a flawless toothy grin.

Even as one of the girls drags Jay away to the God-awful dance floor, Jungwon can’t take his eyes off him. He doesn’t realize the moment when the feeling in his chest changes from that of butterflies to that of knives being thrust in and out. Jungwon glances down at his hand when he feels the liquid spilling down his wrist, noticing how hard he’s been squeezing his can of Coke.

He looks back up to try and find Jay once more. He watches Jay search the crowd for what he can only assume is Sunghoon and raw emotions of hurt, jealousy and longing overtaking him. But, Jungwon shouldn’t care. No, he didn’t care, not one single bit.

He just needed a drink.

Grabbing whatever can is situated next to him, Jungwon cracks it open and chugs the stinging liquid. It burns his throat, but he doesn't have the mental capacity to think twice about what he just downed. He just needs to get his mind off and away from a certain someone.

Ignoring the wave of nausea that hits him, Jungwon opens another can and downs it rapidly. He has to blink quite a few times to rid the black spots that start to flood his vision. After a second or two, he steadies himself.

He feels good, really good.

“Hey, do you want to dance?” A voice suddenly asks. Jungwon can’t make out who it is, but it didn’t really matter. Impulse overtaking his body, he mutters out a small, “Yeah, let’s go” before he’s whisked away.

+++

Jungwon’s head is pounding. It hurts more than he can comprehend, and his heart is beating so fast he’s surprised it hasn’t fallen out of his chest. The room flashes between darkness and light, and Jungwon can't tell if it is just him or not. He doesn’t know where he is or what is happening around him, but he doesn’t dwell on it. He couldn’t even tell you who he was with at this point. The space around him is a void, an infinite abyss that is simultaneously big yet small. He merely continues to dance, following the rhythm of the song that blazes through the speakers, moving with the motion of the crowd.

“I’m… going to get another drink.” Jungwon grumbles to no one in particular, his eyes fluttering shut before he pushes his way through the crowd. Yeah, he may have gone a little ham on the drinks, having maybe four… or seven… but honestly, who’s counting?

Maneuvering around the crowd of people, Jungwon keeps his hands in front of him to ensure he doesn’t end up falling on the ground, his eyes hazing over once more. Shit, his head was seriously-

“Woah, Jungwon, are you okay?” A voice speaks, and Jungwon has to blink a couple of times to realize who it is.

“Niki!” Jungwon exclaims, moving to give the other a quick hug. The taller boy weirdly looks at him, patting him gently on the back.

Niki cringes before pulling away and holding Jungwon by his shoulders. “How many drinks have you had?” He asks and Jungwon hums. “Uh… “ He hiccups suddenly before giggling out a small, “I don’t know….”

“Geez, Jungwon.”

Niki is still speaking, but to Jungwon, it comes out as dull white noise. He can’t handle standing still anymore, and walks away before Niki has the chance to grab onto Jungwon, eventually separating them. He has to find that damn drink table, needing another drink to quench his dry throat.

He tries to ignore the sweaty bodies around him as he squints his eyes to identify where the hell in the strange house he is. However, hands begin to pull at Jungwon once more as a few girls start dancing and gyrating on him. They laugh and say some words, but just like before, everything comes out as a blur. Jungwon shakes his head, trying to free himself so he can just go get himself another drink, but their iron grip restricts him. They move closer, and Jungwon just… needs to get away.

A sudden grab of his hand shocks him, as he is strongly pulled away from the group of girls, towards the chest of another man.

“Won, are you okay? What are you doing?”

Jungwon’s heart almost stops at the voice. It’s familiar… but his brain is lagging. He stills for a second, bringing his hand to massage his temple and rub his eyes, before looking at the source of the voice.

“Jay?” Jungwon mumbles, before furrowing his eyebrows. He realizes that Jay is still holding his hand, and Jungwon immediately separates them. Jay lets go, but continues to stay put as he looks at Jungwon with agitation. “Won, are you drunk?”

Jungwon frowns and shakes his head. He’s tired, but a knowing part of his brain tells him he needs to leave the elder, looking around to try and find a clear exit from the conversation Jay is starting with him. Jay seems to catch onto this, placing his hands on Jungwon’s shoulders before bending down and moving so close to his face that he’s about to physically combust. He’s thankful that the alcohol hides the blood that spreads across his face, and he’s silent for long enough for Jay to realize he’s not going to answer his question.

“I think you’ve had enough, today. I’ll send you home, okay?” Jay says and he speaks so tenderly that it almost makes Jungwon succumb to him. But no, he’s here to get his mind away from Jay.

Jungwon’s frown deepens and he looks away from the elder, puffing out his cheeks.

“No thank you.”

Jungwon hears Jay sigh, before he feels a hand move to his cheek and gently tilt his head to face him once more. “Can you look at me?” He mutters, and Jungwon can’t handle looking at Jay’s face any longer. His heart is beating so fast, no longer from the alcohol, and his face is hot from the elder being so so close to him. It’s acts like this that make Jungwon question everything.

"Why won’t you talk to me?” Jay asks and Jungwon feels suffocated. “Listen, I’m sorry if I did anything to-” Jay continues speaking, and Jungwon needs to leave. He uses the golden opportunity of when a stranger coincidentally bumps into the elder, causing Jay to clumsily let go of Jungwon’s shoulders. He moves fast, too fast for the other to react. Jungwon vaguely hears Jay call his name, but the voice gets softer and softer as he lets the crowd push him away.

Jungwon’s face is still hot from the feeling of Jay’s warm hands on his cheek, and he feels absolutely hopeless, because all he can think about is Jay, and just how much he likes him. It sickens him to think that he can no longer look at Jay without having his heart ache at everything the other does.

Jungwon doesn’t know how, but he manages to be pushed to a back door of the house. Although he’s initially upset that he’s even further away from the drink table, he thinks that he needs a breath of fresh air to collect his thoughts.

With the music being a muffle, his pounding head instantly feels better and he takes a moment to collect himself. He looks around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The area of the house is eerie to say the least. Unlike the front porch, there seems to be nobody back here, save for the two people that speak quietly amongst each other. The place is poorly illuminated by a single lamp post that stands next to a quiet and empty street, and Jungwon shivers from the gusts of wind that blow onto him. It’s sketchy, and Jungwon doesn’t want to stay out here longer than he has to.

Jungwon takes one last look outside, deciding that he wants to go back in the house, when he hears a light shriek come from one of the two people he had previously seen.

Jungwon’s eyes narrow, seeing the two men get oddly close to each other. He does a double take when he finally spots who it is, and rubs his eyes to make sure he’s not seeing things.

Is that… Sunoo? With some random guy? Jungwon is confused, and although Jungwon’s head feels better outside than it does inside, he can’t deny the fact that the alcohol flowing in his blood greatly alters his perception of his surroundings.

“Sunoo?” Jungwon hesitatingly calls out, and the boy who Jungwon confirms is Sunoo, turns to look at him. He wastes no time in trying to stalk up towards Jungwon, but is roughly stopped when the stranger grabs Sunoo’s wrists to keep him in place. Sunoo struggles to push the other away, as he shoots Jungwon an anxious look and calls out his name feverishly.

“Jungwo-”

The stranger quickly moves to use one of his hands to tightly cover Sunoo’s mouth, maneuvering them both so he can shove Sunoo’s back to the nearby lamp post. The stranger moves his face way too close to Sunoo, and Jungwon jumps into action. Sure, he may be shit-faced as fuck, but the look Sunoo gives him is enough to have his chest boiling with anger. He clenches his fist, running up to the both of them.

He didn’t learn Taekwondo for nothing.

“Yah!” Jungwon shouts, and the stranger hazily looks at Jungwon. He looks pretty drunk, his mouth agape, his eyes half open, and his body reeking of sweat and alcohol.

“Get off my friend, bastard.” Jungwon blurts out, using whatever strength he had in him to shove the stranger off Sunoo. The stranger stumbles back, and Sunoo immediately collapses on the ground, holding his hands in fear as tears begin to trail down his face. Jungwon glances down at Sunoo and bends down to help him up, but is interrupted when he gets roughly tackled.

Jungwon’s ears ring as he hits the ground, hearing nothing but the shout of his name before a rough fist collides with his face. Jungwon’s bones vibrate at the action, and he doesn’t have enough time to regain his composure before the stranger takes another swing at him.

It really fucking hurts, and Jungwon winds up his left leg in attempts of kicking the stranger off of him. He extends his leg with so much force that the drunken man is thrown back, groaning as he grips his abdomen. Jungwon needs to stand, tries to do anything to get the fuck away from the man, but a wave of nausea hits him, causing him to fall back down.

Damn it, maybe he shouldn’t have drank that much, he can’t concentrate at all.

Jungwon is helpless, and he thinks, maybe this is it as the stranger violently rams his elbow into his side. Jungwon groans, tears pricking at the crevices of his eyes. He can barely make out Sunoo wrapping his arms around the stranger’s body in a futile attempt to pull him off of him. The stranger holds up his fist, bringing it down to Jungwon for one more hit as Jungwon hastily attempts to block his face from the incoming blow.

Shit.

+++

Jay is nothing but confused when Niki drags him away from his comfortable position at the Beer Pong table. He clumsily pulls Jay to a quieter region of the house, ignoring Jay’s calls of his name and the messy spilling of Jay’s beer on the ground.

“Are you drunk?” Niki finally questions and Jay smoothens the creases of his shirt. “Nice to see you too, Niki.” Jay responds, and he takes it that Niki isn’t in a good mood when he sees the younger draw his lips into a fine line.

Jay sighs. “No, this is my first cup, which is now all on the floor because of you, thank you very much.”

Niki dismisses his words, not missing a beat before he anxiously asks, “Have you seen Jungwon?”

Jay’s heart skips a beat and his face dampens at the mention of the younger’s name.

“Why?” He asks, his voice getting serious. Just the way Niki phrases the question has Jay thinking of the infinite possibilities of where Jungwon could be, what he could be doing, and if he was okay.

“I bumped into him just now and hyung, he’s seriously drunk. I was going to take him away and bring him to you or Heeseung-hyung, but I lost him. I think you should find him.” Niki’s voice is laced with concern and Jay doesn’t hide his alarmed expression at the thought of Jungwon doing something reckless or stupid. Jay was already severely distressed at the fact that Jungwon had been ignoring him for a reason he couldn’t even think of, and Sunghoon certainly did not help at easing his worries.

Jay doesn’t have time to thank Niki before he’s searching the crowd for Jungwon. The house is so dimly lit that he has to more or less analyze every single person to see if it’s Jungwon. With each passing second, he begins to get more and more panicked, because what if Jungwon had gotten in trouble? What if he had gotten hurt? Jay wouldn’t know what he would do with himself if that happened.

And then, he sees him.

Jay has to hold back a sigh of relief as he marches up towards Jungwon, reaching out to grab his hand to pull him away from what seemed like a terribly awkward situation.

“Won, are you okay? What are you doing?” Jay asks, and he has to hold himself back from wrapping his arms securely around the younger.

Jungwon’s eyes are glossy, cheeks dusted a light pink and his movements are slow. For the first time in what feels like forever, he looks at Jay. Albeit, it’s with a confused and clouded expression, resembling that of a lost puppy. He’s wearing an oversized T-shirt and sweats, and Jay resists the urge to coo at his charming appearance.

Jungwon squints his eyes before mumbling out a small, “Jay?” He squirms and removes his hand from Jay’s.

Jay needs to hold back the sorrow that overtakes him at the act.

“Won, are you drunk?” Jay continues.

Jungwon cutely shakes his head, breaking eye contact and looking past Jay. It’s obvious Jungwon wants to leave, but Jay can’t let that happen.

Jay moves his hands to Jungwon’s shoulders to keep him in place, bending down so the younger can hear him more clearly. “I think you’ve had enough today. I’ll send you home, okay?” Jay continues, and Jungwon pouts before puffing out his cheeks, and letting out a quick, “No thank you.”

Despite the younger being so difficult, Jay is seriously about to collapse from the way he is acting.

Jay sighs, and places his hand on Jungwon’s cheek to bring him back to face him. He watches as Jungwon’s eyes widen.

"Can you look at me?”

Jungwon does nothing but stare at him blankly. A sour emotion gnaws at Jay’s heart just thinking that the younger is mad at him. Things were fine with them a few weeks ago, what had happened since then?

“Why won’t you talk to me? Listen I’m sorry if I did anything. I’ve really been worried about you these days, and if something happened then I- Fuck!” Jay shouts out, being jerked forward as a stranger roughly shoves his back. Jay turns to glare at the other, wanting to shoot out a warning, when he whips his head back to where Jungwon is… or where Jungwon was.

Damn it.

“Jungwon? Jungwon!” Jay calls out, but his calls go out in vain as the smaller manages to hide himself in the crowd of people. Jay swears under his breath, pushing and nudging at people to get out of his way as he frantically tries to search for Jungwon once more. How had he managed to lose him so quickly?

Jay is virtually checking every nook and cranny of the house, all the way from the basement to the top floor, opening every door he could (big mistake). He’s walking down the stairs from the house’s third floor, ignoring the suspiciously sticky liquids on the floor and hopping past the empty bags of chips and what he swears is cocaine.

He’s just about to reach the first floor when he vaguely hears a girl say, “I just saw Sunghoon outside when I tried to go for a smoke break.” Usually Jay would ignore the comment, letting his best friend do whatever and go wherever he wants to, but the voice continues on to say, “He’s legit in a full on fight with some dude outside though, so I came back in.”

Jay stops.

Sunghoon? Fight? Now that’s something he’s never heard of. He retracts his steps, hurriedly moving back up to confront the girl and her friend.

“Where is Sunghoon?” He promptly asks, and the girl confusingly replies, “The backyard area.” Jay nods, thanking her quickly before running down the stairs. What was going on today? Way too many things were happening. First, Jungwon getting drunk? Second, Sunghoon getting into a fight? What could even happen for Sunghoon to get in a fight with a person? Usually, he’s the more cool-headed one of the two.

Jay can’t tell where the back of the house is, everything blurring together in a chaotic tortuous mess. He doesn’t dwell on it long, opting to leave the house via the front door. Not sparing any looks at others, he rushes out of the house and heedlessly rounds the corner to try and make his way towards the back. He passes knocked out individuals and deeply intoxicated couples, and his vision eventually starts to falter from the lack of a proper light source. The narrow walkway is tremendously creepy, and Jay wonders who in their right mind would be out here at this time of night?

He makes a mental note to scold Jake for not properly checking out the area before hosting an excessively large mid-term party.

At long last, Jay reaches a dim area at the back of the house, whose only light source is an old lamp post that slants at an odd angle, buzzing and flickering ominously. It looks like nobody should be here, and Jay is second guessing himself, thinking maybe the two girls were pulling a prank on him because of course, Sunghoon doesn’t get in fights. And fuck, now he’s wasted precious searching-for-Jungwon time.

Jay is about to turn around, when he hears thumping, groaning and heavy breathing. He falters, hesitatingly deciding to move towards the source of the noise, phone flashlight still in hand. He’s seriously going to murder someone if he finds two horny people having sex, but freezes when he makes eye contact with a red-faced and tear-stained Sunoo, holding an unconscious Jungwon in his arms.

What the fuck?

Jay can’t register anything, his body moving faster than his head can think. He drops to the ground, and Sunoo lets him pry Jungwon off him. Jay’s breath hitches when he sees the boy’s limp and vulnerable state. The beginnings of a bruise is forming on his left cheekbone, and the corner of his left eye is scraped, the cut deep enough to still have droplets of fresh blood budding at the surface. Jungwon doesn’t wake, his body malleable and soft. His breathing is slow, but thankfully still and steady, and Jay rests his back on his chest, wrapping his arms around the younger.

Jay brings his hand to Jungwon’s face, brushing the stray strands of hair from his forehead as he helplessly whispers, “Jungwon? Jungwon, you need to wake up, okay? Fucking hell, Jungwon.”

His heart sinks and he has to bite his lip to refrain from shouting in frustration and anger. He is seriously going to fuck up whoever dared to lay a finger on Jungwon, but for now, he needs to focus on said boy.

“What the hell happened Sunoo?” Jay barks out, probably harsher than he intended it to be, but what he needs is answers. Answers to what, how, why?

Sunoo places his head in his hands, shaking his head as he cries out, “It’s my fault, it’s all my fault.” Jay feels bad for the boy, his body is shaking and his breathing is uneven and uncoordinated as he tries to hold back the tears that stream indefinitely down his pale cheeks. Jay wants to offer a word of comfort, but pauses when a group of boys run out of an old, crooked door hidden at the side of the house.

Jay’s eyebrows furrow, and pulls Jungwon closer to him as he studies the group. He’s lucky when they run past the three of them, and he follows their movements towards an even darker corner of the backyard. Jay has to flash his light at them to see what’s going on.

It’s then that Jay finally sees Sunghoon. He’s never seen the other look so furious, aggressively punching a trembling bruised man’s face, before holding him up by his torn shirt’s collar, his grip tightening with every word he speaks. Sunghoon glares deeply at the other, as he snarls out, “If you ever think of coming near those two again, I won’t hesitate to beat you to a bloody pulp, you hear me?”

The guy clumsily nods his head before Sunghoon drops him. He falls on the ground, and the group of guys, who Jay assumes to be his friends, lift him up and start asking profusely what had happened.

“What happened?” Sunghoon growls out. “Your friend fucking assaulted my boyfriend and friend, that’s what happened.” Jay’s heart drops and his face darkens, his free hand shaking as he clenches it into a tight fist to contain his firing emotions.

He aimlessly watches as the group of boys apologize profusely in the boy’s stead, going off about how their friend always acted foolishly when he was too intoxicated. Sunghoon doesn’t stay to listen to them, walking away after spitting out a quick, “Whatever.”

Before Sunghoon even reaches the three of them, Sunoo stands up from his crouched position and stumbles over to him. Sunghoon gently pulls the shorter into a hug, one of his hands resting on the crown of Sunoo’s head as the younger cries into his chest. Sunoo’s breathing does not steady, his voice muffled by Sunghoon’s chest, but Jay can still make out his heavy apologies.

Sunghoon wraps his other arm protectively around the other’s waist before saying, “It’s not your fault, don’t apologize.”

Sunghoon allows Sunoo to continue to cry, and he places his chin on top of the other’s head, looking worriedly at Jay and Jungwon.

“Hoon, what happened?” Jay weakly asks. Sunghoon sighs, speaking in a low tone.

“I was upstairs with Kai when I just happened to glance outside the window. It’s a fucking miracle because I saw Sunoo out here with some guy who was making him look really uncomfortable. I came down to take him back inside with me but came to see the guy lay a hard one on Junwon.”

“H-he was trying to force himself on me, and… Jungwon saved me.” Sunoo suddenly says in a hushed voice, needing to take a few seconds for his breathing to stabilize. Sunghoon brings his hand to draw comforting circles on Sunoo’s back, keeping him close as he continues.

“B-but I couldn’t help Jungwon even… even when the guy started hitting and…. and hurting him.”

Jay’s clenched fist tightens and his teeth grind against each other. He needed to take a deep breath to prevent himself from going back into the house and hammering the guy.

“I’m sorry,” Sunoo strings out, sniffling and hiccuping. “This wouldn’t have happened if I was firm with him in the first place.” Sunghoon moves so he can give Sunoo a light kiss on his forehead before shaking his head at him.

“It’s not your fault, Sunoo. It’s the fucking guy’s.” Jay says. Sunoo takes a look at Jungwon, his eyes filling up once more with fresh tears as he whispers out, “Is he okay?”

Jay looks down at Jungwon. His breathing is more frequent, and Jay takes a clean section of his shirt to lightly dab the blood that surfaces at his cut. Jay lets out a breath before nodding his head, “He’s okay, just passed out for a bit. I’ll take care of him, don’t worry.”

Sunoo still doesn't look reassured, and Sunghoon frowns at the other before turning towards Jay. “I’m going to leave with Sunoo. Text Niki to bring you some ice and cloth because God knows where Jake is now. You’re okay with Jungwon, right?”

If it was even possible, Jay pulls Jungwon even closer to him and nods, “Yeah, thanks.”. Sunghoon nods his head in response as he gently takes Sunoo’s hands. He pauses, taking a look at the marks on Sunoo’s wrists before saying, “Let’s go to my place, okay?” Sunoo nods his head, sniffing while bringing his hands to his face to wipe his tears.

“It’s okay, baby.” Sunghoon softly says, taking his thumbs to brush off the last of Sunoo’s tears. After the two leave, Jay moves to bring his arm under Jungwon’s legs, steadily lifting the other up and moving back into the house.

+++

When Jungwon regains consciousness, the first thing he feels is a freezing sensation on his cheek. He winces, his head pulsating numbly and he takes a deep breath before warily opening his eyes.

It takes Jungwon a moment to recognise where he is. He’s in a room of sorts, a soft lamp warmly lighting up his surroundings. It’s not too dark that he can’t see anything, and it’s not too bright that it overloads his senses. He’s lying on a bed, his back pressed up against a soft pillow with a fuzzy blanket wrapped around his body. He assumes he’s back in the house, vaguely hearing music coming from below him; it’s bleary, dull and oddly comforting.

Jungwon’s eyes glance to the left, and he sees Jay is pressing an ice pack to his cheek. Well, that explains that sensation. He’s sitting on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the wall in front of them, his foot tapping on the floor incessantly. He’s deep in thought, not realizing that Jungwon is awake and Jungwon almost doesn’t let him know.

But Jungwon’s face is getting way too cold, and he needs Jay to take that damn ice pack off his face.

“Cold.” Jungwon mutters and his voice is like gravel, throat so dry that speaking feels like sandpaper against his trachea. Jay jumps at Jungwon’s sudden comment, his head whipping towards him as he breathily lets out, “Jungwon, God, you’re awake.”

Jay is speaking more to himself than he is to Jungwon, and he turns his body to face Jungwon completely, his mouth turning up into a relieved smile. Jungwon fumbles under the attention, and he can only repeat, “M-My cheek is cold.” Jay pulls his hand away, mumbling a quick, “Shit, sorry” before placing the ice pack onto a small nightstand.

Even though Jungwon still feels like shit, he can’t help but think how attractive Jay looks. The warm lamp casting shadows on his features, highlighting the tips of his forehead, nose and mouth. It’s silent between them, and Jungwon gets shy under the elder’s presence. He carefully brings his hand to rub his eyes, needing to do something to distract himself from Jay’s intense gaze when his fingers feel a small band aid pasted at the corner of his left eye.

“You have quite the deep cut there, I disinfected it so you should be okay, but keep the bandaid on for a while in case.” Jay says, his voice low yet so tender, and Jungwon admits that he’s missed the elder so much more than he let on.

“Thank you.” Jungwon murmurs. He hears Jay shuffle for something, before he is suddenly handed a bottle of water. “Here, drink it to sober up.”

Jungwon grabs the bottle, before commenting, “I think getting beat up sobered me up enough, hyung.”

If Jay’s silence tells Jungwon anything, it is that he’s not amused at his sad attempt at a joke, and Jungwon feels the embarrassment pool around his cheek. He utters out a quiet apology before opening the bottle and taking a few large sips to quench his thirst.

The water is lukewarm, and Jungwon wonders how long it’s been sitting out for.

“Won,” Jay starts after Jungwon hands him back to the bottle. “You’re crazy for trying to fight that guy, you know? I know you do Taekwondo and are capable of handling yourself, but not when you're tipsy and unaware of your surroundings. You could have been so much more hurt if Sunghoon hadn’t pushed that guy off of you in time.”

Jungwon leans his head back against the pillow.

“I couldn’t just leave Sunoo alone. That’s not right.”

A warm hand gently pulls his head. Jay’s hand rests on his face, and Jungwon’s breath hitches when his thumb delicately runs around his cheek. He’s so close, and Jungwon gains enough courage to flicker his eyes from Jay’s eyes to his lips. He knows he should be pulling away, but he’s so intoxicated by Jay’s touch that he can’t help but quietly lean into his hand.

Jungwon knows this is his only chance to be this close to the elder, and so he basks in the moment. It’s nice, it’s peaceful, it’s ethereal.

“I’m sorry if I did anything to make you mad at me.” Jay softly says, his eyes devoid of their usual ardor and happiness, instead replaced with a darker emotion that strikes Jungwon’s conscience. Well, if Jungwon didn’t feel guilty about ignoring him before, he sure did now.

“It… it’s not you, hyung. You didn’t do anything.”

Jay opens his mouth, wanting to say something more but Jungwon’s sigh stops him. “You’re such a good guy, hyung. You’re so… so good.” Jungwon says.

Jay’s face is still serious, and something glints in his eyes as he continues to speak.

“Do you feel better? And don’t lie to me, Won.”

Jungwon pauses for a moment, hesitating before nodding his head. Jay seems to cling onto the fact that it took Jungwon a second longer than usual to give him a direct answer. “I’m going to make sure that guy never sees the light of day.” He mutters and Jungwon lets out a huffed laugh.

“Hyung, no. I promise I’m good.” Jungwon says, and brings his free hand to grip onto the fingers of Jay’s free hand. Jay swallows, and moves further up the bed, even closer to Jungwon.

“Are you sure you’re not still drunk?” He whispers. His voice is husky and his eyes are hooded, and Jungwon has to hold back the chills that spread from his neck all the way to his fingertips. He smiles lightly before saying, “I’m okay.”

Rather than being drunk on alcohol, Jungwon feels drunk on Jay. They’re close, so close that Jungwon thinks that with just one swift movement, he can kiss the other.

Just… just one movement.

“C-can I kiss you?” Jungwon asks, the words slipping out of his mouth before he has the chance to hold back his tongue. He wants to mutter an excuse, wants to play it off as a joke, but the way that Jay stares at him so seriously makes him second-guess himself.

It happens so fast - Jay’s lips grazing his. The kiss is light, it can barely even be considered a kiss, before Jay pulls away.

Jungwon lets out a breath, and a million thoughts rush through his head. But before he can voice anything out, Jay moves back into him, reconnecting their lips.

Jungwon decides he’ll deal with his raging thoughts later, choosing to live in the moment.

And so, he places his hands in Jay’s hair, pulling him further into the bed. Shivers of pleasure spike down Jungwon’s entire body when Jay deepens the kiss, bringing one of his hands to Jungwon’s back. His heart is racing so much, and his senses are just so overwhelmed with Jay, and how much he wants him.

Jungwon pulls away to catch his breath, his cheeks a salmon pink and his voice lost. Almost instantly, Jay pulls him back in, reattaching their lips, and God, Jay is so good at kissing and teasing his sweet spots that he almost faints.

“Fuck, I’ve been wanting to do this for so long.” Jay mutters in between kisses and Jungwon holds back a moan when his hand moves under his shirt to touch his bare back. His touch ignites fireworks that explode with every caress, and he arches his back, parting his legs to give room for Jay to crawl in between them.

“Always looking so pretty for me.”

Jungwon whimpers at the praise and he feels Jay smirk against his lips. He's on a high and he can’t get enough. He pulls away, ignoring Jay’s disoriented look when he pushes him backwards so the elder is sitting down. Before Jay can say anything, he places his legs on either side of Jay’s lap, straddling him as he reattaches their lips. They kiss and move against each other senselessly, hands fervently grasping at each other, parting and joining their lips like it was nothing.

Jungwon tugs at Jay’s hair, eliciting a groan from the elder, and Jungwon has to hold back his disappointment when Jay pulls away. He shakes his head before looking at Jungwon. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” He says. “You’re injured.”

Jungwon almost scoffs at the comment, and tries to move forward to capture Jay’s lips again. But Jay is quick, moving his head back playfully, watching as Jungwon gawks at his response.

“N-no, I’m okay, I promise.” Jungwon pleads, and when Jay gives him an unsure look, Jungwon whines. Never did he think he would resort to such an embarrassing tactic, but desperate times come for desperate measures.

“Hyung, please.”

“Fuck,” Jay’s light chuckles reverberate in his ears, and Jungwon pouts. “You’re so cute.” Jay mumbles, before slipping his tongue into his mouth, pulling the younger closer into the shape of his body.

Jay’s hand rests on Jungwon’s neck, kneading it gently before he tugs on his nape. Jungwon lets out a strangled noise and lightly slaps his bicep. Their breaths are uneven, and he can feel his lips beginning to bruise from their sloppy movements. When Jay’s teeth scrape against his bottom lip, he feels a heat of desire travel through his bones. His toes curl and his hands grip Jay's shirt.

Jay’s mouth moves down towards his neck, biting it softly and drawing out a mewl from Jungwon. “H-Hyung…” Jungwon cries out, his breathing heavy as Jay continues to graze his teeth over his neck, sucking and licking at all of his sensitive spots.

Jungwon whimpers when Jay pulls away, and he hears the elder chuckle and mutter out, “Such a good boy for me, Wonnie.” Jungwon can’t help but make a noise at the statement, and it’s obvious the elder is living for his reactions, smiling cheekily at him in response.

Jungwon is overwhelmed, and they sit there in silence, collecting their breaths and thoughts. He thinks that it's even better than what he had thought and dreamed of. It’s even more than he imagined, and Jungwon is so happy that he could-

Wait.

“Hyung, you-you like me?” Jungwon questions and Jay looks at him confused. “Jungwon, I just made out with you, yes, I like you.”

Jungwon shakes his head. He’s stunned, because there is no way Jay, the living reincarnation of a Greek God, would like him. Not when he…

“But-but I heard you!” Jungwon accuses, pushing Jay’s chest threateningly, but still remaining on his lap. Jungwon frowns and crosses his arms, watching as Jay’s face morphs from confusion to utter perplexity.

“You heard me?” He asks, and Jungwon nods his head. “You told Heeseung-hyung that I was like your little brother. Hyung, you brother-zoned me.” It takes Jay a second or two to remember what Jungwon was talking about, before eyes flood with understanding and realization.

“Oh, that.” He drags out. “But how did you even hear me? I swear it was just me and Heeseung-hyung in the locker room.”

“That’s not important.”

Jay chuckles and pokes Jungwon’s cheek with his index finger. “Well, if you need to know, it was the day that you and Sunoo came to watch one of our training sessions, and I was sort of blabbering to him about how cute you looked in that oversized dark blue hoodie you wore, the one that’s ripped at the front and back to see your inner shirt.”

Jungwon feels his ears heat at the effortless compliment Jay gives him because no, he did not hear that part.

“He asked me if I was interested in you and I sort of just said I thought of you like a little brother so he wouldn't go all bat-shit crazy on me.”

“Why- Hyung wouldn’t do that.” Jungwon questions and Jay gawks at him, pinching his right cheek. “Baby, are you serious? That boy is crazy overprotective of you. And I doubt he even likes me.”

Jungwon’s mouth gapes and he blinks a few times. “W-what? I didn’t know hyung was like that.”

“Of course he is. He just wants what’s best for you, Won. He’s basically your real brother from how long you two have known each other.” Jay continues and Jungwon is still baffled at all the information being thrown at him.

“Wait, so… you actually like like me?” Jungwon questions again and Jay looks at him with so much emotion that Jungwon doesn’t think he even needs an answer. “But-Did you know I liked you?” Jungwon continues, and almost wants to combust on the spot when Jay looks at him like he’s asked the world’s most obvious question ever.

“I didn’t think you were hiding it… I thought you knew I liked you back.” Jay comments and Jungwon almost shouts from frustration.

“How was I supposed to know that?” Jungwon grumbles.

“Jungwon, I physically cling onto you all the time, everywhere.”

“I thought you did that to everyone!”

“You don’t see me all over Sunghoon or Jake.”

Jungwon huffs and moves to bury his face in Jay’s neck. “This could have saved me so many tears, you dipshit.” He mutters and Jay coos, wrapping his arms around Jungwon and giving him a gentle squeeze. “Aw, why would you cry?” He chuckles and Jungwon shakes his head from his rested position.

“I thought you didn’t like me.”

“How could I not like you?” Jay says and Jungwon swoons at his words. Jay could do the simplest thing, and Jungwon would still think of it as the greatest act of all time.

“I really like you, hyung.” Jungwon mutters and Jay’s eyes soften. He looks at him like he holds the galaxies in the palm of his hand, like his body is made of feathers and clouds, like he speaks the words of the gospel, like his soul is a cavern of undiscovered crystals and jewels.

“Do you want to come back to my place?” Jay asks and Jungwon is just about to cry from adoration at the fact that Jay’s voice resembles that of a pleading puppy begging his owner to go outside. “Shouldn’t we check that I’m not going to die of a concussion?” Jungwon teases and Jay splurts out an, “Oh shit, fuck, I’m sorry.”

“Hyung, I’m joking, I feel a lot better now.” Jay is silent for a while, before bringing his hands to Jungwon’s hair. “I’ll never let you get hurt like this ever again.” He says and Jungwon lets Jay have his moment, lets him continue to card through his locks, lets him stroke his head tenderly and lets him hold him in place, away from everything, away from everyone. “I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

“I know you will.”

+++

“Heeseung-hyung is going to skin me when he finds out about what happened today.”

“Let’s just not mention anything to him.”

“Also, Jungwon, you should call Sunoo and let him know you’re feeling better.”

“Yes, hyung.”

“And actually, let’s stop by the store to get bandages and more ice packs because I don’t want you to-”

“Hyung, slow down.”

“And one more thing-”

“Oh my god, Hyung, stop.”