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Cunning and audacity.
If there’s one thing Lee Minho has in spades, in Hyunjin’s opinion, it’s cunning and audacity. He’s certain his hyung has a meticulously thought-out, long-term plan that combines elements of surprise and psychological pressure. How else to explain the fact that Hyunjin falls for it every single time?
It always starts innocently enough — with light touches and mischievous glances. Then the actions grow bolder. Gradually, carefully, so as not to spook him like a skittish little wild thing. It’s like taming slowly turning into seduction. Before Hyunjin can even register what’s happening, a hand is already grabbing his waist, groping his ass, a smirking mouth dropping suggestive compliments and innuendos. Sometimes in front of everyone, even on camera.
“Hyunjin-ah, look. It’s a bed.”
Shameless.
A playful smile on Minho’s lips. In his eyes, black wells. At the bottom, genuine demonic fire sloshes. Hyunjin plays with that fire, forgetting he might get burned. It feels like if he dares to be the first to touch, to smile back, to lean in, he’ll be burnt to a crisp. He’s good at pulling back just before the trap snaps shut, but he keeps coming closer, time and again. Like a gambler, testing his luck over and over.
During dance practice, Hyunjin takes a break, leaning his head back against the couch and closing his eyes. He feels the heat of a body hovering over him, catches the familiar scent of damp skin, feels someone else’s hot breath, and his own stutters immediately. He masks his reaction as fatigue after exhausting cardio. Cautiously, he cracks his eyes open, preparing to be in the crosshairs of a predatory gaze, but Minho’s face is too close, his gaze aimed lower. At his lips?
Hyunjin always tried to feign disgust. He thought he was pretty good at it.
Minho always took a step back just in time. He never crossed the line.
It’s like they’re in an endless dance, where each steps forward and then retreats. Minho knows—he was the one who taught Hyunjin to dance.
“Will you really kiss me, Hyunjin-ah? I'm waiting. Come feel my heartbeat.”
Holding his hyung’s hands, Hyunjin feels his own heart pounding in his ears. He wrinkles his nose in disdain and makes a shameful escape. The main thing is not to show weakness, or else he’ll be devoured to the bone.
Hyunjin is brushing his teeth—half-asleep, eyelids drooping, only a towel around his waist. When his damp hair is carefully brushed aside, baring his neck, he just sighs. When soft lips touch his skin, he flinches and fully wakes up, catching Minho’s sly gaze in the mirror.
When Hyunjin closes his eyes again and imagines that hyung is still there, still kissing his neck, touching him everywhere, gathering droplets of water from his freshly showered body with his palms, the towel around his waist feels too tight. It shall be his secret.
Sometimes Minho ignores him for a long time, and Hyunjin can’t help but swallow his pride and make the first move. He provokes. Not with words, but with body language and cautious glances. Sometimes that doesn’t work either, so he calls Minho sexy, or even “my boyfriend,” just to get the desired reaction. Having stolen a satisfied look from the older man and a scrap of attention, he retreats back into his burrow, like from a cat ready to pounce.
It’s unclear what drives the escalation—Minho’s growing audacity or Hyunjin’s bolder provocations. Short kisses appear out of nowhere—innocent little pecks right on the lips. The first time, Minho does it in front of the other members, as if it’s nothing special, and this marks the beginning of an entirely new era of skinship involving anyone who wants in, particularly Changbin. This one takes it as a green light and occasionally tries to touch Hyunjin’s lips too—with his fingers or his own lips. Hello and goodbye kisses, according to the muscular rapper. Other group members find it incredibly amusing, except perhaps for the youngest.
It dawns on Hyunjin that kisses are not all the same. After Changbin, he feels like washing his mouth out with soap. But after Minho…
Minho kisses him in private, lingering for a couple of seconds, smirking against his lips, and Hyunjin licks his own. When hyung leaves to do his own thing, Hyunjin realizes he forgot to feign disgust. He’s ashamed, yet he wants more.
During the international tour, they’re roomed together. At night, when they’re both in their pajamas, Minho catches him by the bed, pressing his chest to Hyunjin’s back, his hips against a firm ass. He gropes his chest, nips at his earlobe. Hyunjin whimpers, his breath ragged. He is sweating so much. He puts up a weak resistance because all his strength is going into not giving in. He can’t keep up with the hot hands roaming his body. Finally, Minho lets the younger go and laughs at his pitiful accusations and threats to report the perverted older man to the police. That night, Minho doesn’t kiss him, and Hyunjin, nervously biting his thumb, wonders if he went too far.
Back at the dorm, with Seungmin at his parents’ house and the room all to Hyunjin and Minho, the boys secretly make ramyun at night, hiding behind the curtain on the older man’s bed and giggling constantly. Minho picks up a single noodle, puts one end in his mouth, and offers the other to Hyunjin, who laughs too loudly and shoves the older man’s chest lightly. Minho tries again, making a silly mooing sound with his lips sealed around the noodle, widening his eyes in an attempt to convince him to play along, but fails. Hyunjin stuffs his mouth full of food and slurps loudly, ending up choking and sending the older man into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Inevitably, they wake the manager, who stomps irritably into their room, yanks the curtain open, and finds the culprits with their mouths full. Both get scolded and ordered to go to sleep.
When the manager leaves, they giggle quietly again. Hyunjin feels like he’s never had this much fun with anyone.
The kisses and groping become a little less frequent, but the guys start having long conversations. Actually, Hyunjin does most of the talking, and Minho listens attentively. Without judgment, without unsolicited advice or commentary. They still exchange playful glances, but there’s a tenderness and depth creeping in. In Japan, they spend hours together, walking and eating, and Hyunjin remembers it as the best date of his life. There’s a trend now of calling outings with friends “dates,” it’s no big deal. Even if they sometimes hold hands in a not-so-friendly way, and Hyunjin’s cheeks and Minho’s ears turn red. This date is not their last.
After some time, Hyunjin moves in with Changbin and sees Minho much less often. He immerses himself in his own world, spending more time alone, decorating his apartment and creating new art. He’s filled with unspoken feelings that spill out as paint on canvas, taking shape under his brush. He paints genderless couples over and over. Paints them kissing. He stares at his creations for a long time, wishing he could make them move, or truly bring them to life. His lips burn, and he bites them, only making it worse.
“I’ll come visit to see pretty Hyunjinnie.”
Liar.
Something tightens in his chest. Hyunjin takes a photo of one of his drawings, attaches it to a message, and hovers his finger over the send button for a long time. Come on, be brave. The image is sent without any caption. Hyunjin freezes, waiting for a reply.
He’s practically growling, about to delete the message when suddenly it’s marked as read. A moment later, his contact starts typing. Hyunjin squeezes his eyes shut for a few seconds. Cracks one eye open and sees the answer: “Be there soon.”
Hyunjin panics. He doesn’t know how to explain his impulse, how to justify it. Should he say he just wanted to show his art? No, Minho sees right through him. The boy runs a hand over his short, bleached hair and whimpers in helplessness.
“Are you alone?” Minho asks from the doorway, peering inside the apartment as he takes off his shoes.
“Yeah. Changbin’s at the studio with Chani-hyung.”
“Got lonely?” There’s that devilish grin again.
“What makes you say that? I didn’t ask you to come.”
“What do you mean? I thought you were inviting me to sleep together. There was a bed in the background of your picture.”
Hyunjin looks at him skeptically and pulls out his phone to check. He’s leaning over the screen when he feels a hand stroking his head. He can’t help but smile.
“So, did you find the bed? If not, let’s go to your room and look for it.”
“Just like that, hyung? You don’t even want some tea?”
They laugh. It’s comfortable. Hyunjin shows him the apartment, which has changed a lot since hyung’s last visit thanks to the creative boy’s efforts. New vases, new paintings. Furniture rearranged.
It smells of fresh roses in Hyunjin's room.
Minho waggles his eyebrows and sits on the bed, patting the spot next to him. He looks around, taking everything in, then finally letting his gaze rest on Hyunjin, who’s seated nearby, and smiles slyly.
“Pretty Hyunjinnie. Close your eyes.”
Hyunjin shakes his head but obediently complies. A moment later, he feels a hand cup his chin, a thumb tracing his cheekbone. Lips approach his face but suddenly change course, stopping by his ear:
“How far do you want to go?”
Goosebumps ripple across his skin. Hyunjin listens to himself and realizes it’s all or nothing. Right now.
“Far,” he exhales, eyes still shut.
Minho kisses him. This time, it’s long, wet, with tongue. Hyunjin kisses back, unsure where to put his hands. The older one places them on his own shoulders, then pushes Hyunjin onto his back, looming over him and continuing the kiss. Slowly, they shed their clothes, and Minho’s tongue finds a hardened nipple. Then the other. Hyunjin wants to do something too, but all he can manage is to writhe and moan under the attention.
“Hyuuung,” he whines as his sweatpants and boxers are pulled off.
“Are you ready to take me tonight?” is whispered into his ear.
“I want to, but…” Hyunjin’s face flushes bright red. “I didn’t plan for this. I didn’t… prepare.”
“Want help getting ready?” Minho’s hands roam over his body, lingering on his buttocks.
“No, ew. That’s dirty.”
“It’s okay. It’s natural. There’s nothing dirty about you.”
Hyunjin stays silent, the tension in his body not easing. So Minho suggests they move to the shower together, cracking more dirty jokes until he manages to coax a smile out of the younger. They wash up, Minho stretches Hyunjin with his fingers (of course the audacious, cunning cat brought lube and condoms) and right there in the shower stall brings him to orgasm, leaving Hwang’s body relaxed and pliant.
They return to the bed, and Minho takes Hyunjin from the side. The room fills with the sounds of slapping skin, moans, and heavy breathing. Hyunjin gives all of himself completely: pushing his hips back to meet the cock rhythmically fucking into him, turning to catch his hyung's lips, and finally thrusting into his fist to reach his peak a second time. He feels the pulsing inside as Minho trembles with pleasure. He absorbs his lover's raw emotion, satisfied by witnessing such rarity. Minho doesn’t show this side to anyone else. Right?
“Where’d you go? Are you okay?”
Hyunjin realizes he’s about to cry and hides his face in the pillow, trying to steady his breathing. He doesn’t understand what’s wrong with him.
Minho forcibly turns him around, but Hyunjin fiercely avoids his gaze.
“Such a romantic. If you want to cry, then cry.”
Hwang shakes his head, but a few stubborn tears escape down his cheeks. Minho catches them with his fingers and kisses his swollen lips.
“Pull yourself together while I deal with the condom.”
Hyunjin snorts out a laugh through his tears, and Minho beams at his reaction. Coming back to bed with wet wipes, he takes care of the younger boy and kisses him again—many times, eventually rubbing their noses together like Inuits.
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” Minho asks, stroking Hyunjin’s spiky hair for a millionth time already.
“You. I want you to stay.”
“I came to stay the night.”
“Hm. Good,” Hyunjin manages a smile and looks away.
“And then we’ll kick Changbin out to Jisung’s and live together. How does that sound?”
Hyunjin laughs, his eyes lighting up, face flushing.
“People will talk if we suddenly do that.”
“If you keep blushing like that, yeah, they will. Did you fall for me?”
“Oh my god!” Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “You think way too highly of yourself. Let’s sleep. On the other hand, let’s get dressed first, or Changbin will have a heart attack.”
“Such a shame. I finally got into Hwang Hyunjin's panties, and I don’t even have anyone to brag to.”
Hwang can’t help but laugh again, settling on Minho’s chest, throwing a leg over him. He looks at the older man through his lashes, earning a comment about being cute. He’s almost asleep when Minho pokes him in the eye—earning a curse—and reminds him they need to get dressed.
“How did this happen, hyung?”
“I got tired of living for the sake of others. Wanted to take a risk.”
Hyunjin is a bit taken aback, but he understands. And he’s happy. It’s as if he’s been waiting for this night all these years, wanting it and fearing it. The truth is, he’s still afraid of loss and a broken heart, but still happy.
Before falling asleep, he kisses Minho himself. Audaciously, shamelessly, for his own sake.