LS 146

Moonhyuk slowly opened his eyes. The pillow he was hugging was warm, which felt nice.

A warm pillow… that I’m hugging?

His eyes shot open. What he saw in front of him was the back of a small head with platinum-blonde hair. His heart nearly burst from shock. It pounded like he’d just finished a marathon, and he could hardly breathe. He quickly loosened the arms he had tightly wrapped around the other. Dohee, who had been sleeping in his arms, slowly turned to face him.

Dohee still had his eyes closed. Moonhyuk froze, unsure of what to do. His fingers fidgeted, then he carefully took Dohee’s hand that was resting between them. It was soft and warm.

He quietly gazed at the sleeping face. From head to toe, there wasn’t a single flaw. How could a person look like this? God must have been determined to make a masterpiece when creating Baek Dohee. There was no other explanation for someone like him to exist.

Because he’d bleached it so many times, Dohee’s hair looked like soft dandelion fluff. With his other hand, Moonhyuk gently brushed aside Dohee’s messy bangs. It was something Dohee often did for him, but it was his first time doing it in return. A smooth, pale forehead was revealed. And right then, Dohee’s eyelids twitched. Moonhyuk froze, his hand suspended midair.

“Good morning.”

Their eyes met, Dohee’s irises glowing faintly under the soft morning light. Like transparent glass marbles, they mesmerized Moonhyuk. He couldn’t look away. It had already been a few days of the same routine, Moonhyuk waking up first, watching Dohee, and Dohee waking in response to the movement. And Dohee always greeted him with, “Good morning.”

“…Good morning.”

“And?”

With a playful smile, Dohee waited, and Moonhyuk sealed it with a kiss on his lips, like stamping a seal.

Even though they hadn’t been sharing a bed for long, a new habit had formed. After the morning greeting came the good morning kiss. Just holding hands, hugging, and kissing [Read on]left Moonhyuk breathless. He even wondered absurd things like, What if I die from being too nervous? Has anyone ever died from that?

The problem was, even though he felt like his heart might burst, he still wanted to stay like this a little longer. His hands moved on their own, and his body kept inching closer to Dohee. He wanted to hold that soft hand just a second longer, and whenever they parted lips, he’d bite his own out of longing. On top of that, the natural morning reaction made him even more anxious.

He wanted to stay close, but a part of him felt like he shouldn’t. That hesitation made him falter. He wanted more, but didn’t know what to do. Dohee’s soft lips were slowly moving away. Lying back on his own pillow, Moonhyuk dazedly watched him. Dohee said nothing, just blinked sleepily and looked back at him.

“It feels like a dream…”

He’d meant to only think it, but the words slipped out before he realized it. Dohee, still lying quietly, broke into laughter a few seconds later. Moonhyuk had no idea what was so funny. Dohee often laughed at moments he didn’t understand. It wasn’t even a funny comment… Moonhyuk pouted slightly.

Then Dohee asked,

“What does?”

He hadn’t expected that question. Caught off guard, Moonhyuk stammered.

“Uh, um… just…”

“Just?”

Dohee gently echoed his last word. He had a habit of repeating the final word of what someone else said, and Moonhyuk liked that about him. It felt sweet.

“Just…”

The word floated in the air. It was hard to explain what felt like a dream. Everything felt Read on like a dream. Where was he supposed to start? As Moonhyuk struggled, Dohee spoke first, in a teasing voice.

“What feels like a dream? That you turned gay?”

He giggled. Moonhyuk felt his face heat up. Dohee often made mischievous remarks like that. As Moonhyuk opened and closed his mouth, speechless, Dohee sat up slightly, resting on his elbow, and clasped Moonhyuk’s hand.

“It’s not that…”

“Oh please, it is.”

“…Huh?”

Dohee laughed again.

“You’re gay now, hyung. Because you like me.”

It was true… Moonhyuk liked Baek Dohee, and Dohee was a man, so yes, that technically made him gay. But that wasn’t what he meant. That’s not what felt like a dream!

All the things he couldn’t explain just balled up inside him. Dohee smiled as he rubbed his furrowed brows with his fingers.

“I know how you feel.”

“…Really?”

“Yup. You love me so much, right? Every morning when you wake up [stolen content]and I’m there beside you, it feels unreal. You’re so happy just looking at me, and because of that, reality starts to blur, and you think – ‘Wow, this feels like a dream.’ Isn’t that it?”

That was exactly it. Down to the last word. How could he read his heart so perfectly? What a talent.

Moonhyuk nodded eagerly, the rustle of the pillow loud in the quiet room. Dohee reached out, and Moonhyuk scooted back toward him, wrapping his arms tightly around the warm body again. Even though Dohee wasn’t particularly small, he fit perfectly in his embrace. For the first time since meeting Dohee, Moonhyuk felt thankful for his own size.

“I feel the same.”

“Hm?”

“I like you so much too. Every morning when I see you beside me, it feels unreal. Just looking at you makes me happy, and then I start losing grip on reality. It feels like a dream.”

“Mm…”

Moonhyuk hummed softly and hugged him tighter. He liked the feeling of their bodies pressed close with no space between. He honestly wouldn’t mind if they were stuck like this forever. In fact, he’d love that. As time passed, he only liked Dohee more and more, and sometimes that scared him.

“Sometimes…”

Moonhyuk spoke. Dohee raised his head, looking up at him with clear eyes.

“Sometimes?”

“I get scared.”

“Of what?”

“That… the more time goes by, the more I like you. What if, like, I suddenly just explode? My heart?”

Dohee laughed out loud. The faint furrow in his brow was oddly beautiful.

“That’s what it’s like to be in love.”

“…Is it?”

“Yup. Sometimes I wonder the same thing, ‘What if my heart just bursts right now?’ But it never does.”

“Really?”

“Yup. If it did, I’d die early, and that would suck. I still have like five thousand things I want to do with you.”

Moonhyuk blinked at him. Somehow, hearing that there were five thousand things Dohee wanted to do with him felt unbearably sweet.

“Then…”

“Hm?”

“Let’s do every single one of them.”

Dohee nodded at the firm words.

“Of course. And once we finish those five thousand, I bet we’ll come up with five thousand more. Still okay with that?”

“Yeah.”

“Great.”

“…I like that too.”

Moonhyuk slowly lowered his head. Dohee’s crown touched his chin. The way his body curled up into his chest, the face nuzzling into him, the soft hair brushing his cheek, it was all so lovable. From start to finish, everything about him sparkled.

💎

Moonhyuk quickly submitted his leave of absence from school. He’d almost missed the deadline from hesitation. Thankfully, it went through fine, and he also decided to quit his internet cafe job, the one that had flipped his day and night. Since he’d only planned to work it over break anyway, he was able to wrap things up smoothly with his boss. Though the boss tried to keep him on for a couple more months, this time, Moonhyuk said no.

“Because… I thought it might be a hassle for Dohee.”

He said it while holding a cereal bowl in one hand, scratching his cheek sheepishly. Dohee almost spit out his coffee through his nose. What the hell was supposed to be a hassle? Driving him five minutes, maybe? Laughing in disbelief, Dohee watched as Moonhyuk buried his face in the cereal bowl again. It had been over a week since they’d moved in together, and he still acted shy. How long was he planning to keep this up?

There was still a long way to go. It had taken months to raise a decent support character from a newbie found in the field. How long would it take to raise a decent boyfriend? Moonhyuk was a fast learner, but there was just so much to learn.

They’d been dating for a while, but hadn’t even kissed properly yet. All they’d done was hold hands, hug, and exchange little pecks. Dohee had always thought he was good at being patient, but apparently not. He’d overrated himself. He knew Moonhyuk was new to dating and everything was moving fast for him, but knowing and not getting restless were two different things.

They say men think with their lower half. That thing didn’t exactly listen to reason. These days, even a brush of fingers made him want to shove his tongue in. His brain was spinning. Dohee had resorted to pinching ​visit our site​his thighs hundreds of times a day, mentally praying to the gods. Can’t I just go for it? Just kiss him already?

God remained silent.

Dohee just shrugged.

“It’s not a hassle. But if that’s your decision, then fine. So now you’re on break, you cut your work hours, does that mean you’ll finally hang out with me more?”

He slurped his coffee and asked. Moonhyuk’s eyes widened.

“I-I’m not hanging out with you enough now!?”

His voice was flustered. Dohee burst out laughing.

“You do! I was joking. I’m glad you’ll have more free time now. Didn’t I say I’ve got tons of things I want to do with you?”

“Oh…”

Moonhyuk nodded. Dohee gently set down his coffee. He had something he wanted to ask.

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t you have anything you want to do with me?”

His anticipation swelled slightly. Moonhyuk, staring blankly at him, finally opened his mouth.

“I want to…”