#c;oc

'Hi.' he whispered.

'Hi...' You were afraid to say something, the wrong thing. So you waited.

'I had to come and see you.' His voice was desperate. 'I don't want you to hate me. I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to be so harsh to you, or Hyukjae. I think I was scared.' He paused. 'Seeing you with Hyukjae... It was like something inside me woke, and it said "Donghae, you idiot. You waited too long and now it's too late." And when I saw you two together today, it felt like it was final. I couldn't bear the sight.' Small tears formed in Donghae's eyes. His voice was getting shaky. 'So I started yelling. It was better to not see you with someone else right in front of me. I didn't realise in the past, but now I know. I like you. Hyukjae explained everything, so if you like me too, I would like to be with you. Please accept my heart, and forgive me for being so stupid.'

Donghae liked you back. It was like a dream come true. He liked you. Heechul be damned, he was right.

 'I do. I like you very very much.'

 Donghae broke down in tears. He wiped his face with his arm, and gave you a bigger, brighter smile than ever before. 'I'm so happy.' He said, and wrapped you in a hug. 'I'm getting your clothes wet, sorry.'

'It's fine. Please come inside, you need to dry.'

 Donghae nodded, and stepped in your home. You led him to the bathroom, and looked for some clothes that would fit him. It seemed like the storm had passed. It all felt so unbelievable. Donghae liked you. You went to the kitchen to fix him a cup of tea. Donghae left the bathroom without making a sound. He found you in the kitchen, focused on the drinks. He wrapped his arms around you, and rested his head on your shoulder.

 'I want us to be like this forever.'

'Are you proposing?' You really said that.

'Not yet.' He smiled. He burrowed his face in the nape of your neck. He paused, then lifted his head, and pressed a kiss into your hair. 'Your hair smells nice.'

'You always smell nice.' You blushed. You couldn't tell, but Donghae was smirking.

'I do? You smell me often?'

'That's not what I meant...'

Donghae chuckled. 'I'm just messing with you.'

'Drink your tea, you need to warm up.'

'I only need your love to keep me warm.' He said, not moving.

'Donghae, you were out in the rain... With no umbrella... No raincoat.'

'I drove here, don't worry.'

You turned around, breaking out of his embrace.

'Then why were you wet?'

'I forgot what your apartment number was so I had to search for it, but I couldn't find it so I called Heechul and he replied after 10 minutes because he was playing a game.'

'And you did that in the rain?'

'I was too stressed, I forgot I had a car.'

'Donghae!' Goodness, he really was dumb.

Donghae smiled at you. 'I know you think I'm pretty stupid, but I'm your stupid.'

'So, are you my boyfriend now?'

Later that day, after you got home, Donghae was still on your mind. He hadn’t replied, but you saw he was online. You checked all his social media accounts. He was updating as if nothing had happened. He even posted a selfie with Hyukjae!

 “he’s with hyuk” you wrote under the story you forwarded to Sunmi.

“he always is”

“he’s DOING STUFF”

“babe… you have a life too, don’t worry”

“i am all worry and no chill”

“I can see that”

 You sat on your couch and turned from your back to your front and back again. You threw your head off the couch, sat upside down, flipped through all the channels. You looked back at your phone. No notifications. Nothing. No Donghae in your life. How easily you went from getting drinks on your doorstep to being ignored by the only man you fancied. You messaged Hyukjae in hopes that he would offer some clues.

 “He was a little angry at me when I first got back. He’s fine now.”

“Oh. Can I join your dance practice tomorrow?” you messaged maybe too quickly.

Read…

…

Hyuk is typing…

“I think he needs some time to cool off. I’ll let you know when the time is right.”

“alrighty, thanks you!”

Hyuk send a sticker. It was a thumbs up. Maybe he’s not too down with this after all. Time to call Heechul.

 ‘This is Dr. Love’s cabinet.’

‘Heechuuuuuul’

‘At your service. Is your lover boy bothering you again?’

‘Yes, and he’s not even talking to me.’

‘I might do that too.’

‘What? Why?’

‘Didn’t you forget something?’ His birthday? His cat’s birthday? ’I’m waiting…’

‘I really…’

‘I cut my hair! I can’t believe you didn’t notice.’

‘It’s just that you already look so beautiful.’

‘I looked even more beautiful today! This is only the beginning…’

‘I’m really sorry Chullie.’

‘I might forgive you. But I’ll have to think about it.’

‘I really hope you do.’

‘How heartfelt, slush. What’s killing you?’

‘I asked Hyukjae about Donghae and he seemed a little cold and said he’ll tell me when I can join the practise because Donghae needs to cool off and he sent me a thumbs up sticker.’

‘Goodness. What will you?’

‘Is that… sarcasm?’

‘I’m bilingual, didn’t you know? I’ll talk to Hyukjae, but he’s probably a bit iffed that Donghae was mad at him. Don’t fret it, okay? When did my plans fail?’

‘Well…’

‘Stop right there. I am a master of planning.’

‘I bow to you.’

  You went to sleep hoping that a new day would bring a new hope. It didn’t. Things went normally for everyone, except for you. Heechul was right, Hyukjae didn’t like that Donghae was upset at him for a girl he wasn’t even dating. He didn’t like that Donghae still had lingering anger, so he agreed that the best way to solve it was to put you two in the same room. They had to work, at the tension was getting in the way. He told you to come at practise the following day. Heechul sent a reminder that you and Hyukjae had to act a bit like a couple.

“But not too much, just enough to make Donghae react.” Sunmi wished you luck.

  And so another day passed without you talking to Donghae. You could feel this pit forming in your stomach. You almost regretted going along with Heechul’s plan – what if it didn’t work? You might’ve done it naturally. Donghae could end up never talking to you again. You’d liked him for ages. You even compared your birth charts – you were totally compatible.

You woke up dreading the events to come. You got the boys coffee, and some doughnuts to sweeten them. You walked in the building with no problems; it seemed like the front desk woman still remembered you. When you got in the lift, you messaged Hyukjae to let him know you were on your way. As soon as you got on the right floor, you put on your best smile. Think of Donghae. You snuck your head in the rehearsal room. Donghae was sitting on the couch in the corner, smiling at Hyukjae who was busy with the computer.

‘Hiii!’ you said. You tiptoed in. Donghae’s head snapped in your direction.

‘Hi.’ He stared. You froze in place. ‘I didn’t know you were coming.’

‘I invited her. I guess I forgot to tell you?’ said Hyukjae. He moved from the table and walked over to hug you. ‘You got me something?’ He smiled, and took the bag from your hands. Donghae was glaring.

‘Yeah, for Donghae too.’

‘You’re so sweet to me.’

Hyukjae gave Donghae one of the Spring frappes and a green doughnut. ‘You’re going to full spring here, huh?’ he said.

‘Thanks.’ said Donghae to you.

‘You’re welcome.’

Hyukjae walked back to you, leaving his food on the table. He got real close and whispered. ‘I’m sorry for being harsh these days. I just really don’t want Donghae mad at me. He’s my best friend.’

‘I know. Thanks for helping.’

‘Don’t worry.’ Hyukjae put his arm around you. ‘How about a dance, my lady?’

‘I… Sure.’

Hyukjae lowered his arm, and placed it around your waist. His other hand caught yours. You got a quick look at Donghae. He looked… not happy. He put his drink on the floor and looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. Hyukjae brought you closer, and you both started swaying. Donghae stood up.

‘I thought we came here to work.’

‘It’s only for a few minutes. We would’ve taken a break anyway.’

‘Break’s over. Let’s work.’ Donghae was fuming. You started to worry.

‘Go sit down, he’ll calm down.’ said Hyukjae.

  You did as you were told. The boys started to dance. Donghae’s anger translated into his moves – they were too rough, and soon he started to make mistakes. Hyukjae pointed it out, and Donghae snapped at him, saying he knew. They went back to dancing. You kept looking, not knowing if it were better for you to leave. And then, Donghae made another mistake. He screamed.

‘You know what your problem is, Hyuk?’

‘My problem?’

‘Yes, yours. This is a workplace. We don’t bring our partners here. Today isn’t bring your partner to work day.’

‘Donghae, you need-‘

‘You need to get your shit together!’

‘My shit is together. You need to get yours!’

‘You’re distracted. We can’t do that. We’re a team, Hyuk… You and me.’

Donghae stormed out. Hyukjae whispered “Sorry” to you before running after Donghae. You took that as your cue to leave. On your way home you were filled with worry. You were afraid. What if Donghae hates me now? You missed your stop. You bumped into three people on your way out the station. You kept looking at your phone for updates, too scared to ask Hyukjae anything.

“How did it go?” asked Heechul.

“Donghae yelled, so I left.”

“He did what?”

You didn’t reply. You didn’t want a replay of what had happened. You only hoped that Donghae would feel better. You didn’t want to cause a rift between him and Hyukjae. When you got home, you took a shower. You didn’t feel better afterwards. You sat down in front of your window, staring at the sky. The sun went down. You started to cry. You really messed up, huh?

Hyukjae sent you a message. You had a few unread messages from Heechul, a missed call from Sunmi, and a “Call me if you need.”

“Sorry about earlier. I should’ve expected that. We talked it out, and told him we’re not dating. I’m sorry but I can’t help with this more. I told Heechul btw.”

“Thank you, Hyukjae.

I don’t want things between you to go bad.”

“It’s fine. We’re friends forever. Nothing can come between us. Get some sleep, ok?”

“Thank you.”

You tried to stop crying, but the tears kept flowing. Donghae must really hate me now. You wiped your tears with your hand. It started pouring outside. You wouldn’t want to be caught in that. How convenient. It felt like ages by the time you stopped crying. The rain, on the other hand, was still in force. You got up to wash your face. Your intercom started buzzing when you were drying your face. You treaded over.

‘Who is it?’

Time to message Donghae.

“Okay ^^. Do you know how long he’ll be?” Is that too much? Will he think I’m desperate?

“Hopefully not too long :( I’m going to get lonely otherwise. And we need to practise.

But don’t worry!” He replied too quickly.

“I’ll see you, then. Do you need anything?” My heart, maybe?

“A support banner for me and Hyukjae? ^^

I’m joking.

Your presence is enough.” sjkdksjdkdjskldjadjadjkla

 Time to go. If you hurry, you can get there in about 15 minutes. The dance studio is in this new, fancy building belonging to one of the biggest entertainment companies in the region. However, Donghae… and Hyukjae, were just choreographers. Had they been idols, they would’ve been critically-acclaimed, international artists. Naturally, such power had to be contained. That didn’t stop them from being too popular on social media. You heard from Heechul, who heard from either of them, that Donghae got asked for selfies and autographs when he went out sometimes. And you were pretty sure they had a fancafe.

It was nice outside. Not too warm, and not too cold. There was a gentle breeze that blew the petals to the ground. It resembled snow, but it smelled a lot better. Maybe you could grab some coffees for the boys, a token of appreciation for allowing you to see them dance up-close. You’d seen the videos they uploaded, but this would be different.

What kind of coffee do they like? You wondered, approaching the coffee shop. Americano, maybe?

Your train of thought was interrupted by the cashier. ‘Hello! What would you like to order?’

‘Uh… Three Americanos… and… that pink frappe special thingy? In medium?’

‘Sure. Three medium Americanos, and a medium Spring Frappe. Will that be all?’

‘Yes, yes. Thanks.’

Soon after you had your drinks. Maybe they all wanted a frappe? Should I have asked? Too late, I guess.

 When you arrived in front of the company building you realised you missed one thing – you didn’t know what floor, what room, or how exactly to enter the place. You went to the front desk.

‘Hi…’ you gave the secretary a small smile. She didn’t return it.

‘Hello, do you have business here?’

‘Yeah, I’m supposed to see Donghae.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes…’

‘You’re the third person to try that today. Please leave the building or you will be escorted outside.’

‘But it’s true!’ you retorted. ‘I know him.’

She glared at you, and pointed at the door. So much for impressing Donghae. Guess you’ll have to call him. Ughhhhhh.

You went outside and called Donghae. It didn’t go through the third ring. He picked up.

 ‘Hey! What’s up?’ He was cheerful.

‘Hey… I got a bit of an issue. They won’t let me in the building?’

‘Oh, crap. I totally forgot to leave the name at the front desk.’

‘No, don’t worry about it.’

‘I’m really sorry, I’ll get you right now.’ He was worried. He felt bad. For me…

 A few minutes later you saw Donghae running down a corridor, and stopping to speak with the lady at the front desk. He looked a bit… angry. He leaned over the desk, picked up a post it note, and wrote something on it. Then, he stuck it to her monitor. He turned to you, and sprinted.

‘Did you wait long?’ he smiled at you. At. You.

‘No, it’s quite nice out here actually.’ You raised the bag. ‘I got some coffee.’

‘Oh, wow. That’s super nice. Is this mine?’ he pointed to your pink frappe.

‘Yeah.’ You half smiled.

‘I’ve wanted to try this for days! Man, you completely read my mind.’

You would exchange all the coffee in the world for the smile he just gave you.

‘I guess I did, huh.’

‘Totally! Let me show you around.’ He paused. ‘Oh, let me carry these, ’ and took the coffee bag from your hand.

He put his soft hand on your back, and guided you to the lift. He took the first sip of his drink, and paused. ‘This tastes like heaven. Wanna try?’

‘Sure.’ He tilted the drink towards you.

‘What do you think?’ It was incredible. You had to get one for yourself later. A big one.

‘It’s pretty good.’

‘Have you noticed how you always use words like “a little, a bit, pretty” before describing something? It’s cute.’ He scrunched his nose before the last part.

Who knew he was so observant? And most of all, he thought you did something cute! Win.

‘I didn’t.’

‘You do, man! Freaking cute.’ Man? Does he… think of me as his bro? Is this… a bromance? The lift dinged. ‘Oh, we’re here. Come.’

Donghae motioned for you to follow him. ‘They moved to a new building, and the practice rooms are so nice. They put these laptops and screens, and you can cover the mirrors now. And they’re much bigger than before! And! We have a sort of lounge area in this practice room. Which means, you… can sit down! Isn’t it great?’

It was really cute when he got excited. Everything he did was cute, but this was extra cute.

‘Yeah! Fantastic!’

‘It’s nice that you get me.’

Donghae opened the door. ‘After you.’ He’s a gentleman too.

‘Thank you.’

‘Don’t worry about it.’ He smiled again. ‘So, that’s the couches. You can sit there. Or, you can sit on the floor if you want. But your butt will get sore after a while.’

‘I think the couches are just peachy.’

‘”Just peachy.” That’s cute.’ AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

 You sat where Donghae showed you, and he placed the rest of the drinks near your feet. He sat down in front of you; he crossed his legs, and leant back.

‘Isn’t this exciting? You’re going to see me dance for the first time!’ he tilted his head to the side. ‘I’m a little nervous too.’

‘Oh, is it because of me?’

He closed his eyes and laughed. ‘You’re a… different audience.’ He leaned forward. ‘But, tell me honestly, have you seen videos of me dance?’

‘I mean… I follow you on Instagram and stuff… I watch them sometimes.’

‘That’s funny, you see.’ Donghae smirked. ‘Because I noticed something.’

‘What’s that?’

‘You liked every single one of my posts on Instagram. And you watch all my stories too.’

‘Huh… would you look at that…’ You looked away. Donghae noticed, as he did with every other thing, it seemed. He got up on his feet. He got closer, and grabbed your chin. Gently.

‘Why won’t you look at me?’ he whispered.

‘Donghaeeeeeee! I’m her-‘ yelled Hyukjae. ‘Why didn’t you answer? I messaged you like-’

Heechul pushed him aside to see exactly what he had interrupted. Then he slapped the back of Hyukjae’s neck.

‘Ouch. Don’t you think that was unnecessary?’

‘Don’t push it, or I’ll make you unnecessary.’

Donghae rushed away from you. ‘You’re here!’ He looked down and grabbed the bag. ‘Look, someone got us coffee!’

‘Oh, sweet! I love Americano.’ Hyukjae took a sip. ‘Aah, so refreshing! Thank you!’

‘Don’t you feel more American now?’ asked Donghae.

Hyukjae laughed. ‘I feel like Bruno Mars, man’

‘I’ve been told I sing like him.’

‘Who lied to you?’ Heechul said. He then looked at you, disappointed. He grabbed his coffee from Donghae, and sprawled next to you on the couch. ‘Why don’t you guys start?’

‘I just got here, let me stretch.’ said Hyukjae.

‘Yeah, stretching is important. When we’re done, you’ll get the best show ever.’

 The guys started stretching, so Heechul turned to you.

‘What happened before I got here?’

‘He told me that he knows I stalk his social media,’ you whispered.

‘We all know that.’

‘What?’

‘Literally everyone knows that you crush Donghae and stalk his Instagram, his Facebook, his Twitter-‘

‘Okay, okay.’

‘You think he knows you have notifications for his posts?’ Heechul raised his eyebrows at you.

‘Oh god… I hope not.’

‘I’m gonna ask later, don’t worry. That’s why Dr. Love is here.’

‘Please don’t call yourself that.’

‘You hate it because it’s true.’

You gave him a disgusted look, and Hyukjae caught that.

‘Funny, that’s exactly how I look at Heechul too.’

‘Listen here, you little-‘ Heechul was about to get up, but you grabbed his arm. ‘I’m not done with you!’ he threatened.

‘Get back to your story.’

‘I got shy and looked away and he grabbed my face and said “Why won’t you look at me?”’

‘He did what?!’

 Donghae and Hyukjae turned to the two of you.

‘Don’t you have some stretching to do?’ said Heechul.

‘I mean, if someone hurt-‘ Donghae started.

‘No one hurt anyone. Just my brain cells.’

‘So it was one of us then?’ asked Hyukjae.

‘Careful, monkey man. I might start liking you.’ Heechul smiled back at Hyukjae.

‘Take me on a date somewhere nice. I’ll wear that T-shirt I borrowed.’

Donghae laughed at the exchanged. He loved it when his friends got along. He looked at you and smiled. Your heart melted.

Heechul waved his hand in front of your eyes. ‘Ground control to Major Tom.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Stop gazing lovingly in the eyes of your man.’

‘But smiled at me.’

‘He smiles at everyone.’ He shook his head. ‘At least you admit to staring.’

‘I don’t stare.’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Is Hyukjae in on this?’

‘Slushie, if Donghae had more than one brain cell he’d know it too.’

‘Yeah, I get that. But is he in on /the mission/?’

‘He might be,’ answered Heechul, as he slurped his watered down coffee.

 Donghae ran to you. He held out his phone, with Instagram running.

‘We’re going to start dancing, do you think you can livestream it?’ He gave you the cutest smile. His eyes were twinkling too.

‘Sure thing!’ Sure thing? God.

‘Film horizontally, people need to see our moves.’ yelled Hyukjae.

‘Okay!’ you yelled back.

‘I believe in you.’ said Donghae. He put his hand on your right shoulder, and ran back.

‘You too!’

‘”Enjoy your meal.” “Thanks, you too.”’ said Heechul to you.

‘I thought you came to help me.’

‘I will, but I can’t do much when they’re dancing.’ he whispered. ‘They invited us to watch them work.’

‘Fair point.’

You looked back at the screen and Donghae already had 10k people watching. It was incredible how many fans he had, for someone who wasn’t an idol. You weren’t the only one who liked Donghae, as you’d noticed time and time again in the comment section. Shaking off invasive thoughts, you turned your attention back to the guys, and made sure to keep the camera steady.

After finishing the dance routine, Donghae ran to you. He took his phone back and turned the camera to the front.

‘What did you all think? Was it good? We worked really hard to give you a good performance.’

‘Stan D&H! Don’t forget to stream.’ added Hyukjae.

‘I hoped you really enjoyed this! We have to go now!’

 Donghae and Hyukjae quickly finished their goodbyes, and decided to take a short break. While Donghae was downing his frappe, Hyukjae offered you his hand. Naturally, you were confused.

‘Come on, I won’t bite.’

‘You’ve bitten me before.’ noted Donghae.

‘I’m just offering a dance.’

Donghae pouted. ‘You never offer me any.’

‘What are you talking about? We dance together all the time!’

‘We never slow dance!’

Hyukjae’s eyes doubled in size. ‘I wasn’t going to slow dance.’

‘Still, you never slow danced with me.’

‘We can slow dance if you really want.’ Hyukjae said, and raised his eyebrows.

Donghae smiled upon hearing that. ‘I do.’

 Heechul looked at Donghae. Then, he looked at Hyukjae. Finally, he turned to you. Things were not going the way he wanted.

‘Are you going to do that now? Because, if we’re interrupting, we’ll just go’ asked Heechul.

‘Oh, we won’t slow dance now! But we wanted to show you the main dance.’ exclaimed Donghae.

‘So you’re just going to kick us out to dance with Hyukjae, is that it?’

‘I think “kicking out” sounds a bit harsh, don’t you?’ added Hyukjae.

‘But that is what you’re doing.’

‘We need to teach the kids the dance. It’s not like that, you know we love you.’

‘Yeah, we really love you!’ said Donghae.

‘Okay, okay. We’re leaving.’

‘You guys were great!’ you said.

‘Thanks, you’re great too!’ said Hyukjae.

 He gave you a quick hug, while Donghae waved cutely.

‘Maybe we’ll host you again?’

‘You call this hosting, monkey man?’ asked Heechul.

‘I’ll up my MCing skills by next time.’

‘Yoo Jaesuk has nothing on you, Hyukkie.’ confessed Donghae.

‘We’re out!’ announced Heechul, as he waved his hand behind him, never looking back.

 Before you left the building, you noticed the lady at the front desk glare. Heechul walked with you half the way home, as he suddenly decided he needed a haircut.

‘I’m gonna look even more beautiful, slushie.’

‘Didn’t know it was possible.’

‘Just you wait. I’ll talk to you later, okay? We’ll figure this whole Donghae situation out.’

‘You really think there’s something I can do?’

‘Worst case scenario he doesn’t like you.’

‘Thanks, I feel so much better.’

‘I’m not a motivational speaker, alright? I gotta run now.’

 Later that day, you decided to message Donghae, and thank him for inviting you to rehearsal. You opened the app, and clicked on his name. Then you stared. You didn’t want to bother Heechul or your best friend yet. You could talk to him on your own this time. It would be fine.

“dear donghae,” No. Can’t write that. You deleted that.

“hey, are you done with rehearsal yet?” Does that sound too curious? You deleted that too.

“just messaging you to let you know that im thankful for inviting me to see you dance” Jesus. No. No. No. You quickly tried to delete that, but you accidentally clicked on the Call button. Well, shit. Before you could click End, Donghae picked up.

 ‘Hey! I wasn’t expecting you to call me. What’s good?’ said Donghae. He didn’t sound bothered by the phone call, which was good.

‘I didn’t mean to, sorry!’ You, on the other hand, sounded way too panicky.

‘It’s okay, don’t worry. It happens to me all the time. Sometimes I call and don’t even realise. Once time I butt dialled Hyukkie when I was on the toilet, and I wasn’t-‘

‘That’s fine! I don’t need to know! I have to go now, bye!’ you blurted, and ended the call.

 I’ll just leave a message explaining, then hope I’ll forget this.

“I wanted to say thanks for inviting me to rehearsal. Sorry for calling.” Sent.

Donghae is typing… Already?

“It’s fine! I hope you enjoyed it. ^^”

“Yeah! I’m your biggest fan.” What did I just type.

“I think I might’ve seen taller. :D” Eye roll. “But, who do you think danced better, me or hyukkie?”

“you!!!” Did I reply too quickly?

“Heh, maybe you are my biggest fan. <3” HEART. HE. ADDED. A. HEART.