#nct d

The two of you always seem to be on the same wavelength, whether it was choosing dinner or pranking your common friends or even your most peculiar interests. You were essentially the same person split in two and it was becoming more and more apparent as months went by and you became even closer.

Beside all the seemingly normal things you two had in common, you two also shared a sleeping schedule. It wasn’t that you had agreed to both go until sleep at 4, or god forbid, 5 am and then wake up at 3 pm the same day. It simply happened this way. 

Donghyuck, an avid gamer and too competitive for his own sake, spent most of his nights gaming. His roommate, Jaemin, often complained about the sound of Donghyuck’s gaming computer whirring and screeching and clicking at godforsaken hours of the night. The same roommate also gladly used said issue as an excuse for his caffeine addiction: “I can’t sleep in the same room as that computer. Coffee is the only thing giving me energy!”

You, on the other hand, simply couldn’t sleep at night. Not everyone has been blessed with the ability to fall asleep in the blink of an eye; not everyone feels sleepy at night. While you struggled until sleep during the night hours, you had no trouble taking naps in the middle of the day. 

Needless to say: your sleep schedules were messy and needed fixing. 

You begrudgingly arrived at that conclusion when you opened your eyes on a Saturday afternoon. The clock on your wall revealed it was already 5 pm, meaning you had actually slept even later than usual. That was the last straw. 

When you stumbled to the kitchen to get a coffee, you found Na Jaemin blinking up at you from his spot at the dining table. He tilted his head, raised an eyebrow, and then lowly remarked, “You too? This is becoming inscrutable.”

You glared at him. “Learnt a new word again?”

“I have to do something while Donghyuck snores the day away instead going to get coffee with me,” he joked and took a sip of his darker-than-Renjun’s-humour Americano. “Did you just wake up?”

“What gave it away?” 

You reached up to get a mug for your own coffee. It remained a mystery how even after sleeping for ten hours in a row, you were still as sleepy as you were. Coffee was starting to become a staple food for you and this realization scared you. You were just a few espresso shots away from becoming Na Jaemin.

Jaemin hummed, his eyes running up and down your figure as he attempted to word his answer. “Your hair is a mess, you’re wearing pajamas in the common area, and—” he smirked, “—your forehead has pillow creases in it.”

You cursed his inspection skills and the distraction they provided; now how would you know how many sugars you had already put in your coffee? You had lost count at two spoonfuls and now you had no idea if your coffee was just sweet enough or way too sugary.

Before you could taste it to check, the familiar figure of your best friend dragged itself into the kitchen and grabbed the precious red mug he himself had bought for your personal use. Without a second of hesitation, he took a sip of the liquid inside. It took him barely a second to spit it out into the sink and glare at you. 

“Why are you putting salt in your coffee?” he raised his voice while slamming your mug back on the counter. With a mutter, he shuffled over to get himself a different cup and started his own coffee. 

Jaemin watched in absolute amusement as you peeked into your cup like a little kid afraid of getting reprimanded. You dared to take a small sip of the drink. Then you followed Donghyuck’s earlier actions by spitting the coffee into the sink and slamming your mug down. To Jaemin’s worry, you proceeded to just stand in the middle of the kitchen and glare at your salted coffee.

You only snapped out of your disappointed daze when Donghyuck stumbled over to you and gently smoothed out your frown with his finger. He rested his head on your shoulder. “Not your day, huh?”

“She’s been awake for five minutes, if even that. It hasn’t been much of a day,” Jaemin quipped, taking a sip of his own perfect Americano and humming in appreciation as you and your best friend glared at him. “What? Just because you screwed up your coffee doesn’t mean I have to suffer as well.”

“I’d prefer it did,” Donghyuck mumbled and hid his face in your shoulder. When you reached up to pat his hoodie-covered head, he let out a quiet sigh of appreciation. His hands naturally wrapped around your waist to pull you closer.

The sound of the kettle finishing its job had your best friend perking up again. He walked back over to the opposite counter to pour the water into his cup. You followed suit, rinsing the salty substance out of your mug before starting a new coffee. 

“Have you two considered going until sleep and waking up on time?” Jaemin wondered after a while of watching you. “Maybe then you wouldn’t be such zombies at 5 pm.”

“We’ve tried,” you whined and sat down across from him at the table. “Even when I go to bed at 9 pm, I still won’t fall asleep until 4 am.”

“Tiring yourself out?” Jaemin suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Donghyuck sat down next to him and placed his head on the coffee-addict’s shoulder. His eyes closed and his body limp, he spoke, “Tried it. Last week I spent the entire day at the gym taking random group classes.”

“Any progress there?”

Your best friend opened one of his eyes as if to search the room for answers. He then joked, “Well, the group instructors now think I am a lunatic because I took three yoga classes in one day. But other than that? None. Still fell asleep at 4 am.”

“Calculus?” The rise in Jaemin’s voice was one of the many key indicators of his panic and worry for you two, right up there with his eyes widening and his arms flying around. 

You and Donghyuck took the chance to glare at him. He shrunk under your deadly stares, eyes widening for a whole other reason now. 

“You don’t think we hate ourselves enough yet?” you scoffed and took a sip of your coffee. Thankfully, this one tasted exactly how you liked it. 

“What other options are there other than getting someone to shoot us with tranquilizer guns at exactly 10 pm?” Donghyuck wondered to himself. “Should I just join Jeno’s all-nighter and let him bore me until sleep?”

Then an idea struck you. You glanced at Donghyuck who had also sat up a bit straighter, staring right back at you with wide eyes. Quirking your head, you wondered if you were thinking the same thing.

“I don’t like the look that you’re sharing,” Jaemin sang nervously. “What are you two planning now?”

“All-nighter? We go until sleep tomorrow night instead of tonight.” Donghyuck raised the question, leaning towards you.

You took out your phone and checked the time, counting the hours on your fingers. It was 5 pm still. “If we don’t go until sleep until tomorrow evening at 9 or 10, we have twenty-eight to twenty-nine hours to fill.”

Donghyuck narrowed his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall. “That should be enough to tire us out, right?”

“I should report you two to the nurse,” Jaemin announced with a horror-struck expression on his face. “What are you two? Insane?”

“Not yet,” Donghyuck joked, “but hopefully we’ll reach that point of exhaustion by 9 pm tomorrow!”

Jaemin sighed and slammed his palms down on the table. “Right. So, I’m gonna go and stay over at Jeno’s for the night. Do not call me or text me or anything. I want nothing to do with this. If one of you dies, call Mark.”

“Alright, roomie!” Donghyuck called out cheerfully and cutely as Jaemin walked out of the room. “I’ll see you soon, roomie!”

You took a deep breath before asking, “So, your room or mine?”

Donghyuck raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? Jaemin just moved out for the night. My room, of course!”

“Alright,” you agreed and set the timer for 29 hours, “let the torture begin.”

>>> 6:34 pm // 27 and a half hours until sleep <<<

Donghyuck sighed loudly from his spot on his bed. After his third theatrical sigh, you picked you head off Jaemin’s pillow (which Jaemin gently reminded you to change the case of when he came to pack up his things) and looked at him. Your best friend was spread across his bed like a starfish, staring up at the ceiling with wide eyes, his phone long forgotten on his belly. 

“What’s up?” you asked him after a moment, just as he took a deep breath to, no doubt, force out another loud sigh. 

He glanced at you in surprise before sitting up. He smiled at you brightly. “Let’s do something!”

“Sick of your phone already?” you wondered, locking your own device and putting it down on Jaemin’s bedside table. “Really thought it would take you longer than that.”

He scoffed. “You’re one to speak. You’ve refreshed your Instagram feed at least 30 times in the past minute.”

“Alright,” you sighed and checked the timer on your phone. “So what do you want to do? We have 27 more hours to fill.”

He took a moment to think. “Well, I am a bit hungry right now.”

You raised an eyebrow before sitting up. “Alright, but you’re paying. This was your idea.”

“You had the exact same idea though?” he laughed before pushing himself to his feet and shuffling over to his closet.  He pulled out a green hoodie a few shades lighter than the one he was wearing and threw it at you. “Put it on and let’s get going. I am desperately craving tangerines.”

As realization hit, you let out a groan. “This isn’t going to be a short trip to the convenience store, is it?”

“Of course not,” he sang. “We have to supply ourselves for 27 whole hours. I don’t plan on leaving this room again until tomorrow.”

“Should we make a shopping list?”

He waved off your suggestion. “Shopping lists are for the weak and the Renjun. Let’s just go with our gut. You want Cheetos? We’re getting Cheetos.”

“We’re going to regret this,” you mumbled.”

“If we’re going to be regretful, might as well go the whole way,” Donghyuck stated before tugging you towards the door.

>>> 6:59 pm // 27 hours until sleep <<<

You had laughed to the point of hiccups just watching his expression. 

Donghyuck stood in front of the cash register, his card in his hand and his eyes glazed over. His jaw had dropped the moment he read the numbers on the display. 

Gently, you nudged his shoulder. “Feeling the regret yet?”

“Yup,” he replied after a deep sigh and pushing his card into the terminal. He pointed at the total sum before telling you, “Since I am paying this much for our food, you should be the one to carry it.”

As he punched his code in a bit too aggressively, you began bagging the various snacks you had bought. Once you were done, you sighed at the sight of three paper bags waiting to be carried back to the dormitory. 

Donghyuck joined your side and smiled. “Feeling the regret yet?”

“Oh, yes.” You nodded and began picking up the bags, one by one. It became really difficult by the time you reached for the third bag. He laughed at your struggle for a while before teasing you, “Alright, just this once I am going to be nice to you. Give me one of the bags.”

Before you could reply, he took the lightest bag from you and began making his way back to the dormitory. You stared after him, feeling flabbergasted. He turned back and chuckled at the sight. “You coming, slowpoke?”

“Fight me!” you snapped, rushing after him as his laughter echoed in the parking lot.

“Maybe later. We’ve got the time.”

>>> 8:18 pm // 25 and a half hours until sleep <<<

“The battery of this thing is just—Ugh!” you expressed your frustration loudly while struggling to plug in your laptop. Your arm burned at the stretch of you attempting to reach the outlet beside Jaemin’s bedside table without getting off of Donghyuck’s bed. 

Donghyuck stared at you in amusement. “Maybe you should invest in a new laptop with a battery that doesn’t run from 40 to 3 percent in the runtime of a single episode.”

You glared at him over your shoulder before continuing your pursuit of momentary happiness. “Do I look rich enough for that?”

“No, but I’m sure finding a sugar daddy wouldn’t be difficult for you,” he stated without any remorse or hesitation while unwrapping a chocolate bar, not even bothering to look at you anymore. 

Whether it was the sugar daddy bit as a whole or just the implication that he thought you were pretty enough for a sugar daddy, you weren’t sure, but his wording caught you off-guard and had you fall flat on your face from his bed. You let out a whimper as your fingers just barely grazed the outlet—so close, but so far away.

Hearing your little noise, Donghyuck glanced at you over his chocolate bar. Assuming you had simply run out of energy or motivation, he cheered you on in his cutest voice: “You can do this! Hwaiting! I believe in you!”

“Fight me!” is what you were trying to say, but the carpet of his room muffled it into an incomprehensible mumble that your dear best friend seemed to translate into the complete opposite of its original meaning. 

“I love you too,” he called out softly and took a bit of his chocolate. “Now hurry up and plug this thing in. Your laptop’s about to die.”

You groaned.

>>> 11:01 pm // 23 hours until sleep <<< 

You and Donghyuck sat side by side, your arms touching and your head pressed against his shoulder. Your eyes were wide in disappointment and realization hit you: the universe hated you more than you hated yourself.

“Well, that’s just rude,” Donghyuck suddenly spoke up, his voice full of disbelief and offense. He sat up a bit too fast for you to react, leading to you not only getting your chin hurt but also falling, but he barely took notice of that as he clicked through the settings on your laptop. 

He then proceeded to glare at the router Jaemin had placed on their window, only to find it blinking red. The wi-fi was officially down. 

“How are we supposed to entertain ourselves now?” he wondered, slamming your laptop shut and placing it on his bedside table. He sighed deeply, staring at the wall across the room. Without breaking his imaginary and rage-fuelled staring contest with the dusty yellow wallpaper, he asked you, “How many hours do we have left?”

You unlocked your phone to check. Then you groaned. “Twenty-three.”

“Why is the wi-fi down anyway?” He clicked his tongue in frustration and stumbled to Jaemin’s bed, picking up the router and glaring at its blinking lights. He turned it off before turning it on again before asking you to check the wi-fi. His efforts proved useless. 

He sighed. “How about the dormitory wi-fi? Maybe it’s just Jaemin’s wi-fi that’s weird.”

Before you could reply, Jaemin and Jeno all but burst into your room. While the former had his face set in a frown, you found that the latter looked less worried and more amused. Jeno offered you one of his objectively adorable smiles before asking, “Do you guys have wi-fi? Because we don’t.”

“You don’t?” Donghyuck sounded scandalized before letting out a sound akin to crying. He slumped against the wall and rested his head against the white router in his lap. Faintly, you could hear him mumble, “Of all the nights in the year…”

“Oi, Felix!” Jaemin called out, peeking out the door. A deep hum sounded from the hall. “Is your wi-fi down too?”

“The dormitory wi-fi is down, my wi-fi is down, everyone’s wi-fi is down,” Felix’s voice could be heard saying. “I guess the internet provider is having some issues.”

Jeno clicked his tongue, his smile finally dropping. “Well, there goes my plan of finishing my essay early.”

“There go everyone’s plans,” Jaemin sighed and rubbed his temples.

As the four of you sat and stood there in silence, marinating in your immense collective disappointment, Donghyuck glanced around the room. He was sure there had to be something to do to pass the time. 

His eyes lit up at the sight of a familiar small red box on the shelf above your head and his bed. Without another thought, he smiled and stood up. “Light bulb moment! I have an idea.”

“An idea?” Jaemin groaned and nearly hit his head as he leaned back against the door. “The last time you had one of those, you decided to stay awake for thirty hours straight.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “First, it’s twenty-nine hours.”—Jeno raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything—“Second, we’re already six hours in. Thirdly, I think you will like this idea more than I do.”

He then reached up and grabbed the little red box—a game of UNO—, waving it in his hand before settling down on the floor. He motioned for the others to join him and, unlike the hesitant Jeno and Jaemin, you were more than happy to comply. 

Once you were safely sitting down, you looked up at Jaemin and Jeno expectantly. You assumed Donghyuck was looking at them in a similar way. To make the matters even more uncomfortable for the two, Donghyuck sang in a high-pitched tone even for him, “Come play with us.”

“You know what?” Jaemin plopped down across from you after a minute of doubting his life choices. “Game on. Loser pays for for the winner’s breakfast tomorrow.”

“What about second and third place?” Jeno wondered as he sat down between you and grabbed the stack of cards from Donghyuck’s hand, expertly shuffling them. You could only watch in awe as his hands moved smoothly as if this was his day job; Donghyuck took notice of that and nudged you with a pout.

“Second and third place are mediocre and don’t deserve to be punished or celebrated.” Donghyuck grabbed a notebook from under his bed (what a horrid place that must be), caught the pen Jaemin threw his way and drew a table on a random page. “I’m making the scoreboard.”

Jaemin smiled. “Friday Game Night rules?”

“What are those?” Jeno asked, turning to you for answers. In his eyes, you were the second most sane person in the room, right after himself. He awaited your response as he dealt the cards.

As an expert Friday Game Night participant, you rolled back your shoulders and explained, “Two points for every win. One point if you come second. The last two to hold cards get no points and have to shuffle and deal the cards for the next round.”

“It’s no fun for the last two standing, you know,” Donghyuck pointed out without looking at any of you, completely focused on creating the score board. “But watching them play is no fun for the winners either, so we made these rules.” After writing down your names, he glanced up from the notebook. “How long will we play?”

“Until we get sleepy,” Jaemin decided and grabbed the cards dealt to him. Looking at his cards, he smirked. “Game on.”

>>> 11:56 pm // 22 hours until sleep <<<

“I trusted you!” Jaemin cried out, looking at Jeno with hurt-filled eyes. You honestly didn’t even think his eyes could hold so much emotion. There seemed to be actual tears glistening in there.

Jeno chuckled nervously from your side. “Sorry.”

Jaemin gasped theatrically, squeezing his eyes shut as if to force back tears. He placed his hand over his heart and pretended to sob before reaching to the middle of the circle. 

On your other side, Donghyuck cackled maniacally as Jaemin picked up card after card. There were tears in his eyes from the force of his joy and cheer, his body rolling on the floor as his laughter echoed in the room. The sight and sound brought joy to your heart and made you smile along.

“There.” Jaemin sighed after a while, holding his fan of cards up for everyone to see. He pointed to each card as he counted, “Sixteen cards. I hope you psychopaths are happy.”

“We only made you pick up ten though,” you teased, earning a glare from him. 

Before he could retaliate, Donghyuck spoke up, though his voice was just barely regretful. “(Y/n), know that I love you.” 

Your heart dropped as he picked one of the cards from his fan. You anxiously watched as he wiped a tear from his cheek with the sleeve of the same hand he held the card in. You began shaking your head as he hesitated before placing the card down.

“I’m sorry, I truly had no other cards to play,” he apologized with a slight smile as he moved his hand so you could see the card. You whimpered. “Pick up four. Jeno, I need the colour blue.”

Defeated, you sighed and reached for the cards.

>>> 1:07 am // 21 hours until sleep <<<

“That was fun, but I am in a desperate need of schleep. No wait. Sleep,” Jaemin yawned and lazily gathered the cards up from the middle of the circle. “Who’s gonna tally up the scores?”

“Working on it,” Donghyuck mumbled, a frown on his face as he intensely focused on counting the points. 

You couldn’t help but find the way his tongue poked out adorable. Mentally, you slapped yourself for the thought. You had twenty-one more hours to spend with this guy and developing an even stronger crush on him was not the ideal way to do so.

Finally, after half a minute, he straightened up and cleared his throat. “The results have arrived. It was a tough and difficult competition. Counting up the scores… Dare I say, it was even more difficult.”

“Hurry it up a little,” Jaemin ushered him drowsily. “I want to go to bed before sunrise.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes before continuing in a much more casual tone. “Alright, so, in third place is Jeno with 11 points. Second place, 12 points, Donghyuck. Woo!” 

You glared at him for his noisiness before locking your eyes with Jaemin. With a smirk on his face, he leaned forward to keep your stare, his eyebrow quirking as if to challenge you. One of you was the winner, the other one the loser. 

Always one for the dramatics, Donghyuck smiled brightly as he watched your little stand-off. After half a minute, he began again, “In the first place… This person got a total of 15 points.” He paused. “This person is… Drum roll, please.” Jeno began patting his thighs rhythmically, much to Donghyuck’s happiness. Finally, the young announcer declared, “Jaemin! Congratulations!”

Jaemin burst into cheers, pulling Jeno and Donghyuck into a hug before sticking his tongue out at you. “And that’s how it’s done!”

Donghyuck, struggling in Jaemin’s unexpected iron grip, choked out, “I thought you were tired.”

“I am. But I also happy.” The winner smiled as though his life dream and world peace had been achieved at once. You had never seen such serenity in this man. “Very happy.”

“Alright, Happy,” your best friend sighed, “go sleep. (Y/n)’ll buy you your breakfast tomorrow morning. Just come and let us know when you’re ready.”

Jaemin turned to smile at you brighty. “You can’t go back on the deal. Bring your wallet.”

“I’ll be sure to remind her to do so,” Donghyuck quipped before nudging him towards the door. “Now go. We still have hours to go.”

>>> 1:41 am // 20 and a half hours until sleep <<<

Donghyuck hummed a song, looking up from his phone where he had taken numerous photos of himself and you (but mostly you, as much as he refused to admit that to even himself). He glanced at you sitting across the room in Jaemin’s bed, your face illuminated by the light of your laptop. Behind your head, the router’s indicator light was still blinking red for no wi-fi.

Wordlessly, he pushed himself off his bed and shuffled to your side. Once he felt he was close enough, he rested his head on your shoulder and stared up at you. When you looked down to catch his eye, he blinked lazily and smiled. “Hi.”

“Hi,” you replied with a slight chuckle before turning back to your laptop, trying to hide the way your heartbeat picked up at the proximity. 

He mirrored your actions. Then scoffed. “Solitaire? Really?”

“It was either that or Minecraft,” you told him, focusing on the screen to find a place for that two of spades that was blocking you from succeeding. Donghyuck sighed and you replied the same way. “Dude, it’s not like this old thing can run any better games. Not my fault.”

“I mean, sort of,” he teased, laughing when you shoved him by his shoulder. He then quieted down and wistfully glanced at his own gaming computer perched on his desk. “I can’t play anything on mine either.”

“Everything’s online?” you queried with a knowing smile.

“Everything’s online,” he confirmed with a sigh and leaned on you even more.

>>> 3:28 am // 18 and a half hours until sleep <<<

As it appeared, if there was one thing where you two were not on the same wavelength, it was guessing games. An hour into the intense game of pictionary, only two drawings had successfully been guessed, both drawn by you and pinpointed only thanks to Donghyuck’s ridiculously amazing guessing abilities.

“Is it a squirrel?” Donghyuck guessed, eyes wide and focused on the drawing pad in your hand. You shook your head and added more details to your drawing of an animal. He stared at it helplessly, a frown teasing at his brows and confused sounds echoing from his throat. 

From the drawing, he could tell it was an animal with a furry tail and pointy ears. The box-like figure you had drawn next to it in a desperate attempt to get him to guess the animal suggested it had to be a small being. Still, he was at a loss.

Finally, as the timer on his phone rang to signal a minute had passed, you dropped your enthusiastic act and glared at him. You told him, “It was a raccoon.”

He blinked once, he blinked twice, he blinked three times more for good measure. He then burst out, “Have you ever seen a raccoon? That is not a raccoon!”

“It is!” 

“It is not. Seriously.” 

“How is it not a raccoon?”

“In every way possible. Don’t even argue with me.”

He stood up and gently shoved you onto Jaemin’s bed, taking the drawing pad and marker from your hands. He picked an Alias card from the stack on Jaemin’s desk and clicked his tongue. Quietly, he read over the words before nodding and placing the card down in another pile. 

He smirked. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

You raised an eyebrow and counted down, “Your time starts in 3… 2… 1… Go.”

Without any time to lose, he drew a rectangle, adding some volume to it. 

You tilted your head in thought. “A box.”

He shook his head, smiling a bit. He then drew a stick, then another over it, and another, and another until the lines resembled a star, before gesturing at his drawing again. 

“A box and a star?” You raised an eyebrow. “A box of fragile items? Glass?”

Donghyuck’s stare—one that screamed that you had disappointed him in ways a person’s brain could never comprehend—said you were on the wrong track. So you took a step back and frowned. 

As you tilted your head side to side and muttered questions to yourself, Donghyuck continued drawing little asterixes. In the last 20 seconds left, he snapped and drew a figure that could only resemble a penguin next to the box. Frantically, he pointed at it, willing you to guess right.

“Oh!” you realized, sparking hope in him, “is it ice?”

He gestured for you to continue, biting his lip and bouncing in his spot like an excited kid. You snapped your fingers, trying to find the answer, before shouting out “Ice cube!” just as the timer ran out.

Donghyuck let out a deep breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding in. He slumped a bit as he laughed and reached over to pat your head. “Good job. I was worried you and your slow brain wouldn’t get it in time.”

“Hey! My brain’s not that slow!” you whined, crossing your arms over your chest.

While shoving the drawing pad and marker back into your hands, he offered an apologetic smile that said otherwise. He threw himself onto the bed before sighing. “Your turn.”

>>> 4:07 am // 18 hours until sleep <<<

“I only have, like, four songs, but hey,” he laughed to himself, feeling almost pathetic, as he set up his Bluetooth speaker and pressed play on his phone, “it’s better than silence and snores.”

You snorted and agreed, focused on the drawing pad in your lap. Slowly, the blank page was being filled with pencil and marker doodles, some more nonsensical than others—a testament to your boredom and unwillingness to go until sleep. 

As you thought of things to doodle, the music filled your ears. The more you listened to it, the more you wanted to laugh. When he looked at you curiously, you voiced your thoughts, “You have four songs on your phone and one of them is Shinee’s ‘Sherlock’?”

“... It wouldn’t help my case if I said the second one’s ‘Catallena’, would it?” he asked no one in particular, chuckling to himself. 

You burst into laughter. “When was the last time you updated your music library?”

“Long ago,” he told you before he began humming.

It was nice listening to Donghyuck sing along passionately but just quietly enough to avoid noise complaints from other students. His voice grew louder as he shuffled closer to you and rested his head on your shoulder. Soon it felt like having your personal little speaker right at your ear. 

“What are you drawing?” he asked when the song changed, a ballad coming on. 

“I don’t know,” you told him honestly and continued drawing circles on the paper, hoping that perhaps one will inspire you to draw something a bit more creative. 

Watching you struggle was entertaining, but Donghyuck soon decided that more was needed. He took the drawing pad from you, flipping the page before taking a pencil from you.

You stared at him quizzically as he drew a big square and some smaller ones connected to its sides. When he looked up, he smiled. “You said we should get an apartment of our own next year, right? Since dorm life sucks.”

“So?”

“So, let’s plan our apartment,” he spoke casually, as if he couldn’t be bothered to understand the implications behind his words. “Let’s say this is the living room. What should we have in the living room?”

You took a moment to hesitate. As all kinds of thoughts raced through your head, you finally gathered to courage to speak up again. “A couch.”

“And a TV!” he added cheerfully before drawing the two items into the square in what you assumed to be a bird’s point of view. “For movie nights. And a small table, for snacks.”

A smile tugged at your lips as he continued rambling about the furniture. The things you’d do for that apartment to come to life…

>>> 4:21 am // 17 and a half hours until sleep <<<

“I’ve always wanted to watch the sunrise with a friend,” you pointed out as the two of you opened the window and settled down on Jaemin’s bed. “This is great.”

“I can’t believe the things I am doing for your happiness,” Donghyuck grumbled. 

He then proceeded to wrap Jaemin’s throw blanket around your shoulders, worried you might catch a cold from the chilly morning air. 

He couldn’t help but smile when you leaned a bit further out of the window, attempting to see the sun. He’d have to have a talk with the person who allowed you to be this cute—he had to thank them for this adorable view.

“Wait,” you suddenly sat up and looked at him with wide eyes, “which way does the sun rise?”

Donghyuck snorted. “You’re a college student and you don’t know this?”

“I have a very selective memory.”

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Listen up and remember well, my dear little (Y/n), the sun rises from the east, shines from the south and then goes down in the west.”

“And which way is east?”

>>> 4:58 am // 17 hours until sleep <<<

Donghyuck stood in the middle of the hallway, hands on his hips in an attempt at a superhero pose, Jaemin’s royal blue throw blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. 

You stood a few metres away from him, his phone in your hand (he claimed his phone camera had a better photo quality than yours) as you snapped photo after photo while counting down from five to one repeatedly. He changed his pose every time you said “One.”

“Do I look like Superman?” he wondered, posing once again. 

You chuckled. “Kind of. I think Superman’s a tiny bit taller.”

His murderous glare even managed to send a shiver down your spine through the camera lens and his phone screen. You grimaced but snapped a picture of it anyway. 

“Whatever,” he sighed dramatically before striking a different pose, his hand lifting the blanket up in a similar manner to Batman. Only his eyes shone in the dim hallway light. 

You quietly cheered him on from your spot, lying down on the carpeted floor for a better angle. He almost laughed at the sight. And another pose change.

Focused on your photoshoot, you and Donghyuck failed to notice a third presence. When you finally did, it was because the intruder, if you could call him that, cleared his throat.

Glancing up, you were met with a very confused Osaki Shotaro, sleep still heavy in his eyes. He looked down at you before quietly asking, “Are you okay? Why are you on the floor?”

“We’re just having a photoshoot,” Donghyuck informed him with a smile, dropping his poses just for this conversation but expecting to get back to the shoot in less than a minute.

Shotaro blinked, or at least it seemed like he did. His eyes were refusing to open fully because of his exhaustion so it was a bit hard to tell. The frown and small smile on his face were pretty easily readable though. “Why? It’s barely morning.”

Though you would never admit it out loud, the gravelly undertone of his voice was a nice change from Donghyuck’s high pitch and constant babbling. It took you a lot of self control to keep from tugging at on Shotaro’s sleeve and begging him to stay and speak to you for a while. 

“We’re trying to stay awake until tomorrow—” Donghyuck grimaced. “Well, until tonight evening. Is that a thing?”

At that, Shotaro giggled and rubbed at his eyes. “I can still barely tell formal and informal speech from each other. Don’t ask me for words.”

“(Y/n)? Your verdict?” 

The two boys turned to look at you, your form still lying on the floor. You laughed nervously. “I am just as exhausted as you are. I don’t know.”

Donghyuck sighed and shrugged. “If it wasn’t before, it is a thing now: tonight evening.”

“Have you slept at all?” Shotaro wondered. 

“Not since 5 in the afternoon,” Donghyuck notified him a bit too cheerfully. 

The Japanese boy next to you sighed. “Why not?”

“We’re trying to fix our sleep schedules,” you told him. “We’ve been sleeping at really weird hours and it got annoying.”

“So we’re hoping this twenty-nine hour no-sleep marathon will exhaust us to the point of fixing our sleep schedules,” Donghyuck added. 

Shotaro sat down next to you on the floor and pushed back his hair, chuckling. “I could understand only, like, six words you said.”

“Dude,” Donghyuck shook his head and placed his hands on his hips like a disappointed mother and you couldn’t help but sneak a photo or two, “you need sleep.”

“I can’t join your photoshoot?” the Japanese boy wondered, tilting his head to the side a little and pouting. To this day, you swear you heard Donghyuck go “Aw.” at the sight—you couldn’t blame him.

You smiled up at the boy and nudged his shoulder. “Do you want to? We could include you in a couple of photos.”

“Cozy friendship photoshoot!” Donghyuck called out, earning a curse from a nearby room. He cringed and tensed up, looking at the door of the room fearfully. When no more movement or sound came out, he breathed in relief and relaxed again. “Damn it, I forgot Renjun is a light sleeper.”

>>> 5:21 am // 16 and a half hours until sleep <<<

You rolled over in Donghyuck’s bed to face him but didn’t say a word. It didn’t take long before he rolled over to face you the same way, quirking an eyebrow. 

For a moment, you glanced at his lips, so pouty and plush and kissable-looking. He seemed to have a similar train of thought, leaning closer to you with a soft look in his eyes.

But you decided that these thoughts were probably induced by your lack of sleep. Haechan had never before looked at you with such disappointment as he did when you suddenly asked, “Shouldn’t we at least try to catch up on our assignments?”

He rolled his eyes and pushed your face away. “Not a chance in hell. I do not hate myself that much.”

“What if I do though?”

“No, you don’t.”

“... You’re no help.”

>>> 5:55 am // 16 hours until sleep <<<

Donghyuck was tugging at your (well, actually his) hoodie like a little kid or a puppy begging for attention. He whined and let out several noises as you attempted to find your phone and keys. 

“Hurry up!” he begged, ready to go out already. The curfew had lifted half an hour ago and he was desperate to go outside and get some fresh air, sick and tired of sitting in the dorms. You, however, seemed to be taking your sweet time, even if the panic on your face stated otherwise.

Finally, you let out a sigh of relief, finding your phone, wallet and keys on the floor beside Jaemin’s bedside table. You picked them up as Donghyuck cheered and began tugging you outside. “Let’s go!”

As you walked down the stairs of the building, a faint memory of a past UNO game echoed in your head. You cursed a bit before looking back up the stairs. 

Donghyuck stopped beside you and stared at you in clear disappointment again. “What is it now?”

You turned to him and asked, “What time does Jaemin wake up? I have to buy him breakfast.”

Your best friend frowned. “Fuck if I know! I sleep past noon.”

“Let’s hope he’ll text me when he wakes up.” 

“Knowing him, he’ll facetime,” Donghyuck sighed before intertwining your fingers and leading you down the stairs. 

As you walked past the front desk, you could feel the doorkeeper’s curious stare. You flashed her a smile and greeted her, Donghyuck following your lead and bowing her way, before walking out of the door. 

The moment fresh air reached your lungs, your smile brightened. It was Sunday morning and not a lot of people were walking or driving around. For once, you didn’t mind being outside. Donghyuck seemed to share your sentiment. 

“This is great,” he nearly moaned, closing his eyes as he took another deep breath. Then he shivered, prompting a giggle from you. He offered you a side-glance before sighing. “It’s colder than I thought it would be.”

“I know a way to warm you up.” You nudged him with your entire body. “Race you to the cafe two houses down.”

“Are they open at this hour?” he wondered.

You chuckled and began slowly jogging towards the cafe, giving Donghyuck some time to catch up for the fairness of the challenge. “We’ll find out when we get there. Come on!”

>>> 6:19 am // 15 and a half hours until sleep <<<

Sat on a park bench by a pond, Donghyuck leaned into your warmth and sighed happily. He held up the to-go cup in his hand and noted, “This is the best coffee I’ve ever had.”

“It certainly is,” you agreed and took a sip of your preference of a warm beverage. “Feels nice, the warm drink and the chilly morning air.”

“The contrast is refreshing. I feel more awake all of a sudden.” 

He drank his coffee and looked around to watch the people passing by. There were only a few of them, most of them on their morning run or walking their dogs. Despite the park’s proximity to the college and the dormitories, you didn’t see a single familiar face. 

Suddenly, Donghyuck tugged at your sleeve. You turned to find him discreetly pointing at a person walking on the other side of the pond. “I bet that guy has a crush on a barista.”

“What?” You chuckled, looking at him weird.

He smiled at you. “I bet. I also bet that the only reason he’s up at this hour is to go and see said barista and order his usual coffee. What do you think he drinks?”

Catching onto his little game, you hummed in thought and narrowed your eyes. “My gut says he’s a cappuccino guy.”

“With cinnamon,” Donghyuck added to your little idea. 

“Maybe he’ll order a cinnamon roll to go with it, just to have an excuse to talk to the barista some more.”

Donghyuck snorted. “Is that what you do?”

“I don’t have a crush on a barista!” you screeched and laughed. 

“You sure? Because, you know,” he attempted to play nonchalant and you could easily tell by the way he lifted his eyebrows and avoided eye contact, “Shotaro works in a coffee shop.”

You hummed. “He does? I didn’t know.”

“Really? I thought you liked him.”

“I really, and I do mean really, do not,” you emphasized and patted his head. “I promise.” To cheer him up further, you threw in a quick, “Besides, you’re the only significant guy in my life right now.”

As he nudged you with his shoulder, Donghyuck laughed at that. “I feel honoured.”

“You should,” you teased, nudging him back. Then you nodded towards a woman walking on the other side of the pond, clad in a red coat. “What do you think she does for a living?”

“Modeling,” Donghyuck replied without hesitation, taking a sip of his drink. “Either that or she’s an actress.”

You scrunched your face up in thought. “I think she could be a spy.”

“... Is it because she kind of looks like Carmen Sandiago in that outfit?” 

>>> 6:56 am // 15 hours until sleep <<<

You offered Donghyuck a hesitant look, holding a pan and a spoon in your hands. The two of you were stood right outside Renjun’s room, ready to barge in at any moment now. 

“Are we sure about this?” you asked him when he seemed to not notice your hesitation. “Won’t he kill us?”

Donghyuck pursed his lips before grimacing. “Probably. But to be honest, he has this wake-up call coming after he shoved a whole bucket of ice cubes into my shirt and pants last week.”

“In his defence, you were sleeping in and about to miss your history class,” Jaemin pointed out from his spot on a couch near the kitchen. He had settled there just a minute ago, his eyelids still heavy and hair a mess, his whole body still in the process of waking up and getting ready for the day.

“Maybe the first three ice cubes were justified,” Donghyuck agreed before his glare hardened, “but the rest of that bucket? I’m going to make him regret.”

You chuckled and agreed. “On the count of three?”

“On the count of three.” He rolled his shoulders and neck before reaching for the doorknob. “Ready? One…”

You leaned forward a little, ready to run in.

“Two…” He took a deep breath and quirked his eyebrows. 

“Three!” You burst in through the door, going straight towards Renjun’s bed. It was at that moment that you realized that the lucky boy didn’t have a roommate. This only fueled you to wake him up.

Renjun’s eyes shot open as the noise of pots and pans being hit with spoons and Donghyuck’s loud attempt at yodelling registered. It was incredibly loud and he was sure the whole building could hear the commotion. He cursed and rubbed at his eyes before covering his ears and glaring at you in turns.

Donghyuck kept a close eye on him while dancing around the room. As he noticed the boy’s emotions flash from confusion to rage, he dropped his pot and grabbed you by the sleeve. Giggling like a giddy schoolgirl, he led you away from the room, the both of you running down the hallways to avoid Renjun’s anger. 

“Get back here, you—!” Renjun’s voice and footsteps echoed after you. You had no doubt he had picked up the wooden spoon Donghyuck had used and was planning on murdering you with it. 

“(Y/n), this way!” Donghyuck called through your shared laughter, hand gripping yours as he directed you towards an empty bathroom on the second floor. The moment you were inside, he slammed the door closed and locked it, pushing his back against it for extra safety.

Through the door, you could Renjun cursing in various languages. This only made the two of you laugh harder. Donghyuck quit attempting to hold back his laughter and folded over, tears in his eyes and his cheeks hurting from the violent giggles.

“When you come out from there, I swear I will—” Renjun continued cursing in Mandarin and you couldn’t be bothered to listen to him. 

Instead, you sat down on the floor and leaned against Donghyuck’s laughing body, joining his glee. Instinctively, your hands wrapped around the soft fabric of your best friend’s hoodie as you continued cackling at your friend’s anger.

>>> 8:37 am // 13 and a half hours until sleep <<<

Sitting in a cafe with you and Donghyuck and Jeno, Jaemin chuckled. “You really hid in the bathroom for an hour?”

“We did,” Donghyuck confessed with a sigh. “It was a bit cramped and could’ve used some cleaning, but fuck, it was fun.”

“The bathroom or Renjun’s anger?” Jaemin narrowed his eyes.

Donghyuck and you raised your eyebrows at him, both clearly disappointed in his dumb joke. He seemed unbothered, chuckling nevertheless. 

“Renjun seemed pretty pissed. I wouldn’t even make eye contact with him for a few days, if I were you,” Jeno pointed out, stirring his drink with a straw. “Just a warning.”

“Wasn’t planning on it anyway,” Donghyuck promised earnestly before leaning back in his chair. He picked a strawberry off your plate and ate it. You listened as he let out a hum of appreciation and mumbled about the berry being just right.

“How long until you two are going to sleep?” Jaemin then wondered. “It’s been a long while already.”

“Not sure,” you sang and pulled out your phone. With a proud smile, you announced, “Only a bit over thirteen hours to go.”

“So,” Jeno frowned, “like a whole normal day.”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck agreed and straightened up with a smile that screamed regret, “except we’ve already been awake for 16 hours.”

“You’re insane,” Jeno whispered, staring at the two of you with wide eyes. “Seriously insane.”

Jaemin kissed his teeth before lifting his coffee cup. “That’s what I told them.”

“To be honest, I am slowly starting to feel the insanity seeping in, yeah,” your best friend mumbled and took a sip of his coffee. “But breakfast helps.” 

He then proceeded to look at you with a pout and his eyes adorably wide. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he wanted. 

You shook your head. “I am already paying for my and Jaemin’s breakfast. If I pay for yours as well, I’ll be broke before next weekend rolls in.”

“Oh come on,” he whined, pinching your arm gently, “I bought us three bags of snacks last night. The least you could do is pay me back with breakfast.”

“What am I? Your boyfriend? Girlfriend? Sugar mommy?” you asked, in a state of disbelief.

“I mean, you could be,” he wiggled his eyebrows rather suggestively. If you had any thought of paying for him earlier, the thought now vanished. 

>>> 9:17 am // 13 hours until sleep <<<

“Okay, but no, it’s not okay! I worked my ass off for that essay and she just—” Jaemin stopped mid-sentence, his gaze switching from annoyance to absolute adoration as he stared at something ahead of you. He placed his Americano in Jeno’s hands. “Hold on a sec.”

While he did so, and you and Jeno stared at him in clear confusion, Donghyuck let out a squeal before dashing forward. “Puppy!”

As the puzzle pieces fit into their places, you began laughing at the two boys’ cute reactions. “They’re so weird.”

“They love dogs,” Jeno sighed, almost taking a sip out of Jaemin’s coffee but managing to stop himself somehow. He glanced towards you, a smile appearing on his lips as he nudged you gently. “And you love him.”

“Who?” you panicked, almost snapping your own neck from the speed at which you turned your head. Your eyes wide and heartbeat going insane, you defended yourself, “I don’t even like Donghyuck like that.”

Jeno smirked and brought a coffee cup to his lips. “I didn’t say a name.” 

He then sputtered and coughed as the bitter liquid of Jaemin’s coffee instead of a creamy and sweet hot chocolate met his tongue. You didn’t say anything, but silently thanked karma.

“(Y/n)!” Donghyuck screamed, his fingers knuckle-deep in a Malamute’s fur. “Come and pet this dog! Her fur is so soft! And she’s so friendly! Yes, she is! Yes, she is!”

Recovering from his coffee mistake, Jeno nudged you once again with a smile. He mumbled, “He likes you too.”

It took every ounce of your self-control to keep from telling Jeno a choice of non-child-appropriate words. You just glared at him instead before heading towards Donghyuck and the dog. How dare he give you hope like that!?

>>> 11:03 am // 11 hours until sleep <<<

“Not gonna lie,” Donghyuck spoke, his head peeking out of your room (since Jaemin had kicked you two out of theirs for a cleaning session the moment you got back to the dorms), “I’m a bit surprised Renjun hasn’t attempted to murder us yet.”

At his comment, you looked up from your homework sheets, an eyebrow raised. After a moment of consideration, you asked, “You were counting on getting murdered?”

Donghyuck ducked back into your room and shrugged, “I was feeling some hatred towards myself when I came up with that plan, so yeah.”

You chose not to reply. Instead, you squeezed your mouth shut and focused back on your homework. 

Your determination to study was broken again when you felt him lean his head on your shoulder once again. Though he didn’t say anything, you still found it hard to focus back on your work, his proximity making your mind hazy.

“Why are you doing homework on Sunday morning?” Donghyuck wondered, tilting his head from side to side as he stared at the sheets in your lap. You shrugged and he chuckled. “Let’s do something more fun.”

“These are due tomorrow morning though,” you pointed out somewhat begrudgingly and leaned back against his chest. 

With your mind sleepier than ever before, you kept finding yourself thinking thoughts  and asking questions you never had before: for example, since when was his chest so well-built? You shook the thought out your mind and tried to continue your work instead.

Donghyuck let out a whine. When you looked back at him, he was sporting a confused frown and his lips were adorably pouted. He made eye-contact with you and you almost melted. “Do you want some help?”

“Why?” you teased, simultaneously making the mistake of pushing your face closer to his. “Are you jealous of this worksheet.”

Now. There were a million ways your sleep-deprived brain imagined this going. You could imagine him pushing you away and denying. You could imagine him scoffing in your face. You could even imagine Renjun interrupting the moment with a slam of the door and a chainsaw in hand, a murderous glare in his eyes. 

Never in a million years could you have imagined the reality.

Closing his eyes, he closed the small distance left between your faces to rub his nose against your own, nuzzling his face into your own in an attempt of showing affection, before mumbling, “And if I say yes?”

Your mind, your heart, and your body were going into a frenzy, desperately trying to figure out the meaning behind his actions. Did he like you back? Was Jeno right? Were you hallucinating? Was he just teasing?

Before you could make sense of your feelings, the door opened and revealed Renjun glaring at him. Donghyuck was up and off your bed within the span of  a second, already dashing towards the door. Renjun caught him before he could leave, dragging him out in a chokehold and leaving you behind to ponder your existence.

Gasping for air, you shook your head and turned back to your homework. As you grabbed your pen, you mumbled, “Dear Classic Literature 101, provide me with the distraction I need.”

>>> 1:02 pm // 9 hours until sleep <<<

Your daydreams and a desperate situational analysis were interrupted by the cause of it all walking back into your room, face flushed and his hair a complete mess. Donghyuck stood in front of your door for a bit, resting his hands on his hips, before sighing and smiling and trudging over to your figure.

Without a single second of hesitation, he threw his body over yours, resting his head against your shoulder once again, his nose just barely grazing the side of your neck as he let out a noise of happiness.

Deciding to ignore the way your heart once again picked up its speed and your skin seemed to burn where he touched, you poked his shoulder and asked, “Where were you for so long?”

“Renjun threw me around for a bit,” Donghyuck half-joked tiredly, his eyes closing as he relished in the comfort of your embrace. “Had me in a chokehold, tickled me, beat my ass in Yu-Gi-Oh twice, and reported me to the RA,” he took a deep dramatic breath before continuing, “who then made me fill in some paperwork and made me write an explanation to my actions and threatened to kick me out if I do any of this ever again.” He sighed. “All in all, a perfect morning.”

You stared at him in disbelief. “Wait, does this mean I’m getting punished too?”

Donghyuck’s eyes opened abruptly. “Do you want to be?”

“No?” You raised an eyebrow. “I’m asking if I will be.”

He patted your head gently, almost off-handedly, before assuring you, “No, you’re not. I made a deal with Renjun. The RA has no idea you were involved. All he knows is you were an unwilling victim of my crime.”

“What kind of a deal?” you wondered. 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes before closing them once again. “Does it matter? Do you want to be punished so badly?”

“No, I don’t.”

“So, don’t worry.” He took a hold of your hand, intertwining your fingers. “Just trust me.”

>>> 1:57 pm // 8 hours until sleep <<<

A feeling of déjà vu filled you as you watched the scene unfolding in front of you in Jaemin and Donghyuck’s bedroom.

“Why are we playing UNO again?” Jeno wondered, shuffling the cards like a professional and making you marvel at his skills all over again for the umpteenth time in the past 12 hours. As you watched his hands at work, you made a note to yourself that if you weren’t so head over heels for your best friend, you’d definitely consider dating Lee Jeno.

Donghyuck, once again busily drawing a table in his notebook, mumbled, “Because we live in a dorm where there is no wi-fi and the only board games are this and strip poker,” he closed the cap of his marker before looking up, “and I don’t know about you, but I personally have some body image issues which I am afraid would only get worse if I was shirtless in the same room as you two Greek gods.”

Jeno’s hands halted and a puzzled frown appeared on his face. It only lasted for a second before he shrugged and turned back to the cards. “Whatever you say.”

“What’s the prize this time?” Jaemin asked. Lying on his tummy and kicking his legs back and forth gently, he looked like a giddy schoolgirl about to gossip with her friends. You weren’t sure why your sleepy brain came up with that particular analogy, but judging by the amused look Donghyuck sent your way, your brain wasn’t the only one.

With the cards shuffled and dealt, you got ready for the brutal game that was about to start.

“Loser buys the winner a meal,” Donghyuck spoke as though it was obvious. “I’ll go first.”

>>> 3:12 pm // 7 hours until sleep <<<

“How did you lose?” You still couldn’t believe it as Donghyuck put away the cards. Hungry for some proper food, Jeno and Jaemin had left just minutes ago, coming in second and third place respectively. 

Donghyuck shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe my brain just isn’t built for UNO.”

With a loud sigh, he jumped onto the bed and lied down. You raised an eyebrow. “That’s a big lie. You’ve never lost at UNO before.”

“Maybe polarities switched?” he guessed half-heartedly, not even bothering to make sense. Even you could see through that facade.

“Whatever,” you scoffed before poking him between the ribs. “Now you owe me a meal.”

You almost missed the way his lips tugged into a tiny smile. “It’ll be my pleasure.” He pulled you closer before asking, “What do you want for dinner, oh dear winner?”

>>> 4:10 pm // 6 hours until sleep <<<

Loud hollering interrupted your in-depth discussion about best dog breeds to own. You shared a confused look before jumping up and peeking out the door. To amplify your shock, the first face you saw was that of Na Jaemin, his face twisted in a nearly maniacal smile.

“What’s up with you?” Donghyuck asked lowly, stepping between you and Jaemin in a stance that you nearly dubbed protective in your sleepy haze.

Jaemin let out a squeal and pulled Donghyuck into a tight hug. “The wi-fi is back!”

“It’s back?” Donghyuck struggled out while pushing Jaemin away to his best ability. He glanced at you over his shoulder as you went to check the router. Indeed, instead of an annoying blinking red light there was a bright happy green. 

You pulled out your phone to connect to the network and gasped as notifications began rolling in. “Woah! It’s really back!”

“I told you!” Jaemin squealed once again, tightening his grip on Donghyuck who could only let out quiet whines and whimpers at his roommate’s strength. You guessed his tired state was making him slightly less physically strong. 

After what felt like a long while, Donghyuck pushed free from Jaemin’s giddy embrace and instead ran to give you a similar treatment. You groaned as he squeezed you and spun you around as if you were the sole cause for the return of wi-fi. As much as you loved being in his embrace, you shortly realized you also dearly loved to breathe and so you struggled out of his hug. He only laughed.

“Yeah, yeah,” you gasped out before leaning back on your best friend’s bed. “Ready to continue our drama?”

Donghyuck’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god! Yes! Wait,” he rushed over to his closet to pull a bag of snacks out before nearly dancing over to you again, “we have snacks, we have wi-fi, we have each other. Let’s see who that girl ends up with.”

“Can you hand me my laptop?” you asked sheepishly when he expectantly looked at you. He rolled his eyes but did so anyway. 

“You’re lucky I love you,” he grumbled. 

>>> 6:29 pm // 3 and a half hours until sleep <<<

“Yah!” Donghyuck’s whiny voice woke you up from a slumber you hadn’t even realized you had fall in. You begrudgingly opened your eyes to find him glaring at you as if you had just insulted his very being. You gulped. “I thought we agreed to stay awake together! What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled and adjusted your position to chase sleep away, “I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep.”

Theatrically, Donghyuck sighed in defeat. To your surprise, he then took your hand and placed a chocolate bar in your palm. “Eat up. Maybe you’ll get some energy. We can do this.”

“Hwaiting,” you chuckled weakly and unwrapped the snack while attempting to understand the plot of the drama. “Wait, what happened here? How long was I asleep?”

“A few minutes,” Donghyuck lied. It was closer to half an hour, really. “You didn’t miss much.”

You tilted your head. “It kinda feels like I did though.”

“Believe me,” he snorted and pulled you to rest under his arm, resting his head on top of yours, “you didn’t miss anything.”

>>> 8:24 pm // 1 and a half hours until sleep <<<

“Wait what!?” you screeched, jumping up and waking Donghyuck from the little sleepy daze he had found himself in. He looked at you with suddenly wide and awake eyes as you frantically paused the drama and gestured. 

“What?” he asked.

You pointed at the screen. “The lead girl is related to the male lead’s half-sister!?”

“Yeah,” he yawned and tried to pull you back into his embrace, “they revealed it in the last episode already, I think. Or maybe a few episodes ago.”

You frowned. “I don’t remember that.”

“You don’t?” Donghyuck hummed. “I couldn’t sworn they revealed it then.”

You attempted to make sense of the situation. Surely your brain was remembering the drama selectively! Either that or…

As realization hit, you gasped. 

Donghyuck soon found himself at the end of a very accusatory pointer finger, his eyebrows shooting up. “What?”

“You lied!” 

“I didn’t.”

“You did!”

“When?” he raised his voice just a bit.

You pointed at the screen once again, as if it was key evidence, and accused your best friend, “You said I was only asleep for a few minutes and I didn’t miss anything!”

“You didn’t,” he chuckled sleepily. “See, you’re all caught up already.”

“That’s different!” you whined and let him pull you into a cuddle.

“Don’t be so dramatic and just watch the drama,” Donghyuck mumbled, half-consciously pressing a soft kiss to the crown of your head before pressing play on the drama once again. 

>>> 9:54 pm // six minutes until sleep <<<

“The other guy was a much better choice,” he complained, eyes still glued to the laptop screen. “He knew her so well and was so sweet.”

“He reminded me of Shotaro a bit,” you pointed out while munching on a tangerine. 

Donghyuck’s eyes narrowed, finally tearing away from the screen just to glare at you. “What did you just say?”

“He reminded me of Shotaro?” Under his intense gaze, it was difficult to continue eating or even thinking. So you halted both actions and stared right back at him like a deer caught in headlights.

“How is he like Shotaro?” he whined after a while, switching from irritation to poutiness. “If anything, he’s like me.”

“Like you?” You snorted. “Please. He’s adorable. Plus, this guy knows everything about this girl, like Shotaro with his girlfriend.”

“I know everything about you too!” he pointed out and sat up straighter, though his face only appeared to lean closer to yours. “Don’t believe me? Try me.”

You weren’t one to back down from a challenge, so you asked, “What’s my least favourite subject?” 

You could barely finish the question before he had the answer ready. “You hate the professor of that subject because she always gives too much homework and uses outdated memes in her presentations. Try again.”

While swearing to yourself that he was getting closer to you physically, you asked, “My favourite clothing item?”

“Those trendy jeans you got for a cheap price at a second-hand store and have been wearing at least once every week,” Donghyuck replied without any hesitation. As you were about to pose another question, he added on, “You also love the green hoodie I gave you last night because it’s my softest and warmest one and it always smells like me. That’s why I borrow it to you every time without you even asking.”

You were a bit taken aback. He, on the other hand, seemed to not plan on stopping anytime soon. 

“I know all of your allergies, I know all of your likes and dislikes and loves and hatreds and I know you are oddly attracted to the way Jeno shuffles cards and how Renjun speaks Mandarin. I know you like the smell of fresh laundry and you have no idea how a compass works or which way is north. I know you better than anyone.” He sounded both bitter and infatuated as he listed. 

He also seemed to get closer to you with every word he said. If you hadn’t noticed that before in your state of awe, you definitely realized it when his nose pressed against your own and his eyes seemed so big you felt like you were watching at an ocean of hot chocolate swirl in them. 

After a beat of silence, he sighed and pulled back, looking away as he seemed almost upset. He ran a hand through his hair and mumbled, “And yet you’re into—”

You didn’t let him finish his sentence. Instead, your fingers wrapped around the collar of his worn black t-shirt and pulled him towards you until your lips met his. Instinctively, your fingers released his shirt to run up his neck and to his fluffy and soft hair that you knew smelled of pine trees and the ocean. His lips felt soft against yours and the hum of happiness that rumbled in his chest felt like you had finally found your reason for being. His hands on your waist left burning prints in their wake and you couldn’t help but lean closer to him. 

He pulled back after a moment, desperate for a breath of air as well as answers. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the way his eyes were glazed over with something akin to admiration. They seemed to shine. 

With a blissful and relieved smile on his face, he spoke, “So you’re not into—”

While chuckling, you pressed a hand to his lips to stop him from speaking. “I am not into Shotaro, or Jeno, or Jaemin, or Renjun, or even Felix Lee.”

“Then…” He leaned forward again, testing the waters. “Are you into…?”

“You? Why yes, Lee Donghyuck,” you replied pressing a quick kiss to his lips to reassure him, “I really am into you.”

Donghyuck kissed you again and you could feel the smile on his lips. He kept pulling you closer and closer and didn’t stop until you were positively in his lap and not even a sheet of paper could fit between your bodies. When he pulled away again, his grin widened. “We’re both idiots, then. I’ve been in love with you since Freshman year.”

“Seriously?” You giggled. “That’s long.”

“I know,” he sighed dreamily. 

You swore you had never seen his eyes shine like that before and yet you couldn’t imagine them looking any other way all of a sudden. You smiled. “I’ve loved you since—”

The alarm on your phone blared and forced you out of your little paradise. After shuffling off Donghyuck’s lap and to his bedside table to shut off the alarm, you found yourself quietly fearing you had dreamed this whole thing. It felt unreal. 

Yet, when you turned back to him, he was smiling at you the same way he had just a minute ago. With his eyes shining with galaxies in them and a dreamy tilt to his expression as he held out his arms, eager for your return. You felt just as eager and quickly found your way back to your best friends—your lover’s—arms. 

He pressed another kiss to your lips before hugging you tighter and falling to his back, head resting against his pillows. He hummed as you adjusted your position so you were cuddled into his side, head tilted just enough to be able to reach his lips again without much additional effort. 

“Stay the night?” he asked lazily, lips pressing to your temple for a peck before he pulled his blanket over the two of you. You smiled and nodded, breathing in his familiar scent as you closed your eyes. He chuckled a bit before pressing another kiss to your forehead and whispering, “We’re going to talk about this tomorrow, okay? No running from our feelings.”

“Why not now?” you teased, cracking an eye open just enough to gauge his reaction.

Donghyuck scoffed and lightly raised an eyebrow. “Sleep.”

“Pft!” You poked between his ribs affectionately, prompting him to catch your hand in his hand and giggle. “Who needs sleep?”

“Us,” he mumbled and tightened his embrace. “We need sleep. Desperately.”