ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Jihoon rubbed his eyes, yawning as he got up from bed, the flashbacks hitting him like a bus as soon as he gained consciousness.

"What?" Soonyoung blurted out, desperately trying to recall him kissing Jihoon.

Jihoon shook his head, fidgeting with his fingers. "You don't have to remember, it's fine... I guess I was just pissed that you forgot... or that you even did it in the first place."

His hands lifted towards his hair, pushing it back as his fingers ran through it. "Just forget about it, it doesn't matter... you still don't remember."

Jihoon turned away, pursing his lips as he closed his eyes. Soonyoung didn't remember, still, but he had apologized so, maybe it was fine. Maybe he was never really angry at Jihoon.

Maybe he had just been angry at himself.

"Uhh." He groaned, lightly tapping his forehead repeatedly, the regret seeping into his emotions smoothly.

Why did he have to say it? Why did he have to bring it up? Why did he have to deflect it? Why did he have to come to the realisation that he was never mad at Soonyoung?

He yawned, standing up from the side of his bed and stretching his arms out, the room still dim from the closed blinds. He raised the blinds up and the blinding sunlight smashed into the room through the windows, the surroundings glowing majestically.

He wasn't sure how he was going to approach Soonyoung or talk to him again. His feelings were all over the place, scattered and confusing him as well.

He knew what he didn't want to feel, the emotions he would despise if he acquired but did it really matter anymore? When his future was leading him right there?

His heart wasn't his ally and right now, his brain wasn't either. His core existence was the only thing stopping him from carrying out his impulsive thoughts.

Someone knocked on the door a few times, making Jihoon's gaze avert from the closet to the door. "Come in." He instructed, his own voice against him as well as his words came out squished and restrained.

The door opened, revealing Minghao who stood at the threshold with his usual smile he had every morning. Jihoon wondered how he did it, how he managed to stay cheerful all the time.

"Good morning, Sir." Minghao bowed for a bit longer than usual, his smile starting to look unnecessarily wide as he raised his upper body up.

Jihoon nodded, his hands returning to his sides as he smiled back for a moment, "Good morning to you too Minghao."

Minghao walked in, closing the door behind him, anticipation flooding his pupils as he walked closer to Jihoon, "Mr. Kwon says you need to dress beautifully today, he's taking you somewhere."

He whispered like it was a juicy secret he'd been told not to share. Jihoon's eyes blinked over and over, the lump in his throat being swallowed as he remained silent but the look in his eyes did all the talking.

"Where? Why? When?" He asked, one after the other, undeniably intrigued by the new piece of information.

Minghao giggled, a happy giggle that made Jihoon smile against his will. He shrugged, moving backwards, "I don't know Sir but may I prepare your outfit? I know a thing or two about fashion." He said with confidence as though Jihoon had already granted him a pass.

"Yeah, sure, why not." Jihoon replied and Minghao clapped, resiting the urge to jump up and down as he rushed over to Jihoon's closet. "I've prepared your bath already Sir, so you should go while I plan the outfit."

Minghao suggested and Jihoon nodded, walking over to his bathroom. A strange feeling of uncertainty settling in Jihoon but in the midst of it was excited expectations building up in his heart.

No matter how much he tried to hide it or pretend he didn't feel the large beating in his chest, he thought to himself.

What could Soonyoung be planning?

•••••••••••••

Soonyoung looked at his outfit in the mirror, making sure he looked dapper and good enough for Jihoon.

He felt extremely guilty, his guilt was suppressing him, hanging unto his neck like a choker. How the hell could he not remember and still not remember kissing Jihoon?

How could his brain wipe out the image of his lips touching Jihoon's soft, gentle, luscious, pink ones? How could his head betray him like that?

So he decided instead of apologising with words as he had done many times previously, along with his newfound resolve, he would be taking Jihoon out on a date.

He'd asked Jihoon's brothers some of his hobbies and they weren't really able to answer, most of their replies relating to work, horseriding and reading.

Soonyoung worried about that but he didn't let himself dwell on it for too long, he would just have to navigate Jihoon's hobbies by himself and that sounded like lots of fun to him.

The thought of Jeonghan still being free to roam around and do whatever he wanted was eating away at the back of Soonyoung's mind but today, he pushed the worries away, storing them at the back of his brain.

He wanted to spend today with Jihoon, happily, peacefully and meaningfully.

Besides, the company was completely fine, Mingyu would be hired soon and they would get new leads. All he needed was a tiny bit of... patience.

Soonyoung slicked back his hair, showing off his undercut and his forehead with a carefree dangling strand for a little more style. His eyes scanned his jewellery which blinged, the real gold being an unplanned flex.

Despite the tons of jewellery he was wearing, his eyes found their way to the wedding band on his ring finger and never left.

The proof, the symbol of their marriage.

Soonyoung walked out of his room, putting his phone on silent as he closes the door. He walked down the stairs with a natural poise, his shoulders high and a train of self-assurance behind him.

He couldn't pinpoint a finger as to why he was so assured in himself and in the date he had planned for them or why he believed that it would go smoothly but he just did and because today was for Jihoon, he wouldn't let anything or anyone ruin it.

Soonyoung flared his suit jacket, crossing his legs as he took a seat on the couch, waiting for Jihoon to come downstairs.

Half the day had gone by already, with Jihoon passing out as soon as they got home yesterday and Soonyoung coming home late from his meeting and also passing out.

It was the perfect time to watch a movie, shop and then have a candlelit dinner. Yes that was his plan, which he'd curated just this morning with the help of Wonwoo, Minghao, Minah and Google.

Soonyoung smirked at his own idea, his hands on his knees as he rocked side to side, waiting impatiently for Jihoon.

The door to Jihoon's room banged shut and Soonyoung turned to peek at the stairs, seeing the classic, black shoes he knew were Jihoon's coming down the stairs.

He stared, patiently, his mouth dropping in awe as Jihoon came into full view. He looked so delicate, so precious, like an art piece that everyone wanted to see but was reserved for Soonyoung only.

His skin dazzled under the heavy, bright lights on the ceiling making him shimmer, his hair remained long and shiny, the texture and softness of it visible from miles away and of course Soonyoung couldn't take his eyes off Jihoon's outfit.

It was the type of simple that was effortlessly classy. A white on white fit consisting of a bedazzled white cardigan-like top, a white pair of slacks that were sleek and stylish and a black leather jacket to match with other eye-catching accessories.

Soonyoung stood up, his mouth still hung open, absolutely stunned by Jihoon's literally jaw dropping beauty.

He may not have realized it before but he was so damn lucky to have this man in his midst every single day.

"You're staring." Jihoon pointed out, exuding a newfound confidence Soonyoung had never seen him embody before. Soonyoung's mouth closed and he coughed, his eyes straying away.

As he looked back at Jihoon, a grin appeared on his face. One Jihoon hated because he knew exactly what would follow after.

Soonyoung crossed his arms, his grin a lot more cheeky as he retorted, "How could I not? You look like you've just escaped my wildest dreams."

Soonyoung took a step closer making Jihoon take a step backwards, rolling his eyes. "Please don't give me such bad news. I'd hate to be in your dreams." He threw the shawl over his neck while Soonyoung chuckled.

"And yet, you're already there." Soonyoung walked forward, closing the gap as he stroked Jihoon's hair, the act casual but yet so intimate, the air started to choke with tension.

The two stayed in the position for a longer amount of time than usual, the silence in the room filled with nothing but the quiet sound of their heartbeats, held back breaths amd the contact between their eyes.

Soonyoung's eyes flickered to Jihoon's lips, savouring the sight of them up close, the lips he'd failed to recall before moving back up to his eyes. Jihoon lightly slapped Soonyoung's hand away before sighing.

"I hate you, I hope you know that." He said in a manner that showed he wanted to sound serious, he wanted to mean it, desperately but he couldn't. Instead, the words came out like a tease, a satirical joke.

Soonyoung smirked, cockily as his head fell to the side and his eyes brightened. "You know for someone who says he hates me, you sure do like to stare."

Jihoon walked off, refusing casually, "Yeah, hoping that if I stare hard enough, one day you'll disappear."

Soonyoung rolled his eyes, walking up to Jihoon in a hurry, playfully nudging his shoulder. "Say whatever you want, it won't change the truth darling, you're falling for me."

He moved past Jihoon, leaving the man speechless as he opened the door wide, letting him out of the house first. Jihoon picked up his pace, quickly exiting the house.

He truly had nothing to say. Soonyoung's words were like an incoming realisation he was trying his best to ignore. To pretend it wasn't true.

He wasn't falling for Soonyoung. No! He would never do that. Never.

So why did his heart keep beating 10 times faster around him and the tiny prickly hairs on his skin rise anytime Soonyoung came close? Why was he short of breath when Soonyoung stared at him so intensely and why couldn't he look away?

Why did the universe push him towards the one person he wanted to hate the most, the one person he wanted to reject the most... but couldn't.

The simple truth was that he was falling.

He was falling for Soonyoung but he refused to accept it, refused to acknowledge it because his feelings were stupid.

They were insanely stupid and infuriatingly irrational.

He couldn't actually have been falling for Kwon Soonyoung, right?

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Ⓒ︎𝙾𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈𝙾𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈𝙾𝙷
𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝙳 - 11•01•2025
𝙴𝙽𝙳𝙴𝙳 - 𝙽•𝙰