eyes fluttering open slowly, chenle enjoyed the warmth that was surrounding him in this early morning.

the boy rubbed his face on what was supposed to be his pillow, but was in fact an arm.

it didn't take him long to recall he had fallen asleep by jisung's side the night before, and he simply assumed that this shoulder he was leaning on was jisung's.

chenle checked the younger boy's face, to see if he was awake already or if chenle was free to spend hours cuddling into his side lovingly.

thankfully, jisung was fast asleep, his eye lids closed and his mouth slightly ajar, allowing soft snores to escape his lips. so, chenle inched even closer to the sleeping male, humming in content as he inhaled jisung's natural odour.

chenle loved cuddles. sitting on people's lap, being embraced in a hug, receiving caresses or pats... it loved it all, and from anyone – which didn't mean he didn't have his favourites (and jisung was high on the list).

more than just cuddles, chenle was a sucker for them first thing in the morning, just after waking up. this was the time of the day he was the clingiest, and he always tried to have some sort of contact with the person that was around. at home, it was his plushies that he hugged as soon as he woke up, and then his mother; and at the dorms, it used to be renjun – but the older member was always grumpy in the morning, and he refused chenle to glue their bodies together while they were waking up slowly. but now that jisung and renjun had swapped rooms, his new 'morning cuddle' mate was jisung, and as long as he was sleeping, he wouldn't mind chenle cuddling him – not that he would mind after waking up either; jisung was always willing to give chenle a hug to make him feel better.

as chenle's leg tangled with jisung's while he pressed his nose against the boy's armpit, jisung let out a groan, switching position without waking up and making chenle become as red as a tomato.

jisung was now lying on his side, facing chenle, and his arm – which was previously resting on his belly – was now placed over chenle's slim waist, keeping chenle's body close to his.

needless to say, chenle's heart had suddenly become mad, and his cheeks wouldn't go back to their normal colour so soon.

despite his sudden rush of feelings, chenle managed to calm down and enjoy the comforting embrace of the boy he had developed a nasty crush on. could he be blamed, though? jisung was another level of perfection.

the chinese male lifted his head slowly to stare at jisung's resting face from up close.

he looked so peaceful... his fair skin was shining under the rays of sun peeking through the blinds and his eyes were closed, making his lashes rest delicately on his cheekbones. chenle took some time to admire his lips too, looking the prettiest pink and being slightly dry and chapped. he wondered if kissing them would help making them shiny, but shook his head immediately at this unholy thought, resting his head back against jisung's side.

chenle didn't recall how this all had started, how he had fallen so hard for his friend...

one day they were friends, nothing ambiguous, and the next, chenle's vision of the younger boy had morphed into something different. but why?

well, chenle had a small tiny idea. jisung had been hit hard by puberty. he had grown so fast, his body becoming more manly and his face sharper, but at the same time, his behaviour didn't change that much. he remained the clumsy boy, scared of cockroaches and who broke everything he touched.

and chenle had been attracted by this duality. how could such an adorable boy become so hot...

and there was another reason for chenle's sudden feelings – he may or may not be too shameful to admit it though. he had recently been obsessed with cliché romcoms, and the types of movies where two very different people came to meet and fall in love in the most romantic way. and well... chenle now wanted a love life like those.

oh, what if jisung returned his feelings and was as romantic as the lead males were in all those movies...?

he often fantasised about it, having dozens of overdone plots in his mind involving jisung and him, all crazier than the other.

jisung as an emo kid, lacking confidence and meeting chenle, the overconfident and bubbly teenager who'll make jisung change is way of thinking.

jisung as a fbi agent, falling helplessly in love with chenle, also known as the man who had robbed the crown jewels.

jisung as a lifeguard, saving chenle from drowning in the sea after the boat he was in sinks deep into the ocean.

jisung as an assassin, falling in love with chenle, the boy he was paid to kill in the most atrocious ways possible.

jisung as the school's bad boy, being suddenly obsessed by chenle, the new shy transfer student from china.

and so many more...

he was aware it was weird at that point.

first of all, jisung and him were idols, so none of this would ever happen. they didn't go to school, and there was no way jisung became an fbi agent, a lifeguard or an assassin. he didn't have time for that.

second of all, chenle wasn't even sure jisung had feelings for him, so it was useless imagining all those things, because he knew that nothing similar would happen as long as jisung didn't return his feelings. he was hurting himself for nothing.

third of all, by imagining all those little plots in his head, chenle was creating a somehow idealised version of his crush, and if one day jisung came to return his feelings, chenle would be saddened to see that the real jisung wasn't as good as he had imagined him to be.

yeah, sadly, chenle didn't live in a fairy tale, or a drama, or even a fanfiction... so there was no way any of this would be real. chenle had to accept that thought...

"life is unfair..." chenle mumbled in his native language, gluing his body more to jisung's and enjoying this feeling, knowing that it wouldn't last forever.

despite still beign asleep, jisung's embrace around the boy tightened again, making chenle smile in the boy's chest as his heart started fluttering.

oh, he had fallen so hard... it wasn't just a mere crush anymore, feelings had started to grow...

the chinese male jumped slightly when a loud ringtone came disturbing the previously silent room. he immediately panicked, recognising his own ringtone blasting full volume, and surely waking up the whole dorm.

he pulled out of jisung's embrace quickly, reaching for the device and accepting the call immediately, not even looking at who was calling him.

"hello...?" he whispered, looking back at jisung to find him still asleep. he hummed in discomfort for a second before reaching for chenle's pillow and placing it against his chest to hug it, a smile then appearing on his face.

"hello chenle, am i disturbing?" the voice on the phone asked.

"no, it's okay mom." he assured. "why did you call?"

"well, i wanted you to come back home, because... because we have a very important matter to discuss." she explained, sounding unsure.

"huh, okay." chenle nodded. "is it urgent? should i come now?"

"it would be the best, yes." his mother replied. "do you want me to pick you up now?"

"yes, i would be great." chenle approved.

"okay then, i'll be there in ten."

chenle sighed, hanging up.

great, so now, he only had ten minutes left to admire the man of his dreams...

⇄

"m-mom...?" chenle stammered as soon as he entered his house, seeing a man he had never seen before standing in the middle of his living room.

"yes, sweetie?" she asked, rather calm.

"t-there's- "

"hello again, mrs zhong." the man cut chenle's words, bowing when chenle's mother came in sight.

"hello, mr hu." she bowed back. "can we talk now?"

"of course."

chenle blinked a few times, looking between his mom and this man who didn't seem like someone his mother would normally be friends with. plus, they were addressing to each other rather formally, but he was almost certain this stranger wasn't a colleague.

"mom?" the young boy spoke, catching his mother's attention.

"come and sit down with me, lele. mr hu is going to explain everything."

the chinese male reluctantly sat down close to his mother, looking sceptically at the unknown man that was sitting with his legs crossed on his sofa.

"let me introduce myself first." he spoke. "i am hu ilsung, the leader of dark danger."

chenle's eyes widened for a second. "t-t-the mafia?!" he gasped, looking at his mother and expecting her to be as shocked as he was, but she seemed perfectly calm.

"listen to what he has to say."

"yes, chenle. the mafia." he replied, looking at chenle dead in the eye. this made the younger tense and sit up straight. "i am here because you are in danger, and i want to help."

"i-in danger?" chenle asked again, his heart missing a beat.

"chenle, you are an idol, part of one of the world's biggest entertainment companies. you are known worldwide, and your family is rich." ilsung explained slowly. "you are an easy target."

chenle blinked as the mafia leader sitting in front of him spitted undeniable facts.

the world was corrupted, and chenle tended to forget that too often. he didn't realise how dangerous it was for him, and now that a mafia leader was pointing out the obvious to him, he understood why his mother had always been so protective.

"say, chenle, have you ever heard of death park?" ilsung asked.

"the other mafia?" he raised a brow.

"exactly." the mafia leader nodded. "they're our main rival. they're blinded by money, and are ready to do anything to get as much money as possible. we have lots of reasons to think that they're going to try using you as a way of pressure on your family, but also on your fans all over the world."

"m-me...?" chenle stammered, pointing at himself.

"yes, you." ilsung nodded. "you represent twice more money than any other kpop idol. your family is known to be one of the richest in china. death park knows your parents would be ready to spend millions to free you from their grasp. and that's exactly what they want."

just the thought of it made chenle tremble.

he really was a small bait in the middle of a sea of sharks.

"y-you have a s-solution, right....?" he asked in a low voice.

"we can protect you from them." ilsung stated. "i'll have men making sure you're safe. and on our side, we'll try getting more information on death park. they've been escaping us for decades, but we're decided to crush them now."

"so, chenle will be safe? is this guaranteed?" chenle's mother asked.

"he will." ilsung nodded. "there's a price to pay, of course, but we'll take care of him, don't worry. death park won't be able to get five meters next to him. we'll make sure of that."

"money is not a problem." chenle's mother assured. "we'll pay."

this had ilsung smirking. "great."