Yeosang pushed his food around on the plate in front of him, zoning out from the shallow conversation his parents were having across the dinner table. The obligatory family dinner that happened once in a blue moon, when his father actually was home from the office.

All Yeosang could think about, was getting out of there as soon as possible, and excusing himself to a study evening with Hongjoong - which of course was a cover to go see San.

One week had passed by, and with everything being so new it all seemed like one big adventure. They still kept whatever they had together a secret, and it only made it all the more exciting - Yeosang had never felt more alive.

But there was still one thing he dreaded more than anything; his parents finding out that he and Seonghwa had broken up. And today wasn't his lucky day.

"How come we haven't seen Seonghwa around lately?"

With a sigh ready to leave his lips, Yeosang looked at his mother, who was staring back at him with her usual cold eyes. She wasn't quite frowning, but it was close - if she ever had smiled, Yeosang surely couldn't remember when.

"Oh, I-" His hand dropped to the table, and the fork clicked against the edge of the plate, with a brief but awkward silence following. "We... We are not together anymore."

His mother's eyes widened up, while her lips pulled into a thin, straight line. His father's glare was burning from the left side of the table, and Yeosang felt sweat already gathering at the back of his neck. He knew the day would come where he had to come clean about the break up - and while it definitely would be better to get it over with, he now regretted saying anything at all.

"I'm sorry, what?" His father said, and the tone in his voice was as cold and dangerous as a raging blizzard.

"We broke up..." Yeosang mumbled, and although he knew he shouldn't look away - he simply couldn't help but look down at the table and not as his father.

"Why in the world would you break up? You two are perfect for each other!" His mother then said, her voice turning almost shrill and while she looked calm she was clearly upset. "And this close to his father's election."

She shook her head, not holding back from showing the distress and disappointment in what she saw as her son's foolish selfishness.

"We grew apart..." Yeosang lied. He had to lie, although he didn't like it, he didn't have any other choice. "We want different things in life."

"Please explain to me," Mr. Kang said, leaning in across the table with his hands folded in front of him. "What things you could possibly want, that Seonghwa can't give to you? Don't you want a good life, Yeosang?"

Yeosang swallowed a lump in his throat, more than ready to give up on the conversation - but he knew his parents wouldn't let that happen. They had loved Seonghwa from the second they met him - handsome, ambitious, hard-working, and with an aura of authority that Mr. Kang never saw in his own son.

No, Mr. Kang had never hidden the fact that he never saw Yeosang as a leader, and that he would much rather let his nephew run the company when it was time to retire, than let Yeosang take over. It was a conversation they had had many times, and although Yeosang had done everything he could to make his father proud, nothing seemed to work.

Park Seonghwa on the other hand, would be a first choice for the CEO position, and Yeosang should simply feel grateful for the wonderful and effortless life in luxury that Seonghwa could provide for him.

"Yes, but I-"

"Listen son. You might have worked your way to the top of the class, and while your mother and I are very proud of you, it doesn't change who you are." Mr. Kang said. "Some people are born to be leaders, and some are not. That is why you need a man like Park Seonghwa."

Mr. Kang kept talking, but Yeosang had heard it all before, and he sat quietly with his hands clenched together under the table, while his vision became blurry from tears forming in his eyes. Yeosang bit into his tongue, trying to distract himself from crying - if he cried now, even shed one single tear, his father would be confirmed in his beliefs; that his only son was weak.

A disappointment.

"Told you you've spoiled him, how else could he end up being this ungrateful?" The voice of his father faded into a mumble, while Yeosang persistently kept staring at the plate with the practically untouched food. His mother was saying something back, but he didn't register it at all, he didn't need to - he knew she was agreeing with his father.

'Be thankful for your beautiful face, Yeosang,' she used to always tell him, 'but don't take it for granted. You need to use it to your advantage before you get too old.'

And while the trophy-wife lifestyle was more than enough to someone like her - an achievement even - Yeosang only saw it as a defeat.

"I'm not hungry anymore," he mumbled, throwing his napkin next to the plate and storming out the room before the tears finally broke loose.

Thankfully, his parents didn't follow him - they never did - and he ran to his room and threw whatever was closest to him into an overnight bag. Yeosang had been in arguments with his parents more times than he could remember, but he had never reacted this way before. His brain had shut down completely, and all he could think about was getting out of the house as fast as he possibly could - now, even more than earlier.

♡

"Sangie? Are you okay?" San sent him a wry smile, as his eyes looked towards the bag hanging from Yeosang's shoulder.

Yeosang hesitated, that kind of question would usually be answered with one simple word 'yes', whether or not it was actually the truth. But looking at San, seeing his worried eyes and his hand which slowly reached out to take Yeosang's - there was only one real answer.

"No..."

He let San embrace him, and the dark hair was tickling against his nose as Yeosang snuggled his face against the younger's neck. He felt like crying, but with San's arms around him he slowly started to calm down.

"My parents aren't home. They're in Europe or whatever, I don't even know anymore." San said, as they walked towards his room. "You can stay as long as you want."

Yeosang just nodded, still feeling a small lump sitting in his throat, and he sat down on San's bed with his bag dumping down next to his feet. San apologized for his room being such a mess, and he ran around throwing clothes into the closet, while Yeosang sat on the bed with Byeol sneaking up to rest on his lap.

The low purring and the soft fur felt surprisingly calming, and Yeosang petted the fluffy white cat, while quietly watching San. Yeosang smiled, when he realized how the mess actually didn't bother him. He was used to things always being so tidy and polished - like everything in Seonghwa's apartment, and their relationship too. So perfect it felt fake. So perfect that it actually was fake.

But this, this was real. And whatever it was that San made him feel, that was real too.

Sitting on a bed, with the ugliest knitted throwblanket, in a forest of house plants, fairy lights and books all over the place suddenly seemed like the coziest place on Earth...

"San," he smiled, reaching out his hand towards the younger. "It's okay."

"Hey, I saw how you scrunched up your face the first time you were here!" San laughed teasingly, but he did walk towards the bed to hold Yeosang's hand.

"Yeah, but it's different now..."

San raised a brow, but a playful smile tugged the corner of his lip. His fingers intertwined with Yeosang's, and Yeosang took the chance to pull him closer. The sudden move seemed to surprise San, and Byeol as well who quickly jumped down and ran out the door, and San tripped over his own feet and fell down over Yeosang on the bed.

"How?" The younger giggled, brushing Yeosang's hair away from his eyes.

And Yeosang looked up at him, hands moving to cup San's cheeks and watch the pretty smile that spread over his face.

"It just is." Yeosang hummed, as he pulled San down to kiss him.

♡

San cooked dinner for them, which they ate sitting on the floor in San's room, watching some random show on the TV - even in a place with an almost endless amount of rooms, the younger's bedroom was their safe space.

Yeosang let Byeol take a nap on his lap, and leaned back against the wall he now and then looked at San - watching how the younger laughed at the TV show, showing off the cute dimples on his cheeks.

The later it got, the closer the two of them snuggled up together. When the sun had gone away, they had moved to the comfort of the bed, and San was resting his head on Yeosang's chest.

"I don't want to be a rebound..." The younger suddenly said, and Yeosang nearly flinched.

He didn't know why he felt so nervous all of a sudden, maybe because he hadn't thought much of what they had could meant yet, it was all so new - or maybe because he now felt scared that San would actually believe he was nothing but a rebound.

And with a knot forming in his stomach, Yeosang knew that the younger was far from that.

"You're not a rebound," he whispered, holding San's hand in his own against his chest, but he felt how his own body began feeling rather restless.

"I... I l-... I like you a lot," San whispered back, and his lips brushed against Yeosang's as he moved his head upwards.

Yeosang's heart was racing in his chest, pounding with insane speed, and his grip around San's hand tightened when they looked deeply into each other's eyes. "I... I like you too, a lot."

San then smiled at him, untangling his hand, to place his palm against Yeosang's chest.

"Your heart..." San then whispered, looking at where his hand was placed, catching every rapid heart beat.

"D-don't make fun of me..." A small whine carried out his words, and Yeosang's cheeks were blushing up at the same time. But San just smiled at him, so fondly.

"I'm not... Your heart, it's..." San said calmly, grabbing Yeosang's hand to place onto his own chest - confirming that despite his calm voice, he was far from that. "It's the same as mine."

The fast heartbeat Yeosang felt within himself, was the very same hiding behind San's navy oversized tee.

"This is what you do to me, Kang Yeosang," San whispered shyly, and Yeosang couldn't do anything but smile.

Happiness was exploding inside of him, rushing through him and making his head spin. He had never felt like that, in fact, he hadn't felt anything the way San made him feel it - not even back when the younger was getting on his nerves every day. Something about San just made Yeosang feel, the way feelings were meant to be felt.

"Let's skip school tomorrow." Yeosang suddenly heard himself say, lost in the sweet scent of San's hair, which he had nuzzled his nose into.

"What?" Shifting around on the bed, San looked at him with a chuckle. "Are you serious?"

Yeosang had never skipped school, never missed one single class in his entire life. But he had never been more certain about any decision before.

"Yes. Let's go to Jeju."

♡