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Loosen up, Minhyuk said, It’ll be fun
The music blares in his ears, his suit feels stuffy and uncomfortable and he’s not having a good time. To top it all off, Minhyuk pretty much stranded him for some guy. Typical
He’s not even mad at Minhyuk at this point. He made the decision to come to a random Christmas party Minhyuk got invited to in the first place.
The alcohol isn’t doing much, and he feels awful. He texted Minhyuk forty minutes ago and the other was nowhere to be found. He’s very close to calling a cab and leaving without him, but he’s a good friend so he’ll wait a little longer…
Just then, as he’s wallowing in self-pity, he catches sight of a familiar figure. It can’t be, he thinks. Maybe the alcohol really is doing something to him, and he’s starting to hallucinate because there’s no way the Son Hyunwoo is standing right across the bar from him.
His head turns and yup, it’s definitely Son Hyunwoo. Kihyun ducks his head down, hoping Hyunwoo doesn't catch sight of him.
Whatever gods that are up there are not in favour of him tonight because Hyunwoo does notice him and approaches
Kihyun curses in his head and tries to compose himself as Hyunwoo slides into the seat next to him
“I’ll take two bar specials please” his voice is a tad deeper than Kihyun remembers
The bartender grunts in affirmation
“Fancy seeing you here” suddenly Hyunwoo’s voice is much closer and Kihyun startles a little. He turns his head and sees that Hyunwoo is very close to him, leaning sideways into Kihyun’s personal bubble.
Kihyun blinks in surprise, clearing his throat awkwardly before ogling at Hyunwoo’s face. Hyunwoo looks like he just climbed fresh out of a K-Drama, he looks a lot bulkier than the last time Kihyun saw him five years ago. If not for their past, Kihyun would totally take Hyunwoo home for the night.
Honestly, their breakup wasn’t a dramatic, gut wrenching heartbreak. They just had two separate visions for themselves and wanted different things…(at least that’s what he tells himself at night)
Kihyun realizes he’s been quiet for too long when he notices the little quirk on Hyunwoo’s eyebrow (he gushes inside a little) “I could say the same to you” he replies lamely, internally cringing at himself
“It’s been awhile” Hyunwoo continues “..how’s your photography thing going?”
“It’s going great,” he lies (he’s probably going to be out of a job in three months but Hyunwoo doesn’t need to know about that)
Hyunwoo nods slowly “Good…that’s good”
The bartender slides two glasses in front of them and Hyunwoo takes one in his hand, sliding the other one to Kihyun
It’s awkward. Very awkward. He doesn’t know what to say and it seems like Hyunwoo’s in the same boat because he’s busy fiddling with the ridges of the glass. A habit he does when he’s nervous
His train of thought crashes when Hyunwoo speaks up again hesitantly, “You don’t hate me, do you?”
Kihyun’s eyes go wide a bit at Hyunwoo’s question “No..why would I? We both wanted different things and a relationship would’ve held us back”
“But dropping that bombshell on you a week before I left abroad was a shitty move”
It really was. He remembers staring dumbfoundedly at Hyunwoo when he was informed of what was going on. He felt rage at first and when that bubbled out, the only thing he felt was the realization that Hyunwoo was now going to be thousands of miles away from him.
Kihyun thinks over his next words, not really wanting to pour out his true feelings “It was definitely awful timing but I’m not holding it over you” he settles on that.
Hyunwoo sighs and takes a sip from the glass, making a face once the liquid touches his tongue. Kihyun follows suit and they spend the time catching up and drinking away.
**
Hyunwoo soon realizes Kihyun has had one too many drinks when his words start to slur and he becomes clingy.
“Kihyun?” he pokes at him, trying to get Kihyun to look his way “Ki? Who did you come here with?”
It takes a while for Kihyun to make out what Hyunwoo is saying but he replies “Min..but I think he left me for some guy….typical” he says between hiccups.
Hyunwoo does a quick scan around the bar and Minhyuk is nowhere in sight. He doesn’t think Kihyun will be able to get home by himself so he does the next thing he can think of. He calls a cab and tries to get Kihyun’s home address but the other man just babbles to himself, he drops his own address instead, thinking Kihyun wouldn’t mind if he spent a night at his home.
The cab arrives in no time and Hyunwoo struggles to fit himself and Kihyun into the backseat.
The ride home is..weird to say the least. Kihyun keeps finding ways to make sure they are touching and settles on interlocking his fingers with Hyunwoo’s, snuggling closer into him. Hyunwoo tells himself that he’s just drunk and shouldn’t think too much of it.
They reach home quickly. Hyunwoo pays for the ride and thanks the driver for putting up with them before carrying Kihyun into his house.
He tucks Kihyun into his bed as gently as he possibly can with Kihyun’s whining and thrashing before letting out a long sigh.
“Even after all these years you’re still a pain in the ass” Hyunwoo says fondly
He turns to sneak off the bed before he hears a soft voice call out his name “Hyunwoo?”
He pauses and listens, thinking Kihyun is just mumbling in his sleep. But the next words that come out brings him to a halt
“I still love you...I don’t think I ever stopped”
Hyunwoo tries to play it off, panicking a little at Kihyun’s sudden confession “Ki, you’re drunk. You need to get some rest”
The other grunts annoyedly, before reaching out and holding Hyunwoo’s wrist “Just..listen to me”
Once Hyunwoo makes no sign of moving, he continues
“I felt awful when you dropped that news on me. I shouldn’t have cut communication with you out of anger and I should’ve tried to make things work. I never would’ve even guessed that I’d find you at a random party Minhyuk forced me to go five years later but seeing you tonight made me regret a lot of things but the only thing I know I don’t regret is ever loving you” he sighs, pauses before saying “I love you, Hyunwoo”
Half of Hyunwoo wants to believe that Kihyun is just saying stuff out of a drunken spur and he’s most likely going to forget this all in the morning but he knows Kihyun is being genuine and vulnerable right now.
He feels guilty and settles for a reassuring rub on Kihyun’s back before he whispers “Let’s talk about this in the morning when you’re well rested, yeah?”
Kihyun hums, his eyes already drifting close before Hyunwoo changes out of his clothes into some nightwear and slips onto the bed next to Kihyun keeping a space in the middle between them.
**
Kihyun wakes up with a pounding headache and also to an unfamiliar bedroom. He tosses and turns in bed before everything shifts back into place in his head and he cringes. He remembers proclaiming his love to Hyunwoo in the dead of night.
Just then the door clicks open and he meets Hyunwoo with a tray in his hands
“Oh, you’re awake already” Hyunwoo says, inching closer to the bed before placing the tray next to Kihyun who’s avoiding his eyes. He decides to focus on the food set on the tray
“I just woke up actually” he pauses, taking in the scents of the food before saying “You didn’t have to do this, I already feel bad for crashing at your place uninvited”
Hyunwoo shakes his head in disagreement “It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it”
Kihyun eats in silence for a while, munching on the toast before Hyunwoo clears his throat “About last night”
Kihyun almost chokes on his bread, not expecting the topic to be brought up so soon, “You don’t have to say anything..we can just forget it never happened” Kihyun says, taking his time to sip on the coffee
“No..I uh...I feel the same” Hyunwoo stutters
“Yeah...we can forget about it” Kihyun says dejectedly
“What? No, I mean I feel the same way as you” Hyunwoo struggles to find the words and just decides to spit it out “I love you and I want us to try again...if you’d like”
Kihyun stares wide eyed at Hyunwoo’s hand reaching out to him. He places his own tentatively into Hyunwoo’s palms and almost cries at how perfect they fit together
“..Is this a yes?” Hyunwoo asks
A wide smile is plastered on his face as he nods happily“Yes, it’s a yes”
He feels good. Happy. Any other synonym that can describe how it feels to just be able to hold Son Hyunwoo’s hands after all this while