『Close』▷ hajeongwoo。

①④ f o u r t e e n

Jeongwoo was okay with it. He totally was. It was fine with him that after the utter heartbreak Haruto had given him on the parking lot, everything just returned to normal.

Sometimes, Haruto would loop his arms around Jeongwoo's shoulders and the latter wouldn't react. Or maybe they'd also exchange high fives and walk away after a few words. It was normal.

It was all normal even if Haruto didn't hold his hand from time to time anymore. It was still normal even if it felt like a wall had been built in between them. It was nothing unusual even if they started talking less and less.

(God. Fucking. Dammit.)

Jeongwoo wasn't one to hide his emotions. Except maybe, when it came to his feelings for a certain Japanese rapper. Even so, his other emotions were always clearly displayed. He cried when he was sad, laughed when he was happy and he wasn't afraid to show his disappointment.

So when he found himself suddenly wanting to cry in the middle of the night after dreaming about Haruto, he didn't hold back. Thankfully, he wasn't sleeping next to Jaehyuk that night so he wouldn't be questioned. He was able to cry, albeit muffled by his hand in order to not wake his roommate, and it was much better than having to hold back.

Holding your tears in was incredibly hard and he knew that, especially since he had been doing just that for the past few days whenever he talked to Haruto, and the latter would reply to him like he was just some sort of acquaintance. It felt like he wasn't even a friend, just someone that Haruto knew- but wasn't important to Haruto.

He didn't like that. Being treated like some sort of unimportant person was painful. And perhaps if it was someone else who treated him like that then he wouldn't be so hurt, but it was Haruto.

It was the person he loved. The person he wished was beside him right now to pat his back and tell him it was okay, the one he wanted to be there just to wipe his tears away and kiss his eyes softly. But reality as he knew it was, that would never happen.

He couldn't do anything but cry. He couldn't stop his tears from falling and he knew that the stylist would scold him for having swollen eyes tomorrow, but he still couldn't do it. So he just cried and cried, bawling his eyes out with his hands tightly clutching on his pillow.

He had been crying for a while when he heard a shuffle, and suddenly a hand was raised from below. Jaehyuk's outstretched hand was holding a pack of tissues and Jeongwoo would've laughed if he wasn't so busy crying. He took the tissues and used them, using as many as his tears required, and at one point he vaguely heard Jaehyuk say, "Don't cry too much or your eyes will be swollen," although he wasn't really sure since he had started drifting off to sleep upon his twelfth tissue paper.

The next he'd woken, he didn't know if it was already morning. But the light were still off so he knew that the others weren't awake yet, although that wasn't really what he had paid attention too.

Am I dreaming?

He had thought at first, except he soon realized it wasn't. Because if this was a dream, he'd already be crying. But he wasn't and he felt happy instead, so it was real.

This was real. Haruto was right in front of him, in his arms, laying beside him on the sofa in the living room.

He almost wanted to cry.

No, not because of sadness this time. It was happiness.

Haruto's warmth always made him feel happy. Even just a little brush against the back of their palms would brighten his mood, like a dog that got patted by his owner. The warmth that Haruto made him feel was special and unlike any other. The way that it spread from Haruto's hands towards his skin, slowly flowing into his heart and making him feel so calm, was unlike any other he had felt and will ever feel.

Even now, as Haruto held onto his wrist, encaged in his arms, he could still feel the cracks on his heart slowly heal. Indeed, the best medicine always came from the poison itself.

"Jeongwoo," he felt his softened heart melt into a puddle when Haruto murmured against his neck softly.

"Hm?"

The taller's eyes fluttered open and he gazed at Jeongwoo with a deep emotion that the other couldn't comprehend. "Jeongwoo," he called again.

"What's wrong, Haru?"

"My forehead hurts," he whispered. "You knocked your fist over my forehead when I was carrying you out of your room."

Eh? Jeongwoo blinked in surprise. Ah, of course. There was no way he would get here without being carried over.

"You carried me?" he asked softly, taking a hold of Haruto's wrists.

"Hm," the older hummed. "And you were heavier than me. I did good, didn't I?"

Why is he acting so cute? Jeongwoo didn't know. All of this felt unreal, and if it weren't for the warmth of Haruto's skin against his, he would have thought that he was only hallucinating. Right now, after all the heartbreak, he was holding the person he loved. As if nothing ever happened, like a child's fairy tale.

It all felt magical and Jeongwoo didn't want it to ever end.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, running his thumb over Haruto's forehead. "I didn't know. I was asleep."

Haruto's rosy lips broke into a gentle smile, "Don't worry. I was just teasing."

"Did it hurt?" Jeongwoo continued, eyes fixated on the slightly red spot.

"A bit."

And if you told him this was all a blissful dream, Haruto would believe it. After all, never would he have imagined that Jeongwoo would press his lips against his forehead, then puff a soft gust of air as if trying to make the almost nonexistent pain go away.

"It'll get better now."

Or so Jeongwoo had said, but Haruto was too preoccupied to listen.

He was too busy staring at the lips that were on his forehead just a few seconds ago. Jeongwoo stared at him in confusion and waved a hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

Jeongwoo failed.

Haruto pulled him in and crashed their lips together.