𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 : 𝐫𝐞𝐝
❝ follow the light with the pouring
shooting stars. i wanna be red. ❞
⁻ ᵗʰᵉ ʳᵒˢᵉ ⁻
ᵕ̈♡˳೫˚∗
4 years later
"why're you taking so long?" kevin asked, knocking on the bedroom door while fixing his tie with his free hand. "we're gonna be late at this rate!"
the door opened, changmin standing and smiling sheepishly at the boy before offering him a soft 'hi' paired with a wave of his hand.
having had enjoyed rooming together since their university days, the pair had decided to stay as they were, renting a place where the two of them could continue living in the same space albeit now, they each had their own room and no longer had to share a bathroom. but ever so often, changmin got on kevins' nerves, the canadian boy unsure of how to handle his best friend who at times felt like a little kid (which admittedly could come across as endearing sometimes).
"don't 'hi' me changmin. if we're late, you already know i'm the one who'll never hear the end of it since chanhee is so damn whipped for you and can't even bring himself to scold you," kevin said, putting changmin's hand down only for him to be back hugged by the latter. "yah! we need to move!" between each word, kevin had to take a breath, practically lugging changmin to the door.
"i'm excited!" changmin said, his voice ringing in kevins' ears with how changmin was still clinging onto kevin. "everyone's been so busy so it's been a while since we all met up!" kevin nodded in agreement, struggling to open their front door and trying to shove changmin off his back.
after he had gotten together with chanhee years ago, changmin surprisingly found his friend circle expanding from sangyeon who was in choir with chanhee (along with jacob who the boy already knew thanks to kevin), to sunwoo who had entered chanhee's dorm recklessly and asked what to do about his boyfriend (who changmin now knew as haknyeon).
and of course, there was younghoon.
changmin held no ill will towards the older and as time went by, he saw how much he truly adored chanhee (in a platonic way of course). instead of bearing any grudges, he was truly glad to have gotten known younghoon better over the years.
thinking about it all now made changmin smile at the memories, remembering how much time he had spent looking for that red rose boy only for him to appear right before his eyes and become a pivotal part of his past, present and hopefully, his future.
he remembered all the times he had cried and wondered whether or not he was good enough but chanhee always made him feel as though he was worth everything beautiful in the world and more. he remembered his neverending support, be it in university showcases or his first ever solo show on a small stage.
he had seen him through it all and just thinking about it made him feel the same butterflies he felt that day he saw the portrait of that boy with the red pin.
"you're thinking of chanhee again aren't you?" kevin teased, finally opening the door once changmin let go of him. changmin shook his head hurriedly, kevin smirking slightly at his friend before pushing him out the door and towards the lift. "then we should hurry so you can see him sooner right?"
changmin nodded, pressing the button for the first floor and smiling at the thought of seeing chanhee.
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chanhee stood in front of the closet, staring at all the clothes before turning around to a confused younghoon sitting on the bed. "so you're telling me you can't make a decision despite having all of these clothes?" younghoon shook his head, smiling sheepishly as chanhee glared at him. with a sigh, he took out different clothes from jackets to ties and tossed it towards the older who could barely catch them all. "i swear to god, what would you do without me kim younghoon?"
"you love me though," younghoon said, looking through chanhee's selection and laughing when the boy hit his shoulder. "i guess i'm just nervous to see hyunjae again after all this time."
"well who asked you to be so dense towards his feelings then dumbass," chanhee said, lying down on his bed and dodging the pillow tossed at him. "you have got to move on from tossing pillows hoon."
younghoon shrugged, putting on the jacket and looking at himself in the mirror, smiling when he caught sight of chanhee in the background stretching on his bed
after all that had happened between him and chanhee, his feelings had slowly died down but he found himself missing his best friend and so, one day, he came back to their shared dorm (after rooming with hyunjae for a while) with snacks in hand and asked chanhee to watch a movie on their projector. much to his surprise, chanhee had immediately hugged him and ever since then, the pair became the best of friends yet again.
"just talk it out with him - i'm sure he misses you," chanhee said, turning around to lie flat on his stomach. "but how did it not click sooner that he liked you?"
"you literally didn't know that changmin and i liked you for three years chanhee."
chanhee nodded his head, tossing younghoon's plushie back and forth between his hands. "touché but i'm not the one taking so long to pick a damn outfit," chanhee retorted before going to stand beside younghoon. "you look fine hoon and besides, if one of us should be nervous, isn't it supposed to be me?"
both their gazes drifted towards a small velvet box that sat on the bedside table. "who would've thought choi chanhee would ever do such a thing," younghoon said, placing an arm around chanhee. "it'll go well."
"say that to yourself too moron," chanhee said, smiling as he fixed younghoon's jacket collar. "and hey, i know i don't say it too much but-" chanhee grinned at him, fixing his hair slightly. "-thank you for staying by my side hoon."
younghoon smiled, ruffling chanhee's hair and making him frown immediately. "thank you too chanhee. you've helped me become a better person," younghoon replied.
chanhee hummed in response, letting a few seconds pass before breaking the moment and handing him a tie he had chosen. "now hurry up and get ready to go idiot."
if there was something that younghoon felt truly grateful for, it was the fact that he could say goodbye to his first love with a smile, bearing no grudges but instead finding hope that his true love was only a few stops away waiting at that same university that had brought them all together.
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"cheers!" they all yelled, glasses clinking and drops of alcohol spilling onto the table.
sat around a table in their old cafeteria were 12 boys who inevitably became friends over the years having had endured a struggling yet memorable part of their lives together. chanhee looked around, still shocked that despite him having had spent most of his time avoiding people or putting on a cold front, in the end, he was still surrounded by joyous laughter that gave him so much comfort and allowed him to feel at ease with himself.
or maybe, he felt at ease because ji changmin was right next to him, an arm around him even as they cheered and took a sip of their drinks.
"changmin, don't worry - none of us are stealing chanhee from you," hyunjun said, trying his best to stop his laugh at the sight of changmin holding onto chanhee so tightly. "you can keep him."
"still don't know why and how he managed to make you fall for him but-ow!" sunwoo yelled, chanhee glaring at him after kicking him from under the table. "did you see that? look at his violent tendencies-" haknyeon put a hand over his boyfriend's mouth, the others laughing at their antics.
chanhee can't bring himself to admit it but he missed all of them. he missed all of their jokes and teasing, their bright smiles and hearty laughs along with their dumb stories that at times, lacked any logic (but chanhee refrains himself from commenting on that).
"by the way, how'd you manage to book a whole cafeteria?" eric asked, looking pointedly at sangyeon. "don't tell me we broke in here and are now going to be arrested by the cops and-" juyeon finished making a wrap for him and shoved it into his mouth, immediately silencing him.
"everyone say thank you juyeon!" hyunjae said, the rest raising their glasses in thanks while eric munched on the wrap made by his loving boyfriend. "but how did we get in here?"
sangyeon shrugged. "i know a guy," he said nonchalantly, the whole table staring at him for a moment. "that sounded suspicious didn't it?"
"very much so," jacob said to which sangyeon nodded. "but how's everyone been?" and with that simple question, their conversation went for hours and chanhee, although he was listening, couldn't help but pay the most attention to changmin, the boy smiling and laughing so brightly that chanhee couldn't help but feel vicariously happy.
hours passed and slowly, the alcohol kicked in with sunwoo progressively acting more and more clingy towards haknyeon while kevin and jacob laughed in their own bubble, smiling as though they were on some advertisement.
on the other hand, sangyeon seemed immune to the effects of alcohol while hyunjun had gone live on instagram to talk to his fans. and as for younghoon and hyunjae, the pair went to sit in a far corner of the cafeteria in what chanhee assumed was for them to talk about their own feelings.
with everyone preoccupied, chanhee took the soju bottle from him which forced him to look his way. "what's wrong channie?" changmin asked, smiling and wrapping his arms around chanhee.
chanhee sighed and escaped the hug, passing a glass of water to changmin. "let's go for a walk ji," he suggested, changmin nodding along as he drank his water.
the moment they stepped foot outside, the cold air greeted them, changmin letting out a tiny yell at the sudden drop in temperature.
chanhee held out a hand to him, the dancer happily taking it in his as they walked along the relatively empty pathways (apart from one or two students loitering around).
"it feels weird to be back here after years had passed," chanhee started, changmin breathing out and watching his breath form clouds before him. "but it's a good weird."
after a while of walking, a comfortable silence fell upon them, both just enjoying the others' presence without needing words to convey how they felt until chanhee stopped in the middle of a square that the pair knew all too well.
changmin unlocked his fingers from chanhee as he looked around before pointing in a specific direction. "that's where i first fell for you," he said, slowly walking over to where kevin's art booth had been and remembering the moment he first saw that portrait of chanhee.
chanhee followed him, his hands behind his back as he smiled at the memory. "i came here every year just to get a picture drawn. it's a bit funny if you ask me."
changmin shook his head. "if it weren't for those pictures, i would've never pursued you." chanhee chuckled, changmin slapping him lightly on the arm. "it's true! back then, everyone saw you as this mysterious, cold and unapproachable person-"
"gee thanks," chanhee playfully interrupted, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance.
"-but i'm glad that you proved them all wrong."
chanhee raised an eyebrow, walking closer to changmin. "them? are you telling me you never viewed me in the same way as others did?"
"why would i? i don't know if you remember but back in first year, i did try to befriend you! but you always seemed to run away from crowds so i figured you might've been frightened," changmin said, locking eyes with chanhee. "so i wouldn't say that i ever saw you as cold nor unapproachable but rather like a little boy i wanted to protect."
when he had first entered university, chanhee had no intention of making new friends or having any sort of relationships all because of how he had been treated before. but he remembered how that anger he thought he had against people turned into fear and just thinking back on it then made him realise all the times people had tried to befriend him sooner.
"sorry i took so long to come around then ji," chanhee said, remembering how in their first day of orientation, this loud extroverted being kept inviting him for games and such but he always ignored him.
changmin shook his head. "you're here now so that's all that matters. but i do have a question though." chanhee hummed in response, waiting for him to continue speaking. "why do you always wear that pin?" he asked, pointing at the red rose pin on chanhee's scarf that had followed him throughout the years.
"it led you to me didn't it?" changmin laughed at his response before following him to sit down on a bench as they watched the night sky together.
he reached up and held the red rose pin that had inevitably led changmin to him, smiling at the sky and saying a silent thanks to his grandmother for sending him an angel. and as the years went by, the red rose pin had become something he associated not only with his grandmother, but with the boy sat beside him as well.
carefully, he took out the box from his jacket, realising that there was no better time than the present.
"hey ji." changmin, who had been watching the stars, turned to look at him and felt his breath hitch at the sight of choi chanhee down on one knee, a velvet red box in his hand. "i'm aware that a university proposal when we already graduated long ago isn't exactly all that romantic but i figured that it made more sense since this is where we first met and usually i don't ramble but point is ji-" he opened the box, changmin letting out a soft gasp, the red rose ring shining under the light from the lamps. "-will you marry me?"
changmin nodded repeatedly, kneeling down in front of him, tears falling down his face from pure shock as chanhee slid the ring onto his finger.
"i love you ji changmin. i loved you back then and i'll love you till the end," chanhee said, the pair now sat on the gravel floor of the square.
"that's unfair," changmin said, still in shock as tears continued to fall from his face. "you beat me to proposing and you also had to beat me in saying i love you first."
chanhee shrugged. "what can i say ji? i was always first in school too-"
changmin closed the gap between their faces, catching chanhee's lips with his and pulling him closer and refusing to let go. "i love you too choi chanhee," he said after pulling away from the kiss, his arms still wrapped around the boy.
and as they sat there in their own little world, both of them felt as though they had truly found their other half, the red roses they wore so different yet both carried promises they intend to keep forever and ever till death do them part.
THE END.
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there's an a/n next chapter!