---✿---
"a gift," Eunchae whispered before leaning in for a kiss.
All of a sudden time stopped. Woonhak froze and it was like Eunchae was moving in slow motion. A wave of anxiety rushed through Woonhak like a cold breeze, he had no idea what to do.
Just as Eunchae was only centimetres away from crashing into Woonhak's unprepared lips, he turned his head to the side. "Um, I-" Woonhak stuttered as he stared at the floor beside him.
Eunchae was left with her lips still perked in a fish-like manner as she slowly stepped back. "Um, sorry." Eunchae apologized as she grabbed the strap of her bag and fixed her hair.
"No, um I just need to get going now, it's getting kind of late." Woonhak tried to change the topic while nervously scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh... Do you want a ride, my mom's going to pick me up." Eunchae offered as a last-ditch attempt to save the answered moment.
"No, it's ok, I'm just going to take the bus, my house is not far from here." Woonhak rejected her offer as he took a few steps back. "Bye Eunchae and thanks for today."
"Goodbye..." The confused girl said with a small defeated wave as she watched Woonhak speed walk away. "And I'm sorry." She whispered.
-----
By the time Woonhak got home the only person he wanted to see was Jaehyun. Jaehyun always knew the right thing to say or do. He would know how to handle this situation.
But what kind of situation is this? It's not that Woonhak isn't interested in Eunchae, he just wasn't ready to kiss her. But that also confused him more, it's not like kissing is rocket science, so why did he feel so uncertain, uneasy almost?
Just as the perplexed boy stumbled his way up the stairs, towards his room, he ran into his mother. "Oh, Woonnie you're home? How was your day?" Mrs Kim asked with a sincere smile.
"Yeah, um it was... Ok." Woonhak answered simply, not even knowing how he could possibly elaborate his thoughts to his mother at the moment.
"Just ok?" She asked with a raised eyebrow while only earning a small nod in response. "Alright, well Jaehyun has already gone to bed so you better go join him. It's still a school night, remember?" Mrs Kim smiled as she dismissed Woonhak's vague response and silence.
"I remember, good night Mom." Woonhak tried to smile back but it just came out as a stiff unnatural line.
"Goodnight sweetheart." His mother finally left leaving him alone in the upstairs hallway.
Woonhak then marched over to his bedroom and swung his door open. "Jaehyun, I'm back," The younger stated as he closed the door behind him and whipped off his school blazer he had been wearing all day.
Despite Woonhak being extra loud, Jaehyun didn't budge. He was already in his pyjamas, lying under the covers, facing the wall, in silence. Woonhak figured he must be sleeping but that didn't matter. Jaehyun gets enough sleep already, he can miss a few minutes to help the younger.
"Hey Jaehyun, wake up," Woonhak whispered softly as he gently rubbed the elder's shoulder. "Jaehyun wake up please, I need to talk to you," Woonhak asked again while seating himself beside him on the bed.
Although Jaehyun looked like he was out cold, he had actually been up the whole time. He wasn't able to fall asleep, how could he? His heart just got broken into a million pieces and he can't even be mad, he doesn't have the right to be.
"Jaehyun?" Woonhak tried one last time, his voice now sounding sadder, almost hopeless.
Jaehyun's heart almost broke again, if possible. He really didn't feel like talking to him right now but he couldn't even imagine leaving Woonhak in this state of distress. "Hmm..." He finally gave in.
A smile quickly grew on Woonhak's face as he trapped Jaehyun underneath him with a bear hug. "Oh Jaehyun, I need your help." The younger begged while squeezing him tighter.
Jaehyun gasped for air while being crushed. "Ok ok, what is it." He coughed.
Woonhak then sat up and pulled Jaehyun along with him. "So, obviously I was hanging out with Eunchae, right?"
"Yeah," Jaehyun sighed.
"And it was going fine, we went shopping, got something to eat and then we just chilled in a cafe. I thought that was it until we were going to say goodbye and she tried to kiss me." Woonhak explained in a nervous and quick tone.
"Tried?" Jaehyun's eyes widened as the words echoed in his head.
"Yes, but I dodged it and I don't know why." Woonhak dismissed, not realizing how important this was to Jaehyun.
"What?" The elder asked hoping he had miss heard him.
"I don't know why I didn't kiss Eunchae. I think I might like her, so why did I dodge it?" Woonhak questioned, he sought reassurance and answers but Jaehyun wasn't quite the guy for this one.
Every word that Woonhak added caused the dagger of heartbreak to go deeper and deeper into Jaehyun's chest. Although he was relieved that they hadn't actually kissed, it still hurt to hear that Woonhak may actually like her. It really was the last thing he wanted to hear.
"I don't know, something just felt off, I was just too nervous. I mean I've never kissed anyone before, so that would make sense." Woonhak continued to ramble on without a word back from Jaehyun.
Jaehyun slowly became paralyzed in silence. He could tell that his chin was two seconds away from quivering, his throat was burning, and his eyes were glossing. He knew he wouldn't be able to utter a single word without crying.
But as the elder was drowning in his thoughts, Woonhak's words caught his attention again. "Jaehyun, do you know anything about kissing." Woonhak's soft and innocent voice asked which immediately set fireworks off in Jaehyun's mind, an idea.
"Well, no but I can still help," Jaehyun muttered while slowly regaining confidence.
"Help? How?" The younger cocked his head to the side in curiosity.
"I could help you practice, if that would make you feel better," Jaehyun smirked before subtly licking his lips which went unnoticed by the ladder.
"Practice? Like a practice kiss?" Woonhak asked cluelessly.
"I mean sure, yeah." The elder tried to play it off as if that wasn't his initial intention.
Woonhak paused for a moment as he slowly looked down at Jaehyun's lips. They were plump and still slightly damp from Jaehyun previously licking them, enticing almost. "Um, ok," Woonhak whispered with his eyes still locked on the elder's lips.
Jaehyun without hesitation shuffled just a little closer to the younger as he stared deeply into his eyes. Meanwhile, Woonhak was still being hypnotized by the pair of lips in front of him. Tensions rose for both boys and although Woonhak wasn't quite able to pinpoint exactly what this tension was, Jaehyun was fully aware.
As their faces grew closer and closer and nerves heightened, their lips finally met. At first, the kiss was soft, just a mere touch of lips but after a few seconds there was movement, mostly on Jaehyun's side which then encouraged Woonhak to do the same. It was slow and gentle almost like they were trying to relish in the moment. But then Woonhak's hand slowly crept up to the nape of Jaehyun's neck, causing their kiss slightly deepened as they began to suck on each other's lips.
As the kiss began to come to a natural end Jaehyun pulled away, realizing he might have gotten a little too carried away. While Woonhak found himself slightly following Jaehyun's lips as they sadly departed his.
Their eyes fluttered open and both, unknowingly or not, felt some feeling of yearning. For Woonhak the sensation was strange, Jaehyun's lips felt tingly, warm, yet just right. But Jaehyun on the other hand felt conflicted, this is all he's ever wanted yet he still couldn't help feeling like he took advantage of the younger. He felt like he had taken advantage of his frantic state and naiveness.
"Jaehyun..." Woonhak whispered.
"Yeah." Jaehyun exhaled while trying to push his thoughts to the back of his mind.
"Was I good?" The younger asked as he innocently placed his hand on Jaehyun's thigh.
Jaehyun quickly looked at Woonhak's hand placement and then back to his face. "Yeah, you were." He sighed.
"Really?" Woonhak smiled, showing off his beautiful wide grin.
"Yeah." Jaehyun lightly laughed at his cute reaction and slight awkwardness.
"Thank you." The younger chirped before looping his arms around Jaehyun's shoulders, in a warm hug.
"All I did was kiss you." Jaehyun smiled as he tightened their hug by wrapping his arms around Woonhak's waist.
"And that's all I needed," Woonhak reassured.
---✿---