the next day rolled around and doyoung couldn't deny that he was beyond excited for what awaited him in about half an hour. just the day before, yedam had asked the first year university student if he had wanted to spend time with the masked male after school today, and doyoung didn't give it a second thought before agreeing to the plan. the older was going to pick doyoung up from his dorm room very soon, and the young male couldn't wait until then.
the business management student didn't know what they were going to do, not that there was much they could do because of their silently agreed seven feet distance rule that was never set in stone, but doyoung didn't let that spoil his mood because as long as he got to spend time with the second year university student, he was content. simply just walking around in the park and having a conversation or just sitting in the library and reading a book would suffice for doyoung to be happy and content.
as doyoung was checking his appearance and making sure he had everything he needed, the door to his dorm room produced a knock from outside, telling the first year university student that someone was at the door.
the young boy thought that it was the masked male and was surprised to see that yedam had arrived earlier than they had planned. making his way over to the front door with a smile, the business management opened the door to his dorm room and greeted the person there.
"hel- oh hyung," doyoung cut off his greeting after seeing that it was his older brother. though it wasn't unexpected for seunghun to be at the door, the business management student was thinking and hoping that it was yedam. his want to be around the masked male grew with every passing day, causing moments like this to occur.
"what? you're not happy to see your older brother?" seunghun asked, inviting him inside his little brother's house. the younger of the two closed the door behind him while following the older to the interior of his living space and took a seat on the couch.
"no... i just thought you were someone else," doyoung admitted. he let out a sigh as he took out his phone to check the time. twenty five minutes left. he can wait. the second year university student could definitely wait.
seunghun looked at his younger brother up and down, noticing that he is wearing some nicer clothing than what he would usually wear and even put some effort into styling his hair a bit. putting his hand on his chin, the older of the two gave doyoung a knowing look. "are you going on a date? who's the lucky person?"
"i-i wouldn't call it a date..." doyoung said, feeling his cheeks turn hot and being shy at the thought of going on a date with yedam. he dropped his head, avoiding the knowing gaze for his brother.
"if it's not a date, then why are you being so shy?" seunghun asked his younger brother, who unknowingly had a small smile on his face.
"i only met him a month ago. it can't be a date," doyoung let out a small sigh following his words. he couldn't help but feel happy at the idea of going on a date with the second year university student, but he also felt sad when thinking that their current status would not be preferable to call a hang out, such as the one the two had planned for today, a date.
did he maybe want today to be a date between him and yedam? sure. was he upset when realizing that it wasn't? most definitely. but what could doyoung do about it? many people define a date as 'time spent between two people who have growing feelings for each other', but is that really what was going on between him and yedam? was there something more to their current relationship? and if there was, would the older even feel the same way? doyoung didn't know, and he didn't know if he wanted to find out.
"oh," seunghun dragged out the sound, almost song-like, in order to tease his younger brother. "so it's a boy~"
"hyungggg!" doyoung whined, not wanting to hear the teasing come from the third year university student. seunghun began letting out a heartfelt laugh, very obviously having fun teasing his brother.
"hey, i'm just messing with you. don't take it too seriously," the older said, sitting down on the couch next to his brother and placing a hand on his thigh. "just have a good time today."
the only thing the younger male could do was nod his head, telling his brother that he would have fun. doyoung fixed his gaze on a spot on the floor before letting his thoughts consume him, as they have been pretty often these past two weeks.
although doyoung was annoyed at the teasing coming from his older brother, the first year university student couldn't deny that he felt somewhat happy and jittery inside while listening to his brother. maybe it was just the effect from his excitement for what the day had planned for him, but deep down inside, doyoung knew there was something more to it, something that had been growing since the beginning.
not sure of what to make of what he was feeling, the business management student decided to do something that he usually wouldn't do. he decided to ask for help from his brother. there were two reasons why doyoung had to fight with himself for this decision: one, because he usually isn't someone to ask for help even if he desperately needs it, and two, because it was seunghun he was asking.
"hyung?
a small 'hm?' was heard coming from the older as he turned his head away from the outside scenery that could be seen from doyoung's dorm room to look at his younger brother, giving the first year university student his full attention.
"is... is it okay?"
although not one hundred percent sure about what he was talking about, seunghun gave an answer to his brother. "of course it is. it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl. we're all human in the end. love has no boundaries. okay, well, it has some boundaries, but gender isn't one of them. whether you turn out to be bi, gay, pan, queer, asexual, aromantic, whatever it may be, i'll still love and support you. you're still the same person regardless of your sexual orientation, and i'm not gonna judge you or hate you because of it."
a small smile formed on doyoung's lips, one that didn't go unnoticed by his older brother, because of his sweet words. but that wasn't what doyoung was talking about. "thanks, hyung. i love you too, but that wasn't what i was referring to."
a look of confusion became present on the third year university student's face as he heard his brother's words. "then what were you talking about?"
"i meant is it okay to feel this way for someone you met a little under a month ago? i mean... it's not like we barely know each other, but we're not that close either. i don't know if its right to feel this way," although doyoung wasn't one hundred percent sure about what exactly he was feeling, he knew it was something more than just pure interest in becoming friends with the masked male. the inability to pinpoint exactly the way he was feeling, however, was what caused the roller coaster of emotions to flood doyoung's veins every time he was near the older male.
honestly, the first year university student didn't have a clue as to why he was suddenly thinking about this. it wasn't like this had bothered him before regardless of whether or not the feelings were there, since being with yedam made his day everyday and gave him a reason to willingly get out of bed in the morning. but the thought of making today a date between him and yedam caused his emotions that were forced away to surface and affect the first year university student.
it wasn't like doyoung was new to the feeling; he's had several crushes back in high school. but there were things that made this time different from all those past crushes. for one, yedam was a guy, and it wasn't like gender really mattered to doyoung, but that was one thing that was different. another would be that the people doyoung liked in high school were people that he knew since middle school, but the first year university student only met yedam a month ago and he was starting to feel this way. and lastly, the business management student doesn't believe that he's been this attached to someone ever in his life, other than his family, of course. sure, he had a few crushes back in high school and liked them a lot, but doyoung could determine that none of them compared to yedam.
at first, it was just pure interest, since yedam seemed like a strange person to the younger. always wearing a mask and keeping a seven feet distance from him never failed to make doyoung more and more curious as to why the older was acting this way. he wanted to ask him several times as to why he was wearing a mask, or why he was keeping his distance, but held himself back from doing so every single time because he didn't want to make yedam uncomfortable.
maybe it was because of that exact reason. maybe it was the curiosity inside of doyoung that caused him to constantly chase after the older, one day hoping that the masked male would just reveal to him the reason behind his strange behavior. but the possibility of that possibility being possible was very slim because although doyoung was interested to know why yedam always wore a mask or why he kept his distance, he found himself unable to complain about it. despite the want to be physically closer to yedam and touch him, such as holding his hand or giving him a hug, talking to the older was enough to make the younger male's day, and it was the one thing the first year university student looked forward to everyday.
"i mean... its not a bad thing. if i'm thinking of what you mean, then it's not bad to like someone within a month of meeting them, especially if you see and talk to them everyday, which, with the way that you were talking just now, seems to be true in your case. and i also know that you prefer someone with a good personality rather than the way they look, so i'm not too worried about that, either. just... be aware of your limits. other than that, i don't think there's a problem of liking someone within a month."
listening to his brother's words carefully, the younger of the two nodded his head in understanding. knowing that it was okay to develop feelings for someone within a month helped relieve the growing worry inside doyoung's heart, and now, there was only one thing that needed to be cleared up: his exact feelings.
at that moment, a knock was heard from the door. doyoung's attention went from the floor to the front door of his dorm room so fast that anyone would find its celerity to be similar to the speed of light, and next thing he knew, the first year university student was standing in front of the door, his brother coming up behind him, as he twisted the door knob and opened the wooden block that separated his dorm room from the hallway.
as he pulled open the door, doyoung remained three feet from the door frame, yedam another four feet away, which helped establish their seven feet boundary between them. a smile formed on the younger's lips as he saw the eye smile of the masked male in front of him, and he noticed how the second year university student was wearing one of the masks that doyoung had made for him, the one with the four point stars in a diamond shape.
"hi, hyung," doyoung greeted first, showing a shy wave of his hand towards the other. the one in the hallway just waved back before quickly dropping his hand back to his side, obviously very shy and nervous. the only thing between the two of them now was silence as the two stole small glances at each other, looking everywhere but at each other.
at this moment, seunghun had arrived at the door and leaned against the door frame, snapping doyoung out of his trance. the oldest of the three looked back and forth between the two boys, seeing both of them being nervous and shy like this was the first time they were meeting with each other.
"so it is a date," seunghun suddenly said, causing himself to earn a slap in the arm from doyoung. the older brother grabbed the area of his arm where he was slapped and cried out in pain, complaining to the younger. "did you have to hit me that hard?"
"sorry, hyung!" doyoung exclaimed as he rubbed the area where he had hit his older brother a couple times before returning back to his original position. he took a look at the masked male in the hallway and then a look at the male inside his dorm room before clearing his throat.
"yedam hyung, this is my older brother, seunghun hyung. hyung, this is yedam hyung. he's in your faculty at school," the first year university student introduced as he gestured to each male while saying their name.
seunghun turned his head towards yedam, forgetting about the consistent pain in his arm for a moment as a smile formed on his lips. "you're in a few of my classes, aren't you?"
a nod from the masked male was all that was needed to confirm the oldest male's assertion. seunghun's smile grew bigger as he realized that the boy in the hallway was someone familiar to him, and he showed a small bow, yedam returning the gesture.
"take care of my little brother, will you?" seunghun asked for a favor while gesturing his head towards his younger brother, who just whined out his name in return. "he may seem weird, but he's someone you wouldn't want to lose."
"hyungggg!" doyoung complained for the nth time within the past hour. his older brother just let out a series of chuckles that echoed throughout the younger's room before focusing his attention back on the situation at hand.
"but seriously," the oldest of the three said as he pushed his younger brother out of the room. yedam moved to the side and backed away at least five steps, and this didn't go unnoticed by seunghun, but he passed it by. "have fun today. this is doyoung's first time going on a date."
"it's not a date!" the first year university student whined, annoyed at his brother's teasing and feeling embarrassed for yedam to witness this. but what could he do? there was nowhere for him to hide and he couldn't escape the teasing either, since it would only amplify if he had done anything else. with that being said, maybe doyoung shouldn't be complaining or whining as a response to the teasing if he wanted it to stop, but it was an instinct that he had.
"okay, okay... it's not a date," seunghun said. "but still, have fun."
"we will," doyoung said as he watched his older brother give a smile to the two of them and close the door to the business management student's dorm room. the said male turned around to face yedam, who was standing seven feet away from him in a shy position, his feet crossed and his body twisted slightly to the side.
silence filled up between the two of them once again as they had no idea of what to do now. doyoung thought that maybe they should go somewhere, but he was waiting for yedam to take the initiative. he thought that the masked male had something planned, which is why he asked the younger to hang out today, but that didn't seem to be the case. so, the first year university student just decided to take the initiative from here.
"should... we get going?" he suggested, causing the older to look at him. a nod was what the first year university student got as a reply, and with that, the two headed off to spend time together, walking side by side, yet still seven feet apart.
[DOYOUNG]