Chapter Text
Siwoo was bored out of his mind.
While the others were still half asleep, Siwoo found that he had nothing to do. He couldn’t go bother Jihoon considering their midlaner looked like he was about to depart to dreamland at any given moment. He decided to go easy on him and allowed him to go to the couch and try to get some shut eye, like the good hyung that he is.
With a sigh, Siwoo entered the waiting area after he took a walk outside. The early morning air was a bit chilly, but not cold enough to make him sleepy. If he was asked to choose, he’d rather fall asleep than be awake and do nothing.
He made his way back to where the rest of his team were and settled down on the floor in between Suhwan, who was busy scrolling through his phone, and Giin, who had his head leaned back against the wall with his eyes closed.
He didn’t know why his eyes wandered over to a particular spot. Out of the any other spots of the waiting area, he just had to look over at one of the couches where he knew Jihoon was occupying.
When he saw Sanghyeok plopped himself down on Jihoon’s lap, Siwoo wasn’t able to contain the loud gasp from deep within his chest, his hands instinctively shooting out to hold onto Suhwan’s and Giin’s arm to ground himself.
Startled, Giin awoke with wide eyes, “What? Are we being called?”
Suhwan blinked twice and looked up at their support for an answer. When he saw Siwoo’s wide eyes and opened mouth, he turned to their toplaner for answers but also found him staring dumbly at whatever their support was also looking at.
Gen.G’s youngest was about to follow their line of sight but jumped in surprise when Siwoo jolted back online and, with another yell, hurriedly covered Suhwan’s eyes.
“Hyung?”
“Hey Giin, did you know?” There was a slight edge in Siwoo’s tone as he turned to look Giin while still having his hand firmly plastered over Suhwan’s eyes.
“No? Why are you asking me?” Giin exclaimed, noticing that their botlaner was trying to remove the hand covering his eyes, “And why are you covering Suhwan’s eyes?
“Because!” Siwoo said as the only reason behind his actions, turning to regard their youngest, “Suhwan-ah, you were teammates with Jihoon last year, did you know?”
“Know about what, hyung?”
“That Sanghyeok hyung and Jihoon are an item??”
Suhwan schooled himself to not answer verbally and instead shook his head. Behind Siwoo’s hand, the young botlaner had his eyes widened in surprise as he pieced together the pieces in his head.
Siwoo’s nose twitches as he narrowed his eyes playfully, “there’s something you’re not telling me, Suhwan-ah.”
“Leave the poor kid alone,” Giin said softly as he reached over and took hold of Siwoo’s wrist, gently prying his hand off Suhwan’s eyes. He chuckled when he saw their youngest’s eyes sparkling with gratitude.
“But I need to know!” Siwoo whined and scratched the back of his head, grumbling something about results and a bet under his breath. With a determined look, Siwoo scrambled up to his feet, “I’m gonna go ask Minseok,” he informed them before practically sprinting off to the other side of the waiting area where the rest of the T1 players were lounging around.
Giin and Suhwan looked at each other. “Let him be,” Giin chuckled, glancing over at the two midlaners in question who were now sound asleep in each other’s arms. “They looked cute, though. I’m happy for them.” He hummed and resumed his earlier position before he was interrupted, closing his eyes again.
Suhwan blinked, looking back at the two midlaners and smiled softly. He was hesitant to tell their support earlier, but he did have an inkling before. Ever since Jihoon returned from the Asian Games, he noticed that Jihoon spent more time on his phone, smiling and laughing softly to himself while completely oblivious to the weird stares he got from their previous teammates.
Suhwan noted with amusement as he recalled a few instances back then when Jihoon would sneak out of their dorm and out of the building, spending long minutes standing outside their building while talking to someone on the phone. Well, at least now he knew why Jihoon was always in a good mood even since last year.
He had never seen Jihoon with such an endearingly soft look on his face before.
From another area in the vicinity, Geonbu and Heosu walked back into the waiting room with water bottles in hand. They were talking softly and catching up with one another, Geonbu’s jacket draped over Heosu’s shoulders for additional warmth.
Geonbu had sensitive hearing, so he immediately stopped in his tracks when he heard Siwoo’s sharp gasp no matter how far their support was.
“What is it?” Heosu asked, tilting his head in confusion when his mate had stopped walking.
Geonbu was about to speak but instead choked on his own words when he finally saw what he assumed to be the cause of Siwoo’s gasp.
“Geonbu?” When the jungler was still apparently at a loss of words, he took it upon himself to see what had happened. It didn’t take him long though, to see the two midlaners huddled up together and asleep.
Heosu’s opened water bottle would’ve slipped from his hand and spilled all over the floor had it not been for Geonbu quickly recovering from his shock and caught the bottle in time.
“Hyeonggyu!” Heosu turned to face the side where his team were staying, their support perking up in attention, “Cover Yonghyeok-ah’s eyes now!” He barked out, thankful that their support immediately heeded to his order without question and, with impressive speed, covered their youngest's eyes even though their young jungler was still napping.
“Was that needed?” Geonbu asked with a soft chuckle, handing over the water to his mate who thanked him and took a huge gulp.
“Better be safe than sorry, don’t want to scar that poor kid.” Heosu shook his head, glancing over at the couch before he looked at Geonbu with a questioning frown.
No words were needed in order for Geonbu to understand what his mate wanted to ask. “Nope, never knew a thing. Or even a hint.” Geonbu admitted with a shake of his head.
Heosu was more confused. Because by how domestic Sanghyeok and Jihoon looked, surely someone must have noticed, right?
“Nothing? Even in Jihoon’s scent?” Heosu inquired.
Geonbu thought about it for a moment then he shook his head again, “Nothing at all, Jihoon’s scent is usually strong. Maybe his scent masked Faker hyung’s?”
Heosu hummed, tapping his lips in thought. “Maybe,” he sighed and curled his free hand around Geonbu’s forearm and urged him to resume walking, “then again, Faker hyung does have a relatively weak scent.” He brought up casually.
The two continued walking over to where the rest of the Dplus KIA players were situated at.
“Wait,” Geonbu quickly turned to look at his mate, confused, “how do you know that he has a weak scent? I can’t even tell. Doesn’t he usually always wear scent blockers?”
“Oh, yeah he does.” Heosu nodded in agreement, pausing for a moment before he added, “But it tends wears off right? And we do tend to hang out together sometimes so…” he trailed off with another casual shrug as if he just hadn’t revealed that he’s one of the few people that hung around the Faker.
Geonbu’s mouth dropped open with no sound coming out of it.
“You what?? And you didn’t even tell me before?”
Heosu giggled softly, reaching up to lightly pat his now sulking alpha to console him.
Over at where the players of KT Rolster was at, their jungler Changhyun had just finished the last bite of his bread and dusted his hands clean of any crumbs. He stood up and made his way to fetch some drinks for their youngest, carefully stepping around the mess that are their bags sprawled all over the floor.
“Seungmin-ah, do you want—” Both Seungmin and even Hyukkyu looked over at their jungler when they heard him squawked and dropped two bottles.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Hyukkyu asked with a frown, already scanning their jungler to spot any possible discomfort or injury in sight, noticing how Changhyun quickly tore his gaze away from whatever he was looking at.
“No!” Changhyun squeaked and rushed over the two. Without wasting a moment, he held onto the chair that Seungmin was sitting and, using all his might, forcefully turned the chair so that Seungmin was left to face the wall instead.
“Hyung?” Seungmin asked, confused and startled. He was about to turn around but was stopped by Changhyun’s hands on his shoulder, keeping him facing the wall.
“Whatever you do, don’t turn around.” Changhyun said with a serious tone.
Hyukkyu was completely lost at what was currently happening. “Why? What happened?”
“That happened.” Changhyun jerked his head in a certain direction, to which Hyukkyu followed with his eyes. He spotted the sleeping Jihoon easily, but his eyebrow raised in surprise when he noticed that there was another person situated on Jihoon’s lap and was covered by the Gen.G midlaner’s jacket.
But one look at black pants with striped with red alongside the familiar red-winged logo of T1 peeking from the hem of Jihoon’s jacket, Hyukkyu knew why their jungler reacted the way that he did.
“Oh.” Hyukkyu breathed, realization dawned on him upon seeing the sight in question.
“Yes oh, hyung! Did Minseok ever tell you anything?” Changhyun asked while he looked around trying to find the support in question.
Hyukkyu hummed, tilted his head, and then shook. “I don’t think so. But I would assume it was something Minseok wouldn’t share without asking for Sanghyeok-ssi’s permission.” He replied slowly.
Hyukkyu noticed their own midlaner coming back and handed over the last piece of bread to him, smiling when he was thanked.
“What’s going on?” Boseong asked, equally confused as to why he returned to see their toplaner being made to face the wall and their jungler seemed to be freaking out.
“He saw Sanghyeok-ssi and Jihoon,” Hyukkyu supplied and gestured over to where the two midlaners were currently at.
Boseong turned around and looked, his lips parting in shock at the peaceful sight of Jihoon asleep with his cheek squished on Sanghyeok’s head, the latter’s face buried into the younger man’s neck with the Gen.G jacket pulled over the veteran’s lithe figure covering up to his ear.
They looked so…comfortable.
Although he didn’t have many interactions with Sanghyeok, Boseong had admired the veteran from afar for as long as he could remember. Even if he couldn’t see his face as of the moment, this might be the first time Boseong saw Sanghyeok looked so serene and at ease.
Boseong melted at the sight of the two midlaners and smiled softly, “They look contented, don’t they?” he asked.
Hyukkyu chuckled airily and nodded, “they do.” He replied, blinking when he saw Changhyun trying to stop their toplaner from turning around again to look. “Is that even necessary?” He asked with a light laughter.
Changhyun huffed and pouted, “We have to protect him, hyung!”
“They’re not doing anything improper.” Hyukkyu pointed out, amused.
“But he’s still young!” Changhyun exclaimed.
“They’re just sleeping though?” Boseong butted in.
“Doesn’t matter! Hyukkyu hyung, we need to go and have a chat with MInseok.” Changhyun declared with another huff, “Boseong hyung, make sure that Seungmin won’t look at them.” He added before he went over and dragged their botlaner out of his seat.
Hyukkyu laughed quietly and just allowed himself to be dragged over to see their good friend. He took another glance at the sleeping couple, smiling softly before he mumbled softly to himself, so quiet that not even Changhyun heard.
“It’s about time, Sanghyeok-ssi. I’m glad.”
Over at the area where some of the HLE players were playing around, Wangho caught the ball in his hands and laughed at how tired Hwanjoong looked and how breathless Hyeonjoon became.
“One more round?” Wangho wiggled his eyebrows and grinned widely, patting the ball in his hands, laughing again when Hyeonjoon immediately shook his head.
“We’re good, we’re good.” Hyeonjoon rasped, grabbing hold onto Hwanjoong’s shoulder as leverage while he collected himself.
Wangho chuckled and tucked the ball in between his forearm and hip, leaning down to grab an unopened bottle and went to offer it to their toplaner who accepted gratefully.
“Do you think we’ll finish early today?” Hwanjoong asked while stretching.
“I hope so.” Wangho sighed, already wanting to go home.
A moment of silence settled down around them before it was broken by the yelp that Hwanjoong released.
“Hey! What was that for?!” Their support scolded Hyeonjoon while he rubbed his arm where he was smacked. Their toplaner didn’t reply directly, instead he stuttered and made weird gestures with his hands, pointing at a certain direction.
Wangho and Hwanjoong finally looked over and gasped.
Jihoon and Sanghyeok? Asleep? Together?
“That’s…that’s Jihoon-ah and Sanghyeok hyung right??” Hwanjoong asked in disbelief, eyes wide.
Wangho made a strange sound and nodded, “Yeah…”
“Are they together? Wangho hyung, did you know?” Hyeonjoon asked in a rather high-pitched tone.
Wangho blinked and shook his head slowly, then a soft laughter bubbled out from his chest. “Well would you look at that,” he mumbled, grinning widely as he glanced at his two teammates, “now we know the reason why Jihoon kept smiling stupidly while on his phone after he came back from Hangzhou.” He snickered.
Hyeonjoon kept opening and closing his mouth, looking like a fish out of water. “Wha…when? How?”
“I can’t believe he actually manage to get through the iron wall.” Hwanjoong said in awe, blinking slowly again, “Though I might be dreaming, someone pinch me.”
Wangho didn’t even wait and proceeded to pinch their support, chuckling when the latter yelped. “What? You asked for it.”
HLE’s jungler looked back at his two former teammates, a fond smile growing on his face. He knew Sanghyeok could take care of himself, but he was immensely relieved to know that it was Jihoon who’s holding him like he was the most precious treasure to have ever existed.
At least he didn’t have to worry about them. He knew them both well enough that he could confidently say that everything would be alright between them.
That doesn’t mean it’ll stop him from teasing Sanghyeok about it at any given chance he got.
It took over five whole minutes for the shock to fade away from Juhyeon.
FearX’s midlaner was one of the few that immediately noticed what had happened. The moment he saw his former teammate and senior do something that was so unusual, Juhyeon’s mind buffered and left the DRX’s botlaner hanging from their conversation.
“Juhyeon-ah?” Jinseong spoke when the midlaner just stared forward blankly. He furrowed his brows, puzzled as to why Juhyeon looked like he saw the greatest puzzle to have ever been created.
When Jinseong looked as well, he reflexively squeezed his water bottle that it crunched under the pressure.
“Wait—” The DRX botlaner started and used his free hand to point at the sight, then quickly looked around to confirm his suspicions, then turned to look at Juhyeon who was still buffering.
He couldn’t deny the glaringly obvious T1 logo on those pants.
“Yeah,” Juhyeon choked out as the shock slowly subsided, taking off his glasses first to rub his eyes and wore them again, squinting. “Yeah, that’s…”
“Wow…” Jinseong breathed, slumping back into his chair. He looked over where the other members of T1 were and managed to lock gazes with their own botlaner.
Minhyung just gave him a grin and a shrug.
“Damn.” Jinseong added with a short laugh, “who would have thought that this day would come?”
They both shared a look and laughed together, shaking their heads.
“What a way to start the upcoming season too,” Juhyeon commented, shaking his hands in the air. “It would be interesting from here on out.”
“Hell yeah.”
They both stole another glance and smiled softly at the prospect that their former teammate had finally found someone. “He should take good care of Sanghyeok hyung,” Juhyeon mumbled under his breath.
Jinseong chuckled and nudged the FearX’s midlaner’s elbow, “Chill, I’m sure he would. But well, if he doesn’t…” he glanced over at the veteran’s teammates, “…Minhyung and Hyunjoon would take care of it, I guess.”
“Let’s not forget how scary Minseok hyung can be,” Juhyeon supplied as they both grinned.
“Juhyeon! Jinseong hyung!” The midlaner and botlaner turned to the direction of the voice and found KDF’s jungler approaching them with a wide grin.
As if he knew the reason behind the apparent excitement, Jinseong made a face and groaned, unenthusiastically leaning over to grab his bag on the side.
“I’m guessing that you also saw it, hyung?” Juhyeon asked.
“Hard not to, I was just a few feet away from them when it happened. Sanghyeok hyung had gotten so bold.” Woochan sighed exasperatedly, then he stuck his hand out at Jinseong with his palm wide open, the smug grin back.
If Juhyeon had already been confused from what he saw earlier, he’s even more confused at what’s happening right now.
“What’s this? Did you two make a bet?” He joked, but his laughter quickly died down when Jinseong shot him a defeated look and had proceeded to pull out his wallet. “No way! You really did?”
“It was way back when we hadn’t left yet,” Woochan explained, happily accepting the cash that was handed over to him and swiped his fingers over to count the bills.
“And the bet was about…Sanghyeok hyung’s love life?” Juhyeon guessed.
Jinseong sighed again but nodded anyway, “I placed my bet that Sanghyeok hyung wouldn’t get in a relationship while he’s still active. I mean, it makes sense, right? He always spends his most of his time playing.”
Woochan made a happy sound as he shoved his winnings into the pocket of his jacket, “And I had bet that hyung would get himself in a relationship while still active.” He then turned and grinned again at the DRX botlaner, “thank you for the food, hyung!” he chirped.
It made sense. If it was Juhyeon, he would have also placed his bet alongside Jinseong. For as long as he knew Sanghyeok, he couldn’t even recall a time where the veteran midlaner mentioned anything about a crush. The only one he knew was the one Sanghyeok had way back before his career as a progamer.
“Oh,” Juhyeon perked up from a memory and caught the attention of the other two, “Remember season opening? I was in Sanghyeok hyung’s team,” he started.
“Anything happened back then?”
“Well, after our match with Team BOT, I went to use the restroom but decided not to.” He scratched his nape shyly and chuckled, “It’s cause right outside the restroom, I saw the two of them—”
Juhyeon hadn’t finished his retelling of the events when Jinseong, who was drinking water at that moment, promptly spat out and coughed while Woochan’s laughter rang loudly in the back.
“Juhyeon stop, please spare me the details.” Jinseong cringed, wiping his mouth dry with his sleeve.
Juhyeon just wanted to tell them that all he saw was Sanghyeok being scented by Jihoon while they were both holding hands.
He could just continue with his retelling, but Juhyeon grinned unabashedly and nodded.
He’ll let Jinseong be haunted by whatever scenario he thought of.
Suddenly but unsurprisingly, Minseok found himself and his teammates swarmed by other players. He guessed it was expected, considering what their half-asleep Sanghyeok hyung did in public.
“So, it’s true then? They’re together?” Siwoo was the first to arrive at their spot, firing hundreds of questions in one breath.
Minseok was still unsure if he could say it, given that they weren’t told anything by their leader about having their relationship be known publicly or not. “Why don’t you ask them?” He replied instead, just to be safe.
Siwoo whined and pouted, “But they’re asleep.”
“Wake them up?” Minhyung suggested from the side.
Siwoo made a face, “No thanks. Jihoon gets cranky when we disturb his sleep, especially if he slept for only a few hours.” He grumbled and wrinkled his nose.
Minseok laughed softly and patted the Gen.G support’s shoulder to console him, “Just wait for them to wake up, hyung. What’s the rush?”
“I have some winnings to collect.” Siwoo said shamelessly.
Well then.
Minhyung and MInseok shared a look, contemplating about something.
“Well, all I could say is that they’re tighter now.” Minseok drawled, letting Siwoo do whatever he will with that very vague information.
Siwoo straightened up with a certain knowing glint in his eyes, “That’s more than enough, thanks!” he grins and was about to leave but paused as he considered asking about something else.
“I’ve heard rumors before, was Jihoon really sending death glares to other players who were getting too close to Sanghyeok hyung during the Asian Games?”
Minseok zipped his mouth shut, but Siwoo could see the corner of his mouth twitching and his eyes practically laughing.
“He always scented him afterwards when they were alone.” Wooje piped from the side, unknowingly slipped up something that was best kept between them.
“Wooje!” Minseok hissed, sighing deeply as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“What?” Wooje asked, genuinely confused.
“Oooh he’s a possessive one, ah youth.” Siwoo sighed dramatically and laughed alongside Minseok.
“Oh! Hyung, can I ask for your schedule?” Minseok suddenly asked after Hyunjoon had nudged his side.
Siwoo blinked and tilted his head, “Why?”
“Minhyungie and Hyunjoon wanted to interrogate him for a second time, if we both have a free day at the same time.”
“Second time?” Siwoo’s eyebrows raised to his hairline. He wasn’t sure whether he’d be amused at the fact that Jihoon had already been interrogated once, or whether to be slightly concerned that an interrogation was needed in the first place.
Oh well, the Gen.G support brushed off and laughed softly, already sending his thoughts and prayers to their midlaner. “I’ll forward it to you later, just tell me when and I’ll tell that to Jihoon. If you want, I’ll also give him the talk in advance.” He offered with an ok sign.
Minseok visibly beamed and nodded happily, “That would be great, thanks hyung!” he chirped and waved as the Gen.G support excused himself and left.
Not even three minutes had passed when they were once again visited by another group of players. This time, however, Minseok smiled brightly and hopped out of his mate’s arms.
“Hyukkyu hyung! Changhyun hyung!” Minseok greeted them with a warm hug.
“Minseok-ah, how are you doing?” Hyukkyu asked softly, smiling fondly at seeing the happy glow on his former support.
“A bit sleepy, but I’ll live. I’m guessing you two are here to ask about something?” Minseok got straight to the point, giggling upon seeing the conflicted face of KT’s jungler.
“Well, partially.” Changhyun admitted sheepishly, “But it’s not just me though! Hyukkyu hyung wanted to know too.”
One look at Hyukkyu’s face told Minseok that he was just dragged along.
“So…?” Changhyun trailed off, waiting for whatever answer he would be given.
Minseok was still unsure. He still didn’t want to announce something that should’ve first be announced by their hyung himself. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to outright dismiss his former teammates. He glanced at his mate, eyes sending silent signals for help.
Minhyung tried his best not to laugh and decided to help Minseok out, “Sorry, we’re not sure if we can say anything about it.” He told them softly, softening at how Minseok’s face lit up from his help.
“You can ask Jihoon hyung maybe?” Minseok added with a smile.
Changhyun groaned softly, but had expected the reply. He glanced at the two still sleeping midlaners from the other corner of the area. “Maybe, when he’s awake already or something.”
“Are they happy?” Hyukkyu suddenly asked, keeping his eyes trained on Minseok who looked slightly taken aback from the unexpected question.
Quickly shaking off the momentary shock, Minseok nodded firmly. “They really are, I could tell.” He assured him before he softens, smiling at the memory of how the two looked when Sanghyeok had first announced to them his desire to be mated to Jihoon.
Their Sanghyeok hyung looked like he had discovered that Jihoon created the entire universe just for him, carefully crafted with such tenderness and care, each space filled with love and adoration. All for him.
Minseok had seen how happy Sanghyeok looked before, but at that moment, that was when Sanghyeok shone with such brilliance that not even a thousand suns could outshine him.
“I’m glad they found each other,” Minseok added softly, almost a whisper, but Hyukkyu and Changhyun heard it nevertheless and smiled, sharing the same sentiment.
“Me too,” Hyukkyu spoke after a moment, nothing but the purest sincerity in his tone that was filled with fondness. “I’m happy for them.”
“Not even a hint?” HLE’s midlaner followed up once more.
“Did you two make a bet as well?” Minhyung asked, eyes flitted in between Geonwoo and DPlus KIA’s toplaner, the latter trying to control his excitement from bubbling out.
“Well…” Minhyung trailed off, making vague random gestures with his hand in the air, but eventually gestured over to where the two midlaners were.
For some reason, the two actually understood it.
Seonghoon shouted in joy as a wide grin broke through his face. Geonwoo sighed in defeat but smiled and thanked Minhyung before he was dragged off to where his bag was by an excited Seonghoon, the latter eager to receive his winnings.
“Everyone had a bet about Sanghyeok hyung’s love life?” Hyunjoon chimed in, a hint of wonder his voice before he groans, “We should’ve made a bet as well.” He jokingly added.
But when both Minseok and Wooje fell silent, Hyunjoon straightened up and gawked at his mate. “Wait, did you two…when?” he spluttered in disbelief.
Minhyung regarded his mate with a raised brow, but instantly folded and gave a fond smile when Minseok quickly leaned in to kiss his cheek and flashed him an innocent smile.
“Don’t ignore me, Choi Wooje!”
Sanghyeok slowly rubbed his face against the source of warm comfort and inhaled deeply, smiling to himself at the rush of soothing freshness with a drop of tang that filled his senses and embedded itself to the very core of his soul. It felt like inhaling the first refreshing summer breeze that carries with it an essence of vibrancy.
The back of his neck tickled from the blow of a breeze, but the touch felt more tangible than a temporary puff of air. It was light, but left traces of warmth that seeped into Sanghyeok’s skin. He found himself longing for it, a part of his soul aching for another contact.
Sanghyeok squeezed his eyes shut, a shiver racking through his body, his spine tingling. How odd. The pleasant warmth was still enveloping him, so where did the mysterious shiver came from?
A soft huff of breath against his left ear.
A whisper.
Sanghyeok relaxed when he felt the same breeze blew past him again, this time stronger as his hair ruffled from its intensity.
There was that whisper again. Right behind him. Calling his name.
Sanghyeok turned his head in response, his forehead creasing into a frown. It sounded…familiar.
The breeze came back, this time releasing a burst of fresh oranges and the subtle yet sweet undertones of amber and wood, with a hint of creamy spice
‘Sanghyeok hyung.’
There it was again. Sanghyeok knew that from somewhere. He followed the voice slowly, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled more of the alluring scent.
Another breeze blew past him. A soft warmth bloomed on his cheek.
‘Wake up.’
Wake up? Sanghyeok frowned in confusion, still blindly following the voice and the scent. Was he asleep?
Another warmth bloomed on his skin, this time on his nose. Sanghyeok instinctively scrunched his nose and rubbed it. The next warmth that bloomed came instantaneously, bursting from his lips.
Sanghyeok gasped at the huff of air that caressed his lips, his senses heightened as he was once again encased in the familiar scent.
“Sanghyeok hyung.”
The older man hummed quietly as he slowly awoke, blinking blearing and waiting until his vision focused on the face in front of him. But even with his vision still blurred with sleep, Sanghyeok smiled sleepily when he recognized just who he was looking at before he yawned softly, pressing his face against the warm slender neck as he relished in the affection of the man holding him.
“Did you sleep well?” Jihoon asked in a quiet voice, chuckling at the way Sanghyeok slowly stretched his arms and legs while yawning wide. He waited patiently until his mate slowly gathered his bearings before he handed him his glasses.
“I did, thank you.” Sanghyeok took his glasses with a smile and wore them. He noticed that there were significantly less players around them. Had he slept for that long?
“I think you’ll be up soon, hyung. They had called Minseok for makeup earlier.” Jihoon told him as he took off his jacket that was covering the older man. He exhaled when Sanghyeok got up from his lap, a buzzing feel had spiked through his legs. He waited for a moment to regain the feeling in his legs before he stood up.
“Did your legs fall asleep?” Sanghyeok inquired with a frown, “I apologize, I must have been heavy.”
Jihoon snorted softly, resisting the urge to pull him in and shower his face with kisses so that the frown would disappear. Instead, he gently brushed and tidied Sanghyeok’s bangs. “Don’t be ridiculous, hyung, you were as light as a cloud could be.” He told him sincerely, staring deep into his eyes.
Sanghyeok tore their gaze and looked down at the floor, fidgeting slightly as he felt his cheeks heat up from those words.
Jihoon laughed, immensely endeared at how flustered his mate would become despite the fact that they had exchanged more intimate words before. With the way Sanghyeok continued to react, Jihoon was undoubtedly certain that he’d only fall deeper and deeper in love with the beautiful man that he had ever came to knew.
“You’re staring,” Jihoon snapped out of his sappy monologue and was welcomed by the adoring curl of Sanghyeok’s lips and oh god he was so in love.
“How can I not stare, hyung? You’re so beautiful that I want to kiss you.” Jihoon breathed so earnestly that Sanghyeok melted and took a step closer to him, already reaching out.
He would have pulled his mate in for a hug and quite possibly a kiss had it not been for the obnoxious pretend cough that came from behind.
“You two are so disgustingly sappy that even Wooje would rather go to the gym than hang out with you guys.” Minseok stated in a flat tone, shaking his head and had his hands on his hips again. His appearance brighter and more alive due to the makeup applied.
“They’re still in their own little world!” Came a joyous holler from Wangho, who laughed brightly upon seeing the embarrassed flush coloring Sanghyeok’s face again. “Congratulations, hyung and Jihoon! Do invite me to your wedding.” He teased with a wink, waving at them before he moved to follow his teammates out, the latter also shooting thumbs up and yelling congratulations to the two midlaners.
Sanghyeok’s ears flushed bright red while Jihoon merely laughed, the latter stepping closer to his mate and rested his palm on the small of Sanghyeok’s back. “We will, hyung!” He called out to the retreating HLE jungler, who replied with a thumbs up from afar.
Jihoon then grinned at T1’s support, his chest puffed out with pride. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. He’s just so beautiful.” He confessed, meeting Sanghyeok’s shy gaze as he winked at him. Sanghyeok hurriedly looked away, but had reached back to lightly pinch his mate’s arm.
Minseok made a face and rolled his eyes, “Okay lovebirds, save your mushy declarations for later, we have to go get ready.” He told them with a grin. He looked at their leader with an inquiring look.
Sanghyeok smiled fondly at his support and nodded, “I’ll see you later, Jihoon-ah.” He turned to look at his mate and was about to lower his head but had stopped, suddenly conscious as to where they were.
Minseok threw his hands up in exasperation, “You two already cuddled in public, hyung, just go do your thing. I’ll wait for you by the door. Oh, and Hyukkyu hyung said congratulations to you two. Now, hurry up!” He made a dismissive gesture with his hand but was smiling softly at the two before he left them alone.
“He’s right, you know.” Jihoon chuckled, his hands automatically finding his mate’s as he stepped closer and leaned down to whisper right into his ear, the corner of his lips twitched up into a smirk when he heard Sanghyeok inhaled sharply and shivered. “I’ve wanted to do this in public for a long time, hyung, especially where others are actually watching.”
Sanghyeok’s breath hitched as his eyelids fluttered closed. He exhaled shakily but firmly held his hands back and nodded. “Then do it.” He whispered back, eagerly waiting.
Jihoon smiled softly and happily scented his mate as he produced deep rumbles from his chest to beautifully complement the soft purrs of Sanghyeok’s. The younger man promptly released his mate’s hands in favor of grabbing hold onto his waist as he leaned down further and proceeded to nip and lick at Sanghyeok’s neck, chuckling lowly when he felt his mate trembled and whined.
“Not here…” Sanghyeok stated breathlessly, but judging from the way his hands reached out to grab hold onto Jihoon’s jersey and weakly tugged him closer, Jihoon knew that Sanghyeok was secretly enjoying the additional affection he was showered with.
From a distance, Jihoon could already hear the teasing yells coming from his own teammate. And from how loud they — especially their support — were, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if the other remaining players would have witnessed their affectionate display.
Jihoon didn’t care about the upcoming teasing and endless onslaught of questions that he was sure he would be getting once he was left alone with his team.
Sanghyeok was happy and contented. Everything else had paled in comparison.