Archive of Our Own ^beta

San should have known that he was, in fact, doomed from the start when he first decided to open the metaphorical door to let a certain Jeong Yunho into his life.

“You’re way too much of a fucking romantist to do something like this, San-ah,” Wooyoung, ultimate menace and unfortunately, San’s longtime best friend, had warned him just before he decided to send that first, fateful text message replying to Yunho’s hello.

“I think I can be the judge of what might work best for me, Wooyoung-ah,” San had rebutted, not at all bothering to look up from his phone as he typed a hasty reply to Yunho.

Wooyoung huffs, brushing his long fringe from his face as he looks witheringly at his best friend, possibly toss himself into a pit he might not be able to get out of. Or possibly might have to be dragged out, kicking and screaming. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Wooyoung says, feeling a lot like Cassandra from their Greek mythology arc of literature class of distant memory. “Just this once I’m going to be nice, and not say I won’t be there if you come crying into my arms over lover boy.”

“We’ve barely even spoken, Wooyoung-ah,” San sighs, setting his phone down. “For all we know he’s just another one of those fuckboys trawling yet another dating app. But I appreciate the gesture nonetheless,” he shrugs with an eyebrow raised at his best friend.

If only San knew what he’d known then.

On text, at least, Yunho seems okay. Normal. No creepy vibes so far, thankfully. And also likely not a catfish or scam bot. Just another guy living in Seoul trying to make his own living. Yunho doesn’t reveal too much just yet, only that he works in a production company that brings artists in for concerts. San reciprocates in kind, revealing his own day job as a taekwondo instructor for the academy owned and run by his father. It’s normal, ordinary conversation - the first stage where both parties suss each other out even before meeting. A modern courtship ritual to weed out anything so that neither party’s time is wasted.

So far, so good, San is inclined to think. Yunho isn’t a terrible texter by any means - though with the nature of his job he does have his peak periods and so sometimes there would be the inevitable lapse. It doesn’t faze San, though, him being busy with work at the academy as well. San eventually comes to learn a few things about Yunho:

1. Yunho’s hometown is Gwangju,

2. He used to dance semi-professionally;

3. And, perhaps the most intriguing fact about him so far, he’s a proudly self-proclaimed dog person, and his nickname is Golden Retriever.

Following the revelation of those facts, San had gone back to view Yunho’s profile in the app again, this time paying closer attention to the photos he’d uploaded. Yunho has wide, bright eyes, and soft looking brunette hair - the Golden Retriever nickname makes a lot more sense in context now, San thinks. San, of course, finds Yunho easy on the eyes too, if not he wouldn’t have been investing his precious time for nothing.

They keep up their conversations, and over time, San finds himself enjoying getting to know Yunho a little more each day. He looks forward to their conversations, a little light shed on his dreary daily commute in the packed subway cabins. San can’t help but wonder at times if Yunho is merely biding his time, merely finding something to amuse him in the in betweens of work, yet he hopes that he makes Yunho’s day somehow.

Yunho, however, is the one to first place a spark to the wick. He sends what is best described as a quasi suggestive selfie, with a singular smiling emoji. San raises an eyebrow when he first gets the message, at first wondering if Yunho might possibly have sent it to the wrong person, or that he was just casting his net wide to see which of his prospects on the app would respond first.

So San takes his time. Goes about his day, goes about his usual routine. He even takes his time while on his weekly grocery run, making a thirty minute thing a nearly hour long affair. But it’s when he’s grabbing a scoop of ice cream at the Baskin Robbins, that his phone vibrates again. Odd, he thinks, not expecting anyone to contact him at this hour. Of all people, the last person he’d expected was to see Yunho’s name pop up on his notifications tab. He slides his phone open, and there is only a singular winking emoji just below his most recent message. San blinks down at his phone, not really sure what to do next.

His best (or worst) prospect would be to text his best friend, gremlin that he was, but then again Wooyoung was his best chance to navigate the intricacies of someone you’re getting to know on a dating app.

San screenshots the conversation - he knows that the app grants its users sufficient privacy that he wouldn’t need to worry about Yunho knowing that he’s screenshotted what they’ve said; sending it to Wooyoung who replies in a matter of minutes. As though he isn’t knee deep in accounts for his brand clients.

you’re kidding, Wooyoung types, peppering his sentence with an abundance of shocked face emojis. that is a classic thirst trap if i’ve ever seen one. San nearly drops his ice cream in the middle of the mall while texting Wooyoung. He goes back to perceive Yunho’s photo. i would have expected more skin, is what San says, based on his limited knowledge of the subject despite Wooyoung basically pleading with him to upload some on his profile.

he’s testing the waters, duh, Wooyoung says in reply. Even though they’re many streets away, San thinks he can see Wooyoung rolling his eyes at him. he seems like a p decent dude, prob doesn’t wna scare u off.

San’s forehead creases into a frown as he reads the conversation, rendered deeper in thought. wat shld i do then? he asks, clearly not sure what to do next. This wasn’t an installment of that stupid Episode game - Wooyoung had made him download it once when it was the rage for the hell of it - where he could choose the better option albeit it costing him diamonds.

send one back, duh!!! Wooyoung says. He attaches a frustrated looking GIF to make known his feelings. San presses his lips into a thin line. He glances around him, thinking that it would be best for him to take a thirst trap probably when he was at home. Before he walks off, however, his phone buzzes again. send him one of your gym selfies!

those are for reference, idiot, San retorts. It is true that he has a folder in his camera roll where he’s been monitoring his fitness progress, but none of those have seen the light of day.

well, do you wanna get the guy or not, Wooyoung sends back in defiance.

San sighs, switching from his KakaoTalk conversation with Wooyoung back to the app where Yunho’s conversation is as yet not attended to. San clicks on the paper clip icon, before scrolling through his camera roll, past pictures of his friends, family, and his cat Byeol to find his gym selfie folder. He eventually settles on one where he’s just got a black tank top and black shorts on. San wrinkles his nose, wondering if it’s a bit uppity for him, but again, he can already hear Wooyoung nagging him, so he sends it before he can persuade himself to change his mind.

This time, however, Yunho’s reply is not close to immediate. San, for some inexplicable reason, feels some corner of his subconscious deflate a little. He wonders now if Yunho didn’t like the photo, or if it were really just too much. Maybe Yunho’s prior impression of him had shifted as a result of him sending the gym selfie. Oh well, San thinks to himself. Maybe he should start to look for other options, even though truth be told Yunho had started to indeed grow on him.

San continues with his day with as much normalcy as he can muster, though it’s kind of difficult for him to completely feign being totally fine. He channels the mild disappointment into productivity, clearing up his apartment after amassing a pile of boxes from a more recent online store sale, and taking care of stuff concerning Byeol he’d left unattended for a bit.

But fate - or whatever unspoken force has its hand in any kind of cosmic occurrence - appears to have other plans for San in mind. He’s giving his apartment a good vacuuming, when he feels his phone vibrate in the pocket of his faded gray sweatpants. He’s inclined to believe that it’s Wooyoung, checking to see if his suggested scheme worked. San is all too ready to tell Wooyoung that it was probably time to raise the metaphorical white flag, when his phone nearly slips out from his hand, sweaty from a day of manual housework.

1 new unread notification [Firestarter]: Jeong Yunho

This must be a joke, San thinks, dabbing a hand at his sweaty brow. He sets aside the vacuum, lowering himself to sit on the floor with a labored grunt as he slides the notification to have a look.

sorry, Yunho’s message starts, and San is really steering himself for the worst when Yunho says, i had to lie down for a few hours bc of how good looking you are.

That line, as rather cliched as it seems, elicits a relaxed, relieved laugh from San, whose worries from earlier completely dissipate. It also makes his chest inflate a little in pride, the kind of effect that that picture could have on someone as intriguing as Yunho.

ha, San sends back without hesitating, not at all caring about Wooyoung’s silly little rules about waiting to reply and all those norms. glad you did ;)

is there more where that came from? Yunho asks, with the eyeball emoji as punctuation. San’s grin widens, and he knows exactly what he’s going to say, and what he wants next.

sure, San starts to type. lmk when - down anytime.

When Yunho sends his reply - a longer one this time with some more details, San tosses his head back, laughing. He’s already half prepared to shove this in Wooyoung’s face. But maybe not before he savors it for a moment longer.

Yunho’s idea for their first meeting is at one of the more popular nighttime joints with an American dive bar concept, hidden in a corner of Itaewon. It’s actually quite a novel idea - San had looked up the place on Naver, and he quite liked the vibes based on the user uploaded images. The reviews were pretty good too - it seemed like there were a steady stream of regulars who mostly frequented the place for the great drinks, the chill and cosy atmosphere, as well as to shoot some low-pressure pool.

An interesting first date choice, San thinks. The last time he’d gone on one was almost ancient history by now, but it’s interesting that he can’t seem to recall the details of that one.

San makes sure to get there early, and he’s dressed very casually - a faded, fitting shirt, with a leather jacket as the weather was cooling down, along with his favorite pair of jeans he’d gotten while out with Wooyoung one day. Of course, his best friend had insisted on evaluating his outfit before San had stepped foot out of his apartment. Thankfully, Wooyoung had given him many thumbs up and told him to go get some. San isn’t entirely sure how the night would pan out - though he wouldn’t exactly mind it that much if the night headed in that sort of direction.

When he gets there, though, he doesn’t expect Jeong Yunho to already be there, and he’s got a table for them. As the front staff beckons San inside, Yunho looks up from his phone, waving in San’s direction with a wide smile. San knows that Yunho has a lovely smile, but to see it in person, in the dimly lit warm lighting of the bar, it hits differently somehow.

“Hey, San-ssi,” Yunho says as San takes a seat at the booth. “You made it.”

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long,” San says, scratching the back of his head a little sheepishly.

Yunho just chuckles - a warm, bass sound which San finds is something else that might grow on him. “Not at all. I wanted to be early to calm my nerves.”

Interesting, San thinks, a hint of wariness at the front of his thoughts. The feeling is mutual. Though he can’t seem to comprehend why someone the likes of Jeong Yunho with his height, looks and wit might feel that way.

“Have you ordered?” San asks, deciding to lighten the conversation a little.

“Yeah, just some things to share, but I don’t know what kind of drinks you liked, so I thought I should wait till you got here,” Yunho says with a slow nod as he slides the menu across the table to San. San’s mind unhelpfully supplies the thought that Yunho has nice hands. Nice veiny hands and long fingers.

San clears his throat. “I think I should also confess something,” he says rather uneasily and it makes Yunho’s eyes widen, though it appears like an expression of concern rather than one of judgement. “I’m actually quite a lightweight drinker myself.”

“Oh, I see,” Yunho nods slowly, lacing his hands together. “I mean, they have mocktails as well, I scanned through the menu before you came.”

Hmm, San thinks. Maybe that deserves half a point awarded in Yunho’s favor. San simply smiles, eyes crinkling. “It’s alright, maybe I’ll just get a light lager.”

“Sure,” Yunho says and he’s already waving his long arm to get the server’s attention. The server bounds over to their table, and Yunho actually helps San order, even before San can open his mouth to speak.

Another half a point to Jeong Yunho, San thinks, smiling to himself.

As the sharing plates arrive, Yunho and San start to share a little more about their lives, the setting affording them that kind of privacy. The drinks also help them to relax, and as San carefully sips his lager, pacing himself, he does find himself tensing less and less. The removal of the metaphorical digital wall helps, too. Now that they’ve at last met in real life, it’s much easier to read tone, choice of words, and expressions.

San learns that like himself, Yunho isn’t an only child - though he is the older sibling, a contrast to San being the younger sibling of the family. He learns that Yunho’s younger brother is named Gunho, and though Yunho doesn’t say too much there is genuine affection there, San knows as much. San tells Yunho about his older sister Haneul, who he kind of misses since she moved out after getting married. And of course, San feels it utterly necessary to show off his pride and joy - Byeol, his Siamese cat.

“She’s a bit of an old girl now,” San says, eyes filled with mirth as he thumbs through the album in his camera roll to show Yunho. “But she’s the center of my universe,” he says fondly.

Yunho grins at him, taking a sip of his beer. “I was surprised you didn’t post yourself cuddling her or something on the app. Usually people love it when that side of a person is shown.”

“Ah,” San mutters. “I didn’t really want to post so many pictures of myself - I’m a bit shy.”

“You? Shy? Really?” Yunho chuckles, whipping out his phone to show their prior conversation where San had sent him that gym selfie.

“Hey, it’s true,” San rebuts with a slight pout. “I had to steel myself before sending it.”

“Ah well, and here I thought you were impossibly perfect. It’s quite comforting to know you’re human like the rest of us,” Yunho leans back onto his seat, humor in his eyes.

San wants to say that his sentiment mirrors Yunho’s, but before he can say anything, Yunho is halfway out of his seat, expression as though waiting for San. “C’mon, San-ssi,” Yunho says lightly. “Let’s check out those raved about pool tables.”

When San was in high school back in Namhae, he vaguely remembers harboring a secret crush on this one senior in his taekwondo club. The club members had gotten close enough that they would hang out outside of school hours - either playing darts, hitting up the PC bang, or playing pool at one of those tiny upper floor joints in one of the old buildings downtown.

Somehow being here at this bar with Yunho takes him back to that time. That taekwondo club senior’s face has by now become a long faded memory, but the feeling is somewhat parallel. Yunho appears to know his way round, his focus razor sharp as he moves around the table. San is more keen to observe him, not really focusing on his own shots.

“Been a long time since you played?” Yunho asks as he aims his cue stick at one of the balls on the table.

San snaps out of his momentary daze, looking at Yunho. “Yeah. High school, so it’s been ages.”

Yunho looks up at him from where he’s bent over the table, smiling, and in that posture it does not help San’s quickly devolving imagination. “Need me to give you a refresher?”

“Oh, I think I’m all good, just -” San’s excuse is quickly refuted when Yunho goes over to his side of the table, asking San for permission first - ever the gentleman he was proving himself to be - before he attempts to help San with his stance. San feels his breath catch in his throat when he feels Yunho’s hand graze over his bicep a little bit longer than what might be needed. But he finds he doesn’t mind it.

Yunho’s words dissolve like white noise into the background, San’s own focus having shifted to the feeling of Yunho’s hands on him.

“Hey, San-ssi, hey,” Yunho gently taps him on the shoulder, San nearly falling over at the sudden contact. “You good there? You seemed zoned out for a moment.”

“Oh. Um. Sorry, just spaced out for a bit. Let me go have a sip of my drink real quick,” San raises a hand slightly, assuring Yunho that as much as he was tempted to go hide in the bathroom or run away, he had no real thought of doing so.

San pretty much sprints back to their table, taking a longer swig of his beer. But just as he is about to turn back to rejoin Yunho at the pool table, he feels himself caged by two slender, familiar looking arms.

“Actually, I was just thinking - what if we just got out of here? After I settle our tab, of course,” Yunho says, head tilted with a smirk.

San beams.

They wind up at San’s apartment, since it technically was nearer to the bar and San feels alright about letting Yunho in since he’d recently done a pretty thorough cleaning up of the house. San opens the door gingerly, since Byeol had her unpredictable moments, and he certainly didn’t want to squash her with the door. San steps inside first, switching on the lights. Sure enough, Byeol is there, seated on the couch watching the two of them with a kind of distant curiosity. She waves her tail around in some kind of regal greeting.

“That’s her,” San says to Yunho. “Byeol.”

“Hey, Byeol,” Yunho says, waving at her with his wide smile.

And she actually meows, to San’s great surprise. At a stranger she’s just met. This was not what Byeol was usually like at all. But maybe, San thinks, perhaps it was just a one-off thing. He decides not to think much of it.

He doesn’t have to do too much thinking after, when he finds himself gently pushed against the wall outside his bedroom, Yunho threading his fingers through his own. “So -” Yunho starts, breath warm against San’s cheek. “How about we take this inside?” he murmurs, the corner of his lips quipping up into a half smile.

San nods enthusiastically.

He’s pushed down onto the bed, Yunho looming over him as his lips run hot over his jawline, his lips, and then down to his neck. “Oh, you’ve got a mole here.” Yunho’s voice is a pleasant vibration reverbing through his skin, San thinks. Yunho’s mouth travels down, and those hands of his are put to very good use as he lifts the hem of San’s shirt, gently tugging it over his head.

“Wow,” Yunho leans upward, his legs bracketing San’s body as he takes in the sight of the man below him. “This is -”

San covers his face, but he soon feels his hands being gently tugged away. “Hey. Nothing to be shy about here. Just admiring the view,” Yunho says somewhat salaciously as his hand travels down San’s chest, tracing shamelessly over the line of his torso and abs.

“Your workout routine must be serious business,” Yunho remarks as he slides his fingers inside the waistband of San’s briefs. San helps Yunho to tug down his jeans, letting out a muffled gasp when Yunho palms at the front of his underwear. There’s a damp spot forming on the fabric, slowly but surely. “Someone’s excited already, hmm,” Yunho chuckles as he tugs down San’s underwear, tossing it to the floor.

“Don’t - ah - tease -” San mumbles, covering his eyes with his arm as he feels the warmth of Yunho’s breath ghosting over his skin. Yunho hovers over for a moment before San tilts his head back on the mattress, feeling Yunho’s lips press onto the tip of his cock teasingly.

“I won’t, baby,” Yunho pulls away slightly after some kittenish licks. “I’ll make you feel good, yeah.” San warms at the pet name, and sure, he knows that both of them had the exact same phrase in black and white on their profiles - no frills - but he cannot help himself. Alright, so maybe Wooyoung kind of had a point when he called San a romanticist. But thinking is something that is quickly cast outside the window when Yunho starts to properly suck San off. His hand cups San’s balls as his mouth slides up and down San’s length, San unable to help himself as he slides a hand to lightly grip Yunho’s hair.

Yunho giggles, shifting away slightly so he could be heard. “You can grip harder, baby,” Yunho whispers, before he continues getting San off with his mouth and hand. San whimpers.

This just might be the closest thing to heaven, San thinks as he tightens his grip in Yunho’s hair, fingers rubbing onto Yunho’s scalp. Yunho’s mouth makes the wettest, filthiest noises, cheeks hollowing out. His skin is reddening with pleasure, San notices as he glances down to take in the sight beneath him. From here, it really looks as though it gives Yunho pleasure to give San pleasure. It’s a dizzying thought, San thinks as he feels himself near to the edge.

“M’close, Yunho- ah, m’gonna -” San blurts, chest heaving as he twitches on the bed, hips lightly bucking up into Yunho’s mouth. “Oh - s’sorry,” he apologizes, trying not to make the other man suffocate.

“S’fine,” Yunho drawls, lips pulling away as he switches to using his hand to stroke San’s cock up and down. “All good.”

San bites down on his lower lip hard as he comes, Yunho letting out a pleasured groan too as white spurts paint his face. San’s mouth falls slightly agape when he sees Yunho look so debauched, a contrast from when they’d first met earlier. His tongue darts out to lick some of the come that had landed on his face. That’s one for the memories, San thinks as he feels his senses clear up, coming down from his high. He reaches over to grab at a clean towel in his drawer near the bed, helping to dab at Yunho’s face.

“Hold on,” San’s voice is raspy as he slowly sits up on the bed. “Come here,” he beckons to Yunho, who clamors closer to him. “I ought to return the favor,” his eyes flutter at Yunho as he lowers his head to settle between Yunho’s legs, keen to enact a much pleasurable payback.

When San regains consciousness next, he is greeted with the sight of Yunho still fast asleep next to him. Sure, when it came to casual dalliances like these, there was protocol. Some preferred to leave before the other woke up, others shook on it and left.

Somehow, as much as San remembers the words he’d put himself on the app, he’s rather tempted to let this play out a little bit more. He is careful not to jostle Yunho too much as he climbs out of bed, making his way to the kitchen. He can feel his stomach starting to protest, a result of last night’s exertions.

Breakfast, his mind offers simply. He can do that. And maybe since Yunho had treated him so kindly the night before, it wouldn’t hurt to return the gesture. San rummages his fridge, and thankfully he can manage a simple rice with steamed eggs along with kimchi on the side.

It’s when he’s in the middle of checking on the steamed eggs’ progress in the small earthenware bowl when he hears the sound of feet shuffling from the direction of his bedroom.

“Mornin’,” Yunho rubs at his eyes as he joins San in the kitchen. “Something smells good in here.”

San merely laughs. “It’s just steamed eggs. Hope you don’t mind some breakfast.”

“Oh no, not at all,” Yunho sidles up to San, resting his hand on the kitchen counter.

The remainder of the breakfast preparation proceeds in silence as San dishes out the steaming rice. Yunho is no dormant observer - he helps to set the table, which San wants to discount as odd but he lets Yunho do it anyway.

They eat in mostly silence, until San decides to get his Bluetooth speaker going, some soft lo-fi playing in the background as accompaniment. Occasionally, Yunho breaks the silence to praise San’s cooking, which makes San’s cheeks turn a tinge of pink.

San insists on washing the dishes despite Yunho’s persistent insistence. While he does, though, he hears movement again - this time from the direction of the living room. It sounds like soft singing, and a little bit of high pitched cooing. San pauses in the middle of wiping the plates when he sees Yunho, who has made himself comfortable on the couch, appearing to be chatting up Byeol, who is on her perch on the cat tree.

San watches as Yunho oh so carefully speaks to her, tone gentle and slightly more high pitched than his usual voice. San tries to divert himself from the white noise that is his thoughts, trying his best not to devolve into even more overthinking. But he cannot deny that the sight in front of him, with the backlight of the morning sun, is indeed an endearing one.

Yunho noticeably does not encroach Byeol’s space, in that he continues to observe her from what seems like a safe distance. He seems to be able to sense that someone has been watching him, and the moment he turns to San’s direction San pretends he’s keeping away the last of the dishes.

They’ve reached that mildly awkward part of the morning after, where San isn’t so sure what to do. He feels bad about being the one to chase Yunho out of the apartment, but Yunho, ever the gentleman, has the acute ability to read the room.

“I should get going, then,” Yunho scratches his hair, slightly mussed from the night before. “Thank you for the breakfast. I’ll catch you again?” Yunho takes a step closer to San, a suggestive glint in his bright eyes as he leans in to leave a fleeting kiss to San’s cheek.

“Um. Yeah, sure,” San manages to respond, a little bit stunned by Yunho’s gesture, a tad intimate following their first hookup. But he’s glad that Yunho has left the door open for them to meet in future. He’s glad they’re on that same page for now.

Yunho grins, and at the door, he calls out “See ya, Byeol-ah,” before the door closes. Only then, San allows himself to slump his shoulders, exhaling in relief.

What is even more interesting is how Byeol responds - she actually leaps from her safe perch on the cat tree down to the tiled living room floor. And she strides until she’s near the front door, before plopping herself into a seated position on the floor as though gazing at the door.

Quite interesting, San thinks, putting the thought at the back of his mind.

The next time Yunho comes over, he doesn’t greet San first when the door opens. He glances around the living room, as though in search of something that he had already in mind before arriving at San’s apartment.

Byeol, for now, is on the floor just next to the sofa. She’s in a Sphinx-like posture, simply watching Yunho with what looks like a cat’s version of a flat, uninterested expression. Yunho’s lips curl up when he spots her, and he sets his backpack down onto the couch before he lowers himself into a kneeling position. “Hey, Byeol, how’s it going? You doing okay?” he singsongs to Byeol. He curls his hands into himself, keen to just be in front of her, watching her as he did the first time.

Byeol looks up at him, blinking before she lets out a soft meow. Yunho says something else endearing to her, and again, she responds with a meow. San just then has just emerged from a shower, clad only in a loose fitting tank top and short shorts. He watches yet again, fascinated by the way the two of them were circling each other in a way. Yunho has gotten a bit closer this time to Byeol, but she still doesn’t seem to mind his presence this close.

Interesting, San’s mind supplies not so helpfully. Again, Byeol doesn’t appear to dislike Yunho. In fact, she doesn’t mind the proximity they have. It’s consistent from the last time he came over. But, San thinks, it’s still not enough to make a fuller assessment of his character. Yunho just continues to sit in front of her, and soon she gets up from her position, sitting in front of him and just staring straight at him. The kind of stare which people would perceive as the soul gazing kind. Yet even so, Yunho does not even so much as extend a finger towards her to touch. He just stays as he is.

After a few moments, Yunho gets up, turning around to see San standing there as though just waiting for him to be done greeting Byeol. Yunho doesn’t say much else, but once he’s got San in his periphery he leans down to kiss San - all heat in his kiss. His hand is already wandering down the side of San’s arm, tracing his bicep.

San knows he doesn’t need to say much else, allowing Yunho to lead them into the bedroom.

Yunho’s got a lapful of San this time, feeling up inside his tank top to lightly squeeze at one of his toned pecs. San pants into the kiss, keeling into Yunho’s touch. His hips have started to move against Yunho’s, his shorts leaving little to the imagination.

Yunho curls a finger into the waistband, letting out a soft gasp when he feels only bare skin underneath.

“San- you’re - you’re not-”

“Yeah,” San mumbles, voice breathy as Yunho continues to lazily feel him up.

“Fuck, you’re so - so much,” Yunho laughs brokenly as he leans up to grind back against San, the friction now stronger between them. San lowers his head, pressing his face against Yunho’s shoulder blade to muffle his groans.

“Yunho, p-please -” San’s teeth lightly graze against the skin of Yunho’s shoulder blade, and Yunho obliges, pressing San down onto the bed as he continues to grind against him. He can feel San wriggling beneath him, hand moving to try to get the last piece of fabric between them. Yunho helps him, albeit clumsily, and soon there’s nothing between them. Yunho rolls his hips against San, their hardening cocks brushing against each other.

“F-fuck,” San gasps, tilting his head sideways, the feeling growing overwhelming for him. “You can m-move faster, Yunho-ya,” San grits his teeth, words coming out increasingly brokenly as Yunho works up the pace with his hips.

San gazes up at Yunho through half-lidded eyes, Yunho’s expression contorted in pleasure as he appears to be lost in pleasure - and pleasuring San. Yunho leans down, catching San’s lower lip with his teeth as he reaches a hand between them to wrap around their cocks, trying messily to get the both of them off.

San is reduced to eliciting a string of broken moans at the friction of their skin to skin contact, and Yunho’s hand deftly pumping their cocks as much as he can. Warmth pools in San’s belly as he feels his pleasure building, cresting as he feels himself start to fall apart in Yunho’s touch.

“Close - ‘m close already,” San mewls, voice muffled as Yunho’s lips meet his in a rather clumsy kiss. “Gonna - ha - oh, Yunho-“ And San comes with Yunho’s name on his lips, grinding helplessly against Yunho, the combined friction pushing him over the edge. Yunho continues to work him through his orgasm, slowly moving his hand away when San whines from the mild overstimulation. Yunho follows soon after, coming with a deep grunt and spurting white onto San’s abs.

Yunho collapses next to San on the bed, hands resting on his chest as he catches his breath. “Wow,” he mutters a little while later. “‘as good,” he mumbles. “You okay?”

“Mm,” San hums, basking in the afterglow. “That felt really good.”

Yunho leans over, smiling wryly at San. “Another thing to check off the list, then.”

San snorts. “You’ve got a list?”

“I mean, it’s good practice for me to know what gets you worked up, hmm?” Yunho shrugs, tone playful. “What makes you - and by extension, the both of us, feel good.”

Considering the arrangement they appear to have going on, it does make complete sense, San is very inclined to think. Mutual benefits and all. San just nods slowly, resting in the silence. That is, until he starts to feel the onset of discomfort on his skin.

“We should probably shower,” San blurts, blinking up at the ceiling.

“Mm,” Yunho nods in acquiescence. “But I was wondering if you might be up to going another round?” He raises an eyebrow suggestively, waiting for San.

San simply replies with a soft mm, and he lets himself be enveloped by Yunho completely once again.

San is awoken this time with something he least expects - the smell of food filling the apartment. The sheets ruffle as he moves on the mattress, the bed noticeably empty. Odd, considering he could smell food. He wonders if he might have left a window open by accident or something, the aroma of the neighbor’s cooking leaking inside.

When he steps out to the living room, however, he doesn’t expect a freshly showered Yunho sitting at the coffee table, laying out containers of various takeout dishes. San’s stomach betrays him, making Yunho look up.

“Great, you’re awake,” Yunho says, soft warmth in his voice.

“And you’ve gotten us food,” San says, stating the obvious, not too sure what to do even though he’s in his own apartment.

“Come, eat,” Yunho grins up at him. He hands San a pair of wooden chopsticks, San sidling up next to Yunho, their shoulders touching. San fumbles around for the remote control, switching the television on to put on some background noise.

They’re eating in a rather comfortable silence until San makes a slightly startled noise - Byeol has made her presence felt as she nuzzles against San. The smell of the food must have gotten her attention, he thinks as she gives the food what looks a lot like a death stare. Yunho only laughs, finding the sight very amusing.

That nudging feeling that has been slowly building up the more Yunho and him meet returns with a vengeance. San swallows, knowing that he’s on the border of dangerous territory. The words in bold, digitized print stare back at him with the bluntness of a neon signboard: that what they had was meant to be something casual, something for the fun of it. But San is feeling all the strings in his own heart going all over the place.

For the first time since he’d first met Yunho, he actually feels something like helplessness. And worst of all, he isn’t so sure who he should turn to - his best friend, who would be more than happy to imbue him with some kind of warning; or any other of his close friends. He doesn’t feel very ready for the fallout from them just yet.

It’s happened a few times now - Byeol actually giving Yunho the time of day whenever he comes over, which has been a number of occasions by now. Perhaps it’s even enough for Byeol to have learned Yunho’s scent and the sound of his voice. He’d once heard someone tell him that animals were excellent judges of character, and seeing how Byeol appeared to be warming up to Yunho just added to the rapid spiral of San’s thoughts.

Maybe there was still room for plausible deniability. Maybe San could treat it somewhat like a scientific experiment - continue to observe Byeol whenever Yunho came over. Perhaps for Byeol, it was merely the novelty of whatever she was experiencing from her cat perspective whenever Yunho came over, that Yunho wasn’t like the other visitors - or San’s exes, even, who’d clamored too quickly to try to win over Byeol’s affection to limited success.

San thinks he still has time to observe. Maybe Byeol would change her mind and revert to her usual self.

(And assure San that he had nothing to really mull over. That his fears of his own feelings might be unfounded.)

Time flows on, the time spent with Yunho becoming a large blob mass of memories. San at this point can’t even count how many times Yunho has come over. Yet each time, Yunho has been nothing but consistent with his “routine” whenever he pops by San’s apartment. He never fails to give Byeol his attention first - and San certainly does not feel jealousy towards his own cat - greeting her warmly.

San realizes that things have perhaps changed when Byeol actually responds to Yunho’s greetings. Not only with a cursory meow, but she actually strides up to him, letting him feel the top of her head, and on her back. He laughs, petting at the soft fur and brushing his fingers gently through.

After that, his attention is quick to shift to San, and as always, he greets him with the same, searing kiss. He is, as ever, enthusiastic, remaining consistent in that regard.

On one occasion, however, San and Yunho have decided to remain on the couch. It had started with them dimming the lights, Yunho wanting to watch some movie but eventually he’d gotten distracted by the mere sight of San in a fitted shirt and shorts. San is in Yunho’s lap, Yunho’s hands resting on the sides of San’s waist as they make out lazily, the movie relegated to white noise.

They’re keenly feeling each other up and kissing languidly, that is until Yunho jolts back, making a shocked noise, making San fall back onto the plush couch and out of Yunho’s lap. San opens his eyes, wondering what on earth had gotten into Yunho all of a sudden that made him react so strongly. He almost wonders if he’s got bad breath or something, until he notices that someone has joined them on the couch. On Yunho’s lap, to his great surprise, is none other than Byeol.

“Byeolie?” San’s voice comes out so softly, almost a squeak. “What…” He can’t even finish his sentence properly, feeling like he’s having an out of body experience. Byeol usually doesn’t take so well to people who weren’t San or his direct family members. Even Wooyoung, who has known San for so long, doesn’t get the same treatment.

Byeol doesn’t seem to mind their shared shock, simply tilting her head sideways, fluffy tail swishing about as she stares up at Yunho with those wide eyes of hers. If San could put a word to it, it just might be enamored.

“Hi, sweetie,” Yunho hums, patting her affectionately once he’s gotten over the initial shock of the sudden contact. She continues to stare back at him intently, allowing him the privilege of patting her while she’s seated on his lap.

“Wow,” San blurts, unable to help himself. “She’s really usually never like this. Ever.”

Yunho chuckles, looking up towards San, though he still has a hand resting in Byeol’s fur. “Really? She seems just so sweet, the darling,” he says, affection evident in his voice. That tugging feeling creeps up on San again, and he tries to bite back the feeling.

“I’m serious. Even with my best friend who I’ve known for like, forever, doesn’t get to be this close to her,” San mumbles, glancing between the both of them.

“I must be special then,” Yunho chuckles. “Even though I wrote that I am a dog person. But then again, Byeolie’s charms are irresistible, kind of like someone I know. Isn’t that right, Byeolie?” Yunho coos at Byeol, who doesn’t even mind Yunho continuing to pet her. In fact, San sees her eyes on the verge of closing, out of sheer contentment.

San laughs weakly, trying to conceal his own rapidly spiraling emotions. He can’t muster up a proper response, opting to quietly watch the both of them interact. Somewhere along the line, Yunho has somehow carved a spot for himself in this space. It’s quickly become a thing where, no matter the day Yunho stays over and they fall into San’s bed, they share a meal and easy conversation. And Byeol somehow has tolerated Yunho all this while. Or perhaps a little more than that. San purses his lips tightly, deathly afraid that he might end up saying the wrong thing. He’ll have to grapple with all of whatever has been developing, later. Preferably when he was completely alone in the apartment.

Things kind of come to a head when one particularly cloudy afternoon - the kind where ferociously gray looking cumulonimbus clouds covered the sky - Yunho is about to leave San’s apartment as he usually would do, but something’s blocking him from going.

San nearly drops the basket of laundry he’d been holding - laundry that in fact consisted of both his and Yunho’s (a question for another day) - when he hears a deafening, shrill shriek. He quickly sets down the basket, and he sees Byeol screaming bloody murder at Yunho, who’s trapped leaning against the front door of the apartment.

“Aw, honey, are you upset?” Yunho coos despite the noise. How he can stay so collected even when Byeol looks on the verge of committing several acts of violence, San wonders vaguely as he takes slow careful steps into their shared space. When Yunho tries to take hold of the door knob, Byeol screams again. As though she knows Yunho is leaving the house once more, and he won’t be around. “Don’t worry, okay? I promise I’ll come back. I’ll even bring those treats you like. Now, be good to your dad and let me go, okay?”

It takes a ton of coaxing, more than what might seem necessary when it came to handling a house cat, but Byeol eventually calms down. Or at least she gives off an excellent appearance that she is. As San refills her water bowl, it’s in that deceptively mundane moment, his thoughts of Yunho activated by Byeol that he realizes - he just might be fucked - and not in the way they had been doing. And maybe even more so, if he doesn’t do something about it, and soon.

San spends days mulling over his thoughts, pondering over every single possibility and the choice he should make next. So far, the only one who knew about his very complex feelings towards Jeong Yunho were so far, no one he knew except himself.

He technically could talk to Wooyoung, but he knows Wooyoung won’t let him live it down. Though Wooyoung did promise his support, he’s not about to land himself in another of Wooyoung’s brand of lectures. His other friends might leak things out, and the last thing he wants is for Yunho to somehow find out through someone who wasn’t him.

It’s in a rather unexpected situation where San thinks he’s got his answer, one evening when Yunho happens to not be around. San is trawling YouTube, tugged along by the algorithm when he comes across one of those compilations where a narrator reads Reddit posts in a highly dramatized fashion. San sits up in bed, attention fixed on the particular video which the forces of the algorithm have driven him towards. This video happens to be a compilation of posts from r/relationships, and it just so happens that the center focus is on those in friends with benefits situations, not a far stretch from what San is going through.

That’s what gives San the idea to climb out of bed, nearly tripping over himself in the process as he clamora towards his desktop, logging into Naver and heading straight for the Ask Naver micro site. He looks for the relationships column, and clicking on Create New Post he begins to type.

So I’ve kind of backed myself into a corner with the friends with benefits arrangement I’m in. My fuckbuddy is so nice to my cat that I think I… Before San realizes it; he’s written what is about an essay length’s worth of a question in the box. It’s a miracle that everything managed to fit, actually.

San sighs, his cursor hovering over the Post button. After taking a deep breath for courage, he thinks to himself, it’s really now or never, and he clicks Post.

He’s snapped out of his brief daze when he hears Byeol make her presence known in his room. Seemingly sensing his state of emotional distress, Byeol leaps onto his lap, kneading biscuits on his legs with the softness of her paws, before at last settling down. San runs his hands lazily through her fur, letting the softness calm his nerves.

All he can do now is wait, and hope for some kind of buoy to be tossed his way by the powers that be of the forces of the Internet.

San should be very glad that he’s got a day off from his work at the taekwondo academy, because the last thing he expected to happen when he first hit post on Ask Naver was for his phone to absolutely go batshit insane with the absolute nuclear level explosion of notifications.

To San’s rapidly growing horror, the notifications have stretched far beyond Ask Naver, and his KakaoTalk conversations are positively exploding too. At the top of everything; of course, is none other than Jung Wooyoung, whose messages have mostly been reduced to many question marks, exclamation marks and shocked screaming emojis.

what the fuck am i reading, one of Wooyoung’s initial texts reads. is it me or does this anon person have a story that sounds a lot like yours?? unless i’m imagining things, choi san??! San swallows back the dry feeling in his throat, fingers hovering over his keyboard as he begins to attempt forming some type of response to his best friend. Sure, he could try to lie, but 1) Wooyoung has known him far too long and is way too observant for his own good; and 2) the four hundred notifications on his phone would have something to say about that.

you’re not imagining things, wooyoung-ah, San admits, deciding to leave it at that.

holy shit, Wooyoung’s reply comes within seconds. does that mean i was right?

San feels something welling up in his throat and eyes. He’s ready to type back to Wooyoung, sure, go ahead and tell me you were right. that i really am too much of a romanticist for something that’s meant to be just casual. tell me that he likely won’t feel the same… But just before San can start to type the first letter, his phone starts to buzz, longer this time.

Incoming call: Jung Wooyoung

San sighs, before picking up the call. “Hello?” he answers tiredly.

“San-ah,” Wooyoung’s voice is so soft, so gentle that San can’t help but burst into tears over the line when he hears Wooyoung speak. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I fucked up, Wooyoung-ah,” San sobs. “I didn’t mean for things to go this way.”

“What, for your blossoming love life to reach viral status on the Internet?” Wooyoung tries to lighten the mood. “Believe me, I didn’t either, but fact of the matter is here we are. Now is the matter of what to do next. I don’t think deleting the post will help, since the engagement levels are pretty insane.”

San sniffs. “I don’t know what to do, Wooyoung-ah. I probably shouldn’t show my face in public again. Maybe I should change my name, go off grid and live in the forest -“

“You’re a man falling in love with the man he’s supposedly casually sleeping with, not a convicted felon,” Wooyoung retorts dryly. “First let’s start with you admitting that, so we can figure out what to do.”

San sighs. Perhaps he should have known this was inevitable. “He’s too good, Wooyoung-ah. And Byeol likes him so much, so much so that if he dares to leave my apartment she screams at him as though he’s offended her in the worst of ways.”

“Don’t deny yourself of something that just might be good for you, San-ah,” Wooyoung says gently. “If Byeol likes him, he must be pretty awesome. Hey, at least he didn’t turn out to be one of those who might wind up on those MTV Worst Catfish compilation episodes or some bullshit like that.”

At that, San manages to laugh, albeit weakly. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

“Hey, I’m right most of the time. Say, you want me to come over with ice cream? Also I hear that Laufey is coming for the Seoul Jazz Festival, maybe we could see if we can get tickets. I remember you keep going on about her songs lately.”

As much as Wooyoung could be a downright menace a lot of the time, he always had San’s best interests at heart.

“Okay, yeah, thanks, Wooyoung-ah.”

“I’ll be there in just under an hour.”

As promised, Wooyoung flies over to San’s apartment with healthy servings of tubs of ice cream and all the snacks he likes. They’ve got some compilation of a silly soap series playing on the television, but neither of them are really paying attention.

“So, have you talked to him since?” Wooyoung says, licking the last bit of ice cream from his wooden spoon. “Don’t tell me you ghosted him.”

San looks back at Wooyoung, his lips pressed into a flat line, to which Wooyoung narrows his eyes at him. “What was I going to say? Hey, I went to ask a bunch of strangers on the Internet for advice on how to deal with my silly feelings for you which we didn’t agree on in the first place?”

Wooyoung hums around the spoon, gnawing on it. “Hmm, yeah, doesn’t sound too great when you put it that way.”

San groans, leaning back to lie on the couch behind them - the two of them sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the coffee table. “See, I’m downright fucked,” he rubs at his face, massaging his temples.

“But I still am not for ghosting him entirely though,” Wooyoung turns halfway, setting his spoon down on a piece of tissue. “I think he ought to hear from you. It’s what he deserves.”

San sighs, a drawn out, frustrated sound. “Alright, but can that wait until after Laufey at least? I think I need some emotional catharsis first,” he says, to which Wooyoung nods in agreement.

Wooyoung tugs his best friend close, letting him rest on his shoulder. They sit in silence, San’s thoughts quieting down for a moment.

Wooyoung’s semi-complex scheme of helping San get back on his feet culminates in the two of them in the standing pit of the Seoul Jazz Festival, waiting for Laufey to come onstage to begin her set.

“Can’t believe we managed to get tickets in the end,” Wooyoung claps his hands excitedly. “Thought we were a goner when the server started lagging like crazy.”

San hums, nodding distractedly as he looks around the packed venue. Suffice to say Laufey’s popularity is ubiquitous, and many have come to watch her only performance in Seoul for the year.

The lights in the venue begin to dim, and San shifts his attention back to the stage where the cheers and applause are reaching deafening levels.

Laufey appears with a single spotlight shining on her, and San’s mouth falls agape. He’d become a more serious fan around the time he and Yunho started talking, and her music became a near necessary backdrop music to whatever emotional roller coaster he’d been navigating. She begins to strum the opening notes, and San is entranced.

When the opening of From The Start hits, though, San feels that tight feeling in his chest again. He begins to let his attention wander, Wooyoung too caught up in bellowing the lyrics out loud to care. San’s gaze pauses when his eyes land on an all too familiar sight he hasn’t seen in so long.

None other than Jeong Yunho, in the flesh.

And he’s got on a special brightly colored lanyard around his neck. Oh, right, San recalls belatedly. Yunho worked for the same concert production company which helped to bring Laufey to Seoul.

But before San can quickly avert his lingering gaze, however, Yunho turns and sure enough, he catches sight of San looking at him. Yunho’s mouth falls slightly open, and while Laufey continues to croon on about her love interest not paying attention to the signs she’s been giving, Yunho is already weaving his way through the crowd in the standing pit, making a beeline for San.

No, don’t come here, San’s anxious mind supplies though his feet are rooted to the ground.

“San-ah,” Yunho whispers, his voice sounding quite breathless. San has never heard him sound like this - at least not outside of his bedroom.

“Yunho,” San blurts, not exactly sure where to fix his attention. What should he even say? Should he try to make up some excuse and drag Wooyoung away with him, or stay?

Yunho apparently answers on his behalf, hand tentatively resting softly over San’s. “It’s been so long.”

San nods, gulping slightly. “It has.”

“I haven’t heard from you in so long,” Yunho says, sounding somewhat hurt and San feels genuinely bad for having ghosted him.

“M’sorry,” San mumbles, looking down at their still joined hands. “I had to, uh, figure stuff out.”

“I know about the Ask Naver post,” Yunho cuts to the chase, stating it matter of factly while tracing a finger over San’s knuckles.

“Oh,” San mutters. “Um. I guess I should explain.”

“I suppose you should,” Yunho shrugs, tone dry though he is smiling. “I’m very curious.”

“I didn’t know what to do,” San admits at last. “I was all up in my head for so long, and with all that was happening with Byeol it sent me into a spiral. I know that we started out wanting no entanglements, no frills, but I guess my heart overtook my head along the way.”

“Mm,” Yunho hums, their hands now threaded together. Yunho swings them a little to the rhythm of Dear Soulmate.

“But I really did want to find a time to talk to you,” San looks up at Yunho at last. “I just didn’t expect the Internet to have a mental breakdown over it - which I’m really sorry, you didn’t sign up for-“

“San-ah,” Yunho cuts San off. “Do you think I wasn’t having a breakdown of my own too?” His smile is playful, but he puts San’s hand to his chest where San can feel his pace racing.

“Ah,” San says, voice trailing off.

“Maybe we should have talked about it sooner, when I think about it,” Yunho says, letting out a long exhale.

“Oh- okay,” San nods slowly.

“How about after the concert? I don’t think you want to miss it,” Yunho grins.

San does not mind Yunho’s hand in his for the rest of the evening, not at all worrying about his own clammy palms.

Once the concert wraps up for the night, Wooyoung bids San and Yunho goodbye - a more wary stare pointed in Yunho’s direction. He whispers to San something about being safe, to which San swipes him in the shoulder.

San lets Yunho lead them out of the venue, towards the direction of the carpark and into his car.

“Your place?” Yunho turns to San as San buckles in his seatbelt. “I feel like I should extend some kind of peace offering to Byeol,” he says half jokingly.

San laughs lightly. “Sure. See if she misses you.”

And maybe I might have too, San thinks, keeping the sentiment to himself.

And Yunho has never driven with such precision on the Seoul roads at night, getting them to San’s apartment.

San opens the door to total darkness, carefully switching on the lights in the hallway and then the living room. “Byeol-ah,” he calls out. The living room appears empty, and she isn’t on her clothes tree.

“Byeolie, hello,” Yunho calls out this time. Only after a brief wait, Byeol appears at last, peeking from behind a wall. She eyes Yunho somewhat warily, but when Yunho extends his hand, inviting her to sniff, she pads slowly towards him. She pauses for a moment before leaning over, nose pressing gently against his hand.

“And here I thought she’d be angrier,” Yunho sighs in relief as she lets him pet her after what has felt almost like an eternity of not seeing her. His words come a little bit too soon though, as she screeches at him, as though grumbling at him about his drawn out absence. “Oh I’m sorry, honey,” he says coaxingly to her while patting her carefully lest she extend her paw to scratch; “I had to figure some things out.”

“We should sit down,” San says, and Byeol climbs into Yunho’s arms, Yunho carrying her to the couch. Yunho sits in front of San, hands full of Byeol who for now remains still in his hold.

“I should say that I’m sorry first,” San says, fiddling with a loose thread on his t-shirt. “For not talking to you first and airing our business on the Internet.”

Yunho gnaws on his lower lip thoughtfully. “Perhaps I should say the same.”

“But we’re still cool, right? With what we have…” San’s voice trails off.

“I remember you saying that at the start, we did go into it as a casual thing,” Yunho nods slowly. At that, San decides to steel himself for the worst, for whatever might happen. Yunho had every right to call things off, in his mind - since this may not have been what he wanted.

“Yes,” San nods.

“But - but what if my mind changed along the way?” Yunho looks up from where he’d been stroking Byeol’s fur.

Huh?  San’s eyes widen. I don’t understand, and it seems like he’s vocalised this thought because Yunho is opening his mouth to speak.

“Consider, San-ah, that along the way I started to develop feelings for you too, like how you said in your post. That could easily happen too.” He’s shifted to sit even closer to San, their faces now inches apart.

“But I wasn’t sure if it was what you wanted,” San retorts weakly, feeling the intensity of Yunho’s gaze on him.

“You remember how you confessed that you were a lightweight on our first date? Maybe I should make a confession of my own too,” Yunho chuckles. “I think I just might be too much of a romantic to try a no strings attached type of arrangement,” he smiles sheepishly.

That makes San’s heart skip a bit. “Funny, I’ve been told the exact same thing by Wooyoung,” and it’s not certain who makes the next move first, but soon their lips are on each other’s, finding each other again.

It’s muscle memory by now, the way their hands move along their bodies. Both know well what makes the other tick, and Yunho is about to tug San onto his lap when he feels something soft.

Oh. Byeol.

Yunho pulls away from the kiss, laughing in realization. “I guess I should set her down, as much as I feel bad for exiling her.”

San laughs, feeling more relaxed thanks to Yunho’s skilled kisses and touches. “You can put her in the kitchen,” he says as Yunho leaves a soft kiss on his cheek before gathering Byeol in his arms to relocate her from the couch to the kitchen.

“Where were we,” Yunho murmurs, arms caging San, pinning him against the wall. San melts in Yunho’s hold, letting Yunho do as he pleased. Yunho kisses him like a starved man, kisses quickly becoming open mouthed ones the more he has his hands all over San.

Somewhere along the line San is pushed up against the wall, legs wrapping around Yunho’s waist as Yunho feels up inside San’s t-shirt. San lets out a soft whine when he feels Yunho’s finger graze over one of his nipples, sensitive to the touch. It’d been some time, after all.

San is quite content to get felt up by Yunho for as long as possible - until Yunho is the one whose patience wears thin first, and he pulls away with a soft smack. His smirk is lopsided as he takes in the sight of San looking half debauched in front of him. San’s lips are a little swollen, his shirt rumpled.

Yunho presses a tentative kiss to the side of San’s jaw, and San lets out a soft squeak when Yunho carries him from the hallway inside the door, pushing the door closed securely shut behind them.

San gasps when Yunho plops him down on the bed less than gracefully, before he curls his fingers in the front of San’s shirt, pulling it up over his head before throwing it to the floor. San feels his skin start to heat up, finding this determined side of Yunho very much a turn on. San laughs against Yunho’s lips as he tugs up Yunho’s shirt too, with a playful “Off,” Yunho nearly getting caught in his own shirt amidst the tangle of limbs.

Yunho lowers a hand to grip at the taut flesh of San’s ass, muffling San’s increasingly loud moans with searing kisses.San reaches around, wanting Yunho to just get on with it. Yunho chuckles, getting San’s not so subtle hints. Yunho slides San’s shorts down, San’s half hard cock popping out from the fabric. “Fuck,” Yunho swears out loud, rubbing at the tip which was fast getting wet with precome. “So fucking wet, San-ah.”

San whimpers, biting down on his lower lip at the sensation of Yunho’s fingers wrapped around his cock. He starts to grind back against Yunho’s hand, but soon stops moving, pulling away from Yunho’s lips.

“Want -“ San pants out, getting dizzy with pleasure, “want you inside, Yunho-ya,” he pleads, a soft, desperate mewl. Yunho can only curse under his breath as he responds with a labored “okay, okay,” because he has come to think that with San, he’s been rendered powerless.

Yunho looms over San for a moment, his posture slightly awkward as he tries to fumble around until San mutters, “the drawer to the left.” Yunho pulls himself away from San for a moment as he rummages in the draw. San relaxes, trying to steady his breathing knowing what was about to come next. There’s the sound of rustling and the sound of a cap popping open. San’s eyes flutter closed as he feels Yunho loom over him once more, leaning down to kiss San. San goes pliant in Yunho’s hold, and he arches off the bed when he feels something cold circle at the rim of his hole.

San’s eyes clamp shut as he feels Yunho curl a finger inside. “Mmh,” San grunts as he feels the intrusion. His hands curl into the sheets, digging into the soft fabric. Yunho, feeling the way San responded to his touches, adds another finger, scissoring his fingers in and out of San, who arches his back from pure pleasure, broken noises leaving his lips. San begins to roll his hips against Yunho’s fingers, fucking back and forth on them. But it just doesn’t feel enough, and soon San’s movements and noises grow more desperate. He wants more.

Sensing San’s growing impatience, Yunho slowly removes his fingers, leaving a string of soft kisses along San’s toned inner thigh. San reaches down to yank Yunho closer to him, kissing him back insistently.

Yunho makes sure he’s ready to go, before sliding his cock inside San. It’s far from the first time for San to see Yunho’s cock, but to really feel Yunho inside him is something else altogether. San can feel himself being stretched open, and though he’s had some sensing that Yunho was pretty big, he knows now.

“Oh, fuck,” San clenches his teeth at the intrusion. Yunho pauses mid-movement, glancing down at San with mild concern. He does not move for a while, letting San get used to the feel of him like this.

Yunho looks down at San with half-lidded eyes, clean hand coming up to rest softly on San’s cheek as he starts to slowly thrust in and out of San. San brings his legs halfway up to his chest, wanting to take in the view above him. San tilts his head back, the sight of Yunho’s cock sliding in and out of him sending his senses all over the place.

“You - you c’n go faster,” San mumbles, breathing uneven as he clutches at his knees, Yunho picking up the pace with his thrusts. It’s so much, yet San can’t help but hunger for more. Something about Yunho had that effect on him. And seeing how Yunho’s fair complexion was turning pink, his lips falling open with each pleasured exhale, he must be having some kind of effect on Yunho too.

“San- San-ah,” Yunho can do nothing save for calling San’s name - as if it’s now the only thing he knows, as if San’s body is the apex of his focus.

“Kiss me, please,” San pleads, and Yunho obliges, though it’s a bit messy as his hips move against San’s body. But San doesn’t appear to mind at all as he reciprocates with as much enthusiasm. Yunho reaches between their bodies in between kisses, hand messily trying to match the pace of his thrusts as he strokes San off.

“O-oh,” San moans at the feeling of Yunho’s hand, and Yunho being inside him. His nerves feel like they’re fully aflame with the combination of sensations - San knows he isn’t going to last much longer. His cock twitches with Yunho’s touches, and soon San is writhing on the bed, toes curling as he comes with a broken cry of Yunho’s name, body going limp.

“Fuck, San-ah,” Yunho slows down his thrusts, eyes fixed on the sight of San coming apart beneath him. He thinks this just might be something he would find great difficulty forgetting. It’s seared into his memory, the way San’s expression contorts, the way his muscles go taut.

“Want you to come too, Yunho-ya,” San pants, tapping on Yunho’s waist lightly, coaxing him to not stop moving even though he’s already come. Yunho hisses as he continues to thrust in and out of San, tight heat wrapped around his cock. San tries to clench as best as he can, and it’s only after a few more thrusts that Yunho is coming too, filling the condom. San lets out a groan as he feels Yunho’s cock pulse inside him, before Yunho slumps over, resting on top of San.

San lifts a hand to gently rub at Yunho’s back, gently kissing the side of Yunho’s temple, not minding the damp feeling of sweat there. He can feel Yunho breathing, his heartbeat against him, and somehow this skin to skin contact feels more intimate that what they’ve just done.

“You okay, Yunho-ya?” San whispers, lips gently brushing against Yunho’s cheek.

“Mm,” Yunho hums contentedly, keen to savor this closeness for a moment longer. “Just a few more minutes.”

San laughs. “Was it that good?”

Yunho turns sideways so that his eyes are directly meeting San’s. His expression turns more solemn as he says, “Of course. I always feel good when I’m with you,” he hums, leaning down to kiss San, lips lingering for a little while longer.

The words make San’s chest swell with so many emotions, and he can’t help but smile into the kiss. “Oh, uh, we didn’t exactly reach a conclusion from earlier,” San says, cheeks puffing out a little, skin flushing.

Yunho laughs as he slowly pulls out of San. San is mildly worried for a moment when he sees Yunho get up from the bed, but his anxieties are soon alleviated when Yunho returns with a clean small towel from San’s bathroom to clean San up first, then himself. He sits back down on the bed, touch gentle as he runs the flannel along San’s skin. “I thought I was pretty clear, that I was too much of a romantic to do anything purely casual.”

“Ah,” San nods slowly. “So um, that means we -”

“I think we definitely would do better with something less casual. Meaning that I’d like to see you on a more serious - and romantic basis, obviously,” Yunho says with much certainty that it makes San smile dopily, his dimples on full display. Yunho cannot help but kiss one of them on his cheeks.

“That sounds - sounds absolutely perfect,” San murmurs, hand cupping Yunho’s cheek as he leans in to steal another kiss, simply because he can.

“Good that we’re on the same page now, San-ah,” Yunho says, voice lowering into a whisper as he leans in again, closing the remaining distance between them.

Some time later.

“I do have to wonder, though, how did you actually figure out that it was me?” San asks, plopping himself on the chair next to Yunho. This time, they’re at Yunho’s apartment, San ever fascinated with the sheer amount of both Valorant and Spiderman memorabilia, along with some from his work in the music scene - ticket stubs, event passes, autographed records and the like.

San is wearing one of Yunho’s oversized band t-shirts - the design now fading from a light gray to white with the number of times it’s done its rounds in Yunho’s washing machine. Yunho can’t help but grin dopily at his boyfriend, the realization sending him into a doozy every single time. “You mean that Ask Naver post?” he says as he stretches out his hand to trace lazy patterns along San’s toned back.

“Yeah, that,” San winces slightly, which amuses Yunho so, even after all these months together.

Yunho laughs. “I mean, the choice of username confused_mountain_star wasn’t exactly the most subtle of pseudonyms to use, if you think about it?” He raises an eyebrow, looking at San with knowing eyes.

San just sighs, deflating a bit. “You do have a point.”

“Hey,” Yunho rubs at his shoulder blades affectionately. “But look where it landed us. I can’t say I’m complaining.” He’s about to elaborate a little bit more on his thought when he makes a shocked grunt, something suddenly leaping onto his lap.

“Well hello, Your Highness,” Yunho says, words and gaze on Byeol dripping with pure sweetness, to San’s mild chagrin.

“I still can’t believe this,” San shakes his head in a rather dramatically resigned way. “That I have to fight my boyfriend for my cat, and vice versa. How did I let my life get so unhinged?”

Yunho’s grin widens as he pulls Byeol closer into his hold, leaning in a sideways, slightly awkward angle to leave a reassuring kiss on San’s cheek. “Hey, but you like it, though.”

San stares at the computer screen before them - they’re on Ask Naver again, but this time, the text in the title reads [Follow Up Post].

“Yeah,” San nods as he looks at Byeol, nestled snugly in Yunho’s lap, and then at Yunho, whose expression holds nothing but uninhibited affection. “I think I do.”

And without a moment’s hesitation, San’s hand curls around the mouse, and he clicks Post, unable to help the smile crossing his features when he feels Yunho’s lips rest against the top of his head.