Miss you even when I'm with you

2

Geonhak woke up with the perplexing sensation of not feeling one of his legs. He moved a little to free himself from Dongju's tight embrace. The smaller boy opened his eyes painfully. "Woke me up," he mumbled.

"Sorry," Geonhak replied, subtly trying to put some distance between him and his twin brother's boyfriend. "How did you sleep?"

"Incredibly well. You didn't snore tonight and you held me the whole time."

Geonhak winced. He hoped Leedo would never learn that they had slept in the same bed. He would not forgive him. But his not agreeing to sleep with Dongju would have been highly suspicious. And the last thing he wanted was for Dongju to think Leedo did not love him. That would make Leedo's whole surprise birthday gift a vain attempt.

The taller boy slowly got up, looking for some of Leedo's clean clothes he could borrow. He grimaced. None of them were really his style — too dark, too large, no pink. He finally chose a simple black T-shirt and jeans. He had to use a belt for the jeans were way too ample for his narrow hips and thighs.

"Are you coming?" Geonhak asked Dongju as he left for breakfast. But the young boy was curled in a ball on the bed, already gone back to sleep.

He caught himself smiling fondly and discreetly opened the door of the bedroom. Nobody was in the dining room yet. He picked up some food from the fridge and sat on a chair, looking at his phone and checking whether Leedo had texted.

"Morning, hyung," a hoarse voice said from behind him.

Geonhak turned slightly and immediately looked back straight, blushing. Hwanwoong was standing next to him, only wearing his underwear. His brother had never told him that his friends actually walked around the house half naked.

"Hum, hi," he answered, embarrassed, trying to hide his red cheeks and ears.

Hwanwoong sat on the chair next to him, passing a hand through his black hair, and took a piece of bread from Geonhak's plate. "Any plansh for today?" he asked, his mouth full.

"Work-out" was the first thing that came out of Geonhak's mind. He knew he was taking little risk — half of his free-time, Leedo was at the gym. "You?" he added, attempting a quick glance at Hwanwoong who was now helping himself to a glass of juice.

"Don't know yet." Hwanwoong stared at him for a second, apparently pondering over something. "Wanna watch a movie later?"

Geonhak frowned. He shot an instinctive glance at Leedo and Dongju's door, which was enough to make Hwanwoong lose his confidence. "Forget that. I don't know why I suggested it. You'll probably want to spend some time with Dongju-yah. Sorry."

"I didn't know we watched movies together," Geonhak simply said. He then realised how awkward it sounded. But Hwanwoong did not seem perplexed.

"We don't. I just thought — You look so different lately. And I think I like that side of you? I was under the impression we were getting closer, but maybe that's my imagination." Hwanwoong did not actually seem embarrassed to say such things. He looked genuine.

While detailing the boy, Geonhak met his big expressive eyes and found it impossible not to fix them. "I don't mind getting closer," he said in that low voice he and Leedo shared.

Hwanwoong smirked, seemingly self-satisfied. He pulled back on his chair, exposing his naked chest, and kept on drinking silently. Geonhak pinched his lips. He had to admit Hwanwoong could be incredibly attractive. But he soon reminded himself that for the sake of Dongju's surprise birthday gift, he would never get out of character. Not for a boy.

The other boys started emerging out of their bedrooms too, all looking tired, and as Dongju was about to sit on his lap, Geonhak said quickly, "I need to run some errand, I'll be back in a minute."

He looked apologetically at Dongju and his eyes instinctly searched for Hwanwoong's. The boy smiled gently. Then he took his phone and backpack and left the dorm.

His brother was waiting for him in an isolated street corner, deep bags under his eyes. "You don't look anything like me," Geonhak sighed. "How do you want them to believe I'm you?"

Leedo did not answer. He looked very irritable, primarily due to his natural temperament, but also to his lack of sleep. "Did you manage to do what you wanted at least?"

"Yeah," his brother said in a hoarse voice. "I'll just need a few more days to record myself singing. I might need you for vocals, though, if that's alright. You know I can't sing."

Geonhak nodded slowly. He gently pet his twin's arm. "Go home and have some sleep. Oh, by the way, Keonhee knows." Leedo did not react — he was probably not awake enough to get angry about that. "He found out when I called you yesterday. But he won't say anything. He thinks it's too funny."

"Whatever, I'm not worried about Keonhee," Leedo mumbled. As Geonhak was pulling away, Leedo frowned slightly. He sniffed loudly once, then another time, more deeply, and got closer to his brother's collar. "Is that Dongju's cologne?"

Geonhak gulped. "I— Yeah. It is. He's been glued to me for the past day."

Leedo clenched his fists and jaw. "Now, I don't like that."

"I knew you wouldn't."

"You stay away from him."

"You're being unfair, Leedo-yah. Of course Dongju will try to get close to me. He thinks I'm you." Leedo had come closer and was staring at his brother, his eyes narrowed. "What do you want me to do about it? Tell him I don't want to be touched, kissed, don't want to sleep in the same bed as him? Do you really want him to think you don't love him? Think before you ask me to be you."

Leedo subsided a little but was still looking tense. Geonhak sighed. "But don't worry about your precious princess. My eyes are set on someone else anyway."