my sweetest love // bnd hyeokmyungz

3. "it's okay, really."

"Don't come home too late, dear."

"Love you, Mom!"

Jaehyun closed his house door, running down the driveway and placing his skateboard on the ground. He stopped, hearing loud sounds come from Sanghyeok's house next door. He stopped, trying to listen carefully to the loud noises - it was yelling. Jaehyun felt his heart sink for a moment, but he managed to compose himself before pushing himself to the corner of the street. He stopped, standing quietly by himself as he occupied himself with his phone.

Jaehyun eventually glanced up, seeing his crush walk toward him with an unreadable expression. Despite this, Jaehyun turned to Sanghyeok with a gentle smile. "Let's go get snacks for the park."

"... yeah."

Jaehyun knew exactly what was happening in Sanghyeok's home, and since the other had told him before, he preferred not to pry. All he could do was silently support his friend every time the yelling picked up. Sanghyeok remained silent for most of the walk, and Jaehyun felt bothered by the heavy silence after a while.

He cleared his throat, earning the attention of the shorter boy beside him. "So, uh... thanks for sitting with me last night."

Sanghyeok sighed softly to himself with a smile. "Yeah... it was my last moment of peace."

"Your dad again?"

"He's just a grumpy guy," Sanghyeok sighed, turning to his friend. "It's just... the yelling got out of hand, and he said some... h-hurtful things..."

"Sanghyeok...-!"

Jaehyun hurriedly pulled the boy beside him into a hug, his heart growing heavier when Sanghyeok did nothing but gently grab the side of his hoodie. He said nothing - just accepted the hug quietly. Jaehyun felt helpless at that moment, clutching onto his best friend because he knew he needed the hug. Jaehyun squeezed his eyes shut when he heard a soft sniffle come from his friend.

"It's okay, I'm here," Jaehyun murmured against Sanghyeok's head. "I'm sorry that your only form of reassurance is me, but... it's better than nothing..."

"Jaehyun, don't be silly - you're my greatest support right now, and I'd have it no other way."

Jaehyun couldn't help but smile, even though he knew it was not the most appropriate time to let his feelings get in the way. Instead of being excited that Sanghyeok was holding him, he felt glad that the other was able to trust him. "Is it big this time, or...?"

"No, it's not a big deal," Sanghyeok replied with a small smile. "I'll be fine before the end of the day, I think. Thanks for the hug, Jaehyun... I needed it."

"Anything for my one and only love."

Sanghyeok made a face as he withdrew from the hug. "I knew you'd make it weird."

"Maybe holding hands with me will make you feel better."

"Jaehyun..."

"I'm just trying to make jokes to get rid of the tension."

Sanghyeok smiled slightly as he stepped ahead of the other. "I know. It's working, but that's gonna ride up your ego, and you're gonna annoy me for the rest of the afternoon if I'm nice to you."

"To be honest, it doesn't really bother me because I know that no matter what, you'll still be here."

Sanghyeok stood quiet for a moment, eyes shaking with nervousness before he cleared his throat, turning away and continuing down the street. "Sungho said he wants a watermelon smoothie, and Dongmin wants two ice americanos. I'll buy for myself and Sungho, you cover the lovebirds."

"We haven't seen Donghyun in a while..."

"Because he's secluding himself because he's a strange guy."

"True - but we were going to customise a board together, and he completely bailed out because he's a weirdo that wants to be on his own."

"Fair enough."

•

"We have arrived!"

Jaehyun slowly rode into the indoor skate park on his skateboard, holding onto the drink holders in his hands carefully. Sanghyeok waved at his friends at their usual lunch table inside the park, putting the drinks down in front of the respective owners. "They were out of watermelon, so I got a mango smoothie instead."

"Oh, you're a Saint," Sungho sighed as he took a sip of his smoothie. "I'll be gone by the time he gets here, but Donghyun said that he'll be coming at around 1pm, because he went to his father's tennis match."

"You two really took your sweet time getting here," Dongmin said, offering a sip of his coffee to his partner beside him. Despite being quite unfamiliar with the rest of the group, Seeun's extroverted behaviour allowed him to quickly befriend them.

"Seeun-ah," Jaehyun said suddenly as he sat atop the table while facing the other, "what did you do to make Dongmin like you? Like, I'm struggling to get Sanghyeok to even look at me. Give me advice, dude."

Sanghyeok turned his head in embarrassment as Dongmin and Sungho burst out laughing, but he was quite curious about Seeun's answer, given his thoughtful expression. Seeun crossed his arms as he hummed, smiling as he looked at Dongmin. "Why do you like me, anyway?"

"Because you're pretty, cute, and handsome all at the same time," Dongmin answered, resting his head on Seeun's shoulder.

Jaehyun quickly turned his head to face Sanghyeok. "Is there nothing about me that's appealing at all, Sanghyeok-ah?"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Jaehyun," Sanghyeok answered as he sipped from his green grape ade. "I'm just not interested in you as a romantic partner."

Jaehyun made a random noise of complaint as he threw his head back. "What am I doing wrong?!"

"Honestly, it really seems like you're taking the necessary steps when dealing with a crush," Sungho said with a gentle point of his finger toward Jaehyun, "but maybe you're too loud. Maybe you're being too forward by announcing your feelings at every given moment. Maybe Sanghyeokie just doesn't like you."

"Don't say those words, Sungho!" Jaehyun gasped dramatically as he turned his head and placed the back of his hand to his forehead. "I believe firmly that I have a chance with my beloved Sanghyeok. One day, he will love me - I swear by it."

Sanghyeok could only smile ever so slightly to himself. "You're such a loser..."