Chapter 1

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Sehun shifted around, the tree root he was perched on pressing uncomfortably into his ass. He glanced at his phone. 12:26 am. That means he should be here any moment now. Sehun lived in a big house on the outskirts of Masan, ridiculously close to the fierce chill of the ocean. He was buried in three thick coats- he only needed two, but he hoped that he'd be able to convince Jongin to take the other. The stubbornness of his best friend never failed to annoy and concern him. 'Ah, Sehunnie, I'm not that cold.' he'd say. Sehun could already imagine the reassuring smile appearing on his face as he nearly shivered out of his skin. At least he no longer refused food; Sehun generally brought homemade Ho-tteok for him, but he'd accept no more than 2 of the sugary, golden-brown disks.
He was snapped from his reverie by the distant whistle of a train. A grin spread across his face and he allowed himself a moment of giddiness before straightening out his face. At least he could pass off the flushed pink of his cheeks as being only due to the cold. He could see the light in the distance, and he curled in on himself as he waited. His grouchy impatience had disappeared; Jongin would be here soon, that was all that mattered now.
Sure enough, it was only a couple more minutes and the train was chugging past, a laughing teenage boy tumbling out onto the ground. Sehun snickered and did not get up to help him; it would go unappreciated; resented, even. "Hyung~ I brought food." Sehun said once his friend was settled against him in the dip between roots of the tree. Jongin tried very, very hard to conceal his relief at this, as he always did, simply offering Sehun a sheepish smile, because Sehun knew, of course. They always had acute awareness of each other and they always fumbled around trying to pretend they didn't anyways.
Sehun slid out of one coat and wrapped it around Jongin's shoulders, knowing it would be returned before he left. "Thank you, Sehun ah~". Sehun looked down quickly to hide how his lips quirked up at the corner at the mere sound of his favorite person's voice. They sat in silence as Jongin nibbled slowly at the Ho-tteok. The fact that he was restraining himself was as obvious as ever, but as always, Sehun said nothing. They curled into each other, 'to stay warm', they would have said if anyone asked.
Once the Ho-tteok was gone, Jongin's face was noticeably brighter but there was something bitter and guilty in the curve of his mouth. Sehun scooted right into his lap, curling around him and nuzzling into the warmth of his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long time; always did. Sehun's phone buzzed in his pocket multiple times. His mom must've woke up in the middle of the night and seen that he wasn't there. It had happened quite a lot lately.
"Umma is a nervous wreck recently. She thinks I'm out doing drugs." Sehun mumbled against Jongin's collarbone.
"Well, you are. I've been a bad influence." Jongin said with a cheeky grin, tapping the pack of cigarettes in his coat pocket, obviously considering them to be drugs. Sehun snorted and leaned back, pulling out 2 cigarettes and nudging one between Jongin's lips. He lit his own and then leaned close, touching the tip of the cigarettes together until they both lit. They exhaled the first lung full of smoke out together, breathing out their emotions into the chill of the air. Smoking time was confessional time.
"I love you." Sehun whispered as he had for the last month, as they had agreed to tell each other their deepest and most frustrating problems.
"I can't love you." Jongin replied simply and they left it at that, as they had for the past month. The tension held for a moment and they stared at each other before simultaneously blowing out smoke and settling close against each other again. Telling the truth was how they got along, really. Neither was the type to ask questions, so they just thought and brooded over each other's feelings, though there was nothing to be done about it.
It was 2 hours of quiet cuddling later before his phone buzzed again, which meant his mom had been awake for so long worrying about him. He felt bad, yes, but not enough to return to his house yet. Not when his home was right here with Jongin.

He would accidentally fall asleep with his arms around Jongin and wake up, shocked, at 9 am. He'd settle another coat around Jongin and kiss his cheek before running off to school. He'd get there an hour and a half late and his teacher and parents would be pissed, but there would not be a second of regret. Hell, it was the third time it happened, he could care less at this point. Besides, why would he want to spend his hours at school when he could spend them with Jongin?

AN: If you are a little confused, don't worry! Things will be cleared up more later :) You can think of this part as a sort of prologue.

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