STRANGER. － c.bm + k.dh

── [１２] ──

Perhaps things had precipitated without his full consent, without him paying them any mind.

Was there a precise time to when Donghyun had decided to be attracted to him? He couldn't tell. Maybe when they began this silly game of using pet names for each other, or maybe from that time they had a small spat. There was such sincerity in the man's eyes when he apologised; was it then?

Bomin was baffled, astounded, and yet there was a seedling of contentment sprouting within the graveyard he considered his mind to be.

He had entered the elevator that night with weary steps and a foggy mind, but the moment he noticed Donghyun's antsy expression and inability to stay still, the haze dissipated and his attention was drawn to said person.

"Everything alright, petal?"

He didn't want the atmosphere to grow tense and hoped his diabetes-inducing nickname for the other would bring him to a calmer state. Fortunately enough, it did just the trick and the man let out a hearty guffaw, smile-creases profound in his supple cheeks.

"Everything's good, Min, I just －" He shifted on his feet, a hand carding through his hair that looked to feel like cotton clouds in a spring sky, "See, I have all these things inside me, weird but happy things, and I'm not sure what to do with them."

When their eyes met, Donghyun noticed the confusion that painted the younger's face and let out a sigh － not one connected to anything negative, but rather one of acceptance.

"Going up?" He proceeded to ask, index finger already hovering over the same button he always pushed, and Bomin hummed, gaze still set intently on the other.

"Well, at least they're not bad things then."

Truthfully, he wasn't certain about how he should respond, his tongue was tasting a variety of ways to reply and yet voicing none.

Donghyun didn't appear disheartened or frustrated with the man's lack of a substantial answer, instead he maintained a timid smile and urged himself a centimetre or two nearer to the taller.

"It seems you haven't really connected any dots in that busy head of yours, so to cut to the chase I'll tell you directly."

Bomin blinked, a brow arching inquisitively, noting that they were facing each other now and that it made a thud resound in his chest which deafened his ears, growing steadier the longer they held their stare.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that taking the lift with you has become something I look forward to every day," Donghyun honestly replied, smiling but a tint of nervousness showing in the depths of his irises, "I mean that seeing you happy makes me want to be the same and that your laugh makes my pulse quicken and heart warm. I mean that I like listening to you talking with that drowsy voice of yours and I like watching your cheeks flush whenever I call you cute names. I mean that these weird, but nice feelings inside of me are caused by you, and I want more of them."

It wasn't necessarily believable to Bomin that he, someone who hardly felt anything, who had only recently rediscovered seconds of happiness, was able to be the reason of such an emotion for somebody else.

And yet, Donghyun had that same glimmer of sincerity in his eyes, that genuine fondness trickling from his confession and that glowing pink tint to the shells of his ears.

Bomin didn't know how to respond. Would it be fair to leach joy from another human like some parasite? Would it be fair to admit to feeling the same way about the man, when in reality it was merely a fraction of it that his numb heart could perceive?

"How am I to reply to such a soft speech?" He asked, straining a laugh to cloak his inner turmoil, "I like you too, but saying that doesn't hold as much impressive value now, does it?"

The moment Donghyun had processed his words was evident in his expression, a sheer excitement and glee washing over his features in seconds, and then he took some steps closer, the space between them reduced to a minimum.

"You could ask me to kiss you."

It was hushed, spoken just slightly above a whisper, but the statement reverberated within Bomin's mind until he couldn't think of anything else.

"Kiss me."

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