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Bae Sejin had been acting strange lately.
He kept sitting too close to Park Moondae—too close for comfort. And he had been saying things you wouldn't expect. It's like a surprise.
For example
“Park Moondae. Eat this, I bought it. I didn’t buy it for you, I just had… extras that I couldn’t finish.”
Or—
“Moondae-ya… thank you for everything. If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t be either. I’m glad you’re my member!”
He had run out of the room so fast that day, saying it as if it were the last day on earth.
...
“Park Moondae. Are you busy?”
Moondae’s thoughts were interrupted by the very person he had just been thinking about. He turned his head, looking at Bae Sejin, who still carried that same unusual air.
“No, why? Is there something you need, hyung?”
“Uh..yes...do..you…”
The room fell quiet for a moment. Sejin looked like he was struggling to find the right words. Moondae waited patiently—whatever it was, he could afford to wait.
“Sejin-hyung?”
“Oh! Yes, uh...do you... wanna watch K-dramas together?”
That was what he had been thinking so hard about?
Moondae saw no reason to refuse. He didn’t have anything else planned for the day anyway.
“Sure, I don’t see why not.”
Sejin seemed to light up. The corners of his lips twitched into a small, happy smile.
How cute, this visual should smile more, Moondae thought.
Park Moondae watched as the male lead confessed his feelings to the female lead. On the screen, the male lead grabbed the female lead’s wrist, his voice shaking as he finally admitted, ["I like you, no.. i love you"]
Moondae's gaze shifted away from the screen to the man sitting next to him. The blue light of the television illuminated Sejin's face, catching the way his lashes fluttered and the way he was anxiously biting his lips.
Bae Sejin was sitting so close that Moondae could feel the warmth radiating off him. The characters on the TV finally embraced, Moondae found himself thinking that the visual sitting next to him was far more captivating than whatever was happening on the screen.
Sejin must've felt the weight of Moondae's stare, because he suddenly turned his head away from the screen.
Their eyes met. In the dim, blue-lit room, neither of them breathed. Sejin's eyes widened, his chest rising rapidly as if he'd been caught red-handed. For a second, Moondae wondered if he should look away, but he felt his eyes glued to Sejin.
"W-what?" Sejin finally squeaked out, his face instantly flushing red like a tomato. He threw his hands up defensively. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there.. is there something on my face?"
'no' Moondae thought, slowly moving his gaze back to the screen. "It's nothing, hyung."
Sejin's eyes narrowed, clearly not believing him. He let out a small, huffy breath and crossed his arms, turning his head back toward the screen with a stiff posture.
"It didn't look like nothing," Sejin muttered under his breath. his voice barely audible over the K-drama's background music. "You were staring so hard.."
After a few moments of heavy silence, the tension in Sejin's shoulders finally began to melt away. He let out a long quiet sigh, his body sinking slightly deeper into the couch cushions.
Because they were sitting so close, the movement caused Sejin to lean an inch closer, his arm resting completely against Moondae's.
Moondae didn't move away.
By the time the next episode ended, the clock on the wall read past midnight.
A short, heavy silence filled the space between them as the TV screen automaticaly switched to a dark standby mode. The comforting warmth of Sejin's arm against his was suddenly gone as the older man stood up, agressively smoothing down his shirt to avoid eye contact.
"I-i'm going to bed," Sejin muttered, his voice still carrying a slight, nervous edge. He cleared his throat and pointed vaguely toward the hallway. "Goodnight, Moondae-ya."
"Goodnight hyung." Moondae watched him practically jog down the corridor before closing the bedroom door. Sitting alone on the couch, Moondae rubbed the back of his neck.
Moondae turned off the TV, the living room turned into complete darkness. He sat there for a few minutes, letting his eyes adjust, before finally deciding to go to bed himself.
When Moondae quietly pushed the door open to their shared bedroom, the room was mostly dark, illuminated only by the faint moonlight filtering through the window curtains.
He expected Sejin to be fast asleep, or at leasr pretending to be. Instead, he found the older boy sitting on the edge of his own bed, his knees pulled up to his chest as he stared blankly at his phone. The dim light of the screen cast a small glow over his tense profile.
Moondae walked in quietly, closing the door behind him with a soft click. "Hyung. You're still up?"
Sejin flinched, nearly dropping his phone. He scrambled to turn it off, shoving it under his pillow. "M-Moondae-ya! Yeah. I was just... checking the fancafe."
"At 1 AM?" Moondae walked over to his bed, unbuttoning his outer shirt.
"The fans are very active at night," Sejin muttered defensively, burying his face slightly into his knees.
Moondae sat down on his mattress, just a few feet away from Sejin's. In the quiet space, Moondae could hear the steady hum of the air conditioner and the slight rustle of Sejin's sheets as the older man shifted uncomfortably.
"Hyung," Moondae spoke up, his voice low and calm.
"What?"
"If something is bothering you, you can just tell me," Moondae said bluntly, looking directly at him through the dark. "You've been acting weird all week. And during the drama earlier, you looked really tense."
Sejin bit his lip, his eyes darting down to his blanket. "I wasn't tense. I was just.. thinking that the male lead's acting was a bit too dramatic."
"Is that so." Moondae didnt push it further, knowing that backing Sejin into a corner would make him retreat into his shell completely. He shifted under his own covers, resting his head aganst the pillow. "Lets just sleep, hyung. We have an early schedule tomorrow."
"Right. Goodnight."
The room fell silent.
Moondae closed his eyes, expecting to drift off easily, but his mind kept looping back to the expression Sejin had worn during the confession scene—and the heavy, lingering heat of Sejin's arm against his own.
A sharp, sudden gasp cut through the quiet room.
Moondae opened his eyes instantly. Across the small gap between their beds, Sejin was trembling slightly, his hands gripping the edges of his blanket.
"Hyung?"
"Im fine," Sejin's voice shook slightly. He pulled the blanket higher, burying his face. "Just.. a sudden chill. Go back to sleep, Moondae-ya."
Moondae stared at the curled-up figure through the dim moonlight. He knew it wasn't a chill. Sejin was completely overwhelmed by his own thoughts, suffocating under the weight of whatever he was hiding.
Without a word, Moondae threw his blanket aside.
The mattress rustled loudly as Moondae stood up and walked the few steps over to Sejin’s bed. Sejin flinched, his eyes widening in the dark as Moondae casually lifted the edge of his comforter and slid inside.
"M-Moondae?! What are you doing?!?" Sejin squeaked, his entire body freezing up as Moondae settled onto the mattress right beside him. The bed was small, forcing their bodies to flush against each other.
"You said you were cold," Moondae said smoothly, his tone nonchalant.
He reached out, wrapping an arm around Sejin's waist and pulling the older man securely against his body.
Sejin's brain completely shut down. He laid there stiffly, his heart hammering so loudly against Moondae's chest that it was impossible to ignore. "This.. is highly inappropriate for idols.."
"Hyung. Please shut up and sleep."
Moondae buried his face into Sejin's soft hair, inhaling the familiar scent of his shampoo. He tightened his grip around Sejin's waist, anchoring him close.
Slowly, bit by bit, the tension left Sejin's shoulders. Realizing that Moondae wasnt going to let go—and secretly not wanting him to—Sejin let out a tiny, shaky breath. He relaxed into the hold, molding his back against Moondae’s front, and softly rested his hands over Moondae's arm.
In the dark, silent sanctuary of their room, the suffocating awkwardness finally dissolved into a deep, comfortable warmth.
'He feels soft' Moondae thought, his own eyelids growing heavy as Sejin's breathing slowed into a peaceful rhythm.
Holding the visual close in his arms, Moondae finally closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep.