Work Text
As if something possessed him, Kihyun leaned over to lessen the distance between his and his best friend’s face. “Can I try something?” he whispered, glancing around the TV-lit room at his other friends’ sleeping faces. Kihyun knew he and Changkyun were the only ones awake at this time based on his friend’s breathing and the fact that he was still rubbing small, soothing circles on Kihyun’s hand that laced with his on his chest.
Changkyun turned slightly to look up at Kihyun from his lap which he was using as a pillow during their movie night. “Sure? What is it, Kihyun?” he asked quietly, peering into his friend’s eyes in the dark.
“I was gonna tell you guys tonight but never found the chance to,” he started slowly, leaning in a bit more to the other’s face. “I somehow landed a small role in a short film. It’s an indie film, so it’s not that big of a deal. But I—“
Changkyun sat up and turned around to face Kihyun, laying his legs across the other’s lap, his former pillow. “That’s great!” he exclaimed softly, throwing his arms around Kihyun. “It is a big deal! This is a step into the film industry, Kihyun. Next thing, you’ll be the main lead in a weekly drama!” He jokingly kissed the other on the cheek, expressing his excitement.
“Yeah, but,” Kihyun trailed off, uncertainty crossing his expression. “Okay, just don’t get weirded out. Please. That’s the last thing I’d want,” he tried, searching for something in his friend, who just nodded fervently. “Of course,” Changkyun replied.
Contemplatively, Kihyun sighed and chewed on his lower lip. He waited a moment before continuing. “So, the part I got. They casted me to be the ‘mistress’,” he said with air quotes. “Basically, the main guy cheats on his wife or girlfriend or whatever,” he paused, taking a deep breath, “with me.”
His friend just looked at him inquisitively, as if not understanding the problem Kihyun was facing.
“They want me to
do stuff
with him,” he emphasized. “Like make out and
stuff,
but not really that much because then it’d become a freaking porno. But
still,
Changkyun, I’ve never done
anything
before, let alone kiss anyone.”
Changkyun smiled and chuckled softly, placing his hands on the other’s face. He cocked his head and bemusedly said, “But we’ve kissed before. Don’t you remember?” His smile turned from one of gentleness to one of playfulness before he sloppily kissed Kihyun’s forehead.
Kihyun swatted his hand at his friend, wiped his now-wet forehead, and laughed a little too loudly before collecting himself and glancing around the room to make sure no one else woke up. He saw Minhyuk stir a little but was rest assured when the boy snuggled into their other friend, Hyungwon. If the boy were conscious of his actions, he’d spring up and bolt out the door, face beet red and burning. For some reason, Minhyuk always felt threatened by the lanky boy—no one understood why they were friends.
Kihyun looked back to Changkyun. “But that’s different, Changkyun. It was an accident and it happened when we were barely even seven years old!”
“But a kiss is still a kiss,” Changkyun pouted. “You stole my first kiss, and you know it, you punk!” He pulled Kihyun’s head down a bit and rubbed the top of his head like an older sibling would to his annoying younger brother despite the fact that Kihyun is over two years older than him.
Kihyun squirmed out from the other’s grip and placed his hands on his shoulders. “But Changkyun, you don’t think that’s weird? The role they gave me?”
“Why would I find it weird? It’s just acting. They probably thought you were so pretty that they wanted you to steal the hearts of everyone except the main girl,” he teased, ruffling Kihyun’s soft black hair.
“You think I’m pretty?” was all Kihyun could say. But Changkyun laughed, “Of course, I do! Everyone thinks so.”
Kihyun nodded and looked around. “Oh,” he weakly responded.
Changkyun noticed Kihyun’s nervousness and concernedly asked, “What’s wrong? Does the role you got bother you that much? Is it because you’re worried what people will think? Aren’t you close with that one girl in your Literature class? Are you thinking that being in this short film will ruin your chances with her?”
“I’m not interested in her!” Kihyun snapped. He stood abruptly and left the living room, heading for Changkyun’s room. He closed the door silently and ran to the bed, wrapping himself in the other’s blankets in attempt to hide from everything.
Probably after ten minutes, Changkyun stepped into his own room. Kihyun felt the surface of the bed change as his friend sat beside him. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know what’s going through your head, but I want you to know that I’m proud of you for finally getting a part in a film, even if it’s not what you wanted.”
He scooted closer to Kihyun and laid his hand on the blanket-covered shoulder. “You’re my best friend—you’ve always been—and yet I don’t know what to do for the first time in my life. I don’t know what I said, but if I upset you, I’m sorry, Kihyun. You know I’ll always love you.”
Kihyun rolled over to face his friend, head poking out from the fluffy blanket. The lights were still off, so the only light that captured the boy’s face was from the moon that shone through the window. He examined the soft shadows that delicately framed his features. Kihyun didn’t know why he was upset either, but all negative feelings dissipated upon seeing the other’s concerned expression. He freed an arm from the blankets and lifted it up, indicating for Changkyun to join him.
Changkyun followed suit, crawling under the blanket, slinging an arm around Kihyun’s waist, and pulling him closer until their faces almost touched. “Do you forgive me?” Kihyun nodded, smile on his lips. “Will you tell me what’s got you so down?” Kihyun shook his head in response. “Why not?”
“I don’t know,” Kihyun mumbled stubbornly. He nuzzled his head into the crook of the other’s neck. “I’m scared.”
An arm came up to cradle Kihyun’s head with comfort. “Of what?” Changkyun asked softly, pressing a light kiss on the top of the other’s head. He let his lips linger, relishing the feeling of the soft bed of hair.
Almost inaudibly, Kihyun replied, “I don’t want my first kiss to be an act.”
Changkyun stiffened around him, causing Kihyun’s heart to get caught in his throat. But Changkyun shifted back slightly and lifted Kihyun’s chin to face him and look him in the eyes. “I told you, your first kiss already happened,” he teased.
But that wasn’t the case for Kihyun. “No,” he said sternly. “That didn’t count. We were kids. It just—I just—That wasn’t a kiss. It was an accident.” He shifted uncomfortably under the other’s captivating gaze. “With this guy, for this role, it’s gonna be a lot more. They expect a lot from me, since I’m twenty and look like the experienced type. Little do they know…”
The other bursted into laughter, eyes crinkling into crescent moons as he pressed his forehead against his friend’s. “Experienced type? You think you look like a player? Kihyun, please. You’re so innocent and naive, it’s obvious just through the look in your eyes when anyone brings anything sexual up.”
“Shut up!” Kihyun whined as he lightly hit the other’s chest. “You’re supposed to be helping me, here. Not laughing at me! But it’s not like you’ve had any experience either! You’re worse than me, being caught up on having your ‘first kiss’ stolen at seven years old!”
Changkyun quieted down and grew serious. “Then what do you want to do?” He kept his forehead rested against the other’s and brought his hand to Kihyun’s cheek, tracing his jawline with feathery touches. Kihyun swallowed, fighting the chill that wanted to run down his spine.
A sudden fire blazed in his stomach.
“We’re friends, right?” Kihyun asked innocently, locking eyes with Changkyun.
He heard the other’s breath grow erratic. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Best friends.”
“Forever? No matter what happens?”
“No matter what,” Changkyun whispered. His hand that was tracing the other’s jaw slipped behind Kihyun’s neck and played with the hair at his nape. The light touches sent the chills he was earlier fighting down his spine. A soft sigh escaped his lips, urging Changkyun to smile at his friend.
Kihyun leaned in even closer until their lips were mere millimeters apart. He could feel the other’s breath mix with his own as the hand on his neck tightened ever so slightly. His eyes locked with the younger’s in a way that had never happened before.
There was a looming pressure, a heavy feeling that paired with Kihyun’s gaze. Changkyun felt himself being drawn closer.
Changkyun closed his eyes and closed the distance, pressing his lips against his friend’s.