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A lot of things were unexplainable; such as Jaehyun’s odd frustration whenever someone else happened to be in the kitchen at the same time as him (probably due to being on the receiving end of his relatives’ endless teasing about his awful cooking skills before he actually learned how to cook decently; at least that’s how Jaehyun justified himself), his frustration whenever someone typed a comma and then didn’t hit space after, but began to type right away, causing the comma and the letter to be right next to each other (in Jaehyun’s opinion, it was visually unpleasant) and his sudden obsession with lip glosses.
Obsession with lip glosses?
The Jaehyun from just five minutes ago would have been bewildered if someone had informed him about his obsession, utterly confused that somebody else apparently knew more about him than he did himself. Admittedly, while exploring his sexuality in his mid-teens, he experimented with a few lip glosses. Most of them were borrowed from his gay friend, Kevin. However, he soon realised that he wasn’t the kind of person who enjoyed wearing lip gloss. Many of them were too sticky and didn’t last long, which didn’t suit his tastes.
Perhaps that was because the Jaehyun of five minutes ago hadn’t been facing his insanely gorgeous neighbor that had moved in earlier this week, who was very obviously wearing lip gloss on his lips.
The guy’s hair was blonde (Jaehyun could swear this guy was a natural blonde, despite not having seen him with a different hair color) and it was complemented by a red beret perched atop of his head. His red and white polo shirt completed the ensemble. His face was.. To put it simply, the neighbor had a face that could easily grace any magazine cover. If Jaehyun found out that he wasn’t modelling for some type of brand, he’d be profoundly disappointed in humanity. None of the models Jaehyun had seen previously could compare to this guy’s breathtaking face. His lips alone deserved worldwide recognition; they were so stunningly perfect that Jaehyun, who couldn’t boast the same about his own lips, felt a pang of envy. He was certain the blonde could effortlessly pull off even the most unflattering shades of lipstick.
Jaehyun was so gay he was this close to uttering something incredibly stupid that would most likely cause him to come across as a weirdo and scare off his mesmerizing neighbor. Maybe something like “Hey, I’m Jaehyun. Your lips on my lips?”
That wasn’t even a coherent sentence and definitely not one to tell a stranger but hey, Jaehyun was finding it quite difficult to simply function upon having the cause of his sudden new obsession right in front of him, much less say something that actually made sense.
“Are you okay?”
Jaehyun blinked, horrified at the fact that he’d been fantasizing of the two of them holding hands and running off to somewhere, before coming to his senses. He looked slightly down, oddly delighted at the realization that this guy was somewhat shorter than him. Then he met his eyes and.. Well, his neighbor wasn’t exactly happy. A frown was plastered on his face, probably because he was weirded out by Jaehyun’s behavior. Oh shit.
“Hey, uh..” Jaehyun stammered, looking around and noticing the two of them were right in front of the elevator. “Sorry, could you repeat your question again? I wasn’t paying attention.”
“That I noticed. I asked if you were okay.”
Jaehyun winced. “Yeah, I am. I apologise, I.. I’m running on three or four hours of sleep, so I’m pretty slow today. Forgive me for coming across as weird or something.”
That was bullshit. Jaehyun had slept just fine and had woken up feeling completely rested, but what could he say? Say that he was so mesmerized by his neighbor’s glossy lips to the point his brain had completely stopped functioning? Yeah, no. Maybe ten years later if they happened to be in a relationship.
“Ah, it’s fine, don’t worry,” his neighbor smiled, reassuringly. “It happens to everyone. I hope you get a good night’s sleep today.”
Not only was his new neighbor drop dead gorgeous, but he was sweet too? A literal angel?! Jaehyun could cry right now.
Jaehyun smiled back, even wider. “Thank you, um..”
“Chanhee.”
Oh, his name suited him perfectly.
“Thank you so much, Chanhee. You moved in earlier this week, right?”
“Yeah!” Chanhee beamed. “I did. Sorry, I must’ve caused a lot of noise while moving in, haven’t I?”
Truthfully, he had. Chanhee’s door wasn’t next to his, yet Jaehyun had still heard the ruckus in the hallway. Five minutes after the noise had been over, Jaehyun opened his door just slightly enough to peek in the hallway. All he had seen was an overwhelming amount of boxes stacked on top of each other in front of someone’s ajar door, before he had closed it shut.
Upon seeing the pretty neighbor up close, though, the slight annoyance Jaehyun had felt the first few days had vanished, leaving no trace. It seemed like nothing mattered as long as it was Chanhee the one who did it.
And he was a total stranger. A stranger who wore lip gloss.
Jaehyun was certain he was going crazy.
“Don’t worry about it,” he responded while dismissively waving his hand. Just when he was about to add, he was interrupted by the ding of the elevator. Now that Jaehyun was thinking about it, the elevator had taken an awful lot of time to reach their floor. Was this the universe’s doing or something?
“After you,” Jaehyun gestured with his hands, giddy upon seeing Chanhee’s shy smile.
“Well, if you ever need something, don’t hesitate to come over and ask. I’d gladly help.”
“Thank you.. Oh my, I was about to call you neighbor and I just realised that all I’ve been calling you in my head is neighbor, ” Chanhee giggled, (he fucking giggled and it had been the sweetest sound Jaehyun had ever heard). “I haven’t asked you for your name yet, that’s so impertinent of me. So, what is your name, neighbor ?”
“Yeah, neighbor..” Jaehyun trailed off, his eyes stuck on Chanhee’s lips. The sweetest sound had come out of exactly those lips and.. Did it make any sense for him to suddenly have this overwhelming urge to taste someone else’s lip gloss?
Chanhee raised an eyebrow. “Your name is neighbor?”
“Jaehyun! Name is Jaehyun, yeah,” Jaehyun rushed to say, his face heating up. “Sorry, like I said, I’m slow today.” More like so smitten with this guy that he was reaching borderline insanity. Perhaps Sunwoo had been right when he had said that Jaehyun needed to make an appointment and check on his mental health.
The smile returned to Chanhee’s face. “You’d better go to sleep early tonight, then. It probably won’t be cool of you to respond with ‘neighbor’ in case somebody else asks for your name today.”
Jaehyun smiled in return, though tight-lipped. Had sleep deprivation been the cause of his fuzzy brain and dumb acts he would’ve been less harsh with himself, but he wasn’t even sleep-deprived! Did a healthy brain ever get the overwhelming urge of tasting somebody’s lip gloss? Jaehyun doubted it.
“Yeah, you’re right. It’d be pretty embarrassing.”
Just then, the elevator’s doors opened, revealing two young women waiting. Jaehyun and Chanhee got off, soon facing each other.
“Well then.. I’ll see you around?”
Jaehyun smiled. “Of course.”
He hoped he would.
—
“Has any of you ever had the overwhelming urge to taste somebody’s lip gloss?”
All four heads turned to look at Jaehyun; two raising their eyebrows, one looking bewildered and the other one barely impressed. Changmin, Sangyeon, Kevin and Sunwoo. In that order.
“Hello to you too,” Sangyeon said, his eyes following Jaehyun’s unsettled figure sitting next to Changmin, the latter sliding a cup of iced americano to him.
“Everyday I’m getting more and more concerned about what’s going on inside that head of yours,” Sunwoo said.
“You’re one to talk.” Changmin responded, giggling right after when Sunwoo kicked him under the table.
Jaehyun whined, his head dropping to rest on the table. “ I’m the one getting concerned.”
“Oh shit, it’s serious. What happened?”
“I need one of you to answer the question first.”
“You know that I use lip gloss quite often but.. As far as I can remember, I’ve never had the urge to taste lip gloss, though. Especially somebody else’s. Many of them taste nice and fruity but, you know, it’s lip gloss. I presume there’s better stuff to taste,” Kevin said. “Since when were you into lip glosses, though?”
“You know me, I’ve never been into lip glosses..”
Kevin nodded his head. “That’s why I’m asking.”
“But?” Sangyeon urged him on.
“I met this guy.”
“You meet guys, like, everyday,” Sunwoo said.
“No you don’t get it. This guy was.. He was a literal angel sent from heaven. I swear.”
“Don’t tell me you told him that gross pickup line. What was it? ‘Did you hurt when you fell from—”
“No!” Jaehyun was quick to interrupt Changmin. “I barely managed to tell him five coherent words. My brain literally stopped working when I saw him. And he was wearing lip gloss! I swear his lips alone deserve, like, a ten hour long video or something. I’m not kidding.”
Sangyeon stared at him, biting back a giggle. “And so you got this urge to taste lip gloss? His lip gloss, specifically.”
Jaehyun nodded his head, his expression ever so serious. “It’s not normal, is it? Should I go get checked?”
Sunwoo chuckled. “I mean, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. What is this guy’s name and how did you two meet, anyway?”
“He’s my neighbor. He moved in earlier this week and his name is Chanhee. Isn’t his name so gorgeous too?”
“Chanhee..?” Changmin muttered, sharing a look with Sunwoo.
“Yeah, Chanhee. He’s blonde. I think he might be a natural blonde.”
“Damn, you’re totally gone, Jaehyun. And it's been, what, less than thirty minutes since you've met him? He's got you down bad," Sangyeon remarked, amused.
“I’m sure if you saw him, you’d be down bad for him, too,” Jaehyun defended himself, pointing an accusing finger to Sangyeon. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The issue is, how do I get this weird urge to taste lip gloss away for good?”
“You know, I’ve heard of very odd cravings before, but this one tops all of them as the weirdest, I fear,” Changmin muttered, deep in thought. “A craving to taste lip gloss? All because of a guy? Guys, if I ever get this down bad for someone, snap me out of it please.”
Kevin hummed in agreement, ignoring Jaehyun’s fruitless protests. “Funny thing is Jaehyun absolutely hates wearing lip gloss—Um, I think I’ve got to use past tense now. He hated wearing lip gloss. I remember the face he made when he tried my lip gloss for the first time. He swore he’d never wear one again, muttering something about how unnecessarily sticky they are. I guess love really does change people.”
“Make fun of me all you want. I really don’t care,” Jaehyun grumbled, crossing his arms and leaning back to rest against the chair.
“On a serious note, though. If you really want that, um, urge to go away, I believe you have to buy a couple of lip glosses and try them on yourself. That is the only way, I guess.”
Jaehyun blinked slowly, considering Sangyeon’s words. “That.. makes sense I guess, but aren’t they expensive? You’re telling me I have to spend lots of money just for some lip glosses?”
Changmin turned to him in disbelief. “Do you like lip gloss or not?! Make up your mind!”
Sunwoo clicked his tongue. “I think he just likes that guy’s lips, not the lip gloss itself.”
“This is so stupid it’s making my head hurt.”
Jaehyun abruptly stood up from his seat, taking a few steps back from his friends. All of them had their eyes on him, expectant and slightly daunting, prompting him to create some sort of distance from them. He loved his friends, really, but damn wasn’t he intimidated whenever he was the center of attention and when they spoke like that.
“Okay guys, I think this is something I need to sort out by myself now,” Jaehyun said, holding his hands up in surrender.
“Don’t bother spending your money on lip gloss. You just like his lips, that’s all.”
“How do you know? He might actually be into lip gloss now.”
Kevin chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. “This is so funny, sorry. Jae, would you like to try my lip glosses again? That’d save you some money.”
“No thanks,” Jaehyun was quick to protest. “Yours aren’t my type. At all. Anyways, I’ll see what I can do. I’ll get going now.”
“Don’t forget to send me pictures of the lip glosses you end up buying!” Jaehyun heard Kevin calling after him.
Jaehyun huffed. He wasn’t going to spend any money on lip gloss.
—
Except he did end up spending money on lip gloss.
After dreaming about his neighbor’s glossy lips all night, Jaehyun felt compelled to visit the beauty store and purchase a few lip glosses. The experience left him questioning his sanity; he couldn’t understand why he would dream about someone’s lips, especially a stranger’s. Although his dreams had always been somewhat nonsensical, this particular obsession seemed to take things to a whole new level.
He completed his morning routine feeling groggy and fed up with his peculiar brain. After selecting a decent outfit from his wardrobe, he grabbed his keys and left his apartment, heading towards the elevator. Not before taking a glance at Chanhee’s door, though.
It was closed. Obviously. Jaehyun wasn’t sure why he'd expected anything different.
South Korea, like any country, had its flaws that sometimes made Jaehyun embarrassed to live there. However, one advantage of the country was the abundance of beauty stores with a wide variety of products to choose from, so Jaehyun was confident he wouldn’t return home empty-handed.
Perhaps not empty hands, but definitely an empty wallet.
The first beauty store on his list was only a fifteen-minute walk away. It was one of the few stores he always frequented when he was running low on concealer, his dearest makeup product. As a college student, adequate sleep was not part of his routine and concealer was the only solution to his unflattering eye bags.
He stepped in and, as always, it was packed with people. Instead of going to the section where concealers were displayed, this time he turned to the lip products section.
Unlike other times, he was there for lip gloss.
Jaehyun sighed, pinching the flesh between his eyebrows. “What am I even doing..”
Nevertheless, he approached the lip products and ran his eyes all over them.
There were lip liners, lip tints, matte lipsticks, lip balms, lip tints, lip masks, but no..
Lip gloss. There it was.
Jaehyun took a few steps to the left, leaning in to take a closer look at the products. There were.. Many, to say the least.
There were pigmented lip glosses and plumping ones. Scented and unscented. So many to choose from, yet Jaehyun had no idea which ones to go for.
He clicked his tongue, glaring at them as if that would give him an answer. Many of them were similar to the ones Kevin owned — the ones he had previously tried. If they were similar, then Jaehyun would most likely not be a fan of them. Waste of money, basically. But then, when he thought about Chanhee and how glossy his lips were, he felt the urge to taste lip gloss once again.
It was odd, because not once had he ever felt like this when he’d seen other boys with lip gloss on. In came Chanhee and suddenly he was obsessed with them.
Jaehyun sighed, shaking his head. He would just grab two or three random lip glosses, pay for them and then leave. The more he was standing in front of them, the more he was overthinking it.
He reached forward to grab a plumping lip gloss, before he heard someone’s voice.
“Jaehyun?”
His eyes widened and he turned to his right immediately, his lip gloss falling from his hand.
Chanhee.
“Oh, shit,” Jaehyun cursed, bending to grab the product and then quickly put it back on his place.
What even were the odds of meeting his pretty neighbor in the same beauty store he went to?
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you like that.” Chanhee looked guilty.
Jaehyun waved his hand dismissively, planting a smile. “All’s good.”
Chanhee smiled back, before his eyes followed Jaehyun’s hand, still lingering on the lip gloss.
“You’re here to buy lip gloss?”
Jaehyun looked at the lip gloss, swiftly retreating his hand as if he’d burnt it. “Um. Not really. I’m just.. Looking around.”
Why was it so embarrassing to admit it out loud?!
“Hm, I didn’t take you for a lip gloss kind of guy, but I have to admit it’d look good on you,” Chanhee said, oblivious to the turmoil happening in Jaehyun’s brain. “Want me to help? I wear lip gloss almost everyday.”
Of course you do.
“Yeah, why not,” Jaehyun forced a chuckle, backing away to give Chanhee the chance to look at the variety of products. “I’d appreciate it.”
Chanhee smiled in return. It seemed like all he did was smile and smile.
An angel indeed.
“What type of lip gloss do you like?” Chanhee inquired, taking one in his hands.
“I.. I actually have no idea,” Jaehyun stammered, looking away. “One that is not sticky, I guess.”
Chanhee stared at him, before a chuckle left his lips. “Those are quite rare to find, but okay.. Would you prefer a tinted one or a clear one? Plumping one?”
“Whichever one you think looks good on me.”
Jaehyun hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but oh well. Too many questions and too much pressure for him to control his mouth. Chanhee wore lip gloss almost everyday, anyway. He’d said that himself. Wasn’t he basically a pro at this point? He should know better than Jaehyun.
“O..kay,” Chanhee muttered, but then a smile bloomed on his lips again. “I think a tinted one would suit you. Not too pigmented — just enough to make your lips pop. Do your lips naturally have color to them or do they need some tint during the day?”
Jaehyun hummed. “Definitely need some tint.”
Chanhee nodded his head, satisfied. “Well then, definitely get a tinted one. A rosy color would suit you. This one’s one of my favorites because it tastes like bubblegum.”
Jaehyun took the lip gloss from Chanhee’s hand, inspecting it. Then, he nodded. “Looks good.”
“I’d advise you to buy a clear lip gloss as well, just to add a shiny and glossy look to your lips.”
Just like yours? Jaehyun wanted to say, but before those words could escape his lips, he closed his mouth shut and nodded his head with a smile — absolutely terrified at himself. His eyes then fell on Chanhee’s lips, taking notice of their color. Yesterday they were a reddish orange color. This time they were pink.
Just like Jaehyun had thought; he could pull off any color.
“Thanks a lot, Chanhee,” Jaehyun smiled, grateful. “Had it not been for you I would’ve probably spent hours in here. Very indecisive, sadly.”
Chanhee chuckled. “I get it. There are so many products it gets overwhelming at times.”
“What about you? What are you looking for?”
“I’m looking for eye glitter! I ran out of the one I used, so I’m here to buy a new one.”
Jaehyun halted his movements altogether, staring at Chanhee with wide eyes. He wore eye glitter too?! Wasn’t the lip gloss enough?
“Anything’s wrong?” Chanhee’s voice snapped him out of his trance.
“No! Not at all,” Jaehyun rushed to say. “I was just.. Picturing you with eye glitter on. Very pretty.”
It was more than just very pretty, but Jaehyun’s brain was sadly not cooperating with him lately. Particularly in Chanhee’s presence, to his dismay.
He hadn’t intended to tell the truth, but he’d rather tell him the truth than leave Chanhee the impression of having something against boys wearing eye glitter. Jaehyun would’ve never forgiven himself.
A shy smile tugged at Chanhee’s lips and he turned away, avoiding Jaehyun’s eyes.
“Wanna help me choose which eye glitter to buy?”
Jaehyun grinned. “Gladly.”
The two of them moved to the eye products section, with Chanhee leading the way and Jaehyun trailing behind. Although the latter had visited this place many times, he’d never cared enough to explore the entire store. He tended to buy the few things he liked to use on the daily and call it a day.
Chanhee seemed to know the way around, though.
“What colors do you usually go for?” Jaehyun inquired once they stood in front of the glitter palettes.
“Warm colors. I don’t prefer the glitter to be too dazzling, just bright enough to complement my eyes, if you know what I mean.”
Jaehyun hummed in understanding, looking at the variety of glitter palettes on display. Chanhee definitely knew what made him look good and didn’t (Jaehyun doubted there was something that did not make him look good, but alright) and Jaehyun liked that. He was meticulous and careful when choosing something, it seemed, and the fact that he had asked Jaehyun for help — was asking about Jaehyun’s opinion — made him feel special in some way.
“Well then..” Jaehyun trailed off, reaching forward to grab a glitter palette which was nicely adorned and definitely eye-catching. “What about this one? Warm colors, just like you said. It’ll definitely look nice on you.”
Chanhee took the palette from his hands, leaning closer to scrutinize each glitter. “Hmm, I haven’t tried this one. I was thinking of going for the one I usually buy, but this one doesn’t look bad either. I think it’ll work just right with my rhinestones.”
Rhinestones ? Jaehyun was certain this boy was going to be the cause of his death.
“Yeah.. I think so too,” Jaehyun replied, dazed. No, he wasn’t picturing Chanhee with rhinestones on his eyelids. Absolutely not.
“Thank you for helping me, Jaehyun,” Chanhee beamed at him, hugging the palette close to his chest.
Jaehyun smiled back and shook the two lip glosses in front of him. “Of course. Thanks for these as well.”
They went back home together, as neither of the two had any other plans. Chanhee simply wanted to enter his apartment and rot in bed for the rest of the day, while Jaehyun desperately wanted to try the lip glosses on his lips and bring an end to this madness (read: his questionable urge).
“Well then,” Chanhee spoke once they were in the hallway, “I hope these lip glosses are of your taste. If not, tell me. I know lots of other lip glosses.”
Jaehyun nodded his head, smiling. “Will do. Have a good day, Chanhee.”
“You too!”
I know lots of other lip glosses.
Jaehyun shook his head, shutting the door behind him. This wouldn’t do.
He rushed to the bedroom and stood in front of his mirror. He looked at the lip products for a second, before deciding to try on the tinted one. As soon as he opened it, a bubblegum scent invaded his senses. Frankly, it smelled nice.
There was no doubt it would taste nice as well.
Jaehyun slowly brought the applicator to his lips, as if debating with himself, and then coated his lips with a thin layer. He then smacked his lips and— sticky . It was sticky. And it definitely tasted like bubblegum.
He had to admit, the color did actually suit him. He put some more lip gloss on and then closed it. Jaehyun leaned closer to take a look and.. Well, it wasn’t bad . At least not as bad as when he’d tried lip gloss on for the first time (maybe Kevin’s choice of lip gloss was the problem). But it wasn’t his thing, either. It had a pleasant scent, sure, but the taste wasn’t as good. Not to mention that it was sticky, too; an instant turn-off.
Jaehyun sighed, putting the tinted lip gloss down before picking up the clear one. This one was said to plump your lips or whatever. It would definitely be sticky like the tinted one, just unscented.
Well. Jaehyun wasn’t into lip gloss, just like he hadn’t been in his mid-teens. And he had just wasted his money for a product he knew he wouldn’t be a fan of. What now? Oddly enough, the urge was still there — never once leaving him alone. Lip gloss was definitely not one of the best things to taste, and he had just discovered that.
And yet the urge was still there. He still wanted to taste lip gloss. Chanhee’s lip gloss.
“It’s official, I’m going crazy,” Jaehyun muttered to himself, covering his forehead with his hand as if he were physically sick.
If Jaehyun hadn't known what madness was before, now he did.
—
Two months passed. Two eventful months of Jaehyun getting closer to Chanhee each passing day. Most of their encounters happened either in the hallway or at a nearby store (Jaehyun had discovered Chanhee wasn’t much of an outdoor type of person, as well as not someone who walked further than necessary to get something. He stuck to all the nearby stores almost all the time, but so did Jaehyun, anyway.)
On all the days Jaehyun had encountered Chanhee, he’d never seen him without lip gloss on. Never. His lips were glossy and shiny all the time, ever so inviting for J̶a̶e̶h̶y̶u̶n̶ anyone to get a taste of. He felt like a creep whenever his eyes fell on the other’s lips against his own will, but he really couldn’t help it. They were already nice to begin with and that lip gloss did so well at enhancing his lips’ fullness and shape.
That damn lip gloss. Jaehyun had never seen somebody who disliked lip gloss as obsessed with lip gloss as he was.
September and October passed, leaving to let November take place. November was Changmin’s month and unsurprisingly, just like the previous years, he was throwing a party at his place. He’d let Jaehyun and the rest know by sending a very bubbly, emoji-filled text on their group chat. He wasn’t throwing a big one, though, as his friend circle was decreasing each year. The harsh reality of adulthood.
His gift for Changmin was simple; a beaded bracelet which he made himself. He’d spent a long time trying to find the perfect combination of the beads which he borrowed from his sister, so Changmin better like it.
Jaehyun got dressed (he had picked out his outfit a day prior knowing that he’d spend an unnecessarily long time picking out different outfits and not liking a single one of them, which would inevitably lead to him being late) and grabbed his small makeup bag. It was almost empty, save for the few products he used daily (concealer, his beloved) and the most recent addition: the two lip glosses he bought that day with Chanhee.
Frankly, he hadn’t used them since the day he bought them, but he hadn’t forgotten about them. He couldn’t, anyway; not when he met Chanhee almost everyday and came face to face with his glossy lips.
Jaehyun picked up the tinted one and stared at it. If he focused hard enough, he could still feel the lingering bubblegum flavor on the tip of his tongue — one of Chanhee’s favorite flavors.
If bubblegum lip gloss was one of Chanhee’s favorites, then did that mean his lips tasted like bubblegum too?
Jaehyun blinked, staring at himself in the mirror. Then, he shoved the lip gloss inside his makeup bag, picking up the concealer straightaway with pink tinting his cheeks. His brain was growing bolder with each passing day and Jaehyun hadn’t figured out exactly how to deal with it just yet.
He just hoped it wouldn’t push him to do something incredibly stupid in his pretty neighbor’s presence.
Jaehyun stared at the lip gloss peeking out of his small bag (he swore it was tempting him to use it and not let his money go to waste) and then sighed out loud. He managed to successfully ignore it and instead opted for his favorite lip tint, coating his lips with it. He’d rather not taste bubblegum the entire night. Jaehyun didn’t hate the flavor — he just didn’t want to get reminded of Chanhee and his damn lips everywhere he went.
Satisfied with his look and realising he didn’t have much time left to make it to Changmin’s house, Jaehyun shuffled into the main room of his apartment to slip on his shoes and gather his belongings. Then, he left his apartment with his friend’s present in his hand and got into his car.
Upon arriving at Changmin’s place he found the house already bustling with partygoers, the blaring music audible even from where he had parked. A smile tugged at Jaehyun’s lips as he got out of his car. He couldn’t help it; it was so typical of Changmin.
Jaehyun opened the door and was instantly met with groups of people either chilling on the sofas or swaying lightly to the music with drinks in their hands. Making his way inside, he strode forwards and it didn’t take him long to find his friends. He soon spotted Sunwoo, Changmin, Sangyeon, Kevin, Younghoon (who he hadn’t seen in forever) and—
Chanhee.
Chanhee?!
Jaehyun stopped dead in his tracks, looking at the sight in front of him. Chanhee was sitting right next to Changmin (why did they seem so close to each other?) and was covering his mouth with his hand, laughing at something Changmin had told him.
“Hey, Jaehyun’s finally here!”
He snapped out of his daze upon hearing Kevin call out his name, and nervously smiled. He approached them with timid steps and lifted a hand to wave at them, ever so awkward now that he found out Chanhee was with them.
Jaehyun hadn’t put on lip gloss so that he wouldn’t taste bubblegum and be reminded of Chanhee, just for the universe to send him the person himself. So much for not being reminded of him.
“Jaehyun?” Chanhee’s voice was heard, confused.
“Hey, Chanhee.. What a surprise to see you here.”
Changmin looked at Chanhee, feigning confusion. “You guys know each other?”
Chanhee nodded his head, a hint of smile on his lips. “Yeah! He’s my neighbor and we hang out quite often. I didn’t know we had mutual friends, though.”
“Oh, that’s amazing then!” Changmin beamed, looking at Jaehyun.
Jaehyun could see Sunwoo and Kevin barely stifling their laughter from the corner of his eyes and gritted his teeth. He grabbed Changmin’s arm and tugged him close to himself.
“Gotta give him his present,” Jaehyun feigned a wide smile while showing his friends the bag he was holding, before dragging the birthday boy to the kitchen.
The kitchen counters were littered with bottles and cans of various colors and brands, but Jaehyun barely paid any attention to them. His full attention was on his friend in front of him — the friend he so wanted to strangle right now.
“You’re friends with Chanhee ?!”
“Surprise surprise?”
Jaehyun shook his head, lightly shoving him. “I can’t believe you. I’ve been gushing about him to you and the rest for two months now, just to find out you two are already friends?! Close friends, even, ‘cause he seemed so close to you earlier. Is this why his name sounded familiar to you when I talked about him the first time?”
Changmin nodded his head, nonchalantly resting his back against one of the kitchen counters. “Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I initially thought it was somebody else ‘cause there are a lot of Chanhee’s out there, you know. But once you described him as blonde and as your new neighbor, I immediately knew it was him. He wears a lot of lip gloss too.”
Jaehyun shook his head, feeling his annoyance increase even further when Changmin had the audacity to wink and giggle as if this were the most funny thing he’d seen.
“To be fair, only Sunwoo and I knew of him. Sangyeon and Kevin didn’t,” Changmin added. “I told them about him eventually but this is the first time they’re meeting each other.”
“How did you two even meet him, anyway?”
“That’s a long story to tell some other day.”
Jaehyun rolled his eyes, pushing the present to Changmin’s chest. “Whatever. Happy birthday, though. And no more surprises, please — it isn’t my birthday, it’s yours .”
“Aww, you got me a birthday gift!” Changmin cooed, placing the bag on the counter and reaching forward to pull Jaehyun into a tight hug just to spite him further. “Aren’t you the sweetest?”
“Alright, alright, let go of me now,” Jaehyun muttered, exasperated.
Changmin only giggled and leaned back after a couple of seconds, patting him on his shoulders. “Don’t be upset at me, rather be grateful. Who knows, maybe something will happen tonight.”
Jaehyun glared at him. “And what makes you so sure of that?’
“Whenever there’s alcohol involved, something’s bound to happen.” Changmin shrugged.
Those were his last words before he took his present and left the kitchen, leaving Jaehyun dumbfounded. He couldn’t stare off into space for too long though, as someone he vaguely recognised as an ex-member of Changmin’s dance team waved him in, handing him a shot. Jaehyun merely thanked him and drank up, suddenly feeling the need to drink something strong now that the truth had been revealed to him.
Now that he was aware that Chanhee was sitting among his friends, looking even prettier than Jaehyun had ever seen him, he couldn’t help but feel torn between drinking a couple of shots or not drinking at all. One side of him told him not to drink at all, afraid that his drunk self would do something stupid and then put an end to whatever he and Chanhee had going on. The other side of him told him not to give a shit and drink, just like he’d initially planned before arriving. That would also help him forget about Chanhee, even if for just a couple of minutes.
Jaehyun highly doubted he’d be able to forget about him when his presence was literally there, though.
Shaking his head, Jaehyun got out of the kitchen and approached his friends. He was afraid spending more time away from them would make him appear suspicious, so he didn’t waste any more time. Upon arriving, Jaehyun spotted Changmin sitting next to Chanhee again, while the rest of his friends were lounging anywhere they could find. To them, it didn’t matter where they sat. To Jaehyun, it did, because the only remaining free space for him to sit was right in front of Chanhee.
Was the universe against or on his side?!
“Hey hyung,” Sunwoo said, a hint of a smirk on his lips. That brat. He was a traitor as well, participating in whatever Changmin and him had planned on Jaehyun’s downfall.
“Hey Sun ,” Jaehyun greeted him, plopping down on the couch in front of Chanhee. Nobody seemed to be willing to give up their seats and switch for Jaehyun.
He had to do a friends cleanse and make new friends after this.
“I still can’t believe Chanhee and Jaehyun know each other,” Kevin chimed in. “What a small world we’re living in.”
Jaehyun looked at him with wide eyes, screaming you too?! at Kevin.
“A small world indeed.” Jaehyun heard Chanhee giggle, which prompted him to look Chanhee in the eye for the first time that night.
And oh. Look at him he did.
Chanhee looked.. Stunning, to say the least. Jaehyun felt like no adjective could do him justice, though, no matter how much he rummaged in his mind. Not when he was wearing lip gloss , eye glitter and rhinestones all at once.
He was aware that Chanhee was very much into makeup and beauty, but this.. Nothing and nobody could’ve prepared Jaehyun for the mesmerizing sight of a dolled up Chanhee sitting in front of him. And he was looking at him for free. For free!
Although his eye makeup was gorgeous and definitely one to spend hours looking at, simply because of its intricacy and beauty, his eyes still fell on his lips. They looked glossier than usual. Either Chanhee had put more layers on his lips or the lit-up room was creating that effect.
Either way, they looked irresistible.
The urge to taste lip gloss had never been stronger than at that moment.
“Earth to Jaehyun..”
Jaehyun blinked, looking away from Chanhee’s face to glare at whoever had dared interrupt his moment. Of course it was Sunwoo.
Suddenly he wanted to strangle him more than Changmin.
“How about we get some drinks?” Jaehyun suddenly asked, clapping his hands. “It can’t be a party without drinks, right?”
Screw not drinking that night. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to make it through the night without some alcohol in his system.
“You’re right,” Changmin agreed, standing up. “Let me grab a couple of drinks from the kitchen. I’ll be quick.”
The others easily fell into a conversation, including Chanhee in it too. He seemed relaxed and carefree in their presence, often giggling or laughing at their jokes. Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile at that; Chanhee was so likeable he could effortlessly fit in anywhere. Particularly in their friend group.
Now that Chanhee was part of their group friend (if he weren’t, then it wouldn’t take long for him to join in, anyway — his friends already seemed in love with him) he’d be seeing Chanhee more often. He would finally no longer have to drag himself out of his apartment in hopes of seeing Chanhee in the hallway or encountering him outside. Such a strategy hadn’t always been helpful, anyway, considering that Jaehyun had gone several days without seeing him at least once and had basically stepped outside for nothing.
“There you go.” Changmin quickly showed up with a tray of various drinks on it, interrupting Jaehyun’s train of thoughts. Then he placed the tray on top of a round glass table.
Jaehyun was the first to reach forward and grab two cans of alcohol, uncaring of which brand it was. He just needed to feel the burn of the alcohol as soon as possible.
Sangyeon whistled. “Damn, somebody’s in need of some alcohol today.”
Jaehyun simply winked at him before downing a quarter of the can, closing his eyes once he felt the liquid sliding down his throat. It burned, but it felt good. Amazing, even.
Definitely what he needed for the night.
As the night progressed, Jaehyun felt even more lightheaded and dizzier. He hadn’t drank much — not enough to make him appear this wasted, at least — but it appeared like his alcohol tolerance was lower than usual that night. Did it even work like that? Jaehyun didn’t know what worked and what didn’t anymore.
Chanhee had had a few drinks too, but he was definitely more sober than Jaehyun. How did Jaehyun know that? Well, it wasn’t difficult not to know when all he had been doing the entire night was stare at him. He couldn’t help it. Those glossy lips and glittery eyes were messing with his brain, making it impossible not to look at him. Jaehyun was a weak man, after all.
Chanhee had not once stared at him, though.
Either he was genuinely oblivious to Jaehyun’s shameless staring, or he was pretending as if he couldn’t feel it. Well, it was better that way, anyway.
Jaehyun wouldn’t know what to do if Chanhee suddenly decided to maintain eye contact.
Feeling out of breath and wobbly, Jaehyun muttered something about how he was going to step outside to get some fresh air to Sangyeon before getting up. It was quite arduous to make it to the main door — he had to slip between the thrum of bodies not so gracefully — but he managed to do so, successfully making it to the exit.
Once he stepped outside, the crisp, cool air of November hit him on the face, very much needed. Jaehyun took in a deep breath and then exhaled, watching the smoke come out from his mouth in the cold weather. Then, he sat on Changmin’s porch and looked forward, trying to gather himself as best as he could.
Perhaps he should call it a night and leave. Jaehyun was convinced that if he were to down one more drink, he’d either pass out or do something stupid. What if he threw up in the middle of the room? In Chanhee’s presence, too?!
Jaehyun buried his face in his hands, shuddering at the thought. That sounded like a nightmare.
“You good?” He suddenly heard a voice behind him, prompting him to turn around quickly. Perhaps it hadn’t been the best idea, seeing as Jaehyun instantly began swaying and feeling dizzy. Had it not been for the hands holding him up, he would’ve most likely not kept his balance.
“Woah, slow down there,” Jaehyun heard the voice again and then looked up. Chanhee.
Jaehyun lazily chuckled, watching how Chanhee sat next to him after making sure he was no longer dizzy. “Thanks.”
“You shouldn’t have drunk so much,” Chanhee muttered to him.
Jaehyun nonchalantly shrugged and leaned back to observe him. He took note of Chanhee’s flushed cheeks and slightly disheveled hair, along with his unfocused eyes. It felt peculiar to see an unkempt side of Chanhee after being accustomed to his flawless appearance, but Jaehyun quickly discovered that he didn’t like this side of Chanhee any less. In fact, he liked them both equally.
"You've been staring at me the entire night, Jaehyun. Anything you wanna say to me?" Chanhee suddenly asked, head turning to look Jaehyun right in the eye.
Damn, so he had been feigning ignorance.
"I.. Yeah, I do, actually," Jaehyun responded, words a little slurred due to the alcohol in his system, "but I'm afraid you might think of me as a weirdo if I say it."
Chanhee raised an eyebrow. "It can't be that bad. Cmon, tell me, Jaehyun."
Upon hearing his name fall from Chanhee's lips so softly, Jaehyun couldn't help but let his eyes fall on his lips once again, uncaring of the fact that Chanhee was paying attention this time. They still appeared glossy, confirming Jaehyun’s assumptions that he had put on more layers that night.
So it wasn’t just the lit-up room.
"You wear lip gloss."
Chanhee furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, so what?"
"Can I taste your lip gloss?"
Jaehyun saw Chanhee blink and then stare at him for a couple of seconds, unmoving. His brain felt fuzzy (different from when he met Chanhee for the first time; this time he knew it was due to Chanhee's effect on him and the alcohol combined) and his insides were all warm, almost melting under Chanhee's gaze on him. Had he been sober he would’ve been terrified at himself for having said those words out loud, even more so now that an utterly dumbfounded Chanhee was staring at him, but all it took was some alcohol in his system and he was a goner. A little bit more brave and even dumber.
“Don’t you have your own lip glosses?” Chanhee asked, recalling the day he encountered Jaehyun at the beauty store.
“Yeah, I do. But I’m not into them.”
Chanhee raised an eyebrow. “But you’re into mine?”
Jaehyun nodded, ever so serious. “Yes.”
The latter simply looked at him for a second longer, before shrugging. “That’s quite unusual, to be honest, but sure I guess.. I do have my makeup bag with me, but unfortunately not the lip gloss I used, so I'll have to give it to you one day—"
"No. I don't want it. Can I taste your lip gloss?" Jaehyun repeated himself, dumbly. He was sure he was making a fool of himself in front of his crush right now, but he'd never been good at articulating his thoughts and getting his point across, especially under the influence of alcohol.
Chanhee stared at him, unblinking. "I literally offered you to give you my lip gloss, how else—"
Jaehyun shook his head, but then quickly rested it against the wall upon feeling dizzy. "No.. I don't want that.. To taste it that way."
Chanhee leaned closer, tilting his head. "What do you want, Jaehyun?"
"To taste your lip gloss."
Jaehyun saw Chanhee close his eyes and purse his lips with a huff, before opening them again. He seemed frustrated, causing Jaehyun to let out a giggle.
"No shit. This is the third time you’re saying that,” Chanhee remarked, amused. “Besides that, I mean. How do you want to taste my lip gloss, then, if not by using it?"
Jaehyun shrugged, a lazy smile on his lips. "It's simple. Your lips on my lips."
Chanhee blinked, looking at Jaehyun as if he’d grown two heads (Jaehyun almost put his hands on his head to make sure he hadn’t actually grown two), before he was lightly shoved by Chanhee.
“Do you go around asking people to kiss you when you’re drunk? Funny.”
Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows, shaking his head. Slower this time. “No, I don’t. This is the first time.”
Chanhee looked at him, clutching onto his knees. “What do you mean?”
Although Jaehyun was gradually becoming more sober with each passing second (he was certainly more sober than when he had first stepped outside), he couldn't shake the feeling that he had consumed two additional bottles of alcohol just by looking at Chanhee.
“I just wanna see if I’m into lip gloss.”
A frown appeared on Chanhee’s face. “So I’m your little experiment? Nothing you’re saying makes sense right now, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun wordlessly shook his head, straightening his spine to look Chanhee in the eye. Then, he took his hands in his hold.
“No. You’re not an experiment. But your lips are nice. Very nice, actually. I’ve been thinking about them since the first day we met. I thought buying a couple of lip glosses would make this urge to taste lip gloss go away, but it did absolutely nothing. Can you imagine how devastated I was?”
If Chanhee didn’t appear baffled upon Jaehyun’s previous request, he was definitely baffled now. Jaehyun could see the corner of Chanhee’s lips turning up, but it seemed like the boy was fighting the urge to laugh.
“Wait, hold on. Let me get this straight.”
Jaehyun made a face. “I don’t know about you but I’m not straight.”
This time, Chanhee couldn’t contain his laughter. He briefly wiped his tears away before pulling himself together.
“Neither am I, don’t worry. Anyway, about what you said earlier.. I doubt you want to taste my lip gloss, Jaehyun.”
Jaehyun furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Then, Sunwoo’s words echoed in his mind.
I think he just likes that guy’s lips, not the lip gloss itself.
Don’t bother spending your money on lip glosses. You just like his lips, that’s all.
“I still wanna see whether I’m into lip gloss, though,” Jaehyun muttered weakly.
Chanhee chuckled, tilting his head. “Sure. We can do that.”
Without thinking, his hands on either side of Jaehyun’s face, Chanhee leaned in. Jaehyun locked his eyes with the latter and waited with a bated breath, finally realising what was happening. Chanhee stilled, seemingly looking for any sign of hesitance in Jaehyun’s face, before closing the last bit of space between them.
His lips felt exactly as Jaehyun imagined they would. Perhaps even better. Soft and warm, plump and moist due to the lip gloss. That damn lip gloss that caused this entire thing to happen in the first place.
Contrary to what Jaehyun was expecting, Chanhee’s lip gloss didn’t taste like bubblegum. It tasted tropical. Jaehyun didn’t mind that. Actually, he liked the tropical taste way more than bubblegum. It was a reminder that he wasn’t tasting his own lip gloss, but Chanhee’s lip gloss. What he had been wanting to do since the very beginning.
His lip gloss was sticky just like any other lip gloss Jaehyun had previously tried, but it had never tasted this good on his own lips. Lip gloss combined with Chanhee’s lips, though.. It was a heavenly combination. Jaehyun just fell in love.
Their kiss was unhurried, tender. It had the tips of Jaehyun’s ears burning and his hands shaking in excitement. His heart pounded faster than he thought was humanly possible. Despite Jaehyun being aware of how much he’d wanted this, he hadn’t realised how much until now.
Afraid that Chanhee would pull away anytime soon, bringing an end to something Jaehyun had been thinking about since forever, Jaehyun carefully wrapped an arm around his waist. Upon realising how incredibly small Chanhee’s waist was (Jaehyun swore it was smaller than it actually appeared), he tightened his grip and brought him closer to himself. He gave Chanhee enough space to back away in case he didn’t like that, but a smile soon bloomed on his lips when Chanhee instead leaned closer.
It seemed like the smile on Jaehyun’s face was contagious because soon enough Jaehyun could feel Chanhee smiling too. It was quite awkward to kiss while smiling and neither of them could stop their smiles, so Jaehyun broke their kiss and rested his forehead against Chanhee’s. His eyes fell on Chanhee’s lips straightway, which appeared redder than usual, in disbelief that he’d been kissing those lips just now.
“So, what do you think,” Chanhee spoke, slightly panting. “Are you into lip gloss?”
Jaehyun looked up, locking eyes with Chanhee. “I don’t know. I’m definitely into your lips, though.”
Chanhee smiled, looking down at Jaehyun’s lips. “Well, wanna taste it again? Just to make sure whether you’re actually into lip gloss.”
“Gladly. I think I’ll need a couple more tastes to figure it out, though.”
Chanhee simply chuckled, a fond look on his face, before leaning in to close the-almost-nonexistent space between them once again.
(The next day when Jaehyun woke up, he found himself in an unknown room, lying on an unfamiliar bed. It took him a few minutes of looking around his surroundings to realise that he was in one of Changmin’s rooms. He’d spent the night there. And he could feel somebody else’s presence right next to him. He wasn’t alone.
Not alone?!
Jaehyun turned his head, coming face to face with an already awake Chanhee. His vision was slightly blurry and he could feel a pounding headache approaching, a telltale sign of how careless he’d been the previous night, but not even those could prevent him from noticing how ethereal Chanhee looked. Even in the mornings, when everybody else looked hideous. So unfair and definitely not good for Jaehyun’s poor heart.
“Wow. Am I in heaven?”
Chanhee snorted, pushing him away. “Shut up. Good morning to you too, though.”
Jaehyun simply nodded his head in acknowledgement, turning on his side to cuddle closer to Chanhee.
“How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad. It does feel like a truck ran over my body, but other than that, not bad. Manageable.”
Chanhee chuckled, patting Jaehyun’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t have drunk that much. There’s a glass of water on your nightstand. Drink that.”
Jaehyun opened his eyes and got ready to turn around and grab the cup of water, before his eyes fell on Chanhee’s lips. His jaw fell open.
“You’re still wearing lip gloss?!”
Chanhee looked away, pink tinting his cheeks. “Well, um, I thought you still have some kind of figuring out to do..”
Jaehyun blinked. The slightest hint of a smirk stretched across his face.
“Actually, you’re right. I was too drunk yesterday to come to a conclusion.”
Chanhee grinned, playing along. “Poor you. I’m willing to help, though.”
Jaehyun could feel his heartbeat accelerating upon hearing Chanhee’s words, staring straight into his eyes. Was he sober or was he still drunk? That couldn’t be; several hours had passed and it was late in the morning. Both of them were definitely sober.
Jaehyun was afraid that wouldn’t last for long, though. Not when he was just about to get drunk on some very specific fruity flavors.
He looked at Chanhee’s lips, feeling excitement rush through his body. Was he going to taste the same tropical flavor he tasted yesterday or a different taste? Perhaps bubblegum ? Or an entirely different taste? Jaehyun had never thought that he'd be thrilled to taste lip gloss, of all things.
Eager to find out, Jaehyun leaned up to close the distance between the two of them, before Chanhee spoke up.
“But if you do end up not being into it, mind giving me your lip glosses? It’d be a pity for those nice products to go to waste.."
Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile, caressing Chanhee’s cheek.
“Anything you want, pretty.”)