soonyoung watched the sea of crowds break down into individual puddles. everyone has been telling him that he did a great job but he just shrugs it off, although all of those are actually deeply appreciated. it's just that he's not in the mood to be cheerful and it's clear in his facial expression.

minghao, junhui and chan decided that soonyoung should take the trophy home because he's the leader of their little group. they have their own gold medals anyway. they won first place in the competition and soonyoung is thankful for it, thankful for his members for doing their best as a team. it's their first award for the year and he's just sad that he doesn't get to share his pure excitement with the one he loves - all because he's not there with him. his absence can really be felt and it's impossible to ignore.

soonyoung looks at his phone for the twentieth time in five minutes.

"he's not even texting me, and we're supposed to meet here after the show," soonyoung tells himself and runs his fingers through his hair. the boy waits for a few more minutes, letting his eyes roam all over the place, until it gets late and his own members have to leave. soonyoung simply smiles at them, then frowns once they have their backs turned. what if jihoon is already asleep? come to think of it, the boy wasn't in the crowd and it's taking too long for him to arrive at the backstage. not a great sign.

soonyoung is done, he isn't about to wait another second. "ah, well, shit happens," he says out loud. while fixing his things, he feels two arms wrap around his waist.

"looking for me?" jihoon adorably says. soonyoung just looks at him and continues to do his thing, "aw, are you mad?" soonyoung carries his bag and walks past jihoon, "who wouldn't be mad?"

"but look, I have tulips for you. all red this time." the younger waves the bouquet of flowers in front of his face.

"great, thanks," soonyoung replies. no heat in his voice, no emotion. that's when jihoon knows his boyfriend is mad because it's different. unlike most people he knows, soonyoung isn't the type to be direct and raise his voice. when soonyoung is mad, one can see it through his actions, but no matter what happens, jihoon doesn't seem to get to urge to smack him down.

"i suppose that you didn't see me in the crowd hm?"

soonyoung stops in his tracks and faces him. jihoon swears his stare is so cold, it could freeze the entire pacific in less than five seconds. "yeah, and I'm disappointed, jihoon but it's okay, not a huge deal." so passive-aggressive, jihoon muses. he flicks the boy's forehead. "I'll have you know, that's a fucking insult to me. actually, I should be the one who's mad."

soonyoung lets out a sarcastic snicker, "oh so it's my fault? amazing."

"i was at the front row, idiot!" jihoon tells him "you looked hella stupid trying to look for me throughout the whole performance! but yeah, i'm fucking small, i get it!"

soonyoung's eyes soften as he stares at him, his lips parted in surprise. he couldn't believe what he just heard and he feels stupid for even starting a little drama scene in the backstage. his mouth opens and closes repeatedly, not knowing what to say. "are you kidding me?" he asks

"i'm not!" jihoon replies, "i was waiting for that 'intense eye contact' that you said you were gonna give me, but i got nothing, kwon!"

"oh my god." soonyoung presses his palm on his forehead and pulls jihion into a tight hug. "I should have looked better! I'm sorry, jihoonie, is there anything that I can do to make up for it? maybe I could dance to the whole song again at the dorm for you only, hm?" he adds.

jihoon lets out an awkward chuckle "uhh, sounds wild, no thank you."

"then what should i do?"

"nothing, it's all cool. you did a really great job and i'm very proud of you. congratulations for winning, soonie." jihoon tiptoes to give the boy a kiss on the cheek and soonyoung feels a loving warmth spread through his body. It was soft and it sent his mind a different kind of buzz. then jihoon pulls away silently, almost as if he's shy for what he just did. cute.

soonyoung takes off his gold medal to place it around jihoon's neck. "it's yours," he says. "I did all of that for you."

"but soonie," jihoon whines, looking at the shining metal as he carefully holds it with his two hands. "you deserve this more than I do."

"oh i'll give you more of that," says the taller. "will you be the one to make music for our next performance?"

jihoon's face lights up. "of course!"

"great, then I can boast about dating the producer," soonyoung says with a laugh.

he puts the flowers and the trophy down to take both of the boy's hands, "hey, now that we're alone, I can finally do something I've always wanted to do." this is it. jihoon closes his eyes and prepares for what's going to happen next, but then soonyoung laughs at him. "hoonie, why are you closing your eyes?"

"why? what is it that you wanted to do?"

"i wanted to show you my noodles dance moves!" soonyoung cheered, which made jihoon hit his own forehead, "were you expecting something else?"

for a moment, jihoon stays silent, looking at soonyoung's lips tainted strawberry. soonyoung gets the idea, and leans in so his lips brush jihoon's, almost like a little tease. then his hands drift to the smaller's waist. the whole place is enveloped in quietude, with the cold infused air and the stars singing their ode to the moon.

soonyoung, knowing that both of them can no longer wait, repeats his question. "were you expecting something else jihoon?"

"actually, no," jihoon mutters, but then pulls the boy close to him so their lips would crash. soonyoung instantly felt every jolting current in his entirety, colliding with jihoon like overlapping lines, connecting galaxies. their atoms bouncing against each other's hearts.

jihoon wraps his arms around soonyoung's neck as he tiptoes and kisses back softly. he loves that soonyoung is taller, he gets to let his arms hang around his neck and bury his face on his chest when he pulls him into a hug. jihoon pulls him closer until no space is left in between. must this moment be so perfect?

two bodies, melting into one. that was when both of them knew what the cosmic explosion tasted like.

they pull away to catch their breath and rest their foreheads against each other's. soonyoung then presses his lips against jihoon's for the second time, kissing him deeper and rougher than the first. jihoon feels his cheeks heat up under soonyoung's touch. his entire body is taken over by the overwhelming feeling as the older deepens the kiss.

jihoon is the first to draw back, realizing that they're still in school and they could always continue their thing back in the dorm. face flushed with heat, he then runs excitedly to the open ground. "I fucking kissed kwon soonyoung!" he excitedly yells like he just hit a milestone. soonyoung picks his things up and follows the younger to hold him in his arms. "and you said you aren't crazy for me?"

"I am crazy, because I love you, I really do!" jihoon tells him, then they continue to p laugh together

"i love you, kwon soonyoung!" jihoon shouts. soonyoung pinches his cheek and gives him another kiss, "i love you, jihoon."

to most people, the sun is up there, in the galaxy; big and bright, yellow and burning, more than a thousand degrees hot. but to jihoon, the sun is down here with him, smiling and laughing as if he doesn't know that his smile is the closest thing jihoon could get to experiencing what heaven is like.

they say that true love can never be found in a store, but soonyoung and jihoon somehow found theirs in a little room crammed inside an old dormitory building. like energy in the first law of thermodynamics, their love can never be created nor destroyed. it wasn't made nor developed, it's been there all along, in between the small pauses while studying together, the quick exchange of glances and the light brush against each other's skin. undoubtedly, it's something that seems to only happen in dramas and love stories. but in just a few weeks, jihoon learned how to love soonyoung with the heat of a thousand blazing suns that will shine for a billion years more.

"this is all too good to be true," soonyoung says as he hugs jihoon tightly. he brings the boy's hand to his lips, giving the ring on his finger a soft kiss. all this time, it still shines as bright as his own, and soonyoung believes it's not a coincidence for them to have the exact same ring. this could be something they had in a different lifetime, decades ago, in a different universe - it has to be. "last night, I dreamt that this happened already. wouldn't it be crazy if this really did happen before?" soonyoung asks.

jihoon laughs, "soonyoung, here we go with your imagination again."

"i'm just saying that it would be so cool. we need to say thank you to the universe. thank you!" soonyoung shouts to the sky "do it, ji."

"alright, thank you!" jihoon shouts as well

"you know, jihoon," soonyoung utters, "there's this thing called tidal theory which explains that the sun was attracted to a passing star, causing planets to be torn out from the sun. i never believed that theory, but i guess you can say....that's how our universe started, hm?"

jihoon nods and wraps his arms around the boy, "let's go home, soonyoung."

☀️🌙⭐️
thank you for reading!
here are my other soonhoon books !

moon & asteroids (short prequel to this)
you make my day (angst)
love.net '93 (not spoiling the genre)
rêverie (fluff)