Backstory : After the Practice Room — "Let's Call It Love"

The door clicked shut behind Hong.

The room was silent. All the heat from his confession, from Nut's trembling voice, from the stunned way the others had looked at them — it clung to Nut's skin like sweat.

He didn't move.

Didn't follow right away.

He sat down on the floor and stared at the scuffed wood beneath him, his heart pounding in his chest like it was trying to speak for him.

Then he stood.

No more running. From either of them.

Scene: Dorm Rooftop – Evening

He found Hong on the roof. Not the high one the building locked after hours — the little one, connected to their hallway by a rusted door they'd all used to sneak out and watch fireworks once.

Hong was sitting on the low wall, hoodie pulled over his head even though it was warm out, his legs curled up. He looked like he was trying to take up as little space in the world as possible.

Nut stepped forward. Slowly. He didn't say anything right away. Just walked up, sat beside him.

Hong didn't flinch. Didn't look up either.

"I didn't mean to say it like that," Nut finally said. "In the practice room. I wasn't trying to trap you."

Hong's voice was a whisper. "You didn't trap me."

"I just — " Nut looked out over the edge of the building. "I didn't want to pretend we're not... something. Anymore. It's been eating me up."

A pause.

Then Hong said, "I've never wanted to be close to anyone the way I want to be with you."

Nut turned towards him.

"You mean like — "

"Like I want you to be my person," Hong said, voice quiet but steady. "Not just behind closed doors. Not just when no one's looking."

Nut exhaled. And for a second, he forgot how to breathe back in.

Hong kept talking. "I kept thinking maybe if I stayed quiet long enough, it would fade. That it was just friendship, or I was imagining it. But then I couldn't stop watching you. Worrying about you. Wanting to touch you even when I knew I shouldn't."

He finally looked up.

And his eyes — god, Nut could never describe the way Hong looked at him. Like he was both terrified and certain. Like this was his only truth.

Nut reached over and took his hand.

They didn't hold hands like friends. Not anymore.

"We don't have to make it a big deal," Nut said, voice soft. "But I don't want to lie. Not to them. Not to ourselves."

"I know," Hong whispered. "Me too."

Nut turned their hands over in his lap. "So... are we doing this? You and me?"

Hong nodded. "Yeah. We are."

Nut smiled. "Boyfriends?"

Hong made a soft sound — a breathless, almost nervous laugh. "Yeah. Boyfriends."

Scene: Dorm Room – Later That Night

They lay in Nut's bed, facing each other, the blanket pulled over their heads like children with a secret. The room was dark except for the blue light of Nut's phone screen, which was face-down on the pillow beside them.

Hong's voice was almost a whisper. "Do you think the others will be mad?"

"No," Nut said, although he wasn't entirely sure. "Confused, maybe. Or surprised."

"They're going to think we were hiding it."

"We were."

Hong sighed. "I don't want to be something you have to hide."

Nut reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind Hong's ear. "You never were. I was just scared."

"Of what?"

Nut swallowed. "Of losing you. Of messing this up. Of the group changing."

Hong did not say anything. Just pressed their foreheads together.

Then Nut added, "But I'm more scared of pretending we're not in love."

Hong's breath caught. Nut felt it.

Then: "Okay," Hong whispered. "Then let's tell them."

"Tomorrow?" Nut asked.

Hong smiled faintly. "Yeah. Tomorrow."

Nut shifted closer, pressed a kiss to Hong's cheek, then his jaw, then the corner of his mouth — just enough to make him shiver.

They didn't need to say I love you yet. That could come later. But it was there, in everything unspoken.

Comments