Chapter Text
˚⊹♡｡ ~~~~Twelve Hours Earlier~~~~˚⊹♡｡
Sunghoon blinked, the stolen spoon still halfway to his mouth. Across the bed , Sunoo looked like a scandalized kitten, his pretty eyes wide and his lips parted in theatrical betrayal.
"That was mine ," Sunoo hissed, pointing at the rapidly melting Mint Choco between them.
Sunghoon swallowed the stolen bite with deliberate slowness, licking his lips. "Correction. It was yours."
Sunoo kicked him . "You monster. You said you hated that flavor ."
Sunghoon leaned back, grinning. "Your fault for leaving it unguarded."
Sunoo hissed ."You literally leaned over and grabbed it while I was texting Jungwon!"
Sunghoon grined. "Ah, so you admit distraction."
Sunoo threw a napkin at him. "I hate you."
Sunghoon’s grin widened. "No, you don’t."
(Yup Sunoo didn't)
~~~ ❤︎
(Flashback: Age 9)
The first time Sunoo had weaponized Sunghoon’s mother against him, they were nine and fighting over who got the last strawberry milk.
“My mom says sharing is caring,” Sunoo had sing-songed, batting his eyelashes with the kind of deceptive innocence only a future menace could perfect.
Sunghoon, already well-versed in the treachery of Kim Sunoo, narrowed his eyes. “My mom says liars go to hell.”
Sunoo gasped. “She would NEVER say that.”
A beat. Sunghoon looked at Sunoo's eyes already glistening with tears, his lips forming the cutest pout known to humans and ..... He silently handed over the milk with the grim resignation of a boy who knew when he’d been outplayed by cuteness.
(Sunghoon's mother somewhere in the kitchen smirking at the outcome)
(The Favoritism)
Sunghoon’s mother adored Sunoo in a way that bordered on suspicion.
She’d once texted Sunoo before Sunghoon to ask if he wanted extra kimchi in his lunchbox. Sunghoon had stared at his own, noticeably kimchi-less lunch and questioned his place in the family hierarchy.
Meanwhile, Sunoo’s dad treated Sunghoon like the son he’d always wanted - tall, quiet, charismatic and not a chaotic little cute gremlin like Sunoo.
“You’re like the responsible one,” Mr. Kim had told Sunghoon , patting his shoulder while Sunoo sulked in the background.
Sunoo had thrown a couch cushion at Sunghoon’s head in retaliation.
~~~ ❤︎
Back to the present disaster:
Sunoo paused. Then, with the air of someone who had just remembered a very important point, he smirked. "Your mom would be disgusted by your behavior right now."
Sunghoon’s grin faltered. That was a low blow. His mother adored Sunoo—always had, ever since they were kids and Sunoo had charmed her by complimenting her japchae and offering to help with the dishes. Meanwhile, Sunghoon’s attempts at rebellion were met with, *"Why can’t you be more like Sunoo?"*
Sunoo knew this. Sunoo reveled in this.
Sunghoon narrowed his eyes. "Oh, now you wanna play dirty? Fine." He leaned forward. "Your dad still asks me when I’m coming over for dinner without you."
Sunoo gasped, genuinely offended. "He does not—"
"He does. Last week, he texted me a recipe."
Sunoo groaned, covering his face. "He likes you more than me."
Sunghoon shrugged. "I’m just more likable."
Sunoo smirkingly "Admit it, hyung. Your mom loves me more."
Sunghoon Stares at Sunoo to be accurate he glares holes at his pretty head and scoffs "And your dad texts me workout tips while you’re out here eating like a raccoon in a dumpster."
Sunoo points his finger accusatorily at Sunghoon . "And You, You stole my ice cream from the said dumpster you goblin."
Sunghoon striked back "And you stole my favorite sweatshirt in ninth grade and never gave it back."
Sunoo sat up, indignant. "That was eight years ago!"
They stared at each other.
Sunoo opened his mouth to retaliate—probably with something devastating—when a phone buzzed between them. A notification popped up on the screen. Yup, the Universe was against Sunoo today and it was Sunoo’s phone that lit up.
Sunghoon, ever the menace, ever the nosy best friend, glanced at the notification.
And promptly choked on his own spit.
Wonie 😻: Hyungggg ~~~ Are you for real ??? u really never kissed anyone? not even sunghoon Hyung??? (˶ > ₃ < ˶)♡
Silence.
Absolute Silence.
Absolute, soul-crushing silence.
Sunoo’s soul briefly left his body.
Then—
"You’ve never kissed anyone?" Sunghoon’s voice was the equivalent to that of a car crash—loud, sudden, and impossible to ignore. He was sprawled across Sunoo’s bed like an overgrown housecat who had long since forgotten what personal space meant, one leg dangling off the edge.
Sunoo snatched his phone up with a noise akin to a dying seal, but it was too late. The damage was already done. Sunoo yelped " Delete your eyes."
Sunoo panicked and threw a sock at him. It hit Sunghoon square in the face. "And stop looking at me like it’s a crime."
Sunghoon peeled the sock off his nose with disgust, then pointed it at Sunoo like an accusing finger.
"It is a crime. You’re pretty!!. People should be paying to kiss you."
Sunoo’s face burned. **Pretty** Sunghoon had been calling him that since they were twelve and Sunoo had grown into his features faster than Sunghoon had grown into his limbs, leaving him a lanky disaster who tripped over his own feet for a solid year before growing up into a chiseled muscle monster.
"Shut up," Sunoo muttered, tossing another sock just for good measure.
Sunghoon caught it this time, grinning. "I’m serious! You’re like — You Know" He waved a hand vaguely in Sunoo’s direction, as if trying to summon the right words out of thin air. "*You*. How has no one kissed you?"
Sunoo scowled. "Maybe I’m waiting for the right person."
Sunghoon snorted. "The right person isn’t just gonna fall out of the sky, Sunoo."
"Well, neither is your dignity, but here we are."
Sunghoon gasped, clutching his chest like he’d been shot. "Cruel. Cruel. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ "
And then, because Sunghoon was **THE Sunghoon** —the same boy who had once eaten an entire packet of wasabi because Sunoo dared him to, the same idiot who had tried to skateboard down the school stairs in ninth grade and ended up in a cast for six weeks—he rolled onto his side, propped his chin on his hand with a sly smirk, and said:
*"Just kiss me then."*
Sunoo blinked.
Once.
Twice.
A third time, just to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
Sunghoon remained sprawled across his bed, chin propped on his palm, looking unfairly smug for someone who had just suggested something ridiculous. The afternoon light slanted through the curtains, catching the stupidly perfect angles of his face, because of course even the sun was on Sunghoon's side today.
"Are you," Sunoo said slowly, "having a stroke?"
Sunoo gaped at him. "Wait.....You’re finally completely insane."
Sunghoon sighed, a long one, like he was the one dealing with an idiot. "No, genius. I’m offering you practice. You know. Since you’re so tragically unkissed."
Sunoo , completely obliterated by that statement " I - ...I don’t need practice."
"You literally just said you NEVER KI—"
"I know what I said!" Sunoo hissed, throwing another sock. Sunghoon caught it this time, grinning like the gremlin he was.
"It’s science," Sunghoon declared, sitting up with like a professor explaining Human Anatomy . "You can’t expect your first kiss to be perfect if you’ve never done it before. What if you, like, miss? Or poke your nose at them? Or—"
Sunoo gasped "*miss ?! poke ?!*"
"Stranger things have happened!" Sunghoon held up his hands. "I’m just saying. You could ruin your romantic future. Do you want to be known as Kim Sunoo, the Unkissed?"
Sunoo groaned, flopping back onto his pillow. "I hate you."
"Nope , You don’t ! And you’re overthinking it." Sunghoon smirked. "What’s the worst that could happen?"
Famous last words.
Those words replay in Sunoo's pretty head like a cursed viral song on loop.