Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/13314795. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: F/F, M/M Fandom: GOT7 Relationship: Choi_Youngjae/Im_Jaebum_|_JB Character: Choi_Youngjae, Im_Jaebum_|_JB, Im_Nayeon, Hirai_Momo, Mark_Tuan, Original Characters, Kim_Yerim_|_Yeri Additional Tags: Football_|_Soccer, football_player_jaebum, actor_youngjae, Friends_to Lovers, Long-Distance_Relationship, Secret_Relationship, Underage Drinking, Other_Additional_Tags_to_Be_Added, so_i_dont_spoil_everything already Stats: Published: 2018-01-08 Chapters: 1/? Words: 11935 ****** Like the stars chase the sun ****** by bee7 Summary “Everyone knows him,” how the tables have turned Youngjae smirks to himself, “and you shouldn’t worry about it, I’m sure he will find his way back to you." Samantha can’t know that Jaebum will find him, she can’t know it, even though she acts like a seer who can predict the future she can’t really know it. Youngjae probably won’t see Jaebum again, at least not in person. Or Jaebum is a rising football star who keeps finding his way into Youngjae's life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ this is on a hiatus sorry Notes - the story takes place in brazil; - if you're american know that football stands for soccer, i just cant call it soccer so football here is the same as soccer; - novelas are like korean dramas but there's 6 episodes every week and it lasts for about six or eight months (like soap operas); - also youngjae lives in Rio and Jaebum lives in São Paulo; - title from florence and the machine's song peace of queen. See the end of the work for more notes A bump followed by a loud noise and then Youngjae is falling down on his butt, “Holy shit,” he almost yells groaning in pain. His back hurts because of the impact with the floor but not as much as his head, he tries touching it but it hurts so bad he hisses in pain. God, he can’t believe he hit his head on a street sign because he was looking at someone’s ass, this can’t get any more embarrassing. But then it does, suddenly there’s a very beautiful face leaning down to his level. The face overly worried but surprised too, well Youngjae supposes it’s not everyday that you see a dumbass getting hit by a street sign like this. “What- are you okay? Oh my god, it’s already swelling-” the boy looking down at Youngjae gotta be the prettiest person he has ever seen and that’s saying something since he is used to beautiful people. It’s the same guy with the beautiful ass, but his face looks even better than it. “It’s swelling? God no! My makeup artist will kill me I have closeups today! This is so embarrassing... listen that sign wasn’t there just two seconds ago...” The other guy looks at him like Youngjae is crazy, “Do you think it will bruise?” “Are- are you worried about your makeup? Do you think I should call you an ambulance? It looks so ugly… god... how didn’t you see a red sign this big? Do you think you have a concussion?” He is talking really fast and Youngjae wants to laugh but it will hurt his head even more, the spot there is throbbing. This guy is overreacting and he looks even more cute while worried. Maybe Youngjae does have a concussion since the only thing he can think about is how cute his face is. “You don’t have to call an ambulance, dude chill, it wasn’t that serious, can you help me get up though?” Cute guy looks surprised that they are still on the ground and helps Youngjae to his feet with way more care than necessary. “I’m a little dizzy to be honest, is it too much if I ask you to walk me to my dressing room? I mean I can probably do it by myself… but…” The truth is that Youngjae doesn’t know if he can do it by himself, now that he is standing up the pain on his head is even worse and he feels like crying, he would cry if he was alone, the pain is awful and he doesn’t want to fall down again due to the dizziness he is feeling. Cute guy looks like he wants to protest maybe take Youngjae to a doctor but he just mumbles an okay, Youngjae is grateful he doesn’t know him but this is all happening because he has a nice ass so it’s his fault too. “I’m Youngjae by the way, thanks for helping me out,” it’s way too early in the morning, it’s dark still and Youngjae is sleepy, he hit his head because of it too he didn’t get much sleep last night, he hates waking up way before the sun does but his schedule is packed today. They are inside the building already, they’re walking very slowly, Youngjae has his arm around cute guy’s broad shoulders and he has his own arm around Youngjae’s waist, it’s quite nice if you ignore the situation on his head and back. “Oh, I know who you are, Youngjae,” then he is blushing furiously, “I mean… everyone knows who you are, you’re pretty famous and stuff… I’m Jaebum.” Youngjae thinks Jaebum is very cute and also that he knows him from somewhere, maybe he is an actor too? It would be so rude if they have been already introduced and Youngjae didn’t remember him. “I’m sorry, but do we know each other? I feel like I have seen your face somewhere before,” Youngjae decides do ignore the part where cute- Jaebum says he is famous and that everyone knows him, he gets it a lot he doesn’t care about it anymore. “No, we don’t… I’m a football player, maybe you saw me playing I-” “Oh right! Im Jaebum! You play for Palmeiras right? I have seen you play before, last year when you debuted I went with my father to the game… dude, I don’t know how I didn’t recognise you as soon as I saw you, guess it’s because it’s dark and I’m still sleepy? Also because of your cap, I couldn’t see your face perfectly,” Youngjae is talking a lot for someone who is in pain, but the fact is that he knows Jaebum. Well he doesn’t know know him, but he knows of him. Jaebum is only eighteen years old but he is getting very famous already, six or so months ago just some people knew of him but now literally everyone in the country does. He is getting a lot of recognition and people are crazy about him, everyone wants him to play for their team, Youngjae’s father does as well. Jaebum blushes again but Youngjae is kinda upset now, Jaebum is definitely straight, he knows it’s not possible for every football player to be straight some of them have to be gay or bisexual but Jaebum is always with girls, he is known for it and also he looks just like your Straight Alpha Male stereotype. Youngjae feels his hopes being crushed by Jaebum’s strong jawline, his blush is too cute but Youngjae already gave up on it. “Ah, so you saw that game… I wasn’t so good on the first one or on the other ones after it either, this season we are doing way better though…” They are getting closer to Youngjae’s dressing room, he knows that there are people waiting for him already and he feels bad he hates it when he disturbs someone else’s plans but he really can’t walk faster than he is right now. The pain is not as bad as it was before but it still there screaming at Youngae to just stop walking. “We should get you some ice, this bruise will be huge.” “Oh god, don’t remind me of that I’m really screwed with that. But anyways don’t change the subject, you guys are really doing good this season, you’re the top scorer, right? You guys might win the championship… I might even root for you now that Vasco has no more chances and you are being so nice and helpful to me.” Youngjae gives him a smile, he can’t laugh right now but he can at least give Jaebum something, he is grateful and he wants to show it somehow. Jaebum smiles right back at him blushing a little and oh god isn’t it a pretty smile too? Youngjae wants to keep him. “You’re a Vasco fan? Sorry about that.” Youngjae slaps him lightly, he won’t allow anyone to shit on his team even if they are being nice to him. “But yeah you should totally root for us, is better to cheer for the champion right? We are so winning it this year, I can’t talk like that to other people so I don’t sound too cocky, but we will win.” Youngjae wants to laugh, Jaebum is too cute talking about his team, his eyes are shining, he doesn’t know if they will win but he hopes they do. Jaebum was called to play for Brazil for the first time last month, Youngjae saw it on the news, he thinks it will be good for him winning the championship, people will trust him better. When they get to Youngjae’s dressing room his makeup artist, Samantha, looks like she was about to go looking for him, she doesn’t look happy but then she’s worried and all over him taking him from Jaebum. “What happened to you, sweetheart? Your forehead looks horrible!” She doesn’t spare Jaebum a glance. “It’s alright, I hit my head on… I- you see, you know how clumsy I am, right? And I was distracted by… by the stars, it’s so early you still can see the stars on the sky, did you know?” She makes a face at him, “anyways, I just hit my forehead on a sign, but Jaebum helped me, everything’s fine now.” “Hi,” Jaebum is looking at Samantha and he is back at being worried, “I’m not sure if everything is as fine as he said, he hit his head pretty bad like I wasn’t even that close to him and I could hear the noise it made when his head collided with the sign… I think he should see a doctor.” Samantha smiles at him, “It’s alright, Jaebum sweetie, I will take care of him now. I will do his makeup and try to cover this up,” she says nicely, “he will be able to rest and even to sleep while I take care of it, then if he is not feeling alright we will talk to the director and see what we should do. Don’t worry I don’t think he needs a doctor.” She is way older and way smarter than both of them, so if she is not worried Youngjae isn’t worried either, he wasn’t anyways, Jaebum is the only one overreacting, he doesn’t look pleased but he doesn’t say anything either. Youngjae sits on a chair so he can be more comfortable, he knows that his costume designer will be here soon and that they are already running late. Jaebum approaches him and Youngjae smiles trying to give him a reassuring look to let him know that he is fine, he doesn’t know if he succeeds. “I should treat you to lunch… probably not today cause I will be busy till late in the night but we should do it… as a thank you, of course.” “You don’t have to treat me, but yeah… that would be nice,” nice huh? Samantha makes a noise like she knows exactly what Youngjae is thinking about Jaebum finding it nice. Youngjae will scold her for it later, Jaebum looks at the time on his watch, his eyes widening, “I have to go, I will record something and it’s on another building, I’m late I will see you later, yeah? Take care of your head. Take care of him,” Jaebum says the last part looking at Samantha, he smiles quickly at Youngjae and then he is running out of the room. “I didn’t even get his number, how are we supposed to see each other again?” He says regretfully, it’s not that he wants something to do with Jaebum but he is nice enough and he promised taking him to lunch. “Did you know him by the way?” “Everyone knows him,” how the tables have turned Youngjae smirks to himself, “and you shouldn’t worry about it, I’m sure he will find his way back to you. Now I will get you some advil, I bet you have a headache and we can start on the makeup. You need to be more careful, Youngjae.” She is right, he needs to pay more attention, Youngjae is always hurting himself, today was because of Jaebum’s ass and he will never tell it to anyone, definitely not to Samantha, maybe to Nayeon later, but just to her. Samantha can’t know that Jaebum will find him, she can’t know it, even though she acts like a seer who can predict the future she can’t really know it. Youngjae probably won’t see Jaebum again, at least not in person. The day goes by without much trouble, he can’t shoot everything that he is supposed to because they start later since his head hurts too much and he has to rest for another two hours, the director isn’t happy but there’s nothing they can do apart from waiting. At night when he gets home all he can think about is Jaebum, he didn’t think about him the entire day, he was too busy and in pain, now he is just tired looking at the ceiling of his room and wondering about the other boy. He was so nice to Youngjae, maybe he did what every other person would do, but still Youngjae felt like he truly cared. He thinks about sending Jaebum a message on the boy’s instagram account, maybe ask him for his number but he decides against it, it might not be a good idea, he already did so much for Youngjae, he doesn’t want to annoy him or to seem like a clingy person. He just wanted to thank Jaebum again… it’s better if he let it go, he decides going to sleep, tomorrow will be busy again.   *   On the weekend he is out with Nayeon and Lydia, they go to a restaurant so they can have lunch together, Lydia needs to discuss some things with them. She’s been their agent since they were little kids, they love her but sometimes she can be too much, Youngjae is grateful because she takes good care of them so they can get nice projects but she isn’t the easiest person to deal with. “I was almost forgetting to ask, Youngjae is that new sport boy doing anything on the novela?” Lydia asks, she is eating a lettuce salad as if it is the best thing in the world, they are all eating it but she seems to be the only one enjoying the dish. “What?” Nayeon seems as confused as he is. “Because his people called me asking for your number, I thought why would you be talking to a football player? I could only think that he would be part of a scene on the novela, I know how people love this kind of things.” “Really, I have no idea what you are talking about, Lydia.” Youngjae really doesn’t well maybe he does a little. She is talking about a football player, and well he knows Jaebum but he hasn’t think about the other boy on the past days, he is being really so busy and there was nothing to think really, he is handsome and nice too but that’s it, nothing to think there. She looks unimpressed as if she knows he has an idea just fine, “That Jaebum kid? His agent, who is he is father by the way, called me and said he needed your number, I was very confused to be honest.” Nayeon has her mouth open, “What for? Oh my god, did you give Jae’s number to him?” She is covering her mouth looking so surprised it’s ridiculous. “Yes,” Lydia answers calmly. “You did?” Youngjae says way louder than he should, he doesn’t have a problem with Jaebum having his number, hell he wanted to ask for the boy’s number himself, but right now he doesn’t know how to feel about it. Why would Jaebum go through the trouble of asking someone to call his agent just to get his number? There’s a weird feeling on his stomach. “Doesn’t matter… it’s just… I saw him some days ago on the TV studio and well you see the thing with my forehead it was on this day, he helped me so he probably want to talk about it? I don’t know...” His answer is a mess but he doesn’t know why Jaebum wants his number either, he is more confused than them. “Why didn’t you tell me about that? You said you hit your head but you didn’t say that a hot boy helped you out. He is not just a hot boy, Jae, he is all people talk about these days! I heard he is making so much money and that he will sign a big ass contract next year,” Youngjae is so uncomfortable right now, for some reason he doesn’t want to share anything about Jaebum, he doesn’t know why, maybe he is embarrassed because of the real reason why he hit his head. Maybe it’s something else… “I don’t know, Nanah. I’ve been working too much I forgot to mention it, today is the first time I’m not eating at the studio and I have a lot of school work to do too. I will tell you about it later.” Or not. Nayeon looks like she wants to protest, he knows they talk about everything busy or not, tired or not, he didn’t mention it because he decided not to. Before she can say anything else Lydia is talking over her, “Ok, maybe it will be good for you to be friends with him. He is on a good moment, I guess. Anyway, you two take a selfie and post it on instagram so people can know you had lunch together.” Nayeon rolls her eyes at it, they’ve been best friends since they were little kids but people ‘ship’ them or something like that. When they were kids they were in the same novela, they were the two cute kids and people wanted them to be together, nevermind the fact that they were six years old. The point is that they’ve been inseparable since then and the public seems to like it, some people are sure that they’ve been dating for years but pretend to be friends. If only they knew. “Don’t give me that attitude, Nayeon, you have a cover magazine coming up next week and if you want people to pay attention to it then they should start paying attention to the things you are doing right now.” Nayeon looks at him apologetic asking him if he minds, he doesn't. He thinks she minds it more than him, Nayeon isn’t an actress anymore, after their novela she started working as a model and now she still models but she is also a TV presenter and kind of a it girl, she likes being seen but she doesn’t like pretending to be someone who she is not. She takes the picture and Youngjae can see a group of teenage girls taking pictures of them as well, he waves at them and they all giggle and blush, he is used to it. It’s not that he likes people taking pictures of him while he eats out but he is been on TV since he can remember, he is used to it. He is not happy, but he doesn’t mind it anymore. “Right… I don’t want to keep doing it though. I mean Jae is my best friend of course I’m ok taking selfies with him, but I don’t want to use it for my career anymore, not for longer anyways. I’m thinking about coming out.” “Cute.” Lydia looks like she really thinks Nayeon is a cute naive kid, “really cute that you think you can come out just like that. You’re not coming out any time soon, none of you are.” “Why not? Momo is getting-” “I don’t care about your girlfriend’s feelings, this is not my job. My job is to take care of your image and right now is not a good moment for coming out, you will do that when the time is right. I don’t want to have this discussion while I’m eating.” Nayeon looks like she is on the verge of tears, Youngjae holds her tiny hand on his. He knows how his best friend feels about being closeted. She hates not being able to kiss her girlfriend in public, she hates having to pretend to be someone she isn’t, hates lying to her fans, he knows she also feels guilty that people don’t get that she and Youngjae are just friends. Youngjae doesn’t mind it much, of course he wishes he could come out too, he thinks it’s important for kids to have celebrities coming out as gay and he wanted to feel free for once, he understands what Lydia is saying though. Coming out right now might not be a good idea, they are not ashamed of who they are but Youngjae knows how people can be, Nayeon has a lot of fans, she is way more popular than Youngjae is, her fans are kids and teenagers, he can’t imagine what angry and ignorant parents would be able to do to her career. She probably would get it worse than him. Youngjae loves her more than anyone on the entire world, he knows that she is not happy the way things are now but he also knows that she loves her job and wouldn’t want to lose it, it’s not fair, he wishes he could help her. They eat in silence after it, Nayeon will tighten her grip on Youngjae’s hand from time to time and smile cutely at him even if he can see the tears in the corner of her eyes. He can feel and see people taking pictures of their hands joined together but right now he couldn’t care less. After they are done at the restaurant he and Nayeon go back to his house so they can do their homework, the year is almost over and it’s pretty hard for them to keep up while they have so much work. He has a lot of scenes to shoot everyday and also the photoshoots, he’s been working almost sixteen hours every day and skipping school a lot. He is so tired all he wants to do is sleep till he feels like himself again. They are working on comfortable silence on Youngjae’s room, Nayeon lies on his bed books forgotten. “Do you think Momo will break up with me?” “What? Where is this coming from? She loves you, she won’t break up with you, baby.” Youngjae sits next to her so she can rest her head on his lap. “It’s just… we’ve been together for almost two years now, it’s not fair to her… She is getting fed up with this situation, she doesn’t say anything but I know she is.” Momo has her reasons to get fed up, Youngjae will give it to her. Everyone on their industry knows about Nayeon and Youngjae being gay, is not a big secret like people might think these things work on TV, just about everyone knows but the public doesn’t. The tabloids don’t have a reason to expose them, it’s not as lucrative as their fake straight relationship is, they would do it, expose them that’s it, if it becomes something big. Momo and Nayeon’s relationship is not something big right now, they are quiet but there’s not much they can do, they don’t have a lot of freedom. Youngjae thinks Momo wants to have a normal relationship like any other girl, he feels sorry for her, for both of them but this is not something easy to fix. “I see how she might feel… I mean I can’t relate but… it must be frustrating you know? You’re a pretty girl and she can’t even show you off.” Nayeon smiles at him, a tiny smile. “Anyways, I see her side but I’m on your side.It’s hard for her but it’s hard for you too. She will need to be just a little bit more patient, things will work out soon enough… she loves you very much, she wouldn’t just leave you, Nanah.” Nayeon doesn’t say anything for some time, she looks very serious, “It’s not just that, y’know? I don’t think she will leave me either… but it’s not fair of me, I want to be a good girlfriend… I want to make her as happy as she makes me.” And for that Youngjae doesn’t have an answer, he hasn’t really dated anyone, he doesn’t know how to make someone happy but he can imagine that hiding them isn’t the best way to do it. He wishes he could help Nayeon but he has no idea of what to do. “It will be alright, you will be fine,” he says playing with her hair but he is not sure if it will be alright, not really. Youngjae is about to go back to his desk so he can finish his algebraic equations but then Nayeon is looking at him with a funny face, she doesn’t look as upset as before. “What is it with that Jaebum guy? Why would he ask for your number?” Of course Nayeon wouldn’t just let it go, she wouldn’t just forget about something like that. “Ah-- you see…” might as well tell her the whole story, it might cheer her up. “You know how I hit my head on that street sign?” Nayeon is smiling big at him, obviously he being clumsy is amusing to her. “Yeah. I bet you weren’t wearing your lenses, you need to start wearing them regularly or you will end up blind.” “Actually I was wearing my lenses, maybe that was the reason why I hit my head… I was seeing very, very well so… you see, there was a nice butt right in front of me.” “There was a what?” Nayeon sits up so she can look at him better, her face is curious but also gleeful. Youngjae likes it like that. “Jaebum has a nice butt and I was staring at it, I didn’t even know it was him but really it was so nice and round… I fell to the ground and he came help me like the nice person he is. He is so very nice, you have no idea, Nanah.” Youngjae is blushing and Nayeon is laughing so hard her face is getting red too. “Ah, don’t laugh like that, it was so embarrassing, he was worried about me and I was mortified…” “You should have told me as soon as it happened, oh my god this is so funny. Do you think he knows why you were distracted?” “No! He can’t know… there’s no way for him to know.” Nayeon laughs a little more saying that Youngjae is the only person to do things likes that. “Hitting your head because of a cute ass… how horny are you? You should just find a cute boy and get laid, you’re so weird about sex, Jae. It’s just sex.” She says it just like that as if Youngjae doesn’t know it, it’s not that he is weird about sex or that he’s waiting for the right guy, it’s just… Really he is not expecting for a right person or anything to be magic, he will have sex when he feels like having sex with someone, when he feels it. And he still hasn’t felt it, not yet. He doesn’t think it needs to be special or anything, but he should at least be into it, right? He never felt into anyone like that. He is not  in a hurry though, it will happen when it happens. “I know it’s just sex, but I don’t need to get laid, he has a beautiful ass anyone would look at it, really, football does wonders to people I guess.” They chat about silly things for a bit, Nayeon shows him some memes that she sees on her instagram feed, “Oh my god, he liked our selfie! Look at it, Jae.” “Who liked it?” Youngjae had already forgotten that she posted a picture of them, he just uses instagram to post pictures of Coco and to check out cute animals videos. “Jaebum! He doesn’t even follow me and he liked it, let me-” She is looking thoughtfully down at her phone, “he follows you though… do you follow him? This is funny he doesn’t follow me and is liking our picture, it’s obviously because of you. Is he chasing after you, Jae?” “Chasing after me? Nanah, no! Stop being silly!” Youngjae feels a light blush trying to take over his face, he doesn’t know why he is embarrassed by that, it’s just a picture. She just hums at him looking at the comments on their selfie. Later that night Youngjae is lying by himself on his bed, Nayeon left two hours ago, she had a date night with Momo, she was still a little down but not as upset as before. Youngjae tries not to check it, but he is too tempted, he gets his phone so he can have a look at Jaebum’s instagram account. He did think about messaging him when they met but he didn’t follow through with it. Now he is looking at it and he decides it wouldn’t be so bad following Jaebum back, right? They are probably acquaintances by now, he follows Jaebum and proceeds to look through the boy’s posts. He posts a lot of picture of cats, they are probably his, there’s also many pictures of stadiums full with fans and of him with his teammates and friends at parties always looking happy. Youngjae doesn’t even think about it he likes some of the pictures, he keeps rolling down and down till he sees pictures of Jaebum from last year, he looks so much younger, he wasn’t that popular yet and he had an innocent look to his face, Youngjae thinks those are his best pictures. He sees a picture from two years ago, one of Jaebum hugging a tiny kitty, on the caption Jaebum calls the kitty Nora, says he will take care of his first kid and that he will love her forever. Youngjae can’t help smiling at it, Jaebum is sweet, he seems to love his cats just like Youngjae loves Coco. He likes the picture too just to freak out when he realizes this is a really old one and it’s probably weird that he liked it, oh god he probably looks like a creepy, he knows people can see what he likes on instagram, Jaebum can see it, oh god- Then someone is calling him, it’s almost midnight and someone is calling him. It’s not weird to people to call him, he has a lot of friends and knows too many people but it’s a number he doesn’t know, he usually wouldn’t pick up but he does. “Yeah?” He asks hesitantly. “Hey… is this Youngjae? This is Jaebum.” And what now, why is Jaebum calling him out of nowhere? God he is probably weirded out by Youngjae liking his pictures, Youngjae should lie, he should block Jaebum’s number right now. “Hum… yes, it’s… this is Youngjae...” He can’t say anything else, what is he supposed to say here anyways? “Oh,” Jaebum sounds relieved, “I got your number from your agent, but I wasn’t sure if it was right… so how’s your head? That sounded dirty,” Jaebum chuckles and Youngjae can’t help the laugh that scapes him, it didn’t sound dirty at first but Jaebum just made it dirty now. “I mean, because you hit it and stuff, how is it now? How are you feeling?” It’s sweet that Jaebum would call to check on him even though he doesn’t need to, it wasn’t that serious, “I’m fine, it was fine really, it still a little purple but it’s fading. So don’t worry about it?” He questions because really he doesn’t know what to say here, maybe he should thank Jaebum again. “I- that day I meant to get your number so I could thank you properly but-- you had- you had to leave. I still… I mean if you’re still up to it we can get lunch together so I can thank you again.” God, Youngjae sounds like an idiot, if he was Jaebum he would have hanged up by now. “You don’t have to thank me, you know that, right? But I’m calling because yeah, I would like to see you again. I will be in Rio in like two weeks, I have a game there, do you think you would be free after it? It would have to be dinner and not lunch cos I can’t really leave before the game…” Youngjae hadn’t realize the fact that he and Jaebum don’t live in the same city, he feels a little upset by it, he doesn’t know why but the idea that he can’t hang out with Jaebum whenever he wants makes him feel weird, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. They are not even friends and Youngjae is worried about not being able to see the other boy easily. “Dinner is okay too,” at least he thinks it is, dinner shouldn’t be different from lunch, right? It might sound a little more intimate but it’s just a meal. “We should definitely do that, Jaebum.” “Good, I will let you know when I get there.” Youngjae thinks it went alright, but of course it wasn’t over just yet. “By the way… I see you liked some of my instagram posts.” God no, why would he mention that? “You seem to like my shirtless selfies…” At that Youngjae feels like dying, did he like pictures of Jaebum being shirtless? He didn’t even realize he did that, this is so embarrassing, why is Jaebum teasing him? Why isn’t he weirded out by another boy liking these kind of photos? His face burns “I- I--” “I will post one just for you now, you should check it out... I’ll talk to you later, Youngjae. Sleep tight.” Then he hangs up and what? Did he just- he said he was going to post a shirtless picture just for Youngjae. What does it mean? Youngjae checks it and he wasn’t lying, Jaebum posted a selfie just now, it’s him on his bed, he is shirtless on a dark room and there’s a cat lying on his stomach, you can’t even see his torso that well but it makes Youngjae’s mouth go dry anyway. His hair is wet and he looks like he just got out of the shower, people are going crazy on the comments, there’s almost five hundred thousand likes and he just posted it. Youngjae doesn’t know if he should like it too, he liked a lot of stuff today already and he is sure his fans are already talking about it… but maybe just one more photo won’t make much of a difference. Then he reads the caption “cuddling with my fave babY.j”It looks like a typo, the Y.j, but Youngjae knows it’s not a typo, Jaebum did say that he would post it for him and then he does this… Youngjae likes the photo, saves Jaebum’s number on his contact list and texts him.   me - 12:12 AM ur cats v cute   jb - 12:12 AM ;)   Youngjae blushes, god what is he doing? Is Jaebum flirting with him? He can’t, he can’t be cos he is straight, probably. But then why is he calling Youngjae late at night to ask if he wants to get dinner with him? Why is he posting pictures like that? And why is he sending Youngjae a winking face like that? Youngjae shouldn’t overthink it, this is probably because Jaebum is very friendly. Yeah, that gotta be it. Youngjae knows he has a lot of famous friends, he is always hanging out with celebrities at fancy places and stuff like that, maybe it’s because he is like that, really approachable, he must be like this with everyone- jb - 12:19 AM r u sleeping already?   me - 12:20 AM nope why?   jb - 12:20 AM wanna play some overwatch?   Even if Youngjae wanted to say no to that he couldn’t, everyone knows he loves overwatch, so even though it might be a little random Jaebum probably knows about it too and wants to play, he must be bored. Youngjae says he wants to but that they can’t play for too long since he has to work tomorrow morning yet they play for almost four hours till Youngjae can’t keep his eyes open anymore. They laugh a lot and it’s fun, Jaebum isn’t that good but he tries his best, Youngjae only plays overwatch with Mark but since the boy isn’t in Brazil right now they haven’t be able to play much, Mark is working a lot these past months too, it’s nice having someone else to play with. Jaebum doesn’t try to flirt with him, Youngjae thinks he was right, the guy is probably too friendly and just wants to befriend him. He is funny in a dorky way, Youngjae appreciates it, when they decided go to bed Jaebum tells him to have nice dreams and that they will talk later. Youngjae goes to bed smiling like an idiot, he is tired so it doesn’t take too long for him to fall asleep, he will be able to sleep for just three hours or so, it doesn’t matter he had fun and he is content that maybe he made a new friend.   *   “Can we take a picture with you guys?” A group of women stop them while Youngjae is at the beach walking Coco with Momo and Nayeon. The women seem to be a little older than them, probably already on their late twenties, they all look very pretty and very tanned. They ask if Coco can be in the picture too, Youngjae thinks it’s a bit weird but doesn’t mind it much, Momo takes the picture for them. Youngjae is sandwiched between two of them, they have their arms around him and it’s uncomfortable but it’s all over pretty fast. The women tell them they’re fans and that they’re loving Youngjae’s current novela. The women are nice he guesses, but Youngjae feels weird being stopped to take photos while he walks his dog, what really annoys him though is when people act as if Momo isn’t even there or as if she is their personal photographer. Momo doesn’t seem to mind, she is nice to them taking the picture and waving goodbye when they leave. They stop to buy some coconut water, is hot as hell, Youngjae thinks he should take Coco home soon. “So… seeing these girls reminded me of something,” nothing good can come out of this, Momo looks way too innocent to it to be any good. “I don’t have as much followers as you guys, so when someone talks to me on twitter I can see it most of the time. A fan of yours asked me something yesterday, Jae.” And that’s another thing Youngjae doesn’t like, Momo is a teenage girl she is seventeen just like him and Nayeon, but she is part of a dance company she has her own work but people are always asking her about Youngjae and Nayeon, most of the time about Youngjae because they think she is his girlfriend, some will even harass her. They never care about her own person, about the things she does, it’s always about her celebrity friends. “Was it something bad? I’m sorry-” “No,” Momo smiles at him, Nayeon is smiling too and this doesn’t seem right, “nothing bad, it’s just that she asked me if I was also friends with that football player Jaebum, do you know?” Oh, Youngjae knows and she knows that he knows. “I was confused so I didn’t even reply to her but then I talked about it with Nayeon... would you believe that she told me that you are the one who’s friends with Jaebum?” “If she already told you about it, why are we talking about this? There’s nothing left to talk,” he is going for nonchalant knowing damn well that it won’t work. “We are not even  that close, we just talk sometimes,” “Talk sometimes?” Momo and Nayeon say at the same time, right he forgot about not telling Nayeon that Jaebum has been texting him almost everyday, it’s not that he wanted to keep it a secret from her but he didn’t think it was a big deal, really it’s not. “Well, he called me once and then we started talking more, he is a pretty cool dude, so we talk,” he won’t tell that they actually talk a lot, almost everyday because some days he is really busy and Jaebum is busy too, he travels and also is always practicing, but he always text Youngjae good morning even when they can’t talk much. Youngjae doesn’t know when it started being a thing but when he realized he was already used to it, Jaebum is so attentive and sweet, Youngjae likes it. “So that explains a lot, that’s why you are always giggling down at your phone…” “I’m not, Nanah!” He pouts at them, it makes Momo smile but Nayeon is thoughtful. “Why wouldn’t you tell me about this? Why do you keep secrets when it comes to this guy?” She doesn’t look upset that he wouldn’t tell her something, mostly she looks like she is trying to unravel a mystery, Youngjae doesn’t like it. “Are you… are you into him?” “What? Why would you think that?” They start walking back home, Youngjae gets Coco on his arms so she can rest a little. “I don’t know, maybe because it’s weird that you keep forgetting to mention things about him, I think meeting and then getting closer to him is something you would tell me.” “It’s just… I didn’t think it was important that’s all.” Momo’s smile gets bigger, “Hey, Jae… have you ever liked someone?” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Huh?” Youngjae can’t see how this is relevant to their conversation. “Because you see, you act different when it come to this guy and you even keep secrets, you try to keep it to yourself even though this is not something you usually do. Maybe you’re feeling something different, something that’s new for you so you don’t know how to react…” Youngjae has crazy best friends, that’s the real issue here, probably, just because he didn’t tell them about something they think that there’s something huge behind it. Ok, so maybe it’s not that usual for him to not tell them something, mainly to Nayeon, he always tells her everything, so if he liked Jaebum at least a little bit he would tell her, right? If he had a crush he would definitely tell her. It doesn’t feel like a crush though, it’s just something he likes and that he doesn’t want to share, god knows why. He doesn’t say anything back to Momo, she waits for a reply but then realizes that she won’t be getting any so they start talking about something else. They get to Youngjae’s apartment pretty quick, his family apartment faces the beach. His mother cooked lunch while she waited for them, the three of them eat lunch with his parents, the girls talk a lot with them, Youngjae’s mother loves Nayeon and Momo like daughters. It’s all fine but Youngjae can’t stop thinking about what Momo said, he doesn’t talk much at lunch, he doesn’t even eat a lot, he was hungry before but now he feels dizzy. When they are done with the food and it’s just the tree of them watching TV, Momo speaks from the other couch. “I’m sorry if we bothered you, I just wanted to tease you at first, but then I really meant that you could like him… you don’t have to be upset it was just an idea, sorry if I got it all wrong and made you upset.” She looks regretful but Youngjae isn’t mad at her, “It’s alright, I’m not upset, Momoring. It’s just it got me thinking… I really don’t keep secret from you guys, Jaebum is just… I think we are kinda friends now? But it’s different,” “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, you can take your time to figure things out, no one is in a hurry,” Nayeon tells him. “I don’t think that there is anything to figure out, it’s just different.” “Alright, but Jae… you should know that people really think you two are like best friends already. This is all they can talk about on twitter and on instagram,” Youngjae flinches at Momo, he doesn’t check what people talk about him, not much anyways, but he should have thought that liking a bunch of Jaebum’s photos wouldn’t go unnoticed. Jaebum doesn’t help though, he liked every post on Youngjae’s instagram, he doesn’t have as many posts as the other boy, but it gotta seem weird, right? Maybe he was trying to make Youngjae not to feel like the only weirdo on their friendship. “He seems to like you quite a bit too…” “Well, we are friends so he better.” He and Jaebum played overwatch together two other times, it made them get even closer, something about spending the entire night talking and laughing with someone will make it, Youngjae thinks. They don’t talk about Jaebum anymore, the girls can feel that his mood dropped slightly, so they talk about other things, they also facetime with Mark later. They all miss him so much, he’s been in Paris working as a model for two months now, he will stay there for another four. Nayeon and Youngjae are pretty close to Mark, since the boy moved to Rio when he was ten years old they became best friends and have never been apart from each other for so long, it’s been pretty weird for all of them. Youngjae hasn’t talked about Jaebum with Mark either, maybe he will get jealous or feel like Youngjae is replacing him, well he’s been playing with him instead. Again with the weird feeling, wanting to keep everything that happens between him and Jaebum to himself, it just doesn’t feel like the right time to tell Mark. “I will be in Rio by Friday, do you think you will be able to make it to the game on Sunday?” Jaebum asks over the phone. “I told you I’m going, didn’t I?” Youngae whispers, he doesn’t know why he is whispering, it’s late at night, his parents are already asleep and he is locked in his room, yet he feels like he should whisper. “Alright, do you… would you like to watch it from a cabin with my family? They will be there, it will be more comfortable to you.” Youngjae thinks it’s pretty common to friends meeting each other’s parents, but for some reason he feels his face burning because of the suggestion. He definitely won’t be more comfortable with them.   “I don’t know, isn’t it too soon? It would be awkward...” This is not too soon, they are just friends, Youngjae is used to meeting his friend’s parents, but this feels soon, also Jaebum won’t be there with him, it would just be so awkward. “That’s fine. It’s just,” Jaebum chuckles a little, “my mom loves you, she watches everything you do, you know that first novela you were on? Whenever you cried she would cry too, she knows you are going to the game so she wanted to meet you, I guess she can meet you another time.” Now Youngjae feels guilty, Jaebum’s mom likes him, just like Youngjae’s father likes Jaebum. His father doesn’t even know that Youngjae is going to the game, he knows that Youngjae is friend with Jaebum because this is all people talk on the tabloids right now so whenever Jaebum sends him a photo of a stadium or something football related he will show it to his father. He knows his old man is a fan of Jaebum, they could go see him together, but he doesn’t want someone taking Jaebum’s attention, not that he will admit it. “I guess… I guess I can watch the game with them then, it will be just your parents?” “Really? My mom will be so happy, she won’t even look at me playing on the field. But yeah just them, well and my sister too, well technically my cousin but we grew up together… so she is like my sister. But really just the three of them and the cabin is big you can invite some friends of yours if you want to.” “Oh, no, it will be just me.” Youngjae assures him, he thought about inviting Nayeon but no, no Nayeon, no Momo, no dad. It will be awkward with Jaebum’s family already, he doesn’t need it to get worse. “And after it I will take you out for dinner,” “Yes, you will...” Jaebum’s voice sounds different now, he can’t read it, but it gets lower. They talk for a bit more, Youngjae has school tomorrow so he should go to sleep soon. When they hang up all Youngjae can think about is that in just three days he will be seeing Jaebum for the first time in almost a month, he is happy, but then he remembers that he will also meet the boy’s family and his anxiety won’t let him sleep.   *   When the day finally comes Youngjae is a bundle of nerves, he couldn’t sleep well last night so he had to put on some makeup today, he cogitated wearing a Palmeiras shirt but decided against it, if anyone sees it he would be mocked for the rest of his life, his father would probably disown him. He wears a plain white shirt, a dark green cap (so he can show Jaebum some kind of support wearing his team’s color) and sunglasses, he knows some people will recognise him but it shouldn’t be so bad. Jaebum called him this morning letting him know how he was supposed to find his family’s cabin, Youngjae also talked to Jaebum’s mom on the phone, she was a sweetheart assuring him that they were all happy to watch the game with him. It didn’t help to calm him down but he pretended it did. When he was leaving to the game his mother asked where he was going, there was no use in lying to her, he wanted to lie, what for he doesn’t know but he is reluctant to assume his friendship with Jaebum. He can’t lie because she will probably find out about it as soon as he gets there, so he says he is going to the game with some friends, because they want to watch it. She tells him to have fun and that’s the end of it. He shouldn’t have worried. He gets to the stadium an hour before the game is supposed to start, there are a lot of people here already, it’s easier getting here earlier but he is not looking forward to spend more time than necessary with Jaebum’s family. Two different groups of girls ask him for photos but he was already expecting for that, there are journalists here and some will greet and take pictures of him. He is just outside the cabin when a tall woman is approaching him, “Youngjae! You came!” Then she is hugging him tightly, Youngjae has no idea what is going on here, he can’t even move his arms. “Darling, if you scare this boy away our son will never forgive us,” a tall man comes from behind her and he looks like an older, taller and stronger version of Jaebum, oh probably his parents then. “Sorry, Youngjae. I’m Misun, I’m Jaebum’s mother, we talked on the phone, didn’t we my dear?” She doesn’t give him a second to answer, “This is Duho, my husband, let’s get yourself comfortable inside the cabin so you can meet my girl, Yeri.” They get inside the cabin and Jaebum’s mother is still talking, Youngjae smiles at her, she is nice and way more talkative than Jaebum that’s for sure, he was only able to introduce himself to Yeri, she is a beautiful very tiny girl and seems to be just about Youngjae’s age. “Jaebum instructed us to take good care of you so we could make a good impression. He was nervous that you wouldn’t come though,” Duho says sitting with Youngjae so they can look at the field, the stadium is almost full already, it’s all red and black, Flamengo’s colors, there’s green too but not as much. “Do you want some beer?” “Please,” Youngjae doesn’t drink a lot, definitely not beer, but he doesn’t want to be rude to them, also it might help him to loosen up a bit. Jaebum’s father talks to him about the game, he is obviously in love with his son’s team just as much as Jaebum is, he seems very confident that they will the championship. When it’s almost time for the game to begin, Misun asks if he can take a photo with her. Youngjae is shy but he accepts, she posts it on instagram right away, Youngjae thinks it’s cute, his mother can’t even download apps on her phone and Jaebum’s mother has an instagram account. Youngjae worries a bit, he knows that if Jaebum was a girl people would be saying that they were dating already, especially with his mother posting pictures of them together. Lucky him Jaebum isn’t a girl. Really, lucky him. “I’m such a fan, when Jaebum told me you were coming I almost cried… You’re so handsome too, even prettier than on TV, look at this hair.” She says blushing, she is so cute, Youngjae doesn’t know how to react to someone saying they almost cried because of him though. “We are very glad that you are here. We’ve been watching you since you were a little kid.” “Thank you for supporting me,” Youngjae replies awkwardly, she is sitting beside him and looking at the boy as if he is the pope so he is a little shy. “Hey, Youngjae did Jaebum tell you about all the posters he has of your pretty face?” Yeri says with a smirk on her face sitting at his other side. “Yeri- you know-” “Relax, mom.” Yeri looks just like Nayeon used to when they were kids and she was about to do something she wasn’t supposed to. “I suppose he told you about mom being your fan but I doubt he mentioned being your fanboy.” “He didn’t,” the game is about to start but right now Youngjae is really interested on what Yeri has to say and she seems to know it. “When we were kids he wouldn’t miss one episode of the novelas you were in, and since we had just one TV we were always fighting because whenever you were on some show he wouldn’t let anyone watch anything else. He would buy every magazine you were in so he could get your posters, when he was fourteen his room were filled with them.” Youngjae blushes, his mouth open, well Jaebum didn’t mention it at all, he never even commented about watching Youngjae on TV. Huh. “That’s interesting,” “Isn’t it?” Yeri smiles at him, she is very friendly just like Jaebum’s mother, Youngjae thinks she’s trying to make him feel more comfortable talking about something that would please him somehow. Youngjae appreciates it. After it she talks his ears off, she tells him just about everything Jaebum has ever said about Youngjae and how happy he was after they met, the boy laughs a lot because she says everything in a cute funny way while her parents try to get her to stop telling Jaebum’s secrets. When the game starts she is quiet for some times but she soon gets bored and starts talking about other things, school and books she likes. Youngjae doesn’t mind it, he can talk to her and watch the game at the same time, he wants to be friends with her for some reason, he wants Jaebum’s family to like him. By now all Jaebum’s parents can seem to pay attention is the game though, his father will yell nonstop, Youngjae is surprised he can still talk after the first half is over. None of the teams have scored yet, the game is a little boring in Youngjae’s opinion but he likes being here, he likes how the crowd sings trying to support their teams. On the second half of the game things get a little more heated, Flamengo scores a goal right at the beginning and Youngjae can see Duho almost crying, he is yelling and cursing, Yeri laughs at her father making him even more angry. Ten minutes later Palmeiras scores too, more precisely Jaebum does, needless to say that his parents go wilde, Yeri and Youngjae cheer too. He didn’t realize just how nervous he was thinking about the possibility of the other boy’s team losing or not even scoring a goal, of course they didn’t win it yet but at least they are not behind anymore. There’s a TV on the cabin so they watch the goal again, it was beautiful, Jaebum was far away when he kicked the ball, Youngjae can’t play football for shit, but he supposes it was something hard to do. The TV shows Jaebum and his teammates celebrating as well, he looks so happy and just so very handsome, it makes Youngjae breathless. The game ends tied, it’s better than losing, Duho isn’t very happy but at least he isn’t yelling anymore. “You are supposed to go back to the hotel with us so Jaebum can meet we all there and you two can go on your date,” “Yeri!” Her mother looks like she is not up for her jokes anymore. Youngjae doesn’t say anything he just nods at her, the boy didn’t know that he was supposed to go with them but he supposes that there’s no other way for them to meet, Jaebum still has to give interviews and do whatever is it that players do after a game. Youngjae isn’t as nervous as he as before, actually he isn’t nervous at all, he feels like he has known them for a long time, maybe because they act like they’ve always known him. All the yelling can get people more comfortable around each other, also Yeri is really fun to hang with, they even exchange numbers, he is happy about it. He follows Yeri on instagram and she posts a selfie of them together when they are back at the hotel, at this point Youngjae is scared that people will think that he is dating her. Not that he is dating anyone, but he knows how people can be. Not even two seconds after it Yeri screams on his face. “Oh my god, people are asking if we are dating. Ew!” “Wow, thanks,” but for some reason he is happy that she acts as if they are already friends. “Sorry, but you are not my type. Also Jaebum would- anyways let me state that no, we are not together, so they can be quiet already,” Youngjae knows that it doesn’t matter people will talk about it anyways. It’s past eight when Jaebum gets to the hotel, he looks insanely beautiful, his hair looks extremely soft, maybe because he just washed it and he has a peaceful look on his face too. Jaebum hugs his parents, he looks like a little kid on their embrace, he hits Yeri lightly on the head, she doesn’t even look up from her phone but tries to kick him, she doesn’t succeed. “I’m so glad you are here,” Jaebum says right at his ear hugging him as well, they have never hugged each other, hell they have only met once before, all their interactions are made through the phone, but this right here feels nice, it feels pretty nice. “I’m glad I’m here too,” Youngjae blushes as soon as he says it, he whispers so the other people in the room can’t hear what he says, the only person who seems to be paying attention is Misun but soon she pretends to be looking at something else. “We should get going, you did say we have reservations, right?” Jaebum finally lets go of him but Youngjae kinda wants to get his arms around his body again. “What about your family, shouldn’t they go with us?” “Nah, they can go have dinner by themselves, also you won’t be happy when all my father can talk about is how the game went, he will have to wait to talk my ears off later.” “Hey you brat, watch it.” His father has a serious look on his face but Youngjae doesn’t think he is angry, serious is how he looks all the time, except for when he looks crazily angry. “You better get going indeed because we will go out too, we want to check a restaurant by the beach,” Jaebum’s family catch a taxi, while Jaebum asks for a car, Youngjae doesn’t know how he has a driver waiting around for him, but apparently he does. The restaurant isn’t too far away, Youngjae loves it here, he’s been coming here since he was a little kid with his parents, it’s one of the best places to eat in the city, Jaebum looks a little lost though. “Something’s wrong?” Youngjae asks after they are placed at one of the tables in a corner, he requested it, he doesn’t like being at tables in the center. “No- this place is a little too fancy, isn’t it? Won’t it be too expensive?” Jaebum can’t stop looking at the other customers in the restaurant. Youngjae thinks it’s cute. “Don’t mind the price, it’s my treat, yeah? Not even for helping me that day, but for the beautiful goal you scored today,” he says when he sees that Jaebum wants to protest about being treated. “Anyways, this place belongs to my best friend’s parents, he is out of the country but I’m always here.” “You rich people never care about the price of things,” Jaebum says looking at the menu, his eyes bulging every time he sees something particularly expensive. “You are rich too so I don’t know what you are talking about,” Youngjae smiles at him, he doesn’t know why he can’t stop looking at Jaebum with adoration today. He wasn’t lying, he is really glad to be here with the other boy. Jaebum senses his smile because he looks up and smiles back, it doesn’t matter how many times Youngjae sees it, it always makes his mouth go a little dry. “Yeah, but I’m not used to it, if you are born poor you will always check the price before buying something.” Youngjae hums at him, he supposes so, he isn’t reckless about his money but he will admit that he doesn’t pay too much attention to it either. He is a little distracted so he is surprised when Jaebum is talking again with a serious look on his face, “talking about best friends though… are you and Nayeon… are you guys really just friends? I- I- mean, I know you’re pretty close… but my mom seems to think that you two are together…” “Huh? Well, yeah… I mean yes we are friends, she is my best friend, she’s more like a sister to me. Nayeon has a girlfriend, actually.” Jaebum chokes on nothing and Youngjae doesn’t like it. “What? Do you have a problem with it? Are you a homophobe or something?” He asks not too kindly. “What? No! Of course not! Why would- I don’t have a problem with it, I just didn’t know… that she… and that you could talk about it freely like that… I mean-” Jaebum is pale and a little pensative. “Ok, well, we can talk about it just fine, it’s just a problem when journalists start talking about it, it isn’t a big deal to us though, the public has no idea so it’s chill. Why do you ask though, you were not like interested on her or something… right?” Youngjae feels cold suddenly, he haven’t thought about the possibility of Jaebum being interested on his best friend, but it could happen, right? He is always with girls and- “It’s not that, it’s not her that I have my eyes on, you know? I just asked… because- well, we are friends and I think I should know if you-- it’s good that you two are just friends, though.” He is looking at Youngjae intensely, Jaebum is all Youngjae can look at. He doesn’t know what to say to that, he doesn’t know what to do, he can’t even breathe right. Jaebum sounds like he is interested on Youngjae, he is not dumb he knows how it seems like but he is too scared to press it. Scared that he is imagining things and that he will ruin things between them already so he he doesn’t acknowledge what Jaebum said, just tries to act normally and not like he is about to confess his not-crush on the other boy. So they order their food, Youngjae also orders them a bottle of champagne, Jaebum looks at him like he is crazy. “So we can celebrate your goal, it was pretty cool, you were pretty cool down there. I was proud.” Jaebum blushes a little but he looks mostly upset thinking about today’s events, “It wasn’t a good game though, there’s nothing to celebrate, we needed to win so we could be in a better situation…” Youngjae thinks it’s good that Jaebum thinks on his team first, he scored but they didn’t win, of course he would be upset over it. “Can’t we celebrate that we are here together then? Isn’t it something champagne worth?” Jaebum’s eyes are a little darker than before, at least they seem to be, he strokes Youngjae’s hand that is resting on the table softly, “It definitely is.” They get their food a little after it, Jaebum is amazed by it he even says that it is worth every penny. They laugh a lot, Youngjae tries to talk about things that aren’t football related so Jaebum can take his head off his job for a bit, it seems to work he looks way lighter than before. “Oh! By the way I saw the photo Yeri posted of you two, how dare you guys become best friends while I’m away, I’m a jealous man,” Jaebum pouts a little and right now he looks like a giant baby not like the grown ass man he is. “Don’t be jealous I won’t steal your little sister,” Jaebum makes a face at him mumbling something, he is already on his third glass of champagne and he looks a little tipsy. “Hey, by the way, she told me some interesting stories about you…” “No! What did she say? I will-” “Calm down there, no need to get even more red in the face. She just told me about you being my fanboy and not only your mother watching me on TV. She told me a lot about your room walls being filled with posters of this handsome boy here,” he says pointing at his own face smiling cutely at Jaebum. Jaebum blushes so hard Youngjae thinks his face will combust at any moment, “That brat, she asked me for a new phone just yesterday, she won’t be getting anything from me for the next three months,” “Don’t be like that, come on tell me about your crush-” he doesn’t mean to say crush, he really doesn’t, he doesn’t know why that’s the word that he went with, maybe it’s the alcohol. “Oh, it is pretty big and embarrassing. The posters only left the walls when we had to move to a new place, also my friends from the team would mock me for it… everyone mocked me really even my grandmother. I didn’t want you to know, god, I’m going to kill Yeri!” He is not even looking at Youngjae right now, Youngjae decides to stroke his hand too, Jaebum looks up, he still looks embarrassed, Youngjae doesn’t want to be one more person to mock him. “It’s alright, you were a kid, I was one too, it’s fine. I’m a crazy Bigbang fan so I still collect everything with Taeyang’s face on it, you’re not the only fanboy on the table, don’t worry.” Youngjae smiles at him, he won’t acknowledge that Jaebum said the crush is pretty big and not that it was. He doesn’t want to call him out on it, it would probably sound like he is teasing and he doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable anymore. They finish their dinner, Jaebum is back at being talkative, the champagne helps him with it, he talks about his cats and how much he misses them when he isn’t at home, even now that he saw them just three days ago. Jaebum’s driver drives Youngjae to his place before going back to the hotel, he stops in front of the building but Youngjae doesn’t leave just yet, he wants to look at Jaebum’s face for a little longer, he doesn’t know when he will be able to see him again. “Thanks for watching the game today and… for dinner, I really enjoyed myself.” Jaebum isn’t looking directly at him but his hand is over Youngjae’s. “I had fun too, you don’t have to thank me anymore.” Youngjae tries to take his hand from under Jaebum’s so he can leave but Jaebum holds it. “I want to see you again, I don’t want to go another month without seeing you… talking on the phone it’s fine but…” He is stare is intense now, eyes locked with Youngjae’s. Youngjae doesn’t know how they got like this, wanting to see each other so bad, he knows what Jaebum is talking about because he feels it too. Jaebum is not his best friend, not even close to it, the thing with Jaebum is different, he can’t explain exactly what it is. Youngjae feels like Jaebum is someone important in his life, like he needs to be close to him, talk to him, take care of him, it all shouldn’t be happening this fast. “It’s-- it’s alright, we will work it out… I probably can go to São Paulo in like fifteen days or so,” “That’s too long, Jae...” It is not, two weeks it’s fine but it doesn’t feel fine for Youngjae right now either. “We will talk about it later, yeah? I have a tight schedule tomorrow morning so I better go now, text me when you get to the hotel… have a safe flight…” Youngjae is not even done when Jaebum is leaning in, he cannot breathe it’s like it takes ages for Jaebum to get his face closer to his, he can’t be- he kisses at Youngjae’s cheekbone, just close to the mole under his eye, his lips brush against the boy’s skin lightly, they are so warm and soft, Youngjae almost moans just from a simple contact, this is embarrassing. “I will see you soon, Jae. I will make sure of it,” then he is giving space to Youngjae to leave the car, Youngjae says goodbye and walks to his apartment, he feels lightheaded and he knows damn well that it’s not because of the drinking he did today. His father asks him if he had fun but he can’t pay much attention to what the older man is saying. Nayeon texted him asking why did he go to Jaebum’s game without telling her, he doesn’t reply simply because he doesn’t have an answer to that, he doesn’t know how to explain why he is doing these things even to himself, how can he explain it to someone else? Youngjae will see Nayeon and Momo tomorrow anyways and he knows they will annoy him the entire morning, he doesn’t have to deal with it right now. Jaebum texts him a pink heart just when he is about to fall asleep, Youngjae hugs his phone close to his chest smiling like an idiot till the next morning. End Notes 06/02 sorry for the lack of updates, i'm too focused on my other wip,,,, it's embarrassing but i will come back to this one soon, again sorry   - this is a little embarrassing lol but this fic is inspired by neymar/bruna marquezine..... they are pretty famous in brazil and i thought their relationship would make a good fic... - since it takes place in brazil some things might be confusing i will try to explain everything as the story goes but feel free to ask about stuff if u don't understand; - there's underage drinking and yeah i know yj does it at a restaurant just fine but this is how things are in brazil so (legal age is 18); - also brazilian people are really, really passionate about football, this is important to know too; - lastly im a little insecure about this first chapter because there's a lot of 'introduction' (???) stuff so im sorry if it's a lil boring, pls tell me what u think about it and bear with me :) Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!