Pairing: Eli/Dongho. Rating: PG13(to be safe). Genre: Friendship to a little bit of Angst to Romance. Summary: Dongho realizes that Eli likes him more than a best friend. And he realizes the same.
I throw the baseball as hard as I can, sweat dripping down my neck, dry throat, determination, that was what baseball did to me. Especially when Eli came to watch me practice.
Eli and I have been best friends. Nothing more. For the first few years he treated me like a son, to a brother, now it's like a friend that could be your age. But the truth was he was older than me by a few years. He was a pure adult, while I was still in middle school.
I don't exactly know how he managed to freely say, "This is my best friend in the world, Shin Dongho" to every single person I never met. He was so open about us being friends and he always protected me from ignorant people.
And I still always felt comfortable even after that one night. That one... interesting night.
___
Eli was a tad drunk, so he was basically being a bit weird. Then, when I was just talking, he asked me if I had a girlfriend. After saying that I didn't he got personal with me. I couldn't be freaked out because we were best friends; we told each other everything. he asked me if I was still a virgin and I just nodded. Then he wrapped his arm around me and he suddenly kissed me. At first I had no idea what to do so I just stood like that. We were both on the couch and I was literally pinned on the armrest.
After he pulled away he froze and muttered, "I'm...I'm so sorry, Dongho." His eyes started to water and I tried to tell him something but he got up and walked into his room.
I thought it would be best if I just left his house, so I did. That night I was talking to my other friend Kiseop and asked him what it meant if a drunk...person kissed you and walked away saying sorry.
"Then... either they didn't mean to or they wanted to do that for awhile but never had the guts."
Getting the word that Eli had always wanted to kiss me made me feel strange. And thinking about his lips on mine made me want to barf. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, but I just never saw him in that way.
All this time I thought we were just friends.
___
It had been about 1 month since it happened, yet Eli was still cheering me on at my practice. After practice my mom let me go to his house so we could hang out. Eli and I ate dinner, played games, and I just left. I didn't notice anything because after the incident when he kissed me he was weird. So when I confronted him he said his work was giving him a hard time. Of course, being best friends, I believed him.
The next day I caught the flu when my older brother came to visit us and his kid had the flu. So, I stayed in. No school, no practice, and I was thinking no Eli.
But my best friend showed up to take care of me.
Eli called in sick at his work just so my parents could leave and he could be with me. You don't know how heartwarming yet weird that felt to me. Of course he did some amazing things for me like save my life from the kiddie pool, or bought me the newest baseball bat in town, or when I was about to be bullied on my first day of middle school. But this made me feel happier.
He was feeding me, bringing me games, books, all that. It was a bit more fun than I imagined having him with me. But there was something in his eyes that told me he didn't enjoy any of this like I thought he did. So finally I truly asked him why his eyes were dead.
He just answered, "Oh. I'm just sleep deprived."
I never knew why, but whatever he said I always believed. I don't know if it was what he said, how he said it, or if it was how he looked at me when he did.
So there, I just dropped it completely.
___
The next day, I felt sick. Not like flu-sick, but something deeper. Like my heart was crying and shouting that something happened. I got out of bed, feeling better thanks to Eli, and I saw a note on the kitchen counter.
~Dongho, I just wanted to say I'm leaving today. My job transferred me to America and I had to go. I don't think I'll ever be back. So, I just wanted to tell you that I love you, I always loved you. Not like a father-to-son, not like a brother, or even a friend, but much more. I tried to deny it, but I couldn't after the night I kissed you. I finally realized. I'm sorry, you must hate me right now. Anyway, good luck on life, Dongho. Love, your best friend in the world, Eli.
You could never know the pain in my chest, how much it hurt me. I fell to my knees and cried so hard that my parents came in and I told them everything that happened between Eli and I from the past month. I even told them that I never thought I felt this way for him, and they understood.
But them caring about me could never compare...to my best friend Eli.
~~~
I couldn't remember what happened the night before, but then it hit me. I kissed Dongho, my best friend for years. I remembered crying to sleep and dreaming of him. And it hurt so much.
I ran out of my room but Dongho was nowhere to be found. I called his cell phone but thought that he was either avoiding me or sleeping. I didn't know whether it was avoiding because he obviously didn't drink so he had to remember, or sleeping because we were up late.
I decided to visit his house later on because it was 5AM, and I also had a small hangover.
After taking my time getting ready and all, I left the house, got into my car, and nervously drove to Dongho's place. I got very anxious if he told anyone. I mean, I was 23 and he was 17. The rushing pain and anxiety made my head hurt but I didn't want to crash my car...on the second thought I wouldn't mind doing it after if Dongho hated me.
I parked on the sidewalk and noticed Dongho and his parents walking outside of their house. I froze, gulping. But I still got out of my car with a casual expression.
"Oh, Eli!" Dongho mother said.
That was probably a sign that he hadn't told anyone.
"Oh, hello, Eli," his father bowed to me.
I bowed back before asking, "May I speak with Dongho for a minute? It won't be long."
"Of course."
Dongho and I went into the house and I blurted, "I'm so sorry for what I did last night, Dongho."
Dongho nodded with a small smile. "It's okay, Eli. you were drunk. I understand."
His eye twitched so I asked, "What wrong?"
I could tell he was trying to think hard for a lie. But he was easy to read for me since I was a good liar and he wasn't. "Oh, nothing. I'm tired."
I decided to let it slip. "So, you're not mad?"
"No, 'course not. Plus, it was nice having my first kiss with someone I trust."
I felt my stomach churn with glee inside, that made my day complete.
However, on that night I had just found out that I was going to be transferred pretty soon. So I wanted to spend my very last few weeks with Dongho, even if I'm depressed I want him happy when I leave.
I was debating on if I should tell him, I decided not to because I didn't want to do something rash. So I had to hide many of the boxes full of my stuff in the garage or other rooms.
After finding out he was sick, I decided to be with him. I called my work and said I needed to pack a lot of things so I needed the day off and they accepted. But when I got to Dongho's house and he asked if I had to work I answered, "I called in sick so I could take care of you."
Throughout the day I did so many things for him because I wrote a note. It took 2 hours to write the note because I didn't know what to say. To make it small, long, precise, detailed, etc. I decided to keep it small and a bit to the point.
After he went to sleep and his parents invited me for dinner, I left the note on the counter knowing no one would find it. And then I just left.
But not without crying for a few hours.
~_~
A few years later, Dongho was walking around the airport for his older brother. Dongho was now 21 and working the job Eli left behind before. Sometimes being in there did exhaust him and he swore he felt Eli's presence, but he left it.
He noticed his brother, they hugged and all that, but someone else caught his eye.
"Eli?"
Eli, now blond, turned around from his girl friend Sunny and his eyes widened. "D-Dongho?"
Dongho's brother, who heard about Dongho's feelings for Eli, smiled. Dongho pulled him forward and said, "You remember Eli, right?"
"Of course! You two rascals being all secretive."
Sunny asked Eli with a big smile, knowing Eli's feelings for Dongho, "Is this Dongho?"
Eli brought her forward and replied, "Yes. Sunny this is his brother Soohyun. And this..." Eli looked straight into Dongho's eyes with a small smile, "...is my best friend in the world Dongho."
Dongho jumped into Eli's arms without hesitation and Sunny and Soohyun decided to leave the two alone. "I missed you so much, Eli."
"I missed you too."
Dongho pulled away but kissed Eli passionately, hands on Eli's neck so he couldn't pull away. Eli firmly held Dongho's small waist and groaned under the kiss. Dongho pulled away and warned, "Don't. You. Ever leave me again, Eli."
Eli smiled with pure happiness, "I won't."
Dongho kissed him again and said right after, "I love you, Kim Eli Kyoungjae."
"I love you too, Shin Dongho."
Sunny and Soohyun just watched from afar with smiles on their faces. They were finally happy that the two were finally no longer just best friends in the world, but more than that.
-
-Fin
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