#SORRY FOR NO ART IN SO LONG i'm facing the nastiest art block of my life rn and a lot of art-related self doubt.

[plaguedpriest]

what do you guys think of my homunculus

[freebullets]

I'm done waiting + hyukbin

Hongbin had the nastiest habit of being shy.

Not the usual cute, bashful shy, but the “run full speed inthe opposite direction from whatever thing is making you shy” shy.

Sometimes he just wanted to curl up in a corner and die ofembarrassment. He probably would have done so already had Hakyeon notcontinually and forcefully dragged him out of it. He both hated and loved hishyung for that at the same time.

He wasn’t an idiot, he knew he got attention just because hehad a nice-looking face, but it wasn’t his fault he was born looking a certainway. So he was tall, and he was handsome, but he had the temperament of alittle girl sometimes. He hated the shocked look that occasionally appearedwhen people realized that he wasn’t the “cool” guy they thought he was.

He hated it.

But maybe, it was even more shocking when someone neverthought he was cool to begin with.

“Hey, can you move, please?” someone said. Hongbin jumped,looking up from where he’d been chewing at his pen on a bench in the park.

“Umm?” Hongbin said, bewildered, looking around at the emptybenches a few feet away.

“This is my bench,” the tall young man insisted, ducking hishead slightly.

“Okay?” Hongbin said, gathering his textbook and notebookinto his arms and sliding onto another free bench.

“Thanks,” the stranger grinned happily, plopping down ontothe seat.

Hongbin just knew that his face was scarlet, both from theawkwardness swimming around in his chest and the realization that the other manwas very broad and very cute at the same time. Even over the fact that he’dkicked Hongbin out of his spot for no reason.

“Hey,” the other man said. The cute other man.

“Y-yeah?” Hongbin stuttered, pen slipping from his fingersand falling to the ground.

“This is the best spot to watch the sun set,” he supplied. “Noone has ever been here when I have. I didn’t mean to sound mean. Wonshik hyungsays people who don’t know me might think I’m scary because I’m pretty big, butI’m not really. Umm. But you’re kinda’ big too, so…” he trailed off, cheekspink.

Hongbin barely contained the noise that wanted to escape hismouth, clamping his jaw tightly together. His face was probably on fire. He wasgoing to die. “Umm,” he said. “No problem. I was just…homework,” he gesturedvaguely. He reached down to pick up his pen, but another large hand met histhere, fingers brushing against his. He was really going to die.

“Oops, sorry!” the other man said, face bright. “What areyou working on? Do you go to school around here?”

“Umm,” Hongbin said.

“I go to the technical school a few blocks that way,” theman pointed. “I like working with my hands on pretty much anything. Do you cometo this park often? Your face kinda’ looks familiar.”

“Umm,” Hongbinswallowed, eyes flitting to the man’s hands. He should just say that they wentto the same school. He should just…open his mouth…and just…just say…“I have togo!” he barked, collecting his things and speed-walking down the park path. Ohno, oh no, oh no. So embarrassing. He was so embarrassing.

“Binnie?” Hakyeon questioned, snapping Hongbin out of hisvicious cycle of replaying memories over and over again in his head.Particularly, the one where he ran away from a cute man who just beingfriendly. “What’s up with you? Are you sick or something?”

“Or maybe just heartsick?”Jaehwan teased, waggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up,” Hakyeon rolled his eyes.

“Umm,” Hongbin said. “No, there…I mean…there was just…somebody.”

Hakyeon’s eyebrows practically met his hairline. “What?”

“I don’t even know his name!” Hongbin said hurriedly. “Hewas just…”

“Just?” Jaehwan prodded, resting his chin on top of hisfist. “Come on! Spill!”

“Just nice…I guess…” Hongbin trailed off. But that wasn’teven really true, was it? Hongbin had no idea if he was nice or not.

“Hey!” someone practically shouted.

Hongbin, Hakyeon, an Jaehwan turned to glance at the doorwayof the art room.

Hongbin was going to die.

“I knew your facelooked familiar!” the boy said, stepping into the room and waving a pen in theair.

Hongbin’s pen.

“I was getting really tired of waiting for you to come backfor this, so I decided to look around a little. Turns out, you’re kind of wellknown around here.”

Hongbin was still stuck on how small the pen looked in theman’s giant hand.

“Th-thanks, you didn’t have to,” Hongbin stuttered,accepting the pen, making sure their skin didn’t brush this time.

“Han Sanghyuk?” Jaehwan’s lips twisted into a mischievoussmile. “Long time no see!”

“Since I beat you at high jump in high school, hyung?”Sanghyuk grinned.

Jaehwan clutched a dramatic hand to his chest. “And now you’rehere stealing pens from my dongsaengs? Will the horror never end?”

“I didn’t steal it!” Sanghyuk whined, lips protruding in asemblance of a pout. “He ran away!” He pointed accusatorily at Hongbin. “Andthen he didn’t come back even though I went there every day at the same time!”

“Umm,” Hongbin swallowed, throat suddenly dry. “Sorry…?”

“Every day, huh?” Jaehwan said.

“Shut up!” Hakyeon hissed, elbowing Jaehwan in the side. “We’regonna’ go…over here…” Hakyeon said unsubtly.

“Thanks…again…” Hongbin managed, face hot.

“No problem,” Sanghyuk shook his head. “I was willing towait for you.”

“Oh,” Hongbin blinked. “Oh.”

“But now I’m done waiting,” Sanghyuk winked. “So…you comehere often?”

Hongbin was going to die.