The soft glow of his phone screen was the only light in the room now. Yuki lay flat on his back, fingers still curled around the phone like it might disappear if he loosened his grip. His heart hadn't settled. Not even a little.
That simple text.
"Goodnight, Yuki."
It shouldn't have meant much.
But it did.
Because it was him. Because it was Shin. And because, somewhere between all the teasing and sandwiches and QR codes, that boy had managed to walk right past Yuki's defenses without even knocking.
He hugged the phone tighter.
A little voice inside him whispered, That wasn't just a goodnight.
It was a beginning.
He rolled onto his side again, pulling the blanket up to his nose, his puppy-ear hood flopping over one eye. He peeked at the screen. No new notifications.
Still… that tiny message glowed like a firefly in the dark.
He stared.
Maybe Shin would say something more?
Maybe that wasn't the end of it?
Yuki didn't dare reply. He didn't want to look desperate—even though he absolutely was. He kept flipping his phone over every few seconds like it might magically produce a new message if he tried hard enough.
Minutes passed.
He sighed, about to lock the screen.
Ping.
His breath caught.
Another message.
No words.
Just…
A photo.
Yuki blinked.
He sat up a little in bed, pushing the blanket down to his waist, heart already thudding like a drumline.
Shin (He's Annoying) had sent an image.
He tapped it.
And his heart just… stopped.
The photo filled the screen. It was grainy and dim, clearly taken in low light—but it only made it more intimate. Shin was lying on what looked like his own bed, head resting sideways against a pillow. His hair was a tousled mess, dark strands flopping over one eye. He looked half-asleep, lids drooping, a faint pillow mark on one cheek. But even through the haze of sleep, his expression held that lazy confidence.
A tiny smirk curled at one corner of his lips.
Freshly clicked.
There was something unguarded about it.
Yuki stared.
Then kept staring.
Then brought the phone closer to his face as if inspecting it would make it less hot.
"W-what the hell…" he whispered under his breath.
His stomach was doing somersaults. His ears burned red. His fingers trembled slightly as he held the device.
It wasn't fair.
It wasn't fair that someone could look so effortlessly good in such a candid moment. Shin looked like he just rolled out of bed—and still somehow made Yuki's heart skip ten beats.
Why would he send this? Yuki's mind screamed. Why would he send something like this now?
And then—why to me?
He pressed the phone to his chest again and flopped backward into the pillows.
His brain was melting.
Did Shin know what he was doing? Was this just more teasing? Or was this… something else?
He glanced at the image again.
Yuki's eyes flicked to the exposed bit of collarbone peeking through Shin's loose neckline. He quickly locked the screen and hid his face under the blanket.
"This is illegal," he whispered into the fabric. "He should be arrested."
His legs squirmed under the covers, trying to burn off the fizzing energy bubbling inside him. His heart still hadn't slowed. If anything, it was faster now.
This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair at all!
Why did one photo have the power to make his brain short-circuit?
He wanted to throw the phone. He wanted to hug it. He wanted to scream into a pillow and never show his face at school again.
Instead, he just whimpered.
And peeked again.
Just one more look.
This time, he noticed the tiniest detail: Shin's eyes weren't fully open, but they were looking right at the camera. Right at him.
A message popped in below the image.
Shin:
"Just thought you'd want to know what I look like before sleep."
Yuki made a noise that could only be described as a squeak.
He immediately rolled over and buried his head under the pillow.
What kind of message was that?!
Was that a joke? Was he messing with him again? Or…
Was Shin actually flirting?
Yuki didn't know how to handle this.
He had never felt this way about anyone before—boy or girl. Never had someone make him feel like this. Warm. Nervous. Excited. Terrified.
He wanted to reply.
But what could he possibly say?
"Thanks for the photo, I'm gonna pass out now because you're too hot"?
"Why would you send that to me, you absolute menace"?
"I'm currently melting into my sheets, please call an ambulance"?
He tapped the reply bar. Then deleted it. Then tapped again. And deleted again.
Finally, after agonizing over it for way too long, he typed:
Yuki:
"Why would I want that?"
Then, after a second, he added:
"You look dumb."
His finger hovered over send.
He bit his lip.
Then sent it.
His phone buzzed again almost instantly.
Shin:
"You looked longer than I expected for someone who thinks I look dumb."
Yuki wanted to die.
He flailed dramatically and screamed silently into his blanket.
How did he know?!
Did the guy have telepathy?! Or was it just obvious?! Had he stared too long?! Was there a time limit on appropriate glancing?!
He groaned and sank deeper into his blankets, but the warmth inside him refused to go away.
The messages kept coming.
Shin:
"You're bad at hiding it, by the way."
Shin:
"Kinda cute, though."
Shin:
"Goodnight for real this time. Don't dream about me too much, kiddo."
Yuki's eyes were wide as saucers.
He couldn't even begin to process what just happened.
Dream about me too much?
How was he supposed to sleep at all now?!
He set the phone down beside him and stared at the ceiling, breath caught somewhere between a laugh and a whimper.
His face was so hot he could've fried an egg on it.
He rolled over again. Then again. Then finally stopped and clutched his pillow like it was the only thing anchoring him to reality.
He didn't know what this meant.
He didn't know what Shin was thinking.
Yuki lay frozen under the blanket for a long, long time.
His thoughts were a mess—half dreamy, half panicked. Every beat of his heart thudded in his ears like a warning. He kept replaying the last few messages over and over, fingers twitching to reach for his phone again.
You're bad at hiding it.
Kinda cute, though.
Don't dream about me too much, kiddo.
"Ghhhhh!!" Yuki squeezed his pillow and kicked both feet at once, a flurry of embarrassed flailing under the sheets.
"I am dreaming about you, you jerk!!" he whispered furiously to no one.
He lay still for five seconds.
Then his arm snaked out from the blanket, trembling slightly, and grabbed his phone off the bed.
He unlocked it.
Opened the message thread.
His thumb hovered over the image file.
Click.
Shin's sleepy face filled the screen again.
This time, Yuki didn't scream. He didn't hide. He just… stared.
There was something painfully real about the photo. No filter. No posing. Just Shin—messy hair, bare-faced, half-lidded gaze, like he took the picture without even thinking twice.
And he sent it to Yuki.
Yuki's fingers gently slid across the screen to zoom in slightly. He tilted the phone to one side.
"Why do you look like this…" he murmured, cheeks puffed slightly in frustration. "Why are you stupid and smug and pretty…"
He pinched the photo again. Zoomed in.
Big mistake.
Shin's collar had shifted just a little from how he was lying—just enough for the neckline of his T-shirt to hang loosely, revealing more skin than Yuki was emotionally prepared for.
A sliver of smooth collarbone.
A hint of chest.
Nothing explicit. Nothing intentional.
But it was enough.
Yuki's entire body tensed.
He nearly dropped the phone, catching it just in time with a gasp.
"Nope. Nope. Not looking at that part. I'm not—NO."
He immediately zoomed back out, red-faced and flustered.
"Stupid! Stupid!!" he scolded himself, tossing the phone onto the mattress as if it burned him. "Why did you zoom in!? What are you, a pervert!?"
But a moment later…
He peeked again.
Just a glance.
Just to check something. Like, the expression. Or if his smirk really was that cocky. Purely for analysis.
He picked up the phone again and opened the image.
His fingers trembled.
"Damn it…" he mumbled.
The photo made his chest ache.
Because Shin looked so soft. So natural. And maybe—just maybe—a little vulnerable. Like this was a part of him that no one usually saw. Like this was a secret, shared just between them.
And Yuki didn't know what to do with that.
He bit his lip, staring so hard his eyes started to blur. Eventually, he dropped the phone on his chest and flopped back into the pillows again, both hands covering his red face.
"Why does it feel like this…" he whispered. "Why does he make me feel like this…"
He rolled to his side, curled into himself, knees pulled to his chest.
He felt too small. Too soft. Too exposed.
And yet, there was a warmth blooming in his heart he didn't know how to contain. It felt like a flower pushing through the snow. Quiet. Fragile. But real.
Is this what having a crush feels like? he thought. Is this what falling for someone feels like?
He'd never experienced it before. Never let anyone get close enough. Never even thought about boys in this way.
But Shin made it impossible not to.
Every smile. Every touch. Every word. It all added up.
Yuki's fingers found the phone again, tracing the edge like it helped him feel connected.
He wanted more.
Not just the teasing.
Not just the jokes.
He wanted to know Shin. The real one. The one behind the smirks and the flirtation. The one who sent sleepy photos without filters and said goodnight like it mattered.
And he wanted Shin to know him, too.
Even if he didn't quite know himself yet.
A small, quiet part of Yuki whispered, I want him to see me. Not just the cute or flustered parts. All of it. The mess. The awkward. The lonely.
He blinked.
Where had that thought come from?
He curled tighter into his blanket, feeling a little too raw.
But the idea clung to him like static.
And he couldn't help but wonder…
Does he feel this too? Or am I just imagining everything?
He unlocked the phone again and stared at the picture one last time.
Then, without thinking, he whispered to the screen:
"…Goodnight, Shin."
And this time…
He fell asleep smiling.