HALFWAY THERE, tag: inhwan/kendall

[lee jae won]

you lift me up when i am down

He couldn’t believe this day had finally come.

Three years of hard work and determination were finally paying off. The announcer had finished his wrap up speech and now, Lee Jae Won was no longer a high school student. Even while giving his valedictorian speech, the young man was sort of in a haze. The reality of this situation hadn’t really sunk in, and he was still having a hard time grasping the concept. He was graduating…he was no longer a SPAA student…pretty soon he’d be going to college. All of this was so overwhelming that he didn’t know what to think or feel. He just couldn’t believe it.

There was more than just the exhilaration of graduating, though. There was another reason why this day made Jae Won’s insides turn, and not in a good way. His parents were here, and so was his boyfriend…and he figured he’d better tell his mom and dad about In Hwan today.

He had meant to tell them earlier – really, he had. He was going to do it at the showcase, after his solo dance performance. He had everything planned out, and he almost thought he was ready for it when his parents called and told him they wouldn’t be coming. He was disappointed, but at the same time, he felt a huge wave of relief rush over him at the news. Their absence gave him more time, and even if he was a little sad that they weren’t going to be there to see his routine, he wasn’t really surprised. His parents had never really been particularly supportive of his dancing. Besides, they were doctors. They were busy people.

When that had flopped, Jae Won planned to tell them the next time he came home, but that was also a dismal failure. The next weekend he spent at his parent’s house was the one right after his mother’s favorite patient passed away, and she was really upset. His dad wasn’t doing so well either, as he hadn’t been getting much sleep. Jae Won really didn’t want to upset them more than necessary with the added on “bad news” of his new relationship, so he kept quiet. There was also the fact that he was afraid to tell them alone…he wanted someone there with him for moral support. Like Soo Hye noona maybe, or Nana, or even In Hwan himself. He just didn’t want to do it on his own.

And so it came to this – graduation. His parents were here this time, and he definitely wasn’t alone…so he had no choice. He had to do it. No more chickening out; they needed to know.

As Jae Won took deep and even breaths, his classmates erupted into cheers around him. He began maneuvering his way between the flailing bodies and flying hats until he found In Hwan, whom he had planned to meet after the ceremony. At the sight of the boy he loved, a huge grin surfaced on Jae Won’s face. Even if he was sort of dreading today, he couldn’t help but smile when with In Hwan. He just made him so happy. He couldn’t hold it in.

Jae Won broke into a slight run and flung himself at In Hwan, engulfing him in a tight hug. Breathing in his familiar scent, he hugged his boyfriend tightly, still smiling from ear to ear. "Congratulations on graduating!" he said happily, his face buried in In Hwan’s neck. After clinging to him for a little while longer, he pulled away and took the taller boy’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together. "We finally made it."

© snap boom pow!

[yoon in hwan]

In Hwan was so excited he couldn’t stop bouncing up and down. He couldn’t stop fidgeting in his seat, and he most certainly couldn’t wipe the ridiculously happy smile off his face. Although the smile was a permanent fixture on the tall teenager’s face, this smile was even more ridiculously happy than normal. He made it. After thirteen long years, he had finally done what a lot of people thought him incapable of doing. Yoon In Hwan was graduating high school. This really felt surreal. Sitting among the classmates he had known over the past three years, In Hwan couldn’t help but look around at all of them, and remember what it had been like to live with them, and eat with them, and go to class with them for the past three years. Attending SPAA was nothing like going to elementary school, or middle school. In Hwan had actually lived on campus, and saw all of these people on a regular basis. It would be weird to go back to his parents’ house for the summer, and not have to return at the start of the school year. Heck, it would be weird to not be going back to school. When In Hwan was a kid, college was always something he wanted to do. But as he got older, he realized it was something that society expected kids to do, and that his mom’s didn’t care whether or not he went to college, so long as he was happy, and had something to do with his life. And as In Hwan got even older, it was realized by just about everyone that knew him that there was no way he would be able to get into a college. He was perfectly fine with that to be honest. Because he knew he wouldn’t get in anyway, In Hwan hadn’t bothered with things like college applications, and entrance exams, and had instead gone into his third year of high school with the intent of finding a job once the summer after graduation passed. As it turned out, he didn’t even need to wait until his third year was over, for a job opportunity to pop up. In Hwan had randomly been walking past the dance teachers’ offices with Jae Won, when they overheard Madison Yoo talking about needing an assistant at his dance studio. Before In Hwan knew what he was doing, he had popped his head into Madison’s office, and was telling him he wasn’t doing anything all summer, or the ensuing seasons after that. Madison looked a little surprised that a tall, teenage boy with a perm who had once taken classes with him just pop his head in and basically tell him he had nothing to do with his life. Despite In Hwan’s slight creepiness, Madison told him to come buy the dance studio after school so that they could talk about it, and after a friendly reminder from Jae Won to go, In Hwan had himself a position as an assistant, doing anything and everything Madison needed help with around the small studio, but also helping with the dance classes for the little kids. In Hwan loved children, and Madison seemed to pick up on that, which was why he was given that specific job. But back to the graduation. An even more ridiculous smile spread across his face when Jae Won took his spot at the podium to give his valedictorian speech. Prior to this exact moment, In Hwan had spent several hours sitting in front of Jae Won, and listening to him practice. From the very first draft it had sounded perfect to him, but Jae Won revised it again and again, until he got it to what it was now. Perfect. To In Hwan everything Jae Won did was perfect, because Jae Won was perfect. When the speech was over, In Hwan’s smile hit a new degree of ridiculous and he was pretty sure he clapped the loudest out of anyone else in the auditorium. His eyes followed Jae Won as he went back to his seat. Their names were close alphabetically, but far enough so that Jae Won was across the aisle, and a row ahead of him. When he got back to his seat, In Hwan smiled and waved enthusiastically, before giving him a thumbs up and making a heart with his hands. The names were called, and one by one, In Hwan watched as his classmates graduated. And finally, it was his turn. In Hwan wasn’t even sure if he had managed to get up and walk across the stage. He wasn’t sure if his name was called, or if he smiled for the picture, and walked off the stage and gone back to his seat. All he was sure of, was that when his butt touched the chair, he had officially graduated high school. It was a thrilling feeling. Suddenly, the people around In Hwan stood up and erupted into a mass of loud cheers, and flying hats. Putting one hand on his hat to make sure his was still on his head, In Hwan stood up and looked around for Jae Won. It was a lot harder to find him now that everyone was standing, but before he knew it, Jae Won was in front of him and throwing his arms around him. Smiling happily, In Hwan threw his arms around his boyfriend as well and held him just as tightly. He sighed happily. Ever since the two of them had gotten together there was no place In Hwan would rather be than in Jae Won’s arms. Sappy, but true. If people thought it wasn’t possible for In Hwan to be happier than he already naturally was, they were dead wrong. Since the two of them had officially gotten together, In Hwan’s face had a permanent smile that was even more cheerful than he already was. If people didn’t think that was possible, he had proved them dead wrong. “Congratulations to you too!” He pressed his lips to Jae Won’s hair and kissed the top of his head lightly before the shorter boy leaned back slightly and grabbed his hand. “High school was hard, but I’m sad it’s over. DDD: I’m going to miss everyone so much. TT^TT” High school had been anything but a bowl of cherries for In Hwan, especially this past year, but it was over, and like most people, he had a rather bittersweet feeling about leaving SPAA. But those feelings didn’t really matter. He had Jae Won, and now that the two of them were dating, they could spend their summer doing adorable couple things together.

I CAN'T BELIEVE JAEHWAN GRADUATED. ACTUALLY, I CAN'T BELIEVE IN HWAN GRADUATED. I'M SO PROUD OF MY BABY. ;;~~;;

[lee jae won]

you lift me up when i am down

Jae Won was a generally happy guy, but he was never happier than when he was with In Hwan. Just being in the same room with the boy put a huge smile on his face, one that was even bigger and brighter than usual. To Jae Won, everything In Hwan said and everything he did was just so adorable. Even though the younger boy was almost a whole head taller than him and had a voice so deep it was almost scary, he was still cute. Super cute, and Jae Won loved that about him. He also loved how passionate and sweet and optimistic he was. He loved everything about In Hwan, really - even his naiveté and inability to rationalize, which most people found annoying. But Jae Won only found it precious, and that was why they were such a good match.

The newly graduated young man held onto his boyfriend’s hand tightly and smiled up at him. "I’ll miss it too, but it’s okay," he said, swinging their arms a little bit between them. "We can always come visit campus if we want to. And we’ll keep in touch with our close friends over the summer, and after that, too," he continued. "Plus, you and I will get to hang out more for a while because we won’t have homework!"

Jae Won was excited to have a short break from school, because it meant he would have more free time. More free time meant more time to practice his dancing, and more time to spend with In Hwan. Well…he hoped that’s what it meant. His parents usually policed the amount of time he spent dancing while he was living with them, and since they didn’t know about In Hwan yet…he wasn’t exactly sure how that was going to go. The way he saw it, there were a few different scenarios that could play out, and with those, a few different ways his summer would be affected. On one hand, his parents could totally hate the idea of him dating a boy, and could ban him from seeing In Hwan at all while he was home for the summer. This was the option he was most afraid of, and unfortunately, the one he thought was most likely to happen. But on the other hand…they could just not care, in which case he would be content. Or there was always the possibility of them being happy for him, but for some reason, that just seemed ridiculous to Jae Won. He didn’t think that was even remotely possible, so he tried not to even count that option. He would be really shocked (but pleasantly so) if that did end up happening.

"In Hwan…" Jae Won suddenly said, biting his lip nervously. He knew his thoughts had begun drifting to a darker place and that his smile had faded, and he didn’t want to worry his boyfriend. He also didn’t want to spoil the good mood of graduating, but his parents were bound to come looking for him soon, and so he had to address this. "My parents are here, and I was going to finally tell them about you…" he trailed off, those dreaded butterflies beginning to bubble up in his stomach again. "I want you to come with me. Please?" He squeezed the other boy’s hand and looked up at him, eyes pleading. He really wanted In Hwan there with him for moral support.

(Well, that, and he would be a sort of buffer just in case his parents really did get incredibly mad. They couldn’t yell at him in front of In Hwan, after all. They wouldn’t. Would they?)

Looking down at their hands, Jae Won realized that it probably wouldn’t be the best idea for them to approach his parents like this. That would just defeat the purpose of having a serious talk with them. Reluctantly letting go of his hand, Jae Won said to In Hwan, "We…we can’t hold hands when we walk over there, though. I don’t want them to see it before they hear about it, you know? …I’m sorry."

© snap boom pow!

[yoon in hwan]

Admittedly, Jae Won and In Hwan hadn’t been dating very long, but In Hwan felt like they had been together forever. It was a nice feeling, although he figured some people might be creeped out by that thought. The two of them had previously been roommates, and even before that they had been passively involved in each other’s lives, simply because they were the same year and the same major. Since they had gotten together, In Hwan felt like time had been passing extremely fast, but that was now about to slow down considerably. With summer vacation starting the two of them would no longer live a hop and a skip away. They also, would not be able to hang out as often as they did now. In Hwan’s job at Madison’s dance studio was due to start in two weeks, and now that he no longer needed to pour his heart and soul into studying, he could go back to fencing. Yes. Yoon In Hwan was a fencer. And a good one at that. No one at school was really aware that he did practice fencing either. Not even Jae Won. No one ever asked, so In Hwan never told. That’s how it worked in his mind. “Awwwwww!” he whined, “Half the reason we’re always together though is because we were doing homework!” He would actually be a little sad they could no longer do homework together, but it would be okay. They could find other things to do with their time. Maybe he could even convince Jae Won to take fencing lessons with him! “Hmmmmm?” His smile faded a little as Jae Won’s tone suddenly grew serious, and squeezed his hands tightly in his own. A lot of people probably thought they were a little awkward, considering In Hwan was a full head taller, but the two of them fit together perfectly like a two piece jigsaw puzzle. “Oh.............” In Hwan was aware that Jae Won’s parents didn’t know about him. Well no, that was a lie. They did know he existed, because the couple had once been roommates, but they didn’t know the two of them were dating. The taller of the pair hadn’t hesitated to tell his parents about the new development in their relationship. Immediately after Jae Won left to go do his homework, In Hwan had called his moms and excitedly told them everything, only hanging up because he already terribly missed his boyfriend. The new couple had even gone to his parents’ house for dinner the following Friday. As In Hwan had predicted his parents loved Jae Won, and couldn’t be any happier for the two of them. Jae Won’s parents were apparently another story. In Hwan had always known they were on the more conservative side, but he hadn’t thought until just how about how they would react to him dating their son. The tall boy nodded. “Of course I’ll go with you! I’ll always be here for you, Jae Won.” He smiled at his boyfriend lovingly and leaned in to kiss the space between his eyes. Looking down at their hands when Jae Won did, his heart sank a little when he let go and told him they shouldn’t hold hands on the way over to his parents. In Hwan only nodded sadly in understanding. Jae Won was probably right, he always was. Sniffling once and letting the sad thoughts drain from his head, In Hwan looked back up and smiled happily. “Let’s go!” His hand automatically gravitated toward Jae Won’s but he caught himself, and let his arm fall back down to his side. Chuckling softly at his own stupidity, In Hwan beamed at Jae Won and looked around. “It’s okay. Don’t feel bad. Where are your parents?”

I CAN'T BELIEVE JAEHWAN GRADUATED. ACTUALLY, I CAN'T BELIEVE IN HWAN GRADUATED. I'M SO PROUD OF MY BABY. ;;~~;;

[lee jae won]

you lift me up when i am down

Jae Won felt really bad for keeping his relationship with In Hwan a secret from his parents for so long. He honestly wanted to tell them, he was just so afraid, and he hadn’t found the right time. He knew In Hwan understood this, but that didn’t stop Jae Won from feeling guilty. Did In Hwan feel unappreciated? Did it seem like Jae Won was ashamed of him? He sure hoped not, because that wasn’t the case. Not at all. In Hwan was the best thing that had ever happened to Jae Won, and he really hoped he knew that. He knew that him not telling his parents made it seem like he didn’t care, or that he wasn’t excited…but he did, and he was. But he was also rational, and he knew that he had to approach this topic with his parents carefully. Otherwise, it would not end up pretty.

The young graduate sighed sadly and gave his boyfriend a soft smile. "Thank you," he said quietly. He knew he was asking a lot to have In Hwan come with him, especially since he probably wouldn’t be on the Lees’ list of favorite people. But Jae Won was glad he was accompanying him, anyway. He needed someone there with him, and who better than the boy he loved?

"They should be over here somewhere," he said, walking towards the area he had seen his parents near earlier. He noticed the way In Hwan wanted to reach for his hand and bit his lip. He really wished this was easy, and that he could walk up to his mom and dad holding hands with a boy, but that just wasn’t how this worked. He knew his mother would probably have a heart attack if she saw that before he had a chance to explain. She might even have one after he explained, too. But the least he could do was try.

Jae Won spotted his parents, who were waving him over towards them, and took a deep breath. Looking at In Hwan one last time before they were no longer alone, he said, "I’m sorry if they say anything rude to you. Hopefully this isn’t a total disaster."

As his parents greeted him, Jae Won felt his heart rate speed up significantly, but he did his best to ignore it. Instead of showing how nervous he was, he merely smiled as his parents congratulated him, nodding politely in thanks to their praises on his speech. Jae Won had always acted and spoken rather formally with his parents. It wasn’t that he wasn’t close with them – he loved them very much and had a pretty healthy relationship with them – he was just brought up to always be respectful, and so, he was. He wasn’t like In Hwan with his moms; he didn’t interrupt or laugh too loudly or talk back. He didn’t really think it was a bad thing to have a casual relationship with his parents. He just wasn’t like that. Sometimes that fact made him sad, but most of the time, he was okay with it. Like right now. It came in handy, because speaking as if he were talking to an authority figure made it easier to hide his emotions. If he was the kind of kid who hugged his parents all the time and told them every detail of his life, then there was no way he would have been able to keep his relationship with In Hwan from them for this long.

Jae Won was struggling to think of how to approach the subject when suddenly, the opportunity arose. "Who’s your friend?" his mom asked, eyeing the taller boy with curiosity. His father then followed suit and began to examine In Hwan, as if he hadn’t noticed him until now and was really surprised to see him standing there. Actually, it almost seemed like he already knew what was coming next. Jae Won gulped and let out a shaky breath, knowing that the time had come.

"Oh…" he began, biting his lip again. "This is In Hwan. My old roommate, remember?" He knew he had told them about him before, when the two were living together. Back then, though, In Hwan really was just his roommate. Now was a quite different story. "I actually brought him over here with me for a reason. Um…there’s something I have to tell you…" Jae Won trailed off, trying to stall this as much as he could. He scratched the back of his head nervously and diverted his eyes to the ground, but he could feel his parents’ gazes burning into him. Well, it was now or never. Time for the moment of truth.

"He’s…I mean, we’re…we’re dating." He looked up at his parents, ignoring the crazy way his chest felt. "In Hwan is my boyfriend." After finally saying it, he held his breath, just waiting to see what his parents would say. He stared at them, his expression full of fear, and waited for what felt like days until finally, his mom spoke.

Her eyes were wide with shock but she wasn’t yelling. In fact, her voice was quite soft, and he had to strain his ears to hear her. "…Oh," she said, looking to In Hwan again. "Well that’s…nice." Her expression was hard to read, and Jae Won was so taken aback by her lack of a response that he didn’t know what to say. He looked to his father, desperate for any kind of straight answer as to what they were feeling on this.

Surprisingly enough, after staring in surprise for a few seconds, his dad smiled. It was a forced smile, one that Jae Won had seen him use on rude patients in the past, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Really?" he asked, looking back and forth between Jae Won and In Hwan. "Good for you, son. And thank you for telling us. That was really brave."

Jae Won couldn’t believe it…was he actually…congratulating him? The boy’s mouth literally fell open and he stared for a moment before finding the right words to form his reply. "You…" he spattered, still very confused. "You’re not mad? Even though I’m dating a boy?" He noticed that his mom was avoiding eye contact with him but his dad seemed just fine. Was he really okay with this? What was going on?

"Of course we’re not mad," Mr. Lee said. His wife, however, remained silent. "Sure, maybe when I thought about who my son would end up with I was envisioning someone…shorter, but as long as you’re happy, I’m happy." The older man chuckled and looked up at In Hwan, who was even taller than him. But to be fair, Jae Won’s entire family was short. It was in their genes.

"I…" Jae Won began, still completely stunned by this whole situation. As he realized that what his dad was saying was true, and that he really was happy for him, he felt his eyes begin to sting with tears of joy. "I’m so glad!" Before he could stop himself, Jae Won engulfed his father in a big hug. He had not been expecting this, not at all. He knew this was far from the best reaction he could have gotten, but it was so much better than what he had been dreading. So he was happy.

"Mom?" Jae Won pulled away from his dad and looked to his mother, who hadn’t spoken a word since her initial reaction. Tentatively, the woman looked up and offered her son a meek smile. "I’m proud of you, sweetie," she said. Jae Won could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes but he wasn’t sure. He was too happy in the moment to really be able to tell. He gave his mom a hug too and then turned to In Hwan, a huge grin now on his face. His last hug went to his boyfriend, who he clung to tightly and without guilt now that his parents knew they were dating.

"I’m so sorry I hurt you over this," Jae Won said, still hugging In Hwan closely. "I guess I was overreacting before. I really didn’t think they would be this cool with it." He was glad they were, though. So glad. And now that he had told them, he no longer had that giant weight on his shoulders. He was finally free.

"So, In Hwan, was it?" Jae Won’s mom asked. "Are your parents here? They’re probably looking for you." Jae Won could tell she was trying to get rid of him but luckily he knew In Hwan probably wouldn’t notice. He was sort of dense like that. And he knew his mother was trying…so he had to give her that much. He just hoped she didn’t find out In Hwan had two moms. That might be a bit much for her to take in for one day.

© snap boom pow!

[yoon in hwan]

In all honesty, In Hwan didn’t particularly care that Jae Won’s parents didn’t know they were dating. He knew Jae Won had his reasons for not telling them, and he wasn’t going to bother him about it. The two of them were together, and they were happy, and to In Hwan, that’s all that really mattered. It didn’t matter who knew, or who didn’t know, or who approved, or any of that. They had each other, and that was good enough for him. He followed close behind his boyfriend, and noticed how nervous he was getting as they were approaching his parents. In Hwan turned his gaze to Jae Won’s parents and couldn’t help but think that they looked a little.....well, austere. They didn’t look scary, or mean the way Sheng did sometimes, they just looked........like the kind of people In Hwan wouldn’t talk to very often. The kind of people he wouldn’t really want to make casual conversation with everyday, but would talk to if he had to. In Hwan wanted nothing more than to hug his boyfriend tightly, and kiss him and tell him everything would be okay, but that would probably ruin everything for the two of them. He clenched his hands into tight fists to prevent himself from unconsciously reaching for Jae Won’s hand again. When they got to to the Lees, In Hwan made a point to stand a little behind Jae Won, and smiled as the three of them spoke. He was just beginning to think that they wouldn’t notice him standing there when Mrs. Lee suddenly turned her attention to him. In Hwan’s eyes widened suddenly, he hadn’t expected this to happen just now, and he had no idea what to say. Frozen in place, and stuck for words, In Hwan had just opened his mouth to stutter a reply when Jae Won took over. He wished that could be the end of it, but sadly it was not. Glancing at his boyfriend beside him, In Hwan wanted now more than ever to just be able to hold his hand. And suddenly, it was over. The words came out of Jae Won’s lips, and In Hwan let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. He bit his lip and looked back at Jae Won’s parents, who.....weren’t yelling the way Jae Won seemed to always think they would. His dad was actually being supportive! Not nearly as supportive as In Hwan’s parents were, but he wasn’t yelling and telling them they couldn’t see each other ever again. In Hwan was surprised when Jae Won suddenly hugged him. Smiling happily In Hwan wrapped his arms around the shorter boy and held him tightly in his arms. He pressed his lips to Jae Won’s hair and smiled even bigger. “I told you everything would be okay,” he said softly. “Don’t worry, you didn’t hurt me. But it’s okay now, because it’s all over.” “Hmmmm?” When Jae Won’s mother started to talk to him, In Hwan suddenly let go and turned to her. “Oh, yes! My name is Yoon In Hwan. And ummmm....” He looked around at all the people, wondering if his mommy had gone outside yet. “Only my mommy is here, but she’s probably outside, that’s where she said she would wait for me. You’re right, she’s probably waiting for me. I should go.” Looking at Jae Won one last time, In Hwan leaned in and kissed his forehead, and turned back to his parents. “It was nice to meet you!” Still with his ridiculous smile, In Hwan bowed and squeezed Jae Won’s hand before hurrying out of the auditorium to find his mother.

I CAN'T BELIEVE JAEHWAN GRADUATED. ACTUALLY, I CAN'T BELIEVE IN HWAN GRADUATED. I'M SO PROUD OF MY BABY. ;;~~;;