Chapter Text
yeonjun had plans
this summer was supposed to be his summer, the one he’d only dared to dream of, had seen so many times in shitty coming of age movies. he had planned it for months, years his parents would say. he was going to spend an entire month in the holiday house his family owned -but never went to because the choi’s don’t know what holidays are, yeonjun suspects- with his two childhood best friends, taehyun and hueningkai. they were going to have fun, get drunk and enjoy their last holidays together.
“they’re not actually our last holidays together, you guys are just being dramatic” , taehyun tried to argue for a few weeks before understanding his two friends were a lost cause. yeonjun had just graduated and was moving to seoul in september, to start uni as a graphic design student, leaving his two best friends behind. except seoul was only a 40 minutes train ride from where they lived. so, really, taehyun was right, they were just being dramatic.
yeonjun had driven them to the small town where their house was, they had listened to every edgy song they could come up with before the two youngest fell asleep. it was a 3h ride and yeonjun couldn’t be mad at them when they were so cutely cuddled up on the backseat. they got there a little bit before sunset and they went to the beach to watch it together. it was great and it was everything yeonjun had ever dreamed of. everything was going according to his plans.
until they went grocery shopping. they had brought enough food for one night only (and no alcohol, yeonjun pointed out with a pout) so the next day, as soon as they had washed up and gotten dressed, they left to buy food for the week. taehyun had prepared a list and they were almost done with getting everything when yeonjun’s plans went flying out the window. he was waiting in line while taehyun went to get the last missing items and he saw the most ridiculously attractive boy he had ever seen.
“hyung, we’re next” hueningkai said, bringing him out of his daydreaming, already picturing his wedding with the pretty cashier. he was wearing an ugly blouse with the shop’s logo on it and yeonjun couldn’t help but wonder what he’d look like wearing something else -or even better, nothing at all. he seemed like he had strong shoulders, probably a stronger back.
“hyung, move !” it was taehyun’s voice this time and he couldn’t help but blush because of his thoughts.
they started putting all their items on the treadmill when the angel working at the supermarket finally met yeonjun’s eyes. he panicked and dropped an entire bottle of coke on hueningkai’s foot who shot him a glare after shrieking. they finally managed to get everything out of their cart under the cashier’s amused gaze in only a couple of seconds. yeonjun was red . taehyun shot him a confused look and hueningkai only giggled, knowingly. yeonjun brushed them off with a movement of his hand, preferring to focus on the pretty blue-haired boy in front of him and mostly on his name tag. soobin.
“your total will be 67.45$ !” he said with his pretty and deep voice and yeonjun was a goner. they paid and he bowed at least 7 times, not managing to take his eyes off of the other boy, only doing so when his two friends literally dragged him out of the shop.
“poor boy was a blushing mess. leave him alone he’ll think you’re a creep, hyung.” taehyun says, exasperated.
“taehyun-ah, i think he’s the love of my life.” the blonde boy only rolls his eyes as he pushes the shopping cart to the older boy’s car.
“his name is soobin, hyung ! did you see ? we’ll have to come back for him !” hueningkai answered, more enthusiastically. he always was more into meeting new people than taehyun. he also loved to meddle in his friends’ love life (just like the time he had set taehyun up on a date with his sister and taehyun had came back after an hour, crying and telling them he was gay and he never, ever wanted to go on a date with a girl again. it had been a long night where they had held each other tight).
“don’t worry hyung, the population of this town is about 200 people, i’m sure we’ll see him again very soon !”
--
and they did. there were posters all over town about a party held that same night and taehyun assured them, with a sigh, that there was a high probability that their mysterious cashier would be there.
they spent the entire afternoon enjoying the sun and dyeing taehyun’s hair red, as had been planned since last month when the boy had bleached his entire head on impulse. yeonjun, used to dyeing his own hair, had helped him through the process and he now looked like a pretty strawberry. he blushed at the praise and hueningkai couldn’t help but laugh.
“you really are a strawberry now, tyun.” he said, patting his best friend’s belly.
“shut up”, he answered, whining and hiding his face in his hands. yeonjun just watched them fondly. he had known taehyun all his life, had always been like an older brother to him, he knew how hard he was on himself sometimes. he absolutely loved to see him getting praised for things as trivial as the way he looks and not only for his grades or his brain. he knows how much it means to the younger boy.
the three boys had learned with time that growing up in rich families was great from an economical point of view but not so much from an emotional one. with all their parents always being away and their houses being on the same street, they had always been a family to each other. yeonjun and taehyun’s moms had been best friends since high school so the two boys who were also neighbours had spent almost every day of their respective 5 first years of life together. yeonjun was three when taehyun was born and he was so excited to finally have a friend to play with that he begged his mom to go to the hospital the day he was born. they played with each other, yeonjun learning to be more careful with the younger and smaller boy, introducing him to everyone as his little brother.
he was 8 and taehyun 5 when hueningkai moved in the house across from theirs. the boy was taehyun’s age and they immediately bonded over that, taehyun delighted about not having to use honorifics around someone. yeonjun’s jealousy lasted about 3 minutes until he realised how adorable hueningkai was. they had been a sort of trio from that moment on, always attached to the hip. the two younger boys always being in the same class and spending all their time outside of school at yeonjun’s house.
yeonjun had learned to make friends since he was two years older and therefore couldn’t stay with them all the time, especially in school. but no matter how many friends he’d make, they never compared to taehyun and hueningkai. they had always been and would always be a priority to him, the only family he had ever known. something his ex-girlfriend had trouble understanding.
he sighs, looking back to all the memories he's made with his friends as he gets dressed. he knows he’s not losing his friends, will just be seeing them less often ad this would hardly be the first time he’d be away from them. he’d spent a year away in america and they had been just fine. now he was just going to be an hour drive away from them. ‘they’ll be okay’ , yeonjun finally convinces himself as he fixes his bucket hat on his head. he’s wearing loose black pants and a blue crop top to accentuate his waist. if he’s going to be seeing his pretty boy again tonight, he needs to look flawless.
“you ready, hyung ?” taehyun peeks through the door to his room. yeonjun gives himself a last look before nodding enthusiastically, his heart skipping a beat at the thought of seeing the blue-haired boy again.
they park next to the beach, where the party is, and it’s very different from what they expected. somewhere along getting home and getting ready they somehow forgot that the average age of the population of the little town was about 60.
“thank god i brought gin, we’re gonna need it” taehyun sighs when he closes the door behind him.
“it’ll be fun guys ! plus if we find soobin-ssi we can probably just hang out with him !” hueningkai exclaims and yeonjun hopes they find him soon .
they end up having fun -mostly thanks to the buzz the gin gives them- but they soon start enjoying the old music they only sort of know. hueningkai is basically drunk, dancing with one of the many old ladies who came to ask them for a dance. taehyun blushed and declined every single offer nicely, claiming that he didn’t know how to dance. yeonjun danced with a few of them and he couldn’t even blame it on the alcohol because he would’ve danced with them sober too.
taehyun is looking at them from where he’s sitting, laughing and smiling brightly at his friends. he had always been less outgoing than his two other friends, used to sitting back and observing them from afar. he always loved how they were the only people he could be his true self around. he hated how his parents always made him the center of attention in the worst way possible, carrying the weight of being the only heir to their company. he knew somehow he had only been born for that reason, to fill in the gap his older sister had created when she had left. he tried not to think about it.
it was easy to be himself around the two other boys, they never pressured him to do anything he didn’t want to, he could be quiet when he wanted to or loud when he felt like it. there were no obligations. and he loved to watch his best friends being happy idiots.
“is this seat taken ?” he hears a voice next to him. he looks up and is met with brown curls and a cute face.
he’s never been the romantic type but he knows a pretty face when he sees one. and the person who just talked to him is just that.
“nope, it’s free” he says with a soft smile. the other boy returns the attention and sits down. they stay in silence for a little, taehyun not being able to stop being so hyper aware of the other boy’s presence. it’s silly and it’s just so him to think that any boy who ever talks to him likes him. he doesn’t even know why he’d even think that since no one has ever shown interest in him.
“are you here with your parents ?” the voice says, surprising taehyun who jumps a little.
“do i look that young ?” he answers, with a laugh.
“oh no ! that’s not what i meant” the brown haired boy answers, waving his hands around cutely. “i mean are you guys on a trip ?”
“uh, i’m actually here with my best friends. why ?” how did he even know he didn’t live here ?
“no reason, but you know we all kind of know each other in this town. i’d remember seeing a pretty face like yours.” and taehyun can’t help the way his breath hitches, not used to being praised by anyone other than yeonjun and hueningkai. he tries to answer but his head is a mess and he’s sure his face matches the colour of his hair. the other boy seems satisfied with himself. “i’m beomgyu by the way !” that seems to reboot taehyun’s brain.
“taehyun. nice to meet you.” they smile at each other for a second and his chest feels warm. he blames it on the alcohol.
“so where are you guys staying ?”
“um..” he points to yeonjun and hueningkai who are now dancing together, enjoying a song they hardly know the lyrics to. “pink hair’s parents own a house up the hill” beomgyu’s eyes widen at that.
“up the hill ? oh my god are his parents the owner of the holiday house ?” and taehyun vaguely remembers yeonjun referring to it as that, not thinking it was actually the house’s name. that’s such a lame name for a house. he nods as an answer. “dude ! soobin-hyung and i have been betting for years on who the owners are, we thought they had died or something. it’s empty all year long except for like, three days when bomin-hyung’s grandma’s goes to clean”, and that’s way too much information for taehyun’s tipsy, tired, kind of lovestruck’s brain. but he does catch up on soobin’s name. “we thought we had a local boo radley.” he laughs at that.
“hyung’s parents are busy and he doesn’t have any other siblings. i guess that’s why it’s been mostly empty.”
“that makes sense !” they’re quiet for a second and taehyun thinks that they’re conversation is going to end there but if there’s something he learns about beomgyu in the first hour of meeting him is that he has plenty to talk about. “my house is the one right across the street ! we should hang out sometime”
he can’t really help the way his heart warms because this boy has no idea who he is and he still wants to talk to him. hang out with him. he doesn’t want to go to his expensive house and take advantage of the well-paid chef and his food. he just wants to get to know him.
“yeah i’d love that” he answers with a smile so soft that it has the other boy blushing.
they talk some more and taehyun learns that beomgyu is a year older than him, that his favourite colour is green and that he has a pet bird named toto. he also finds out that he’s actually here working as a bartender -although he’s underage but apparently no one cares about that around here- with his best friend soobin and when he tells him his break is over they agree to meet in front of beomgyu’s house at midnight.
once beomgyu gone he looks back to his two friends and he’s glad he’s the one who kept the gin flask. they’re chatting with two grandmas and it’s not surprising to taehyun, yeonjun is a whore for attention and especially for approval from anything that could qualify as a parental figure. he approaches them slowly, they’re supposed to meet beomgyu and soobin in about an hour and he doesn’t want to be late.
“hyung !” he shouts and yeonjun turns around only to beam at him. yep, he’s drunk. he runs, almost tripping and falling on the sand and catches taehyun in his arms.
“taehyunnie ! where have you been ? i was telling the halmeonies about you.” he holds his hands and taehyun feels at home.
“what did you tell them ?”, he asks, curious. yeonjun looks back at him with stars in his eyes and a proud smile.
“that i have the coolest little brother in the world.”
--
“why are we here again ?” hueningkai asks as they’re sitting under the porch of the holiday house. yeonjun is as hyper as ever, dancing to a song he choreographed a few months back as hueningkai’s head rests on taehyun’s lap. he screams some words of encouragement to his hyung every other minute in the hope of keeping him motivated and it seems to work.
“you’ll see” he answers, playing with some strands of hyuka’s hair.
“hey! look at this” yeonjun screams at them and they both do. he turns up the volume as itzy’s wannabe starts playing and the older boy tries to move his shoulders like ryujin. to no one’s surprise, he succeeds and his two younger friends scream at him like fanboys and he can’t help but laugh. he feels good and he loves that here he has nothing to hide, no one to hide from.
“taehyun-ah!” he turns around in surprise, not thinking anyone would know his dongsaeng’s name here. his brain shuts off when he notices that the short brown-haired boy who just screamed taehyun’s name is accompanied by no one else than the love of his life. he freezes right there and then, noticing only then how tall the other boy is. definitely taller than him, probably taller than hyuka. he seems shy, mouth shut in a nervous pout that yeonjun wants to kiss away. he stands awkwardly next to his friend and really, it shouldn't be this cute.
he’s so caught up in soobin that he doesn’t notice what happens around him. when he does snap out of it he notices three things : 1. taehyun and hueningkai are now standing right next to him. 2. taehyun and the mysterious brown haired boy are beaming at each other like long lost lovers and that is something he’ll have to investigate later. 3. soobin is looking at everything but him and yeonjun doesn’t know if that’s good or bad.
“this is hueningkai, he’s my age. and that’s yeonjun-hyung, he’s old.”
“yah !” yeonjun exclaims with his signature pout and he sees soobin jump in surprise in the corner of his eye. “i’m not old ! you’re just kids.” they all laugh and it seems to ease the nice but still kind of awkward atmosphere. he can tell taehyun is nervous by the way his eyes are wide open and if he has to embarrass himself in front of his newfound crush to ease it off, he will.
“i’m beomgyu ! this is soobin. he’s tall.” beomgyu adds with a little smile and soobin visibly hides his own smile with a pout -yeonjun thinks they match well- before pushing his friend with his shoulder.
“don’t worry soobin-ssi, i’m still growing so i’ll soon be taller than you” hueningkai adds and that seems to do the trick for the taller boy.
“is that a challenge ?”
--
beomgyu leads them to a spot further up the hill, talking to taehyun all the way, hueningkai and soobin stay together too, teasing each other playfully. somehow, yeonjun finds himself walking behind alone but he doesn’t really mind. he takes the opportunity to take a closer look at soobin. his legs are awfully long, though yeonjun thinks his are longer, and he looks so pretty from behind. he notices some of the habits he has like the way he leans into hueningkai when he teases him or how he pushes his hair back every other minute or how he always checks on beomgyu and even on yeonjun to make sure he’s following them. they manage to not make eye contact and yeonjun is starting to freak out, worried he might have creeped him out at the shop earlier.
he doesn’t have time to overthink it because beomgyu screams “we’re here” and they all sit down. he doesn’t really know how it happens but he finds himself sitting next to taehyun and soobin and his brain short-circuits for the second time in only a few minutes. he decides the moment their thighs touch each other that soobin will be the death of him. beomgyu opens his backpack and whips out a bottle of vodka and two bottles of banana juice and yeonjun can’t help but laugh at the contrast.
“you guys actually drink this shit ?”
“it’s the one of the least popular juices so there’s always leftover bottles so we don’t really have a choice” soobin answers with a pout again and yeonjun wants to slap himself, wondering when will he stop fucking up.
“it’s great, hyung. yeonjun likes banana juice, he’s just a bitter old man who likes to make fun of the youth.”
yeonjun slaps hueningkai’s leg as an answer.
they spend a couple of hours playing stupid drinking games and they laugh so much one of the neighbours threatens to call the cops on them if they don’t go home. beomgyu whispers something about the man being his little brother’s best friend’s uncle and hueningkai thinks it’s the most hilarious thing ever. they walk back home and yeonjun thinks that this is even better than anything he had ever planned. he makes eye contact with soobin before they part ways and he’s pretty sure the other boy is blushing. he counts it as a victory.
(he only allows himself to think about how warm soobin was sitting next to him, constantly avoiding his gaze, giggling harder and harder after every drink and how pretty his lips looked every time he pouted. he dreams of kissing them and when he wakes up he doesn’t think he can ever face soobin again.)
the universe seems to hear him because only a few minutes after he manages to fall back asleep he hears a knock at the door. his room is downstairs, closest to the door and he’s glad that whoever is on the other side didn’t ring the bell, not wanting to wake up his younger friends. he gets up as quickly as he can, slightly hangover, dragging his feet to the lobby. he checks himself in the mirror and can’t find it in himself to care about how messy he looks. he regrets his thought as well as every other thought he’s ever had in his life the moment he opens the door to none other than the pretty blue-haired boy who visited him in his dream.
he looks stunning under the morning sun, a white t-shirt and washed out jeans, absolutely not looking like he only slept 5h, hair and makeup done. he’s holding a small box in his hands and yeonjun hopes it’s not food because he’s way too young to die of a heart attack. soobin’s face turns crimson when he notices it’s yeonjun who opens the door. yeonjun who’s dressed in nothing but a large t-shirt. yeonjun who has messy morning hair and whose lips are puffier and redder when he just woke up. yeonjun who smells like warm bread. or maybe that’s the warm bread he’s holding and that’s when soobin’s brain starts working again. that seems to happen a lot around the older boy.
“hi. hello. good morning", soobin finally manages to speak up, trying to look away from yeonjun’s way too exposed collarbones.
“soobin-ah”, is all yeonjun manages to stay and they remain in silence for another few seconds before soobin clears his throat bringing yeonjun back to reality. “what are you doing here ? do you want to come in ?” he only nods and they walk inside, the pink haired boy guiding him to the kitchen. he puts the box down and stares at it for a few seconds, seeming to hesitate. yeonjun notices how tense the other boy looks and decides to not rush him. he hasn’t known him for a long time but he can tell soobin is someone who needs to do things at his own pace and yeonjun respects that, never wants to rush him.
“i work the morning shift, and these are the leftover goods from the bakery”, he says in one breath. all yeonjun hears at first is that he probably hasn't slept all night. then he registers what he says and his heart skips a beat. “i thought you might like these for breakfast. plural you. you guys. you and the kids. you and taehyun and hyuka” and yeonjun deserves a prize for not laughing at how cute soobin is. he holds in a giggle and tries to display the softest smile he’s got in store.
“soobin-ah” he puts his hand on his shoulder and for a second he’s scared he crossed a line but he can feel the younger boy’s muscle relax under his touch. “thank you, i’m sure the kids will love it. thank you for thinking of us.” soobin gives him a shy smile and yeonjun takes it as a silent ‘you’re welcome’.
“beomgyu is working until noon and my grandma already had breakfast so i thought maybe you guys would like some.” yeonjun nods, grabbing a muffin and sitting on one of the counter chairs, quickly missing the warmth of soobin’s shoulder.
“what about your parents ?”
soobin visibly tenses again at that and he instantly regrets his question.
“uh, i only live with my grandma”, he answers awkwardly and yeonjun can tell they made one step forward and three backwards.
“sorry, i didn’t mean to overstep.”
“it’s okay, you couldn’t know”, soobin answers with a tight smile. he grabs another muffin and they both eat in silence, the air thick.
“did you, uh, get any sleep ?” soobin shakes his head, cheeks full.
“nope, but i don’t usually sleep when i work the morning shift. i stay up and then sleep for most of the day.”
“oh my god i’m sorry i didn’t mean to hold you back, you’re probably exhausted. you should go back”
“it’s okay, hyung. i honestly don’t have any strength in my body to walk back home.” he laughs it off and finishes his muffin before yawning.
“do you want to sleep here ?” the words leave yeonjun’s words before he can register them. soobin’s blush is back in seconds and he’s pretty sure that he’s turning red too.
“i-i wouldn’t want to invade your space, it’s okay, i don’t live that far anyway”, he straightens up and looks down at his hands.
“it’s not a problem. you can sleep a little bit here and then go back if you want. the kids are probably going to be sleeping for a little more. hell, i think i’m going to be sleeping for a bit longer.”
soobin looks like he’s thinking about it and he nods so shyly yeonjun almost misses it. he can’t help his smile and the way his chest warms up. he stretches out his hand for soobin to hold it and he feels more awake than ever the moment he grabs it. he drags him to his room and crumbles on his bed, as soon as they get in. soobin looks around, seeming smaller than he is.
“you can borrow a pair of sweatpants if you want” he points to the wardrobe and slips under the sheets.
soobin meets him about a minute later, jeans traded for a pair of yeonjun’s sweatpants and he feels warm all over. they stare at each other for a few seconds and for the first time since they met, it’s not awkward. yeonjun is grateful he’s sobered up because he definitely would have tried to kiss him had he been under influence.
soobin’s breath catches in his throat when yeonjun fixes one of the hair strands on his face but quickly relaxes when he continues playing with it. his eyes close almost immediately, way too tired to function around the other boy.
“sleep well, soobin-ah”
“you too, hyung” he mumbles before falling asleep under yeonjun’s touch.
--
it becomes a routine of some kind. soobin works the early morning shift everyday except for the week-ends and beomgyu the late morning and lunch shift so they all meet up for late lunch at the holiday house and spend the afternoon and evening together. soobin and beomgyu would go back home past midnight and at around 10am a knock at the door would wake yeonjun up. soobin would always come with a bright smile and different treats everyday, they’d eat breakfast in the garden under the sun and when soobin would get too sleepy they’d head back to yeonjun’s bed, a safe meter of distance between them.
the only physical contact they’d have was yeonjun’s hand in soobin’s hair to help him fall asleep. but that was it. and it was already too much for both of them.
in only a week yeonjun feels like he’s learned more about soobin than all his friends in high school. they mostly talk about trivial things, never wanting to bring up anything painful. it’s nice and it’s easy and yeonjun convinces himself he’ll be alright even if this only lasts one summer.
he learns that soobin’s favourite flowers are tulips because his grandma had been trying to grow some all her life and the first time one of her buds bloomed was the day he was born. he learns that soobin wants to study law and work with families. he learns that soobin makes him feel better about the world and that he never has to pretend to be himself around the other boy. he learns that soobin is made out of gold and silk.
exactly seven days after they arrive, soobin doesn’t show up. yeonjun tries not to freak out, maybe he’s just late. but when his phone indicates 11 he decides to call the younger boy. it rings twice before he’s sent to voicemail. he gets up and puts on a pair of shorts, quickly fixing his hair and grabbing his car keys. he vaguely remembers soobin showing him his house a few blocks down the street one night. he leaves a note for taehyun and hueningkai telling them not to worry before leaving.
he stops in front of the familiar house and takes a deep breath before opening the car door and walking up to the house. he hopes he’s not overstepping but yeonjun is an overthinker and an overworrier and he cares about soobin more than he’d like to admit. so he knocks on the door, telling himself he’d rather have soobin curse at him than the boy being in danger and not doing anything about it. the door opens a few seconds after to the blue-haired boy. he looks exhausted and yeonjun’s heart shrinks. the way the younger boy’s face relaxes as soon as he sees him tells him he did the right thing by stopping by.
“i was worried since you didn’t come. i hope you don’t mind”, yeonjun explains.
“it’s okay, hyung”, he answers, shaking his head.
“are you okay ?”
soobin’s quiet for a while and as usual, yeonjun doesn’t rush him, he doesn’t move, he just waits.
“my grandma is sick so i have to take care of her today, it’s okay though, i’m just a little tired.” he says with a tight smile. yeonjun wants to hold him.
as if on cue he hears a scream coming from inside, “soobinnie who is it ? i’m expecting a delivery at 12 !” soobin sighs and turns around.
“grandma go back to bed, you’re sick !” then, to yeonjun “do you want to come in ? we have some pastries.”
“oh it’s okay i don’t want to-”
“ooh and who is this beautiful boy, soobinnie ?”
and here stands, in all of her 153cm grace, soobin’s grandma. yeonjun bows, like he was taught to.
“good morning halmeoni ! i was just about to leave, sorry for bothering you.”
“grandma, this is yeonjun. now please go back to bed.” he sounds desperate and embarrassed.
“soobinnie, i’m not sick. i’ve got a cough and a runny nose, it happens every summer. now tell your pretty boyfriend to come in, i’ll make you guys some tea so you can take a nap.”
they both turn red and yeonjun straightens up in a second.
“grandma, he’s not- we’re not- go back to bed !”
--
they end up having breakfast in soobin’s garden for a change, his grandmother insisting that she’s not sick and begging yeonjun to help her convince her grandson. he just gives her a giggle and thanks her again for the food.
“she overworks herself a lot that’s why i’m so worried”, soobin explains once she’s back inside.
“seems like it runs in the family”, yeonjun answers and the younger boy gives him a look.
“well i don’t have a choice. i have to work so she at least gets her weekends off.”
“where does she work ?”
“in a market, she sells fruits.” soobin starts and yeonjun can’t be blamed for not hearing a word he says after that. a stream of sunlight falls on the other’s face and he looks like an angel.
he’s so, so fucked.
--
they end up in soobin’s bedroom this time, yeonjun assuring he doesn’t mind sleeping in just his t-shirt (not knowing that soobin was the one who minded, his top way too small and exposing way more skin than he’s accustomed himself to, not sure if he can survive yeonjun in just a t-shirt and boxers asleep in his bed.)
this time is different and not only because of the setting and the time and the outfit but also because for the first time, soobin doesn’t go straight to sleep. he seems to be thoughtful for a few minutes, yeonjun observes him in silence, the room dark except for a few stream of sunlights. he’s beautiful and yeonjun wishes he could kiss him all over. soobin turns his head suddenly, surprising the pink-haired boy whose eyes widen.
“can we, uh, can i.. uh..” soobin starts looking nervous. yeonjun tilts his head not really understanding the boy’s wish. soobin opens his arms carefully and he looks absolutely terrified of the other boy’s reaction.
“are you asking me to cuddle choi soobin ?” he asks with a smirk, not liking the tense atmosphere they managed to get rid of days ago. the tall boy blushes and pouts, whining a little. “come here, baby.”
and he does, with a little squeak. he shuffles and comes closer to yeonjun, finally holding the older boy in his arms. he feels warm against his chest and he tries his best not to register all the muscles he can feel through his t-shirt. he hides his face in yeonjun’s neck and sighs when he finally feels comfortable.
it should be weird, yeonjun thinks, because even though he makes a lot of friends and he’s even had a few partners in the past, he doesn’t recall any of them feeling like this. soobin feels like everything good in this world and he doesn’t ever want to let him go. he plays with his hair a little like he’s always used to and he thinks about how sweet life would be if he could get this everyday before dozing off.
it’s almost 4 when he wakes up and he can tell by the way soobin’s breathing that he’s awake. the younger boy’s arm is thrown across his chest, he’s softly humming to the rhythm of a song they listened to the day before. he looks adorable and it takes everything in yeonjun not to coo at him.
“hi pretty”, soobin looks up softly, with the prettiest smile he’s ever seen and yeonjun can’t do this. he flips them around so he’s on top of the other boy whose eyes have doubled in size and he stares at him for a little. their legs are entangled and he feels soobin grab at his t-shirt. his heart is beating as fast as the day he graduated. “can i kiss you ?” and he sounds out of breath. soobin barely has time to nod before he leans down to press their lips together.
it’s just a press of lips at first and, surprisingly, soobin is the one to intensify the kiss. he brings his left hand in yeonjun’s hair and lets his right one come skin to skin under the other boy’s t-shirt. he’s just grabbing at his hips but yeonjun feels lightheaded and he knows none of this can’t be real because there’s no way he’s this gone for someone he’s only met a week ago. except there is. he’s not sure how it happens but he comes back to reality when soobin pulls away and looks at him, worried.
“are you okay ?” he asks, voice deeper than usual and his heart does something. he can’t do anything else than stare at the younger boy and he looks so pretty. he only registers what’s happening when soobin’s hand leaves his hip -he almost whines.
“yeah. yes. more than okay. are you ?” he really hopes he didn’t rush the other boy.
“yeah but you weren’t.. kissing. or moving. i was scared you realised you didn’t want to..” and he sounds worried, like he still believes it somehow. yeonjun cups his face and forces him to meet his eyes.
“soobin-ah, you have no idea how much i’ve been wanting to do this. i’m sorry my brain stopped working for a second but i want to do this. even more now. i don’t know if i’m gonna be able to stop”, soobin giggles, seemingly reassured. he puts his hand back on yeonjun’s hip, a bit higher and yeonjun thinks he’s going to die right there and then, at the hand of choi soobin.
“who said anything about stopping, hyung ?”
--
taehyun folds the note yeonjun left on the counter before sighing. he’s pretty sure they don’t have anything left to eat and yeonjun left so he can’t go to the convenience store to buy anything. he checks the time on his phone and realises beomgyu will be out of work in about an hour so he could walk there and then force him to drive him back to the house. sounds like a great idea. hyuka is still asleep and there’s no reason to wake him up, any opportunity to hang out with beomgyu alone is an opportunity to take.
he didn’t think he’d develop such an intense crush on the older boy in such a short period of time but they have spent almost every hour of the past week together so it shouldn’t be as surprising. taehyun would fall asleep as soon as he came back from the late night hang outs with the other 4 boys and wake up about an hour before beomgyu headed back from work, so he barely spent any time without him. and that’s not something taehyun would complain about.
beomgyu is kind and funny and soft and patient and it sounds so cheesy but he’s everything he’s ever hoped for. but -because taehyun’s life is that miserable, there has to be a but- he knows that no matter how much he tries to push the thoughts away, he’ll be home in three weeks of time and his fairy tale will come to an end. and taehyun isn’t sure he can take that. he spends every minute away from the other thinking about that, hoping that somehow beomgyu is going to majorly fuck up and make him hate his guts so he doesn’t feel too heartbroken or at least that he’ll stop being so perfect so taehyun can stop growing so attached to him.
he gets to the supermarket after a little walk thinking about the curly haired cashier who beams at him as soon as he comes in and suddenly, any thought about heartbreak disappears.
“taehyun-ah!” he all but screams, getting some unwanted attention from people around the store. he walks up to his isle, face red.
“hi, hyung. i need to do some shopping, we’re low on everything”, he explains, smiling at him, fangs showing and beomgyu’s heart does a flip.
“i’m done in 10, do you wanna wait for me ? i’ll help you shop and i can help you bring them back to the house !” taehyun nods enthusiastically.
beomgyu does meet him 10 minutes later while taehyun is browsing through the fruits isle, wondering which one he’ll force feed hueningkai this week. he greets him with hands on his hips and his head on his right shoulder and taehyun melts, still not used to having the boy so close to him. he turns around and feels happier when the other boy pulls him closer, arms gripped tightly around his waist.
“well if it isn’t it favourite cashier ?”
“and if it isn’t my favourite customer ?”
( taehyun blooms, blooms, blooms. )
they end up spending almost an hour going around the shop, it’s the only one in town so it’s full and beomgyu makes a joke almost every time they pick up an item, taehyun too gone to stop laughing. the drive back home is short and nice, they only have time to listen to one lorde song before they get there. beomgyu helps him put everything in the fridge and hueningkai only comes back downstairs once they’re done. ‘sneaky little shit’ taehyun thinks.
“i think he does the job better than yeonjunie-hyung” the younger boy says, sitting on the edge of the swimming pool.
“i agree”, taehyun adds before going back underwater.
“where is he, by the way ?” beomgyu asks.
“with soobin-hyung. not sure where though.”
“it’s probably better if we don’t know.”
they spend a couple of hours playing in the pool, until hueningkai gets sunburnt and taehyun has to sit on his back to put some cream on it. beomgyu takes the opportunity to take a shower but not before dropping a kiss to the red-haired’s forehead.
“so you and beommie-hyung ?”
“shut up, please, i have no idea what i’m doing.” hueningkai laughs at that.
“you’re doing great, tyun. it’s obvious how much he likes- aouch !”
“sorry. but i mean, even if he likes me, what do i do once we go back ?” there’s a silence for a second and taehyun notices the tears in his eyes. no, there’s no way he’s crying over his one week long summer love.
“you should just talk to him. if you have any doubts, communication is key. and you never know, distance makes the heart grow fonder, right ?” he giggles at that.
taehyun isn’t the most expressive person in the world when it comes to his emotions, he was never taught to speak them up and now has no idea how to. but if he could, he would write a book about how grateful he is to have hueningkai. he’s convinced there is not an ounce of malice in his best friend, that he’s an angel sent from above. he can’t count all the times the other boy has held him tighter than taehyun ever thought he needed, how many nights he’s spent next to him or over the phone making sure taehyun was okay. he’s his saviour and taehyun really does love him more than anything.
“how are you so inexperienced yet so wise ?”
“i’m just that smart. also i’ve read too many fan fictions.”
taehyun slaps the reddened part of his back.
he does follow his best friend’s advice and waits for beomgyu sitting on the floor next to the bathroom where he’s showering. he’s a little nervous but he thinks they’re good nerves. he’s never had a boyfriend before, and although beomgyu doesn’t qualify as just that yet, taehyun is pretty sure it’s a road they could be taking if they wanted to. and he wants to, so badly.
he’s confessed to people before and he was always nervous about how they’d feel about him. he was scared of getting rejected and that’s natural -at least that’s what hyuka said- but right now he’s not scared of that. he’s not oblivious enough to miss the way beomgyu looks at him, behaves with him, takes care of him. he’s scared of what they’re going to make out of all these feelings.
“oh, taehyun-ah i was going to meet you downstairs !” beomgyu says, coming out of the bathroom drying his hair with his towel. he gets up as soon as he can and reaches for the other boy’s free hand.
“i know.” he smiles at him. “come with me ?”
they walk to taehyun’s room in silence, hand in hand. he tries to relax as much as he can and sits on his bed, never letting go of beomgyu (a habit he picked up from yeonjun who always holds their hands when they have serious conversations or fights. he says it helps him stay grounded and taehyun would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the same.)
“is everything okay ?” beomgyu asks, genuinely curious. the red-haired boy nods, humming.
“i just wanted to talk to you about, uh, us ?” he feels silly for a second, maybe he’s making a big deal out of this.
“oh thank god i thought you were going to tell me you were going back before i even got to kiss you.” and taehyun squeaks, turns red, immediately hiding his face in the crook of beomgyu’s neck. “what ?” beomgyu says, laughing.
“you- uh, you’ll kiss me before i leave, alright ? i just want to.. talk about what we’re doing.” he says, feeling a little bit out of breath, beomgyu’s hands giving him an encouraging squeeze.
“of course we can talk, taehyunnie”, he softens at the nickname, unburying his head from the older’s neck. they look at each other for a little and taehyun doesn’t think he’s ever felt this way for anyone before. he can hear yeonjun telling him that’s because he’s too young and he promptly ignores it.
“i’m just wondering, because when i leave, and i don’t like talking or thinking about it, but when i leave, what are we going to do ? i mean we’re not doing anything per se yet, but you know i uh, i like you, a lot and it’s kind of scary because if this is going to stop when i go back, i.. i don’t know if i can do this because i already have a lot to deal with at home and i think a heartbreak would just- it would be too much.” he rambles and beomgyu looks so fond, stars in his eyes as if taehyun had anything special in him ( he does, beomgyu thinks , everything about him is so so special .)
“taehyun, what do you want us to do ?” he asks, in the most comforting voice, his thumb caressing taehyun’s hand. the younger boy bites his lip and looks away from him.
“i want to be with you.” he answers after a minute, looking back at him, eyes full of hope.
“then let’s be together. we’ll figure it out when you leave but you going back home doesn’t mean we have to end anything, alright ?” taehyun nods back like he believes him, and he does, he wholeheartedly believes him. “i’m going to kiss you now, is that okay ?”
“please”, taehyun answers suddenly out of breath.
--
things don’t really change, they still spend every hour of the day together except now when soobin knocks on the door, yeonjun welcomes him with a kiss and a hug, when they fall asleep it’s always after a make out session and in each other’s arms, they sit closer and hold hands wherever they sit, always getting a comment from hueningkai and even the two other boys who, in yeonjun’s humble opinion, aren’t better than them.
(what changes is : the words yeonjun whispers in soobin’s ears before they fall asleep, the way they make soobin whine and turn crimson, the way yeonjun wakes up to soobin tracing forms on his back, the way he can’t, for the life of him, stop thinking about him.)
they don’t talk about it until exactly 5 days before yeonjun leaves. they’re all lying in the grass under the moonlight, soobin and his pinky linked, when taehyun brings it up, casually.
“we need to buy another box of cereal, by the way”, hueningkai says after soobin announces he won’t be coming to bring pastries the next day since he’s going on a date with his boyfriend .
“buy the small one, it’ll be enough for five days. especially if soobinnie-hyung brings us food the other days''
the silence that follows is the first awkward silence they’ve had since they met. it’s unconscious but soobin tenses next to his boyfriend. that night yeonjun doesn’t sleep.
instead he stays up, thinking about soobin and his soft smile and his soft lips and his soft skin and his soft heart and his soft everything. they haven’t talked about it, both too scared to bring it up. 5 days is short, 120 hours, he calculates. they need to talk, yeonjun thinks and he hopes soobin agrees with him because there’s no way he can let him go.
over the past weeks he’s been falling harder than ever. sometimes it’s hard to breathe when he thinks about it. soobin was made for him, yeonjun is convinced, the stars must have aligned and collided or whatever it is that stars do and they made it so the crook of soobin’s neck was perfectly made for his head, they made it so yeonjun’s hands fit perfectly on soobin’s hip.
they’ll make it work, he’s convinced. facetimes exist and even if he has to drive 4 hours every week-end in order to get a kiss from the taller boy, he’ll do it.
he manages to sleep for an hour before his alarm goes off -because yes , he’s whipped enough to set an alarm so he won’t be late to his date. his dark circles haven’t been this bad since his finals and he sighs at the thought of having to put on makeup. he does, though, and he sings all along, looking forward to his date. soobin is taking him out on a beach picnic and he’s so excited he even prepared homemade kimbap for him. 40 minutes later, he waits for soobin in front of the supermarket, a smile spread across his face. said smile grows as soon as the blue-haired boy comes out of the main door. soobin looks small and shy, like he usually does when he’s tired and yeonjun thinks maybe he’s not the only one who stayed up, head full of thoughts.
except, where yeonjun is over excited to see the other boy and have a conversation, soobin avoids his gaze and only gives him a “hi hyung” before leading the way. he tries not to think about it, soobin being a shier nature, maybe he’s just scared yeonjun will want to break up with him. yeonjun starts to freak out when they’re almost done eating and soobin hasn’t yet spoken a real sentence.
“are you okay ?”, he asks, trying not to sound too freaked out.
“i think we should talk about what we’re going to do once you leave”, he says, voice serious. yeonjun sighs in relief, nodding and regaining some confidence.
“yeah i was thinking about that too”, yeonjun reaches for soobin’s hand, glad when the other boy doesn’t pull away.
“i think we’ll agree on this”, soobin starts and the pink-haired boy smiles fondly, glad he’s thinking the same as him. “i think that we had a nice summer and.. we should leave at that.”
yeonjun’s heart breaks, silently.
“i.. i really like you, hyung. and that’s why i don’t want to drag this on. the heartbreak, i mean. i barely use my phone, and i can’t.. i wouldn’t be able to not have you with me whenever i want after seeing you everyday for an entire month. it wouldn’t be the same and i can’t.. i don’t want to. i want to remember us this way. happy” he says and there are tears in his eyes.
this is it, he thinks. he’s experiencing his first heartbreak and he has no idea how to deal with it. he has no idea what to do with the overwhelming pain he feels. so he does what he does best, what he was taught in his family, he smiles and nods. he hates that he has to put on this act around the only person he never had to pretend around.
“i was thinking the same, soobin-ah. i’m glad we agree.”
(he breaks, falls and hurts.)
the drive back home is quiet, yeonjun not in the mood to do anything other than drive, hueningkai already asleep on taehyun’s lap and the red-haired boy is almost out of battery, having spent most of the drive texting beomgyu.
the two boys decided to give it a try, hugging and kissing each other harder than they ever had. taehyun knows it’s going to be hard, not being able to hold beomgyu whenever he feels like it. he knows he’s going to need it but he’ll make it work, they ’ll make it work.
yeonjun is leaving for seoul in three days and all he can think about is blue hair and soft lips. he’s never hated august this much.