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Cha Euijae has a love-hate relationship with summer. On the one hand, the summer is one of the best seasons for the restaurant. Students out for vacation and workers wanting to escape the sweltering heat can't help but be entranced by the delicious smells and cool climate of an air-conditioned room. Park Haeun's idea—and Lee Sayoung's execution—to install a lemonade machine also does wonders for bringing in clientele and raising sales. Not everything was about the restaurant, of course. Cha Euijae would be lying if he said he doesn't enjoy going out with the others to enjoy summer time activities, especially those he gets to do with Lee Sayoung; and yet, despite all this, one fact still stands true.
Mosquitos are the bane of his existence.
His memories of his childhood are vague at best but Cha Euijae swears his battle with these winged beasts has lasted long before the Day of the Rift. He isn't allergic by any means, nor has he gotten any serious ailments from their bites, but the itchiness is something he can't deal with. He thought he had escaped the damned things after awakening—and he did, for a moment—but years had passed since he and Lee Sayoung had deleted the system and his abilities have faded enough that the fuckers became a bother again.
He just wanted to use the restroom. A pretty simple task all things considered. Go in, piss, wipe, wash your hands, and then get out. Yet here he is, blue gaze locked on the black speck resting on the tiled wall.
When Cha Euijae had killed that first mosquito, he hadn't expected much else to happen. It flew right by when he entered so he smashed it and that was it. Then he saw two of those motherfuckers fly in circles around him. A bit strange but, as he said, not a big deal as he killed them, too.
Then another one rested on the wall to the right of the sink.
And then yet another flew around the bathtub.
Needless to say, it got old real quick.
Having gotten quite a few already, Cha Euijae couldn't let this one get away. He is on a killing streak and is not about to stop. Whatever need to piss that was there has been replaced with a thirst for vengeance. He can already feel a spot under his right knee itching away and has sworn to destroy the brethren of the beast that caused it. All it would take is one calculated slap to kill it and end this madness. Cha Euijae raises his hand and prepares to strike, his winged victim none the wiser.
"Hyung, what the hell are you doing?"
Cha Euijae uncharacteristically startles and turns to swipe at the owner of the voice only for Lee Sayoung to catch his fist. The younger man stands before him with mismatched eyebrows and a frown on his plump lips, his violet gaze exploring Cha Euijae's own.
"Hyung has been in here for over twenty minutes. I was starting to think maybe you'd fallen down the toilet."
"You...!" Having now come to his senses, Cha Euijae clears his throat. There is no way he could tell Lee Sayoung what he'd been doing, he'd hold it over his head the whole week. "You could have knocked, you know?"
"I did. Multiple times, actually." Lee Sayoung's blackened fingertips wrapped around Cha Euijae's fist. "But Hyung never responded. What could that wall have that's so interesting, huh?"
He tries to look, but Cha Euijae is quick to turn them around. He puts on one of his best smiles and thinks of how much he misses his Pokerface skill. "It's not a big deal, just got lost in thought."
Lee Sayoung raises a brow, amused. "Hyung is really bad at lying. Is that the best you could come up with?"
That was clearly only because they've known each other for so long! Cha Euijae is a perfectly good actor, thank you very much.
"Well, Hyung still has things to do, so how about you walk out of this bathroom so I can-" Cha Euijae just so happened to look past Lee Sayoung's shoulder only to find nothing but white tile. "Shit, where did it go...?"
"What's Hyung whispering about now?" Lee Sayoung pouted. It was clear to Cha Euijae that he was growing a bit exasperated.
It was time for Plan B.
Cha Euijae pulled his fist away from Lee Sayoung's hand. This left the younger man confused for a moment before he was brought into a hug. Cha Euijae snuggled his face against Lee Sayoung's neck and shoulder.
"Hyung is sorry, okay? I promise it's not a big deal, Hyung just lost track of time."
For a moment, he thought it worked. He could feel Lee Sayoung actively loosen up. Good! Now he wouldn't have to embarrass himself with something so-
He opened his eyes.
It was right there. On the sink. It practically mocked him with its long ass legs and fluttering wings. Cha Euijae remembered the bite on his leg and how it was still itching, how it wouldn't stop itching for hours. He thought back on the painstaking minutes he spent chasing after and killing its damn brethren.
...
He had gotten out of the hug and killed the thing before he even realized it, the sink counter breaking apart as that damned mosquito somehow flew away. It only made it a couple feet before Lee Sayoung non-chalantly covered it with his fist. The beast died as it was engulfed in little clouds of poison.
There was definitely no hiding it now. Cha Euijae wasn't religious, but he began praying to any god that would listen to him to give back whatever was left of his dignity before this moment.
It was quiet for a couple seconds. Frankly, the silence lasted longer than Cha Euijae was comfortable with.
And then he heard it.
Laughter.
Genuine, belly-aching, unrestrained laughter.
"I can't believe you just-" A cackle. "Oh my God, did you spend twenty minutes killing mosquitos in the bathroom?" A wheeze. He never heard Lee Sayoung wheeze in his life. "All this... over a mosquito?! Oh, I must be dreaming!"
Cha Euijae can feel his cheeks burning in embarrassment. "It wasn't just one, you brat! There were multiple of them!"
"Oh, I can't... I can't breathe, this is too funny!" The younger man holds his belly as he continues laughing. Cha Euijae swears he sees tears in his eyes. "Who could've known? The worldwide hero, J himself, spends twenty minutes in the bathroom killing mosquitos!"
"THAT'S IT! You're sleeping on the couch tonight, you asshole!" He turns to walk out of the bathroom.
Lee Sayoung starts to calm down at that, his cackles turning into more breathy laughs. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Hyung, I'll stop." He moves forward and hugs him from behind. "I promise I won't tell anyone of your little mosquito rampage."
"So disrespectful to your elders, who even raised you?"
"Come on, Hyung. Don't leave me waiting all night."
And of course he used that word. It might as well be his kryptonite.
Cha Euijae sighs. "Fine, but you better not tell anyone about this."
"Not a soul." Lee Sayoung leans a bit forward to kiss his reddened cheeks. He wouldn't let anyone see this side of Cha Euijae for anything in the world.