Lucky [2/3]

[chanyeolanda]

part 1

may

Woohyun was tired- the kind of tired that came from not sleeping the night before, that crept up on him unawares until every time he closed his eyes, no matter how briefly, his skin gradually went numb and his ears muffled all sounds and it felt like he was living in a bubble until he jerked awake and back to reality, not quite sure how long he'd zoned out for. He was tired and drawing a complete blank as he stared at the brightly lit menu behind the counter, all the Japanese he'd become familiar with in the last year flying out his head and he stood there, blinking, trying to remember how to say hi.

'Could I please have the, uh-' He stopped at the blank look on the guy behind the counters face and realised he'd been speaking Korean.

'Having trouble? What do you want?' Woohyun whipped around in surprise at the familiar sound of Korean, coming face to face with a guy with a friendly eye smile.

'You're Korean! I actually can speak Japanese,' he hastened to explain, 'I just didn't sleep last night and have temporarily forgotten.... well, Japanese.'

The guy laughed. 'Understandable. Lemme help you out. What did you want?'

Woohyun told him his order, so exhausted he was almost willing to cry from gratitude when the guy ordered for them both.

'I'm Woohyun,' he said while they were waiting for their food to be ready. 'Came over here to study little over a year ago.'

'Junho. I've also been here for about a year, but I just came because I wanted a change in scenery,' Junho laughed and took their food, ushering Woohyun towards one of the plastic tables.

'Thank you for coming to my rescue, I am so tired, and so hungry I was about to resort to sign language,' Woohyun said with a grin, unwrapping his burger and taking a large bite.

'Not a problem. It's nice hearing being able to speak Korean again, I feel like I haven't for ages,' Junho commented and Woohyun nodded vehemently, his mouth full of food.

He rubbed his eyes and Junho stood up. 'Be right back.'

Woohyun twisted his neck to follow Junho's path back to the counter before shrugging and turning back to his food- only to look up in surprise a few minutes later when Junho slid a cup of coke in front of him, already chewing on the straw of his own.

'I thought you could do with some caffeine and sugar,' Junho laughed and Woohyun joined him, reaching for the drink. 'Feeling a bit more alive now?' Junho teased and Woohyun nodded.

'Yes indeed, I can see again! You look way better when you're in focus,' Woohyun told him, and Junho almost choked on his drink, coughing a few times before taking another sip, wiping his eyes.

'Went down the wrong pipe,' Junho wheezed, and Woohyun chuckled.

'Hey, can I get your number?' Woohyun asked when they were about to part ways outside the fast food joint, playing with his fingernails. 'I mean, you're kind of my knight in shining armour, and it's nice to not have to actively think of sentence construction.'

'Sounds great, yeah,' Junho said with a grin and pulled out his phone, handing it to Woohyun and holding his hand out patiently before Woohyun deposited his phone into it.

'Well, it was great meeting you, Junho. Hopefully next time we see each other I won't be part-zombie,' Woohyun laughed as they shook hands.

'Looking forward to it. I'll definitely get hold of you soon.'

Woohyun waved as Junho walked away and glanced down at his phone, laughing at the string of digits under 'knight in shining armour' before slipping it into his pocket with a grin.

december

'My hands are full and it's freezing out, please open the door!' Woohyun called through the door and Junho laughed as he heaved himself off the floor, opening the door and reaching out to grab something from Woohyun's arms.

'What did you get, even?' Junho asked, kicking the door closed and following Woohyun to the kitchen.

'Some snacks. Some booze,' Woohyun replied with a shrug.

'And plastic microphones,' Junho said dryly, pulling out the pink microphones.

Woohyun laughed. 'Oh yeah, those. They were cheap.'

'Why?'

'Why not?' Woohyun returned and Junho considered this before shrugging.

'I suppose that's as good a reason as any.'

'Pretzel?' Woohyun offered, holding out the packet, one already hanging out of his mouth.

Snacks and laughter and free flowing alcohol resulted in Junho lying on the floor cheering as Woohyun belted out a fast pop song, bouncing around the room as the music blared from the speakers, stopping in his wild dancing to hold the long note at the end, bowing with flourish as Junho clapped, laughter bubbling from his throat.

'Your turn,' Woohyun insisted, reaching out to pull Junho to his feet, stumbling slightly as Junho collided with him. Woohyun slipped his arm around his waist and gave him a quick kiss before shoving the microphone into his hand.

'I don't know this song!' Junho protested and Woohyun moved to scroll through the ipod, and the song changed.

'I know you know this song,' Woohyun told him, grinning as he collapsed to the floor, reaching for food.

Junho laughed and conceded, and Woohyun didn't protest when he danced more than sang.

'Duet time!' Junho declared after he struck his finished pose, Woohyun hurriedly putting his drink down and Junho pulled him to his feet before heading for the ipod.

'What are we singing?' Woohyun asked before laughing as the song started, and by the chorus the two of them were jumping up and down to the beat, yelling out the words with very little musical finesse.

Woohyun was singing dramatically along to the next song when Junho suddenly remembered something and stopped singing, scrambling to find his phone, crying out 'Wait, wait, wait, what's the time!'

'What?' Woohyun asked, microphone held away from his mouth as if it made any difference to the sound level.

Junho laughed as he looked at his phone. 'We almost missed the countdown. Come here.' He waved Woohyun over and they stared as the seconds counted down on the screen.

'Five, four, three, two, one-'

2014
january

'Happy New Year!' they whooped, grinning widely, Woohyun holding the microphone to his mouth before pulling Junho in for a quick kiss.

An hour or so later saw Junho waving his hands in the air as he sat on the floor, eyes closed as he listened to Woohyun crooning along to the ballad playing.

Woohyun collapsed next to him and grinned up at him before pulling him down to lie next to him, slinging his arm around his waist.

'Happy New Year,' he murmured, leaning in to kiss Junho gently, Junho's hand resting on his hip as he deepened the kiss, music still playing, unnoticed, as Junho pressed Woohyun languidly to the floor.

february

The music was pounding as Hoya stumbled out of the club, Sunggyu hanging onto his arm, skin overheated and throat dry despite the copious amounts of alcohol he'd been pouring down it, energy racing through him, Sunggyu breaking away from him to lean against the wall, laughing. Hoya stepped towards him as if magnetised, eyes transfixed by the smudged eyeliner under Sunggyu's eyes, grinning as if everything was right with the world as Sunggyu reached out to draw him towards him, kissing him breathlessly, breathing him in before pushing himself off the wall and stumbling down the street, hand fixed tightly on Hoya's wrist before Hoya slung his arm around his shoulder, Sunggyu's fingers tapping out addictive rhythms on his wrist.

'Fuck, it was hot in there,' Sunggyu laughed, leaning on Hoya as they made their way down the street. 'The cool air feels good.'

'Not as good as you,' Hoya chuckled against his cheek, giving up keeping his arm around Sunggyu's shoulders and wrapping it around his waist instead, thumb slipping under his shirt to stroke circles into his skin.

Sunggyu just laughed and turned to kiss Hoya, breaking apart when Sunggyu tripped over Hoya's feet, almost falling to the ground, but Hoya caught his wrist and held him upright, laughter falling over both of them.

'Okay, kissing while walking doesn't work,' Hoya said with a grin as Sunggyu buried his face in the crook of his neck, helpless with laughter, his tongue darting out and sending tingles all though Hoya's body before pulling back and pressing his lips to Hoya's briefly, draping his arm around Hoya's shoulders with a chuckle.

'Did I always live so far away?' he asked, not sounded put out in the least as they continued walking and Hoya blinked, caught unawares, distracted by the absentminded patterns Sunggyu's fingers were tracing on his collar bones.

Hoya was kissing Sunggyu again when they fell through his front door, the sky lighter than it had been ten minutes before, if Hoya cared to notice anything other than the feel of Sunggyu's lips against his and the feel of Sunggyu's skin under his palms.

'I think I might love you sometimes,' Sunggyu murmured against Hoya's lips, his legs hitting the low table.

'Me too,' Hoya replied distractedly, warmth and affection buzzing through his skin even as Sunggyu stumbled and fell, bringing Hoya down with him, groaning slightly through his laughter as he hit the floor.

'Second- second love maybe,' Sunggyu continued in that tone of voice that meant he wasn't talking to be listened to as his lips skittered down Hoya's neck.

'Third for me,' Hoya thinks he might have gasped out as every light touch of Sunggyu's, every brush of his fingers against his skin sent euphoric electricity sparking through his body, and Hoya's fingers danced underneath Sunggyu's shirt. He pulled Sunggyu up to kiss him again and the weak golden light spilling through the windows seem to soften the world, quieten his mind even as his being was still buzzing with energy, everything happy and comfortable as they kissed and touched and breathed mirth at nothing in particular.

'I am so thirsty,' Hoya whispered and Sunggyu's chuckle puffed against his lips and he gave him a light shove, prompting his to roll out of his arms and stagger to his feet, making his way to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. He turned around and leaned against the sink as he drank, watching Sunggyu heave himself into a sitting position and rub at his eyes, squinting at the gradually strengthening sunlight, shaking his head before scratching through his pockets and pulling out his phone.

He let out a small groan and his eyes fluttered shut briefly before he looked at Hoya, shadow of a pout pulling at his lips. 'I've got to get ready for work.'

'You haven't slept anything off,' Hoya pointed out as Sunggyu heaved himself to his feet, joining him in the kitchen and taking the water Hoya offered him.

'Wouldn't be the first time,' Sunggyu said with a chuckle and a shrug. 'I'll just take something, don't worry about me. You can crash here if you want, I've got to be at the record store when it opens.'

'Food?' Hoya suggested as an afterthought as Sunggyu moved into the bathroom.

'Nah,' Sunggyu's voice drifted from the bathroom.

Hoya pulled out Sunggyu's bedding and collapsed on it after Sunggyu had kissed him goodbye, pulling the blankets over his head in retaliation to the sun, the chemicals in his bloodstream wearing off and sending him to sleep.

april

'You sure you got everything?' Junho asked and Woohyun chuckled lightly.

'I barely unpacked when I got here after student housing, so yeah, it wasn't exactly mission impossible to pack,' he replied, sitting on his suitcase and pulling the zip closed before glancing up and Junho. 'You sure you don't want to come to the airport? Help me carry my stuff?'

Junho bit his lip and gave a small shake of his head. 'Sorry, I just. It feels too final.'

Woohyun laughed. 'I'm going back to Korea, it's pretty final, hyung.'

Junho snorted. 'I know, I know, but- the airport- I'm not good at goodbyes. Can't we just pretend that this isn't one?'

'I'm the one who has to leave, shouldn't I be the one getting all sentimentally sappy?' Woohyun whispered and Junho narrowed his already small eyes at him.

'What was that?'

Woohyun shot him a grin. 'Nothing at all.'

'It's going to be quiet without you here,' Junho sighed, shunting Woohyun over on the suitcase and sitting beside him.

'I was only living here for a month,' Woohyun pointed out, tracing the lines of Junho's fingers on his thigh.

'I think you spent more time here than you did in student housing since we met,' Junho said distractedly, turning his hand over to lace his fingers through Woohyun's.

'I think you overestimate the amount of time I spent here, but okay, whatever you say,' Woohyun laughed, earning himself a poke in the side from Junho.

Junho slid off the suitcase onto his knees and turned around, shunting Woohyun's knees apart and tugging Woohyun forward until he was settled comfortably between Woohyun's legs. He reached forward and pulled Woohyun forward to kiss him. 'I like your noise,' he murmured against Woohyun's lips before licking his way into his mouth again and Woohyun allowed himself a brief moment of weakness, gripping onto Junho's t-shirt until he wasn't sure he knew how to let go anymore.

He quickly remembered when Junho pulled back, reluctantly allowing his fingers to unclench and smooth out the wrinkled bunches in the material.

'Your taxi should be here soon,' Junho murmured before pulling back completely and climbing to his feet, holding a hand out for Woohyun to take and pull himself up even as he glanced at the time.

'Yeah, I guess it will.' He gave a resigned chuckle and turned back to his last minute check.

'Got your wallet?' Junho asked, and Woohyun patted his pocket before nodding. 'Ticket?'

'Yes.'

'Passport?'

'Yes.'

'You sure you got all your things?' Junho asked again once Woohyun had put the last of his bags in the taxi and taxi gave him a lopsided smile.

'You don't fit in my hand-luggage,' he replied and Junho gave an exaggerated shudder.

'That's terrible, why do you say things like that.'

'You love it,' Woohyun said confidently and Junho shook his head.

They fell silent and then Junho stepped forward and pressed his lips against Woohyun's in a chaste kiss. 'Have a safe flight,' he muttered and stepped back onto the pavement, clearing his throat.

'See you,' Woohyun said and Junho laughed.

'Yeah. See you.'

Junho had already gone back inside when the taxi drove off and Woohyun tapped out an idle melody on his passport for want of anything better to do.

july

Yet another morning of kissing Sunggyu bye in front of his work before wandering home after yet another night of loud music and raucous laughter and feeling invincible, and as Hoya lay in his bed, exhaustion starting to seep into his bones even as his mind wouldn't shut down he realised he didn't know how much longer he could live like this. He didn't know if he wanted to live like this. Chemicals surged through his blood and he felt like he'd been floating more than he'd been on earth for a while now and while every night (every kiss of Sunggyu's) still felt like a breath of fresh air, the idea of this life stretching on indeterminably unsettled him, and he kicked the covers off him to get some water, splash his face, try clear his muddled thoughts.

A week later and Sunggyu was smiling to himself, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling blissfully, attention caught by the lights reflected off the glass mobile hanging in the window, rainbow prisms that caught Hoya's attention too, bright bright bright colours on the white ceiling, bright bright bright colours that grew and soldered themselves to the back of Hoya's eyelids and he looked away, distracted by the hum in the back of Sunggyu's throat and he stared at Sunggyu for a while, stared at the light playing across his skin, shining in his hair and then the shadows, the shadows drawing Sunggyu into the floor and he felt like he needed those shadows, needed them to keep him attached because he was floating again, floating off and Sunggyu wasn't noticing and panic started to rise in him throat before he scrambled to his feet and headed for the fridge, digging through it for some orange juice, feeling the citrus burn in his throat, grounding him and clearing his mind.

'What are you doing?' Sunggyu asked, his voice mild.

'Thirsty,' Hoya said, getting a surprise at the hoarseness of his voice and he took another swig of orange juice before carefully making his way back to Sunggyu.

'Are you okay?' Sunggyu's voice was airy and disconnected as he rolled over to run his hand along Hoya's thigh.

'Yeah,' Hoya replied habitually and then paused. 'Well, actually. Maybe not.'

'Mmm?' Sunggyu hummed and Hoya traced the bone in his wrist.

'I- I don't know if I can do this anymore. The drugs and partying and stuff, I'm tired, but I'm. Scared, I don't like it as much anymore,' Hoya admitted, but when he looked at Sunggyu again as Sunggyu gave another absentminded hum, he realised that Sunggyu wasn't really listening, lost in his own world for a bit.

'If you wanna stop, fine, I never made you take anything,' Sunggyu told him a few days later when Hoya told him again.

'But you-'

'I don't wanna stop,' Sunggyu cut him off and Hoya scowled.

'When was the last time you ate?' he demanded and Sunggyu shrugged.

'I think I ate yesterday. Ramyun.'

'Do you really wanna live like this?'

Sunggyu snorted. 'What, you're suddenly getting all preachy? Please. Look, I said it's fine, you can stop, no one's holding a gun to your head. It's your choice, I'm not going to say anything about it. But I'm- don't get me wrong, I could stop, I don't need them, I just don't want to give them up just yet. But by all means, stop. I won't push it. But then you can't push me to stop.'

Hoya looked at Sunggyu for a long while then gave a small sigh. 'You won't stop?'

Sunggyu shook his head. 'No.'

Hoya's shoulders slumped, defeated, and he ran a hand through his hair. 'Then I'm out. We're done.'

'What?' Sunggyu looked up at Hoya in surprise.

'I want out, Sunggyu, I want out of this lifestyle because I don't know how I got to this point, I need out, and I can't do that with you if you won't stop too.'

There was silence and Sunggyu's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed and gave a nod. 'Okay. Go. Whatever. Do what you need to do.'

Hoya's eyes dropped to the floor and he let out a shaky breath.

Sunggyu gave a shaky laugh. 'What, did you think that ultimatum would make me drop everything?'

Hoya shook his head, raising it to look Sunggyu in the eyes. 'No. That wasn't an ultimatum. That was me doing what I needed to do. I know I'm not important enough for you to change completely.'

There was something unfathomable flickering in Sunggyu's eyes before he broke the gaze with an awkward cough and cleared his throat. 'Okay. Good. Just. So we're on the same page.'

'We are about that,' Hoya agreed and Sunggyu nodded.

'Glad we had this talk.' Sunggyu paused. 'Bye.' He turned and walked off and Hoya's mouth was open to say something, whether to say bye or to call him back, he wasn't sure, but he let any words he might have said die in his throat as Sunggyu walked into the distance, back straight and shoulders stiff.

He had had an inkling that this might have been the outcome of the conversation, but that didn't mean the sudden severing of the cord didn't leave him feeling slightly off balance.

Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and walked in the opposite direction, figuring now was as good a time to turn his life back around as ever.

2015
september

Woohyun peered through the door of the small shop he'd stumbled across, cd's and records lining the shelves and he blinked, surprised, but walked in anyway.

He thought he recognised the music playing softly in the shop- he thought the band may have been called Nell- but he didn't pay much attention to it, fascinated instead by the shelves of records, his fingers flipping through the sleeves. He went through a shelf, feeling strangely reverential of what he viewed as artefacts from a bygone age, and he glanced towards the front desk, seeing the head of the employee on the desk.

He stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered over to the counter. 'Hey, why do you sell records?'

The guy jerked upright, blinking at Woohyun. 'I wasn't sleeping, customers just don't often speak to me.'

Woohyun laughed and the guy rubbed his eyes. 'I was just wondering why you stocked records, there can't be much of a market for them.'

The guy- Sunggyu, his nametag said- shrugged. 'They sell more than you'd expect. We buy and sell them, and they're split into two sections- playable and not playable. I don't think they're played either way when brought, quite frankly, but. Sentimental value, I suppose. Or something. I don't know, I don't really think about why they sell, just that they do.'

Woohyun nodded. 'I guess it is pretty cool.'

Sunggyu gave a small nod and a yawn. 'I like them. Just the look of them. It gives a nice feeling.'

'It does,' Woohyun agreed. 'Kinda feels like I've gone back in time. It's all calm or something. I can see why you'd doze off,' he joked and Sunggyu gave a small laugh.

'Ha, yeah. I guess that's... yeah.'

Woohyun raised an eyebrow. 'And that reaction?'

Sunggyu waved a hand with a shake of his head, leaning back in his chair. 'Nothing, the whole falling asleep thing is just a relatively recent occurrence brought about by some minor lifestyle changes.'

'Minor lifestyle changes? You quit coffee or something?' Woohyun laughed and Sunggyu laughed with him, his eyes curving into crescents.

'No, coffee's not what I quit, but I guess you could say it's something similar.'

Woohyun gave him a grin. 'So, what, do you just sit here all day? Seems pretty quiet. It must get kinda boring.'

'I get paid to listen to music all day, so I'm not too fussed. But it's nice to have a conversation.' Woohyun mentally cleared his entire day's (empty) schedule at the sight of Sunggyu's smile, and he glanced around the store.

'I like it in here,' he declared, leaning against the counter. 'Would you be okay with me hanging out here for a bit?'

Sunggyu chuckled and reached under the counter, pulling out a low stool and pushing it to the side closest to the entrance to the counter. 'There's even a chair.'

Woohyun settled onto the chair, wiggling a bit to get comfortable. 'Sunggyu, right? I'm Woohyun.'

Sunggyu blinked at him in surprise. 'How did you-'

'You're wearing a nametag,' Woohyun said with a grin and Sunggyu glanced down and gave a sheepish laugh.

'Forgot about that. Nice to meet you.'

'Yeah, you too.' Woohyun glanced around the store again, partly to see that when he glanced back Sunggyu was still looking at him. 'You know, the only thing that could make this place better, would be if there was food.'

Sunggyu snorted. 'Right?'

Woohyun tilted his head to the side. 'Have you eaten?'

Sunggyu shook his head. 'No. I forgot to bring food. Again.'

'Hey, how about I get us something to eat?' Woohyun suggested, straightening in his chair.

'Really?' Sunggyu asked, surprised and Woohyun nodded.

'Yeah. What do you like?'

Sunggyu chuckled. 'Food.'

Woohyun grinned at him. 'I'll be right back.'

november

Wooyoung clapped as the street performer flipped over his partner, grinning at the spectacle, breakdancing and acrobatics being performed on the street.

'It's incredible. I wish I could do that,' the guy next to Wooyoung said, and Wooyoung glanced over, unsure if he was talking to him or not.

'I can do basic flips, but nothing like that,' Wooyoung commented idly, and the guy looked over.

'Yeah? Any tips on how to teach those flips? The kids keep saying they want to learn.'

'You have kids?' Wooyoung asked and the guy shook his head rapidly.

'Do I look old enough to have kids old enough to be wanting to learn flips? No, I teach at a dance studio,' the guy said with a grin.

'You're a dancer?'

The guy gave a wry chuckle. 'Those who can't, teach, right?'

Wooyoung scoffed. 'That's a ridiculous saying, you have to know what you're doing to be able to be a teacher of any worth.'

'I suppose I would like to believe I'm a teacher of some worth,' the guy said and Wooyoung chuckled.

'You're asking strangers on the street for tips to teach flips to your class because they want to learn and you don't know how, I'd say that's a measure of a pretty good teacher.'

The guy laughed in surprise. 'Thanks, I guess. I'm Hoya.'

'Wooyoung,' Wooyoung introduced, taking the guys hand for a firm handshake.

'So what do you do that requires you to know basic flips?' Hoya asked with a grin.

Wooyoung shrugged. 'Unfortunately nothing that pays me. I used to dance and the flips kind of... came along with that. If I could get paid for doing flips and dancing, I think I'd switch careers pretty quickly.'

Hoya paused. 'Do you still dance at all?'

'Only in my living room. Why?'

Hoya looked him up and down critically. 'Would you be at all interested in maybe teaching as well? We've been getting quite busy and there has been talk of maybe hiring another instructor.'

Wooyoung blinked at him. 'Wait, seriously? You're just offering a stranger off the street a job?'

Hoya laughed. 'Of course not. You'd have to at least give a demonstration, show you know what you're doing, shadow some classes, do some training. You wouldn't be put in charge of a class immediately. I may be completely off the mark here, but it sounds like you really enjoy dancing, so I thought I might as well ask.'

'Teaching dance,' Wooyoung mused, 'I never considered that before. I don't know if I'd be a good teacher, though.'

'Well, if you're kind of interested, why don't you come sit in on one of my classes tomorrow? Help me teach the kids, act as an assistant or something, see if it's something you could see yourself doing. No obligations,' Hoya assured him and Wooyoung hesitated, turning back to watch the street performers before turning back to Hoya.

'Okay. I'm open to giving it a shot.'

Hoya grinned at him, canines flashing in the afternoon sun. 'Great. Give me your phone number so I can call you with the details.'

Wooyoung felt the beginnings of a smile tug at his lips. 'Of course.'

2016
august

Sunggyu was laughing as he pushed Woohyun through the door of the convenience store, trying to muffle his laughter and glancing around in suspicion, ducking his head as he followed Woohyun down one of the aisles.

'Why would you push me,' Woohyun half groaned, half chuckled, reaching out to snag Sunggyu's jersey with his hand, pulling Sunggyu into him. 'I'm disorientated enough already.'

'Shh,' Sunggyu reprimanded him, biting back bubbles of laughter in his throat. 'We're here for food, let's get food.'

'Wait, I need to find myself first,' Woohyun murmured, his face buried in the crook of Sunggyu's neck.

'What are you, a wandering traveller?' Sunggyu laughed. 'Come on.'

Woohyun sighed and backed off, a chuckle spilling from his throat as he turned around and blinked at the shelves. 'To the back,' he said and pointed and Sunggyu took the opportunity to clutch onto the back of Woohyun's shirt as he followed him.

Woohyun stopped and Sunggyu collided into him, causing them both to stumble, Woohyun's laughter loud as he leant against the fridge, Sunggyu leaning forward to give him a kiss that was punctuated by giggles from both of them, before they recovered enough to continue on their search for food.

'Biscuits?' Woohyun suggested and Sunggyu nodded, his arms around Woohyun's waist and his chin on Woohyun's shoulder, content to be led around by Woohyun as he blinked his bloodshot eyes.

Woohyun had an armful of snack food by the time they stood in the queue, Sunggyu leaning all his weight on Woohyun, enjoying the warmth of Woohyun's cheek on his, eyeing the counters lined with chocolates, detaching his hands long enough from their position around Woohyun's waist for one of them to add a few bars of chocolate to the pile in Woohyun's arm.

'Hungry, are we?' the cashier commented when the pile was deposited onto the counter and Sunggyu snickered into Woohyun's neck as Woohyun agreed with her after abandoning his attempt at an innocent explanation early on.

Sunggyu rummaged through the packet as soon as they left, pulling out one of the bars of chocolate and tearing it open, breaking off a piece and putting it in Woohyun's mouth. Woohyun let out a little whine as it hit his tongue.

'This was a good idea,' he said and Sunggyu nodded, smiling around his own mouthful of chocolate. Woohyun reached out for more chocolate, eating it with a moan curling out of his throat. ‘I wish it always tasted like this, it’s heavenly. Actually no I don’t, I’d get really fat.’

Sunggyu choked on his laughter, letting himself slide down the wall to sit outside his door, allowing Woohyun to struggle with opening the door and balance a packet when the world was squeezing itself through wormholes.

Woohyun reached for Sunggyu’s hand and pulled him up, pulling him into the house and stumbling out of his shoes before collapsing on the unmade bed, the plastic bag crinkling as it landed on the bed.

Sunggyu rested his head in Woohyun’s lap briefly, before pushing himself into a slightly more upright position when Woohyun passed him a biscuit.

‘That took too long,’ Woohyun told him around a mouthful of chocolate biscuit crumbs.

‘What are you talking about,’ Sunggyu replied, reaching for another biscuit, ‘It took no time at all.’

Woohyun hissed with laughter, his lips pressed tightly together and his hand coming up to his mouth to try prevent covering Sunggyu with crumbs.

‘Next time,’ he managed, ‘we are stocking up on food before we get stoned.’

2017
june

Woohyun's forehead furrowed when he got home after work to find Sunggyu standing outside of his door, blowing ribbons of smoke into the air, cigarette butts ground out on the ground.

'Sunggyu?''

Sunggyu's head jerked up from where he'd been staring unseeingly at the wall and he took another drag of his cigarette. 'Hey.'

'Why are you- are you okay?' Woohyun asked, unlocking his door, and Sunggyu picked up the packet at his feet.

'I got alcohol,' he muttered and Woohyun let him into his apartment.

'Are you going to tell me what's going on?' Woohyun said slowly, closing the door behind him and Sunggyu gave a short laugh.

'Nothing really. I'm just sulking.' Sunggyu blew out a stream of smoke and ran the glowing butt under the tap before dropping it in the bin, putting the beer in the fridge and taking two bottles out, digging in a drawer for a bottle opener.

'Any particular reason why?' Woohyun took the beer offered to him, taking a small sip and putting it down.

'The shop's closing end of the month.'

Woohyun gaped at him. 'And you only found out now? Isn't that illegal?'

Sunggyu waved him off and took a swig of his beer. 'I've known for a little while now, I'm just getting sick of sitting at home trying to figure it out.'

Woohyun paused and looked at him in silence. 'You've known for a little while now,' he repeated and Sunggyu nodded. 'And you didn't think to tell me?'

Woohyun didn't miss how Sunggyu avoided his gaze, looking at his beer bottle instead. 'It's not your problem, and it's not like you knowing would have changed anything.'

'You still could have told me!'

'I'm telling you now,' Sunggyu said sharply.

Woohyun huffed and reached for his beer. 'Well, what are you going to do?'

Sunggyu shrugged. 'Haven't decided yet.'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean? Haven't decided what?'

Sunggyu shot him a look. 'Are you getting all bitchy because I didn't tell you sooner? Come on.'

'Who's being bitchy?' Woohyun asked, taking another defiant swig of his beer and folding his arm across his chest.

Sunggyu snorted and pushed himself up from where he'd been leaning against the counter. 'Okay, you're gonna be like that. I don't know, I'm still thinking through a couple options.'

'Options like what?'

Sunggyu shook his head. 'Just. Options.'

'What aren't you telling me?' Woohyun asked suspiciously and Sunggyu crossed the room to him with a small laugh and another shake of his head, bringing his hand up to cup his cheek.

'Hey, calm down. Hi,' Sunggyu said quietly, giving him a small smile.

'Hi,' Woohyun replied, perhaps a little petulantly. Sunggyu chuckled lightly and leaned in to give him a kiss.

A few hours later, they'd eaten and were sitting on the couch, Woohyun running a finger around the rim of his wineglass- he'd switched to wine after he'd finished his first bottle of beer, lights glittering off the deep red liquid.

'I might go to America,' Sunggyu said suddenly, and Woohyun jerked his head around to look at him.

'What?'

'I have family there to help me out at the beginning, and I should be able to get a working visa. I didn't want to say anything until I was certain it was something I wanted, and... I think it is.'

'America,' Woohyun repeated. 'You want to go to America, just get up- when were you planning to go?' His voice was sharp, and Sunggyu avoided his gaze.

'Next month. I went to the embassy today for my visa interview.'

Woohyun's grip tightened on his wine glass. 'Next month. What, were you going to tell me on your way to the airport?'

Sunggyu huffed and ripped the cigarette he'd been lighting from his mouth. 'What the fuck, I'm telling you now, aren't I?'

'After you've gone for your visa interview. Sounds like you've decided.'

'What, am I supposed to ask you for permission?' Sunggyu asked sarcastically.

'Some consultation might have been nice, maybe,' Woohyun snapped, 'Maybe I'd like to have known my boyfriend is planning on leaving the country a little more than a few weeks in advance. Just maybe.'

'I couldn't tell you because-' Sunggyu broke off and stood up, storming to the kitchen and grabbing his jacket. 'You know what, I don't fucking need this.'

'Couldn't tell me why, exactly?' Woohyun shouted, putting his wineglass down and standing up himself.

'Doesn't matter,' Sunggyu said shortly around his cigarette as he pulled his jacket on, heading to the door. He turned to glare at Woohyun, yanking his cigarette out his mouth to speak. 'Yeah, I'm leaving the country. I'm going to America next month. I'll make sure anything of yours that's among my shit gets delivered to you, and anything I've left here, you can fucking keep.'

The sound of the door slamming reverberated through the apartment and Woohyun seethed at the door before downing the last of his wine and heading to the kitchen for more.

Woohyun toyed with his phone on the last day of the month, before giving in and opening a new message.

When're you leaving?

His phone beeped ten minutes later, and he reached for it hastily.

End of the week.

Woohyun swallowed and his thumb hovered over the call button, before he took a deep breath and decided it would be easier not to see him.

Good luck over there. Have a safe flight.

A few minutes later and his phone beeped again.

Thanks.

2018
april

'Nice place this,' Hoya commented, looking around the restaurant as they walked in and Wooyoung laughed.

'Why do you think I told you to dress up a bit?' he asked before giving a small bow to the maître de. 'Hi, I made reservations. Jang Wooyoung.'

'Party of two?' she said, smiling sweetly and Wooyoung nodded, glancing to his side to make sure Hoya followed him following her to their table.

'So what's the occasion?' Hoya asked with a grin, after they'd settled into their chairs, glancing up from the menu. 'Is there something special about today or something?'

Wooyoung nodded, his eyes wide and serious. 'Yes.' There was a pause and he hung his head. 'No. I meant to do this on your birthday but forgot.'

Hoya laughed. 'I'd never say no to an evening at a nice restaurant with you, even if it's for no other reason than why not.'

Wooyoung grinned. 'That's good to know.'

They looked up when a waiter arrived with two glasses of champagne on a tray. 'Your champagne, sirs.'

'We didn't-'

'Thank you,' Wooyoung cut Hoya off and gave the waiter a smile, glancing sheepishly at Hoya after he left.

'Champagne? Are you trying really hard to make up for it not being my birthday?' Hoya chuckled and reached for his glass. 'If there's a ring in this glass, Wooyoung, I swear to god-'

Wooyoung froze, not registering the teasing lilt in Hoya's voice. 'Uh- no- no- I- no,' he stuttered and Hoya raised an eyebrow at him before glancing back down at the glass with an easy smile.

'It does appear to be empty of things other than champagne,' he commented raising the flute to his lips.

Wooyoung hastily reached for his own glass, and there was a brief silence as he played with the stem of his glass after he'd put it down on the table.

'Would- would you- did you want a ring to be there?' Wooyoung's words were hesitant as he chanced a glance up at Hoya, who quickly put his glass back on the table after he choked a bit at Wooyoung's words.

'What?' he said breathlessly, staring at Wooyoung and Wooyoung felt bubbles of nervous hysteria rise.

'No, no, no, wait, I'm going about this the completely wrong way, wait,' he said, panicked, his hands flapping a bit as he shifted a bit in his chair. Hoya was still staring at him.

'Wooyoung-' Hoya started.

'I was just going to ask you if you maybe wanted to move in together but you went and mentioned rings and that threw me completely off track,' Wooyoung said in a rush and stared at the table during the ensuing silence, fighting the urge to hide his face in his hands (he was not a child anymore, for crying out loud).

Hoya laughed and Wooyoung looked up abruptly to see him grinning at him.

'In case you were wondering, I made the comment about the ring because who'd want to drink a glass of champagne that'd had a ring in it,' he said, amused twinkle in his eyes and Wooyoung felt a bit abashed.

'That- well, okay yes.'

There was another short silence as Hoya took another sip of his champagne, grin still wide, twinkling eyes fixed on Wooyoung.
Wooyoung heaved a sigh. 'Would you like to move in together?''

Hoya chuckled. 'It would be awfully convenient,' he commented mildly, and Wooyoung nodded. 'You do cook a lot better than me.'

'I really do,' Wooyoung replied, 'And it would make car-pooling much easier, seeing as we, you know, work at the same place.'

'We spend most of our time together anyway,' Hoya mused.

'And think of how much money we could save on rent,' Wooyoung added and Hoya laughed.

'You make a good argument,' Hoya told him.

'You came up with half the points,' Wooyoung pointed out and Hoya grinned at him and shrugged.

'I guess I was already sold on the idea.'

Wooyoung grinned at him. 'So is that a yes?'

Hoya nodded and Wooyoung took a triumphant swig of his champagne, feeling inordinately proud of himself.

Hoya waved the waiter open, shaking his head and chuckled at Wooyoung's smug grin.

'Could we have a bottle of champagne, please? Whatever this is, it's quite good,' Hoya asked, indicating his dwindling glass, before shooting Wooyoung a grin. 'It's a special day.'

august

Sunggyu stared at the lake, the last glimmer of sunset sparking off the gentle waves. The beach wasn't empty, scatterings of people still wandering about, and Sunggyu knew if he turned around he'd see the glowing lights of the city, the hubbub of Chicago a distant growl in the background.

Sunggyu let out a faint sigh before burying his bare feet in the sand, still warm from the sun.

Someone was idly plucking on a guitar, twisting a tuning peg here and there, strumming some connecting chords, but Sunggyu didn't feel the need to look around, preferring instead to just listen with half an ear.

The stray notes and chords settled into a tune, and Sunggyu's forehead furrowed at the familiarity of it.

'What are we going to do?' a gentle voice sang in Korean, and Sunggyu's head whipped around, eyes frantically darting to and fro to find the singer.

He found him sitting not too far away, close enough to make out his features in the dim light.

Sunggyu stared for a bit, just listening, before he gave a small, breathless laugh, and started singing along softly, raising his voice to harmonise with the guy's when it came to the second chorus.

'For us, could it be possible that it wasn't love,' Sunggyu sang, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as the guy faltered momentarily in his own singing, looking up in surprise and crinkling his eyes in a small smile at Sunggyu.

The guy scrambled up from the sand once they'd finished the song, brushing the sand habitually from his pants before reaching down and gathering his guitar bag and shoes and heading over to Sunggyu.

He dropped his things and lowered himself to the sand next to Sunggyu. 'You're Korean?' he asked with a grin and Sunggyu laughed.

'Yeah.' He nodded towards the guitar. 'I love Nell.'

'You sing well,' the guy told him and Sunggyu gave a small shake of his head.

'I haven't sung for ages, I'm not in my best condition. You're pretty good yourself.'

The guy grinned widely. 'Thanks. I'm Junho, by the way.'

'Sunggyu,' Sunggyu replied.

'Nice to meet you, Sunggyu. So what's your story? How'd you end up in Chicago?' Junho asked.

'I felt like it,' he replied with a chuckle, 'I've been here a year, working. You?'

'I left Korea about five or six years ago, but I've only been here for about two years. I was in Japan before that,' Junho commented with a sigh, leaning back on his hands.

'What do you do?'

'I'm a music producer. Pretty small time, but it pays the bills,' Junho said with a wry smile.

'That's pretty cool. I... work at my aunt's music shop, which is far less impressive. But I guess I get to play on the pianos every now and then, so it could be worse.' Soft laughter and Sunggyu paused, staring out at the waves again. 'Do you ever miss home? Korea, I mean. You've been away for a while. You ever go back to visit?'

Junho shook his head. 'I thought about it, but. Ultimately didn't. I don't know, sometimes I miss it, but...' He trailed off, and then glanced at Sunggyu. 'Is that why you're out here staring at the waves? Feeling homesick?'

Sunggyu made a non-committal sound. 'Not so much homesick as... nostalgic, I guess.' He looked at Junho for a couple seconds, weighing up the options, and looked back out over the water. 'I broke up with my boyfriend just before I came over here, and I guess I was just. Thinking.'

'Boyfriend?' Junho repeated, his eyes fixed on Sunggyu and Sunggyu nodded.

'Sorry, does that make you uncomfortable?' he said quietly and looked at Junho in surprise when Junho laughed.

'Far from it. I was just surprised, because what are the odds of me meeting another Korean out here who happens to also be gay. Especially considering the same thing happened when I was in Japan. My only serious boyfriend while I was Japan was Korean.' Junho grinned at Sunggyu.

Sunggyu let out a surprised laugh. 'You're also-? Wow, that's... quite a coincidence.'

'I'll say,' Junho said with a chuckle, shifting the guitar on his lap.

'May I?' Sunggyu asked, gesturing towards the guitar and Junho nodded, passing it to him. 'I'm better at piano, so you're not allowed to laugh,' Sunggyu warned, and Junho grinned.

'I promise I'll try keep a straight face.'

2019

2020

2021
june

'What do we have at home again?' Hoya asked as they strolled through the aisles and Wooyoung snorted.

'Pretty much nothing, we've put off grocery shopping for a while,' he replied, leaning on the handle of the trolley.

'I'd say running a dance school gives us an excuse to be a bit behind on household chores,' Hoya said.

'We've been eating take out since like Monday because our cupboards are bare, and I was planning to go yesterday, but you got home early and dragged me into bed,' Wooyoung told him and Hoya snorted.

'Sorry,' he said unapologetically, 'You weren't exactly complaining.'

'No, I wasn't, but now we really need to get this over and done with,' Wooyoung chuckled and Hoya nodded.

'I'll go grab some bread quick,' Hoya said and Wooyoung nodded.

'I won't be far.'

'Hoya?'

Hoya turned around and nearly dropped the bread he'd just grabbed. 'Woohyun?'

Woohyun gave an incredulous laugh. 'Yeah. Wow. Hi.'

Hoya laughed too. 'Yeah, wow would be right. Hi. How are you?'

'Good, yeah, I'm good, and yourself?'

'Can't complain,' Hoya said with a grin.

'You certainly look good,' Woohyun said, looking him up and down with a grin.

'You too,' Hoya replied with a small chuckle and held up his hands as Woohyun got a glint in his eye. 'Don't go thinking anything, though, I'm-'

'Not single,' Woohyun cut in, 'Should've guessed. Is it serious?' he asked with a cheeky grin and Hoya shrugged.

'Is five years serious?' Hoya asked with a grin, laughing at the way Woohyun's eyebrows shot up.

'Five ye- yeah, I'd say that's pretty serious,' Woohyun laughed. 'Wow, I feel like I should congratulate you.'

'Maybe save the congratulations for the ten year mark,' Hoya said and Woohyun's eyebrows raised.

'You're really serious about him, aren't you?'

Hoya's lips curled in a fond little smile. 'I guess I am, yeah.'

'What's taking you so long?'

Hoya turned at the voice behind him and Woohyun's eyes widened as he saw Wooyoung.

'Hold up, this is your five year relationship? Wooyoung?' Woohyun asked Hoya, looking flabbergasted.

Hoya looked between the two of them in surprise.

'You guys know each other?' Wooyoung asked, and Hoya gave a surprised nod.

'We dated,' Hoya replied and Wooyoung's eyebrows shot up.

'No, but that's my line,' he said.

'What?'

'He's my ex,' Wooyoung told Hoya, who gave an incredulous laugh.

'Seriously?'

'While you two are being all surprised, can you spare a thought for me, because I'm just here, but you guys have been dating for five years,' Woohyun said, looking between the two of them in shock.

'Closer to five and a half, but who's counting,' Wooyoung said and Hoya shot him a sidelong glance.

'Evidently, you are.'

Wooyoung rolled his eyes at him. 'Don't pretend you didn't know that.'

‘If you start celebrating half-anniversaries-‘

‘Then what was yesterday’s performance about, huh?’

‘If by performance you mean me jumping you when I got home, that was a combination of not having actually had sex in while and you looking really good, was yesterday seriously-‘

‘Oh my god, you guys are so domestic,’ Woohyun interrupted with a grin that might have been a little tight around the edges, and Wooyoung and Hoya fell silent.

‘This is weird,’ Wooyoung said after a few moments and Hoya and Woohyun snorted.

‘Very,’ Woohyun remarked dryly.

‘How-‘ Wooyoung and Hoya started at the same time, and glanced at each other.

‘You first,’ Hoya said, gesturing to Wooyoung,

Wooyoung gave a nod and turned to Woohyun. ‘So how was Japan?’

Woohyun lips curled upwards, his smile seeming a little wistful. ‘It was good. It was fantastic, it really was something.’

‘You were in Japan?’ Hoya asked.

‘I studied there for two years,’ Woohyun told him. ‘What were you going to say?’

Hoya gave a short laugh. ‘I was, um. How are things with your parents?’

Woohyun laughed. ‘Ah, yeah. Well. I told them just after I finished high school, and, you know, they exploded, but… I think they’re getting used to the idea. They haven’t tried to set me up with a friend’s daughter for a while, so that’s… progress. I told them we were together, actually. Which didn’t really help temper the initial explosion because mom immediately assumed we’d been going at it under her roof.’

‘To be fair, we kinda were,’ Hoya pointed out with a wry grin and Woohyun laughed.

‘Well, yes, but not as far as she was thinking.’

‘When did you guys date, even?’ Wooyoung asked, looking between the two of them.

‘High school,’ Hoya replied.

Wooyoung nodded. ‘That was a while ago.’

‘Quite,’ Woohyun remarked. ‘Um. I should probably… go, I’ve got an ad campaign I need to work on.’

‘Oh, yeah, of course, no, we should be getting a move on too,’ Hoya said hurriedly, waving a hand vaguely in the direction of their trolley.

‘Well, it was good seeing you. Both of you,’ Woohyun added with a small laugh.

‘Yeah,’ Wooyoung and Hoya chorused.

‘So. Um. Yeah. Bye, I guess. See you around.’ Woohyun raised a hand in a wave as he took a few steps back before turning and walking away, Wooyoung wheeling the trolley around to go the other way.

Wooyoung glanced behind him after a step or so and elbowed Hoya in the side. ‘Go get his phone number.’

‘What? Why?’

‘Don’t pretend like you don’t want it, I saw how you looked at him.’

‘Wha-‘

‘Okay, that came out wrong, I wanna catch up with him too, okay. Just go get the phone number,’ Wooyoung said and Hoya narrowed his eyes at him.

‘You’re the one who wants it.’

‘I’m pushing the trolley, go get the goddamn number,’ Wooyoung said impatiently and Hoya shook his head with a small chuckle before turning and jogging lightly after Woohyun.

‘Hey, Woohyun!’ he called, coming to a stop behind Woohyun just as he turned around. ‘Can I have your number?’

‘My number,’ Woohyun repeated.

‘Yeah, Wooyoung reckons it might be fun to catch up and I agree, so. Balls in your court.’ Hoya flashed his canines at him and Woohyun hesitated only very briefly.

‘Okay. Give me your phone.’

‘I’m glad to see you’re doing well, I really am,’ Hoya said as Woohyun keyed in his number.

‘Vice versa,’ he chuckled.

Hoya hesitated. ‘Out of curiosity, did you ever get my postcard?’

‘What postcard?’ Woohyun asked, raising his head to look Hoya in the eye.

‘Uh-‘

Woohyun laughed. ‘Yeah, I did. I think it might still be somewhere amongst my stuff, actually.’ He held out Hoya’s phone.

‘Oh. Good. That you got it, I mean,’ Hoya said, taking his phone and Woohyun nodded.

‘Yeah, I guess.’

‘Well. You go. Work. We’ll be in touch.’

‘Did you get it?’ Wooyoung asked as Hoya approached him. Hoya gave him a dead-pan look.

‘I know you were watching.’

Wooyoung laughed. ‘Let’s get the shopping over and done with.’ He leant on the trolley handle, pushing it forward, and Hoya fell into step next to him.

‘Was yesterday really our half-anniversary?’ Hoya asked suddenly and Wooyoung snorted.

‘I have no idea. Probably not.’

august

'Passport?' Junho asked, spinning around frantically.

'Here,' Sunggyu replied, holding up the green books. 'Breathe.'

'Are we changing currencies here or there?'

'We decided on there,' Sunggyu said patiently and chuckled. 'Why are you so stressed? You've moved countries twice.'

'I haven't been in Korea for, what, nine years now? I don't know, I'm just a bit-' Junho flapped his hands in lieu of words and Sunggyu laughed, reaching out and pulling him towards him.

'Excited?' Sunggyu suggested with a grin and Junho buried his face in his neck with a laugh.

'Yeah. Excited. I am, I really am.'

Sunggyu nudged his head off his shoulder and gave him a kiss. 'We packed everything yesterday. Last night,' Sunggyu amended. 'We're ready.'

'We're ready,' Junho repeated. He took a deep breath. 'We are. Okay. Let's go.'

'Got our bags, we've sent the stuff we needed ahead, we do have our passports, our toiletries are packed, got sleeping pills for the plane if we need them, don't forget to grab your guitar,' Sunggyu listed and Junho nodded.

'Your parents are picking us up at the airport, right?' Sunggyu said, once they'd gone through security and were settled in the duty-free zone of the airport.

Junho nodded. 'Yeah.'

Sunggyu nodded and played with his coffee. 'I suppose they'll be too busy reuniting with you, they won't notice me much.'

Junho laughed. 'Are you nervous?'

Sunggyu hung his head. 'I've never actually met the parents, it's not something I ever. Got around to doing.'

'Are you telling me that, at- how old are you again, like fifty?' Sunggyu glowered at Junho who gave a cheeky grin. 'Okay, thirty two- that you've never met a boyfriend's parents?'

Sunggyu nodded. 'Yeah. I wasn't really... meet the parents material, I told you about all the drugs and stuff. I almost met the parents, in university, but I ducked out of it.'

'Ducked out of it?'

'It wasn't like a set meeting or anything, it's not that bad, okay, they came to visit him and I just. Made myself scarce. Hid around the corner when I saw them,' he admitted sheepishly and Junho laughed.

'You hid around the corner?' he asked incredulously and Sunggyu groaned.

'I don't know why, okay, I just saw them and. Panicked.'

'Don't worry about it, hyung, really. I'm sure they'll love you,' Junho assured him, 'I love you, so... they're bound to.'

A smile tugged at Sunggyu's lips and he reached out to rest his hand on Junho's thigh. 'Thanks. I love you too.'

'Aren't your parents meeting us for supper, though? So I'd be meeting the parents too,' Junho pointed out.

'That's true,' Sunggyu allowed. 'Maybe what we should really be nervous about is our parents meeting each other.'

Junho laughed. 'Oh yeah, that could be dangerous. But really, what can they say? We're starting a business together, like surely that shows we're committed to each other. And are forward thinkers, or whatever. I think we're doing pretty well.'

'I suppose we are.'

'Oh, just a warning,' Junho started, 'My mom might ask if we're thinking of adopting.'

Sunggyu started in his chair, turning to stare at Junho.

'She likes children. Specifically grandchildren. She's asked me a couple times already, so she might ask you, so I'm just warning you, so it's not a surprise.' Junho grinned at Sunggyu.

'What did you tell her?' Sunggyu asked.

'That we weren't. Added in an at this point to appease her.'

Sunggyu nodded. 'Sounds like a good answer. If she does ask me, I'm stealing that.'

'Go right ahead. She'll be thrilled, it'll sound like we've put thought into the matter,' Junho said and Sunggyu laughed.

'What with us only just settling down in Korea again, and starting a business and all, and you know how risky starting a business can be, we decided that right now, it's not for us,' Sunggyu said elaborately and Junho snorted.

'Perfect. See, what are you worried about, you'll charm them immediately. They'll adore you. Any tips on winning over your parents?' Junho asked with a grin and Sunggyu laughed.

'You kidding me? They think you're a good influence on me, they've been won over already. You have nothing to worry about.'

They both looked up as a boarding call ran through the airport and then looked at each other.

'That's us,' Junho said and Sunggyu nodded.

'Yeah. Now for a ridiculously long plane trip,' Sunggyu sighed, standing up, Junho standing up immediately after.

'We'll survive,' Junho said with a grin, leaning in to give him a kiss.

part 3