adventure music for migrating birds [for chanyeolanda]
For: chanyeolanda
Title: adventure music for migrating birds
Pairing(s)/focus: yugyeom/bambam
Rating: G
Word count: 4.4K
Warnings: None.
Summary: Kunpimook tells him on the morning of their last class that he's going to Thailand next year and all Yugyeom can blurt out in response is that they're going to Seoul first.
Kunpimook tells him on the morning of their last class that he's going to Thailand next year and all Yugyeom can blurt out in response is that they're going to Seoul first.
He thinks it's a mistake when Kunpimook stares at him with his mouth open and blinks, bag straps clutched tightly in his fingers, before Yugyeom's suggestion (demand, if he's being honest) is processed in his brain completely. He hurls his backpack onto his desk and rushes towards Yugyeom, arms already outstretched so he can drape himself around the other boy.
It's warm and soft and Yugyeom gets too wrapped up in Kunpimook's enthusiasm before he remembers where they are and then embarrassment washes over him. He looks over Kunpimook's head to find his classmates staring at both of them, with varying looks of entertainment on their faces. He has the decency to at least hide his face in mortification at half-amused, half-mocking cheers his class throws him but Kunpimook, as always, takes it in overly zealous stride as he grins and throws a peace sign to everyone in the room.
Yugyeom can't wait for this day to be over.
-
The plan they agree on that night after countless arguments (and a few very intense games of rock, paper, scissors) involves almost completely clearing out their bank accounts from whatever money they've accumulated over the past few years from summer jobs and any other petty business ventures they've taken. (Yugyeom knew that being dragged around by dogs for 2 months would work out in his favour one day.)
The division of their funds seems to be heavily skewed towards the car rental price, which Yugyeom can understand, with both of them being new drivers. The rest of it looks okay though; they're staying with a friend of theirs that moved away the year prior and food isn't even close to a problem, him and Kunpimook are practically professionals at living off convenience store meals.
Of course he originally put forth the idea of catching a train to Seoul in the morning and arriving at night and before he even finished Kunpimook already started spewing reasons why that couldn't possibly work, especially since they both got their licenses, we should drive Yugyeom! And isn't an adventure like this fun how many people do you know can say that they drove through such a large part of Korea, huh? And we can take pictures! My mom would love that you know and...
Yugyeom absently paid attention as he let Kunpimook finish his spiel before the other boy stopped talking and Yugyeom finally decided to look up from the magazine he was reading.
"You know what the most important thing is, though?" Kunpimook had asked with his eyes looking too intently at Yugyeom.
"The different ramen brands to try?"
"That too, but I'm glad it's just going to be the two of us."
He can't say he disagrees with driving to Seoul in the end.
-
Yugyeom doesn't know how he let Kunpimook convince him that they should leave at 7am the next day, but he tries to sleep early in preparation for it. Yugyeom figures it'll be easy getting up as long as he goes to bed early, but sleep never comes to him. He lies awake instead, wondering how the next two days on the road are going to play out. He's anxious when he thinks about what's going to happen after Seoul and after this little trip of theirs. His thoughts stray too far from him, and he's up later than he ever intended to be. His mind eventually does go static enough for him to sleep but it feels like it's only five minutes later when his alarm goes off. He quietly slides off his bed and heads to the bathroom to get ready.
At 6:57 his phone vibrates with a text from Kunpimook.
‘get out here soon or im leaving without u! '
He grabs an apple and tries to say a quick goodbye to his parents but his mom is pulling him in for a hug before he can even reach his bags.
"Text us once in awhile to let us know that you're still alive," his mom says.
"Don't do anything irresponsible," his dad adds.
They're overdramatic (and doing this in front of the window so he's sure Kunpimook is getting a good show) but he's grateful for their concern and hugs them both goodbye.
When he opens his front door he sees Kunpimook lowering his phone, no doubt in an attempt to take a photo through the window. He waves at Yugyeom's parents and promises not to get their son killed in the week he has him. The faces on both his parent's face notifies both of them that they're not convinced of any promise Kunpimook could make them.
As he gets closer, Yugyeom decides to inspect the car Kunpimook rented. It's not bad but the front seat is way too short for his legs to fit comfortably.
"You can put your stuff in the back, just not on top of mine."
Yugyeom sighs, opens the back door and throws his bags in the back seat. "You couldn't have gotten something, I don't know, more spacious."
"Hey, this was the cheapest thing they had and you were the one who told me to not to overspend."
"I should've known you were going to use that against me." He finally settles into the car, knees hitting the underside of the glove box.
He's about to complain when a plastic bag hits him in the face.
"I got your favorite snacks." Kunpimook sing songs, clearly pleased with himself.
Yugyeom's knows he's lost this round so he settles for pouting and opening a bag of rice crackers as Kunpimook barrels out of his driveway
-
The mix CD Kunpimook demands they listen to on their trip is such a mess of sounds that as soon as Yugyeom thinks he can get into it, it changes into something disjointed again. It's jarring to hear Thai Hip-Hop transition into Japanese synth pop and then into Rain's 30 Sexy.
"I made this last night because I couldn't sleep," Kunpimook says and Yugyeom thinks that's all he needs in way of explanation of this assault against his eardrums.
They've just passed the border of their town after 2 hours and lack of sleep from last night catches up with him enough that he finds himself dozing off instead of paying attention to Kunpimook's loud explanations what they're going to do once they arrive in Seoul. He nods along absently, too focused on reading the map in front of him to notice Kunpimook extending one of his hands into the back seat to pull out a pamphlet from his bag. The car swerves and Yugyeom rushes to grab the wheel before they hit a telephone pole.
"Kunpimook!" He releases the wheel once the other boy is back to facing the road. He decides this probably some higher being's way of telling him pay attention when his best friend is talking.
"Here," Kunpimook says, tossing him the pamphlet that nearly caused his death.
"What is it?"
"Were you not listening to me? It's for that school you're going to! That art's academy or whatever."
"The National University of Arts and why do you have this?"
"Yeah, that one," Kunpimook says, snapping his fingers. "And, as I was saying, I think we should stop by since we're already going to be in Seoul."
Yugyeom looks at the brochure finally, scanning it over. "When did you plan this?"
"Yesterday, after school. You told me we were going to Seoul so I thought we might as well check it out." Kunpimook laughs to himself, always pleased whenever he catches Yugyeom off guard, but stops when he sees the frown on Yugyeom's face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it just seems weird that I'm going be moving out and attending this school in two weeks." Without you, he thinks.
Kunpimook understands, fingers drumming against the steering wheel before he sets the CD back to the first track. "Let's have as much fun as we can before then."
"Of course," he says but he feels like he's heading towards a finish line he's not ready to cross yet.
-
The first time they meet is in 10th grade homeroom and Kunpimook is loud, disruptive, and calls everyone's attention towards him, Yugyeom's included.
The first time they speak is the day Yugyeom was attempting to sleep through homeroom while their teacher was attempting to quiet them before the period began.
"Kunpimook, Won-Jae, settle down or I'm sending you in the hall," Ms. Kim threatened.
"Yes ma'am," they chorused before taking their seats.
Kunpimook always sat on the other side of class and Yugyeom remembered the first day of class and how the other students mocked Kunpimook's accent and occasionally jilted sentences. Yugyeom knew he overcompensated with his loud demeanor, shouting over the students that made fun of him originally. It was easy to make friends after that. Kunpimook has no shame and expressed everything he felt, even if it was roundabout and no one asked.
They didn't really speak until that afternoon when Ms. Kim had asked them to pick partners for a project and their teacher finally broke seemingly the gravitational pull between Kunpimook and Won-Jae.
"No way, not for a third time," she said directing Won-Jae towards the left of the class and Kunpimook to the other side.
There was half-hearted, and obnoxious, complaints from both parties but Yugyeom found himself with an energetic Kunpimook shoving his textbook onto his desk.
"Hey," is all Kunpimook said before he opened the textbook and scanned over words he was clearly not reading.
"Uh, hi," Yugyeom replied before he set off on his own work.
A few minutes of uncharacteristic silence rang between them before Kunpimook spoke. "I don't really understand this stuff," he said like it was a secret he was only going to tell Yugyeom.
"Oh," Yugyeom stated. He wondered briefly if he would have to do the assignment on his own.
"It's okay though! I'm not one of those kids who would try to all push the work on you! I'll just need some time to read through the textbook again."
"I can help you," Yugyeom said before his brain caught up. He cleared his throat and tried again. "After school, I mean, I can help you, if that's okay with you, I don't want to-" Yugyeom's words were cut off by Kunpimook's palm in front of his mouth.
"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Kim Yugyeom, I think I'll take you up on it," he said with a grin plastered on his face.
Yugyeom smiled in return. "It's no problem Mr. Kunpimook Bhuwakul."
"Your pronunciation is off," Kunpimook teased.
"What? Bu? Bwuh?"
"You'll get it eventually," he smiled.
-
The diner they stop at that night is some small side-of-the-road place that's clearly a remnant of an earlier time but surprisingly it's managed to keep itself in business despite the more modern restaurants just down the road.
It's pretty empty when they enter and the waitress working gestures for them to sit anywhere they want.
Kunpimook slides into the booth, immediately laying his head on the table and yawning. "I'm exhausted," he states rolling his head to face Yugyeom. "And! It doesn't help that you gave us wrong directions and got us lost for 3 hours!" He glares bitterly with a huff.
"Sorry, I won't get distracted tomorrow," he says, flipping through the menu. "Is an egg sandwich okay with you?"
"Yes it is but you're not listening to me! You're driving tomorrow and I'm going to sleep and snore and annoy you the entire time."
"You do that enough when you're awake." Kunpimook's menu smacks him across the face. "I'm kidding!"
Kunpimook settles down with a pout. "What are you getting?"
"Pancakes with blueberries," he says calling the waitress over
Kunpimook snorts. "I feel like a kid still, eating breakfast at 1am."
Yugyeom laughs and nods in agreement. "Yeah, but how many more times can we do this, before you leave?"
It's a sobering statement and Yugyeom's glad the waitress comes immediately because the look Kunpimook gives him means they're going to have to talk about it and Yugyeom desperately wants to avoid that.
-
The motel is just down the road and all Yugyeom can look forward to is stretching out his legs and getting some sleep. The lobby is tiny and the man behind the counter looks as if he's about to doze off himself.
"Hi, boys what can I do for you?"
Yugyeom feels like he's about the fall asleep standing up so he let's Kunpimook do all the talking while he pretends that definitely wasn't drool that came out of his mouth.
"The cheapest room you have and nothing more." Yugyeom snorts to himself.
"WellÉ" the man starts, scrolling through the list of vacancies, "the cheapest is a room with a single full-size but you can upgrade with just-"
"We'll take it," Kunpimook states while reaching into his wallet. Yugyeom nearly falls over.
"You want us to share a bed? Are you serious?" Yugyeom knows he's whining but he can't help himself.
"Hotels in Seoul are way more expensive Yugyeom! We should save our money." Kunpimook takes the key card out of the man's hand and leaves to find their room. Yugyeom trails after him.
"There's not going to be enough room, my legs have grown at least another two inches from the last time we had a sleepover." He follows Kunpimook up the stairs and into whatever corridor he's leading them to.
Kunpimook stops abruptly and Yugyeom nearly topples over him. "Ow! Anyway, that doesn't matter, we can always cuddle," Kunpimook laughs, unlocking the door and leaving Yugyeom flushing red outside.
He enters and takes in the tiny room. The carpet has some stains but it looks relatively okay. He's not surprised to see that Kunpimook dumped his bag on the floor and headed straight to the shower. Yugyeom tosses his bag next to Kunpimook’s and collapses face first into the mattress.
-
It was in the 11th grade that Yugyeom discovered that maybe his feelings for his best friend might not exactly have been completely platonic.
The realization came during a quiet moment at his house with Kunpimook leaning against his legs, caught between whispering and shouting at movie playing in front of them. It was a horror movie that Kunpimook insisted they watch but after the first jump scare Yugyeom never looked back at the screen and given Kunpimook's constant glances back at him to "make sure you're watching!" he figured the other boy wasn't taking it so well himself.
"If you're scared we can just turn it off," he laughed, fingers brushing against Kunpimook's shoulders.
"I'm not scared!" Kunpimook said, head rolling around to lean against Yugyeom's hand. "What's scary about a girl coming out of a VHS tape anyway, no one uses those anymore." His insistence was diminished immediately though by the way his body jumped by the mere sound of Samara's videotape being played again on screen.
"Whatever you say," Yugyeom had laughed, earning himself a smack on the arm. It was easy to fall into patterns like this with Kunpimook where they bickered half-heartedly and entered each other's personal space as easily as they could leave it.
He chanced another glance at the screen, attempting to watch as much as he could of the obvious set up for the upcoming jump scare but backed out last second. His eyes moved back to Kunpimook's head and chuckled when he found the other boy already staring at him. "You can't keep looking back here just because you're scared."
The other boy remained silent while his eyes trailed across to Yugyeom's face, down to his neck and across his arms and torso. The small twist in Kunpimook's mouth was sign he was thinking of something but the scrutiny had Yugyeom turning feeling exposed.
"You know," Kunpimook began, eyes finally returning to Yugyeom's face, "you've gotten pretty tall."
Yugyeom shoved him, causing the other boy to collapse on the floor laughing. "Did you just notice?' He asked sliding off the couch to sit with Kunpimook on the floor.
"No, I was just thinking about how you're probably still going to grow into the big friendly giant and I'm going to be stuck looking like a middle schooler by the time I graduate." He was pouting now and Yugyeom didn't exactly have to self-restraint to not immediately pinch his cheeks while cooing.
"My tiny Kunpimook," he crooned while the other boy weakly struggled to get out of his grasp. "I promise to hold you up for every parade you can't see and get anything you need off shelves you can't reach."
"The least you could do for me putting up with you for the rest of my life." Kunpimook let out a little Ôhmph' noise, face burning red with awkwardness of the statement, but Yugyeom could only look at him.
Kunpimook with his shamelessness, flippancy and immodest personality; the same one who laughs ridiculously at his dumb jokes, helped him get out of his shell, and worked his way into Yugyeom's life with no effort at all. The Kunpimook who he realized that spending forever wouldn't be so bad.
"Sure," he said, toppling his body over the other boy. "The rest of our lives."
-
He awakes at the movement on his left, rolling over to see Kunpimook attempting to make his way into the sheets quietly. ‘Sorry,' he mouths when he notices Yugyeom awake and watching. Yugyeom rolls over to give Kunpimook more room. The bed's a lot smaller than he was expecting and nearly rolls off it completely before he catches himself.
"We should have upgraded to a larger bed," he mumbles as he rolls back over to Kunpimook.
"You'll thank me in the later in our luxury suite in Seoul," he laughs, arms brushing against Yugyeom in the small space.
"This bed wouldn't be so bad if you were shorter." He's drifting off into sleep again and the kick Kunpimook sends him barely registers.
Kunpimook moves back into his personal space again, back pressed Yugyeom's chest. He considers rolling away again but his legs are nearly hanging off the sides already. He hovers his hands over Kunpimook's sides unsure what to do before Kunpimook grabs them and places them around his torso.
"Sleep," is the curt demand, half-spoken into a pillow, from Kunpimook and Yugyeom can't object to it.
-
The gas station they stop at the next morning is pretty much frozen over and Yugyeom feels jealous when Kunpimook runs inside to pick up snacks while he's stuck out here refilling the gas tank. It doesn't help even further when Kunpimook stands by the window to mock him while he's freezing and wet.
Yugyeom runs indoors as soon as he's finished, letting the snow melt off him and create a mess by the entrance. The cashier glares at him but he doesn't say anything.
He walks up to counter to pay but of course this is the moment he decides to forget his wallet. He considers going back out to grab it but one look at the snow is all the motivation he needs to call Kunpimook over to pay.
They walk out of the convenience store, arms loaded with snacks and a severely inappropriate for the weather slushie in Kunpimook's hand.
Yugyeom turns up the heater as soon as he starts the car, blasting it as he pulls out of the gas station.
"You're lucky I like you so much," Kunpimook says, mouth around the straw of his slushie. "Anyone else and I would have made them go back into the cold."
Yugyeom can't help but smile. "Thanks for liking me so much."
"No problem," he replies as he attempts to shove the straw of his drink into Yugyeom's mouth.
-
It stops snowing by nightfall, but they find themselves stranded on a side road for the night with no motel in sight.
"Seoul's so close," Kunpimook whines from the passenger seat. Yugyeom can't see him from this angle but he knows he's pouting.
"We'll be there tomorrow morning," he says, rolling over to face the back cushions.
"Yugyeom."
"Yeah?" He's pretty much speaking into a cushion and his voice coming out muffled.
"I'm going to miss you when I go back to Thailand," he whispers, and maybe it's mostly for himself but Yugyeom rolls over, his hand reaching for Kunpimook's in the dark.
"I'm going to miss you, too. I'm going to miss being able to see you everyday like this and" (I like you, he thinks, I like you so much) "you're important to me. You're my best friend and I couldn't imagine being as happy as I am now without you," he finishes and maybe it's cutting it too close but Kunpimook squeezes his hand.
"Yeah, me too."
-
October was filled with misery as students were caught between studying for exams that would determine their future and actually figuring what they wanted that future to be. It was stressful and it was the month that Kunpimook had told him about returning home.
"I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," he confessed to Kunpimook after school during a cram session.
"You never do," and yeah, okay, that was true but Yugyeom still pouted and hoped Kunpimook would somehow find it endearing enough to work out all his problems for him.
"What school do you want to go to?" He asked Kunpimook after a few more minutes of failed studying.
The corner of Kunpimook lips turned downwards, his voice gentle when he explained that his mom might want him to go back to Thailand.
"She misses me and after I begged her to let me come to Korea for high school, I feel like going back is the least I owe her."
Yugyeom understood but the thought stung and Kunpimook had placed his hands on Yugyeom's shoulders.
"Don't worry, it's not really decided on yet, we can worry when it is," he had laughed hollowly.
-
There's a rustling in the passenger seat and Yugyeom knows Kunpimook is awake and restless like him.
"Kunpimook," he says and it comes out low and hoarse. "Do you want to keep going?"
Kunpimook turns to look at him, face obscured in the dark, but Yugyeom knows his lips are quirked with contemplation.
"Yeah," Kunpimook lets out with a small huff. The small smile he sends Yugyeom makes him want to hold his hand or kiss him or do something equally stupid so he turns away and opens the door.
Yugyeom gets out and the cold air wakes him up and all he sees is the road spread out in front of him, empty and quiet. He opens the driver seat door and starts the car.
Kunpimook yawns, stretching his arms over the dashboard. "Only a few more miles to go," he says.
Yugyeom drums his hands on the steering wheel, restless with his thoughts. I want to tell him, he thinks. I want to tell him and not have to deal with things being awkward.
"Yugyeom," Kunpimook says so quietly that he thinks he might have imagined it.
"Yeah?" He turns his head slightly to face Kunpimook, eyes going back and forth between him and the road.
"About what you were saying earlier, I," he cuts himself off, looking at Yugyeom with his mouth quirked.
Yugyeom wishes he could just evaporate because he is too embarrassed for this conversation to be happening ever. "Yeah, just, um, forget it. I was tired and you know." He hopes Kunpimook accepts that so they can move on without any problems when they reach Seoul, but Kunpimook never really does what Yugyeom wants.
"Pull over for a second."
Yugyeom looks at him to object but the look on Kunpimook's face means he's not taking no as an answer. He pulls over alongside the road and turns the ignition off.
Kunpimook is out the door before he can say anything to him and Yugyeom follows him slowly.
Kunpimook is a few feet ahead of the car, back turned towards him. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier," he begins, and Yugyeom wishes the ground would swallow him whole quickly. "I thought about what is going to be like, not being able to see you everyday and it sucks. You're my best friend and I think I'd regret it a lot so," Kunpimook lets out a breath and finally turns to face Yugyeom. His face is burning and he's fidgeting and
Oh, Yugyeom realizes.
He's moving towards Kunpimook before he even thinks about it. It's easy to kiss Kunpimook, the same it's easy to hold his hand or tease him for being short.
"I like you," Yugyeom says simply when they break apart.
"I like you, too," Kunpimook returns, reaching up for another kiss.
When they break apart this time Kunpimook presses his index finger against Yugyeom's chest, face decisive and laughably serious. "When I come back, you're going to be the one to lean up to kiss me," he says and Yugyeom is stuck between laughing and focusing on the ‘when'.
"Sure," he says smiling and he feels so warm despite the cold air surrounding them.
He moves to envelop Kunpimook in his arms but the other boy sneaks out of his grasp, voicing a small "hold on" as he runs to the car and back. He returns with his CD in a case and gleam in his eye.
"What's with your CD?" Yugyeom asks.
"I'm giving it to you, or letting you borrow it, really," Kunpimook grins and closes Yugyeom's hands lightly around the disc with his.
"Are you sure? You said it was your favorite." It's a weak protest and Yugyeom can't help but smile when Kunpimook pushes the CD towards his chest, leaving his hands pressed against Yugyeom's chest.
"Yes, I'm sure! I'll be back for it later anyway." Yugyeom pockets it and returns his hands to Kunpimook who happily intertwines their fingers.
He feels peaceful like this, watching the waves with Kunpimook's hand in his, knowing that this isn't the end for them.
"Yugyeom."
"Yeah?"
"You still owe me forty for gas."
[readers, don't forget to leave a comment! anonymous is on if you're shy.]
Title: adventure music for migrating birds
Pairing(s)/focus: yugyeom/bambam
Rating: G
Word count: 4.4K
Warnings: None.
Summary: Kunpimook tells him on the morning of their last class that he's going to Thailand next year and all Yugyeom can blurt out in response is that they're going to Seoul first.
Kunpimook tells him on the morning of their last class that he's going to Thailand next year and all Yugyeom can blurt out in response is that they're going to Seoul first.
He thinks it's a mistake when Kunpimook stares at him with his mouth open and blinks, bag straps clutched tightly in his fingers, before Yugyeom's suggestion (demand, if he's being honest) is processed in his brain completely. He hurls his backpack onto his desk and rushes towards Yugyeom, arms already outstretched so he can drape himself around the other boy.
It's warm and soft and Yugyeom gets too wrapped up in Kunpimook's enthusiasm before he remembers where they are and then embarrassment washes over him. He looks over Kunpimook's head to find his classmates staring at both of them, with varying looks of entertainment on their faces. He has the decency to at least hide his face in mortification at half-amused, half-mocking cheers his class throws him but Kunpimook, as always, takes it in overly zealous stride as he grins and throws a peace sign to everyone in the room.
Yugyeom can't wait for this day to be over.
-
The plan they agree on that night after countless arguments (and a few very intense games of rock, paper, scissors) involves almost completely clearing out their bank accounts from whatever money they've accumulated over the past few years from summer jobs and any other petty business ventures they've taken. (Yugyeom knew that being dragged around by dogs for 2 months would work out in his favour one day.)
The division of their funds seems to be heavily skewed towards the car rental price, which Yugyeom can understand, with both of them being new drivers. The rest of it looks okay though; they're staying with a friend of theirs that moved away the year prior and food isn't even close to a problem, him and Kunpimook are practically professionals at living off convenience store meals.
Of course he originally put forth the idea of catching a train to Seoul in the morning and arriving at night and before he even finished Kunpimook already started spewing reasons why that couldn't possibly work, especially since they both got their licenses, we should drive Yugyeom! And isn't an adventure like this fun how many people do you know can say that they drove through such a large part of Korea, huh? And we can take pictures! My mom would love that you know and...
Yugyeom absently paid attention as he let Kunpimook finish his spiel before the other boy stopped talking and Yugyeom finally decided to look up from the magazine he was reading.
"You know what the most important thing is, though?" Kunpimook had asked with his eyes looking too intently at Yugyeom.
"The different ramen brands to try?"
"That too, but I'm glad it's just going to be the two of us."
He can't say he disagrees with driving to Seoul in the end.
-
Yugyeom doesn't know how he let Kunpimook convince him that they should leave at 7am the next day, but he tries to sleep early in preparation for it. Yugyeom figures it'll be easy getting up as long as he goes to bed early, but sleep never comes to him. He lies awake instead, wondering how the next two days on the road are going to play out. He's anxious when he thinks about what's going to happen after Seoul and after this little trip of theirs. His thoughts stray too far from him, and he's up later than he ever intended to be. His mind eventually does go static enough for him to sleep but it feels like it's only five minutes later when his alarm goes off. He quietly slides off his bed and heads to the bathroom to get ready.
At 6:57 his phone vibrates with a text from Kunpimook.
‘get out here soon or im leaving without u! '
He grabs an apple and tries to say a quick goodbye to his parents but his mom is pulling him in for a hug before he can even reach his bags.
"Text us once in awhile to let us know that you're still alive," his mom says.
"Don't do anything irresponsible," his dad adds.
They're overdramatic (and doing this in front of the window so he's sure Kunpimook is getting a good show) but he's grateful for their concern and hugs them both goodbye.
When he opens his front door he sees Kunpimook lowering his phone, no doubt in an attempt to take a photo through the window. He waves at Yugyeom's parents and promises not to get their son killed in the week he has him. The faces on both his parent's face notifies both of them that they're not convinced of any promise Kunpimook could make them.
As he gets closer, Yugyeom decides to inspect the car Kunpimook rented. It's not bad but the front seat is way too short for his legs to fit comfortably.
"You can put your stuff in the back, just not on top of mine."
Yugyeom sighs, opens the back door and throws his bags in the back seat. "You couldn't have gotten something, I don't know, more spacious."
"Hey, this was the cheapest thing they had and you were the one who told me to not to overspend."
"I should've known you were going to use that against me." He finally settles into the car, knees hitting the underside of the glove box.
He's about to complain when a plastic bag hits him in the face.
"I got your favorite snacks." Kunpimook sing songs, clearly pleased with himself.
Yugyeom's knows he's lost this round so he settles for pouting and opening a bag of rice crackers as Kunpimook barrels out of his driveway
-
The mix CD Kunpimook demands they listen to on their trip is such a mess of sounds that as soon as Yugyeom thinks he can get into it, it changes into something disjointed again. It's jarring to hear Thai Hip-Hop transition into Japanese synth pop and then into Rain's 30 Sexy.
"I made this last night because I couldn't sleep," Kunpimook says and Yugyeom thinks that's all he needs in way of explanation of this assault against his eardrums.
They've just passed the border of their town after 2 hours and lack of sleep from last night catches up with him enough that he finds himself dozing off instead of paying attention to Kunpimook's loud explanations what they're going to do once they arrive in Seoul. He nods along absently, too focused on reading the map in front of him to notice Kunpimook extending one of his hands into the back seat to pull out a pamphlet from his bag. The car swerves and Yugyeom rushes to grab the wheel before they hit a telephone pole.
"Kunpimook!" He releases the wheel once the other boy is back to facing the road. He decides this probably some higher being's way of telling him pay attention when his best friend is talking.
"Here," Kunpimook says, tossing him the pamphlet that nearly caused his death.
"What is it?"
"Were you not listening to me? It's for that school you're going to! That art's academy or whatever."
"The National University of Arts and why do you have this?"
"Yeah, that one," Kunpimook says, snapping his fingers. "And, as I was saying, I think we should stop by since we're already going to be in Seoul."
Yugyeom looks at the brochure finally, scanning it over. "When did you plan this?"
"Yesterday, after school. You told me we were going to Seoul so I thought we might as well check it out." Kunpimook laughs to himself, always pleased whenever he catches Yugyeom off guard, but stops when he sees the frown on Yugyeom's face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it just seems weird that I'm going be moving out and attending this school in two weeks." Without you, he thinks.
Kunpimook understands, fingers drumming against the steering wheel before he sets the CD back to the first track. "Let's have as much fun as we can before then."
"Of course," he says but he feels like he's heading towards a finish line he's not ready to cross yet.
-
The first time they meet is in 10th grade homeroom and Kunpimook is loud, disruptive, and calls everyone's attention towards him, Yugyeom's included.
The first time they speak is the day Yugyeom was attempting to sleep through homeroom while their teacher was attempting to quiet them before the period began.
"Kunpimook, Won-Jae, settle down or I'm sending you in the hall," Ms. Kim threatened.
"Yes ma'am," they chorused before taking their seats.
Kunpimook always sat on the other side of class and Yugyeom remembered the first day of class and how the other students mocked Kunpimook's accent and occasionally jilted sentences. Yugyeom knew he overcompensated with his loud demeanor, shouting over the students that made fun of him originally. It was easy to make friends after that. Kunpimook has no shame and expressed everything he felt, even if it was roundabout and no one asked.
They didn't really speak until that afternoon when Ms. Kim had asked them to pick partners for a project and their teacher finally broke seemingly the gravitational pull between Kunpimook and Won-Jae.
"No way, not for a third time," she said directing Won-Jae towards the left of the class and Kunpimook to the other side.
There was half-hearted, and obnoxious, complaints from both parties but Yugyeom found himself with an energetic Kunpimook shoving his textbook onto his desk.
"Hey," is all Kunpimook said before he opened the textbook and scanned over words he was clearly not reading.
"Uh, hi," Yugyeom replied before he set off on his own work.
A few minutes of uncharacteristic silence rang between them before Kunpimook spoke. "I don't really understand this stuff," he said like it was a secret he was only going to tell Yugyeom.
"Oh," Yugyeom stated. He wondered briefly if he would have to do the assignment on his own.
"It's okay though! I'm not one of those kids who would try to all push the work on you! I'll just need some time to read through the textbook again."
"I can help you," Yugyeom said before his brain caught up. He cleared his throat and tried again. "After school, I mean, I can help you, if that's okay with you, I don't want to-" Yugyeom's words were cut off by Kunpimook's palm in front of his mouth.
"Thank you for the offer, Mr. Kim Yugyeom, I think I'll take you up on it," he said with a grin plastered on his face.
Yugyeom smiled in return. "It's no problem Mr. Kunpimook Bhuwakul."
"Your pronunciation is off," Kunpimook teased.
"What? Bu? Bwuh?"
"You'll get it eventually," he smiled.
-
The diner they stop at that night is some small side-of-the-road place that's clearly a remnant of an earlier time but surprisingly it's managed to keep itself in business despite the more modern restaurants just down the road.
It's pretty empty when they enter and the waitress working gestures for them to sit anywhere they want.
Kunpimook slides into the booth, immediately laying his head on the table and yawning. "I'm exhausted," he states rolling his head to face Yugyeom. "And! It doesn't help that you gave us wrong directions and got us lost for 3 hours!" He glares bitterly with a huff.
"Sorry, I won't get distracted tomorrow," he says, flipping through the menu. "Is an egg sandwich okay with you?"
"Yes it is but you're not listening to me! You're driving tomorrow and I'm going to sleep and snore and annoy you the entire time."
"You do that enough when you're awake." Kunpimook's menu smacks him across the face. "I'm kidding!"
Kunpimook settles down with a pout. "What are you getting?"
"Pancakes with blueberries," he says calling the waitress over
Kunpimook snorts. "I feel like a kid still, eating breakfast at 1am."
Yugyeom laughs and nods in agreement. "Yeah, but how many more times can we do this, before you leave?"
It's a sobering statement and Yugyeom's glad the waitress comes immediately because the look Kunpimook gives him means they're going to have to talk about it and Yugyeom desperately wants to avoid that.
-
The motel is just down the road and all Yugyeom can look forward to is stretching out his legs and getting some sleep. The lobby is tiny and the man behind the counter looks as if he's about to doze off himself.
"Hi, boys what can I do for you?"
Yugyeom feels like he's about the fall asleep standing up so he let's Kunpimook do all the talking while he pretends that definitely wasn't drool that came out of his mouth.
"The cheapest room you have and nothing more." Yugyeom snorts to himself.
"WellÉ" the man starts, scrolling through the list of vacancies, "the cheapest is a room with a single full-size but you can upgrade with just-"
"We'll take it," Kunpimook states while reaching into his wallet. Yugyeom nearly falls over.
"You want us to share a bed? Are you serious?" Yugyeom knows he's whining but he can't help himself.
"Hotels in Seoul are way more expensive Yugyeom! We should save our money." Kunpimook takes the key card out of the man's hand and leaves to find their room. Yugyeom trails after him.
"There's not going to be enough room, my legs have grown at least another two inches from the last time we had a sleepover." He follows Kunpimook up the stairs and into whatever corridor he's leading them to.
Kunpimook stops abruptly and Yugyeom nearly topples over him. "Ow! Anyway, that doesn't matter, we can always cuddle," Kunpimook laughs, unlocking the door and leaving Yugyeom flushing red outside.
He enters and takes in the tiny room. The carpet has some stains but it looks relatively okay. He's not surprised to see that Kunpimook dumped his bag on the floor and headed straight to the shower. Yugyeom tosses his bag next to Kunpimook’s and collapses face first into the mattress.
-
It was in the 11th grade that Yugyeom discovered that maybe his feelings for his best friend might not exactly have been completely platonic.
The realization came during a quiet moment at his house with Kunpimook leaning against his legs, caught between whispering and shouting at movie playing in front of them. It was a horror movie that Kunpimook insisted they watch but after the first jump scare Yugyeom never looked back at the screen and given Kunpimook's constant glances back at him to "make sure you're watching!" he figured the other boy wasn't taking it so well himself.
"If you're scared we can just turn it off," he laughed, fingers brushing against Kunpimook's shoulders.
"I'm not scared!" Kunpimook said, head rolling around to lean against Yugyeom's hand. "What's scary about a girl coming out of a VHS tape anyway, no one uses those anymore." His insistence was diminished immediately though by the way his body jumped by the mere sound of Samara's videotape being played again on screen.
"Whatever you say," Yugyeom had laughed, earning himself a smack on the arm. It was easy to fall into patterns like this with Kunpimook where they bickered half-heartedly and entered each other's personal space as easily as they could leave it.
He chanced another glance at the screen, attempting to watch as much as he could of the obvious set up for the upcoming jump scare but backed out last second. His eyes moved back to Kunpimook's head and chuckled when he found the other boy already staring at him. "You can't keep looking back here just because you're scared."
The other boy remained silent while his eyes trailed across to Yugyeom's face, down to his neck and across his arms and torso. The small twist in Kunpimook's mouth was sign he was thinking of something but the scrutiny had Yugyeom turning feeling exposed.
"You know," Kunpimook began, eyes finally returning to Yugyeom's face, "you've gotten pretty tall."
Yugyeom shoved him, causing the other boy to collapse on the floor laughing. "Did you just notice?' He asked sliding off the couch to sit with Kunpimook on the floor.
"No, I was just thinking about how you're probably still going to grow into the big friendly giant and I'm going to be stuck looking like a middle schooler by the time I graduate." He was pouting now and Yugyeom didn't exactly have to self-restraint to not immediately pinch his cheeks while cooing.
"My tiny Kunpimook," he crooned while the other boy weakly struggled to get out of his grasp. "I promise to hold you up for every parade you can't see and get anything you need off shelves you can't reach."
"The least you could do for me putting up with you for the rest of my life." Kunpimook let out a little Ôhmph' noise, face burning red with awkwardness of the statement, but Yugyeom could only look at him.
Kunpimook with his shamelessness, flippancy and immodest personality; the same one who laughs ridiculously at his dumb jokes, helped him get out of his shell, and worked his way into Yugyeom's life with no effort at all. The Kunpimook who he realized that spending forever wouldn't be so bad.
"Sure," he said, toppling his body over the other boy. "The rest of our lives."
-
He awakes at the movement on his left, rolling over to see Kunpimook attempting to make his way into the sheets quietly. ‘Sorry,' he mouths when he notices Yugyeom awake and watching. Yugyeom rolls over to give Kunpimook more room. The bed's a lot smaller than he was expecting and nearly rolls off it completely before he catches himself.
"We should have upgraded to a larger bed," he mumbles as he rolls back over to Kunpimook.
"You'll thank me in the later in our luxury suite in Seoul," he laughs, arms brushing against Yugyeom in the small space.
"This bed wouldn't be so bad if you were shorter." He's drifting off into sleep again and the kick Kunpimook sends him barely registers.
Kunpimook moves back into his personal space again, back pressed Yugyeom's chest. He considers rolling away again but his legs are nearly hanging off the sides already. He hovers his hands over Kunpimook's sides unsure what to do before Kunpimook grabs them and places them around his torso.
"Sleep," is the curt demand, half-spoken into a pillow, from Kunpimook and Yugyeom can't object to it.
-
The gas station they stop at the next morning is pretty much frozen over and Yugyeom feels jealous when Kunpimook runs inside to pick up snacks while he's stuck out here refilling the gas tank. It doesn't help even further when Kunpimook stands by the window to mock him while he's freezing and wet.
Yugyeom runs indoors as soon as he's finished, letting the snow melt off him and create a mess by the entrance. The cashier glares at him but he doesn't say anything.
He walks up to counter to pay but of course this is the moment he decides to forget his wallet. He considers going back out to grab it but one look at the snow is all the motivation he needs to call Kunpimook over to pay.
They walk out of the convenience store, arms loaded with snacks and a severely inappropriate for the weather slushie in Kunpimook's hand.
Yugyeom turns up the heater as soon as he starts the car, blasting it as he pulls out of the gas station.
"You're lucky I like you so much," Kunpimook says, mouth around the straw of his slushie. "Anyone else and I would have made them go back into the cold."
Yugyeom can't help but smile. "Thanks for liking me so much."
"No problem," he replies as he attempts to shove the straw of his drink into Yugyeom's mouth.
-
It stops snowing by nightfall, but they find themselves stranded on a side road for the night with no motel in sight.
"Seoul's so close," Kunpimook whines from the passenger seat. Yugyeom can't see him from this angle but he knows he's pouting.
"We'll be there tomorrow morning," he says, rolling over to face the back cushions.
"Yugyeom."
"Yeah?" He's pretty much speaking into a cushion and his voice coming out muffled.
"I'm going to miss you when I go back to Thailand," he whispers, and maybe it's mostly for himself but Yugyeom rolls over, his hand reaching for Kunpimook's in the dark.
"I'm going to miss you, too. I'm going to miss being able to see you everyday like this and" (I like you, he thinks, I like you so much) "you're important to me. You're my best friend and I couldn't imagine being as happy as I am now without you," he finishes and maybe it's cutting it too close but Kunpimook squeezes his hand.
"Yeah, me too."
-
October was filled with misery as students were caught between studying for exams that would determine their future and actually figuring what they wanted that future to be. It was stressful and it was the month that Kunpimook had told him about returning home.
"I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," he confessed to Kunpimook after school during a cram session.
"You never do," and yeah, okay, that was true but Yugyeom still pouted and hoped Kunpimook would somehow find it endearing enough to work out all his problems for him.
"What school do you want to go to?" He asked Kunpimook after a few more minutes of failed studying.
The corner of Kunpimook lips turned downwards, his voice gentle when he explained that his mom might want him to go back to Thailand.
"She misses me and after I begged her to let me come to Korea for high school, I feel like going back is the least I owe her."
Yugyeom understood but the thought stung and Kunpimook had placed his hands on Yugyeom's shoulders.
"Don't worry, it's not really decided on yet, we can worry when it is," he had laughed hollowly.
-
There's a rustling in the passenger seat and Yugyeom knows Kunpimook is awake and restless like him.
"Kunpimook," he says and it comes out low and hoarse. "Do you want to keep going?"
Kunpimook turns to look at him, face obscured in the dark, but Yugyeom knows his lips are quirked with contemplation.
"Yeah," Kunpimook lets out with a small huff. The small smile he sends Yugyeom makes him want to hold his hand or kiss him or do something equally stupid so he turns away and opens the door.
Yugyeom gets out and the cold air wakes him up and all he sees is the road spread out in front of him, empty and quiet. He opens the driver seat door and starts the car.
Kunpimook yawns, stretching his arms over the dashboard. "Only a few more miles to go," he says.
Yugyeom drums his hands on the steering wheel, restless with his thoughts. I want to tell him, he thinks. I want to tell him and not have to deal with things being awkward.
"Yugyeom," Kunpimook says so quietly that he thinks he might have imagined it.
"Yeah?" He turns his head slightly to face Kunpimook, eyes going back and forth between him and the road.
"About what you were saying earlier, I," he cuts himself off, looking at Yugyeom with his mouth quirked.
Yugyeom wishes he could just evaporate because he is too embarrassed for this conversation to be happening ever. "Yeah, just, um, forget it. I was tired and you know." He hopes Kunpimook accepts that so they can move on without any problems when they reach Seoul, but Kunpimook never really does what Yugyeom wants.
"Pull over for a second."
Yugyeom looks at him to object but the look on Kunpimook's face means he's not taking no as an answer. He pulls over alongside the road and turns the ignition off.
Kunpimook is out the door before he can say anything to him and Yugyeom follows him slowly.
Kunpimook is a few feet ahead of the car, back turned towards him. "I've been thinking about what you said earlier," he begins, and Yugyeom wishes the ground would swallow him whole quickly. "I thought about what is going to be like, not being able to see you everyday and it sucks. You're my best friend and I think I'd regret it a lot so," Kunpimook lets out a breath and finally turns to face Yugyeom. His face is burning and he's fidgeting and
Oh, Yugyeom realizes.
He's moving towards Kunpimook before he even thinks about it. It's easy to kiss Kunpimook, the same it's easy to hold his hand or tease him for being short.
"I like you," Yugyeom says simply when they break apart.
"I like you, too," Kunpimook returns, reaching up for another kiss.
When they break apart this time Kunpimook presses his index finger against Yugyeom's chest, face decisive and laughably serious. "When I come back, you're going to be the one to lean up to kiss me," he says and Yugyeom is stuck between laughing and focusing on the ‘when'.
"Sure," he says smiling and he feels so warm despite the cold air surrounding them.
He moves to envelop Kunpimook in his arms but the other boy sneaks out of his grasp, voicing a small "hold on" as he runs to the car and back. He returns with his CD in a case and gleam in his eye.
"What's with your CD?" Yugyeom asks.
"I'm giving it to you, or letting you borrow it, really," Kunpimook grins and closes Yugyeom's hands lightly around the disc with his.
"Are you sure? You said it was your favorite." It's a weak protest and Yugyeom can't help but smile when Kunpimook pushes the CD towards his chest, leaving his hands pressed against Yugyeom's chest.
"Yes, I'm sure! I'll be back for it later anyway." Yugyeom pockets it and returns his hands to Kunpimook who happily intertwines their fingers.
He feels peaceful like this, watching the waves with Kunpimook's hand in his, knowing that this isn't the end for them.
"Yugyeom."
"Yeah?"
"You still owe me forty for gas."
[readers, don't forget to leave a comment! anonymous is on if you're shy.]