Chapter Text
Waking up in a stranger's room, butt naked, wrapped in white blanket only. Who wouldn't freak out waking up like that???
And on top of it, a handsome dude who was making out with him last night lying next to him— sleeping peacefully, that makes Yushi wonder if they had a one night stand?
The problem is, Yushi doesn't remember a thing. He remembers the kissing part, he's aware of his impulsive actions at that moment. It was reckless, yeah. But what happened after that? He's drawing a total blank.
Yushi wakes up and leans his back against the bed frame. His bare chest exposed, only wearing the chain necklace he bought yesterday, still hanging around his neck. Yushi ponders and tries to recollect what went down while glancing at the handsome black-haired dude beside him— who's slowly starting to wake up, rubbing his eyes lazily.
"Umm morning, Yushi?" Yushi reflexively freaks out because— how does this kissing buddy know his name?
Seeing Yushi looking confused, the black-haired guy just yawns and rolls onto his stomach, using his hands as a makeshift pillow. "You told me your name last night. Forgot, huh? Well, you were surely pretty wasted."
Hearing that, Yushi instinctively denies, "I remember the kissing part at the bar! But…" His sentence trails off, Yushi himself confused about what to say next.
"I'm Riku by the way ," he says with a simple smile, Yushi notices the dimples on his cheeks. Handsome. That's what Yushi thinks at that moment, feeling like he wants to be showered with kisses again. Unfortunately, his sanity kicks back in.
"If you don't mind me asking, did we really have a one night stand? " Yushi asks, scratching his non-itchy cheek, accompanied by an awkward grin, of course. Honestly, he feels embarrassed and weird— never imagined those words would come out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Riku just laughs it off casually.
"It's so weird seeing you all shy now. You were so clingy last night, couldn't keep still."
Ah, hearing that, the fragments of his blurry memory start coming back to Yushi. He can only hold his face, which is now as red as an apple in winter. How could he have done something so immoral? Okay— kissing a stranger is already considered immoral, but at least in his big moral dictionary, as long as both parties are aware and willing to do it— it's not a big deal.
Long story short, after the steamy make-out session last night, Yushi started losing his consciousness. Consciousness in the sense of sanity. What he remembers— after the kiss ended yesterday, the black-haired guy in front of him asked where Yushi lived and wanted to take him back home. But instead of telling him the address of the hotel where he stayed, Yushi hugged Riku's waist, sticking their bodies together, and saying things like, "Don't wanna go home, my mom's gonna nag," "Let's crash at your place," something along those lines.
"My name is Yushiii"
So, in the end, Riku took him back to his place. Well, he can't just leave a drunk guy— alone and passed out in a bar, right? He's not heartless.
But! If you think everything ended there, well, it didn't. When they got to Riku's apartment, Yushi, who was out of his mind and halfway to the afterlife, decided to strip off all his clothes— except his underwear. Don't even ask how shocked Riku was at that moment, especially when Yushi suddenly pinned him down and took off his own shirt.
"Riku~ Wanna keep going?" he said with a seductive tone. Riku just stayed silent, too tired to respond to this drunk person on top of him. Playing guitar for about an hour and kissing a stranger had also drained a lot of his energy, by the way.
With no rejection response from Riku, Yushi began to trail kisses along the person beneath him's neck. He traced and planted light kisses all the way to the collarbone. Occasionally, he glanced at Riku's face and puckered his lips slightly, as if he also wanted to receive the same treatment.
Riku remained still, but don't worry, he planned to stop it if this person's actions crossed the line. He was still gathering the last bits of energy because his energy had been completely drained all day. But luckily, shortly after that, Yushi suddenly passed out, before he could do anything further.
"I'm sorry! Really really sorry—hontoni gomenasai," that was Yushi, who had finished his flashback. He bowed his head and made sure to fold his hands on the bed. His ears were red, still feeling extremely embarrassed. Well, who wouldn't?
Riku got up from the bed, and Yushi glanced sideways to make sure his memory was accurate. Okay, his pants were still intact even though he wasn't wearing anything on top, which made Yushi somewhat relieved because it meant his behavior yesterday wasn't as crazy as he feared.
"You were really awful when you were drunk. Who would've thought that you're actually so quiet and polite?" Yushi buried his face even deeper into his hands. Shades of red dominated his face, ears, and spread to his neck area. Indeed—Yushi was shy, very shy when facing new people. He himself was surprised and didn't expect that the effects of alcohol could flip his personality 180 degrees, unleashing a wild side of him that he had long hidden.
"I’m really sorry if I was totally out of line yesterday. Honestly, it was my first time ever going to a bar. You must have felt so put out— so, what do you want as compensation?"
Riku, who was initially playing with his phone, shifted his gaze towards Yushi. "Ah, it's no big deal, really, it can't be helped~"
Yushi couldn't help but wonder why Riku was so relaxed about it. Honestly, if it were Yushi in that situation, he would have immediately reported it to the police as harassment.
Is it because Riku was used to dealing with weird drunk people? Even though it wasn't his problem, Yushi couldn't shake the thought.
Riku walked towards the closet and returned with a piece of fabric commonly known as a towel, along with a change of clothes in his right hand. "Here, go take a shower," he said. Yushi accepted it, thanking him, but before he headed to the bathroom, his mouth once again spoke on its own, making him wonder if he was still drunk.
"How… many times you kissed random pushy strangers like me?" There he goes, rambling again!
Riku swiftly turned his head towards Yushi, as if doubting his hearing. "Huh? That was also my first time tho."
"You're lying," Yushi reflexively replied, his lips automatically forming a small pout as he wrapped the towel around his waist. Actually, it wasn't his business either way. Whether it was a lie or not, well... who was Yushi here? Why did he sound like a possessive boyfriend?
"No, seriously, the stranger I've kissed at bars— is only you. You don’t believe me because I'm in a band? Do I look like a scoundrel to you??"
Yushi didn't expect to hear a long-winded answer from Riku because, once again, this wasn't really his business, and Yushi wasn't anyone special. If Riku started explaining extensively, it would make Yushi flustered.
"Why?" Yushi continued softly, his mouth still unable to stop. Riku looked puzzled by this contextless question, especially since Riku had just asked one himself. Yushi, realizing Riku's confusion, quickly clarified the context of his question, "You said you never just randomly kissed strangers. So why did you want to kiss me yesterday?"
Yushi praised his own bravery to ask such a question, as if it wasn't him doing the talking. Actually it could be simply because Riku had never encountered such a situation before that's why he said it was his first time. Part of him slightly regretted his impulsive question, and part of him hoped for an answer aligned with his desires.
"Because, you're totally my type."
And once again, Yushi's chest felt a strong thump as those words slipped out along with a sweet smile. Yushi was feeling embarrassed all over again. Ugh, is it even okay to make someone else's son blush like this?
—
"Where do you live in Korea?" That was Riku, walking over to the small dining table in the living room with two bowls of steaming ramen. Yushi received the bowl with shining eyes. Of course, because ramen was one of his favorite things in the world.
"I live in Seoul… cheongdam-dong specifically"
Riku just nodded, his mouth forming an 'O', his hands still busy with chopsticks stirring the ramen in front of him. "We... seem to be around the same age, right? What year were you born?"
Yushi's mouth was still busy chewing, so he just answered with hand gestures. Two fingers once, zero twice, and then four finger once.
"Two thousand… and four? Wow, I'm 2003, so I'm a year older haha." This time Riku answered with a wide smile, showing off his teeth. Uh hello, is it okay to smile like that?
"So you are currently on vacation in Japan?" Riku asked casually. Well he'd probably be surprised to hear Yushi's real reason, like, "Nope, actually I'm on escape."
Klang!
That was the sound of Riku's chopsticks falling. See, even Riku was surprised!
“You on what???”
"Hey, don't be so dramatic. I'll be back, well in a week maybe? I'm just running away because I'm super tired with college and my family." Yushi replied casually, though his eyebrows furrowed. He felt instantly sick whenever he remembered his reason for running away.
"My parents are... super strict. I told you, yesterday was my first time at a bar. And you're also my first kiss by the way." Once again, TMI from Yushi. It's not like him to share personal stuff like this with someone he's only recently met. But for some reason— he didn't mind sharing it with Riku.
Riku nodded.
"Are you perhaps studying medicine science?" Riku shot, and that sentence got a choked response from the person in front of him. Riku handed over a glass of water, and Yushi immediately gulped it down in one go.
"How did you know? Did I spill it when I was drunk yesterday?"
Riku just smiled, "Well, from your story, your parents seem like typical Asian parents, so you must be a medical science student, plus..."
"Plus?"
"It's pretty obvious from the way you eat. You eat neatly, with precise cutting, but still look efficient."
Yushi could only clap his hands slowly. Silently, his mouth once again forming an 'O' in amazement. But seriously, how could Riku deduce something just from small observations? Yushi thought it was really cool.
"You're a university student too, right? Where are you studying?" Hopefully, this time Yushi didn't mess up. Judging from Riku’s appearance, he didn't seem like someone who's educated, but hey, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, right? Besides, from his way of speaking alone, Yushi was sure Riku was at least studying at—
"UT. I go to UT." UT UT Why did that sound so familiar? Yushi racked his brain for a moment, and not long after, he placed his chopsticks down and stared Riku right in the eye.
"UT as in University of Tokyo? Todai?? " He asked slowly to confirm. And Riku just nodded as if it was no big deal, "hmm right, Todai."
Yushi lost at words, his jaw even dropped a bit from sheer astonishment, his flat expression replaced with a surprised one. Please don't call him overdramatic. Meeting someone academically gifted was common. But realistically speaking, is there really someone who's smart, handsome, musically talented, friendly, charismatic, has a nice smile, and— has a free life? Too much like a Mary Sue . Yushi, who always spent his time studying and was pressured to achieve perfection, felt a bit jealous. Especially seeing Riku so carefree and able to do things he liked. But thanks to this, Yushi felt a little motivated; if the person in front of him could do it, that means he could too— Yushi also wants to meet his parents' expectations while being free. Hopefully.
Yushi held onto that motivation tightly in his mind, embedding that principle until he returned to Korea. Occasionally, Yushi glanced at Riku, feeling somewhat grateful. By the way, is it impossible not to develop feelings when meeting someone like this? Eh?
"I think I've used up all my luck in my life to be able to kiss someone like you," Yushi said casually, his face remaining blank as usual.
Unexpectedly, the person he was referring to immediately choked, rubbing his nose while glancing at Yushi through narrowed eyes. Oh, please don't blush like that, because that gesture makes Yushi blush too.
—
"Where's your hotel? I’ll drop you off, so you won't get lost wandering around."
Oh. What should Yushi say? Can he stay here for a week? But wouldn't that be rude?
"In Shinjuku..."
Riku just nodded, his eyes still fixed on the clock hanging on the south wall of the room, "oh, that's close. We're in Bunkyo now."
"By the way Riku… do you live here alone?"
Riku simply nodded.
In the midst of it all, Yushi really wanted to express what was on his mind at that moment, but he felt uneasy? Yushi felt like he had already caused a lot of trouble, especially since he had done something inappropriate yesterday.
"Do you want to say something? You looked like you had something on mind." Riku noticed his anxiety, whether Yushi should be grateful or the opposite. Because– it's uncommon for someone to understand his unreadable gestures.
"Umm but it might come off as rude and too much to ask…" Yushi trailed off, causing Riku to tilt his head slightly. "It's okay, just say it."
"Is it okay… if I stay at your place instead? I-I mean, I don't have any friends in Japan anymore, and even if I go with distant relatives, my mom might find out, and I still don't know what to do, so, um— Can I?"
Damn it. Yushi cursed his mouth for speaking so haltingly, even mixing Korean and Japanese. But what could he do? He's just nervous! He could only close his eyes and pursed his lips. It's just– if he stutters like that, it would look like he has ulterior motives. Especially after what happened last night. Only a crazy person would let someone who acted inappropriately like him stay again for a week—
"Sure~ you can stay."
Huh?? Hold on, did Yushi hear that correctly?
"Are you serious?" Yushi asked again, to make sure. Can someone really be this kind? "Have you forgotten about what happened yesterday?"
Yushi asked seriously, his expression even more serious this time than when he did a presentation on virus prevention at his campus last month.
"Well, if you don't want to, it's fine." Riku shrugged, and it was met with a groan from Yushi. Yushi’s right hand ran through his hair in frustration.
"Ahhh, not like that. I mean, you've really considered it? Seriously? "
Riku could see Yushi’s pleading eyes, his lips pouting slightly as if it was his habit since birth. Oh, it's ridiculously cute.
Seeing this, Riku responded to Yushi's behavior with laughter until his eyes disappear, anyone who saw it would know that Riku was attracted with his cute behavior, "yeah, I'm serious, it's totally fine."
—
"That's it? Pretty ugly." Riku's question was only answered with a nod from Yushi. If you're wondering about the context, Riku was commenting on the outfit Yushi was wearing right now.
An oversized Sanrio t-shirt with random prints, short sleeves, paired with long baggy jeans. According to Yushi, it's not that bad. Usually, Yushi wears more formal and neat clothes, but really— he thinks the outfit he's wearing now is okay and not that bad. Maybe it's just a matter of different tastes that's why Riku protested?
Oh, by the way, they're now in the hotel Yushi booked, coming to pack up Yushi's clothes— or more precisely, bringing the suitcase that hasn't been unpacked at all.
"Why are you staring so much? Is it really that ugly?"
"It's not that ugly actually, but don't you want to wear something better for the vocational photos?"
"It's fine, I'm comfortable like this. Are you embarrassed to walk with someone in a simple outfit?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, his eyes narrowing slightly towards Riku. But don't worry, he's just kidding .
"Well, it's not a big deal actually, but why Sanrio characters? It stands out. It looks like you're an otaku. But it's okay if you are one." Riku's response replied with a hard punch to his arm, as if shouting out loud the word 'no!!'
Honestly, Yushi didn't expect Riku to be this fussy.
—
Even though just a while ago Yushi claimed he wasn't an otaku, it would be a lie to say he didn't like some subcultures from his home country. Besides, is it even possible for someone to not like at least one or two Japanese subcultures? Yushi personally wasn't a huge fan of anime, but he was a huge fan of games. He often swiped his credit card just to bring home his favorite game characters. He's a game otaku, indeed.
Funnily, the person who called him an otaku earlier was now the most enthusiastic one spinning the gashapon machine to get his favorite anime character toys.
"You said you weren't an otaku earlier?"
"I'm not! Liking anime doesn't necessarily make you an otaku. Every Japanese person watches anime, you know?"
"But you've already gacha-ed like 50 times, are you sure you're not an otaku?"
"Only 10 times!! Don't exaggerate," Yushi responded with a roll of his eyes.
By the way, they're currently visiting a figure center store in Akihabara— the area known as the anime hub of Tokyo. Yushi is buying some figures of his favorite game characters. He could buy them in Korea actually, but since he's visiting Japan, he might as well buy them, right? Besides, there's quite a price difference. Although he's a rational student when it comes to spending, Yushi is quite generous when it comes to hobbies. Riku says this is exactly an otaku behavior.
After shopping and playing gashapon, Riku and Yushi pay for their purchases at the cashier. Well, it's just Yushi, actually, because Riku only played gashapon with special coins he bought beforehand.
"はい、92.500円でございます"
Trans: "The total is 92,500 yen"
Yushi handed over his IC travel card— which was already loaded with balance, to the cashier. Shortly after, the cashier returned the card along with some packaged purchases. Before they left, the cashier humming a few words that instantly made Yushi and Riku blush at the same time.
"可愛いカップルですね。”
Trans: "What a cute couple."
Neither Yushi nor Riku denied or responded. They were both busy trying to hide their blushes on their faces.
—
Playing rhythm games, visiting a cat cafe, buying souvenirs for a friend— what else haven't they done yet—
"Wanna go to a maid cafe?" Out of the blue, Riku asked this. Can’t be helped, because as they walked, there were many cafe employees passing by wearing cute and lacey maid uniforms. Yushi just raised an eyebrow, as if justifying with a hmm, so that's your taste. Feeling judged, Riku quickly defended himself, "It’s not like that... it's just one of Akiba's specialties, you know. Maybe we could give it a try while we're here?"
Yushi spooned back the half-eaten ice cream in his hand, "Isn't a maid cafe just like any other cafe? What makes it special?" Yushi asked genuinely, with no hint of sarcasm or mockery. After all, he hadn't been in Japan for years, so it's understandable if he didn't know.
Riku turned his face to a random direction to think, pausing before answering Yushi's question, "Umm, maybe being spoon-fed and recited with love spell?" Ew. Yushi was slightly appalled when he heard that. He didn't hate the concept, really. He just found it weird when such words came out from— Riku. Well, how he couldn't while Riku said it with a fake cute expression, oh and don't forget his hands which formed a heart.
Riku then laughed seeing Yushi squirming at his antics.
"Don't make that face! You're hurting my feelings..." Riku playfully punched Yushi's shoulder.
"Stop pretending to be cute. Besides, if you just say it normally— it wouldn't seem weird."
"Fine, if I look weird, how about you feed me while reciting a love spell?"
Yushi only responded to Riku's banter with a pretended grumpy face. "That doesn't make sense." Yushi tried his best to make an annoyed face, not knowing that Riku could also see the corners of his lips lifting slightly while his face looked pouty.
Shortly after, Riku shifted his seat position 5 cm closer to Yushi. Don't get it wrong, he didn't have any specific intentions, just felt like it. Plus, their position, quite far from the city's bustle, made the air around them a bit cooler, so he wanted to prevent them from getting cold.
"So… wanna go or not?”
"Let’s skip this one." Yushi answered and Riku just nodded.
Suddenly, Riku turned half of his body towards Yushi, making Yushi do the same reflexively.
“What…?”
"But, for real Yushi, I really want to be fed and recited love spells by you!" Riku said with a smile that bloomed as if his words were a joke.
Yushi didn't give any response, perhaps because his brain was still processing the words of the person in front of him. But three seconds later, Yushi once again tried to put on an annoyed face by rolling his eyes, although his smile couldn't be hidden either. That’s cute.
In the midst of it, Riku noticed a smear of ice cream on Yushi's right cheek. Normally, he wasn't the type to randomly touch someone's face. So Riku just signaled Yushi through hand gestures.
"Yushi..." Riku touched his own right cheek, gesturing for Yushi to wipe off the ice cream smear on his cheek.
But— instead of cleaning the smear on his right cheek, Yushi fell silent, for quite a while.
Suddenly, with a blush on his cheek and a shy expression, Yushi leaned in and kissed Riku's right cheek.
Riku just widened his eyes, feeling a heat spread across his face and ears. Even though he had just had a heated kiss with the same person last night, why did it feel more thrilling this time? Riku was puzzled, embarrassed— his chest felt like it was about to explode!
"Eeeee W-why did you do that?!" Riku exclaimed half-shouting. His tone raised because his heartbeat was louder than his voice.
"Weren't you... asking for a kiss?" Yushi was confused and he wasn't lying. His confusion was even clearly visible on his face, "you touched your cheek earlier. Why are you mad now?"
"I'm not mad! But what I mean is this. " Riku wiped off the ice cream smear on Yushi's right cheek with his own left hand. Yushi? He immediately felt embarrassed, very embarrassed because he misinterpreted Riku's intention. Although a kiss on the cheek wasn't as intense as the passionate kiss they had last night, this and that were two different things! Yushi kept apologizing repeatedly with a reddened face.
"I forgive you, but there's a condition." Actually, Riku wasn't mad at all, he was just surprised. But he felt a sense of amusement in teasing the person in front of him.
"What?"
"Let me taste your ice cream."
Riku said this simple sentence while looking directly into Yushi's eyes. His gaze was quite intense and Yushi just nodded in agreement, after all, it wasn't a big deal. Like a daze, Yushi handed his ice cream towards Riku, to make it easier for Riku to take it. But instead of scooping the ice cream in Yushi's hand, Riku leaned in and pressed their lips together. Not a passionate kiss, just a brief one. Riku gently sucked on Yushi's bottom lip. Riku also licked Yushi's corner lip slightly, before pulling away his face.
"I didn't say I wanted to taste the one in your hand— so you can’t protest~"
Normally, Riku wasn't the type of person who would randomly touch someone's face, or do various things. But it's a different story when Yushi starts it.