Chapter Text
After Leeteuk finally got through to Yesung, the rest of the members, now all well awake, had tried calling their managers with the hope that someone could send them a car they could use. They’d figured at least one of them had to answer, but they had no luck. So, they’d tried talking to the people from the hotel instead, but due to the storm and how far the complex was from everything, they’d said it might take a while for them to get a car any time soon.
Yet as a last savior, an employee from the bar who had heard about their quest for a car had approached them. Although he had to stay behind to fulfill his shift, he was willing to offer them his own car as long as the boys signed an album for his girlfriend, who was apparently a big fan.
So when they got back to the hotel, Siwon parked the car at the staff’s parking lot, which allowed them to be a lot more discreet. As they were getting down, Yesung stayed back to wait for Hyukjae, grabbing his hand to help him out of the car. Without thinking about it too much, neither of them let go. Just by walking a few meters toward the back door of the hotel, however, they found a particularly loud group of boys who had clearly noticed the gesture.
"I told you guys!" Ryeowook exclaimed perhaps a little too loudly, and then turned to Kyuhyun with a smile. "You owe me money."
Heechul also seemed excited. "See? They were married in a previous life! I've been saying that for years!"
Hyukjae laughed embarrassed and almost jumped on him to try to shut him up.
"Adopt me, hyung," said Kyuhyun jokingly to an embarrassed Yesung as he shook him by the shoulders.
Donghae instead approached Hyukjae with a smile and hugged him tight. So, once he let go, he told him cheekily: "Hey, at least you know he's going to be your parents' favorite son in-law…"
The comment made Hyukjae laugh, and although he knew it was probably true, he still pushed Donghae anyway.
“Okay, okay… that’s enough,” said Leeteuk chuckling along. Still, when everyone had calmed down, he sighed and turned toward the new couple. “Just, no more drama. Please.”
Yesung smiled, grateful for how little Leeteuk was asking from them. “I promise.”
“Me too,” said Hyukjae.
Leeteuk stared at them for a moment, and once he was seemingly satisfied with his dongsaengs’ honesty, he smiled warmly. “Good,” he said. “Now go change your clothes. I don’t want you guys to get sick.”
While some members decided to go for coffee, others stayed behind fighting over the snacks they’d bought back at the store, letting Hyukjae and Yesung go up on their own. While they waited for the elevator, Hyukjae timidly grabbed Yesung’s pinky with his own, looking away before taking his whole hand. The older laughed as he noticed the slight blush in the younger’s face and as he heard some giggles behind them, he turned around slightly to see their members overreacting over the gesture.
Still, Yesung knew how hard it was for Hyukjae to show affection in public, so he didn't mind the giggles. Instead, he just smiled warmly at him, knowing he was making an effort for him, and simply squeezed his hand tighter.
When the door of the elevator opened, however, there was a pair of eyes staring at them from afar with a frown.
“Hey!” Said Shindong, approaching Donghae and nudging him slightly with his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” Donghae sighed. “I just realized they lied to me, hyung.”
Shindong shook his head. “They didn’t lie, Donghae-ah. They didn’t tell anybody, not just you. Don’t take it so personal.”
“What?” Donghae’s frown now turned into a confused one for a moment until he realized what Shindong meant. “Oh… no, it’s not that. I get why they didn’t tell us.”
“Then what is it?”
Donghae sighed again, a little embarrassed to explain, but did it anyway. “It’s just… they always said I was their favorite. Obviously, I wasn’t.”
Shindong rolled his eyes in disbelief, but he could see somehow it really seemed to affect him so he didn’t have the heart to smack him. “C’mon, I’m sure you are…” He said, grabbing him by the shoulders. “As much as I hate to admit it, you know you’re everyone’s favorite.”
And with that comment, Donghae’s eyes lit up as he turned to look straight at his hyung. “Really?” He said with a smile so pure that it was almost childish. “Even yours?”
Shindong froze in his spot for a moment, but then dropped the hand he had around Donghae. “Well, now you’ve just taken it too far…” He said, simply walking away.
“No, hyung! Wait!” Donghae whined, following behind him. “I’ll win you over, you’ll see!”
So while Shindong tried to escape Donghae’s attempts to bond with him, Yesung and Hyukjae just rode the elevator in a completely comfortable silence until the younger leaned against the back wall and sighed in exhaustion.
"I'd kill for a hot shower right now," he said.
"Me too… I just hope I didn't catch a cold or something."
When the door opened up again on their floor, neither of them rushed at all, walking silently side by side until they reached the door of Yesung's room.
The older looked up at Hyukjae's face for a moment, smiling at his disheveled look, figuring he probably looked the same way. "Go get some rest, Hyuk-ah," he said, carefully pushing a strand of hair behind the younger's ear. "It was a long night."
But as he pulled out his key, Hyukjae only made a small whiny sound, almost as if he wasn't ready to let him go.
Yesung smiled, continuing his words with less conviction. "Or… do you want to come in?"
Hyukjae smiled widely for a second, before quickly turning his expression into one of fake outrage. "Ah, hyung… How forward of you. At least buy me coffee first."
Yesung just chuckled, rolling his eyes as he turned to open the door. Some things never change, he thought, partly glad about it. "See you later then, you idiot," he said. But before he could even turn the knob, Hyukjae grabbed him by the wrist and started dragging him down the hallway toward his room. "Hey! At least let me grab some clothes first…"
But Hyukjae didn't pay him any attention. He simply opened the door and walked in, letting Yesung close the door behind him. So while the older stared at him from the door, Hyukjae pulled off his still damp shirt and threw it on the floor as he walked toward the bathroom.
"Now who's the forward one?" Said Yesung, following behind.
By the time Yesung leaned on the doorframe, Hyukjae had already turned on the hot water and was now grabbing a couple of towels.
"What are you waiting for?" Hyukjae asked him when he saw him standing there, just looking at him.
Yesung chuckled. "Aren't you going to buy me coffee?"
Hyukjae smiled devilishly and approached him slowly. He snuck his hand to the back of his neck and after a small pause, he just leaned in to kiss him a lot more confidently than before. "I'll buy you one later."
And although by the time they parted Hyukjae's hands were already at his waist, slightly sliding underneath his shirt, they still seemed to be waiting for Yesung's permission to continue.
The older could only smile before giving him a quick peck. "Deal."
------------------------------------------------
After a long night, the members had decided to take the morning off. So finally Leeteuk was just happy he could relax without the fear in the back of his mind of some new drama arising while he slept. Yet, a sudden unexpected knock on the door made him wonder whether he had gotten ahead of himself.
"Donghae?" He asked, confused as he opened the door.
His dongsaeng was carrying a pillow under his arm and just pushed his way past him to let himself in. "I'm not sleeping next to either of them ever again."
And while Donghae plopped down on the other side of the bed, Leeteuk closed the door behind him, and although it took him a moment to understand what he meant, it finally seemed to click in his mind.
"Oh…" He said, chuckling when he finally got it.
After all, if there was going to be any drama at all, he figured that at least the distribution of rooms was nothing that a game of rock, paper, scissors couldn't solve.
October 18th - 48 days later.
The album had already come out, and so far, it seemed to be doing really well. So with the good sales numbers, the good atmosphere among the members and his relationship with Yesung better than ever, nothing could be going better for Hyukjae.
Just like that, the day for their presentation on Music Bank had finally come and everything seemed to be going wonderfully, except for one tiny detail: he couldn't find Yesung anywhere. Apparently he'd already gotten dressed and they were done with his makeup, but he wasn't at their waiting room nor beside the stage.
"Did you find him?" Leeteuk asked him.
Hyukjae shook his head. "Did anybody see Yesung hyung?" He asked loudly to the rest of the members.
"I think he said he was going to the bathroom," said Donghae.
And with that, Hyukjae ran off down the hallway, but he didn't even have to reach the bathroom to find him.
Only a few doors before, he found Yesung talking with two girls from a group that had just come off stage, recognizing him from behind by his new grey hair and his green velvet blazer.
So he snuck up behind him, hugging his waist tightly as he interrupted the conversation.
"Ladies…" Said Hyukjae, smiling at them over Yesung's shoulder. "I'm really sorry but I have to steal him away. It's almost our turn to go on."
"Oh, right," said Yesung, holding on to Hyukjae's hand on his abdomen. "Gotta run. Nice to meet you."
And that was all he managed to say before Hyukjae was already dragging him down the hallway, still not letting go of his waist. So once he made sure they had left them far behind, Hyukjae moved the collar of Yesung's jacket and sunk his teeth at the base of his neck.
"Ouch!" The older one complained. "What the hell…?"
"Mine," said Hyukjae as he finally let go of him.
"Of course I am, but what was that about?!"
Hyukjae chuckled when he saw Yesung massaging the place where he had bit him. "It's just a reminder…" He said with a shrug.
"Don't worry," said Yesung, grabbing his hand. "I wouldn't forget."
"Aish, hyung…" Hyukjae whined, embarrassed, but even then, he didn't remove his hand. "Not in public."
Yesung frowned without understanding the younger's logic. "You just bit me!"
"Because you were taking too long!"
"You bit my neck!"
And although everyone who walked past them would look at them funny, no one even paid attention to their intertwined hands. In any case, if Hyukjae's neon green hair wasn't already enough to get everyone's attention, their weird argument surely did the trick.
After all, they were still Tom and Jerry. And that would never change.