Chapter Text
The flight was surprisingly fine.
Sunoo had spent most of the flight with his nose buried in his book, occasionally looking up from it to munch on a Choco Pie or a piece of fruit. Jake on the other hand, busied himself with watching some random American rom-com movies in his seat, headphones secured around his head as if to say ‘hey, I don’t want to be bothered right now’.
Thankfully, Sunoo picked up on it and quickly gave up on prolonging a conversation once they were up in the air. He just sent Jake one last kind smile before he started doing his own things. There was no need for any awkward explanations or excuses because frankly, Sunoo understood.
There were snacks and in-flight meals being handed around once they passed the two hour mark. Jake watched from the side of his eyes as Sunoo devoured the box of bulgogi beef and rice. A small chocolate cake sat at the edge of their trays and Jake noticed how Sunoo was slowly savouring the dessert. When Sunoo was done with his food, he sat back and lazily swiped through the movie selection.
Jake glanced down at his own chocolate cake. He picked it up slowly and faced Sunoo, tapping his shoulder gently.
“Do you want mine?” Jake asked, keeping his voice low.
Sunoo stared back at him, his mouth open in a small ‘o’ and his eyes wide with surprise.
“Huh? You don’t want it?”
Jake smiled tightly, “no, you can have it. I don’t really like cake.”
That was a lie. How could anyone not like cake?
Sunoo broke out into one of those precious eye smiles and suddenly Jake wanted to snatch every other chocolate cake on this godforsaken aircraft for the younger boy.
“Thank you, hyung,” Sunoo cheerfully said, taking the small box of cake in his hands.
Satisfaction settled into Jake’s heart as he watched Sunoo bite into the cake happily.
Halfway through the flight, Sunoo resigned to his exhaustion and surrendered to sleep. His head lolled to the side until it rested itself against the plane window. Jake chuckled to himself when he saw Sunoo’s curled up figure. He considered waking Sunoo up to place a pillow in between the window and his head, but he decided against it. Waking Sunoo up from his peaceful nap seemed inappropriate, so Jake chose to just sit and mind his own business.
Plus, Jake thought Sunoo looked really cute with his face all smooshed up against the window. He sighed at his own thoughts. Creep.
Jungwon bounded over towards Sunoo, a lively bounce in his step for someone who just spent seven hours in a plane.
“How was the flight?” Jungwon piped up as they walked together.
Sunoo shrugged nonchalantly, “it was okay. I spent most of it asleep so my neck hurts now.”
“I’ve got a muscle pad if you want,” Jungwon offered, already digging through his backpack. Sunoo stifled a laugh as he watched his best friend fish through his turtle-like bag. It was nearly as big as Jungwon’s upper half.
Jungwon handed Sunoo the small beige cloth, which Sunoo took gratefully.
“What about you? Had fun with Jay hyungie?” Sunoo asked teasingly.
The younger boy rolled his eyes, “I don’t call Jay hyung ‘hyungie’.”
“Yes you do,” Sunoo deadpanned, “you just don’t realize it.”
“Okay, stop it before he hears you,” Jungwon chuckled, pushing Sunoo to the side gently.
Sunoo just cackled back. “You didn’t answer my question, by the way. How was it for you?”
“It was okay,” Jungwon mumbled, “we just watched movies together and played some games on his Switch. By the way, don’t watch movies with Jay hyung. He’ll spoil most of it within the first ten minutes and he literally won’t shut up throughout the entire thing.”
Sunoo giggled. He didn’t really think he would ever be put in that situation, but Sunoo let Jungwon humour him.
“Really?”
“Yeah!” Jungwon exclaimed, waving the passport in his hand around, “we were watching the first Fear Street and he told me after the first five minutes that the sheriff was the bad guy. And he was right!”
The two trailed behind the other four boys as they made their way out of the immigration counters. They slowly followed their seniors into the luggage pick-up area, Heeseung and Jay already pushing two separate trolleys.
“That must be annoying,” Sunoo hummed.
Jungwon grinned, shrugging his shoulders a little.
“No, it was a lot funnier than it was annoying. It’s like he can’t help it, you know?”
Sunoo scoffed playfully. “You wouldn’t say that if I was the one doing it to you. You got mad at me when I spoiled the end of Avengers: Endgame for you.”
“That’s because you told me Iron Man died!”
“Jungwon-ah, the movie’s been out for three years.”
“Still!”
“Admit it, you like Jay hyung more than you like me,” Sunoo teased.
Jungwon grabbed a trolley and snickered, pretending to knock Sunoo down with it. The older boy let out a loud chortle and elbowed Jungwon on his side softly. When Jungwon didn’t reply, Sunoo gasped.
“You do like Jay hyung more than me!”
“I didn’t say that!” Jungwon cried out, a blush spreading over his plump cheeks. Sunoo just pouted teasingly as they approached the other boys. The conveyor belt had started to roll out with the first few luggages. Sunoo could see his own suitcase from the further end of the belt, drifting slowly towards them with Jungwon’s own following closely behind.
Sunoo sighed lightly, “I thought we were bros.”
Jungwon scrunched his face up in an unimpressed frown.
“God, please don’t refer to us as ‘bros’ ever again.”
“Too heterosexual?” Sunoo giggled.
“Too out of character for someone who’s a walking rainbow flag.”
Sunoo smacked Jungwon on the shoulder, “shut up, you punk.”
“Am I wrong though?” Jungwon smirked.
Sunoo wanted to smack Jungwon across the face with his own backpack but he held it in. How anyone could look at this kid and think he was the purest boy alive was mind boggling for Sunoo. Whatever trance Jungwon had on Jay and the other seniors was clearly unexplainable with science.
“You know what, Jay hyung can have you,” Sunoo snorted, “you’re obnoxious.”
Jungwon just stuck his tongue out in response. Sunoo rolled his eyes again and spun around, facing the conveyor belt. He could see Jay and Heeseung pile their own luggages onto their trolleys from beside them. Sunghoon and Jake stood a little further away from them, engrossed in their own hushed conversation. Jake stood with his shoulders slumped as Sunghoon went on and on about whatever it was they were whispering about, waving his hands around dramatically.
Once they all collected their own luggages and gathered outside the Arrival gate together, Jay relayed the plan to everyone again.
Sunghoon, who was the only one in their entire friend group who had a license, was assigned the duty of driving everyone to the resort. Jay would be sitting up front with Sunghoon in the van he rented, helping him with directions. Jake would be responsible for any communicating they had to do with the locals, since he was the most fluent in English.
Judging from the way people were speaking around them at the airport, Sunoo wondered if one person speaking fluent English would really be helpful. They were, in fact, in a country where Bahasa Indonesia was the native language.
He shook the concern away. It’s not like they would end up needing that much help getting to the resort. Jay had reassured everyone that he knew the exact way to get to the resort, having spent most of his summer vacation there.
They clambered onto the van together, the vehicle barely fitting six overgrown teenage boys. Sunoo found himself sitting beside Jungwon, squished in between the younger boy and the van window. The older boys had instructed the two of them to sit on the two-seater while the rest of them squeezed into the three-seater behind.
Despite the hot and frankly uncomfortable van that was too narrow for all their tall beings, Jay had managed to get everyone hyped up and excited. Someone plugged in their iPhone into the car speaker and the opening notes to a Twice song began to blast. The older boys in the car started to cheer, clapping noisily.
Sunghoon groaned, “I’m not going to sing along, I know what you gremlins want.”
Sunoo glanced at Jungwon curiously. The younger boy just stared back at Sunoo and shrugged, equally as confused.
“Come on! Let’s go, Park Sunghoon!” Heeseung cheered excitedly, “it’s your favourite song, look! The chorus is coming up!”
“No,” Sunghoon deadpanned, “I’ll crash this van, I swear.”
“Sunghoon-ah, don’t be a spoilsport!” Jay egged on from beside him, propping his arm up on the headrest, “Sunoo and Jungwonie have never gotten the pleasure of hearing this live.”
“What’s going on? Why are you guys so excited?” Jungwon asked.
Jay looked at Jungwon with a glint in his eyes. “It’s just Sunghoon’s favourite song to sing when he’s drunk at a noraebang.”
“Fancy by Twice?” Sunoo giggled. Jay just nodded, punching Sunghoon on the arm lightly.
“I sang this song once. Literally once,” Sunghoon exclaimed defensively, “and you lot won’t let it go.”
“Hey, Jake, you still have the video?”
At Heeseung’s words, Sunghoon began to start cussing the eldest out. Somewhere in between all the chaos, Sunoo heard threats of crashing the van and excited yelling as Jake played the video loudly on his phone.
Sunoo just chuckled, admiring how noisy but happy the boys were. Even if Sunghoon’s ears were getting red as his low voice sang along to Fancy monotonously in Jake’s video. Even if Jungwon was now joining in the laughter, his hands clutching the phone tightly.
This is kind of nice, Sunoo thought to himself.
The excitement died down once they were an hour into their journey. Everyone was itching to get out of the van already, their legs cramped and bladders full. Jungwon mumbled something about needing to pee and suddenly, Jay was frantically searching for a rest stop.
Their van eventually stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing but greenery and rice fields. Sunoo stepped out of the van to stretch his legs, bending down and reaching his toes. He groaned when he felt his back crack.
He spotted Jake strolling over towards the small convenience store not far from the gas pumps, his wallet in his hand as everyone hollered what they wanted.
“Sunoo-yah,” Sunghoon called out from the driver’s seat, “can you do me a favour?”
The younger boy nodded, sauntering towards the front of the van. Sunghoon handed him a few bills and smiled toothily, a glint of something unrecognizable in his eyes.
“Can you get a drink for me? I don’t care what kind, just get me something sweet,” Sunghoon requested, “you can use the change to get whatever you want too.”
“Sure, hyung,” Sunoo nodded.
That was Sunoo’s first mistake.
Sunghoon was Sunoo’s first friend.
Both their mothers were best friends back in university and were each other’s bridesmaids at their weddings. It was almost too perfect - two bundles of joy being brought into the world only a few months apart.
Ever since they could walk, Sunghoon had borne the responsibility of taking care of the younger boy. Be it while playing in the playground together or looking out for the younger in high school, Sunghoon was always expected to look after Sunoo.
Sunoo figured that the older boy would literally be dead meat if their parents ever found out what he just did.
For the first time ever, the responsible boy Sunoo had known for the past nineteen years of his life had just left him for dead. Specifically, at a random gas station in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere in a country hours away from his home.
To make matters worse, Sunoo had left his phone in the van with his other belongings. So here he was - standing outside the gas station with nothing but a cracked bottle of some off-brand Gatorade and a pack of chocolates in his arms.
“What the hell do we do now?” Sunoo sighed, glancing over at his new friend.
Jake scratched the back of his neck, “honestly, I have no idea. I don’t even know where we are.”
“Did you leave your phone in the car too?”
The older boy frowned as he searched his pockets. The only thing Jake pulled out from the pockets of his jeans was a pack of half-eaten gum. He sheepishly looked over at Sunoo, “yeah, I left it in the car.”
“Shit!” Sunoo cursed aloud, squatting down onto the floor with an exasperated groan.
“I’m going to kill Sunghoon hyung when we see him,” Sunoo said bitterly, “that is if we ever see him again.”
Jake squatted down beside Sunoo, “we’ll see him again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“How? Do we even have money for a taxi or something?”
“I remember Jay saying that the resort wasn’t that far from here - maybe half an hour away? I can try and ask around but the road seems pretty simple here. It only goes one way, see?” Jake pointed his finger at the deserted road, “I reckon if we just follow the road, we might bump into some signs or something.”
Sunoo squinted at Jake through the slants of his eye-lids. “Are you sure?”
“Honestly?” Jake chuckled weakly, “Not really. But it’s our best bet.”
There was an intensity in the way Sunoo was staring back at him. Worry flooded his pretty features and Jake felt the urge to pat the boy on the head. Not now, you weirdo. He’s shitting his pants.
“Hey, we’ll find our way there and we’ll be okay. I promise,” Jake said kindly, “and when we get to the resort, you can do whatever you want to Sunghoon and I won’t tell a soul about it.”
Sunoo managed a soft chuckle before nodding slowly, rising to his feet.
“You’ll help me bury his body when I’m done with him?”
“Absolutely,” Jake said without a hint of hesitation.
One conversation spoken in broken English with a gas station clerk later, the two made their way down the singular dirt road.
Jay wasn’t wrong. The resort was well-known among the locals and it was a 20 minute car ride away. Unfortunately, not many taxis passed by through the area since it was pretty secluded from the city. Jake did the math out loud, making Sunoo groan when he figured out that it would take 40 minutes for them to reach the resort.
Jake tried to make sense of the clerk’s directions, but it was hard to understand when she spoke mostly in a language that sounded completely foreign to him. Whatever it was, Jake only knew that they had to turn left at a split road.
Grudgingly, the two quietly walked beside each other. The Indonesian air was a lot less humid now that the sun was starting to set. Sunoo could barely see the sun as they ventured further and further into denser greenery.
“It’s getting dark,” Sunoo commented, breaking their awkward silence.
Jake looked up from the ground, peeking at the surprisingly pretty orange sky above them.
“Yeah, the sun sets earlier here in Indonesia,” Jake pronounced.
Sunoo made a noise. “Huh? Really? How do you know that?”
“I, uh,” Jake rubbed the back of his head shyly, “I read it somewhere.”
Sunoo hummed. They slip into another silence again.
This time, something snapped in the younger boy. He couldn’t take it anymore. Sunoo found it harder to stay silent and the awkwardness was slowly starting to bother him. Come on, we’re walking in the middle of the wilderness with no sign of human life anywhere near us, Sunoo thought to himself.
“So,” Sunoo said a little too loudly, breaking their silence yet again, “what are your plans after graduating?”
Jake seemed stunned by the sudden question, his eyes darting from Sunoo to the random trees above them.
“Oh um,” Jake shrugged as he tried his best to appear nonchalant, “I’m still deciding between staying in Korea and moving back to Australia. Don't really know what I want to do yet.”
“Right, you’re from Australia! Sometimes I forget because your Korean is so good, no offense.”
Jake waved his hand dismissively. “It’s okay, none taken. I’m from Gyeonggi actually.”
“Wait, seriously?” Sunoo suddenly slapped Jake’s arm, “I’m from Gyeonggi too! Where in Gyeonggi?”
“Suwon.”
“You’re fucking lying,” Sunoo said seriously. When Jake stared at him questioningly, Sunoo gasped in disbelief. “I’m from Suwon too! I moved to Seoul when I was like ten.”
“No way,” Jake laughed, “are you really from Suwon?”
“Yes! Why would I lie?” Sunoo chortled.
Their laughter began to slowly subside as Sunoo bumped his arm against Jake’s gently.
“When did you move to Australia?”
“A little bit before I was supposed to graduate kindergarten. I stayed in Seoul for a year before I actually moved to Australia when I was seven though.”
“Hold on,” Sunoo stopped in his tracks, “it would be crazy if we went to the same kindergarten. Did you go to Dahlia Kindergarten?”
Jake shook his head, “I don’t remember what it was called.”
“Wow, this is so weird. We probably walked by each other once in that town when we were kids.”
“Maybe,” Jake humoured, “but Suwon isn’t exactly tiny either, you know.”
“Do you like it better in Seoul or Australia?” Sunoo asked.
Jake hummed. “Can I be honest?”
“You’re going to say Australia, right?”
“Come on, I’m an Aussie boy first before anything else,” Jake shrugged exaggeratedly.
“Typical,” Sunoo tutted, “okay, what’s so great about Australia that we don’t have in Korea? Vegemite?”
“Hey, for the record - I do not like Vegemite.”
“Ooh, isn’t that sacrilegious?”
“Maybe,” Jake said lightly, “but I don’t know. I kind of feel like I’m more at home back in Australia. I know I’m Korean and I’m from Gyeonggi, but I always feel like a foreigner. I’m supposed to be home, you know? But it never feels like that for me.”
“You sort of look like a foreigner. And your name doesn’t help either,” Sunoo noted.
“I know. I have my own Hangul name but I’ve never used it because it feels weird.”
Sunoo tilted his head curiously, “Jake isn’t your real name?”
“My real name is Jaeyun.”
“Jaeyun? That’s a really nice name,” Sunoo awed aloud.
“It’s a common name,” Jake shrugged nonchalantly.
“Even if it is, it’s still nice. You don’t hate it or anything right?”
“No, it’s just that everyone around me for most of my life has called me Jake.”
Sunoo pursed his lips as he casually played with the bag of chocolates in his hands. The idea struck him, prompting him to stand up straight and smile at Jake brightly.
“I’m going to start calling you Jaeyun hyung!” he piped up.
Jake looked at Sunoo perplexedly. “So suddenly?”
“You said that you don’t really feel like you’re home even though you sort of are,” Sunoo pronounced, “maybe using your Hangul name might help you feel like one of us or something.”
Jake nodded slowly, staying silent as they trekked an uphill road. Sunoo eyed Jake meekly from the side of his eyes.
“Sorry, was I being invasive?”
Jake shook his head feverishly, throwing Sunoo a warm smile.
“No, it’s actually super thoughtful. I don’t mind if you call me Jaeyun.”
There it was again - that dazzling smile.
“Okay, Jaeyun hyung.”
They walked for a lot longer - what Jake estimated as twenty minutes or so. It honestly felt like three hours as his legs started to ache. He was exhausted and hungry, not to mention dehydrated. Jake thought he was starting to feel delirious when he heard something snap from behind them.
He spun around quickly, nearly knocking a tired Sunoo off his feet.
“What is it, hyung?” Sunoo asked worriedly.
“Do you not hear that?” Jake whispered, searching the trees around them for the source of the noise.
“Hear what?”
“I don’t know!” Jake cried out. He was slowly getting more and more freaked out as he felt the cool evening breeze brush behind him. He flinched, startling Sunoo even more. The younger boy furrowed his eyebrows in concern.
“Are you scared, hyung?” Sunoo asked, his tone filled with nothing but kindness.
A beat. When Jake didn't reply, Sunoo just nodded and hooked his arm around Jake’s swiftly. The older boy almost choked on his own spit.
“Huh?” he said dumbly. Nice, very smooth, Jake.
“It’s less scary when we’re closer, isn’t it?” Sunoo said softly, “my sister does this to me everytime we walk around Seoul at night.”
Jake swallowed. “I guess?”
“I won’t tell anyone.,” Sunoo shrugged.
“N-no! I’m not worried about that at all.” Lie. Sunghoon and Jay would have an absolute field day if they knew what was happening right now.
Sunoo’s grip on his arm does calm Jake down. He was right, the darkness around them wasn’t as terrifying as it was before. There was something about Sunoo’s citrusy cologne hanging onto his clothes that made Jake relax.
“Thanks, Sunoo-yah,” he mumbled.
“For?”
Jake wasn’t sure either. “Caring?”
“That’s an odd thing to thank me for,” Sunoo chuckled.
“Just take it,” Jake said bashfully.
“No problem, Jaeyun hyung,” Sunoo smiled, “so we’re friends now?”
The sky was completely dark now. Only the sounds of insects and birds sounded through the dense road. Underneath all the greenery and the cool night air, Jake felt his heart settle with something warm. He squeezed Sunoo’s arm.
“Of course,” he grinned.
Kim Sunoo wasn’t as out of reach as he thought.
The first thing Sunoo did when he reached the resort was to scream with joy. Jake watched him with a twinkle in his eyes, joining in as they both cheered noisily right outside the resort’s neon sign.
“It feels like I just finished climbing Mount Everest,” Sunoo joked. Jake just laughed in agreement.
Their excitement and relief quickly dissipated when they spotted their friends sitting on the steps of the resort lobby. Jungwon was the first one to stand, already mumbling his apologies as he ran towards Sunoo. Sunoo was apprehensive at first, raising an eyebrow coldly at his best friend.
“I’m thinking if I should hug or kick you,” Sunoo deadpanned.
“Sunoo-yah,” Jay spoke up from behind Jungwon sheepishly, “it’s not Jungwon’s fault. He wasn’t any part of this at all.”
Sunoo squinted his eyes at Jay.
“Are you just saying this because you want to protect Jungwonie?”
A panicked look crossed over Jay’s face. “N-no! He genuinely had no idea what we were doing. He even asked us to go back to get you two and he wouldn’t let us leave the lobby. Jungwonie was going to make Sunghoon drive back if you two didn’t reach tonight.”
Sunoo huffed and flicked his eyes back to his best friend. Jungwon was staring at the Converses on his feet, his lips pressed in a tight line and his cat-like eyes downcast.
With a sigh, Sunoo reached forward and enveloped the younger boy in a hug.
“You should’ve threatened to crash the van or something,” Sunoo muttered into Jungwon’s shoulder. The younger boy just laughed weakly and hugged Sunoo tighter.
“He kind of did,” Jay mumbled from behind.
Over Jungwon’s shoulder, Sunoo sent the older boy a glare. Just as he was about to quip something equally as snarky back, Sunoo heard Jake curse his friend out loud from behind him.
“Dude,” Jake exclaimed, not hiding the annoyance in his voice as he stopped in front of his friend, “what the fuck?”
“It was Sunghoon’s idea,” Jay said, jabbing his thumb towards Sunghoon.
Sunoo unwrapped himself from Jungwon and frowned, placing his arms in akimbo.
“I don’t care whose idea it was!” Sunoo cried out, “Why would any of you just leave us? What if Jaeyun hyung and I got hurt? What would you guys do then?”
Sunghoon shot Jake a weird look with his eyebrow raised, “Jaeyun hyung?”
Jake just stared back with his eyebrows furrowed, as if to say dude, not the time.
“Why did you guys even do this to us?” Sunoo asked, something unpleasant swelling up in his chest, “do you all not like me or something? Is that it?”
“Sunoo-yah, of course not,” Sunghoon shook his head. The older boys mumbled their agreements.
“Then why did you do this?” Sunoo cried out again.
“It was a dumb joke, we didn’t think you guys would take so long to get here.”
Sunghoon’s response did little to calm Sunoo, who wanted nothing more than to throw Sunghoon into the ocean right beside them. Instead, Sunoo chose to just sigh. Jay stepped forward and extended his hand, awkwardly patting Sunoo on the shoulder.
“We’re really sorry, it was shitty of us to leave you guys behind,” Jay apologized sincerely.
“Yeah, it was,” Sunoo bit back bitterly, rolling his eyes a little. Jungwon just grabbed onto his arm and gave Sunoo a sympathetic smile.
“Let’s just get you checked in for now, okay?” the youngest said softly, “It’s been a long day.”
Sunoo agreed silently, his eyes piercing glaringly through all of the older boys before Jungwon dragged him into the lobby. Jake watched as everyone turned to face him, a smug smirk crawling onto Sunghoon’s face.
“You’re a piece of shit, you know,” Jake drawled out, punching Sunghoon on the shoulder harshly.
“Jaeyun hyung, huh?” Sunghoon teased, “We’re calling each other by our government names now?”
“Shut up,” Jake spat, no real venom behind his tone. “Sunoo’s pissed off with all of you, be worried about that.”
Sunghoon threw his arm over Jake’s shoulder, “Sunoo will forgive me. All I need to do is feed him some snacks and compliment him a bit.”
Jake playfully shrugged Sunghoon’s arm off of his shoulder.
“Do you think Sunoo is that easy?”
“He’s been angrier at me for things worse than this,” Sunghoon mused, “I’ve known the kid for years. He’ll be okay.”
Jake couldn’t help the small inkling of jealousy from blooming in his chest.
True to Sunghoon’s words, Sunoo was pretty quick to forgive everyone. All it took was a few snacks and forced hugs from everyone before Sunoo crumbled. Sure, he made several snarky remarks throughout the entire journey up to their suites but everyone knew they deserved to hear Sunoo’s incessant quips.
They quickly split up into their pairs, rushing to get ready for dinner at the dining hall. Jay’s grandma was supposed to greet them there and show the boys around the resort, which was already so breathtakingly beautiful from what Jake could see.
The resort had a ‘beachy’ feel to it, so there was an abundance of wooden and rattan-woven items everywhere. Even from inside their rooms, Jake could hear the crashing waves of the ocean.
Sunghoon, who had already promised Jake to room with him, threw his bags on one of the double beds before pushing open the door to the balcony. The view outside did enough to make Sunghoon whoop loudly, loudly urging all his other friends in the other rooms to do the same.
Jake bounded over towards the balcony, almost getting whiplash from how fast he was moving.
“Holy shit,” he heard Heeseung shout from the balcony on his right. Jay smiled lightly from beside him, stretching his arms as he breathed in.
When Jake turned his head to really look at the view, he finally understood why everyone was screaming.
The view was actually picturesque. The sun had already set behind the horizon of the ocean, the sky a dark navy blue with twinkling stars dotted all over. The stars here seemed to shine brighter than everywhere else Jake has been. The ocean was at a gentle lull as the perfectly round moon’s reflection painted itself on the waters.
A chorus of ‘wow’s came from the room on Jake’s left. Sunoo and Jungwon gaped at the view in front of them, their eyes nearly coming out of their sockets. The amazement and awe on their faces were glaringly apparent. Jake found the way Sunoo squealed happily very endearing, gripping tightly onto Jungwon’s arm. He grinned to himself.
Sunoo blinked, slowly facing Jake on the balcony beside him. He tilted his head slightly as he let out a small smile. Jake quickly whipped his head around, a blush spraying over his cheeks.
To be fair, Sunoo was actually quite observant. In between bouts of chatting and stuffing his face with delicious Indonesian delicacies, Sunoo would often find himself sitting quietly as he watched others around him. Sunoo realized that Jay would always fire back whenever anyone tried to tease him, but he was quick to just smile dotingly at Jungwon whenever the younger did the same. Sunoo watched as Jay quietly peeled a few pieces of prawn before placing them on Jungwon’s plate. The satisfied smile that graced Jay’s lips when Jungwon munched on the peeled seafood was truthfully very adorable.
Heeseung, who Sunoo noticed was only noisy whenever he was with his friends, chatted with Sunghoon as they shared a plate of fried chicken. The two seemed to be in a heated debate about something - Sunoo sort of lost track halfway through because it was hard to keep up with how fast the two were talking.
In that round table between old and new friends, Sunoo couldn’t help but feel the burning sensation of someone’s eyes constantly flickering towards him.
And honestly - Jake was doing a horrible job at hiding whatever this was.
It went on until desserts were passed around the table, a small delicate bowl of tropical fruits drenched in some cream. Sunoo finally decided to pluck up some of his courage and peered over his eyelashes, spoon still in his mouth as he stared back at Jake.
The older boy nearly choked on his dessert, his ears burning. He swiftly tore his eyes away from Sunoo. Sunoo only laughed, asking the boy if he was alright. Jake meekly nodded while downing his cup of water.
One more thing Sunoo observed while sitting at the dining table was how prettily the candles lit up Jake’s face. There were probably five candles too much on the table, but they did wonders for Jake. Somehow, all the flames casted the perfect shadows and lit up Jake’s large features beautifully.
Jake was undeniably gorgeous, Sunoo realized.
After the meal, all six of them decided to abandon their shoes at the chaise lounges on the edge of the beach. Sunoo chortled as the other boys sprinted towards the ocean on the beach, screaming their heads off and startling some other tourists.
Heeseung was the first to tiptoe into the waters. Jungwon and Sunoo followed closely behind, the other boys waddling into the ocean soon after. Sunoo squeezed his eyes shut as he threw his head back, holding onto Heeseung’s arm when the freezing water swept over his feet.
“How is it so cold?” Jungwon screamed.
Jungwon squeaked happily as Jay hauled him on his back in a piggyback. Jay swayed his body all over the place, threatening to throw the younger boy off his back. Jungwon just gripped onto Jay’s shoulders tighter.
If Sunoo wasn’t so close to Jungwon, he would’ve found the scene nauseating. Alas - Jungwon is his best friend and underneath Sunoo’s pessimism about romance, he was genuinely glad that someone adored Jungwon that much.
Sunoo spun around and grinned cheekily at Jake.
“Hyung, the water is too cold,” Sunoo whined playfully, “piggyback me too?”
Jake looked taken aback by Sunoo’s request, his brain short circuiting like an outdated computer. “Huh? You want me to piggyback you?”
Sunoo jutted his bottom lip, forming a cute little pout. Jake wondered if dunking his head in the shallow water would do enough to kill him.
Jake chuckled. How could he resist Kim fucking Sunoo?
“Alright, alright, hyung will carry you.”
It took them a good minute of awkward stumbling and hopping before Sunoo was clinging onto Jake’s broad shoulders. Jake’s long dark hair hung over his eyes as Jake staggered over towards the dry sand. Sunoo swept his hand over Jake’s hair and tucked it behind his ear.
He pretended to not notice the way Jake drew in a sharp breath.
Jake was halfway on his journey back to shore when Sunoo dropped his chin on top of Jake’s shoulder. He could feel Sunoo’s warm breath brush against his ear and something thumped heavily in his chest.
“You’re so nice,” Sunoo mumbled softly, “if I asked Sunghoon hyung to do this, he’d tell me to piggyback him instead.”
Jake giggled. “I don’t mind this at all.”
The moonlight reflecting off the water shone on Sunoo’s face as his tiny smile brightened.
Sunoo observed a lot more things throughout the next few days.
He realized that tanning was definitely not for him. Sunoo spent nearly an hour underneath the burning Lombok sun before he surrendered back to shelter, whining about how his skin wasn’t tanning the way he wanted it to.
Sunoo realized that he liked playing foot volleyball a lot and he was actually really good at it. Thanks to his flexibility, Sunoo scored most of the points for his team. He shared high fives with Heeseung and Sunghoon excitedly. When he kicked the winning point, Heeseung and Sunghoon cheered and carried the younger boy onto their shoulders.
(And yeah, Sunoo wasn’t going to admit that he enjoyed watching Jake play volleyball shirtless. How on Earth could a boy have such nice legs too? Sunoo tried not to stare.)
Sunoo realized that Sunghoon wanted to do everything with Heeseung, dragging him away any opportunity they got. He found it cute at first - since when did Sunghoon like Heeseung so much? With Jay snatching Jungwon away from Sunoo most of the time that they were awake, Sunoo was left alone with Jake.
Not that it was a problem - the two found countless ways to entertain themselves. One time, they spent an entire day under sheltered chaises as Sunoo read his books and Jake watched movies on his iPad. Another time, Jake suggested taking a ride on one of the traditional ‘becak’ outside the resort. The two squeezed together in the small rickshaw as they were driven along the beautiful Lombok beaches.
They even bravely ventured near the resort, visiting some local shops that sold cold desserts and delicious fried food. Sunoo wasn’t sure what any of it was, but he just watched with amazement as Jake spoke in broken Bahasa to the sellers. When Sunoo asked him when he learned all of that, he sheepishly told him that he read up on some common phrases and numbers.
The biggest realization of all was when it dawned on Sunoo that he actually liked spending time with Jake - even if Sunoo spent most of the time chattering to Jake about the most random things. Sunoo could safely say that he loved the way Jake would just listen, smile and nod.
Whenever Jake was excited about something, his eyes would instantly light up and he would crack the biggest smile. His voice would go up an octave and he would clap his hand loudly. Sunoo thought he looked a lot like a cute, excited Golden Retriever. He mentioned it casually to Sunoo on one of their second last day at the beach and his cheeks pinked instantly.
There were also small pockets of moments where Jake showed the most kindness Sunoo has ever received. When Sunoo said that he was trying his best to not overspend on their vacation, Jake offered to buy anything Sunoo wanted for the rest of the trip. Sunoo had shouted his protests but Jake just patted him on the back of his head, saying that he didn’t mind it at all.
Jake caught Sunoo eyeing some bracelets as they walked through a marketplace. It was a dainty rope woven bracelet, decorated with a single sun pendant. His eyes instantly zeroed on it. When Sunoo was busy bothering a seller about a discount on a hat, Jake quickly bought the bracelet and slipped it into his pocket.
On the last night of their trip, Jay announced that the resort was having a ‘lantern night’. It only happened once every year, so it was a miracle that they managed to catch it. Jay didn’t explain it much, wanting to keep it a surprise until the night came around.
They gathered with dozens of other tourists on the beach that night. The staff at the resort handed everyone a big piece of circular cloth and some markers. Everyone was instructed to write whatever they wanted on the lantern - be it wishes or things they wanted to say to a loved one. The six boys knelt on the sand as some scribbled things onto the cloth.
Jake thought about it quietly. What did he want?
If he was being completely honest, Jake had everything he wanted. He lived comfortably in his nice apartment with his loving family, he graduated with pretty good grades for someone who moved to Korea just a year ago, he even had everything he wanted and needed.
His eyes flicker from the cloth to the smiley blonde boy in front of him. Sunoo fought off Jungwon’s teasing as he pushed the younger boy gently.
“Sunoo-yah, this is so corny. ‘I want everyone I Iove to be happy and healthy’. That’s all you want?”
“Hey,” Sunoo whined, “what else should I ask for? Money? That stuff isn’t going to fall out from the sky, you know.”
“Still,” Jungwon laughed, “you should ask the lantern to make your parents’ rice cake shop blow up so you guys can open sixty outlets around South Korea.”
Sunoo cackled, but he seemed to give it some thought. “Okay, I’ll write that too.”
His smile reached his eyes cutely as Sunoo scribbled it below his other wish briskly, giggling as he went. Jake felt his heart swell with warmth.
He knew what he wanted now.
Jake drew a tiny sun in his corner.
Sunghoon peeked over his shoulder and made a noise. “Ey, what is that?”
“It’s what I want,” Jake mumbled.
The younger boy snorted, “you want the sun? That’s sort of ambitious.”
Jake glanced at Sunoo again. This time, he caught Sunoo staring back at him. His eyes were shining underneath the twinkling lights above them. The apple of Sunoo’s cheeks popped out as he smiled sweetly at Jake. His heart fluttered in his chest.
“It is,” Jake just said.
Sunoo’s eyes shined even brighter.
“You know I can tell why they keep pushing us to do things together, right?”
Jake blinked. The two of them were sitting on the sand as their friends played in the cold water in front of them. Sunoo had no idea why they were even waddling around in the freezing water, but if they’re happy, who was Sunoo to deny that of them?
An hour before, they were all laughing and cheering excitedly as they released the lanterns into the night sky. They held on tightly onto the lit lanterns until the staff yelled for everyone to let go. The dozens of lanterns floating up above them twinkled up in the sky prettily, looking a lot like stars once they were further up.
The lump in Jake’s throat began to grow bigger.
“To be honest, I’ve had my suspicions ever since you kept staring at me during dinner on the first night here,” Sunoo mused, “In hindsight, I probably should’ve noticed when you gave me your chocolate cake on the plane.”
“I thought about it while we were writing our wishes. It sort of made sense why you were so weird around me the first few times we talked. You weren’t like that with Jungwon. I’m just wondering why you’re even interested in me.”
There was no point in playing pretend anymore. To Jake’s horror (and surprisingly relief), Sunoo was now well aware of the crush he had been harbouring for months. In hindsight, Jake hadn’t been subtle either. Maybe a small, tiny part of Jake wanted Sunoo to know - in some kind of twisted hope for rejection so Jake could get his closed ending.
His heart was beating out of his chest, but Jake tried his best to keep calm. If there’s anything Jake would take away from this trip, it was the newfound ability to pretend like he wasn’t exploding from the inside whenever he was around Kim Sunoo.
Jake faced the younger boy with a questioning look on his face. “What do you mean?”
Sunoo sank his feet further into the sand.
“I mean, what do you even like about me? You don’t know me.”
“I think I know you just enough,” Jake said softly, “I’ve been around you for days.”
“But before this trip, did you know anything about me?” Sunoo huffed. “We never spoke and we were never friends. The one time I was with you, you didn’t say anything to me other than ‘hello’ and ‘yes’. I just don’t see how you can like someone who you’ve never spoken more than two words to.”
Jake felt himself get defensive. “Do you need reasons to like someone? Can’t you just like them because you like them?”
A laugh rolled out of Sunoo.
“Then you just liked the idea of me. You didn’t like me. There’s a difference and it’s not always a nice thing.”
The sound of the gentle waves crashing in front of them accompanied their short silence. Jake fiddled with his shorts, trying to stifle the way his chest was pounding. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.
“I know you like to eat mint chocolate ice cream even if all your friends make fun of you for it,” Jake uttered, his voice barely above a whisper, “I know you help your friends do their hair in the mornings and you pet the stray cats outside our school. I know you cover your face when you get shy and I know you clap a lot when you’re laughing.”
“I know you wiggle your legs when you get excited. I know you take pride in everything you do. I know you like to read self-help and romance books. I know you share your snacks with Jungwon but not with anyone else.”
“I may not have been friends with you but the things we do often say a lot about us, whether we’re aware of it or not. I did know you, Sunoo-yah. Just not the way I do now.”
Sunoo seemed a little stunned to hear Jake’s words, but he quickly recovered his shock with a weak smile and an eyebrow raised.
“Oh yeah? How do you know me now?”
Jake smiled, “I know that you’re kind and friendly to everyone you meet. Even if it’s just a stranger and you don’t speak a single word of the language they’re using, you’re still super nice and polite. I know that you’re thoughtful - you made honey tteok for all of us before our flight.”
“I know that you like to hear good things about yourself, but you also give compliments freely. I know that you like to eat fruits and you wiggle your body a little bit every time you find something delicious. I know that you love to talk but you never fail to ask me what I think either because you do value my opinion about cats or dogs.”
Sunoo chuckled breathlessly at that. His eyes are glued intensely on Jake, not once looking away.
“I know that you like to laugh at my lame jokes and you like it when I tease you. I know that you like to make others around you feel comfortable even if they’re being sort of cowardly.”
“Hey, I never said that you were a coward that night. I just linked arms with you so you wouldn’t be scared,” Sunoo mused.
Jake giggled, “see? That’s my point. Who does that?”
Sunoo sighed lightly, “okay. You made your point. Or points. That was a lot of things you now know about me.”
“Of course,” Jake grinned, “but if you want the ‘too long, didn’t read’ version - you’re the coolest and prettiest person I’ve ever met, Kim Sunoo.”
Sunoo couldn’t help his smile from overtaking his face. He covered his mouth, shyly leaning back as he smacked Jake’s shoulder playfully.
“Prettiest?” Sunoo gasped, “You’re friends with Park Sunghoon.”
Jake just rolled his eyes lightly, “That little shit has nothing on you. You’re like - ridiculously pretty, you know?”
The younger boy preened at the compliments. “Well, Jaeyun hyung, you’re very pretty too. But I’m sure you know that.”
“I am?” Jake stuttered, suddenly flustered.
Sunoo nodded quietly, raising his hand to brush some of Jake’s long hair away from his eyes. “You are. Trust me - pretty people can recognize other pretty people.”
Jake gulped, watching as Sunoo threaded his fingers through his hair. His mouth was slightly agape, his wide eyes staring back at Sunoo warmly.
“I have something for you.”
Sunoo withdrew his hand back as Jake got up awkwardly to dig through his pocket. His hands reached a familiar velvet pouch. Fishing it out, Jake took out the dainty bracelet and held it up for Sunoo to see.
“Isn’t that from-”
“The marketplace? Yeah,” Jake chuckled, “give me your hand.”
Jake hooked the bracelet around Sunoo’s pale wrist, his fingers lingering on the pendant once he clipped it on. His eyes flickered up to Sunoo, “it reminded me of you.”
“Because you shine brighter than anyone else on this god forsaken planet.”
Sunoo let out a soft giggle as he met Jake’s warm eyes.
“I love it, hyung. Thank you,” Sunoo said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Jake didn’t even realize how close the two were. If Jake just leaned his head in just a bit, their noses would’ve bumped against each other’s.
The noise around them on the beach quietened as they sat in their comfortable silence, just gazing at each other. At that moment, it was just Sunoo and Jake. Nobody else existed in this small moment of peace.
“I really liked being with you for the past few days,” Sunoo admitted, “I wish we had more time together.”
“Who said we won’t have more time together?” Jake frowned.
Sunoo shrugged. “I don’t know. Are we still going to be friends when we go back home?”
“Of course we are,” Jake exclaimed, “I’ll bother you for as long as you let me, Sunoo-yah.”
“What if you decide to go back to Australia?”
Jake shook his head, moving his hand so that he was holding onto Sunoo’s wrist gently.
“I don’t think I’m going to go back,” Jake hummed, “I have everything I need in Seoul.”
Sunoo seemed satisfied with the answer. He leaned in slightly, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly.
“And there’s me.”
“There’s you,” Jake agreed softly. He could feel Sunoo’s warm breath fanning over his face. Jake wondered if he should close his eyes.
A piercing voice interrupted their peace.
“Hey lovebirds, we’re gonna go get some snacks at the kitchens. Want to come along or do you two want to gaze lovingly on your own?”
Sunoo squeezed his eyes shut, covering his face with his hands.
“Sunghoon, shut up!” Jake hollered back, giggling as Sunoo groaned into his hands.
“I’m actually kind of hungry,” Sunoo mumbled, “should we join them?”
Jake got up from his spot on the sand, brushing the granules off his pants. He extended his hand towards Sunoo, a sweet smile reaching his lips.
“I’ll go wherever you want, Sunoo.”
Sunoo took his hand as he let the older boy pull him up to his feet. When Jake tried to let go, Sunoo just gripped his hand tighter.
“Do you want to go on a date with me?” Sunoo asked boldly.
Jake froze. “Huh?”
“Let’s go out on a date when we’re home,” Sunoo repeated himself, swinging their hands together in between them, “I like you too so why not?”
The sun pendant on Sunoo’s wrist brushed against Jake’s arm and he was instantly brought back to reality.
“Yeah, okay,” Jake said simply, his lips curled into a massive smile.
Sunoo squeezed Jake’s hand. He could hear the teasing cries of his best friend from afar, but Sunoo paid no attention to it.
He was too busy realizing that he had fallen into the wonderful and warm abyss that was Sim Jaeyun.