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"jooheon-ah! answer me!" minhyuk was frustrasted if that wasn't glaringly obvious already. he had been trying to contact the younger boy for thirty minutes and he wasn't answering, and if minhyuk is being completely and utterly honest (which he tries to be...most of the time) he was getting sort of nervous. minhyuk clicked the "call," button on skype for what may have been the thousandth time, hoping and praying to every superior being (minhyuk doesn't like to assume religion, as he is open to all interpretations of life after death and all that jazz) that jooheon would answer. as it turned out, one of those supernatural beings was on his side, because the screen froze for a minute, only to then reveal a rather squishy-faced boy with dimples.
"jooheonie!" minhyuk cooed at the younger boy. jooheon looked like he had just woken up from a nap, because he was currently curled into himself and wrapped in a fluffy blanket. his hair was all over the place, and he looked so sleepy that minhyuk almost felt bad for disturbing him (almost, but not quite). "where have you been?"
"asleep hyung. what do you want?" jooheon mumbled out, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. minhyuk's natural liveliness was always something jooheon both envied and loathed. he wished he could be as bright as minhyuk all the time, but sometimes he just wanted to be woken up from a nap to a more mellow-toned voice. and minhyuk was anything but mellow.
minhyuk pouted at the younger's lack of enthusiasm, but decided to brush it aside, "i miss you obviously? and i needed to tell you something important."
"and what is that?" jooheon asked as he rubbed his face into his blanket. minhyuk watched the boy for a moment, and wished he could be there with him to just cuddle him and tell him things were going to be okay. but he wasn't there with jooheon.
"i'm coming to see you jooheonie." minhyuk whispered.
at that jooheon's head snapped back up and he stared at minhyuk through the screen. "you're what?"
minhyuk smiled as he could see jooheon's dimples beginning to show. "i'm coming to america."
and jooheon smiled so wide, tears began to fall down his face. "holy shit are you really? you're coming here?" he sounded so breathless and happy. "i'm actually going to be able to see you, like in front of me?"
minhyuk laughed. "yes honey, i'll be right in front of you. now stop crying, this wasn't supposed to make you sad."
"i'm not sad hyung! i'm so insanely happy, you have no idea."
"i think i can guess."
"yea, maybe you can." jooheon whispered in response. the two had danced around this topic for almost a year now. they had met over the internet playing roblox, and they started chatting one day about literally everything and nothing. they spent a few months just talking like that. they talked about their families, and their pets, and where they lived. minhyuk lived in seoul, south korea while jooheon lived in new york city, new york. both of them thought that it was cool to have a friend on the other side of the world. it was only after minhyuk asked jooheon if he had skype, did the distance between them begin to become a real issue. they were both aware how the other felt, but neither had ever come out right and said it. they just made it painfully obvious how much they liked each other. "i just want to meet you in person so bad hyung."
"i know honey, and you will. i'll be there this saturday," (he'd actually be there friday, but what jooheon doesn't know won't kill him).
"saturday? that's no time at all!"
"exactly! which is why you should get to cleaning your apartment now, because i sure as hell am not paying for a hotel, when i have a very lovely and obedient dongsaeng who will let me crash with them."
jooheon whined and shoved his face back into the blanket, "why do you have to make things so much harder for me?"
minhyuk feigned offense as he clutched his chest dramatically, "fine, then i won't visit you at all. i'll spend my entire trip avoiding your apartment building."
"no hyung i was just kidding! please don't do that." minhyuk tried to keep his smile from taking over his face since he could see jooheon beginning to pout.
jooheon was slowly killing him, and minhyuk didn't know how much more he could take before he spontaneously combusted just from how cute jooheon was. "i know, i have to get going now because i have class to get to but i'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
jooheon nodded vigorously, and stuck one hand out from under his blanket to wave at minhyuk. "yea, sounds good! bye~"
minhyuk waved back, and clicked to hang up the skype call. once he closed his laptop, he got up and jumped around for a few minutes because he was an adult who could handle his feelings very well, thank you very much. he would be seeing jooheon in a matter of days, and nothing could put a damper on his mood.
~~~~~~
four days couldn't have gone by any slower. by wednesday night, minhyuk was practically a jittery a mess, and he could hardly pack any of his clothes. he was shaking and freaking out so much, that kihyun had to come over and help, who naturally brought along hoseok and hyunwoo, because there was only so many times kihyun could listen to minhyuk's "jooheon rants," before wanting to commit murder. he'd need back up in order to make it through the night.
"he's just the perfect human, you know? god, how can jooheonie even like me?" minhyuk slumped onto his bed and curled into a ball. kihyun, who had been sitting on the floor folding minhyuk's clothes, could sense the older's sudden distress.
"minhyuk how can you even ask yourself that?" kihyun asked as he slid over to sit by the side of the bed. minhyuk peeked out from under his arms to look at kihyun.
"because i'm so weird kihyun! i'm so annoying, and loud, and jooheon is going to hate me when he meets me." kihyun could see that minhyuk's eyes were beginning to get teary, so he gently began rubbing the older's back.
"well i'm not going to lie, and say you aren't weird because you know that you are," minhyuk rolled his eyes. "but that doesn't make us love you any less. you've talked to jooheon for what? a year now? he definitely likes you minhyuk, so i don't think you need to worry about that. you being loud and annoying is what makes you so special." minhyuk chuckled at that and shoved kihyun over.
"thanks kihyunie."
"anytime hyung, now hurry up and quit crying! these clothes won't pack themselves!" minhyuk flopped over and rolled off the bed, only to land on top of kihyun who grunted under the weight. minhyuk scrambled to get up and dashed out of the room yelling at kihyun over his shoulder.
"yes sir! after i eat a snack!"
"lee minhyuk! get back here!" and that's how it took another five hours to get minhyuk packed for his trip.
~~~~~~
america was weird. that's about all minhyuk has to say about it. he arrived at approximately seven o'clock in the morning, which was kind of a shock to him because all he could think of was that he had technically gone back in time. the whole time zones thing escapes him and frankly just makes him confused, but all he knew was that he was getting tired. it was nine o'clock at night in south korea, and minhyuk was ready for bed.
jooheon had texted him his address, and told him it wasn't far from the airport. minhyuk knew he had to hail a taxi, but don't remind him of the language barrier when he tried to tell the nice man where he was trying to go, because minhyuk would rather not relive that.
the whole car trip minhyuk stared out the window as the trees whooshed past, and buildings blurred into a mass of shapes and colors. he thought of jooheon and his dimples, and how beautiful he was. he thought of jooheon's small eyes that disappeared almost entirely when he smiled or laughed. he thought of his platinum blonde hair, and how much it reminded him of fluffy snow. but overall, he just thought about the fact that he was here, and in only a short time, said boy would be standing right in front of him.
soon the taxi stopped in front of a brick building. jooheon had told him his apartment had a red door, and that's where minhyuk started. he paid the driver and hopped out, grabbed his luggage and dragged it over onto the curb. then he searched for the red door, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it in front of him.
jooheon said to ring the bell for room number 7. minhyuk pressed the little gold button and listened as a buzz echoed through the receiver and a crackle of static emerged before jooheon's voice was emitted.
"hello?" the younger's voice was very muffled, but it was distinctly jooheon.
"hi, i have a package for a mr. jooheon lee down here." minhyuk had practiced this line multiple times when jooheon had explained to him how he would let minhyuk into his building, and what people normally say when they buzz up to his room.
"alright, i'll buzz you in. you can leave it outside the door." this was followed by a buzz and a click from the door in front of minhyuk. he pulled on the handle and walked throug, and lugged his bag up to the third floor.
as he was in front of room number 7, minhyuk had his fist raised to knock on the door, but stopped suddenly. what if jooheon didn't want him here? he was expecting him tomorrow, not today. would he be mad? minhyuk told his brain to please shut up, because this was no time for stressful thoughts. he then rapped his knuckles on the door. from inside the apartment, minhyuk could hear the shuffling of feet and a relatively quiet "coming!"
when the door finally opened jooheon was talking as he opened the door. "sorry, i didn't even realize you mi-" when jooheon finally looked up to meet minhyuk's gaze he gasped. "holy shit."
"hi." minhyuk said. "um, you're package has arrived?" minhyuk shrugged and smiled sheepishly at the younger boy who was just staring at him, mouth agape. "jooheonie?"
"are you real?" jooheon answered. he began to move his hand up to minhyuk's face but stopped himself when he realized what he was doing, and dropped his hand down, blushing. minhyuk, who noticed the slight movement grabbed jooheon's hand, and brought it back up to his cheek, where he placed it. he squeezed the boy's hand.
"yes, i'm real honey. i'm really here." and jooheon threw himself at the older boy who stumbled back to support both their bodies.
"i thought you were coming tomorrow." jooheon whispered into minhyuk's neck.
"i wanted to surprise you." minhyuk rubbed his thumbs across jooheon's waist as the younger disentangled himself from the older.
"come on in." jooheon took minhyuk's hand and pulled him into the apartment. once the door was closed behind them minhyuk didn't waste any time.
"jooheon." minhyuk looked at the younger, who he realized was looking back at him in the exact same way. "i want to kiss you." and jooheon nodded.
minhyuk crossed over to where jooheon was standing in two long strides and cupped the sides of jooheon's face, to bring their lips together. they fit like puzzle pieces, and minhyuk knows that's cliche and gross, but there isn't any other way to describe how kissing jooheon felt. it felt like breathing fresh air. it felt like the rush of going down a steep rollercoaster. it felt like heaven. it felt, perfect.
minhyuk pulled back after a minute and rested his forehead against jooheon's. "i've wanted to do that for so long."
"me too, i can't believe you're here hyung." jooheon sighed, as he snaked his arms around minhyuk's torso. minhyuk had his arms wrapped around jooheon's hips, with his head rested on top of jooheon's fluffy blonde hair. the two stayed silent for a moment more, just basking in the other's presence and that for the first time ever, they weren't talking through a computer screen, thousands of miles apart. minhyuk decided to break the silence first.
"you didn't take my advice to clean the apartment did you jooheonie?"
"oh shut up minhyuk." jooheon said then, smirking up at the older boy with his arms still wrapped around his waist. minhyuk pulled the shorter closer to his chest, and returned the smile before leaning down to kiss him again and again, something he knew he'd be allowed to do for a very long time.