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Lee Juyeon doesn’t like horror movies. Never has, never will. Juyeon sees no point in watching a movie that has no other objectives besides getting him scared and unable to sleep at night, or in which the movie ends because the entire cast died in some creepy, unrealistic way, either by the hand of some serial killer that never gets caught, or by some evil spirit. It’s simply not his cup of tea; Juyeon is more of a dramatic, historical movie kind of guy anyways, so he doesn’t really bother going out of his way to check out some new horror movie that is out on theaters.
Choi Chanhee, his boyfriend, doesn’t like horror movies either. Chanhee is a scaredy cat, very much like Juyeon, and they usually bond over silly romantic comedies they binge watch when it’s just the them or whenever Kevin Moon, their boyfriend, decides to join them. Kevin is a total sucker for rom-coms, despite always claiming they’re no fun because they’re predictable and pretty much the same plot with very minor alterations. Unsurprisingly enough, Kevin is just a secret softie that cries every time he watches Up.
Thing is, Ji Changmin loves horror movies. Absolutely adores them. And Juyeon, being the totally whipped and head over heels for Changmin guy that he is, says he is fine with watching whatever movie Changmin picks for their movie night. He isn’t fine at all, knowing Changmin will pull out the scariest movie in the streaming service catalogue and not even flinch while watching. Juyeon loses his breath every time Changmin starts watching a trailer only to go look for something else before the trailer is even over. He hasn't even chosen a movie yet and Juyeon is already scared for his life.
This is the first time they’re watching a horror movie together, and until now, everything’s been going so well, so smoothly, Juyeon doesn’t want to give off the wrong impression to Kevin and Changmin. That he can’t watch some silly horror movie and endure two hours of pure psychological torture. That he is some scaredy cat that can’t deal with a little screaming and some gore.
Oh, the things Juyeon does for love.
They go for a new Thai blockbuster Changmin picked after reading some reviews online. Kevin and Changmin settle on the couch, legs tangled together under the fuzzy blanket. Juyeon strategically sits on the floor, so he is always facing the TV and can contort his face in fear as much as he pleases without being caught. Chanhee orders some takeout, piling boxes of pizza and fried chicken on the coffee table, and they soon dive in the food, momentarily forgetting about the movie.
“It doesn’t look that scary.” Kevin notes, as the initial credits roll by and a familiar ’based on a true story’ pops up on the screen.
“I read the reviews, some people say this is the scariest movie in the world.” Changmin says, unbothered, munching on a chicken drumstick. “Let’s see.”
“Is this supposed to be scared?” Juyeon mumbles, clueless. So far, nothing really major happened. They’re 20 minutes into the movie and there hasn’t been one jumpscare yet. He turns to Changmin, whose eyes are glued on the screen, and asks, “Are you okay?”
“I don’t find this scary.”
“Why don’t you ask me if I’m okay, Juyeon-ah? When I watch horror movies, the spirits appear in my dreams.” Chanhee whines, covering his eyes with his free hand, trying to distract himself by stuffing his body with pepperoni pizza.
“You’re not even watching.” Kevin replies. The main character is stuck in some sketchy bathroom stall, late at night, doing their thing, so of course, there has to be some demoniac spirit there to haunt the poor main. He gets up, unlocks the door and stares at the mirror, that reflects him and the spirit right behind him. “Oh, no, no, run away!”
Juyeon jumps, frightened, after the jumpscare, and screams. Kevin laughs in amusement, patting his shoulder. Changmin doesn’t even blink.
The movie goes on. Juyeon tries his best not to show how scared he is, despite screaming and jumping a few time after the scarier parts, and eventually he settles for resting his head on top of Kevin’s thighs, looking away sometimes to stare at Kevin’s stomach peeking through his pyjamas, and holding Changmin’s leg at times. Chanhee is quiet, head on Changmin’s lap and earphones tucked in his ears, either about to doze off or already asleep.
It’s getting late, the movie is about to end and it wasn’t as scary as Juyeon feared it would be, so he relaxes. There is one final jumpscare right before the end that gets Juyeon to let out a very loud scream, hugging his own chest and clenching his teeth. Kevin jumps on his seat, startled by Juyeon’s reaction.
Chanhee knows just how to read him, smirking before he asks teasingly, “Juyeon-ah, are you scared? You’re a man, you should be able to watch it.”
Juyeon can’t give Chanhee the taste of victory. The movie just ended and it wasn’t even that bad for him to still be scared, so he sucks it up and scoffs, “Of course not.”
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” It’s Kevin who asks this time, with a hand on is shoulder.
“Maybe so.” Juyeon says back. “What if I am?”
“Guys, he’s pouting. I’m gonna throw myself off a bridge. Changmin, this is your fault!”
Changmin does the thing he does best — cups Juyeon’s face with his hands and coos at his boyfriend with loving eyes, brushing Juyeon’s bangs away from his face. “Oh, Juyeonie. Why didn’t you say you didn’t like horror movies? I would’ve picked something else.”
“Because you do.”
“Yeah, but I’m not watching by myself, am I?” Changmin says, laughing lightly, still cupping his face, and Juyeon can hear the pouting in his voice. “Are you too scared to go to sleep?”
That is a great excuse for him to get all cuddly, Juyeon realizes, and takes full advantage of that, claiming he was too scared to fall asleep. Changmin coos again, tilting his head and pecking at Juyeon’s lips before tugging at his hand and leading him to their bedroom. Luckily enough, they’ve changed beforehand and are all ready to go straight to bed.
Juyeon lays down in the middle; Kevin lays besides him, scooting closer like second nature, and he pulls Chanhee towards his chest, bodies so close they’re about to melt into one. Changmin settles for the empty side of the bed, nuzzling against Juyeon and drowning in the warmth of his skin and the blankets.
“Good night, loves. I love you so much.”
“We love you more.”