Work Text:
*click*
“ Is the camera rolling? Oh yeah, it is. Nice.”
A boy steps into view. He’s wearing a striped sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. In front of him, there’s a spread of food that fills the entire table.
“Hello guys, Haechan here! I’m back with my mukbang series and today I’ll be eating sushi and chicken wings! I gained like, 3 kilos after that last vid but Jeno dragged me down to the gym on Tuesday so that we could work out together.”
He lifts his sleeve and flexes at the camera in an attempt to show off his bicep. It’s nothing impressive, and he laughs to himself.
“But anyway, I was actually considering cooking my own food to eat this week. I saw this one girl do that and it was pretty inspiring, but I couldn’t figure out what to make. Maybe next time I’ll do it and I’ll get Renjun or Nana to help me.”
“Also,” he claps his hands together, “Thanks for sending in questions. I know I usually do ASMR videos but it was getting boring for me. I do love talking, after all. So I’ll get around to answering those later on in the video, okay? Okay.”
The boy proceeds to eat, picking up wing after wing (some are fried, others are baked, his personal favorite are the saucy ones) and cleans them until there's nothing left but bones. Every now and then he'll grab a piece of sashimi or make a hand roll for himself.
About fifteen minutes into filming, Haechan's interrupted by the door opening behind him. A sleepy, glasses-wearing boy shuffles in.
“Babe? Jeno's inv- oh, you're filming.”
Donghyuck softens at the sight of his boyfriend and waves him over. “C'mere and eat. Help me answer some questions while you're at it.”
Mark, still groggy from having woken up, hikes his falling sweatpants higher on his hips and pulls a chair beside Donghyuck. He picks the eel sushi with his bare hands, dips it into the soy sauce, eats it in one go without the wasabi because he doesn’t like the way it makes his nose tingle.
Donghyuck turns back to the camera and picks a folded piece of paper from a tin can labeled ‘questions from the sunflowers <3’.
“What kind of dates do you and your boyfriend go on?”
Donghyuck laughs and pokes Mark's cheek. “Since you're here, why don't you answer it?”
Mark swallows his mouthful and takes a few gulps of peach tea before clearing his throat.
“Uh… movie dates? Hyuckie's a big fan of movies. We also like, go to a bunch of restaurants and cafes together. Don't you get tired of eating?” The last bit is directed at Donghyuck, who shakes his head.
“Absolutely not. What kind of mukbang Youtuber would I be if I got tired of eating?”
“Point taken.”
“Onto the next one. ‘Do you have any pets?’”
youtube
fullsun_eats just posted: sushi and WINGS mukbang!! | Q&A feat. my boy <3
mrk.priv just posted: he had so much sauce on his lips after lmao
comments
notjeno: cute
jaeminana: ten bucks says they kissed right after
chonlor: BET
Donghyuck throws his arms around Mark's shoulder as he's cooking dinner. The older boy has a cookbook open and certain phrases are circled with a highlighter. Mark jumps, a little frazzled by the sudden appearance of his boyfriend. He sighs in relief and wipes the sweat off his brow.
“I was supposed to be surprising you, not the other way around.”
Donghyuck kisses his cheek. “On the contrary, I’m impressed that you haven’t burned anything yet.”
Mark laughs. “Taeyong said his kimchi-jjigae recipe is pretty foolproof if I follow the instructions, and I don’t wanna disappoint him.” He finishes chopping and laying the tofu over the top of the stew and covers it with a lid.
“Right,” Donghyuck says, “Wouldn’t want him looking at you with his disappointed eyes.”
“How do they manage to make you feel like you’ve kicked five puppies and murdered his whole family? The guy’s got some serious power.”
@haechan
mister @markles cooked dinner tonight! get yourself a man
[image attached]
@wyheyyy
aw!! @imhuangry when will you do this for me?
@imhuangry
you’re sleeping on the floor tonight
@wyheyyy
wait no pls im sorry i was just joking
“Oh lord,” Donghyuck guffaws, smacking the pillow beside him repeatedly. “Look how bony I was back then.”
They're squished up sideways on Lucas’ couch, Mark pressed into the leather cushions while Donghyuck cradles his old video camera in his left hand. He had found it while cleaning out his closet and decided to bring it over to Lucas' place for some pre-dinner entertainment.
On screen, a younger Donghyuck fumbles trying to open the fridge with one hand. Mark giggles offscreen and Donghyuck snaps at him to shut up.
“Aw,” Donghyuck coos, tilting his head back to look at Mark. Except they're closer than he thought, so he ends up smacking Mark's jaw with his head.
“Shit!” Mark curses, as Donghyuck rolls off the couch and places his camera safely on the coffee table next to a pile of sketchbooks.
Renjun walks by with two cups of iced tea. He shakes his head at the sight and says, “I knew it was a bad idea for you guys to try fit on that couch. Even Xuxi and I can't lie side by side on that thing.”
“I mean, it doesn't matter because you're always sitting on his d-” Mark clamps a hand over Donghyuck's mouth and laughs nervously. Renjun's eyes narrow in warning but he lets Donghyuck off this time and turns into the kitchen.
Mark sighs, still rubbing his sore chin. “Now that you said that, I don't even want to imagine what's happened on this couch.”
Donghyuck reaches up to ruffle his hair, laughing.
“Don't worry. I'm sure Lucas cleans it often.”
hrj2303 just posted: a pair of lovebirds reminiscing
comments
haechannn: WHEN DID YOU TAKE THIS
therealmarklee: awww we look cute
a few years ago
june 8th, 2015 (mon)
weather: sunny
dear journal. should I stop starting my entries like that? it sounds kinda weird sometimes. ANYWAY. I surprised donghyuck with the camera at school today and he nearly cried. he kissed me on the cheek though, so it was totally worth it (even if I said haha afterwards)
taeyong-hyung told me that I should ask him out soon but I dont know how… WHY AM I SO AWKWARD??? maybe I'll ask lucas to help me? I dunno. I just want it to be perfect because donghyuck deserves nothing but the best.
(he invited me over to his house on friday to film his first proper vlog. I'm nervous.)
“So why a mukbang channel?”
Taeil wipes his jam-stained hands on a spare rag and swings around to the coffee machine, where he grabs Donghyuck's finished drink and pushes it towards him.
Donghyuck likes Taeil's shop, Moon's Marmalades. It's a charming little place tucked between a barbershop and the post office, with an array of pastries lined up by the window: scones, muffins, tarts, you name it. Taeil's always gracious enough to let Donghyuck have a taste of his experimental jams whenever he stops by.
“Thanks!” Donghyuck smiles and takes the cup from the older man. “For some reason I always thought I’d be a lifestyle vlogger or a beauty guru but mukbangs are so… fulfilling, y’know?”
Taeil laughs heartily. “They sure are fun to watch. I’m glad you’re having fun with them.” He opens the fridge and pulls out a jar, unscrewing its lid and spooning a little tablespoon of the red marmalade out. He holds it out to Donghyuck. “Grapefruit and strawberry. I’m trying summer flavors.”
Donghyuck leans forward and bites down on the spoon. “Sour,” he shudders. “But yummy.”
“You should do some product placement for me,” Taeil jokes. “Do a breakfast special.”
The thought of it intrigues him. Jam and toast tasting? Perhaps cook a bunch of sausages or do pancakes and waffles? He could try out Jaemin’s famous soy sauce egg rice too.
Donghyuck taps his chin thoughtfully. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. Thanks, hyung.”
@nanabakes
perhaps,, a featuring tomorrow??
[image attached]
@jenomes
why wasn't I invited smh
@pwarkjs
bc you're not a youtuber with a big following lol
kakaotalk
jeno: wow okay jisung no need to flex on me like that
jisung: sorry what
jisung: I can't hear you over my 10k subscribers
sometimes I cant believe that you're the most popular one out of all of us
chenle: third place isnt so bad, hyung
jaemin: JSNMKD
As Donghyuck discovers, cooking in front of the camera is pretty enjoyable. Not only does he get to try out new recipes, but it also provides his viewers with unedited, entertaining content. Today he has a giant rectangular pan laid out in front of him as well as all the necessary ingredients for his kimchi pasta alfredo.
Mark sits behind the camera, lying on the bed with his Nintendo Switch. He plays quietly whilst Donghyuck—no, Haechan, fries the kimchi with a wooden spoon. The sizzling of the cabbage in butter is like a beautiful melody, and the bubbling cream that comes after is the accompanying harmony that Haechan can’t get enough of.
“I feel witchy,” he laughs, stirring the pasta in slow motions. Mark glances over and points to his mouth, an indication of his hunger. Haechan rolls his eyes but gestures with his cooking chopsticks for Mark to come forward.
Mark, too lazy to get off the bed, reaches for the empty plate beside the tripod and stretches it out. Haechan dumps a lump of pasta and some kimchi onto the plate and pushes his hand away.
“See the downside to cooking while filming is that you always get people trying to leech off your food,” Haechan says.
But the upside, as Donghyuck knows, is when the people you hold close to your heart taste your food and you see their expressions light up in joy, when they dive back in for a second and third bite and tell you afterwards that they enjoyed it so so much.
Being a YouTuber isn’t always fun. There’s the stress of coming up with new and interesting content, hours spent on editing, not to mention the hate comments.
Fatass.
This makes me sick.
How does he eat all that by himself? Gross.
When he was first starting out, all eager to do well and succeed, Donghyuck was particularly vulnerable to those. But now he has a stable following and a part time job at a record store that pays the bills of his shared apartment. He has a hard-working boyfriend who’s a bit of a dork and mooches off his food but most importantly, chases his far-fetched dreams alongside him. Donghyuck smiles to himself as he watches Mark slurp the pasta, lips and chin tainted with the sauce.
“Why are you smiling?” Mark asks, mouth full.
Donghyuck shakes his head.
“Nothing.”
(He edits that part out later. After all, there are some things better left off-camera.)