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jisung’s favourite part of the day was when the light would stream past the window frame of their bedroom wall and hit minho’s face, gently catching his cheekbones as he slept peacefully.
he would watch as the shadows from the branches outside broke up the beams and allowed the light to dance on minho’s face. jisung always woke up earlier than his boyfriend and, to his delight, could catch his favourite time of day before the sun fully reared its head.
minho would wake up around the time the sun grew brighter and intruded on his sleep. he’d pull himself out of bed and make tea for the two of them, listening to the ocean a mere mile away. jisung would be reading somewhere, either still in their bed or in one of the armchairs facing the garden. he’d peck his boyfriend on the lips and settle down next to him, eyes still drooping slightly as he sipped his tea.
on an ordinary weekend they would go out and do something, and that saturday was no different. jisung wanted to go to the market on the beach, he said that they needed to go shopping anyway. minho would fake exasperation and try to contain his laughter as jisung begged him dramatically. he knew that even if he wanted to say no, he couldn’t resist jisung’s puppy dog eyes.
they left the house after jisung had made them breakfast, pancakes with fresh honey. they had taken a bit longer that morning, their routine being slightly extended by a dance party prompted by jisung singing into his wooden spoon. minho had been sitting at the kitchen counter, gazing lovingly at his boyfriend cooking before jisung had demanded that he join him in a dance that was way too formal for bunny slippers and oversized t-shirts. they danced around the kitchen, interrupted only by jisung remembering to check their breakfast, leaving minho in a haze of adoration.
minho pulled jisung along the pathway, his eyes twinkling as they giggled together at some off-hand joke jisung had made. the sound of the sea was echoing in minho’s ears as they reached the top of the hill, grinning at the sight of the market on the beach. he heard the shutter of a camera behind him and turned around to find jisung with his polaroid camera held up to his face, cheeks flushed as he realised minho had caught him.
“more photos, love?” minho giggled as jisung waved the polaroid in the air, “i’m sure there are many things in busan pretty enough for you to capture.”
“nothing comes close to you,” jisung said, slight confidence laced in his honey voice, “nothing could ever come close to you.”
“aren’t you charming?”
“only for you, baby.”
minho turned away to hide his rosy cheeks. six years had passed and jisung still managed to turn him into a blushing mess with minimal effort.
“aww did i make my baby flustered?” jisung cooed at him, dancing in front of minho and cupping his cheeks.
“shut up, sungie”
“you’re so adorable though.”
at this, jisung leaned up to place a soft kiss on minho’s nose, eyes fluttering shut. this, of course, did absolutely nothing for minho’s flushed cheeks, his ears reddening at jisung’s impromptu show of affection. jisung pulled snapped another picture, capturing minho’s blush as the older boy desperately tried to stop his brain from malfunctioning.
“jisung!” he tried to cover his face, “no more!”
“i’ll take as many pictures of my baby as i see fit,” jisung said, eyes disappearing in his smile, “now come, let’s go to the market.”
minho let jisung lace their fingers and pull his down the hill towards the stalls. the scent of fresh bread and flowers being sold mingled with the salty smell of the ocean, overwhelming his senses as they reached the bottom of the hill. he let jisung pull him from stall to stall, buying bread for lunch and a new jar of honey.
minho convinced jisung that they had to buy a bunch of flowers so that they could make flower crowns that weekend, and beamed as the younger relented. they left the market just before lunch, making their way home with two paper bags and a bunch of lavender, fingers still intertwined.
they reached their cottage as the heat of the afternoon sun began to set in. minho sat across from jisung at their garden table, their sandwiches the older boy made had long since disappeared as they conversed softly in the warmth of the afternoon. minho toyed with the locket around his neck as he watched jisung’s matching one glint in the sunlight.
they finished their graciously long lunch, jisung taking their plates to the kitchen as minho shuffled towards the lounge. one of their cats was sprawled across the rug, belly facing the window. he leaned down to scratch her behind the ears, smiling softly as she leaned into the touch. he turned around find jisung pinning the fresh polaroids to their memory wall, minho’s flushed face taking up residence between a dried stalk of baby’s breath and a ticket stub from the time they took the train to seoul to visit seungmin and changbin.
“we’re gonna need a new wall soon,” he chuckled as jisung stood back and admired his work, “you did a good job though, love.”
jisung moved around minho to back hug him, resting his chin on the older boy’s shoulder. “we did a good job,” he sighed into minho’s shoulder, “we did.”
“i couldn’t have done it without you though.”
“and you think i could’ve?” jisung was indignant.
“absolutely not.”
“damn right.”
jisung spun minho around to look him in the eyes. he moved a hand up to cup the older boy’s face, silent as he gazed adoringly up at his boyfriend. minho leaned into jisung’s touch, his cheeks lightly dusted. his mouth opened slightly as jisung swiped a thumb over his lip. he took the opportunity to lean forward and capture jisung’s mouth with his own, allowing the younger boy to pull them back onto the couch.
minho gasped softly as jisung shifted him on his lap, hands gripping his hips gently. he tried desperately to take the lead in the kiss, but soon gave in as jisung ran his tongue across minho’s lower lip, sighing gently and tangling his hands in the younger boy’s hair.
jisung was first to break the kiss, allowing minho to curl into the younger boy’s chest. he let his fingers card through purple hair, humming into the comfortable silence between them. he released his grip on minho’s hair to raise the boy’s chin with his finger to meet his eyes. he kissed him again, softer this time, letting the warmth from the sun wash over them.
by the time the sun was setting, jisung had him against his chest again. he hummed a soft tune to him, eyes closing as he traced patterns against the older boy’s skin. he allowed himself to think back to when he had first met minho as his fingers brushed over his collarbones, tune softening as he felt minho fall asleep in his arms.
they were friends before they were lovers.
minho hadn’t had many friends in high school. people knew he who he was, his artwork earning him a reputation among the students, however, he was always a bit more content in his own company than the company of others.
jisung was popular. to the outside world he was new and he was bold, red and orange and yellow, like flames. when he had arrived at the public school in seoul it was as though people couldn’t get enough of him. they always wanted a little more of him than necessary, taking a little more than he had to give. he let it happen, insecurities overpowering self-preservation in a city that held the same hollow feeling that echoed through his bones as he pulled himself out of bed every morning.
in reality, jisung was grey. maybe that’s what drew him to minho. the older boy was never lonely, but jisung recognised the dull eyes as though he was looking into his own. so he did the only logical thing he could think of. he wrote him a letter sealed with a rose sticker, the letter that he slipped inside minho’s locker, cheeks flushed and heart racing.
minho had, predictably, found the letter in his locker. the number jisung had left sat comfortably at the bottom of the yellowing paper, practically begging minho to give jisung a chance.
to say they became best friends would be an understatement. jisung’s friends didn’t stick around for long after he and minho found themselves attached at the hip, he understood, they couldn’t get much out of him with minho teaching him that he shouldn’t always be willing to destroy himself for the needs of the people around him.
minho was like standing under the stars and knowing that it’s okay to not be okay. he was holding hands under blanket forts and ghibli marathons at 4am. even after he left jisung behind in high school to study art at the local university, they couldn’t be separated. he’d still pick the younger boy up and they’d go to the same coffee shop, get the same hot chocolate and share the same large slice of coffee cake, three times a week.
hushed confessions under covers in minho’s single university dorm bed didn’t change their relationship much. they were already domestic, but now they’d kiss in corners and hold hands out in the open. they were kisses pressed to knuckles and nights under the stars and love notes on pretty pink paper. they were phone calls at midnight and matching tattoos and plans for a future that they could only hope would wait for them.
jisung would still visit minho at the record store he worked at with milkshakes and fries, and they’d sit on the roof and watch the sun go down, a blanket thrown over them, jisung tucked into minho’s side. they got lockets together on their second anniversary, a tiny picture of them, taken by seungmin, tucked into the locket hanging next to their hearts.
minho was the one that suggested they move to busan. jisung had finished university and their shared apartment was becoming too small a world for the two of them. it was always the plan, to buy a cottage near the beach, so they packed their bags, said farewell to seungmin and changbin before taking the plunge into their new lives.
the cottage was everything they could have hoped for. it had big windows and a vegetable garden and hardwood floors. the path from the gate was lined with wildflowers and the kitchen had marble counters. jisung absolutely certainly didn’t sob into minho’s arms when he saw the moss covered roof, and if he felt the older boy’s tears drop into his hair, he refrained from saying anything.
jisung knew it when he first stepped foot in busan. they were home.
minho stirred in jisung’s arms, eyes blinking up at him softly. jisung planted a kiss on the older boy’s forehead before gently scooping him off his lap and onto the couch pillows next to him. he lifted himself up to make tea and dinner for the two of them, padding down the hallway in his fuzzy socks.
he was no minho, but his cooking skills were extensive enough to make gimbap for the two of them. he placed the meal on a large plate, grabbing the tea and the chopsticks before heading back to the living room. he found minho curled up on the couch with soonie in his lap, mumbling to her as he ran his fingers through her fur.
she jumped off of him as soon as she caught sight of jisung, weave herself lovingly around his ankles. he smiled down at her as he placed the tray on the coffee table, reaching down to scratch her behind the ears.
“ooh gimbap,” minho said, making grabbing motions at the tray, “thank you babe, you always know what i want.
“just soulmate culture, angel,” jisung didn’t have to look up to know that minho’s cheeks were dusted with pink. he walked across the living room to put on one of minho’s old records before padding back to the couch.
“this is really good, babe.” minho said, intertwining their fingers as jisung collapsed on the couch next to him.
“i’m just that great.”
this drew a giggle from minho’s lips, his shoulders shaking as he softened into jisung’s arms.
they ate in near silence, the record echoing softly around the living room. the silence was occasionally interrupted by jisung singing along. minho would look up at him adoringly as he sang, eyes glistening. once they finished, they lay on the couch in each other’s arms, doongie taking up residence on minho’s lap.
“it’s late angel,” jisung mumbled to minho, who was tangling his fingers in doongie’s fur, “i’ll tidy up and we can go to bed.”
minho hummed in response, lifting himself off of jisung to let the younger boy up. jisung watched him relax back into the pillows and close his eyes as jisung draped a blanket over him.
he turned off the record player and carried the tray to the kitchen. he took a moment while washing the dishes to think about his boyfriend, asleep on the couch with one of their cats keeping him warm. he smiled to himself as he thought about how far they’d come.
he thought back to how different they were on the surface. so many of their friends were convinced that they could have just have easily been strangers as they were best friends, lovers.
jisung had never been convinced. in his opinion, he and minho were destined to meet. he knew from the moment their eyes met that they were soulmates, and maybe it had taken a while, but their love soon blossomed like the cherry trees in april.
he could understand why people believed they were opposites. jisung was always so loud, minho quiet. he knew that if minho was the night sky, then jisung was the stars that adorned him. he also knew, however, that even though their surfaces were polar opposites, their souls were the same.
he thought on the nights they spent in seoul drinking chamomile tea on the roof of their apartment building. he thought of minho’s job at the old record store and how he kept a basket in the back with new arrivals that he just knew jisung would love. he thought to all the times they’d baked lavender shortbread in their tiny one-bedroom apartment and watched the sunset from the balcony. he thought of the mural minho painted above their bed when they’d first arrived in busan, a willow tree watching over them as they slept.
he lastly thought of all the photographs. he thought of minho taking them, and even though the older boy wasn’t as professional as jisung, the slight blur characterised their shared life. six years was a long time to be together, and the boxes upon boxes of memories reflected that. time may be a figment of human imagination, but jisung would give up anything if he knew he could spend what time he did have left with minho.
jisung’s thoughts released him as he walked silently towards the living room, finding minho curled up in the same position he left him in, eyes closed, breath even. he sighed and moved to lift him into his arms, doongie watching him as he collected the sleeping boy.
he tucked minho under the covers, their willow watching them as he climbed in next to the older boy. he allowed minho to curl into his chest, letting himself wrap his arms around minho’s waist.
“goodnight angel,” he whispered into the night air, “i love you.”
minho stirred slightly, eyes opening to look up at jisung, “love you too, sunshine.” he mumbled, eyes shutting, a small smile gracing his features.
jisung smiled softly, allowing himself to close his eyes and fall into minho’s embrace. he was home.