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“Hoseok, I’m only going to ask this once… why do you have two copies of Boys Over Flowers?”
Hoseok’s head bobbed up from a pile of boxes like a concerned meercat. “They’re not mine?”
Kihyun gave him a bitchface and laughed. “Alright, we’ll go with that.”
They were clearing out the attic. A long overdue chore that had finally come to a head when the top shelf in the office cupboard had collapsed under the sheer weight of stuff it had been holding. Ever since Kihyun had moved in, six years ago, he’d been telling Hoseok that they needed more room for both of their things, but it had become one of those tasks that they kept saying they’d get around to and never did. Well, the time had finally come and they were knee deep in an attic full of dusty boxes, old suitcases, and a pair of skis.
“Do you think we’ll ever use this again?” Hoseok held up a box that contained the food dehydrator they’d bought a couple of years back and used a grand total of once.
Kihyun frowned at it for a moment, then a lightbulb went off. “We can stop worrying about what to get your cousin as a wedding present now.”
Hoseok put the box down, chuckling loudly. It went in the rehome pile, right next to the keep pile and the trash pile. He still wasn’t entirely happy that his football kit from high school was in the lattermost pile. So what if it didn’t fit and had a very deep-set mud stain around the butt area? He had good memories from playing in it.
There were plenty of memories in the attic, however, more than enough to keep them dwelling over sentimental items and lengthening their spring clean by quite a few hours. The box with things they’d kept from when they’d first got together had been the real setback as they’d spent nearly an hour just pulling out items and reminiscing. The movie tickets, the love notes, the silly little gifts won in arcades… even a picture of the cake Hoseok had made for Kihyun’s birthday in the first year of their relationship. It hadn’t cooked all the way through, resulting in it steadily caving in throughout the day, but they’d still stuck a few candles on top and eaten the good bits.
“Wow your mum really kept every single certificate, didn’t she?” Kihyun remarked.
Hoseok laughed. “She was very proud of me.”
“My parent’s have my graduation photo… I think that’s it.”
“Pfft, I bet there’s all sorts they’ve kept that you don’t know about.” Hoseok shook his head fondly, as he reached for another box of Lego.
“Mmm. It’s probably there somewhere, just very neatly organised away.” Kihyun said, reflecting for the umpteenth time on the traits he’d inherited from his mother. “Shall we ask your mum if she wants all these?”
“Oh we can just turn up with them, she’ll be over the moon.” Hoseok grinned.
He decided that there was too much Lego to sort out and resorted to dumping it all in one large box that got shoved to the back of the floor space: another project for a rainy day.
Suddenly Kihyun gasped. “Oh my god, it’s the vase!”
Hoseok scrambled across the attic to crouch beside Kihyun as he pulled an old vase out of a shoebox, grin already in place. They’d been given the vase by Kihyun’s grandmother when he’d moved in, but it had been far too precious an item for either of them to keep safe and had slowly accumulated a vast array of chips and cracks. They’d glued it back together every single time Kihyun’s grandmother came to visit, but it had gotten so dinked up that they were running out of angles they could place it to hide the most damage. Eventually, Kihyun told her that they’d moved it upstairs, conveniently after she’d had a hip replacement, and the burden was lifted.
“Don’t drop it.” Hoseok joked as Kihyun turned it over in his hands.
Kihyun started laughing, but abruptly tailed off. “You know what…” Without warning, he lifted up the vase and brought it crashing down within the shoebox. The cracks filled with superglue flew apart with ease and the infamous vase was once and for all smashed to smithereens. Kihyun dusted off his hands and looked at Hoseok with a triumphant smile.
Hoseok broke out into laughter, only stopping to kiss Kihyun. “That was awesome.”
“I know.” Kihyun sniggered. “Now, back to work.”
Hoseok stole another kiss and shuffled back to his workspace. As he was collecting up some bits of rubbish, however, a thought he’d had earlier returned to him and he decided it was better to just bring it up instead of ruminating by himself. He crossed his legs to a more comfortable sitting position and got Kihyun’s attention once again.
“What’s up?”
“Did you ever… have you ever thought that maybe we should have moved into a house together?” Hoseok said, finding an action figure to fiddle with.
“Do you mean instead of me just moving in here?” Kihyun questioned, putting down the schoolbooks he’d been stacking neatly.
“Mm.” Hoseok nodded.
“I did wonder, at first. When I moved in, it was in the back of my mind that we’d find a new place together but… I don’t know, the thought just kind of went away.”
“How so?”
Kihyun smiled. He’d noticed the apprehension in Hoseok’s face, as if he were scared to bring this topic up, but there was nothing to be worried about. “Well, even though this was your place originally, it’s ours now. We’ve lived here together longer than you lived here by yourself.”
A light grew in Hoseok eyes as he considered this. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”
Kihyun smiled wider and decided to move across and sit next to him, though it was hard to find any unused floor space. He dangled his legs over the edge of the trapdoor. “Think about everything that’s happened here, everything we’ve done. Renovating the kitchen, for example.”
“Bit boring.” Hoseok teased.
Kihyun chuckled. “Alright, what about the first time we bought furniture together? That was fun!”
“Hmmm getting warmer.”
“Our first Christmas just the two of us? All the birthday parties, barbeques, karaoke nights?”
Hoseok grinned, chucking the action figure onto the rehome pile. “Yeah.”
Kihyun leaned over and got hold of his hand. “What about the first time you told me you loved me?”
Both their spirits were lifted as the memory filled their minds. It had been barely three months into Kihyun moving in but teething problems had started to arise. They ended up having a stupid fight about the colour of the living room walls of all things. Hoseok had stormed out of his own house, only to come back a couple of hours later crying because he didn’t want to fight… because he loved Kihyun.
Hoseok sighed in contentment and sealed their lips back together, drinking in Kihyun’s familiar and comforting scent – mixed with a hint of dust. Kihyun pulled back just slightly so he could press a dozen kisses in rapid succession over Hoseok’s lips.
“I think it’s time for a cup of tea.” He said decisively and carefully manoeuvred around to climb down the ladder.
Hoseok watched him go with a lovestruck expression, still wrapped up in happy memories. If he’d known cleaning out the attic was going to be this wonderful, he’d have insisted they do it sooner. Then again, he was covered in dirt and smelled like the inside of vacuum cleaner. He resolved to ignore that and crawled across to a locked suitcase hiding under a tent and a deflated pool ring. Taking the key out of his back pocket, he opened the little padlock and unzipped the case just enough to stick his hand in and pull what he wanted out of it. He shuffled back to where he’d been sat before and started clearing up around him to make more space.
A few minutes later, Kihyun returned, precariously grasping two mugs in one hand as he climbed the ladder with the other. Hoseok helped to take them from him so that he could get up safely.
“Remind me to buy milk.” Kihyun said a little breathlessly, finally coming to rest in the area that had been cleared.
“Ki?”
“Oh and we need rabbit food as well.” He took a quick sip of tea and starting rummaging in a box of assorted junk.
“Kihyun?”
“Yeah?” He pulled out a broken lamp and frowned at it for a second before putting it back.
Hoseok chuckled to himself. He gently took hold of Kihyun’s arm and got him to turn around. “Ki.”
“Huh? What’s th-… oh my god.”
“I was going to wait till we were in Bali.” Hoseok said, awkwardly shifting his legs around so he could kneel, then immediately going back to seated when his knees protested on the harsh floorboards. “But I think this is the only place in the world I’d ever want to do this.”
“Oh Hoseok.” Kihyun covered his trembling smile with his hand.
“I don’t even have a speech prepared.” Hoseok laughed nervously as his throat began to choke up. “I just… I just need you to know…” Tears pricked his eyes. He took a shaky breath, wondering if he’d actually be able to speak. “H-how much I love you.” The tears started rolling down his cheeks as he opened the small box in his wobbling hands. “You’re the one.”
Kihyun went to sit right in front of him and brush the tears from his face, keeping his hands there to stroke Hoseok’s cheeks and keep their eyes locked. “What are you asking?” He whispered, surprised to find his voice unsteady as well.
Hoseok took another deep breath. “W-will you marry me, Ki?”
A short laugh broke from Kihyun’s mouth and, without his permission, tears welled up in his own eyes. “Yeah.” He said, grinning. “Yes.”
Hoseok collapsed into his arms, sobbing without restraint, and Kihyun still forcibly tried not cry as he held him. He pulled Hoseok’s face back up so that he could kiss him. It was a little messy and tasted like tears, but it was beautiful. Kihyun screwed his eyes shut and lost himself in the feeling of Hoseok’s mouth on his, tracing lines with his tongue, moving their lips together in harmony. When they finally parted, Kihyun gave up and threw his face into his palms.
“Ki, are you crying?” Hoseok giggled.
“No.” Kihyun muttered, but he knew his whole body must have been shaking with the force of his sobs. Hoseok’s arms came back around him and held him close.
They stayed like that for a while, until they had both got a handle on their tears and breathing, enough that Hoseok could take the two rings out of the box and place one on Kihyun’s finger, Kihyun then doing the same for him. They stared at them in awe.
“Oh my god we’re engaged.” Kihyun suddenly exclaimed.
Hoseok burst out laughing. “Yeah we are.”
“We’re engaged and we’re sat in an attic covered in dust and cobwebs.” Kihyun joined him in laughing. Great big belly laughs that had them rolling in the aforementioned dust and cobwebs.
“We should probably carry on tidying.” Hoseok said.
Kihyun sighed. “How about a twenty-minute break? We’ll go downstairs, drink our tea, and… plan a wedding I guess.” He chuckled again.
“Sounds perfect.”
It took them a couple more days to finally have the attic cleared out and the newly organised things from downstairs put up there. The shelf in the office cupboard got fixed and was given a lot less stuff to hold. Everything in the house went back to normal, if a little neater, except for the fact that it’s owners would one day leave and come back married, ready to make a whole bunch of new memories.