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“Shit,” Changbin hisses when the sliding door gets stuck. He tries to pull at it, but it won’t budge. They have to be quiet now, so maybe they should just go out front. Anything to not wake up their managers.
“Here, let me,” Hyunjin whispers, as he puts both hands on the handle and one foot on the wall. His lips go stiff and his face scrunches up in the funniest expression Changbin has ever seen as Hyunjin puts all his strength into pulling the door open.
It works, albeit a little too well. The door slides open at once, banging into the wall at the other end. They freeze, standing there in silence for a couple of minutes, ears peaked to hear if there are any footsteps on the second floor.
Nothing.
Good.
The door opens up to another world, one they don’t see often. They’ve been staying at this house for three days now to film a new show, but because of their busy schedule, they haven’t been able to properly enjoy the outdoor pool that comes with the villa.
And god knows they could use some time to unwind. Every day is the same. Wake up early with a camera already shoved in your face, get your makeup done, go outside in the heat and do whatever silly assignment or game the staff has come up with this time, and all of this while keeping your guard up and entertain whoever might be on the other side of the camera eventually.
It’s absolutely exhausting.
The tiles under his feet are still warm from the excruciatingly hot summer day, despite it being two hours past midnight. Changbin looks over his shoulder to watch Hyunjin slide the door closed, and hisses at the way the movement pulls at the burned skin of his neck. When Hyunjin turns towards him, the moonlight that reflects off the rippling pool water dances in pretty lines on Hyunjin’s face.
“Do I have something on me?” Hyunjin asks, wiping at his nose.
Changbin shakes his head, dragging his eyes away from his friend. He pulls his shirt over his head and then shrugs his pajama pants off. They’ve been planning this all evening, so instead of underwear, he’s already wearing his swimming trunks.
Hyunjin is the first to step into the pool, making sure to not splash the water too much. His face contorts into a grimace at the temperature of the water, and as he submerges himself, his swimming trunks puff up with the air that’s still in them. Hyunjin dips down all the way to his chest and pushes at his trunks, the air floating out in bubbles all around him.
Changbin huffs a laugh at that, covering his mouth to stay silent. And then he follows, slowly climbing down the pool steps. It’s indeed colder than he expected, especially against his sunburned skin. It leaves him with shivers running through his body and his jaw tense, but it’s nice, wonderful even.
Once his feet touch the floor of the pool and he’s submerged until his armpits, he runs his hands over his arms, trying to rub away the goosebumps. He just stands there, in the shallow part of the pool, as Hyunjin quietly shows off his neat breaststroke all the way to the other end of the pool, and back.
Changbin dips down, his nose underwater, and blows bubbles while thinking of how nice that must be. He wishes he could swim like that, but this will do for now. And at least if he manages to drown in the shallow water, there will be someone to save him.
“This is heaven,” Hyunjin says when he returns. His cheeks are dusted red, both from the sun earlier today, and from exertion.
“Tell me about it.” Changbin cups some water in his hands and throws it over the back of his neck, where his skin is burned the worst.
“You want me to teach you?” Hyunjin asks, smiling cheekily. If Changbin didn’t trust him so much he would think he was up to no good.
“You’re gonna put me in floaties and have me splash around the pool like a dog?” Changbin cocks his head to the side sharply, not liking the idea one bit.
“No, silly.” Hyunjin shakes his head, water from his wet hair hitting Changbin in the face. It’s getting so long now, slightly waved from being wet where it falls in front of his eyes. Changbin wants to reach out and tuck it behind his ears, but he decides against it.
“Lesson one is learning how to float,” Hyunjin continues, and then, he flips onto his back, looking up at the night sky, “like this.”
He makes it look so easy, so Changbin thinks, ‘fuck it’, and flips himself onto his back too. But his body dips under the surface instantly and water spills into his nose. He forces himself upright and coughs, banging at his wet chest. Hyunjin is in front of him instantly, a worried look on his face. When he finally catches his breath again, they look up at the second floor of the house, to see if any of the lights go on.
Fortunately, they don’t, so Hyunjin goes back to explaining.
“You have to completely relax your body,” he whispers, “and like, I don’t know, let physics or something do the work.”
“Easier said than done,” Changbin opposes, but he decides to give it another try. He rolls his shoulders a couple of times, trying to get the tension out of them. Then, finally, he lets himself lie on his back, trying to let physics do the work, as Hyunjin put it.
Water goes into his ears and it feels awful. He almost panics at the feeling, wants to splash around until his feet are safe on the pool floor again, but suddenly there’s a hand under his head. The hand settles in his wet hair and holds him steady, just on the surface of the water. Changbin leans into it, and almost naturally, his body straightens itself and relaxes, floating on the pool water.
Changbin looks up at the owner of the hand. Hyunjin has that face that tells him ‘I told you so’ without even saying it. But there’s more to it. Hyunjin’s sweet, brown eyes flicker with the moonlight reflecting off the water, and it’s almost like he can see stars dancing in them. Changbin gets lost for a moment, and it feels like he’s floating in space, weightless and free.
Hyunjin chooses that exact moment to lean down and press a quick kiss to his lips, out of nowhere.
Instantly, Changbin is flailing and sputtering again, water getting into every hole possible, feeling like he’s about to choke to death. Hyunjin’s hands are on him instantly though, pulling him up by his armpits until he’s upright, safe. The sound of water splashing gets drowned out by the sound of Hyunjin’s giggles. When Changbin blinks the chlorine out of his eyes, he finds Hyunjin laughing at him.
Changbin wants to beat against his chest and tell him to stop, or ask him why the hell he kissed him just now, and maybe ask him if he could do it again so he can check if the butterflies he felt in his stomach were just a fluke.
But he doesn’t get the chance, because the lights on the second floor go on, casting them in an ugly and bright yellow glow. Within a second, they’re climbing out of the pool, leaving wet tracks behind as they quietly giggle from the jitters.
Their plans might be ruined for now, but maybe next time… maybe next time, Changbin can ask Hyunjin to teach him again… amongst other things.