Work Text:
Seungyoun barely made it to his couch before his phone went off, and every bone in his body told him to ignore it. He didn’t care to see who had liked his retweet or if the website he signed up for months ago that he never turned off daily emails for had a new logo, he just wanted to close his eyes and fall asleep after a long and stressful day, but he had a terrible need to leave no notification unchecked so after about two whole minutes of resisting, he finally flipped the screen up to see Seungwoo’s name floating in the middle of his notifications between his workout reminder and a new follow alert from someone named Mario’s Green Pipe.
Seungwoo:
Hey I’m off work let’s hangout
Seungyoun:
Mmmmm...
Seungwoo:
I’m on my way c: I’ll come pick you up
Seungyoun:
Now?!
Seungwoo:
Yeah what are you busy?
Seungyoun:
No this is just out of character for you lol
Seungwoo:
What’s out of character lol
Seungyoun:
Spontaneity for one,,,
Seungwoo:
I can be spontaneous >:(
Seungyoun:
Pft you plan your grocery trips a week in advance…
Seungwoo:
Coupons are time sensitive, Youn.
Seungyoun:
Oohhoohoo that’s not the only thing that’s sensitive c:
Seungwoo:
Hmmm you know what I think ima go pick up Seungsik or Sejun instead they would never reject my coupons 😤
Seungyoun:
Hehehe i’m just kidding ❤️ when will you be here?
Seungwoo:
The school is like ten minutes away right? So uhh like 15 I guess
Seungyoun:
YOURE STILL THERE?
Seungwoo:
😳 yeah what was i supposed to do if you said no?? my house is in the other direction
Seungyoun:
Oh yeah that makes sense i guess alright i’ll see you in a bit
Seungwoo:
Ok ^^
Seungyoun:
Be safe!
Don’t speed!
Don’t drink and drive!!!
Seungwoo:
omg go away
Seungyoun:
LOL you love me
Seungwoo:
Do i??? That’s news to me
Seungyoun:
no it’s not :3
Seungwoo:
🤢 you’re gonna make me crash
Seungyoun:
BRO DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE WTF
Seungwoo:
Hahaha I’m just kidding
Ok I’m leaving now!
Seungyoun set his phone down on his leg and smiled, satisfied for being annoying. If there was anyone who he liked bothering the most, it was Seungwoo, but the fact that he was dragging him out of his home on a Tuesday was a little unsettling. Seungwoo, as he had teased, was not one of his most adventurous friends. Seungwoo was like a still forest at dawn— tall, calm, and warm enough that the morning dew didn’t soak through to the skin. This was not the normal thing for such a person to do, so Seungyoun had to believe that he had something up his sleeve.
He seemed to be in a good mood so he probably didn’t need him to come over and help him drink his sorrows away. Good news, perhaps? Maybe Seungwoo finally asked out whoever it was that he had his eye on lately (according to Wooseok, there was someone, but Seungyoun wasn’t privy to this information on his own, and frankly, he never felt like it was his place to bring it up).
Could it have been his job? Seungwoo was an art teacher at a local elementary school, and even though he couldn’t manage more than a stick figure, apparently six year olds didn’t care if you were Picasso or not as long as you had a friendly face and a penchant for collecting crayola products. If he was in a good mood, he probably didn’t get fired. A promotion maybe?
But it was the middle of July… What was Seungwoo doing at the school in the middle of the summer? Seungyoun twisted his mouth in thought like he was pondering the most important question in the world, but then he realized that art teachers probably had to decorate their classrooms differently each year to spark creativity, and that made sense enough.
Seungyoun hadn’t changed out of his work clothes yet so he kicked off his slacks in favor of a pair of sweats and switched his white button up for a bright orange hoodie assuming that Mr. Spontaneous didn’t plan on going anywhere that required him to look like anything other than a traffic cone.
Not long after he finished changing, he got his trusty I’m here text and headed outside. Seungwoo’s car was the easiest to find in the lot because he was the only person parked on the level on a teacher’s salary, but the car that one might have incorrectly called an old clunker, had never once broken down or needed more than the occasional tune up. It was dependable, strong, and it hummed when things went too fast— a lot like its owner.
Seungyoun waved once he spotted it and waited for Seungwoo to crank the window down by hand low enough to stick his arm out to signal that he was there.
I know it’s you, Snoo.
Seungyoun shimmied himself between Seungwoo’s baby and a chrome dusted Ferrari, and jiggled with the nob a bit to let himself in. Seungwoo ended up having to lean across to the passenger side to pop the handle up with his thumb to let him in and made sure to mutter a few apologies once Seungyoun got the door open.
Seungyoun took a deep breath and flopped down against the gray cloth seat. “I love this car.”
Seungwoo snorted. “Shut up.”
“I’m serious! We should go on a road trip or something before Gyul, Yohan, and Subin’s classes start back up,” he said.
“Do you think five people could fit in here,” Seungwoo laughed.
“Sure, they’re all kind of short,” he mused, taking a look in the rear view mirror to evaluate the backseat for space. “Just stick Yohan in the middle, he can bend his knees.”
“Maybe I’ll stick you in the back,” he teased.
“Pft, you can’t drive without me navigating, and if I have to navigate from the back, I’ll get motion sickness and then I’ll puke on your shoes.”
Seungwoo laughed brightly. “How would you puke on my shoes if I’m the one driving?”
“I’ll wait until you get out to check on me,” Seungyoun said.
“Who said I’ll check on you?”
“Your sweet and loving conscience, I assume,” he sighed. “Oh, but what’s in the back?”
While Seungyoun was busy planning their beach trip’s (it was a beach trip, he decided) seating arrangements, he noticed that Seungwoo had securely fastened a mysterious object with a seatbelt that was covered with a brightly patterned beach towel that he was sure was premonitive and not at all a cosmic coincidence.
“Hm? Oh, nothing,” Seungwoo said vaguely as he pulled out of his parking spot, jerking Seungyoun back into his seat. “Buckle up!”
“Suspicious,” Seungyoun squinted.
“Do you have your parking pass? I don’t wanna drop a whole paycheck on the gate,” he said.
“Sure, yeah, hold on,” he said as he fished his wallet out from his pocket. The pass cost him a month’s rent, but in comparison to the lot’s ungodly parking fees, it really was worth the money. Plus, as long as it was scanned on the way out, it didn’t matter whose car he passed through. He handed the card to Seungwoo, but jerked it away before it reached his fingers. “Now, now, nothing comes for free.”
Seungwoo made a face. “You get into my car to blackmail me?”
“I think this counts as bribery, but yes,” he laughed. “What are you hiding, Mr. Pool Noodle.”
“Pool Noodle?” Seungwoo snorted. “Mind your business, that’s what.”
“Hmmm, but if you don’t have my pass, you’ll be stuck here forever,” he pretended to threaten.
“It’s stuff for the kids,” he said. “I’m keeping it under the towel because the paints are sensitive to sunlight, and it’s not like we have an art budget.”
Seungyoun hummed, satisfied enough, and handed him his parking pass. “Then why were you being sneaky?”
“Because it bothers you,” he said before he smiled in a way that barely showed his teeth. “Besides, if you knew it was paint, you’d want to play with it.”
“Me?!” Seungyoun gasped.
“Am I wrong?” Seungwoo said calmly.
“No, but did you have to say it?”
He wrinkled his nose. “You’re such a kid sometimes.”
“That’s why we hang out,” he sighed. “I make you feel young.”
“You make me feel something, alright,” Seungwoo rolled his eyes.
He pulled up to the gate and rolled down his window, cranking his arm as fast as he could go, but some jerk in a Lexus behind them laid down on their horn, startling him. Seungyoun looked over his shoulder and glared, making sure to dig daggers into whichever neighbor it was that thought being rude was a personality trait.
“Sorry,” Seungwoo muttered.
“Want me to get out and steal their license plate?”
“You would do that for me?”
“I should complain to the manager,” he mumbled to himself, ignoring him.
Seungwoo scanned the parking pass and pulled away with a sigh. “I’m sure they have somewhere important to be.”
“So do we!”
“Just my house,” he laughed.
“Yeah, and that’s important!”
Seungwoo’s home was on the other side of their piece of the city. It wasn’t as modern or as shiny as the land of high rises where Seungyoun called home, but it was like how things were always supposed to be if you asked them back when they were children. The only clue that Seungwoo lived in the same world as him was the threatening notices left behind by developers on several of the bought out shops and properties scattered across the neighborhood. Coming soon.
What was coming soon? Was it a mall? A new apartment complex? An entertainment company office? It was the new, and Seungwoo’s house was a piece of the old, the good, the home.
He lived with his parents in a tiny two bedroom house fenced in by stone walls and a solid metal gate with a chalk flower drawn on the outside. Seungyoun supposed that maybe Seungwoo had more up his sleeve than just stick figures if he could draw flowers for his entryway.
Seungwoo opened it with a loud screech, and Seungyoun stepped through like it was a portal to his own grandparents’ house. All it was missing was the smell of home cooking and puppy fur.
“Where’s your parents?” Seungyoun asked as they walked through the tiny weeded garden towards the front door. There were spring onions, herbs, and a few root vegetables he couldn’t place from just their tops growing in the ground below, and he thought sadly how much of a shame it would be to see it replaced one day with concrete and steel.
“They’re visiting my sister out of town,” he said. “It’s just us tonight.”
Seungyoun hummed with a sad pout. “I was looking forward to seeing your mom.”
He sighed. “She left you a few containers.”
“Really?!”
“Yes, with very strict instructions that I am not allowed to eat any of your treats.”
Seungyoun cheered more to himself. “Yes!”
“God, what are you, my little brother?”
“I hope not,” he laughed.
Seungwoo smiled to himself, but didn’t say anything else about it. Then he stopped in place, almost making Seungyoun trip over his own feet. “Oh wait! Can you go in first? I need to check the mail.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” he said. Seungwoo turned around and bolted back out the gate, and Seungyoun went in by himself.
All the lights were off, giving off a weird energy to the home that felt like stepping into an empty apartment for the first time before moving in. He kicked his shoes off, opting to not wear any of the sandals below, and felt his way through until he found the living room light switch to make it look more alive.
The home itself was small in a way that was more cozy than suffocating, and even though it was too quiet in there alone to get used to, he felt safe. He felt wanted. Walking into Seungwoo’s house felt more normal to him than walking into his own apartment sometimes.
Although he was tempted to sneak off into the kitchen to see what his mom had left for him, Seungyoun sat down on the couch with his hands in his lap and waited. Surely even though they were friends, rummaging through his family’s refrigerator would have been considered improper under any circumstance.
The door opened with a loud plastic fwap as it unpeeled itself from the frame, and Seungwoo came in back first with the toweled bundle in his arms.
“Could you give me a hand?”
“Yeah! Sorry!” Seungyoun jumped up and pulled the door open for him so Seungwoo could get inside. His mail was wedged in between his teeth, and his teaching bag was slung over his shoulder. “I would have carried in the paint cans for you if you needed me to. Here, let me help, they must be heavy.”
“No, I got it,” he insisted, spitting the mail out onto a nearby table. “Can you go hit the light in the kitchen for me so I can set this down?”
Seungyoun frowned, confused as to why he needed to store art supplies in the kitchen, but went back into the house anyway. He flipped the switch, and waited for it to flicker on before he registered that something was a bit strange about Seungwoo’s kitchen too.
The table was covered in a cloudy blue cloth with two plates set out, a couple of orange paper cups, and a set of plastic forks placed neatly at the sides.
“You expecting company?”
And to Seungyoun’s horror, Seungwoo began to sing at the top of his lungs, almost making him pee his pants in surprise.
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Seungyounie! Happy Birthday to you!”
The beach towel had been discarded haphazardly onto the floor, and now Seungyoun could see that the “paint cans” Seungwoo had been hiding from the sun, was actually a birthday cake in a fragile plastic box.
“Snoo…”
Seungwoo smiled to himself, a soft flush to his cheeks from having to sing the birthday song all by himself, but he sang it bravely and loudly, and Seungyoun had to respect him for that. He set the cake down in the center of the table and removed the top, proud of himself, but upon further inspection, it seemed that his cake hadn’t arrived as perfectly as he thought. “Oh no.”
It was frosted a bright blue with orange lettering that was probably supposed to have Seungyoun’s name on it, but the frosting had all smudged together into a sad tie-dyed print. Seungyoun pretended not to notice. “What’s wrong?”
“It melted,” he frowned pitifully. “Youn, I’m so sorry. I promise I texted you as soon as I picked it up from the bakery, but it’s already ruined.”
“It’s a thousand degrees outside,” Seungyoun said, trying to be helpful. “It’s what I get for having a summer birthday. You did great, it’s not ruined at all!”
“It’s ugly now,” he said.
“It’s still my favorite colors! And I bet it tastes amazing! But, uh, there’s just one thing,” he said, rubbing his hands together anxiously.
“What?”
“It’s, uh, not my birthday…” Seungyoun said awkwardly.
Seungwoo broke out into a laugh. “I know that, but I’ve gotta go out of town that week because we’re taking the kids to Jeju for a back-to-school art camp, and like, I know you’re going to celebrate with Wooseok, Yohan, Hangyul, Yibo, and like everyone else you know, but I felt bad that I couldn’t be here so I thought…”
Seungyoun sniffled. “A birthday party? Just you and me?”
“Yeah, is that stupid,” Seungwoo asked, looking down.
“No! Oh my god, this is so great! I’m so happy! Thank you! You got me a cake! And it’s so pretty!”
“It’s kinda ugly,” he mumbled.
“Pretty tasty!” Seungyoun shouted to be helpful. “What kind is it?”
“Chocolate,” he said. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, but this bakery has the best chocolate cake in the whole city. I think they use chunks of fudge in the batter.”
“Really?” His mouth watered, eager to taste such a moist and decadent cake for himself. “Thank you so much. I’m so happy, I could cry.”
“Please don’t cry,” he laughed. “You’ll put out the candles. Oh! The candles!”
Seungwoo darted off to one of the drawers and yanked it open. He grabbed a handful of candles and came back as he counted them clumsily.
“Please, don’t put more than twenty on here, I don’t want to think about my age,” Seungyoun teased.
Seungwoo raised the fistfull of candles up like a promise and nodded. “These will do.”
But as Seungwoo did his best to stick them on the top of the cake, the melted icing took them away like they were lost in a landslide.
“Oh my god, why is this not working,” Seungwoo said under his breath.
“Here, don’t worry about it,” Seungyoun grabbed his hand. “It’s fine, really.”
“You have to make a wish,” he said. “It’s important.”
“Why,” he laughed.
“Because you only get one chance a year, and I don’t want you to miss it.”
“But it’s not even my real bir–,” Seungyoun stopped himself. He looked at Seungwoo who was hunched over trying his best to make his cake work out, and felt a strange tightening in his chest. He looked at Seungwoo’s determined profile and saw a person that just wanted to make this day his day at any cost because for some reason he still believed in wishes. Maybe for him, Seungyoun could believe in wishes too.
“Here,” he said. “We just need one right? One candle for one birthday wish?”
He jammed one of the candles into the center and prayed that it wouldn’t slide away, and it seemed to stick considering it was half way down to the bottom. They both sighed in relief.
“Are you sure,” Seungwoo asked, doubtful.
“Of course! Plus, we can’t eat a cake covered in fingerprints,” he giggled.
“Oh, right,” he said looking down at the mess he had made. His fingers were orange and blue from the smudges of frosting, looking more like the fingerpainting kids he taught than their full grown teacher. Seungwoo was cute, he had to admit, and it wasn’t just because he gave him a cake either. He was naturally someone to fawn over. It couldn’t be helped. Anyone with eyes could see it, and it didn’t help that he was covered in frosting.
Seungyoun handed him a napkin. “Here.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Let me go get a lighter.”
“Okay,” he said, stepping back. “Want me to get the light?”
“Please.”
Seungyoun switched the kitchen light back off, leaving them cloaked in half darkness with just the light from the living room to help them see, and Seungwoo fished around in one of the drawers until he found what he was looking for.
“Here we go,” he said more so to himself. “Okay.”
Seungwoo returned to the table and lit the single candle in the center, and then he picked the cake up carefully by the bottom tray. The candlelight hit his face in such a way that would have brought a tear to Rembrandt’s eye himself, and Seungyoun’s heart stopped. Seungwoo was someone who could make anyone’s heart stop. That was just a fact he had long ago accepted for himself, and the sooner the rest of the world did, the happier they’d be. It did not help that he was holding a cake in his hands just for him.
“Make a wish,” he said cheerfully, careful not to drop it.
Seungyoun approached him and put his hands on the sides too from the other side, covering Seungwoo’s fingers with his own to brace it. Surely between the two of them holding the tray, it couldn’t fall, he figured. He closed his eyes and thought carefully. What did he want? He had everything didn’t he? A good job, a loving family, a supportive friends group. He didn’t need to wish for anything at all, but Seungwoo had given this to him. Seungwoo wanted him to have his one wish, so he had to make it count. He thought for a moment and took in a breath, releasing it over the flame with a single determined puff.
I wish that Seungwoo will always be happy.
“Happy birthday,” Seungwoo said, satisfied behind the faint trail of smoke that lingered just above the wick. Seungyoun froze on his face. Seungwoo smiled like he had just given someone the world with one single candle the same way another person might have given someone they cared about a Rolex worth a down payment of a house, and Seungyoun thought that no better wish had ever been made than the one he had just then.
Seungwoo slid the cake tray out from under his fingertips and placed it back on the table, discarding the candle so he could cut it.
“Now, do we want to do normal slices or should we cut the whole thing in half and split it,” he asked.
“You’ve been spending too much time with six year olds,” Seungyoun laughed. “Maybe we should slice it so no one gets sick.”
Seungwoo hummed. “Maybe you’re right. Do you want Coke, milk, or a beer?”
“Beer and cake?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t know, I’ve never thrown anybody a birthday party before,” he shrugged.
“Well you’re doing a great job,” Seungyoun said, earning a pleased smile. “Maybe a coke and a… pizza?”
“A pizza?”
“If you want,” he said, shy and hopeful.
Seungwoo smacked himself on the forehead, smearing a glob of blue right between his eyebrows. “Of course! I forgot to order a pizza! What kind of a birthday party would this be without pizza!”
Seungyoun switched the light back on and approached him with the roll of paper towels. He tore off a piece and raised it to Seungwoo’s forehead to help clean off his new decoration with an amused smile. “It’s the best birthday party I’ve ever had.”
“Really?” He blinked.
Seungyoun wrapped his arms around Seungwoo’s shoulders and gave him a tight squeeze which Seungwoo hesitantly returned. He felt the older melt into him once he got used to the hug, and that only made him want to squeeze him more.
“Thank you,” he said into his shoulder with a confirming nod.
“You’re welcome,” Seungwoo said, as shy as the first day they met. “Seungyoun?”
“Hmm?”
“What did you wish for,” he asked. “I’m nosy.”
Seungyoun laughed and pulled away. “I can’t tell you! It won’t come true!”
Seungwoo clicked his tongue. “You’re right. I almost forgot.”
“My lips are sealed,” he nodded with determination as he made a zipping motion across his face.
Seungwoo hummed and looked down at his mess of a cake. “Do you think it can come true with a cake like this? With just one candle?”
“I think that that’s the only way a wish like this could come true.”
“Are you sure,” he tilted his head. “I’m not.”
Seungyoun watched him carefully, ignoring the cake on the table in favor of the man who had remembered to order it in the first place from the bakery that made “the best chocolate cake in the city” decorated with his favorite colors. Who had arranged this whole “party” just so that he wouldn’t miss his birthday. Who, with the help of his whole family, had made his home a place that Seungyoun could feel at home at too. He smiled, wondering how many times he was allowed to hug him until thank you became something different, something unexplored. Perhaps one day he could find out.
“I think it’s perfect.”