Work Text:
“Rok Soo! Look what I found!”
Kim Rok Soo had been lying down on a piece of cardboard, imagining the ending of the drama series he never got to finish when Lee Soo Hyuk ran up to him, waving something in the air. The sweaty, dirt-covered man stopped in front of him and thrust the object in his hand at Kim Rok Soo’s face.
Lee Soo Hyuk took a moment to catch his breath and Kim Rok Soo watched his muscular chest heave. He watched the drop of sweat slide down a devastatingly sharp jawline. He watched the beautiful curve of that boyish smirk.
“I picked it up on the way here,” Lee Soo Hyuk said, and the corny line shouldn’t sound cute.
Kim Rok Soo blinked in a daze as Lee Soo Huk grinned at him, even throwing in a wink. The mischievous twinkle in Lee Soo Hyuk’s eyes shouldn’t be as charming as it is. He had to remind himself to look down at whatever it was instead of staring at the handsome man’s face.
It was a misshapen bar of chocolate, getting increasingly squished in Lee Soo Hyuk’s large hand. Lee Soo Hyuk’s hand was covered in small cuts and callouses, proving just how hard-won their successful food raid was. The packaging was very familiar—there was a similar, empty one tucked in Kim Rok Soo’s pocket, kept from months ago.
The chocolate bar Lee Soo Hyuk had given him back then tasted sticky and sweet, way too cloying for his dry mouth, but it was still one of the most delicious things he had ever eaten because the taste reminded him he was alive, that he would survive. Due to his weakness, he couldn’t even protect himself, and although Lee Soo Hyuk did not seem to mind...
I don’t want to be your burden.
Kim Rok Soo was filled with shame each time Lee Soo Hyuk brought him food. It was food that Kim Rok Soo put in no effort for since all he could do was lie around in the base or help out with miscellaneous chores. It was food that Lee Soo Hyuk fought for with his life, one that he bled and hurt for. Yet, it was given to Kim Rok Soo so easily, even though they were practically nothing but strangers.
In a ruined world like this, survival came first. Yet, how could Lee Soo Hyuk stay so steadfast in his beliefs? How could he stay so kind and so positive?
“Don’t you have to turn this in to the management team?” Kim Rok Soo asked. He didn’t want Lee Soo Hyuk to get into trouble because of him.
“Ayy, don’t be so stiff. They won’t miss one bar of chocolate. I gotta feed my dongsaeng.”
“But you’re not my hyung.”
“Aish, you’re so not cute. I saved you so I have to take care of you!” He ruffled Kim Rok Soo’s head with his free hand as though Kim Rok Soo was a mangy little poodle. Kim Rok Soo’s hair was gross and oily from a long time without a bath and it was embarrassing, so he smacked Lee Soo Hyuk’s hand away with a scowl. As always, Lee Soo Hyuk only laughed at his standoffish attitude instead of getting pissed off.
“Come on, take it. My arm is starting to hurt.”
It was hardly rectangular now, bunched up and squished like it had seen much better days. It might even be expired, given how long it has been since the monster invasion started.
Kim Rok Soo’s heart felt bunched up and squished too. He stared at the chocolate bar, unable to process the tidal wave of feelings attempting to drown him. Gratitude. Shame. Joy. Sorriness. L—
“Ah, never mind, it’s all melted.” Sheepish, Lee Soo Hyuk tried to shove it into his pocket. He must have misunderstood Kim Rok Soo’s scrunched up expression.
“Do you think I care about it being melted in these times?” Rok Soo snorted. He was bare-bones now, barely any meat on him from the poor provisions he had been given. As a non-combatant, he couldn’t complain about it when others were risking their lives to keep his own going. “I’ll just lick it from the wrapper. Give it to me.”
I’ll take anything you give me.
“No, wait. There’s someone with ice powers, I’ll ask him to freeze this again!”
“As if he would do that for free.”
“Then I’ll give him some of my food or something. He’s a nice guy, so he won’t report us. He’s taken some lollipops for his girlfriend too.”
This man was ridiculous.
With a sigh, Kim Rok Soo reached out for the chocolate bar. “It’s fine, I’ll just eat it like this.” Food is food. The world had gone to shit, and it was not time to care about whether the food was hot, cold, hard, or melted.
Lee Soo Hyuk pulled it away from Kim Rok Soo’s reach with a frown. “Hmm... But it’s your favourite chocolate bar.”
It’s only my favourite because of you, you idiot.
“Then what’s your favourite food?”
“Hmm? Me? Umm...” Lee Soo Hyuk made a show of thinking about it. Then, he said with a cheesy grin, “I like food that our maknae eats well.”
Kim Rok Soo’s heart skipped a beat.
“What?” he made a disgusted face. “Say things like that to your girlfriend.”
Lee Soo Hyuk laughed, as he always did when Kim Rok Soo made that face. He flicked Kim Rok Soo’s forehead lightly. “Too bad for you! I don’t have one, so you’ll have to deal with all my love. Our cute, stubborn maknae-ya~”
Now his heart was being squeezed into an odd shape again, as though it was play dough in Lee Soo Hyuk’s hand.
“Why are you guys eating without me?!”
For once, Kim Rok Soo was grateful for Choi Jung Soo’s interruption. His friend was wearing a huge pout unbefitting of his age as he ran over to join them—a truly haunting image that would plague Kim Rok Soo’s nightmares.
Lee Soo Hyuk gasped theatrically, his expression jokingly judgmental. “Why are you trying to steal our maknae’s favourite food? Look how muscular you are compared to our Rok Soo! You should spare him some meat from your bones!”
Kim Rok Soo protested, “I don’t like human meat. Even if I did, I’ll never eat Choi Jung Soo.”
“Why! I’m sure I taste good!” Choi Jung Soo whined. This man was also ridiculous. Why was he arguing about that? Did he actually want to be eaten by cannibals? “I like chocolate too! And it’s not like I’ll eat the whole thing, I just want a piece! This is favouritism!”
“Stop throwing a tantrum, Jung Soo. I’ll get your favourite food if I see it.”
Flabbergasted, Choi Jung Soo’s eyes grew comically wide.“How the fuq are you gonna get samgyupsal?!”
“Well, why are you such a picky eater?!”
“Excuse meh??”
Kim Rok Soo had to muffle a snicker at Choi Jung Soo’s accent. Sometimes, being with these two was like having a real-life slapstick comedy show 24/7.
In the midst of the chaos, Kim Rok Soo stole the chocolate bar and unwrapped it. He licked the whole half-melted chocolate from top to bottom, claiming it for himself with his saliva. It was very sweet. It was especially sweet because Choi Jung Soo wanted it.
Choi Jung Soo gasped when he noticed what Kim Rok Soo did. “Ah Rok Soo! You’re so sneaky, you little rat!”
“What? What did you call our maknae?!”
Kim Rok Soo licked his lips victoriously and lifted an eyebrow like a brat. What are you going to do about it?
“It’s mine now. I’ve licked it.”
“I don’t care! I’ll still eat it!” Choi Jung Soo jumped for the chocolate, crushing Kim Rok Soo under his weight. Kim Rok Soo protested and struggled but Choi Jung Soo did not care, grabbing the chocolate bar (if you can even call it a bar) so he could take a huge bite of it. “Haha! Victory!” He rolled off Kim Rok Soo, grinning with teeth stained by chocolate.
“You’re disgusting!” Kim Rok Soo kicked Choi Jung Soo hard in his side, but the musclehead didn’t even react.
“How dare you steal from our maknae, you greedy pig!?”
“This is favouritism! Urk!”
Kim Rok Soo watched as Lee Soo Hyuk jumped on the chocolate thief, moving swiftly and nimbly like a fierce cobra until he had Choi Jung Soo in an MMA-worthy chokehold. It was an impressive sight. The genre had changed again, but it was just as entertaining to watch.
As Kim Rok Soo hid his smile, he had only one thought on his mind.
Ah, if only he had popcorn.