Work Text:
"I saw your vlog," Minho greeted.
"Not even a hello?" Hyunjin said flatly. "That was like a week ago."
...
"Okay I rewatched your vlog."
"Rewatched it?" Hyunjin snickered, trying to look back at what exactly was so entertaining about his spontaneous trip to Oido that merited a rewatch. "You that bored?"
"That wasn't even a beach trip."
"It was, too, a beach trip!" Hyunjin defended it, and Minho could imagine blood rushing to his face.
"Not if you didn't touch the sand it's not."
"I smelled the sea!"
"I can smell the sea from here, that doesn't mean I'm on a beach trip."
"Well if the beaches in Gimpo are so nice, I might just go someday!"
"Coward. Why don't you go right now?"
"Is that a challenge?"
Minho glanced at his watch. 7:45.
"What if it is?"
"Fine!"
"Fine?!"
"I'll be there in 30 minutes!"
The line went dead but not before Minho heard a door slam on the other end, and he realized Hyunjin was on his way to his house. At this very moment. When had the younger gotten so ballsy?
"Eomma!" he called.
"Yes, baby?"
"Hyunjinnie is on his way here."
"What?!" His mother exclaimed. "Why didn't you say so? I didn't make enough food!"
"We decided just now he'd come," sure, it was a mutual decision. "Don't make a fuss, eomma, I'm sure he already ate dinner."
He did not, in fact, eat dinner yet.
"I was painting," Hyunjin murmured, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, auntie," he tried to console Minho's mother, while simultaneously scratching Doongie's ears. To the cat's delight. Or annoyance. Doongie was screeching either way.
"I should at least pack you a snack before you go," she pushed.
"It's okay, eomma, I'll take him out to eat," Minho assured her. He turned to Hyunjin, who was now burying his face in Soonie's (ample, but don't tell Soonie that) belly. "Stop that, I'm sure you haven't taken any antihistamines."
"There's no such thing as cat allergies," a sing-songy reply, the younger now trying to lure Dori in with a churu he snatched from Minho's stash.
"You'll regret that when you stop breathing later."
"I'll deal with the consequences of my own actions, thank you very much."
"Brat."
"Minho."
"Sorry, eomma."
"Why did you bring that?"
Minho swished his GoPro around.
"You never know what we might capture."
"We'll look suspicious, hyung." Hyunjin adjusted his masks. Two. Just in case.
"We'll look like vloggers. Plenty of those in Korea."
Hyunjin scoffed. There were barely any people anyway.
He got distracted.
"Ah! There it is!" The younger bounced towards the sound of the waves.
"Now this is a beach trip," Minho plopped down on the sand.
"Hyung—"
"Hot pack? I brought two."
"How did you—"
"It's still winter, Hyunjinnie."
"You're in a good mood," Hyunjin murmured, plopping down beside his hyung.
"I call you Hyunjinnie all the time."
"Well, either you're in a good mood or you're about to feed me some tissues."
"We haven't done that in ages."
"Exactly. You're in a good mood." He said we.
"Hmm," Minho allowed, smirking.
"Why did you ask me to come here, hyung?"
"Ask you?! You were the one who took my teasing as a challenge."
"That was your weird way of asking."
"You said I was bored."
"Yes, I said you were bored," Hyunjin stared pointedly at him.
"And you're retracting because?"
"You're with your cats. You weren't bored."
"Fair," Minho paused.
They both knew what he was thinking. Except Hyunjin didn't want Minho to think he assumed.
"Fine, I do."
Hyunjin grinnned from ear to ear.
"Don't think you can hold this against me, we were locked up for ten days, and then sent on vacation."
"And yet I'm the only one here."
Minho grunted.
"And a simple 'I miss you' wouldn't suffice?"
Minho glared.
"The 'seeing' nullifies the 'missing', Hyunjin-ah."
"Oh so you're a problem-solver," Hyunjin giggled.
"I did graduate from a technical school."
...
"You haven't said it back," Minho grumbled.
"'The "seeing" nullifies the "missing",' hyung," Hyunjin's eyes sparkled in the dark night.
He dropped down to lie completely on his back.
"Isn't it cold?"
"Stars, hyung, look!"
Ah. What are layers for if not for this very purpose.
"I did miss you, hyung," Hyunjin said softly, Minho could barely hear it.
Probably not as much as I did.
"What?"
Oh.
Both of them were looking at the pinpricks of light above their heads.
"Hyung."
"Fine," he relented, taking a deep breath.
"I missed you when you were gone. Then when you came back everything was perfect but suddenly you weren't there anymore when I woke up in the morning."
It was quiet for a while.
"We can't be roommates forever, hyung."
"Alas."
Hyunjin turned towards him.
"I missed you when I was gone. Then when I came back everything was perfect but suddenly you weren't there anymore when I woke up... midday," his dongsaeng whispered back.
"Are you going to repeat everything I say?"
"Your ears are red."
"It's pitch black."
"I have night vision."
Minho turned to glare at him again, except he couldn't, because Hyunjin's eyes were doing that achingly beautiful thing they did when he was smiling so widely it made Minho's heart do the most irregular leaps inside his ribcage. Should he be worried?
"You're pretty," he said instead.
"My face is literally 3/4 mask, hyung," but his smile didn't waver.
Minho tucked a chunk of blond hair back into the younger's hoodie.
...
"I think we should go."
Hyunjin's eyebrows scrunched together.
"Okay," he said after a while. "Photo first."
Minho rolled out of the way as the younger took a selca in the dark.
"What? My phone's night mode is better than yours."
"You want a photo? There's a booth back there by the arcade."
Hyunjin's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.
"You're volunteering to take a picture with me??!"
"Do you not want to."
"Oh I want to!" Hyunjin shot up, pulling Minho with him.
"Calm down, it's open 24 hours," Minho assured him.
"Oh my god hyung it's like 9:30!" he checked his watch belatedly.
"Like I said, it's open 24 hours. Let's eat first. "
"Oh yeah..."
"Oh yeah," Minho mocked. "Stop forgetting to eat, or I'll smack you on the head."
"It's not like I do it on purpose, hyung," Hyunjin muttered sheepishly.
"Well then set an alarm, or something."
"You could be my alarm."
"I already have a job, I'm a pro idol."
"I could repay you in... kind."
Minho raised his eyebrow.
"Like with what?"
"Well what do you want?" Hyunjin demanded.
"Peace of mind. The icebergs to stop melting. To see STAYs again."
"How about kisses?"
Minho balked.
"Did you not call me pretty?"
Ah, he was joking. Minho tried to ignore the sudden lump in his throat.
"Whatever. I do it for free now, anyway," he rolled his eyes.
"Thanks, hyung," and Hyunjin did kiss him right on his cheekbone, so quickly he didn't even see the younger remove his masks and snap them back on again.
Hyunjin was staring determinedly at him, waiting.
"Blink, Hwang-ssi," and he promptly did. "In kind, it is," Minho added.
Hyunjin grinned widely, slipping his hand through Minho's.