Work Text:
Renjun and Chenle’s Unofficial Guide to Being the Best Boyfriends Ever:
Step 1: Listen to things they were passionate about.
That was an easy one, Renjun loved the way Yangyang would constantly talk about the latest game he was obsessed with or how his fishes were doing. So to him, step one was really simple. Chenle would make fun of him for being so passionate about listening to Yangyang and engaging in his hobbies, but Chenle was also the one making beaded gifts with Jisung because the younger wanted to. A hypocrite really.
Step 2: Pay attention to the little things.
Okay, this one seemed to be a weird one to add to the list, cause what exactly did they mean by this? Renjun took this as just noticing things about what the other said. Like when he surprised Yangyang with his favorite dish when the other said he was feeling a bit down.
The smile on the other’s face was absolutely worth it. This part he had nailed down perfectly, he was a great listener and was clearly going to be the best boyfriend.
Step 3: Show your partner a lot of love & attention.
Personally, he knew this wasn’t exactly his strongest area. He absolutely loved showing Yangyang affection, but never really in public. Which apparently was what he was supposed to do. There were multiple times people had come up to Yangyang in public to ask him out. Mind you, he was sitting right there!
The other was clearly taken, however, since apparently, Renjun does not show enough non-platonic touches with Yangyang, the two suddenly were not dating.
Chenle didn’t score very high in this area either. The two cousins were not the clingy, touchy type in public. They enjoyed the more subtle approach to affection, something neither of their boyfriends really minded.
Their nosy university page on the other hand clearly had different thoughts. Each month they featured a different couple on campus and this time leading up to this highlighted section, they decided to release rankings on the most affectionate to least affectionate couples on campus. You could already guess where he and Chenle ended.
Sure, this is not something he should be worrying over, a stupid opinion piece by the campus paper. But clearly his cousin wanted to prove everyone wrong. This brought him to his current situation, him and Chenle sitting in a cafe plotting how to become the best boyfriends on campus.
“Ge, I think we hold a competition to see who is the best boyfriend. Since clearly, the university page thinks we both suck at being boyfriends, let's make it interesting and prove who really is the better out of the two.”
Renjun thought about it. A battle with his cousin about who is the better partner to their respective boyfriends. What exactly could go wrong?
“Hmm, what’s in it for the person who ends up winning?”
“Well besides bragging rights,” Chenle starts out, “The winning boyfriend will get one free week of food paid for by the loser.”
The offer was tempting, free food for a week and bragging rights over Chenle? Now, this was all assuming he would even win in the first place, but it was worth a try. Besides, he was tired of everyone thinking he was a terrible boyfriend. Sure he didn’t show a lot of affection to Yangyang in public but that didn’t mean everyone should try to snatch his boyfriend. Surely, Renjun shouldn’t even bother listening to other people’s opinions. It was hard to ignore them though. So he does what any other person does, agree with his cousin’s crazy idea.
They had to set a couple of rules into place first:
Number 1. This was only going to last one week.
Number 2. Jaemin would be the moderator to keep accountability.
Number 3. They could not sabotage the other person.
Let the race begin.
1.
Renjun had decided to start off simple. By simple, he means waiting around for the end of Yangyang’s last lecture of the day and gifting the other boy flowers. Chenle had declared the whole idea to be cheesy, but what did he know? He also was considered one of the worst boyfriends on campus.
It seemed like a good idea in his head, Yangyang coming out of class and Renjun would be standing there with a cute bouquet in his hand. But now he’s sitting right outside of the lecture hall waiting for the class to get out.That’s when he starts panicking. He did not think about how public this whole idea was and he kept getting a lot of stares. Making him a little uncomfortable.
The bouquet he chose was a mini one with a red rose in the center, surrounded by a bunch of other little complimentary flowers. He saw it and immediately thought of Yangyang. It was small so it wouldn’t draw too much attention (he was wrong about that) and still a nice gift for Yangyang. Nothing was more classic than gifting your partner with flowers, right?
Renjun was so wrapped in his own head about the whole ordeal that he almost missed the end of the lecture. Noticing the stream of students leaving suddenly made him more alert. Yangyang stepped out moments later, looking down at his phone. The other starts to make his way toward him causing the boy in question to look up.
Surprise can be seen on his face as it wasn’t often Renjun picked him up from class. Usually, they would just met up after classes were over. This was something new for the both of them, though it was something Renjun could get used to.
“Hey, baby.”
He wanted to squeal internally, everytime Yangyang called him baby made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Stay focused Renjun.
“Hey, Yangie. Uhm these are for you.”
Renjun awkwardly hands over the little bouquet to Yangyang and the other lights up in surprise.
“Renjun! You didn’t have to get me flowers! Now you make me look bad for not getting you anything,” Yangyang whines.
“Your happiness is enough for me. Besides I just wanted to surprise you, no need to get me anything in return.” Your smile is worth a thousand gifts was left unsaid.
Yangyang just happily grabs the other’s arm and the two of them set off to meet the rest of their friends for a late lunch. Renjun could just see the happiness radiating off his boyfriend as he talked about his classes. Even though he was complaining about how awful his professor was, he kept glancing down at the bouquet he had gotten. He noticed when the two of them met up with their friends and sat down for lunch Yangyang let go of the bouquet.
He may have received a handful of teasing from Donghyuck but it was absolutely worth it. He just one-upped Chenle and the game had barely begun. He had this in the bag.
2.
Chenle was screwed. After seeing Renjun already do so well on the first day of the challenge, he did not have much hope for himself. He was good at teasing Jisung, but doing cute gifts and affection was a bit harder for him. He liked to cling to the younger, sure but he also only really did it in private. Renjun and he were very similar in that regard. Coming up with something to wow Park Jisung and one up his cousin? That was a hard thing for Chenle to do at the moment.
He had asked Kun for ideas on how to give thoughtful gifts to Jisung, but the elder had been a bust. All he said was to give something from the heart. What was that supposed to mean? He already gave Jisung his heart a long time ago. In general, he was terrible at thinking of gifts for the latter. He always wants it to be perfect which made birthdays and holidays a bit harder for him.
Wait, give his heart away. He could do something regarding listing the reasons why he loves Jisung! Not only would it be really personal and special, but it was also a lot better than what Renjun had done for Yangyang. Flowers and a surprise visit can’t compare to a homemade gift regarding his love for his boyfriend.
He started off with some small gifts, little trinkets, and items he thought Jisung would like. A framed picture of them when they were children and a handwoven bracelet were the first things he gave to the other. Something to slowly get Jisung used to what was going to come next.
The gifts were also a good tide over as smaller gestures to show his affection while he was busy crafting the big gift. Turns out crafting a cute, reasons why I love you book was a lot of work, something he probably wouldn’t have done for any other person. But Jisung wasn’t just any person, so he thought this was completely worth it. The smile on the younger’s face would be the best part, Chenle thinks. Jisung had the prettiest smile and the one only for him was his favorite smile.
Smile, he needed to add a part about Jisung’s smile to the list.
–
Presenting the gift to Jisung was the most nervewracking part. He wanted it to be in a more public setting in order for Renjun to see it as well. What he didn’t think about though, was everyone staring at him when he gave Jisung his gift. Everyone was blatantly staring at them while pretending they weren’t. It was a little nervewracking for him. On most days Chenle was a pretty confident and straightforward thinking person, but today did not seem to be one of those days.
Jisung had thought nothing out of the ordinary about everyone’s behavior and when Chenle brought out the small red book, a look of shock graced his face. Inside held personalized pages filled with their pictures and anecdotes of their relationship together. Jisung was close to tears about how touched his was at the gift.
Chenle thought it was honestly his best gift yet and almost wished he could have done it for an anniversary instead of a stupid competition. Alas, either way he was definitely winning the title of best boyfriend card.
3.
So far according to Jaemin, Renjun was losing. Apparently, Chenle giving Jisung a book of things he loves about the other had won over his surprise flowers. He did have to give credit to Chenle though. That was a very cute idea. But now Renjun had to beat him. He was very much determined to be the best boyfriend.
So he does what any other competitive and lovesick fool does. He does more gestures in public than before. First, it started out with more hand holding and overall affectionate touches in public than what he used to do.
Each time he reached out for Yangyang’s hand first, he could almost always see the shock on the other's face. Did he really not initiate that much PDA with Yangyang in public? Clearly not if this is how he reacted. But luckily for him, this means he should do more of it in the future.
If he was getting anything out of this challenge besides winning over Chenle, it would be the chance to further show how much he loves the other. Yangyang and he have been dating for quite some time now. Renjun has always been shy about affection in public, his love language being acts of service or physical touch. So Yangyang who seemed to thrive more on those physical touches adjusted a lot when they first started dating. Over time they did slowly figure out what the best balance was for them.
Even eventually becoming more comfortable with everything, Renjun slowly started showing affection to Yangyang in public. To this day, he has gone a long way from barely showing any public affection to offering a lot more subtle gestures.
That is probably why the university thought they weren't really dating in the first place.
With this challenge though he had been upping his game. It's about day four of their challenge and Renjun was going to do something a lot bold than normal.
The two of them were on a joint date with their other friend couples in a cafe a little far from campus.
They were all eating desserts and just catching up. Yangyang was feeding Renjun a part of the cake they were sharing and being per Donghyuck’s words, grossly domestic.
Yangyang somehow had gotten part of Mark's cake in his hand when he was passing it to him. Renjun decided at this moment he could do something to up his game in front of Chenle.
“I can’t believe you, so messy. This was supposed to be a cake for Mark hyung but now it is all ruined. No thanks to you silly," Renjun teased.
“It was not my fault it hit my hand. But now I have all this frosting over my hand,” whines Yangyang.
“I could clean it for you.”
“What, like lick it off?”
"Sure why not."
Renjun proceeded to take the frosting off using his finger before licking it off himself. Everyone at the table sat still in shock at what was happening. Luckily they were in the farthest part of the said cafe, away from everyone else. But the whole thing was completely out of character for Renjun. But that was okay, sometimes he just had to go out of his comfort zone, even if it was to lick off white sticky substances off his boyfriend.
“Uhm,” Donghyuck started, “Renjun I can’t believe you just did that. Are you okay? Didn’t really expect you to be wipe frosting off other people before eating it…”
“I guess I just wanted to help Yangyang, that's all. Right baby?”
Yangyang could only sit in silence trying to comprehend what had even happened. Nothing even inherently sexual had happened, just Renjun licking frosting off his own fingers after taking it off of Yangyang’s. So why did he feel so exposed?
“Donghyuck, I think he has just been spending too much time with me,” Jaemin teased.
The whole table just further groaned. They were all well aware of some of Jaemin’s stories he had. Jeno and Mark just shook their heads.
Yangyang then whispered over to Renjun, “Uh Junnie baby, are you feeling alright? I’m only asking because what you did just seemed so I guess you could say out of pocket? For you to do. I mean I didn’t mind it or anything, just a little bit shocked.”
“Oh well, I guess I just have been trying to be more affectionate in public with you that's all. Showing you off as my boyfriend and stuff.”
“And stuff,” Yangyang reiterated, “Okay then well, I certainly do not mind then you are trying to show me off because I will also gladly show you off to the rest of the world. I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
The two of them relax further on the bench together getting back into listening to their friend's banter. Was Renjun still a little bit embarrassed on what happened, yes he was.
But with the stunt he just pulled, he most certainly just beat Chenle.
4.
It was currently day five of the week-long battle between him and Renjun. After the stunt Renjun had pulled at the cafe, Chenle once again needed to up his game against his cousin. There was no way he was going to lose to Renjun of all people. They had all decided they were going to the beach this weekend as a way to unwind from university.
Chenle was determined to pull through again like last time and finish off this week strong. He was not exactly sure what he was going to do yet, but whatever it is was going to be the best. Nothing out of the blue occurred on their trip there unless you count Renjun snuggling up to his boyfriend a lot more on the ride there. Gross.
The best part of this weekend vacation was going to be having uninterrupted time with his boyfriend. Being in different majors meant not a lot of time together and when they did, a lot of times it was with their friends. Chenle just wanted to have a fun time causing mischief with his best friend.
So here he sits on the beach laughing as Renjun angrily yells at him. The other had just got dumped into the ocean and was not happy at all. Chenle just carried on his way running towards Jisung in order to escape his fuming cousin.
The mischief ended up dying down a bit as everyone broke off to do their own little things. A slightly wet Renjun and Yangyang walked the beach looking for shells while Jaemin and Jeno were sitting on a towel relaxing. Mark and Donghyuck seemed to be splashing around in the water with Shotaro and Sungchan. Chenle was sharing a large lounge chair with Jisung under an umbrella watching everyone.
“Weird thing but I noticed out of the two of us I am never shy when it comes to things, on the other hand, you seem to be shy all the time. Funny how were are opposites in that sense, don’t you think so.”
Jisung just mumbles quietly in response.
“What? Jisungie I can’t understand you and I’m sitting right next to you,” Chenle teased.
Jisung just thinks for a second and sighs. With a swift motion Jisung ended up pinning Chenle underneath him on the chair. How it happened he was wasn’t entirely sure himself.
“Am I really that shy all the time now?”
Jisung seemed really close to Chenle and to an outsider they seemed to be in a more intimate position. Before Chenle could even process what had just happened, Jisung was tickling him. He couldn’t help but laugh and beg for release. Jisung clearly wasn’t going to let up though until he was satisfied getting his revenge on Chenle.
The two eventually did settle back down, relaxing back into the chair together. Jisung having his limbs loosely laying over Chenle as they enjoyed the last remnants of the summer air. Sure, this impromptu tickle fight was not what Chenle had in mind, but it worked out didn’t it?
+1.
After a whole week of them flaunting off who was the better boyfriend, they were finally at the finale. Renjun was certain he had done well and Chenle was equally as confident that he had won. Turns out, Jaemin wasn’t keeping track of the score whatsoever.
“I only kept track for the first time you both did something, but after that I just let you both try to out beat each other. It was fun to rile you both up and say the other was doing better.”
That statement ended up causing an uproar from the two cousins. Their moderator wasn’t counting at all?
Renjun at first was annoyed, he had done this whole competition for it to amount to nothing. Then after a moment’s thought, he didn’t really do it all for nothing. Rather he ended up reaching his own personal goal of being a better boyfriend for Yangyang. Sure, he wasn’t a bad one in the first place, but rather now, he was more comfortable stretching his boundaries between the two of them. They reached a new level of understanding with each other and he enjoyed it a lot.
The only thing that would probably haunt him for a while would be the scene he did in the cafe. He probably would never do that again. Nothing wrong with being more adventurous in public, but it was something Renjun didn’t particularly enjoy. Yangyang on the other hand seemed to have enjoyed it a tiny bit after he got over the shock of Renjun doing that.
Since neither of them ended up winning, they weren’t going to be featured in the university’s couple magazine. That’s okay though, he didn’t really want to be there. Picking up this month’s issue, he noticed Choi Soobin and Choi Yeonjun on the cover. He was going to have to congratulate Soobin on the cover issue when he had a lecture with the other.
What he was not expecting though when he opened up the magazine was an entire section dedicated to his and Chenle’s week-long rivalry.
Who is the Better Boyfriend?
Huang Renjun and Zhong Chenle held a week-long competition with each other, with moderator Na Jaemin, to see who was the better boyfriend for their respective partner. The cousins ended the competition in a tie, neither of them actually winning in the end. See below to look at different pictures and descriptions of some of the things they did to impress their partners.
Sitting there in shock, he once again looked over the pages. There were pictures of him and Yangyang from when he surprised the other with flowers along with pictures of Chenle and Jisung playing mini golf. The whole section was pretty cute, even though he didn’t know people were taking pictures of him.
He was too engrossed in the magazine to completely miss Yangyang sneaking up behind him. The other wraps his arms around Renjun and hooks his head over the other’s shoulder. If Renjun was startled, he certainly didn’t act like it.
"Baby, what are you looking at?"
"The university magazine. Just reading up on who they decided to feature is all," Renjun says nonchalantly.
"You know I got to say the article they did on your competition with Chenle was pretty funny."
Renjun just groans. It was a little embarrassing to have the whole silly little competition in the paper, but there was nothing he could do. Yangyang for sure would be teasing him about it for a long time though.
"Stop, the whole thing was crazy, I have no clue how Chenle convinced me in the first place."
"Hmm, probably because you wanted to prove yourself. But you don't have to because I still think you are the best boyfriend I could ever have."
"Ugh, so sappy."
Even though Renjun pretended to hate it, he still snuggled closer into the other’s embrace. The past week was hectic and pushed Renjun in so many ways. But sitting here with Yangyang made everything better. He may have not won the title of best boyfriend in the eyes of everyone else, but he knew he was number one in his boyfriend’s eyes. Which in the end was all that really mattered. And if he ended up getting a lot more kisses from his boyfriend as his own personal reward, well that was for him to know.