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one,
A bright and sunny morning is what welcomes the Lee family to their new neighborhood and their hopeful beginning in a small community far away from the lights and sounds of the crowded city. Little Seokmin’s fluffy curls are barely tamed by the little fishing hat sitting on his head, star-patterned bandaids peeling from his knees as he toddles through the park. His parents aren’t too far behind, hands laced together while they watch their little boy wander in all his curiosity and awe, a well-deserved break after a long day of settling in.
Off in the distance is a decently-sized playground set, bright and colorful and shining under the sunlight. Some older kids seem to be playing a rather intense game of Gravel, their shouts of joy and teasing laughter filling the warm air as the plastic green slide and floppy swing sets creak from their stomping weights.
Seokmin nearly falls as he runs by in his excitement, eyes unsure of where to settle as he looks around the park for somewhere to play. He’s just about to venture for the cool-looking pirate ship on the other side of the playground when he notices a little sandbox in the corner, just far away enough from the rest of the chaos. Another boy is already occupying, his back turned from Seokmin’s sight, but from what Seokmin can see, the boy seems to be working through the sand with all the determined vigor a child can muster.
That alone is enough to pique Seokmin’s interest, small hands playing with the strings of his shorts for a moment as he contemplates joining the other boy. They look to be about the same age, and Seokmin’s Mama taught him how important it is to make good friends. Maybe this boy would be willing to be his first friend in this new home!
So, putting on the brightest smile he can, Seokmin begins his journey across the playground and to the lone boy in the sand. The other boy doesn’t seem to notice him at first, far too preoccupied with what he’s doing. Up close, Seokmin could actually catch a glimpse of his face, brows furrowed together as he concentrates on packing sand into the block-shaped mold in his hands.
Seokmin has always loved playing with sand. Every time they go to the beach, he always likes to dig little holes and fill them up with as much water as he can! There isn’t much water here, but maybe the boy won’t mind the extra help anyway!
“Hi!” Seokmin says, poofing dust up everywhere as he plops down onto the sand. The other boy startles, freezing as he stares back at Seokmin in bewilderment. “I’m Seokmin! Do you wanna be- oh! Is that a castle?!” His voice sorta screeches at the end, his excitement getting the better of him as he points excitedly at the half-built structure in the sand.
The other boy looks a little frightened, almost like he isn’t sure what to say as he not-so subtly pulls his castle molds closer to himself. Seokmin tilts his head to the side, confused by the other boy’s blatant silence.
“What’s wrong?” Seokmin asks him, quieter this time as he tries to get a closer peek at the other boy’s face. He gasps, then, because Oh no- “Is it not a castle?!” Seokmin realizes with a guilty whine at the end, pulling at the strings of his shorts again as he fumbles out an apology. “I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it wasn’t-”
“It is!” the other boy suddenly says, almost defensively. “And I…um. I made it.”
Seokmin’s eyes grow so wide he’s sure he looks like those frogs he saw at the pet store a few weeks ago. “All by yourself?!”
“Y-Yeah…”
And instantly Seokmin’s mouth drops open into a little ‘o’ shape because it’s the most perfect castle he’s ever seen! So he tells him! “That’s the most perfect castle I’ve ever seen!!”
The other boy looks at him in surprise, almost like he can’t believe someone actually liked his little sand castle. “R-Really?”
Seokmin nods his head with so much vehemence that his little fishing hat flops off of his head, hanging from the back of his neck like a little cape. “Really! It looks just like the ones I see in all the books my mama likes to read! Does it have princes and dragons, too?”
The other boy’s eyes seem to sparkle under the morning light. “It does! There’s gonna be a huge dragon that guards the place from all the bad guys! And…um…” He meets Seokmin’s attentive gaze for a moment before ducking his head down, busily pushing some more sand into his castle molds, all the while mumbling something too quietly for Seokmin to understand.
“Hm?” Seokmin blinks at him. “What was that?” He leans closer to hear a little better, but the other simply flinches away.
“I- I said that I’m the prince!” he admits at a pitch much louder than Seokmin has heard from him so far. “Or…or at least I will be! Once I finish the castle…” His face reddens, clearly embarrassed by the confession, which Seokmin doesn’t really get, because that’s awesome!
Seokmin lets out a gasp, clapping his hands together in delight. “Oh!! Then I could be the dragon!” he says with a rowdy roar at the end, giggling as the thought of being a big and mean beast. But then, “Or maybe I could be a prince, too!”
“But-” The other boy frowns in confusion, “but a castle can’t have two princes…”
Seokmin pauses, and if he were a cartoon, he’s sure little question marks would be floating around his head. He feels his shoulders deflate because that’s right…Mama’s never read a story to him about a castle with two princes…
“Oh…” Seokmin drags his fingers listlessly through the sand, trying his best not to pout (but really, he is). “Well. That’s okay, the dragon is cool, too-”
“Or!” The other boy quickly flattens the space next to his castle, right by Seokmin’s bandaged knees. “Or I could build you another castle, and then we can both be princes!”
Another castle? Seokmin places his hands on his cheeks, bright eyes large and filled with excitement. “Really? You could do that?!”
“Yes! I’ll make one right now!” the other boy declares with a resolve that could rival even the noblest of knights, that same frown of concentration from earlier returning as he begins lumping some sand together for a base. “And it’ll be right next to mine. That way, the dragon could protect both of our castles!”
Seokmin lets out a shriek of excitement, tossing some sand into the air in celebration. “And then we’ll get to wear crowns! My mama knows how to make crowns out of the yellow flowers in the grass!”
“Kinda like gold?”
“Yeah! Just like-”
“There you are, Seokmin!”
Seokmin jumps at the familiar sound of his mother’s voice, spinning around and spreading his arms out for a hug. “Mama!”
“Don’t run off on us like that!” his mother lightly scolds him, but she picks him up anyway, fixing his fishing hat back into place.
“I’m sorry, Mama. But guess what? I met a prince!” Seokmin exclaims, squirming a little as he turns to point a finger at the boy in the sand.
“Oh, really?” his mama says, gazing over at the alleged prince with a soft smile of her own. “And who might this prince be?”
“It’s-” but then Seokmin stops himself, confusion in his expression because wait a minute… “What was your name again?”
The little boy looks smaller than ever, glancing shyly between Seokmin and his mother. His cheeks are flushed and it almost seems like he wants to run away again, but something seems to change in him as he stares down at the second sandcastle he had begun making.
“Mingyu,” he finally answers, a toothy smile on his lips.
“Mingyu!!” Seokmin repeats with a happy squeal. “Mama, Mingyu’s building me a castle!”
“Is he now?”
“Yeah!! It’s gonna be super cool and there’s gonna be a dragon!”
Seokmin’s mother lets out an endeared laugh, setting Seokmin back down on the ground with a gentle pat on his head. “That does sound super cool! I’ll leave you two to it, then, but Seokminnie! Remember that we’ll be going home in an hour! Papa and I will be sitting on the benches over there, so just make sure you stay on this playground with your new friend here, okay?”
Seokmin’s eyes glitter at the word friend. “Okay, Mama! Mingyu and I are gonna make the biggest sand castles ever!”
“I’m sure you will,” she says with a soft smile. “Love you! Stay out of trouble you two!”
“Love you, too!” Seokmin yells back before plopping back into the sand next to Mingyu, unable to contain the silly grin on his face. “Should I find flowers to make our crowns?”
Mingyu nods back at him, a determined glint in his eyes as he funnels some more sand into his plastic molds. “You find the flowers, and I’ll build our castles!”
And Seokmin lets out a rallying cheer, fishing hat falling off again as he runs and rummages through the grass for those little yellow flowers.
Seokmin doesn’t quite get the chance to make their flower crowns, his thin little fingers a tad too inexperienced and his attention span a tad too short. But he does make sure to sing Mingyu a song he learned about an adventuring prince, sticking what flowers he did manage to gather on top of their castle walls like proud, golden flags.
And then one hour turns into two - two castles, two smiles, and two princes, together.
(But little did they know that two hearts might one day beat as one.)
two,
Summer is marked by hazy sun rays and tree leaves shimmering in gold, painting the season as one of lazy warmth and relaxation. Days like this call for a book under some cool shade, grass tickling Seokmin’s skin as he reclines against the trunk of the oak tree that stands tall in their backyard.
The breeze tickles his cheeks as he turns another page in his book, immersing himself in a world where magic exists and heroic acts are celebrated with honor and glory. It’s within these printed words that Seokmin feels the most at peace, pulled away from the realities of his racing head as he reads the thoughts and desires of another character facing conflicts far bigger than his, far bigger than what could be considered just.
Though that’s the fun of it. There’s no limitations in fiction save for where the imagination falters. Somewhere inside, Seokmin hopes to live in a similar manner, but for now he’ll continue fantasizing about mythical creatures and foreign landscapes, far away from the whims of the modern world.
But it isn’t long before the whims of the modern world catch up to him, broken from his reading by the sound of knocking. When Seokmin looks up, he spots Mingyu on the other side of the fence, pointing at the backyard gate with a toothy grin on his face. Seokmin arches an eyebrow at the sight of him, smudges of dirt streaking Mingyu’s tanned cheeks. His hair stands in all directions, just a ruffled mess from what Seokmin could only assume to be another activity-filled day under the sun.
“What do you want?” is the first thing Seokmin asks after opening the gate, but he pauses as he tries to process the image in front of him. Mingyu is in his soccer uniform - which isn’t new by any means, and that probably explains his sweaty appearance - but he also has some rope slung over his shoulder. And a whole tire. Just sitting in the grass by his feet.
He narrows eyes. “What are those?”
Mingyu only shrugs, dragging the tired into Seokmin’s backyard. Has he grown taller? The thought passes through Seokmin’s head absently as he turns to follow, a bit huffy because it feels like Mingyu grows taller everyday, meanwhile Seokmin hasn’t really grown that much since the previous year.
“Dad made me go to the mechanic with him after practice today ‘cause our car’s tires needed some changing,” Mingyu drawls as he rolls the tire over to the tree Seokmin had been reading under. “Let me keep an old one he wasn’t using for some reason. Thought hey, why not make a swing with it?”
“A swing?”
“Yeah, like a tire swing.” He sets the tire up against the tree and breathes out a sigh of relief. “You got a ladder or something?”
“Um. Up in the attic, I guess. But I’m not allowed to go up there by myself.”
“Damn.” A shrug. “Guess I’ll just climb the tree, then.”
Seokmin blinks dumbly at Mingyu before shaking his head. “What are you on about? Why do you suddenly wanna make a tire swing?”
“Why not?” Mingyu asks like that’s supposed to be an acceptable answer, and Seokmin only scowls back. “Well, what else am I supposed to do with a tire?”
“I don’t know…Leave it in your room as decoration?”
Mingyu lets out a scoff. “Who do you think I am?”
“I don’t know,” Seokmin says with a shrug. “You look the type.”
“What’s that supposed to- You know what? Never mind.” Mingyu sizes up the tree beside him, nodding to himself as he unravels the rope on his shoulder. “I just think a tire swing could be fun.” He pauses, glancing back at Seokmin. “Unless you don’t want one?”
Seokmin puts his hands up, feeling awkward from such a simple but direct question. “It’s…not like I don’t want one? I don’t know, I just…I don’t know anything about putting swings in trees.”
Mingyu snorts. “You know, for someone who reads a lot, you sure don’t know a lot of things.”
Seokmin nearly throws his book at his head. “Shut up! I read fantasy books, not instruction manuals on how to build a stupid tire swing!”
“And you think I do?” Mingyu laughs, pretending to dodge Seokmin’s air fists. “But, like, it can’t be that hard, right? All you need is some rope and a tire.”
“I…I guess not…” Seokmin bites his lip as he mindlessly plays with the corners of his book, watching Mingyu as he begins to measure the rope against the trunk of the tree. “But why are we putting it up at my house?”
“Well, I figured that your tree would be better, what with all its sturdy-looking branches to choose from. Plus, it’ll give you something new to sit on while you read your little fantasy books,” Mingyu answers, the last part coming out as a lame imitation of Seokmin’s voice.
Seokmin squints at him. “Don’t know how comfortable sitting on a tire swing would be.”
“Hush. Anyway, I didn’t mean to disturb your reading, Your Highness. Don’t mind me while I set your humble throne up for you.” Mingyu gives Seokmin a grandiose bow, turning towards the tree and fiddling with the rope some more.
“You…you don’t need any help?” Seokmin asks him, feeling a little weird for letting Mingyu do this by himself. Like, what is he supposed to do? Just stand here and watch?
“Nah,” Mingyu says with a dismissive wave of his hands. “I know you’d rather read your book than listen to me bark orders out. Don’t worry about it. I’ll have this up in no time.”
Seokmin purses his lips, but he knows there’s no point in arguing. Contrary to his words from earlier, Mingyu looks like he already has a plan in his head, and Seokmin knows better than to mess with whatever he’s organized. That’s just how Mingyu works. While Seokmin’s mind is constantly whirring with nonsense and uncertainties, Mingyu’s remains firm and steady, honing in on a single focal point to guide him through whatever trial he decides to take on.
And so Seokmin does as he’s told, sitting comfortably beneath the other side of the tree and reading through the pages of his book, the sounds of Mingyu shuffling and working a familiar and comforting melody between the chirping birds and bustling trees of another summer day.
Nearly an hour passes, and Seokmin is just about to finish his book when he hears Mingyu’s triumphant yell, his voice jarringly cutting through the afternoon serenity just like it does whenever his excitement gets the best of him. Seokmin glances back at him, mouth dropping open in surprise at the sight of a whole tire swing on his tree, swaying lightly with the breeze.
“I did it!” Mingyu laughs as he falls backwards into the grass, a hearty laughter escaping his chest. “And it didn’t even take an hour!”
Seokmin pulls himself up from the ground, gazing at the swing in awe. He’s impressed, to say the least. Sure, a tire swing is far from a complex invention, but it isn’t often that someone spontaneously comes up with an idea and actually follows through with it. Well, except for when it comes to Mingyu. Mingyu makes such a thing a habit. An infuriatingly consistent habit that Seokmin sort of envies him for - not that he’ll ever admit that out loud.
“I can’t believe you actually made a tire swing…” Seokmin murmurs, pushing it lightly and watching the tire as it swings from side to side.
“Oh, come on, Seokmin. Don’t act surprised! You know I could do anything,” Mingyu says with a cheesy grin and a wink.
“Anything but kill a spider.”
“Hey! You didn’t want to kill it either!”
“That’s not the point I’m making!”
Mingyu rolls his eyes. “Whatever. Come on, I wanna test this out before I go home.”
Seokmin only stands in place, returning Mingyu’s expectant stare with a confused one of his own. “What?”
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Aren’t you gonna swing on it?”
Seokmin gapes. “Why me?”
“Because it’s yours!” Mingyu answers like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Wh- What?” Seokmin splutters. “But you built it!”
“So? It’s on your tree, so it’s yours!”
“Kim Mingyu-”
“Come on, just try it!” Mingyu says with a laugh, gently taking Seokmin’s book from his hands and setting it to the side. “I’ll even push you!”
Seokmin gives his friend a wary stare. “That’s not very reassuring.”
“Um. I’ll catch you if you fall?”
“Ugh.” Seokmin thinks that Mingyu is lucky to have such an endearing smile. Even with his snaggleteeth. “You just don’t wanna test it out yourself.”
“Maybe.”
Seokmin narrows his eyes, but he knows there’s no use in arguing. It isn’t the first time Mingyu’s roped Seokmin into one of his messes. He just hopes that this one will end better than the last. “Fine, but I swear if the whole thing collapses as soon as I sit on it, you’re dead.”
“Oh, I’m sooo scared,” Mingyu says, snickering when Seokmin shoves him back. “Well, come on, then!”
“I’m going! Jeez…” Seokmin murmurs, pouting at the swing like it’s to blame for everything (which it kinda is). He raises his hands and grasps the rope as firmly as he could, pulling himself onto the tire with a hefty breath. The swing wobbles under his sudden weight, Seokmin’s grip on the rope tightening in fear as a surprised squeal escapes his throat. He could hear Mingyu’s laughter somewhere in the background, but Seokmin is too busy finding his balance to care, shakily settling his butt on the top of the tire and praying he won’t fall.
Slowly, his heart tempers down as the swing stabilizes. When Seokmin looks up, he’s met with Mingyu’s uncontained smile. He swallows at the sight of it.
“You good?” Mingyu asks him.
“Y-Yeah?” Seokmin says, though his voice is higher than usual, gaze snapping from one blade of grass on the ground to another. “I guess so!”
“Can I push you, then?” and Mingyu sounds way too excited, kicking Seokmin’s heart back to life as his chest flutters to accommodate it.
“If…If you want!” Seokmin’s grip around the rope tightens even more, and he bites his breath back as Mingyu positions himself behind him. Mingyu slowly begins to pull the tire and him back, and Seokmin squeezes his eyes shut.
“I’m letting go now,” Mingyu warns, and Seokmin could only nod his head, silently reminding himself that the ground isn’t that far down so if he fell it shouldn’t hurt that bad- but his thoughts are immediately broken as Mingyu gives the tire a hefty push forward.
A shriek of surprise rips through Seokmin’s throat as he’s sent soaring to the sky. “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod-” Seokmin’s world spins as he clutches onto the swing for dear life, his body hurtling forwards and backwards as Mingyu continues to push him.
Mingyu’s joyous laughter joins him in the air, and it’s oddly centering, like a brass bell chiming with the wind. With every swing, Seokmin’s world seems to clear, gifting him with white clouds and a brilliant sky, the sun winking through the tree leaves as Mingyu shouts his encouragement.
Higher and higher he goes, Seokmin’s own laughter blending with the breeze as he throws his head back and kicks his legs up, swinging and swinging without a single worry or care to follow him.
His book remains forgotten in the grass, the only witness to this sunny day of teasing jokes and tire rubber. Its pages flutter like stop-motion every time Seokmin swings by, capturing the moment and scribing it into yet another chapter - this one of a boy and his best friend, enjoying the warmth of the summer and all of its laughter, together.
three,
The forest is alive with colors and morning dew, crisp reds and yellows whistling the tune of autumn with every huff of the wind. Seokmin wakes up from his cot with a stretch and a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he stares vacantly at the other side of the room, the empty bed greeting him back in all its tidied up glory.
Seokmin’s first instinct is to pull his curtains back, searching through the window for any signs of Kim Mingyu, who normally never gets up before sunrise, and not without loudly complaining about it first. As predicted, he finds Mingyu outside in the center of their campsite, piling a bunch of… stuff into a camp wagon like he’s finally reached his limit and decided to run away from society like he always jokes whenever he’s too tired to deal with his oh-so difficult life as Mister Perfect and Popular at their school. Seokmin almost has half the mind to go back to sleep, but his curiosity gets the best of him, and he slides open the window to poke his head and shout:
“What do you think you’re doing with my camp wagon?”
“It’s not your camp wagon!” Mingyu yells back without even a glance over his shoulder. He tosses a pile of sticks into the wagon, as if the assortment of objects already in there wasn’t random enough.
“I picked out the color!”
“And your parents bought it for our trip, so it’s everyone’s camp wagon.” Mingyu finally turns around, wagging a chastising finger towards Seokmin’s direction. “Didn’t anyone teach you that sharing is caring?”
“Packing my camp wagon with enough crap to feed a village is not sharing. That’s more like…monopolizing. Or something,” Seokmin says, lips pulled into a petulant pout. “You’re not running away on us, are you, Kim Mingyu?”
“Aw, would you miss me?”
“No, but I’d miss the wagon.”
Mingyu only scoffs, grabbing the wagon’s handle and wheeling it off towards the woods. “It’s a surprise,” he finally says, his belated answer to Seokmin’s first question. “Follow me and I’ll end our beautiful friendship.”
“You know, you’re really bad at acting mysterious!” Seokmin calls after him, but Mingyu only continues to wheel away, waving his hand haphazardly in the air in some sort of half-assed goodbye. “What about the fishing trip? My dad said we’d be heading out at 10!”
“I’ll be back by then!” Mingyu shouts over his shoulder. “Promise!”
Seokmin narrows his eyes, watching as his best friend disappears into the woods. Usually, Mingyu-related disappearances consisted of him taking naps in unassuming places. To see him disappear in broad daylight like this, clearly wide awake and conscious enough to make sound decisions (or at least, to Seokmin, he appeared to have been capable…), was nothing short of suspicious.
And as promised, Mingyu does return around 15 minutes before 10, his toothy grin on his face as if he hadn’t been missing without explanation for 4 straight hours. Their parents had asked Seokmin, of course, where the much-too-tall teen wandered off to, but all Seokmin could offer them was a shrug and a vague gesture towards the woods. As if Mingyu wasn’t already strange enough.
“What took you so long?” Seokmin hisses at him with narrowed eyes, gesturing towards the van as their parents milled about with the supplies they’d be bringing on their fishing trip. “You left me alone with our parents for four hours. Four full hours! Which means four hours of all four of them drilling me about my plans for the future!”
“Oh, come on. That’s better than you locking yourself in our room and rereading your script for the millionth time this trip,” Mingyu says, and he puts a finger up against Seokmin’s lips before Seokmin could protest. “Remember, this is a family trip! A vacation! You shouldn’t be working, you should be relaxing!”
“I am relaxing!”
“Then let me see your backpack-”
Seokmin immediately flinches away when Mingyu reaches for his bag, a guilty flush on his cheeks when Mingyu fixes him a knowing stare. “Listen,” Seokmin mumbles, “you know I hate fishing.”
“Uh-huh. But reading through your lines until your brain rots at the stem won’t do anyone good, especially as the lead.”
“You know I need to do this! I can’t just memorize my lines, I need to-”
“Feel them, act them, be them, I know, I know,” Mingyu drones on, far too used to Seokmin’s long-winded speeches about the trials and tribulations of theater. “But I already told you, you’re perfect enough. Anymore and you’ll drive yourself crazy.”
Seokmin’s hands clench into fists by his sides, almost as if fighting the flush he feels creeping up his neck. He clears his throat. “I still hate fishing.”
“That’s because you never give it a chance, but come on,” Mingyu says, slinging an arm over Seokmin’s shoulder. Seokmin stumbles into his side as Mingyu pulls him closer, that same toothy grin on his lips as he whispers into Seokmin’s ear, “Maybe I could convince our parents to rent us another fishing boat. One for just the two of us.”
Seokmin immediately pushes him away, skin a flaming red as he huffs. “You’re such an ass.”
“What?” Mingyu asks with an easy chuckle. “Don’t you think it’d be nice?”
Yes, but also “No.” Because Seokmin is nothing if not a dramatic cliche and maybe-possibly-partially infatuated with his best friend of several years. So much so that the prospect of being alone on a little boat with Mingyu, no matter how unromantic and fishy the air may smell, is a bit too much for Seokmin’s anxious little heart.
And Seokmin, unfortunately, cannot tell if Mingyu is aware of this and is purposely teasing him, or if he’s really that oblivious. Either way, he’s powerless when Mingyu only rolls his eyes, already heading for the van where their dads are packing the last of their things. “I’m going to ask them!”
Which is exactly how Seokmin ends up on a boat alone with Mingyu, the two floating along in the middle of a lake, far, far away from where their parents have set up to fish. Seokmin, after arguing with Mingyu for a full 10 minutes, is sitting on one end of the boat with a book in his hands - not his theater script - reading to himself but also not really because he could see Mingyu messing with his fishing rod in his peripherals, and something about how the sunlight gleams on the skin of his arms as he fiddles around is very distracting.
Seokmin glances down at his phone and holds back a groan when he realizes that only 30 minutes have passed by. He’s not sure how he could tolerate 90 more, especially when Mingyu stops moving and sets his eyes on Seokmin instead.
“Seokmin.”
“What.”
“Put the book away.”
“No.”
“We’re here to fish.”
“You’re here to fish. I’m here because you took away my freedom of choice.”
Mingyu snorts, suddenly setting his fishing rod down and grabbing ahold of the oars. “Okay, princess. I was going to wait until later tonight to show you this, but because you insist on being a moody brat today…”
By the time Seokmin’s brain finally processes Mingyu’s words, the latter is already rowing them away, heaving out a grunt with every row of the oars. Seokmin drops his book and grabs onto the sides of the boat, glancing over Mingyu’s shoulders at the dock where they were supposed to meet their parents when they were done fishing, getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
“Wha- Where are we going?” Seokmin asks him, eyes a little wide as Mingyu continues to row. “Mingyu, the dock is that way-”
“I know where the dock is,” Mingyu utters with a roll of his eyes. “Clearly I’m rowing the opposite way for a reason.”
“But why?”
“You’ll see.”
“Mingyu-”
“I said, you’ll see!” Mingyu huffs out a strained laugh. “I swear you ask way too many questions sometimes, Seokmin. Just read your book if you’re so worried. I’ll tell you when we’re there.”
“Tell me when we’re where?”
“Seokmin.”
Seokmin flushes under Mingyu’s hard stare. “So you’re kidnapping me?”
“Would you shut up with the questions if I told you I was?”
“No. I’d yell. Like, super loud.”
Mingyu lets out a scoff, shaking his head in amusement. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”
And Seokmin swallows at that, feeling the tell-tale warmth creeping up his nape once more. He recollects his book from where he’d dropped it, mumbling nonsense to himself as he searches for the page he left off on. It’s embarrassing how easily Mingyu is able to silence him with such harmless words. Always teasing the edge of flirting, feeling innocent enough that Seokmin could not argue if Mingyu told him his feelings were purely platonic, yet implicit enough that the more hopeful parts of Seokmin’s mind cannot help but dream.
If Mingyu was laughing at him, Seokmin misses it in his haste to busy himself in his book, all the while willing his lame heart to still its fluttering glee.
Seokmin doesn’t know how long it takes before Mingyu finally pulls them to shore, but what Seokmin does know is that they’re definitely not at the dock. And this is probably not the right thing to do with a boat that they only rented.
“You worry too much,” is what Mingyu says as he takes Seokmin’s hand and helps him out of the boat. “If you’re really worried, I promise we’re not anywhere new. The boat rentals are across the lake from our campsite. I literally just rowed us back.”
Seokmin frowns, giving Mingyu a strange look. “Why? We could’ve just waited at the dock for our parents to finish-”
“You’re obsessed with that dock,” Mingyu murmurs.
“Excuse me if I don’t want the rental place to charge our parents a fee for going over the time limit-”
“Seokmin, relax. We’ll be fine. I promise.” Mingyu still hasn’t let go of his hand. “Now come on. I have something to show you.”
Defeated and knowing that an argument with Mingyu rarely leads anywhere, Seokmin allows Mingyu to string him into the forest. Their feet make crunching noises as they step over fallen leaves and twigs, sunlight breaking through the canopy into little rays of light. It’s in the silence of their walk that Seokmin allows himself the privilege of peering over Mingyu’s body, at his large back that has gradually broadened from years of playing sports and more recent visits to the gym.
It feels a little foreign, looking at Mingyu now. He’s come a long way from the skinny twig of a boy Seokmin had grown up with - that boy in the sandbox, whose only dream was to become a prince.
“We’re here!” Mingyu announces as they come to a small forest clearing, dropping Seokmin’s hand as he turns to present whatever it is he’s brought Seokmin here for. “Ta-Dah!!”
Sitting in the middle of the clearing is what looked like a little blanket fortress, several blankets strung up by a rope to form the roof and walls. Pillows line the blanket base, a box of Seokmin’s favorite snacks sitting right in the center of it all. Small LED lights delicately hang along the entrance to the fortress, sealed safely behind a white mosquito netting. Seokmin could do nothing but stare in awe at the sight before him, a thousand different thoughts milling through his head before settling on one- Mingyu-
“Was…was this what you were doing earlier?” Seokmin asks as he slowly approaches the fort, fingers tentatively tracing the lights as if they might disappear under any amount of pressure.
“Yeah,” Mingyu answers, and Seokmin could feel his eyes on him. “Do you like it?”
“Do I?” Seokmin repeats, an air of reverence in his voice as he turns to face his best friend. “Of course I do, Mingyu. It’s so pretty!”
Whatever breath Mingyu had been holding seems to finally have been released, a small and almost embarrassed smile on his lips. “Well, that’s a relief. ‘Cause we’ll be spending the night here.”
Seokmin’s heart thuds in his chest. “What?”
“Yeah, I figure it’d be easier to watch the stars out here, where it’s nice and clear and away from everything else,” Mingyu says with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.
“But we could see the stars perfectly fine from the campsite,” Seokmin says, a bit confused because that’s exactly what they had done the previous night. Sat on the porch with their families around a little campfire, burning each other’s marshmallows just for the fun of it.
“Yeah, but…” Mingyu coughs, clearing his throat as he reaches forward and pulls the netting to the fortress open. “I kinda wanted to do this with just the two of us, you know? Like we used to do.” He gestures inside. “Wanna go in?”
Seokmin stares at Mingyu for a moment, unsure of what to say. The tone in his voice left much to be desired, and he wrings his fingers through the hem of his shirt. “What do you mean by that?” he asks, watching as Mingyu’s expression falters. “I don’t remember a time we ever watched the stars together under some elaborate blanket fort in the middle of the woods.”
Mingyu’s hand falls to his side, and there’s a frown on his face that Seokmin recognizes. The frown that tells Seokmin that Mingyu is thinking hard about something.
“I…I meant the two of us part. I feel like we never really do anything together anymore, a-at least not as just the two of us,” Mingyu answers, and he looks like he thinks it’s a stupid answer, immediately shaking his head as if to clear the air between them. “I don’t know. It’s nothing. There’s some Chicken Pop in there-”
“Mingyu…” Seokmin murmurs, eyes softening because it all makes sense now. Mingyu had been the one to suggest this huge trip in the first place, even going so far as to prepare an entire presentation of the logistics and budgeting that would go into a joint family trip. Seokmin had wondered why he put so much effort into it, and why he’s stuck by Seokmin’s side so intensely ever since they got here. His heart does that stupid thing it likes to do again, beating like there’s more to this than just pretty words from a sentimental friend, but maybe there’s more to it this time.
“I’m…not going anywhere, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” Seokmin quietly says, and Mingyu instantly stiffens up, confirming Seokmin’s suspicions.
“I know,” he says, clearing his throat again. He looks frustrated with himself, almost, like something’s holding him back and he hates himself for it. Abruptly, Mingyu turns to face Seokmin, his eyes more honest than Seokmin has ever seen him. And Mingyu is an honest kid.
“I just feel like we’ve been distant,” Mingyu finally admits, and Seokmin only stares back at him. “I figured that this family trip would finally give us the chance to hang out like old times again, but. I don’t know. It only really proved what I feared most.”
Seokmin swallows down the lump in his throat. “What?”
“That…that we’re growing apart,” Mingyu utters. “And I don’t like it.”
Seokmin frowns at him, because that’s ridiculous, right? “We’re not growing apart-”
“Be real, Seokmin-”
“I am being real! You’re acting like we never talk to each other or something-”
“Sure, the banter is there, but how often do we ever say hi to each other at school?” Mingyu says, almost angry as he expresses his frustrations. “How often would I actually see you if we didn’t live in the same neighborhood? Be honest.”
“I do say hi when I see you!”
Mingyu scoffs. “More like when you happen to run into me.” And he continues before Seokmin could argue with him any further, “I know you have your own friends that you want to hang out with, of course you do. And I have my own friends, too. But. But I miss you. I miss us. Like, a lot. And it feels like we’re more different now than we’ve ever been before.”
Seokmin bites his lip. “That’s…that’s not true.”
“Oh, yeah? Name one hobby we share.”
When an answer doesn’t come, Mingyu only shakes his head. And he looks hurt enough that it tugs at Seokmin’s heartstrings. “I’m sorry,” he blurts out before he could help himself.
“I wasn’t looking for an apology…” Mingyu utters, confusion in his expression.
“I know.” Seokmin swallows. “I know, but I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For being stupid,” Seokmin says, but what he really wants to say is for liking you, because in all honesty this is Seokmin’s fault. It’s no coincidence, even if Mingyu seems to believe it is, that Seokmin has stopped hanging out with him at school. The distance was never natural, the periods apart were always orchestrated by Seokmin’s own will. Pitiful attempts at protecting his heart, and he didn’t think much of it because Seokmin knew Mingyu had a lot of friends who could fill whatever space he leaves. But it appears his absence has a greater presence than he realized. It’s selfishness confused for selflessness - while Seokmin thought he had been doing them a favor, he really did nothing but pull them apart.
Mingyu gives him a perplexed look. “You’re not stupid.”
“I am.” Seokmin shakes his head. “I am. I’m sorry. You’re right, we haven’t done anything together in a long time and I’ve been acting like an ass this entire trip.” He smiles as he gazes up at Mingyu, carefully slipping their hands together and feeling the differences in their grips. Mingyu’s hands are big and rough, calloused with stories of a boy who could never afford to sit still. Holding on tight, tighter than Seokmin has the courage to reciprocate, but familiar and warm all the same.
“You- you have been a bit of an ass,” Mingyu says, and Seokmin only chuckles in response. “But that’s okay. We still have a lot of time left, and I even packed some old movies we used to watch together for tomorrow night, and I remembered some games we used to play, and-”
“Aaaand we should probably focus on the stars first, yes?” Seokmin interrupts him before he could go even further, because he knows Mingyu has a habit of not shutting up, but Seokmin is endeared nonetheless. Always the same, even when everything else is changing. Seokmin figures he should follow Mingyu’s lead.
“Right! Yes, the stars!” Mingyu grins wide as he pulls the netting back, gesturing inside for Seokmin to go in first. “We probably have to bring the boat back soon, but I’d say we still have some time to just relax under here. You could read your book if you want!”
“I think I’ll be okay,” Seokmin says, returning Mingyu’s smile as he settles on the ground, hugging a pillow close to his chest. “I think I’d rather talk to you anyway.”
Mingyu’s foot catches on an exposed root, the clumsy teen falling forward and landing flat on his face, right by Seokmin’s toes. A groan escapes his throat as he pushes himself up, and Seokmin cannot help but laugh at him.
“Shut up,” Mingyu utters.
“You almost tore the whole thing down.”
“I said, shut up.” Mingyu flicks Seokmin’s forehead. “I just didn’t expect you to choose me over one of your precious books.”
“Consider it a thank you gift,” Seokmin says with a twinkle in his eyes. “For building this for me.” And everything else goes unspoken.
“Of course,” Mingyu says, smiling in that easy Mingyu way of his. “Anything for you.”
And for the first time in their long and enduring friendship, Seokmin begins to really believe it.
four,
As soon as their car pulls into their driveway, Seokmin jumps out of the door, ignoring his mother’s scolds and his father’s amused laughter as he runs down the street with only one thing on his mind. He stumbles onto the steps leading up to a familiar house, knocking firmly on the door and trying his best to contain his excitement as he waits for someone to answer.
He smiles wide and bright when the door opens, revealing Mingyu’s grandmother’s surprised eyes. “Oh, Seokmin?”
“Hi, grandma!” Seokmin chirps with a quick bow. “Is Mingyu home?”
“Mingyu? Of course! He’s in his room working on something for school,” she answers, leading Seokmin inside with a gentle pull on his hand. “Did you already eat? We have some leftovers from lunch if you want any!”
“No, not yet! But could I see Mingyu first? I reaaaaally need to tell him something!” Seokmin says, and at this point he can’t contain himself any longer, rocking on his heels as he sends her a pleading look.
She laughs at him, relenting with a nod of her head as she gestures towards the stairs. “Yes, yes, go on then. I’ll warm up some food for you in the meantime.”
“Thanks, grandma!” Seokmin gives her a quick embrace before slipping his shoes off and hopping up the stairs. Familiar photos of Mingyu’s family line the hall, some even featuring a young Seokmin, holding tightly onto Mingyu’s arm on one of their first days at school together. The sight of it is enough to pull a quiet giggle from Seokmin’s lips, memories of a once shy Mingyu such an endearing contrast to the way he is now.
Seokmin doesn’t even bother to knock as he bursts through the door to Mingyu’s bedroom, his grin now reaching his ears when he spots his best friend at his desk. Mingyu turns around in surprise, but before he could say a word in greeting, Seokmin is already barreling into his arms, his little squeal of happiness filling the air.
“Hello to you, too,” Mingyu says with a chuckle, hand lingering on Seokmin’s waist with a fond look in his eyes. “You’re already back from the shelter?”
“Yes, and you won’t believe it!” Seokmin unlocks his phone and scrolls through his gallery, all while speaking a lot faster than usual, not that he could help it when he’s so excited. “After weeks of searching we finally found a match! She’s small and lovely and perfect and ah! Just look at her!” He unceremoniously shoves his phone into Mingyu’s face, screen showing a picture of a small, white dog sitting happily on a few blankets, little black eyes shining like precious beads.
“Oh my god. I’m going to eat her.”
Seokmin lets out a laugh and smacks his arm. “Mingyu!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. She looks cute enough to bite or whatever the saying is.” Mingyu grabs Seokmin’s phone and scrolls through more pictures of the new puppy, cooing at one of her swaddled in a little towel, round eyes gazing blankly at the camera. “What kind of breed is she? And do you have a name for her already?”
“Her name is Darling! And they believe she’s a mix between a volpino and something else. Maybe pom? I don’t know, but she’s super tiny and super precious!” Seokmin gushes, pouting as he gazes down at the photos with Mingyu. “She’s just so perfect, Mingyu, and she’ll finally come home with us next week!”
It’s been something Seokmin’s family have been trying to organize for a while now, especially now that their family could afford to take the time and effort to properly raise a new dog. Seokmin has spent days studying up on puppy training and care ever since his parents announced that they would be looking for a puppy to adopt, and now that the day is finally coming, Seokmin couldn’t be more happy.
“I can’t wait to meet her,” Mingyu says, handing Seokmin his phone back and stretching his arms over his head. “What are you planning to do in the meantime? Do you need help with anything?”
Seokmin pauses. “How’d you know I’d need help with something?”
Mingyu only shrugs, fingers playing with the belt loops on Seokmin’s shorts. “Just had a feeling.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Seokmin asks, voice a little high and face a little flushed.
“Nothing! Just that…whenever you barge in like this you always end up asking me for help, is all.”
“Oh, are you complaining now?” Seokmin asks, pushing away from Mingyu’s grasp with an indignant scoff. “You were the one whining about how we never do anything together anymore, and now you’re complaining that all I ever do is ask you for help?”
“Who said I was complaining?” Mingyu asks, pulling Seokmin back into his arms despite his meaningless protests. “I was just pointing out a fact. Besides, you know I like helping you.”
“You…you do?”
“Yeah. It’s the only time you don’t nag me over every little- ow! You hit a lot harder than you look.”
“And you’re a lot more annoying than you look,” Seokmin quips. “Oh, wait. You’re already pretty annoying.”
Mingyu snorts. “Sure, princess. Now what is it that you want me to do?”
Seokmin stares at Mingyu for a long moment, contemplating just stepping on his foot and leaving out of spite, but he only has a week before their new dog comes home with them and he knows he can’t do this without Mingyu’s help. So Seokmin sits back on the edge of Mingyu’s bed, facing his best friend and twiddling his fingers. “Well…I was thinking about maybe building her a doghouse? Nothing too crazy, just a little place for her to sleep in whenever she’s outside.”
“A doghouse?” Mingyu arches a brow. “In this economy?”
Seokmin rolls his eyes. “Haha, you’re so funny.”
“Couldn’t you just buy one, though?” Mingyu asks, turning towards the laptop on his desk and tapping the trackpad to bring it back to life. “I’m sure you could find some good ones for little dogs like her.”
“I did look, but all the cute ones are too expensive. Or cheap-looking. I don’t know, I just think Darling deserves better!” Seokmin huffs. “And…don’t you think it’d be more meaningful if we built a house for her ourselves?”
“Oh, so she’s suddenly our dog now?” Mingyu asks with an amused lilt at the end, briefly glancing over at Seokmin just to smirk at him before returning to his laptop screen.
“I- well- um.” Seokmin pushes his hands against his lap, scrunching his face to push the flush trying to climb over his skin. “I could already tell that you’ll spend even more time than usual over at my place once we get a puppy. So. Yeah, you might as well share the responsibility.”
Mingyu hums, something pleased in his expression. “Never thought I’d be a parent at 17.”
“Me neither.” Seokmin squints at Mingyu’s laptop screen, noticing that his friend was already scrolling through different doghouse design plans. “So…do you think we could build one?”
“Probably,” Mingyu answers, clicking on one particular design. “My dad kept the extra wood we didn’t use when we built our shed, and given how tiny Darling is gonna be, I think we could probably finish her house in a day. Two if you get lazy again.”
“Me? I’m not lazy, I was just-”
“Distracted, yeah, sure.” Mingyu waves him off, pushing his laptop away and turning to face the schoolwork Seokmin had pulled him away from earlier. “We could even get started on it today. I just need to finish this assignment first.”
“What? Today? But weren’t you gonna go out with your friends later?” Seokmin asks him, suddenly feeling a little awkward about intruding on Mingyu’s plans. “We could wait a little…I mean, Darling isn’t coming home until next week.”
“I did, but I think I’d rather be the good and devoted dad that I am and build a house for our future daughter,” Mingyu answers without even looking up from his notes, and it takes Seokmin a moment to register his words.
Seokmin clutches onto one of Mingyu’s pillows, hoping his face isn’t as pink as it feels. “You make it sound like I forced you into a marriage or something.”
“Happy wife, happy life, right?” Which earns Mingyu a pillow to the head.
“You’re dumb.”
“That’s no way to treat the guy who’s canceling on his friends just so he could build a tiny house for you.”
Seokmin splutters. “I-I didn’t ask you to do that!”
“But I still did it, didn’t I?”
“Ugh.” Seokmin groans, throwing one more pillow at Mingyu for good measure. “Whatever. Go finish your dumb assignment. I’m going to go eat the leftovers your grandma offered.”
Mingyu hums. “Save me some!”
“No!”
But Seokmin does anyway, and a couple hours later, they’re sitting in Mingyu’s backyard. Mingyu is measuring and cutting away at some wood with Seokmin at his side, occasionally feeding him rice cakes every time he looks up and opens his mouth.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Seokmin asks.
“She better,” Mingyu says, chewing loudly in that way he always does. “The sacrifices I’ve made just to give my daughter a home.”
And this is probably the 10th time Mingyu has made this joke in the last hour, so Seokmin doesn’t even grimace, face completely neutral as he hands Mingyu his water bottle. “I’ll make sure to buy you a #1 Dad mug for your birthday next year.”
Mingyu snorts, and their fingers brush as Mingyu accepts the bottle. “I’ll buy you one, too.”
Seokmin smiles, small and subdued as he averts his gaze to the design Mingyu had printed out. It’s simple, but it’s exactly what Seokmin wanted. Kinda like them.
(It starts to rain later, and Seokmin makes Mingyu promise not to finish the house without him.
Mingyu walks him home, even though he really doesn’t have to, and he lingers at the doorstep as if he has more to say. Something big. Something important. And Seokmin’s heart beats harder than it ever has before.
But instead, Mingyu says, “I hope Darling likes me.”
And Seokmin says in return, “She will. I know she will.”
“Why?” A low laugh to expel the quiet air. “Because I’m building her a house?”
“No,” Seokmin answers. “Because I like you.”
And he flees into his home before another word could be said, closing the door shut with a small smile.)
five,
Exhaustion from the previous day leaves Seokmin feeling both heavy and all-too comfy in bed, squeezing his eyes shut despite the warmth of the early morning light blanketing his cheeks. He stretches out his back a bit and turns from one side to the other, arms absently reaching out for a boyfriend-shaped mass, only to be met with cold air.
Seokmin opens one eye, vision a little blurry as he stares at the empty space beside him. Confusion tumbles around in his mind, one hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he pulls himself up to a sitting position.
“Mingyu?” he croaks out, glancing around the room in search of said man. One peek at the time tells Seokmin that it’s only 6 in the morning, and Mingyu is never up this early unless he absolutely has to be, but Seokmin’s questions are answered when he hears the sound of footsteps outside.
Carefully peering out the window, Seokmin finds Mingyu out in the middle of the campsite, dragging a bag of bricks to the center.
Seokmin’s heart drops, and he instantly gets up, hurriedly slipping on one of his favorite sweaters and some shoes before making his way out the door. It’s a little chilly outside, his breathing escaping his lips in little puffs of cold air, but Seokmin could think of nothing else but the guilt chewing on his insides at the sight of Mingyu working so early in the morning.
Mingyu doesn’t notice him at first, too preoccupied with gathering tools from the truck they brought out here and placing them near the bag of bricks. It’s both admirable and frustrating to see Mingyu like this, always working even when there isn’t any real work to be done. Something about the sight is especially heart-aching, reminding Seokmin of the last time they were at this campsite with the rest of their families. Back then, Mingyu had gotten up early just to build him a blanket fort. Unprompted. Just like he had then, Seokmin wonders where Mingyu finds all this motivation from.
“Mingyu, what are you doing out here?” Seokmin finally asks him, rubbing his hands close to his chest in an attempt to find some warmth. “It’s barely morning…come back to bed.”
Mingyu glances back at him in surprise, and Seokmin grimaces when he notices the fatigue beneath his eyes. “Oh, did I wake you?” Mingyu asks him instead of answering, a sheepish smile on his face. “I’ll be back in a minute. I just wanted to set this up for us.”
Seokmin pouts. “Why didn’t you just wait until after breakfast? I thought we agreed that we wouldn’t work on the oven until then…”
“We did,” Mingyu says, reaching over and ruffling Seokmin’s hair. “I’m just setting everything up for us to make it easier.”
“Did you have to do it at 6 in the morning, though?”
“I just figured sooner would be better than later-”
“Mingyu…” Seokmin grips onto Mingyu’s arm with a soft sigh, tugging him back towards their cabin. “You should really rest up. I mean, you drove all day yesterday! Sleep in like a normal person!”
Mingyu snorts, standing firmly in place despite Seokmin’s efforts. “I’m okay, Seok, really. I’ll come back inside after setting everything up.”
“Literally all of that could wait for later.”
“Sure, but I wanted to do it now,” Mingyu says. “I like having things out and ready before starting projects. Soothes the mind.”
“Ugh,” Seokmin sighs, letting Mingyu’s arm go and watching as his boyfriend automatically returns to his work. “Why are you like this?”
“Because it’s for you,” Mingyu answers as easily as the breeze. “You know my answer is always the same.”
Seokmin flusters, the guilt gnawing just a little harder because it was him who insisted that they build a brick oven together, just a random whim he brought up as they planned this trip together. Something about cooking out in nature on something they built with their own hands. It sounded fun and romantic to Seokmin back then, and he still wants to do it, but watching Mingyu now makes Seokmin realize just how burdensome of a request it was.
“M-Maybe we shouldn’t?” Seokmin says, awkwardly tugging on the end of his sweater. “I mean, we have a kitchen in the cabin. And it’s cold out here.”
Mingyu stops, glancing back at Seokmin with an eyebrow raised inquisitively. “I thought you wanted this brick oven?”
“I do…” Seokmin admits, “but not at the expense of your sleep and energy…This is your first break and forever and you’re spending it by dragging a bunch of bricks around.”
Mingyu laughs, taking Seokmin’s hand into his with a warm smile. “Don’t worry about me, babe. This seriously isn’t much at all. And you’ve been talking about making this thing for a while, so of course I want to be able to do it right with you.”
Seokmin chews on his bottom lip, staring down at their hands with a bit of an ache in his heart. “You’re so infuriating sometimes.”
Mingyu snorts. “Why? Because I like doing things for you?”
“Yeah,” Seokmin says. “Grow a spine and say ‘no’ for once.”
“Trust me, babe, if you ever asked me for too much, I would,” Mingyu reassures him. “But you’ve never done anything like that. A little brick oven isn’t going to scare me away.”
“Not even that,” Seokmin murmurs, pulling his hand back and tucking it away into his sleeves, staring down at the ground with a frustrated expression on his face. “You’re just. Always doing stuff for me. And it feels like I never give enough back sometimes…”
“What are you talking about? I think the little lunchboxes you make for me are quite nice.” And Mingyu laughs when Seokmin smacks him on the arm. “I’m serious!”
“I mean that you literally built me a bookshelf the other week just for fun!” Seokmin says, exasperation in his tone. “When was the last time you did something for yourself?”
“Probably when I built you that bookshelf,” Mingyu answers him, a toothy grin on his lips. “You know I love making you happy. I can’t help it, I’m kinda selfish like that.”
Seokmin huffs and turns away, hoping the warmth on his neck doesn’t show. “Infuriating.”
Mingyu pulls Seokmin into a smothering hug, resting his chin on his head as he wiggles them around. “And I love you, too, babe. You’re the cutest.” He then gives Seokmin’s butt a light swat, nudging him back towards their cabin. “Now go back to bed. I promise I’ll be there soon.”
“You first!” Seokmin says, catching Mingyu’s arm and dragging him back. “I told you to save this for later!”
“And I’m saying ‘no.’ There, I grew a spine just for you.”
Seokmin wants to wipe the smug smirk off of Mingyu’s face, but instead he fixes him with a petulant glare. “You’re the worst. I’m going to make us some coffee,” he says, like it’s some sort of threat and not just an excuse to stay up with Mingyu. It’s the least Seokmin could do, he supposes.
“No. Go to sleep.”
“No!”
And so they end up working on the brick oven at 7 in the morning, stacking bricks together and fighting to make a fire that’ll last longer than a few seconds at a time. Mingyu chugs his coffee and chops them some more firewood. Seokmin fans the fire for as long as his arms could withstand it. There’s a lot of yelling and a lot of laughing in between the yelling, and by the time they finally figure out how to get their oven working, their stomachs are growling for the first bite of breakfast.
Smudges of ash highlight Mingyu’s cheeks as they share a celebratory hug, and he looks so much like the boy Seokmin grew up with, snaggletooth and all. Except he’s bigger now, and even dorkier, with a puppy-like excitement that never seems to go away. He’s overwhelming in that aspect, always so ready to jump up and do whatever Seokmin asks of him no matter how big or small.
Seokmin still doesn’t know how he does it. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t a single selfish bone in his giant body. It feels so lopsided sometimes, even if Mingyu insists that Seokmin is doing just fine. Mingyu loves with everything he’s got, and Seokmin could only try his best to keep up.
Sometimes Seokmin wishes there were stronger ways to express his gratitude than just a simple “thank you.”
“There is,” Mingyu tells him when Seokmin brings it up later. “I love you.”
They’re waiting for their pizza to bake, crouching in front of the oven like two eager puppies waiting for a treat. Seokmin’s cheeks heat up, and he knows it’s from more than just the fire. “Something even stronger than that.”
Mingyu smiles at him, pulling Seokmin closer and pressing a soft kiss against his temple. “You tell me when you figure that something out, then. For now, hearing you tell me how much you love me is enough.”
Seokmin leans into his touch, closing his eyes for just a moment as he repeats Mingyu’s words in his head.
He thinks it’d be nice to learn to love like Mingyu. That everything-you’ve-got kind of love. Seokmin’s trying. He really is. And he hopes that Mingyu sees that, because even if Seokmin tries to practice the selflessness that Mingyu constantly displays, he still loves with a selfish sort of love. The kind that wants to keep Mingyu to himself. The kind that wants to take everything Mingyu’s got, even when it overwhelms them both.
They’re a work in progress, that’s for sure. But to be with Mingyu, Seokmin thinks it might be worth it.
and one.
If there is one thing that Mingyu knows about Seokmin, it’s that he’s a silly person.
And not silly in the literal sense of the world, but more like silly in that Seokmin doesn’t realize just how much he’s doing simply by being himself. It’s beautiful in a way, sort of sad in others, but most of all, it’s silly. Seokmin is silly. Mingyu loves him so much.
“I think it’d be cute to have a little stand for our plants,” Seokmin had said one day while they were eating dinner together. “That way they don’t have to fight for space on our window sills!”
And then he acted all bewildered when Mingyu built him one the next day, almost like he didn’t want a little stand for his plants at all even though he really did. He even smacked Mingyu’s arm and whined like he was embarrassed that Mingyu actually listened to him. So silly.
“You’re always doing too much,” Seokmin would say whenever Mingyu went out of his way to do something for him. “Stop it, it’s unfair to the both of us.”
But Mingyu has no idea what Seokmin is talking about. That’s another silly thing about him, how Seokmin seems to believe that Mingyu does more for Seokmin than Seokmin ever does for him. He cooks Mingyu’s favorite foods, he sings when Mingyu asks him to, and he laughs at all of Mingyu’s jokes (even if Seokmin insists that Mingyu isn’t funny - it’s how unfunny he is that’s funny).
And there’s other things that Seokmin does to show his love. Like how he brushes his fingers through Mingyu’s hair when they’re falling asleep, or how he sends Mingyu pictures of random things that remind him of him. There was a time when they were younger that Seokmin had gone out of his way to cook Mingyu some soup while he was sick, and Mingyu is pretty sure that was the exact moment he fell in love. He remembers it every time he falls ill, and Seokmin thinks he’s silly for it. Him!
There’s a lot more that Mingyu could say, but he’s afraid he’d go on for an eternity. So it’s best to leave it like this: Mingyu loves Seokmin in the way he knows how to, and Seokmin gives him that very same love in return - regardless of whether he realizes it or not.
And Mingyu would follow Seokmin anywhere and everywhere, because he loves him that much. Even blindfolded and stumbling down a sidewalk, Mingyu will gladly follow Seokmin. In fact, that’s what they’re doing right now, Seokmin’s hand holding tight onto his as he carefully guides him to who knows where.
“Oh! Sorry!” Seokmin squeaks again after they stumble over another crack. “We’re almost there! I promise!”
Mingyu doesn’t say anything, listening instead to the sound of Seokmin’s little mumbles. Talking to himself - it’s cute, Mingyu isn’t even sure if Seokmin is aware of his own habit, but it’s comforting, and it brings a smile to Mingyu’s face even if he’s blindfolded and potentially being led to his own doom.
What sounds like a door opening ceases Seokmin’s little mumbles, and they take a few more steps before Seokmin releases a satisfied sigh.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Ready,” Mingyu says, and Seokmin lets go of his hand, his fingers gently undoing the tie around Mingyu’s eyes.
Gradually light pulls together and returns to Mingyu’s vision, and he’s met with the sight of the old wood and dust of what looks like an abandoned cafe. A small bar and some chairs, a few tables scattered here and there. All worn and old, barren of what once was.
“Um,” is what Mingyu manages, unable to hide his confusion.
“Surprise!” Seokmin says, with a bright smile, throwing his arms up in the air as if to show off the cobwebs on the ceiling. “What do you think?”
“Not gonna lie, this is a pretty bad place for a birthday date,” Mingyu utters.
Seokmin snorts, amusement in his eyes as he clings onto Mingyu’s arm. “Actually...this is your birthday gift!”
Mingyu only looks back at him in silence.
“It’s…it’s a little cafe,” Seokmin sheepishly admits, a little quieter after noticing Mingyu’s frown. “Um. I saw it was for lease a couple years ago and so I tried to save some money and managed to secure it! For you!”
“For me?” Mingyu repeats, and slowly he realizes what Seokmin had said. “Wait, Seokmin, you mean you…you got a cafe…for me?”
“Well, I could only manage nine months…but I was hoping that by then we’d figure things out,” Seokmin murmurs, staring up at Mingyu with shy eyes. “Do…do you like it? I know I did this without saying anything, but I really wanted it to be a surprise. But now that I think about it, I’m really sorry, maybe I should’ve-”
“Seokmin,” Mingyu says, turning and cupping Seokmin’s face with his hands. “I love you. So fucking much.”
“So…so you like it?” Seokmin’s eyes turn wide and sparkling, his smile already returning as he places his own hands over Mingyu’s. “I was so worried! I didn’t want to overwhelm you or anything, but you’ve always talked about how much you want to open your own little cafe one day…”
Mingyu wants to kiss him. “Lee Seokmin, I would marry you right here and now if I could.”
“Ha, not a very pretty place for that.” Seokmin giggles, leaning up and placing a small kiss against Mingyu’s lips. “I know you’re still caught up with work and stuff, but I was thinking if we got some help and dedicated our weekends to this place, we could get a pretty decent place going! The previous owner left a lot of stuff in the kitchen, so really it’s just the dining area that needs some work. It’s a lot, but…” Seokmin squeezes Mingyu’s fingers. “I figured that flipping this place around might be your kind of thing.”
Mingyu grins. “I do love a good sandbox.” He glances around again, at the creaky wooden flooring and the discolored walls. There’s a lot to work on, that’s for sure, but Mingyu’s never been one to back down from a challenge. Still, he looks at Seokmin, curiosity in his eyes. “How did you even come up with this? Just a few weeks ago you were talking about how hard it was to find gifts for people sometimes.”
Seokmin flushes, gaze on the ground as his fingers trace the edge of a nearby table. “Well, you always end up building things for me whether I asked you to or not, so I wanted to try building something for you, and. Okay, well, I didn’t build this, but it’s a building and I managed to secure a lease for it so in a way, I kind of built it. Right? I don’t know! Ah!” Seokmin smacks his cheeks with his hands. “Do you actually like it? You’re not just saying you do because I spent a ton of money, right?”
Mingyu laughs out loud, brushing his fingers through Seokmin’s curls with affection in his eyes. “Yes, babe, I really do like it. I think you’re crazy for pulling something like this, but if you’re crazy for me, who am I to judge?”
Seokmin scoffs at him, but he doesn’t protest, a hint of a smile on his lips. “I’m glad,” he says. “I really wanted to give you something in return for everything you’ve built for me over the years. Everything you’ve done for me, really.”
“You really don’t give yourself enough credit,” Mingyu utters, but he shakes his head fondly, knowing that it’s just one of those things about Seokmin. Those things that make him so silly and easy to love. “But thank you for renting me an entire building. I guess we’ll have a lot to build together, huh?”
“I guess so,” Seokmin agrees, slipping his hand into Mingyu’s. “I love you, Mingyu. I hope you know that.”
“Of course I do,” Mingyu murmurs, because love is a project that they have to build together. Always and everyday, in their own little ways. He brings Seokmin’s hand to his lips and presses a sweet kiss to his skin, just as certain as the first day he ever said these same words, “And I love you.”
(“I guess we should start with a name,” Mingyu says, sitting on an old stool as he and Seokmin come up with their construction plans for the upcoming weeks. “Do you have anything in mind?”
“Well…I did, but it’s sorta cheesy.” Seokmin scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment. “It’s your business, anyways. You should come up with the name.”
“It’s our business, actually. And I wanna hear what you have to say, no matter how cheesy.”
“You’re just gonna laugh at me.”
“Now that you said that, I just might.”
“See!”
Mingyu lets out a laugh. “Come on, babe. I’m drawing blanks here. You gotta help me out so we can build our business together.”
A sigh and a pout, but as always, Seokmin gives in. “Fine. I was thinking about calling it The Little Princes.”
“The Little Princes?” Mingyu repeats, and he doesn’t realize how wide he’s smiling until Seokmin is smacking him on the arm. “What? I think it’s cute! Seriously!”
“You think it’s dumb!”
“I don’t, really!” Mingyu grabs ahold of Seokmin’s wrists before his boyfriend could bombard him further. “It’s super cute, and actually a pretty good name for a little cafe.”
Seokmin narrows his eyes, still suspicious, but he relaxes in Mingyu’s hold. “You think so?”
“I do,” Mingyu answers.
And he smiles warmly as he pulls Seokmin closer, repeating the cafe name and loving the way it seems to blanket the air. It makes him feel happy for some reason. Happy, like a small and distant memory tucked away but never completely forgotten - the very foundation for many more.
Mingyu stares right into Seokmin’s eyes, his heart beating soundly under their precious love. “I think this might be the one.”)