Archive of Our Own

I LOVE YOU

Perhaps it’d be appropriate to introduce the story’s primary characters before delving into the long and short of their romance. 

Hyunjin Hwang, a boy of some twenty-five years, freshly graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, has just moved to Paris to pursue his art career. He hails from an upper middle class family, meaning he’s among those fortunate enough to have the funds to fulfill his dreams. His parents, however, have never really understood why he chose art as a major, but they’ve been supportive all throughout his journey nonetheless. Thinking about it now — about his parents, that is — Hyunjin admits he feels homesick sometimes. He misses the comfort and familiarity of his home in Las Vegas. Despite his parents both having a decent amount of income, their home is quaint, simple. They aren’t filthy rich like Hyunjin had initially dreamed of being sometime when he was six years old, but he’s happy. 

Christopher Bang, on the other hand, is. Filthy rich, that is. But is he happy? More or less. Lately, now that he’s twenty-eight years of age, his parents have been discussing his marriage. He hates it. Not only because he’s basically being forced into it like most, if not all, heirs of a company, but also because he believes in marrying for love. He loves his parents, he does. He just hates that there’s this side to them that’s so adamant on marrying him off to a virtual stranger. In the meantime, though, he’s been busying himself with work, preparing to be given full reign of the company when the time comes to distract himself from his current problem.

“Sir?” 

Speaking of work.

Chris, as he prefers to be addressed, is currently in his office, finishing up some paperwork. “Come in,” He answers to the knock on his door. His secretary comes in, phone in hand. “Your father has just given me a call, sir.” An eyebrow is raised. “What did he say?”

The secretary shakes his head and shrugs, “Only that you go down to the lobby immediately because Mr. Dubois is waiting for you outside. He didn’t say why.” Chris’s eyebrows now furrow. “Whatever for?” He mutters to himself before shutting down his computer and fixing up a few things on his desk before grabbing his phone and wallet. “Alright, then.” 

Once he makes it down to the lobby of the building all the way from the top floor, Chris finds that the black car is indeed waiting for him just outside the entrance. He goes there, briefly greeting the driver before getting in at the back. “Did my father tell you why you were needed here?” He asks in French. “No, sir. But he did give me a location to take you to.” The other man replies.

Chris nods and prompts him to start driving. 

He pays no attention whatsoever to the outside, opting to keep his focus on his phone, reading through some French news articles. They don’t really interest him all that much, but he’d rather not look at documents written with too small a font to read on his phone screen nor do absolutely nothing at all. So he reads on, not bothering to think about where he might be taken to.

Until he has to. 

The location given to Mr. Dubois is apparently the art museum owned by his family’s company. His chauffeur tells him no more than what he knows upon receiving a text message from Mr. Bang the exact moment they arrive: that he was instructed to drop him off here because Chris needed to fill in for the curator who was on leave. 

Mr. Dubois leaves after that, leaving a mildly annoyed Chris at the entrance of Idyllique par LIN Corporation. He sighs, setting foot inside. 

#

Fridays, along with weekends, are always Hyunjin’s free days. When he isn’t working on a painting for the art  academy, he goes on solo dates around the city. Sometimes he just goes on a stroll, coffee in hand. Other times he stays in his apartment, watching movies or reading the books he has if he chooses not to go to the library. Today, however, he has chosen to visit a recently opened art museum in downtown Paris. Actually, visiting museums has all he’s been doing lately. He has an affinity for walking around a hallway of canvases, sculptures, and whatnot, sometimes with headphones plugged in as a voice explains the meaning, the artist, and the process behind the work he stands in front of. 

So here he is, mindlessly surveying what he passes by, sometimes leaning in to read the small white square containing a brief description, occasionally taking a picture of the ones that stick to him the most. About an hour later, as he’s about to make his way to the next floor, he hears some muttering around him. Some in French, some in English. But they’re all saying the same thing: “I saw the owner’s son walking around earlier. He’s insanely pretty.” Hyunjin’s not unfamiliar with the upper class society of France despite having only lived here for a year, meaning he’s well aware of the man behind the floor he’s currently standing on. Jack Bang, the current chairman of LIN Corporation. His eldest son, whose name or face Hyunjin does not really care to find out, is apparently here. And there are several people who seem eager to meet him or bump into him. 

But Hyunjin isn’t one to care for gossip or trends, so he continues up the stairs and minds his own business. When he arrives at the second floor, he looks around and supposes there aren’t as many visitors on this floor as the first one. Perhaps they’ve all either stayed downstairs or gone to the upper floors. Though to Hyunjin’s knowledge, the other floors are supposedly open to VIPs only. Hyunjin snorts at the thought. Whatever. 

He stops in front of one of the first paintings, tilting his head to analyze it quietly. Oil painting, the person in his headphones provides. “Ah,” He nods in understanding. The drawing is of a balcony, and a couple is standing on it. Hyunjin is about to lean closer, but then he feels a new presence next to him. He takes a glance at the person beside him, finding a man, probably between twenty and thirty, clad in black slacks, equally black shoes, and a white button-up under a black blazer. His face is masked and he’s wearing sunglasses, covering his face completely.

The stranger notices him looking and turns to him, offering a polite bow. Hyunjin smiles ever so slightly and bows in return. “ Parlez-vous français? ” The stranger asks. ‘Do you speak French?’ he said. Now Hyunjin had actually taken a French language course back in college as part of preparing to move to Paris, so he knows quite a bit. But he’s not sure it’s entirely up to scratch, so he replies with, “ Dans une certaine mesure. ” To an extent. The stranger nods at this and asks, in French again, with which language Hyunjin is comfortable. “English is fine.” Hyunjin replies in English. And the man looks at him, nodding briefly once again. It’s then that he notices the slight frown on his face. 

“You seem unhappy to be here,” Hyunjin says to him, gesturing towards his crossed arms and cross expression. “Don’t you like the art?” The stranger shakes his head, taking his mask and sunglasses off. Probably because it’s a little hot on this floor. Hyunjin nearly gasps at the sight of the stranger’s full face. “Perhaps I don’t enjoy art as much as you might do, but it is beautiful. I’m just in a sour mood because my chauffeur literally left me here with instructions from my dad saying I had to watch over the gallery. It was on such short notice, so I’m a little irked that I can’t be finishing up my paperwork right now.” 

Hyunjin blinks. So this is the guy the other visitors were muttering about earlier. The owner’s pretty son who’s come to supervise in place of the curator for today. “So you’re the son of Jack Bang?”

“That’s me.” He nods. Hyunjin eyes him up and down. “Pretty is an understatement.” He mutters. 

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I meant that you’re stunning, sir.”

The man looks down to hide a shy smile, covering it up with a short chuckle. Hyunjin wonders what he’d look like if he smiled from ear to ear. “Thank you,” he says, keeping up the polite tone. “I get that a lot.”

“Rightfully so.” Hyunjin blurts out mindlessly. His tongue seems to be quite unbridled today. Maybe it’s the other man’s face that looks like that of a Greek god that has his tongue so loosened. The man, the stranger, subtly takes a step closer to him. “My sincerest apologies if I’m reading into this wrong, but are you, perhaps, flirting with me?” Hyunjin giggles. “I could be. That is, if you give me your name first.” 

“I’m Chris. That’s short for Christopher Bang but you probably already knew that.” Chris laughs softly, revealing dimples on either side of his face. “Dimples.” Hyunjin voices out. He really needs to control what stays in his mind and what comes out of it. “Yeah, everyone in my family has them.” Chris says, and Hyunjin takes note of the Australian twang to his words. 

“Cute.” Hyunjin smiles.

“And you?” Hyunjin is shaken out of his daze at the question. “Me?” Chris laughs. “I mean, wouldn’t it be fair if you gave me your name since I’ve already given you mine?” Hyunjin nearly slaps his hand onto his forehead. “Oh my goodness, right, I’m so sorry. I’m uh- I’m Hyunjin. Hyunjin Hwang.” He replies, wincing when he stumbles over his words a little. “Hi, Hyunjin.” Chris smiles.

He then glances at his watch and sighs. Hyunjin watches him do so and asks, “What is it?” 

“I was supposed to have a meeting today, but I’ve canceled it because of, well, this.” 

“Was it urgent?”

“No, no, not really. Just status updates, etcetera.” Chris explains, and Hyunjin hums in understanding. “So, does that mean your schedule is technically clear for the rest of the day?” Hyunjin really has a lot of questions to ask, doesn’t he? Chris chuckles. “Yes, it does.” 

Hyunjin smiles, and Chris notes a hint of mischief in it. “Then, come with me. Just for today.” The latter frowns at this, “And why would I do that, might I ask?” But he’s already considering the idea in his head. Besides, it’s Friday. He should be allowed some rest now that the weekend is approaching. Hyunjin tilts his head. “Because you don’t want to be here?” He suggests. Chris is about to agree, a text to his secretary already at his fingertips, but he decides to tease the other man a little. “Hm, I don’t know about that, Hyunjin.” 

Hyunjin pouts. As in, honest to God pouts. Chris feels a slight churning in his stomach at the sight. “Come on,” Hyunjin pleads. “It'll only be for a few hours. I promise I won’t take up all of your time.” 

Chris gives in. “No, no, take up all of my time if you want to. I’d rather not do anything else today, really.” 

Hyunjin lights up at the agreement. “Really?”

“Yes, really. But we’ll have to leave through the staff exit. Don’t want people seeing us leave, or else I’ll get mobbed.” Chris says, and Hyunjin is just happy to be able to take the man away. “Works fine with me.” He shrugs, and with that, they make their way to the staff room, successfully going unnoticed by anyone. Chris sends that text to his secretary as he lets Hyunjin drag him further into the area of the city they’re in. He’s been around a couple times, but he’s never really bothered to visit anything, too busy worrying about work. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you seem like the type to be a workaholic, no?” Hyunjin asks him as they stop in front of a small coffee shop. Chris pockets his phone and says, “Sort of, yeah.”

“No wonder.” 

Hyunjin then pulls him inside, and Chris finds himself looking around in awe at the minimalistic design of the cafe’s interior. This is his kind of place, he thinks. “Do you prefer coffee or tea?” Hyunjin asks, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the menu. “I’m more of a tea person.” Chris replies. “What kind? I’ll order for you.” 

“Wait, have you got your order already, though?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin chuckles, smiling at him as he walks to the counter. “I’m here a lot.” So Chris points out which drink he wants. He greets the barista who greets him cheerfully, delighted to see a familiar face back inside their doors. Hyunjin gives his order, and Chris catches a faint ‘The usual’ before the other man looks back at him. “And he’ll have the iced hibiscus tea.” 

After Hyunjin pays, they sit quietly at a table in the corner of the shop while waiting. “I should pay you back, how much was my drink?” Chris says, bringing out his own wallet, but Hyunjin presses his hand onto the center of the table a bit too loudly. “No need! I asked to take you out today, so I should be paying. It’s fine, really.” Chris frowns. “You sure?” 

Hyunjin nods. “Definitely. Just pay me back by telling me about you. All I know is that you’re Jack Bang’s eldest child, and that your name is Christopher.” 

Chris looks down and huffs out a laugh. “Well, I was born in 1994, so I’m twenty-eight years old, and I don’t really have a lot that I do outside of working.” He explains, stopping when he notices Hyunjin’s eyes on his hands. Instinctively, he starts cracking his knuckles. “Single?” The other man questions. Chris swallows and nods. “Yeah. Haven’t really had the time to date or anything, so.” Hyunjin lets out a hum, “So you haven’t been married off, or like, been in talks for marriage? I thought that was a thing with, you know, your kind of people.” 

“Actually, my parents have been talking about my marriage lately. And I hate that they’re so determined to marry me off to someone I don’t know.” Chris looks around, avoiding Hyunjin’s eyes. “Most of us hate these arranged marriages for that reason. Sometimes, it’s because it means they won’t have as much liberty to do what they like. You know, sleep around, go to bars, all of that sort. And, obviously, because it’s just plain wrong. It’s different and the same for everyone.”

“What about you?” 

“What about me?” He frowns. 

“Aside from the fact that it’s an arranged marriage, why else do you hate it?” Chris bites his lip at the question. “Well, I’m someone who strongly believes in marrying for love. If I were to be married off, it would be a marriage of convenience. Plus, isn’t it weird? Why should I agree to marry someone if I don’t love them?” 

Hyunjin nods. “You have a point there.” 

“But anyway.” Chris starts, wanting to switch topics. “Tell me about you as well. I want to know about you, too.”

“Well,” Hyunjin shrugs. “You already know my name. I’m twenty-five, I was born in 1997, and I’m studying at the art academy just down the street there.” He says, gesturing vaguely in a certain direction. “Art, huh? You have a passion for art, then?” 

“You could say that. I took it as my major in college at UCLA, and then when I graduated last year I moved here.” Chris perks up at the mention of UCLA. “You lived in the States?” He asks. Hyunjin nods at this. “Yeah, I was raised in Las Vegas. But I was born in South Korea.” The older smiles. “You’re like me, then. I was born in Seoul, but my family moved to Australia when I was a baby and lived there until I graduated high school. We’ve been settled here since then.”

“I see. Quite the Mr. Worldwide you are.” Hyunjin jokes, earning a laugh out of the other man. “Shouldn’t I be saying the same about you?” He retorts. Yet again they share a chuckle. Hyunjin’s name then gets called, letting them know that their orders are both ready. He gestures for Chris to follow him, and the two pick up their respective drinks as Hyunjin gives the staff a quick “ Merci! ” before they leave. For a while, neither Hyunjin nor Chris has a destination in mind, strolling mindlessly through the streets of Paris, side by side. And then Hyunjin gets an idea. He takes a sip of his latte and turns his attention to the man beside him. “Hey,” He starts. 

“Hey,” Chris mimics. 

“I brought my camera.” The younger declares, and Chris nods wordlessly, prompting him to continue. “And the Eiffel Tower is not that far from here.” Chris raises his eyebrows at this. “What, are we taking cliché romantic photos in front of the Eiffel?” He teases, and Hyunjin is caught off guard by the way the other had so casually suggested anything romantic. “Easy there, wolf.” He says instead.

Chris laughs at his supposed slip-up. “Isn’t the expression, ‘Easy, tiger’?” He says. “It is.” Hyunjin replies, shrugging his shoulders. “But you remind me of a wolf so I called you one.” 

“But,” Hyunjin adds, swerving back to the original topic. “The pictures can be romantic if you want them to be.” The moment these words slip past his lips, it falls quiet between them for a moment, and then another, and then Chan breaks the silence, smiling. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

Hyunjin mirrors his grin. “I wouldn’t mind that either.” 

So to the Eiffel Tower they go, taking turns in capturing candids of one another, occasionally asking people to take pictures of them together. They pose to pretend like they’re in love while they let the developing feelings pool in their chests, hilariously convincing the passersby who see them. And then they stop for a while to take a look at the photos they’ve taken so far, commenting here and there about how Hyunjin looks so dazed or how Chris seems so serious, laughing about the ‘couple’ shots. 

But apparently, they make a very convincing couple, because a photographer — a professional-looking one, too — approaches the two and asks to take a picture of them for his portfolio. They both agree immediately, thinking, ‘why not?’ One photo wouldn’t hurt. “Is there any particular way you’d like us to pose?” Chris asks in perfect French, and Hyunjin swears he feels a little something in his stomach. The photographer replies to Chris, saying that yes, there is a certain way he’d like them to pose, and asks Chris to wrap an arm around Hyunjin’s waist and kiss his cheek. Neither of them can stop their eyes from widening a little, but the two comply nonetheless. Gently, Hyunjin feels a hand on his hip and braces himself for the sensation of a pair of lips grazing his cheek. And when that feeling comes, he finds that it’s… softer than he expected. He tries not to think about how those lips belong to Chris. Or how they might feel on his own. 

“Thank you!” The photographer waves after snapping the photo. 

Neither man is able to look at the other in their flustered state at what just happened. And then Hyunjin decides to be the one to shatter the ice. “Shall we go?” He asks. “I have one more place in mind — ah. Two, actually.” Chris can only hum in curiosity, not trusting himself to speak. Hyunjin takes that as his cue to grab the older man’s wrist and have him follow him around like a puppy. Chris doesn’t mind it, though. In fact, he’s quite enjoying himself with this boy, even when they’ve quite literally just met. 

“I must say,” He starts once their walk has reached its fifteenth minute. “I’ve lived here for longer than you have but it seems as if you know your way around here better than I do.” Hyunjin, whose hand still hasn’t left his wrist, chuckles. “Maybe I just have more time to explore than you do. You did say that there wasn’t much you did outside of work. I can’t imagine being cooped up in one place like that for a whole day, it’s not really a me thing.” 

Chris sighs at that. “You’re not wrong. Actually, now that I think about it I’m starting to regret not going around Paris a lot more when I still could. I always had my nose in a book, you see. About running a business and other textbooks I had for college.” Hyunjin looks back at him and offers a soft smile. “Perhaps you should do that now. Before you get married.” He suggests, muttering the last part more to himself than to Chris. “Maybe I should. Perhaps even date around as well if I make enough time for that.” Hyunjin winces at the mention of dating. 

“That picture of us wouldn’t end up in the newspapers, would it?”

“Why would it?” Chris asks. 

“You know,” Hyunjin mumbles, making a small gesture. “Because you’re, well, you. ”

Chris nearly facepalms. Right. He’s not exactly a stranger around here. “It shouldn’t,” he says, trying for reassurance. “But if it does, I’ll have it taken down if you want it to be.” Hyunjin ponders over that for a moment. Well, it’s not like he’d mind. Seungmin, his roommate who’s in Paris for his photography career and his college best friend, wouldn’t freak out on him if he saw the picture somehow. And that’s about everyone in the whole of France that would care if Hyunjin was seen with some rich bachelor. Well, kind of. Maybe some people at the academy will make a comment or two, but that’s it. On the other hand, a lot of people would care if Chris was seen with a random guy. Not necessarily because he’s a guy wrapped around another guy, but because he’s Chris. He’s allegedly been engaged to this heiress or to that businessman. Hell, how would his family react? Would they accept a man not of an insanely wealthy background? Would Chris’s parents offer Hyunjin a humongous amount of money to get away from him like they did in those K-dramas he used to watch as a kid?

Hold on, a record scratches in Hyunjin’s brain, consequently making his legs stop walking. Chris stops walking as well. What am I so worried about? We’re not dating. And that picture isn’t a real couple shot. We were pretending to be in love. 

Hyunjin decides not to think about it any further, it wouldn’t do him good. So instead of all those spiraling thoughts in his head, he says, “I mean, I wouldn’t really mind if it got out. Unless you don’t want that.” But Chris shakes his head. “It wouldn’t be a problem to me.” 

The younger blinks. “Cool. So that’s settled, then.”

Chris nods slowly. “So it is.”

In favor of continuing on their walk, Hyunjin turns away from Chris and looks around at the buildings he knows he’s seen before, unknowingly tightening his grip on the latter’s wrist. Chris says nothing about it. 

After five more minutes of silently walking, Hyunjin stops in front of a fairly large restaurant and starts explaining how good the food is, how kind the waitstaff has been to him every time he came for lunch, and every good thing about it. “It has rooms you can rent for a nap upstairs, too.” He adds. Chris does not know why Hyunjin is telling him this. But Hyunjin beats him to it before he can even think of asking. “I bet you’re tired; your eyes look like you’ve had a hectic week of work and I’m giving you a chance to rest. Even just for a while.” Chris feels something flutter in his stomach at the gesture, having never been offered any downtime by anyone. He feels it flutter a second time when he thinks about how this is coming from a supposed stranger — he’s known Hyunjin for but a few hours. 

He doesn’t try to bite the smile breaking out of him. “Thank you, Hyunjin. I’d really like that, actually.”

Hyunjin gives him a beam of his own. “I’m glad.” 

They walk inside together, sitting themselves on a table situated on the outer part of the restaurant to get a whiff of the Paris air in the latter hours of the morning. One of the familiar waitresses approaches the table when she notices Hyunjin. “Cedric! Nice to see you back here. It’s been quite a while.” The waitress, whose name plate reads ‘Daphné’, greets with a thick French accent as she sets a menu down onto their table. Hyunjin smiles sheepishly. “I know.” He says. “I’ve been busy.” 

Daphné leans a little to her right and takes a good look at Chris who is seated quietly next to Hyunjin, mask and sunglasses back on. “I see you did not bring Seungmin with you today. Where is he?” She notes, giving him a knowing look. Hyunjin briefly explains that Seungmin has a class today and has other plans, and Daphné simply nods. “You know what to do. Ring the bell when you’re ready to order. Unless you’ll be having your usual?”

Hyunjin shakes his head. “We’ll be going for something new today.” He says, and the waitress lets out a hum before walking back to the counter. When she’s gone, Hyunjin turns to look at Chris, only to find that he’s already looking back at him. “What?” 

“Cedric?” Chris raises an eyebrow. Hyunjin blows a raspberry and laughs. “People struggled with ‘Hyunjin’, unlike you, so I chose to go by a name easier for people to pronounce.” Chris purses his lips, thinking. “That’s weirdly considerate.”

“Nah, not really.” Hyunjin shakes his head. “It’s mostly because I got sick of hearing people say it wrong all the time. But I didn’t say that.” Chris giggles. “Alright, you didn’t.” And with that, Hyunjin gestures for him to look through the menu so they can order. “I noticed,” Chris starts when he’s taken his pick. “I’ve heard the word ‘usual’ a lot today with you. Are we going to your favorite places today?” 

Hyunjin smiles shyly and shakes his head. “The last one is somewhere I’ve never been. And up until now, I’d been waiting to go with someone special. You know, like that.” 

“Why are you taking me, then?” Chris can’t help asking. 

Hyunjin only shrugs. “I got a vibe from you. It felt right.” He says, and the blush on Chris’s cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed. He rings the bell, and Daphné is buzzing over to their table no less than a minute later. Hyunjin tells her their orders, and then she’s gone again. Hyunjin looks around and bites his lip. “You stay here.” He says to Chris. “I’ll go book us a room.” Chris smiles at that. “I won’t go anywhere, I promise.” He replies, and a part of Hyunjin hopes he doesn’t mean it just literally. 

He nods, standing up to go to the other counter adjacent to the cafe’s. “Hello, I’d like to book one room for two.” He tells the concierge in French. She smiles politely and types something down on her laptop. “Would you like a room with a balcony, sir?” Hyunjin nods, “Uh, sure.” She then asks for his name and writes it down into the guest list before handing him a key. “Room number 423, sir. You may check out at any time you wish.” Hyunjin thanks the concierge, hands her the payment before walking back to Chris.

Chris looks up from his phone when he notices him approaching and smiles, putting it back inside his pocket. “You’re back.”

“Yeah,” He replies. “Got us a room.” He says excitedly, shaking the key in the air before placing it in his bag’s pocket. “We should probably check out by five so we can get to that last place I talked about by six or seven.” Chris nods at that. “But until then, we shall eat. And you, sir, after this, shall sleep because I said so.” Hyunjin adds with the tone of a butler and a faux accent. Chris laughs and has no choice but to agree. If this beautiful stranger wants him to take a nap because he can see on his face how tired he is, then so be it. 

#

“I’m stuffed.” Hyunjin blurts out, patting his stomach like a drum and flopping onto the little couch situated in the corner of their room. Chris barks out a laugh. “Don’t you want the bed, Hyunjin?” The younger gets up abruptly and places his fists on his hips, face morphing into a frown. “Christopher,” He gasps, calling him by his full name for the first time, almost as if to chastise him. “Did you not hear what I said just an hour ago? I said you’re going to sleep. So you will sleep.” He scolds. But Chris can only laugh, yet again. (He’s been laughing a lot today, hasn’t he?) It’s just, Hyunjin looks so cute when he’s pretending to be mad. “You’re cute, Hyunie.” He says fondly.

Hyunjin coils back and drops his hands to his sides at the new nickname. 

“Whatever. Go, lie down. I’ll wake you up an hour before we have to go.” 

Chris laughs disbelievingly. “And what’ll you do while I nap?” Hyunjin looks around and spots a small bookshelf, points at it. “Read. Unless you want me to go someplace else while you nap so my presence doesn’t disturb you.” 

“No, stay. You can read or do whatever you want. Just don’t go anywhere.” 

Hyunjin sighs to himself, this man has a way with words, doesn’t he? He grabs the first book that catches his attention and drops back down onto the couch. “Okay. I can do that.” He says, already on the first page. The book is in French, not to Hyunjin’s surprise, something about an aristocrat’s son having an affair with his family’s portraitist. Hyunjin chuckles at the irony of the situation. Though it’s not something he’d call an affair, the circumstances are somewhat the same. Rich boy, painter. But that’s about it. He silently laughs to himself again and reads on.

He lets the hours Chris is peacefully napping pass by reading through probably every book he finds inside their room, which is quite a lot. But he more or less only browses through them, too lazy to keep reading. He might fall asleep anyway, he can’t let that happen. So when he’s finished with the last one, a novella, he sits himself on the couch, now unsure of what to do next. And then he walks to the balcony, watching customers and waitstaff flutter about the cafe below. Daphné spots him and waves, and Hyunjin giggles, waving back. The Seine River is just across where they are, and Hyunjin closes his eyes as he listens to the sound of the water flowing. It’s peaceful. There’s no sound of traffic, only the sound of calm chatter downstairs. There are birds chirping, their wings flapping quite loudly. 

Hyunjin wishes this moment would last forever. 

And then his pensiveness is disrupted by a sudden snore. He turns around, chuckling as he notices the way Chris’s face is squished into the pillow, his eyebrows furrowed and lips slightly parted. “Cute.” He whispers, afraid he might accidentally awake the other man. He snaps a picture for himself, smiling even wider when he zooms in and notes how big Chris’s nose is.

To an outsider, such a scene like this would seem like that of two lovers, one admiring the other as they think about how in love they are. How deeply in love they are. Hyunjin doesn’t bother thinking about the warmth in his chest when he thinks about it. Doesn’t bother thinking about how he’s known Chris for all of six hours. He feels if he feels; it’s out of his hands. God knows how different things would be if he had control over his feelings. 

He lets out a sigh, shaking his head. He elects to turn back around to face the outside of their room, but before he can take even one step forward, he hears stirring. Hyunjin looks up to see that Chris has woken up. He takes a glance at his watch. It’s only four in the afternoon. He chuckles. “Overly punctual even when it comes to sleep?” He jokes. Chris, groggy from his nap with eyes barely open, giggles shyly. “My body’s conditioned that way, I guess.” 

Hyunjin lets out a disbelieving hum. “Yet those eyebags tell me otherwise.” He shakes his head and goes to sit next to the older. “Whatever. Well, anyway, since you’re finally awake, Your Highness,” He starts, eliciting even more giggles from the other. “You might as well freshen up so we can go. If we leave now, we can catch the sunset while we’re… there.” 

Chris slowly runs a hand through his hair, narrowing his eyes at Hyunjin, and the latter watches him do so while biting his lip. “You still won’t tell me where this place is?” 

A cheeky smirk creeps onto Hyunjin’s face. “Nope.” He replies, popping the ‘p’ sound. Hyunjin winks at him before he walks off into the bathroom, leaving the door open. Chris finds himself shaking his head fondly. “Alright, then. Is it at a walking distance? Maybe I could call my chauffeur if it’s going to be a long stroll.” He asks, and Hyunjin stops fixing his hair in front of the mirror to look back at him. “No need for that. I want you to enjoy walking today. Plus, walking will have us pass through streets cars can’t. It’ll be interesting.”

Chris supposes he needs that. He’s only ever been used to being driven around; perhaps it’d be good to see more of what he hasn’t despite having been in Paris for ten years. “Sure, why not?” He heaves out a breath and lets his back fall flat onto the mattress. He hears Hyunjin snort, “Don’t go back to sleep, sir.” Chris rolls his eyes, “I won’t. You’re just taking too long in there.” He quips. Hyunjin’s footsteps get closer and closer until he’s towering over Chris. “I’m done.” He says, tilting his head innocently.

Chris scoffs and hoists himself up, avoiding the younger’s eyes as he makes his way to the lavatory. He washes his face, wiping it with the towel hanging next to the sink before tossing it into the small circular laundry basket. He then pops a mint into his mouth since he has no toothbrush with him. He thinks he’s just about done, but then he spots the tie lying smack in the center of the bed. He doesn’t know how to tie a tie. Chris decides he’ll just keep it in his pocket, but his plans are thwarted when he sees Hyunjin already walking over with the black tie in his hand. “I won’t judge you. Seungmin doesn’t know how to tie a tie, either. I’ve had to help him a billion times when he’s attending formal events around Paris.” 

Chris blinks. “Thank you.” He mumbles as Hyunjin tightens it up. He’s a little embarrassed about needing help on something as trivial as this — on something he should know how to do himself — but he’s grateful nonetheless. “No biggie.” 

After that, they both check around for anything they might forget, making their way out of the room once they’ve confirmed that they have everything. The walk down the stairs is quiet, each to their own thoughts. Even as Hyunjin finishes checking them out of the inn, not a single word is exchanged. But the silence isn’t awkward. It’s comfortable; they’re comfortable enough with one another to not feel the need to fill it in with words. And it’s a little funny because not many people are at ease with one another after less than a day. But somehow, Hyunjin and Chris are. They don’t know why, or how, but that’s okay. They’re just happy that they are.

They reach the place that Hyunjin hitherto has not named, and Chris finds himself in pleasant shock. “You’re… taking me on a boat tour? To watch the sunset?” He asks dumbly, unable to help himself when he reaches for Hyunjin’s hand. The younger holds it back, smiling. “Yeah, I am.” Chris can’t help but feel how oddly romantic this is. Well, it doesn’t get any more romantic than this, does it? 

“Come on.” Hyunjin tightens his grip on his hand, dragging him towards the dock. The line surprisingly isn’t long, so the two reach the front fairly quickly. Hyunjin takes out his wallet from his jacket, but the man by the door of the boat stops. “No, no!” He says in English, assuming the two don’t speak French. “Couples get free admission.” He says with an excited smile. Hyunjin and Chris exchange a look, that’s the second time today. They giggle and thank the kind man before making their way inside. Chris allows the younger to lead him to a more quiet area on the upper part of the boat, outside, providing them a view of the Seine, of the water, and of the other boats around the one they’re on. 

They vaguely hear the conductor say something about how the ride will be an hour and a half long and a bunch of other things, but they don’t bother listening. 

And in the first hour, as the sun is still high up in the sky, they say nothing, basking in each other’s presence quietly, both thinking about how they hope this won’t be a one-time thing. Chris knows it’d sound crazy if he said it out loud. I think I like you already . But Hyunjin is thinking the exact same thing, so it’s only half as crazy as he might think it is. 

The sun begins to set, and Hyunjin starts to feel a wave of sadness wash over him when he realizes that the day is coming to an end. He looks at Chris beside him, and suddenly it’s like it’s just them two in this world. Like there’s no one else on the boat with them. Feeling brave out of nowhere, he takes a step closer, and then another. “You did say you were single, didn’t you?” Hyunjin mumbles, inching closer and closer to the other. Chris gulps, nods in response. “Yeah.” He replies, just as softly. It’s then that Hyunjin leans in and gently rests his lips against the other man’s for a brief five seconds.

Chris’s breath hitches at the contact, and then he feels weirdly cold when Hyunjin pulls away. He chases after the younger’s lips, prolonging the kiss. He feels a cold hand go up to cup his jaw, a thumb caressing it softly. The warm feeling in both their chests is now a burning fire, wanting to be ignited even further. But they pull away for air, and Chris rests his forehead against Hyunjin’s. “Can’t I see you again?” He asks. 

Hyunjin sighs, his hands not leaving the older’s face. “I want to.”

Chris’s hands move to hold either of Hyunjin’s hips. “So then do it. Whisk me away from my reality for a little while like you did today.” Hyunjin chuckles and leans in to steal one more kiss. “I really want to, Chris.” He whispers. “I really want to see you again.” 

“Then meet me tomorrow. I’m off work on weekends. Meet me tomorrow — no, let me pick you up. I’ll pick you up and then I’ll – I’ll take you —” Chris starts to ramble, but is cut off by Hyunjin’s giggle and yet another kiss to his lips. “We can talk about this over the phone or over text, alright? Just give me your number and we can plan everything out.” 

The two untangle from one another to bring out their phones, exchanging to put in their numbers for the other to save. “I’ll wait till you have a ride home.” Hyunjin says as the boat approaches the dock once again. “How will you get home, though?” Chris asks, a frown on his face. “I’ll be fine, my apartment is just a few blocks down.” Hyunjin replies, grabbing his hand to intertwine their fingers. “Then let me walk you home. I want to stay with you for a little longer.”

Hyunjin looks at Chris with an adoring look in his eyes and squeezes his hand. “I’d like that.” 

So to Hyunjin’s shared apartment with Seungmin together they go, and Chris is in awe at the simplicity of the exterior, but it’s beautiful all the same. He walks him all the way to the door of his unit, pressing one last kiss to his lips. “I’ll text you when I get home.” He says, and Hyunjin nods at this. The door opens right at that moment, a man in a pair of pajamas on the other side of the threshold. “Oh, by the way,” Hyunjin starts before Chris can start to walk away. “This is my college best friend, Seungmin. He was born in Korea and raised in America, too.” He says, gesturing towards the other tall man. “Seungmin, this is Christopher Bang, though I’m sure you know him already.” 

Seungmin smiles and bows to Chris before looking at Hyunjin with a raised brow. “We met today.” Hyunjin says quickly and nods before Seungmin can suspect anything. Chris gets a call and takes it as his cue to leave, “I’ll go now, Hyunie. Bye.” He smiles and waves at the two roommates. “Bye, Chris.” 

“Hyunie? Really?” Seungmin says in Korean, exaggeratedly, hands on his hips like a mother reprimanding her child. “You didn’t let me call you Jinnie for months, but this dude has known you for, what, a day? and he can already call you Hyunie?” Hyunjin barks out a laugh and walks inside to grab a glass of water. “Don’t take it personally.” 

Seungmin gasps. “Don’t take it personally? Don’t take it personally? You gotta be kidding me, dude. Why does he get special treatment — ” another loud gasp. “Are you two fucking?” Hyunjin nearly spits the water out at the question. “Seungmin, what the hell. We did not fuck or do anything of the sort. We just hung out, that’s all.” 

“I can’t believe you, Hyunjin.” Seungmin shakes his head in disbelief. “We didn’t sleep together!” Hyunjin insists, not looking at Seungmin when he makes his way to his bedroom door. “Seriously, Hyunjin, how did you — ”

“Good night!” Hyunjin loudly yells before slamming his door shut.

#

Chris doesn’t expect anything when he wakes up the following morning to eat breakfast with his whole family. Everything seems to go normally: his alarm goes off at exactly 7:30, and then he gets up to freshen up in the bathroom. After which, he goes downstairs to the dining room where the maids have already placed his freshly-cooked breakfast of choice onto his spot on the table. He greets everyone good morning because he is a good man with good manners, and then the rest of his family follow suit to the dining room. There is little chatter; his mom asks each of her children and her husband about how they’d slept, and usually the answer is that they slept alright, more or less. So Chris has no reason to think anything might go differently.

And that’s exactly where the normalcy ends. A newspaper is tossed next to his plate, and looks up to see his father smirking down at him. It’s not anything bad, his old man just looks like he’s about to tease him. He looks down at the piece of paper and nearly gasps when smack in the center of the front page is the exact picture that photographer had taken of him and Hyunjin yesterday at the Eiffel Tower. His stomach drops with apprehension when he reads the headline: “Christopher Bang, heir of LIN Corporation, spotted with male lover?” He wants to scream. Why are newspapers still a thing? He thinks to himself. He’s afraid there’ll be negativity in the article, but to his relief, the author only recounts how the two had been spotted ‘on a lovely date’ and how they’d been looking at each other ‘so lovingly.’ He bites back a chuckle. Now they have the public believing they’re in love. And honestly? Chris doesn’t think he’s against that. 

And then he remembers how this newspaper ended up in front of him in the first place. Slowly, he looks up at his father. “Good morning?” He tries, and Mr. Bang only lets out a laugh. “Son,” he starts. “Why didn’t you tell us?” 

“...Tell you what, exactly?” He feigns obliviousness.

Mrs. Bang joins in on the conversation. “Why didn’t you tell us you were dating someone?” She asks. “We wouldn’t have started finding you a spouse if we knew you already had someone.” 

“I—” He tries to say, but ends up chuckling instead. “We’re not dating, Ma, Pa. We just met yesterday.” He’s not surprised at the way everyone at the table stops what they’re doing and stares at him, puzzled. “Yesterday? Then why the picture, Channie?” His mother continues, and Chris briefly smiles at the way she calls him by his Korean name. “We were pretending to be in love when we took that picture. Some photographer — who said the picture would be for his portfolio, by the way, the git — must’ve mistaken us for a real couple.” Sounds of understanding are made at his explanation.

His younger sister, Hannah, squints her eyes at her brother. “Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you came home last night all giggly, your face red, and just all over the place. And I know you weren’t drunk. You’re not a giggler when you drink.” She accuses, pointing a finger. Chris blinks and purses his lips, closing his eyes with a sigh. “Channie!” Mrs. Bang gasps. “Was he the one you said you were with for dinner?” 

Chris blinks. He may have had to lie about going out for dinner with Hyunjin and dinner only, because there is absolutely no way he’d tell them he actually left the museum in the morning. “Uh, yeah, he is.” He answers shortly, but Mrs. Bang looks nothing short of delighted. She scoots closer after finishing her food, grabbing her eldest child’s hands. “Pray, tell me, what is his name?” She asks, eager to know probably more than just his name. 

“Hyunjin. Hyunjin Hwang. He was born in Korea, but he was raised in Las Vegas.” He says, unwilling to disclose anything more. But his mother and father seem content with knowing that much, even pleasantly surprised. He supposes it’s because the man was born Korean like them. “I know you said you met yesterday, but do you like him, dear?” Mrs. Bang asks. Chris smiles to himself when he remembers the few texts he exchanged with Hyunjin as soon as he got dropped off at home. “Yes,” he replies. “I do like him.”

“Then that’s that.” Mr. Bang declares with a sense of finality. “What’s what?” Chris asks. “We won’t look for a spouse for you anymore. You seem like you’re decided already.” He sputters a little at that, unsure of what to say. “Oh, wow. I’m — I’ll be forever grateful to you both for this, but marriage to Hyunjin is out of the question.” He says once he forms a coherent thought in his head. “Like I said, we met yesterday and are still trying to see where this might go. If it goes well enough for the both of us — and long enough — perhaps I might ask for his hand. But I won’t marry him if he doesn’t want to be with me like that.” 

For a moment, he expects objections, even demands that they be wed immediately, but all he gets instead are nods of acquiescence. He knows they’re just happy for him and probably want to get everything done as soon as possible before he turns thirty, but he’s glad they understand he wants to take things slow. Especially since it’s the first time he’s been romantically involved with anyone in so long. 

“We understand, dear.” His mother says. “We’ll let you take control.”

Chris is more than happy with the conclusion of their conversation and happily texts Hyunjin that he’ll be over in an hour. That quick? Hyunjin replies almost immediately. I literally just woke up. Chris sends him a string of laughing emojis before telling him to take his time getting ready. Hyunjin reacts to his message with a heart and goes offline. Chris then fixes himself up into a casual blue button-up and jeans, adding some product to his hair just because. “Another date with Hyunjin already?” His sister stands in his doorway, a cheeky smile on her face. “Get out, Hannah.” He mumbles, but he’s smiling as he looks at himself in the mirror. 

Hannah shakes her head amusedly, fondly. “I don’t get how you seem to be so smitten with him when it’s been a day.” 

Chris only throws her a lopsided smile. “I just am, Hannah. I just am. I don’t get it either, but there’s just something about him. I don’t know what it is.” He says, and the girl only chuckles fondly and waves goodbye. “Good luck on your date.” She tosses over her shoulder. 

Chris is out of the house by 9:30, excitedly typing in the address Hyunjin sent him last night onto the GPS before driving off. Okay, perhaps he’s a bit too delighted to be seeing the younger again when they saw each other last night, but what of it? Chris is about to be a happy man. The happiest, even. He whistles a joyful little tune as he drives through the basically empty streets of the city, pulling up to Hyunjin’s apartment building in less than fifteen minutes.

When he rings the doorbell, the door opens to reveal a well-dressed Hyunjin in a white shirt and jacket with black pants. Hyunjin eyes him up and down, smirking. “Well, good morning to you, sir.” He greets with a giggle before leaning in to press a gentle kiss to his lips. “How’d you sleep, Hyunie?” Chris asks after exchanging greetings. Hyunjin smiles. “Like a rock. Was probably the best sleep I’ve ever had in a while.” Chris grins at that, “I’m glad to hear it.” 

“So,” Hyunjin steps out of his unit and closes the door. “Where to today?”

#

Epilogue, one year later.

“I can’t believe it’s been a year.” Hyunjin says one day as he and Chris cuddle together on the couch of their apartment. “Yeah?” Chris has his arms around the younger’s shoulders, nose rubbing against the back of his head. “Neither can I, honestly.” In the year that passed since the day they first met, they’ve loved and fought, they’ve made love, explored places outside of Paris and outside of France, learning more about each other with each day they spend together. The idea of falling in love so quickly had at first seemed scary to the both of them, but they navigated through it together, and now they’re here. They’re happy. 

Hyunjin twists around in his lover’s hold. “Channie.” He starts, now used to the way Chris’s Korean name rolls off of his tongue so easily. “Yes, my love?” What he’s not used to, however, even after a year, are these endearments Chris uses on him so casually like he’s not aware of the effect it has on him. “Channie.” He repeats, looking at him seriously. “What is it, baby? Tell me.” 

“Channie,” he calls his name a third time, now ready to say what he wants to say. “I want to marry you.” He says slowly, biting his lip when the last syllable slips past his lips. He watches as the older’s eyes widen, his lips parting in shock. “Hyunie, baby, what?” is the first thing out of his mouth. Chris isn’t sure how to react. In the one year they’ve been together, marriage has never been a subject they ever talked about in detail or very deeply. It’s only ever been mentioned in passing, implications made here and there. So now that Hyunjin has explicitly told him he wants to get married, he suddenly doesn’t know what to say. 

“Do you mean one day, or do you mean right now?” He asks, treading carefully. “Not literally right now, but I’d like for it to be as soon as possible. I want to be engaged, plan the ceremony, make invites, the whole shebang. I want to marry you because I love you, Channie.” Chris can’t help the smile creeping onto his face. “Alright.” He says, grabbing Hyunjin’s left hand and kissing the fourth finger. “I’ll have things organized, and I’ll get us rings. Does that sound okay?” 

“I love that.” Hyunjin replies with a giddy smile, kissing him on his mouth over and over. “And I love you.”

Chris giggles. “I love you more, my dear.” 

fin.