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Three men stand in front of a bed. It looks like a super single bed, or maybe a queen-sized one. Either way, all of them want to sleep on a proper bed after the long days they’ve spent camping out in the field, but it doesn’t look big enough for all of them.
What kind of temporary base only has one bed? Kim Rok Soo wants to call headquarters and give them a piece of his mind.
“Uh… what should we do?” Choi Jung Soo asks, scratching his cheek awkwardly. “There’s only one bed and three of us.”
“You should sleep on the floor since you can fall asleep anywhere,” Kim Rok Soo decides immediately. He reaches out for the blanket, but Choi Jung Soo seizes his wrist to stop him.
“No! It’s been a long time since I’ve slept on the bed and my body is so sore,” he groans. “How about rock paper scissors? Huh? Come on, let’s make it a fair fight.”
Kim Rok Soo squints at Choi Jung Soo. He’s been talking about how much he wants to sleep on a bed since their first night on the field. Jung Soo should know just how much he wants this.
But fine. Rock paper scissors is fair. His ‘luck’ is usually better than Choi Jung Soo anyways.
“I’m going to throw rock,” Kim Rok Soo announces.
Lee Soo Hyuk has been silent up until now, but he starts chuckling when their familiar routine begins.
“Oh come on,” Choi Jun Soo starts complaining again. “You can’t do this every time! What’s with you and your mind games? Now I’m getting confused!"
“It’s not against the rules. And I do it because it works against you.”
“Well, Rok Soo is right,” Lee Soo Hyuk agrees.
“I’m going to prove you guys wrong!” Choi Jung Soo declares. “I’ll show you! Come on, rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”
Paper.
Paper.
Scissors.
Lee Soo Hyuk and Kim Rok Soo turn to Choi Jung Soo in disbelief. Choi Jung Soo himself also can’t believe the results, and he holds up the scissors in the air like he’s looking at a precious treasure.
“Holy shit, I actually won.”
“What?” Kim Rok Soo scowls as he looks at his flat palm. He had it all planned out. He might’ve lost to their team leader sometimes, but he won every single game of rock paper scissors with Choi Jung Soo before this. He should’ve won this time too. This didn’t make any sense. “Didn’t you say men always use rock?”
Choi Jung Soo doesn’t answer Kim Rok Soo. He happily climbs into the covers and makes himself at home. It’s more comfortable than he expected, and he sighs at the relief it gives his aching joints.
Kim Rok Soo’s eyes narrow. “Did you lose on purpose every time before this to make me lower my guard? Just to cash in on this opportunity?”
Choi Jung Soo scoots close to the wall and smiles in surprise at the amount of space left. “Hey, I think this bed can fit another person! You guys should play again.”
Kim Rok Soo’s competitive spirit flares once more. He wants to slack. He wants to sleep in a proper bed. He stares at Lee Soo Hyuk and declares, “I’m going to use paper this time.”
“Okay,” Lee Soo Hyuk accepts. “I’ll use rock.”
Kim Rok Soo squints at him with suspicion in his gaze.
Lee Soo Hyuk can’t help but smile at that look. It’s pretty cute how seriously their maknae takes rock paper scissors.
“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” Choi Jung Soo yells for them with the excitement of a spectator watching the final match.
Rock.
Scissors.
“Argh!” Kim Rok Soo shouts in frustration as his hand, his fingers shaped in a ‘V’, shakes.
“I told you I was going to use rock,” Lee Soo Hyuk shakes his head with a laugh. Choi Jung Soo is laughing too, lifting the covers for Lee Soo Hyuk to join him in bed.
“See, Rok Soo? Playing mind games doesn’t mean you’ll win! Bleh~ Suck it!” Choi Jung Soo sticks out his tongue in an insufferable manner.
Kim Rok Soo huffs, blowing a puff of hot air up at his fringe. It flutters, and he stares at the sight of the two men smiling at him in a small bed. Then he turns away sharply.
“...Fine. I’ll just sleep on the floor,” Kim Rok Soo grumbles as he sheds his jacket. He lays it flat on the floor and prepares to settle down for the night.
“We should just all squeeze together,” Lee Soo Hyuk says.
Kim Rok Soo lifts an eyebrow as he stares at the tiny amount of space left on the bed. How does Lee Soo Hyuk look so confident? Why is he smiling like that?
Choi Jung Soo chimes in, “We’ll probably fit if we all lie down on our sides instead of our backs!”
Kim Rok Soo frowns. “I won’t fit.”
“Well, you don’t know until you try!” Choi Jung Soo continues to convince him, waggling his eyebrows. “Come on, Rok Soo!”
This is a bad idea. Kim Rok Soo knows it. But he’s never been able to reject Lee Soo Hyuk, not since the day they met. And he’s always been a sucker for Choi Jung Soo’s dumb ideas.
So he sighs and gingerly climbs onto the bed as the other two scoot as close as humanly possible to make room for him.
“This is stupid,” Kim Rok Soo grumbles as his back is pressed against Lee Soo Hyuk’s front. He does manage to lie down on the bed, but it feels insecure. It feels like he’s going to fall off with the slightest nudge. How will they even manage to fall asleep like this when it feels so uncomfortable?
Then Lee Soo Hyuk wraps a strong arm around Kim Rok Soo’s waist to hold him in place, and Kim Rok Soo’s brain short-circuits.
“See, we fit!” Choi Jung Soo says, voice triumphant. He also sounds a little bit breathy, as though he’s winded. “A bit warm, but we do!”
They’re packed like sardines. Kim Rok Soo can feel their body heat. He can smell their warm scents, familiar and overwhelming all at once. Their voices sound so close.
“Great. Let’s go to sleep,” Lee Soo Hyuk says, but that’s beginning to sound like the hardest thing to do in the world. “Rok Soo, can you blow out the candle?”
“Rok Soo?”
Kim Rok Soo finally gets his wits about him. He grabs the candle off the nightstand and brings it close to his face so he can blow out the tiny flame. In an instant, the room descends into complete darkness.
The breathing sounds of the two men behind him suddenly sound much louder now that he can’t see anything. He places the candle back down with a shaking hand and then he lies, stiff and still, as he stares out into the darkness.
It’s… uncomfortable to lie down like this. He tries to wriggle for a bit of space, but then Lee Soo Hyuk’s arm clamps down on him, tight around his waist. Kim Rok Soo’s heart jumps, running a mile a minute.
“Rok Soo… can you stop moving? You too, Jung Soo,” Lee Soo Hyuk whispers. His warm breath tickles the back of Kim Rok Soo’s nape, causing the younger man to shudder. Everything is warm; there’s so much of Lee Soo Hyuk’s warm body pressing against his, hard and firm, and is that-
Kim Rok Soo stiffens up even more. He might as well be a rock at this point.
Then, he hears Choi Jung Soo.
“Um, sorry, hyung. It’s, uh, been a while, since I, uh, y’know. Since we’ve always been on the road and all.”
“It’s fine,” Lee Soo Hyuk assures in a low voice. It sounds a little strained and hoarse. “I’m sorry too, Rok Soo.”
Kim Rok Soo jolts out of the bed, leaving so urgently he almost trips. His entire back is tingling, feeling warm even though he’s already out of the bed and out of Lee Soo Hyuk’s embrace. Not just his back, his entire body feels like it’s on fire. He’s glad it’s dark in the room because he’s sure his cheeks are incredibly red.
“I, I’m going to sleep on the floor after all,” Kim Rok Soo says, his voice oddly pitched.
“That’s, uh, probably a good idea,” Choi Jung Soo agrees as Lee Soo Hyuk scoots a more respectable distance away.
And then three men lie awake, staring at the ceiling, trying to will the heat in the bodies to go away.