Chapter Text
there's a week left before his final year in high school starts. hanbin needs to leave for the airport in about half an hour. don't get him wrong; he'd never go out on a last minute trip. he just has to pick someone up.
the thing is, he doesn't know who this someone is. well, he knows he's supposed to pick up seok matthew and he's received his id picture, but he's never actually talked to the guy. seok matthew is a student involved in his school's exchange program and hanbin's family is going to host him for the school year. if hanbin is being honest, he's a little nervous.
he looks out his bedroom window to find gyuvin's bedroom window open. gyuvin is going to the airport too since his own family is hosting another student. hanbin calls out to him, "gyuvin-ah! aren't you nervous?"
gyuvin looks up from his phone. "a little, i guess. i'm more excited though."
"what's your guy's name again?" hanbin asks.
"zhanghao," gyuvin answers. "he's your age."
hanbin is about to say something else when his mother calls for him. it's time to go to the airport. gyuvin is somehow already out in his driveway when hanbin gets out his front door.
"let's race to the airport, hyung," gyuvin suggests.
"gyuvin!" his mother chastises.
he laughs. "i was kidding."
"see you at the airport, hanbinie," gyuvin's mother says.
hanbin gives her a half bow before getting into his car. he gets antsy as the airport comes into view.
gyuvin is already at the airport with yujin. he has to host two students for some reason, but he didn't mind. hanbin thinks that it's probably jiwoong's fault since he fulfils all the criterias to host a student, but somehow manages to be late to school everyday.
hanbin makes small talk with his juniors while waiting for the students. he keeps his eyes trained on the automatic glass doors though. a few minutes pass and a group of four teenagers walk out. hanbin recognises matthew and waves them over.
hanbin's heart rate picks up when his eyes meet one of the boys'. he is so hanbin's type. matthew is all smiles when he reaches hanbin and his friends.
"hi, i'm zhanghao. nice to meet you all," the boy of hanbin's dreams introduces himself and holy shit his accent is so cute.
hanbin is fucked. isn't zhanghao supposed to stay with gyuvin? how will he survive knowing the pretty boy is just right next door?
he's still high in his thoughts when the other boys introduce themselves. gyuvin has to nudge him with his elbow to bring him back to reality. "introduce yourself, hyung," he says.
"i'm hanbin. sung hanbin," he keeps his eyes on zhanghao.
hanbin doesn't want to brag, but he's pretty sure zhanghao has a slight pink hue on his cheeks and ears. hanbin's parents appear just then.
"boys, is everyone here?" his mother questions.
"yeah, we can go now," hanbin answers.
he reaches his hand out to help with matthew's luggage. the younger boy thanks him.
he hears a surprised gasp from behind him. "is that a violin?" gyuvin gawks excitedly.
zhanghao hums. "yeah, i couldn't handle the thought of not playing for so long. hope you don't mind."
"of course not. it's pretty cool," gyuvin utters.
zhanghao laughs lightly, prettily, hanbin's brain supplies. "thanks."
they get into their respective cars and start heading home. hanbin's car makes it out of the airport's parking lot before his phone chimes with a message.
f4
gyuvin: 💀💀💀
yujin: 💀💀💀
jiwoong: what happened
gyuvin: yeah hanbin hyung what happened
hanbin: ???
yujin: stop acting dumb
yujin: we all saw the way u looked at zhanghao
gyuvin: i cant believe the perfect student council president sung hanbin is defeated by a pretty boy w a pretty smile
hanbin: ...
hanbin: and a cute accent
yujin: oh hes down horrendous already
jiwoong: damn hanbinie
jiwoong: what happened to studies first bf second
hanbin: u dont understand hes perfect
gyuvin: fallen soldier ✊🏻🕊️
hanbin lets out a sigh and closes his phone. they wouldn't understand his dilemma. he turns his head to look at matthew. "you can call me hyung," he says.
"okay, hanbin hyung," he giggles. hanbin thinks he'd make the perfect younger brother.
"can i have your number? we could make a group chat with the others," hanbin suggests.
"good idea," matthew agrees.
exchange program
hanbin created this group chat.
hanbin added matthew, gyuvin and yujin.
hanbin: this is matthew
hanbin: add ur new friends
gyuvin added zhanghao.
yujin added ricky and ollie.
ollie: HIII
zhanghao: hi
ricky: hey
hanbin: welcome to korea
zhanghao: thank u ^^
hanbin is doomed.
yujin: btw we have to go to school tmr to pick up ur uniforms
ricky: 🫡
ollie: im so excited
matthew: same
gyuvin: lets eat aft we get the uniforms
yujin: u just wanna get bbq again
gyuvin: and what if i do
hanbin: @gyuvin u wanna walk there tgt?
gyuvin: sure
"together?" matthew questions.
"oh, i forgot to tell you. gyuvin lives right next door," hanbin explains. "and don't worry the school is like ten minutes away on a good day."
"sweet, i still get to see zhanghao hyung a lot," matthew pumps his fist out in celebration.
"are you guys close?" hanbin wants to know.
"you could say that. zhanghao hyung acts like everyone's mum. the rest of us would probably be dead without him," matthew laughs. "plus, he's really nice—some people in school call him mother teresa."
gyuvin is already home when hanbin's dad parks into their driveway. he wants to see zhanghao again. he shakes off the thought and leads matthew into the house while his parents insist on taking care of the luggage. he gives his new roommate a tour of the house and brings him into the room he'll be staying in. it's right next to hanbin's room and used to be a spare where guests would stay.
"my parents are going out later, so we can order takeout or cook for dinner," hanbin informs matthew. "we could also go out and i'll show you around."
"sounds great," matthew beams. "i kinda wanna go out."
"alright," hanbin says. he points at the bathroom door. "you can freshen up and rest for a while. i'll tell you when it's time to go."
matthew hums and nods. hanbin retreats into his own room to give matthew his own privacy. he opens his curtains and tries not to react when he sees zhanghao inside gyuvin's room. what the hell. hanbin bets his right foot that gyuvin did this on purpose.
zhanghao is trying to find something on gyuvin's bedside table and hanbin just keeps staring like a creepy old man. zhanghao puts on a triumphant little smile which melts hanbin's heart when he finds what he's looking for; which is apparently vaseline. he makes eye contact with hanbin as he turns to leave.
"hi," hanbin greets him.
zhanghao looks surprised, but gives him a small wave nonetheless. "wow, you live so close," he wonders out loud.
"yeah," hanbin says.
zhanghao nods at him and his hand reaches out to the doorknob. hanbin doesn't want him to go. "wait!" hanbin blurts out.
the exchange student looks at him with a questioning tilt in his head. "i'm gonna grab dinner with matthew and show him around later. do you wanna come with?" hanbin invites.
zhanghao's eyes practically shine with excitement. "i'll go ask gyuvinie," he supplies before rushing out the door.
hanbin buries his head in his hands. he can't stop smiling like an idiot.
his phone chimes a few minutes later.
f4
gyuvin: wow hyung. WOW
gyuvin: I CANT BELIEVE URE FLIRTING W HIM ALR
yujin: spill
jiwoong: YEAH SPILL I NEED THE DEETS
gyuvin: never say u 'need the deets' ever again
hanbin: ...can we not
gyuvin: nah they need to know abt ur crimes
hanbin: WHAT CRIMES
gyuvin: ATTEMPTED STEALING OF MY ZHANGHAO HYUNG
hanbin: YOURS??&(";+#
gyuvin: hes great ok he gave me an entire bag of snacks from china
jiwoong: the girls are fighting
yujin: gyuvin if u dont tell me what happened right this instance....
gyuvin: OKAY OKAY
gyuvin: so
gyuvin: zhanghao hyung asked me if i had vaseline since ricky took his so i told him it was in my room
gyuvin: then hanbin hyung took that opportunity to ask zhanghao out on a DATE
hanbin: HOW IS IT A DATE IF U AND MATTHEW ARE COMING WITH
gyuvin: tomato tomato
yujin: that doesnt work over text
gyuvin: u still understood
yujin: touche
jiwoong: so are u all gonna go out tgt
gyuvin: yeah
gyuvin: zhanghao hyung looked too excited there was no way in hell i couldve said no
yujin: i just know hanbin hyung is giggling and kicking his feet rn
jiwoong: LMFAO
gyuvin: HELP 😭
hanbin: 😐🖕🏻
hanbin's eyes advert to the digital clock on his wall every five minutes, praying for the time to pass faster. he practically jumps off his bed when the clock strikes half past five. he jogs over to matthew's room and knocks the door gently. "matthew? we have to leave soon."
hanbin can't even count up to three before the door swings open. "let's go! i'm so hungry," he complains.
"i invited gyuvin and zhanghao, by the way. we need to get them first," hanbin lets him know.
"hao hyung loves going out," matthew tells him. "he ran a pretty popular blog about food reviews back in china."
"he sounds like an interesting guy," hanbin thinks aloud.
"oh, definitely," matthew confirms. "he was always doing everything he could."
hanbin locks his door and makes his way to gyuvin's with matthew following close behind. he rings the doorbell. gyuvin answers it in a matter of seconds. he gives hanbin a mischievous look and turns his back on him. "hao hyung! we're going now!" he shouts into the house.
"coming," zhanghao calls back.
he reaches the front door with a bright smile on his face. he's wearing baggy clothes which make his tall figure look somehow small. hanbin wants to hug him.
"hi," zhanghao says softly.
"hi," hanbin breathes out.
there's a short silence before gyuvin speaks up. "o-kay, let's get going!"
hanbin clears his throat. "yeah, okay."
"so, where are we going?" matthew asks.
"i was planning to bring you guys to the restaurant abount two blocks away. the owners usually give out discounts to students," hanbin explains.
"i love the galbitang there. zhanghao hyung, you should try it," gyuvin recommends.
"sure," zhanghao answers.
they're greeted by the smell of food when gyuvin swings the restaurant door open. the owner takes one look at them and grins widely. "hanbinie! gyuvin-ah! i haven't seen you in a while," the middle-aged lady welcomes them.
"and who are these?" she brings them over to an empty table.
"this is zhanghao hyung and matthew. they're exchange students staying with us for the next year," gyuvin tells her.
zhanghao takes a seat next to gyuvin. hanbin tries not to be obvious when he reaches for the chair facing zhanghao. gyuvin definitely noticed though.
"wonderful!" the owner claps. "anyways, what are you boys going to get?"
the four teenagers place their respective orders. zhanghao is getting gyuvin's recommendation.
they settle into a small conversation while waiting for their food. "are you guys going to join any clubs in school?" gyuvin asks.
"depends on what they have," matthew ponders.
"if there's a music club i'll consider it," zhanghao says. "are u two in any clubs?"
"we're both in the dance club," gyuvin answers for hanbin. "hyung is club president."
"wow, impressive," zhanghao praises. the hairs on hanbin's neck stand.
"the music club in our school is pretty good too," hanbin shares. "they do all sorts of stuff including singing and instruments."
"zhanghao hyung's an amazing singer!" matthew reveals. "he's the one leading the school song in every assembly and ceremony."
hanbin looks at him. "aren't you the impressive one?"
zhanghao's eyes widen a tiny bit; not noticeably to anyone who isn't paying attention, but hanbin knows he's flustered.
"he's actually representing the exchange students in the school's opening ceremony next week," matthew continues. "he's gonna give a speech and perform a song on the violin."
"that's so cool," gyuvin gawks.
"i'll be looking forward to it," hanbin says.
zhanghao mumbles, "that's a lot of pressure."
the conversation ends when their food arrives. zhanghao whips out his phone and immediately snaps a few pictures. he makes a small noise when he's satisfied with the photos. how is hanbin supposed to focus on his dinner when he wants to eat up the boy in front of him.
dinner ends when gyuvin finishes his food by licking up the sauce on the plate. hanbin calls him disgusting but it falls on deaf ears. hanbin offers to pay and no one objects, of course.
"let's go to the new dessert place," gyuvin proposes. "it's just down the street."
zhanghao does a few small claps. "i love desserts."
"pretty sure it's a bingsu place," hanbin cuts in.
"let's go!" matthew cheers.
they walk in pairs on the pavement and hanbin manages to successfully be the one next to zhanghao. he tries to make small talk. "are you nervous?"
"for school?" zhanghao asks back.
hanbin nods.
"not really," the exchange student replies. "i'm more worried about making friends. i'm still struggling with korean."
"well, you already have me," hanbin says without thinking.
zhanghao almost trips. "and gyuvin!" hanbin hastily adds. "and yujin, i guess. you're gonna meet jiwoong sooner or later too."
"...yeah," zhanghao mutters.
"plus, i think you're quite fluent already," hanbin reassures him.
zhanghao pouts. fuck fuck fuck he's adorable. "i'm trying to get rid of the accent."
"i'd prefer it if you didn't. it's really cute."
zhanghao sucks in an audible breath. his cheeks and ears are pink when hanbin takes a look at him. "what?" he questions.
"i like listening to you talk," hanbin clarifies, feeling bold. "you sound cute."
the blush spreads through zhanghao's entire face. "thank you," he manages to stutter out.
hanbin can't help but feel a little smug. he hopes gyuvin wasn't eavesdropping in on his conversation.
they decide to get the bingsu to-go so they could walk around. gyuvin leads them all to the neighbourhood park. hanbin doesn't want to admit it, but he's a little jealous when zhanghao feeds a spoon of his bingsu to matthew. gyuvin sees this, and like the little shit he is, he whines at zhanghao to feed him too.
hanbin tries to ignore gyuvin. they make their way back home when they all finish their desserts.
hanbin pauses in his steps before he gets through his gate. he faces zhanghao. "see you tomorrow."
zhanghao offers him a small smile. "see you."