Chapter Text
If Seungkwan has to choose a word to describe his life he would choose simple.
He grew up in New York City with his mom and his two older sisters, he went to elementary, middle, and high school there, where he always was at the top of all of his classes. When the time to choose his college came around -despite getting into schools that belong to the Ivy Leaugue, such as Yale and Harvard- he still chose NYU so he could stay in the city next to his family and his dearest friends, who also decided to study in New York. And now he works as both researcher and professor in the same college he studied.
His life is extremely simple, and just as simple is dating his boyfriend, Kim Mingyu.
They have known each other for two years and been together for one and a half. Everything is simply amazing. Really. Kim Mingyu is the sweetest boyfriend alive, with a strong golden retriever aura - or at least this is what his sister always says - and an irresistible smile that never fails to get him out of every little fight with Seungkwan, even when Mingyu himself is in the wrong.
Seungkwan is currently waiting for Mingyu in the University cafeteria grading his students’ work, hoping that his boyfriend will come as late as possible so he can finish grading them all before going to his mother’s for dinner that night. And, just when he’s about to open the last document for the day, he feels a strong pair of arms hugging him from behind and, as a reflex, Seungkwan melts into the embrace.
«How’s my beautiful boyfriend doing today? I’m so sorry I’m late.» Mingyu says, placing a chaste kiss on Seungkwan’s lips. «Those shareholders couldn’t stop complaining about stupid matters and I had to listen to them the whole time.»
«Will I, one day, understand what your job is or you’ll be in your Barney Stinson era forever?»
«I have no idea what you’re talking about, you know I have a degree in architectural engineering and a minor in interior design. You’ve been to an inauguration of a building I designed and you know my colleagues.» Mingyu says smiling and Seungkwan pretends to think about it and then nods in approval. «And also I have no idea who Barney Stinson is. Is he one of your university friends? I’ve never heard about him though.»
«Oh no, he’s a character from a sitcom. How I met your mother. We watched a couple of episodes together, but you always say that you can’t stand Ted so you make me turn it off.»
«Oh yes, I remember now; and if I’m not wrong, you always agree with me when I say that I don’t like him.» Mingyu is now sitting next to Seungkwan, with his hand playing with Seungkwan’s ring.
«I don’t particularly like anyone in that sitcom, but I’m now too invested to drop it,» Seungkwan says after closing his laptop, knowing that he’ll probably have to grade the last tests once he gets home. «Do you want to join me for dinner at my mom’s tonight? Vernonie and Chanie will be there too.»
«I’d love to, but unfortunately I have something to do.»
Seungkwan pouts and Mingyu kisses it away, just before the barista calls his name to get the order Mingyu has probably placed before sitting next to him. Mingyu comes back with two slices of cake and two iced americanos. At the sight, Seungkwan’s eyes get wider and full of joy. This time around he’s the one initiating the kissing with his boyfriend.
«I guess I’m already forgiven for skipping dinner at your mother’s.»
«You know how to buy me. And I know you’re already forgiven, she loves you.» Seungkwan says and Mingyu laughs. Seungkwan, once again, thinks about how much he loves Mingyu’s laugh. «You’ve been meaning to ask me something, haven’t you?»
Mingyu isn’t particularly good at hiding his emotions, Seungkwan has always known that. The moment Seungkwan looks into his boyfriend’s eyes, he immediately understands what’s going on in his head; however, Mingyu has mastered the art of downgrading his own feelings so Seungkwan wouldn’t worry too much and, at the same time, Seungkwan has mastered the art of not asking questions unless Mingyu is looking at him, with eyes begging him to ask what’s going on. Which, to Seungkwan’s always right judgment, is happening right now. Mingyu is playing with the food with his fork while glancing at Seungkwan a little too often, unusual tense silence pending between them.
«Tomorrow you have your last class, right? And the midterm is on Monday next week.» Seungkwan nods and Mingyu nods back. «At what time?»
«From 10 am to 12 pm.» Mingyu hums and Seungkwan looks at him again, inviting with his eyes to go on, but he can almost hear Mingyu’s brain cells working hard. «Mingyu, you have something else to ask me, am I right?»
«What about spending Spring Break together? Are you free? I remember you don’t have plans on leaving and your research team is on break too. Also, I saw your mother the other day and she told me you had nothing to do. She also told me that your sisters will both go to California with their boyfriends and you were complaining about it because you’ve never gone anywhere. I also remember you told me you’ve always wanted to …»
«Yes Mingyu, I am free on Spring Break.» At the reply to the fastest rap Mingyu has ever put out, the guy relaxes. «Do you have something in mind?»
«What do you feel about going on an adventure to the East?»
«You mean like getting pork buns in the East Village? That doesn’t sound too romantic to me, but I’m down for it. I was craving them the other day.»
Both of them chuckle, but Mingyu shakes his head.
«Further East, Kwan.»
«Like the Queens? Wanna do a Spiderman tour? I know you like him, but maybe we’re taking it a little bit too far I don’t think you can actually see..»
Mingyu laughs again and, just when Seungkwan is about to say something more, Mingyu interrupts him.
«I was thinking more about Seoul, South Korea.» Mingyu must know his boyfriend so well because as soon as Seungkwan is about to open his mouth, Mingyu takes the floor again. «It’s Dokyeom and Minghao’s wedding. You know Dokyeom is my best friend and he explicitly told me he needs me there. I also have a call with him tonight so I can help him choose a dress for the wedding. When we’re there we can go and visit all the places where I grew up, you can also meet my family and my friends. You also told me you’ve always wanted to visit the JYP and SM buildings, so we can go there too, just like all the other places you might want to visit.»
Seungkwan stays silent, nodding his head every time Mingyu adds a point to the bullet list of good reasons why they should go while also thinking if going is a good idea. Despite being genetically fully Korean, he’s never been to Korea, or anywhere outside of the state of New York for that matter, the furthest he’s ever been was probably to the Hamptons when his family goes to visit their grandparents there. For this reason, going to South Korea feels even bigger and scarier. Mingyu knows that he’s never had the opportunity to travel a lot growing up, while Mingyu instead moved to the United States for University, so that’s probably why he’s giving Seungkwan so many grounds on why traveling together will be a good experience.
«And on top of that, you can also meet your college roommate…» Mingyu says, probably as his last point in trying to convince Seungkwan to go with him.
«Kwon Soonyoung.»
«Yeah, him, exactly.» Talking about his friend makes Seungkwan smile at his memory and, as a consequence, that also makes Mingyu smile. «See. You can also meet Soonyoung again. You also told me he has a boyfriend now, so you could meet him as well.»
«Well, he always texts me to come and visit him, in particular when I tell him I’ve tried new Korean restaurants here.»
«See, this is a call from the universe for us to go there.» Mingyu takes one bite of his cake and a crumb gets stuck on his upper lip. «I want to show everyone my hot, smart, sweet, and beautiful boyfriend.»
Seungkwan removes the crumb from his boyfriend's lips and sighs in approval.
«And don’t worry about the tickets, my parents have it covered.»
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
«So, will you have sex in Mingyu’s childhood bedroom?» Vernon asks and in reply, both Seungkwan and Chan throw a pillow at him.
«Don’t talk about basically my older brother’s sex life in front of me,» Chan says and to that Vernon just shrugs, taking both of the pillows in his hands and placing them next to him on Seungkwan’s bed. Both he and Chan are sitting on the bed while Seungkwan is running around his room, trying to pack everything for the flight on the next day. «And Kwan, I don’t think you need to bring four pairs of shoes, you’re going to Seoul not Antarctica, you can always buy one there if you need it.»
«First, I’m not your brother. Second, maybe you’re right. And third…» Seungkwan says taking out two out of the four pairs of shoes from his luggage, but then he stops and takes a deep breath. «We’re going to stay in a hotel. Mingyu told me that we can escape from his family’s clutches more easily if we stay there.»
«This is very Mingyu style, his way you two can spend more time alone and he can keep you all to yourself. He tries to hide his glare every time I enter the apartment where you and I live. Or, wait...»Vernon says and Seungkwan turns to look at him. «Or do you think there’s more behind it?»
«I guess,» Seungkwan sits on the bed next to Chan, who moves to give him some space. «He knows everything about my family, he even goes out with my mom for brunch without me. One time my sister called him to help her grocery shopping because she was pregnant and her husband was away on a work trip. But I don’t know anything about his family. Yeah, I know his cousin Joshua, but that’s all, every time I try to bring out the topic he just changes it.»
«Maybe he’s embarrassed of them. Or maybe they hate him because he’s a rebellious child and they had to kick him out of the house as soon as he turned 18.» Says Vernon.
«My Mingyu? Rebellious? He gets angry every time I try to cross the road away from the pedestrian cross,» It has happened numerous times: Seungkwan was born and grew up in New York, and he's used to just crossing the road as soon as he finds the right time to do it, even if the pedestrian cross isn't too close to him or if the traffic light is about to become red. Mingyu really couldn’t stand that. «And how can I forget that one time he scolded me because I added just an additional spoon of sugar to the cake dough.»
«Okay, you’re right. Maybe his family isn’t totally accepting of his LGBTQ+ lifestyle.» Chan says then and Seungkwan chuckles.
«Oh right, I forgot to tell you that I met his cousin Joshua and his husband, Jeonghan. Even though his mother also has this weird sixth sense and always calls him when we’re about to have sex, I don't think she is homophobic. About this, what irritates me the most is that he always talks to her with such a sweet voice I’d just go away if we weren’t at my apartment most of the time. One time he even asked her how it went at her Christian reading group and he listened to her the whole time, asking her questions too. And I was there, waiting for him. Insane.» At that both his friends laugh and Seungkwan lets himself go on the bed. «What if they’ll hate me? What if Mingyu thinks they will hate me?»
«Kwan. You graduated with the highest grades in your class. You’re a nutrition professor at NYU and you’re in one of the most competitive programs there,» Chan states, patting his friend’s head. «On top of that, you can also speak Korean and you’re good at sports.»
«Right. If they hate you, then it’s their loss. And judging by the way Mingyu looks at you, I'm sure he doesn't think that,» Vernon says and Seungkwan opens his arms, inviting both of his friends in a hug, where both of them immediately dive in. «Keep us updated all the time while you’re there okay?»
Seungkwan nods and a part of his anxiety for the vacation is gone. After all his friends and his boyfriend are right, he’s smart and a good son, there’s nothing he should be worrying about, right?
ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ
Seungkwan is on all nerves, and holding Mingyu’s hand all the way to JFK doesn’t help him relax. He has never been on a plane and most importantly, he has never been on a plane to South Korea to meet his boyfriend’s family he knows nothing about except the fact that they live in Seoul, and in that exact moment Seungkwan was doubting that knowledge as well.
When the taxi stops in front of the airport, Seungkwan is about to hand his card to the driver, but Mingyu stops him, saying that it’s on him since he is the one who invited him. Seungkwan tries to fight saying that Mingyu can pay for something later — they usually pay one each — but leaves it as soon as the taxi driver takes his boyfriend’s card, a credit card that Seungkwan has never seen before. Has Mingyu always had a black American Express?
«Okay, my mom made us some kimbap for the flight. She didn’t remember which one you liked, so she made three different types.» Mingyu simply smiles and goes to the trunk of the taxi to take their luggage. Mingyu’s calmness usually helps Seungkwan relax, but there is a weird atmosphere that Seungkwan can’t catch that prevents him from embracing Mingyu’s tranquility. «I weighed my luggage before leaving and it shouldn't be over the limit. Chanie prevented me from bringing four pairs…»
But before he can finish the sentence he’s caught off by a flight assistant, who magically appeared in front of them.
«Mr. Boo. Mr. Kim. Good afternoon. We’ll now take your luggage and have you checked in into first class.» Seungkwan looks at Mingyu, trying to ask him with his eyes if that’s something that was supposed to happen. Yes, Seungwan has never taken an airplane before, but he is pretty sure that flight attendants don’t pick you up from the taxi and have your luggage checked-in, and, most importantly, he is also pretty sure they aren’t supposed to fly first class.
«Oh, actually we…» But Seungkwan is interrupted once again, this time by Mingyu who says on behalf of both of them (while Seungkwan tries to hide the tupperware with kimbap behind his back): «Thank you so much, we’ll see you again after the security check.»
Seungkwan is left speechless. A flight attendant has just called him “Mr. Boo”, a form of address that only his sister has used, in specific she used it when they were younger and they acted like high-class people when they passed by the Upper East Side. The same flight attendant has also told him that they will fly first class, when Seungkwan was fully convinced that he would have spent the whole flight beside a nosy homophobic old woman trying to convince his handsome boyfriend to date her pretty granddaughter. It’s not like Seungkwan needed to have everything under control, but the abrupt change of situation disrupted him a little bit. He would also be happy to have Mingyu by his side, but he is weirdly silent and he’s for sure hiding something from him.
«Just go with it, okay? You trust me, right?» And of course Seungkwan trusts him, but a part of him feels like this is not the end.
And well. Seungkwan is never wrong.
In front of them, the same flight assistant from before is leading the way to their “private suite”. Seungkwan had to stop for a second, he didn’t even know that “private suits” on planes existed before that moment.
«Here’s a glass of champagne.» Says the girl, showing them another flight assistant filling two glasses, probably made of crystal, for them.
«Are these for free?» Whispers Seungkwan into Mingyu’s ear. His boyfriend quietly laughs and hands him the now-filled glass and then goes down to his ear and whispers back. «Of course they are. We have a whole bottle we can drink during the flight.»
And by now Seungkwan, who defines himself as one of the most talkative people he’s ever known, has lost count of the times he’s been left speechless.
The private suite is very nice, the flight attendant told them that after the take-off they could have the seats turned into a bed so they could sleep and relax better, they were only a call away. As soon as she goes away, Seungkwan throws at Mingyu the neck pillow they handed them at the entrance of the plane, but he doesn’t fail to catch it immediately.
«Kim Mingyu. We can’t afford this! I know your parents are paying but this is too much. I literally brought kimbap for the flight, and now they’re giving us a Michelin-star meal on this plane. And look,» Seungkwans picks up a pair of linen pajamas from their seats. «These are for sure more expensive than my whole outfit. Jewelry included.»
«Now I understand why you never win when playing The price is right .» Mingyu’s comment results in Mingyu getting another weird look from Seungkwan, who is immediately ready to throw his backpack at his boyfriend. «And don’t worry about it, I mean it. My family has business with the airline and the tickets are a perk that comes with it.»
«What kind of business?» Seungkwan asks, while opening a small bag that contains lotion and perfumes from brands he usually avoids when shopping. He makes a mental note to ask Mingyu, once the conversation is over – if he hasn’t broken up with him – if he can keep it.
«Real estate, investment, and other things. Nothing interesting, it’s like one of those meetings I always have to go to, I would just bore you out if I talked about it too much.»
«So, is your family…» Seungkwan stops and makes sure Mingyu is looking at him. «… Is your family rich?»
«We’re comfortable,» Mingyu says, suddenly finding the menu next to him way more interesting than the conversation. But this time Seungkwan is determined to not let it slide, Mingyu has already spent the past 30 minutes successfully avoiding all of Seungkwan’s questions regarding any matter related to the flight and generally everything that was happening (Mingyu was lucky his boyfriend was impressed by everything since it was his first time in an airport), it is finally time for Seungkwan to fight for answers.
«That is exactly what a super-rich person would say.» Now that Mingyu is finally confronting him about the situation, Seungkwan can calm down. He knows that now Mingyu can’t escape his questions, after all, they’re stuck on an 11-hour flight and, unless he decides to spend the whole time in the bathroom, Seungkwan can try and bring out the topic at any given time. There’s no point in running away.
«It’s not a big deal,» Seungkwan says, trying to calm down Mingyu and also himself in the process. «And I’m not mad at you for not telling me, I know you had your reasons for doing so. It’s weird though, because you tell me about all of the strange people you see on the subway but you decided not to tell me what your family does. But it’s okay, I love talking about weird encounters with you. And I also love you.»
«I love you too. And I’m sorry I haven’t told you sooner. I enjoyed that you didn’t know anything about my family so I just decided to go with the flow.»
«I’m just surprised and it’s also kind of weird that I had no idea.» Mingyu shakes his head as if he is asking Seungkwan to explain better. «I mean. It’s weird knowing that you’re rich since you use my Spotify account and at the end of the year on my Wrapped there are rap songs fighting against girl groups and ballads; you share Netflix with me, Chan, and Vernon; you play basket in the University gym and you even use the vests they give you, which smell so much.»
«Hey, I love the NYU gym and those vests smell like history.»
«And then not even one hour ago you paid the taxi driver with an American Express I didn’t even know you had. And we’re now flying first class.»
«Okay, you’re right. My family has money, but I’ve always considered it theirs, not mine. I use the money I earn from my job.» Mingyu stops for a second and when he notices that Seungkwan is waiting for more, continues. «And okay, I actually work as an architect for my family firm in New York and I’m not only a simple architect but I also manage the business there and that’s why I have so many meetings. But really, that’s all. And yes I have an American Express, but it’s connected to my parent's account and I only used it because they’re paying for this whole trip. For the both of us. And I’m not saying this to guilt trip you into anything, I just want you to know the whole truth.»
«Okay.»
«Are you really okay Seungkwan? The plane will take off in 20 minutes, we can still run away and pretend that something came up and we can’t go. Or maybe I’ll just drive you home and take the next plane. I'm sorry but I’m sure Dokyeom will kill me if I don’t go there. He explicitly told me so.»
«No really, it’s okay. I love and trust you more than anything and I want to be next to you and I love knowing that I’ll take my first-ever flight with you and that I’ll be visiting South Korea with you.» Seungkwan leaves a kiss on Mingyu’s cheek.
During the boarding, Seungkwan thought he would have gotten angry and that he would have screamed at Mingyu, but he got around it as soon as he saw that Mingyu was deeply sorry and that the situation was probably more complicated than it appeared to Seungkwan’s eyes. He doesn’t know what kind of struggles rich people go through, but he’s sure about one thing: he loves Mingyu and he completely trusts him. In the past two years they’ve known each other Mingyu has always been genuine to him, endlessly listening to all of his problems, trying to teach him how to cook just to end up doing everything by himself while Seungkwan would sing for him, watching all of Seungkwan favorite k-dramas and comedies, teaching him Korean when Seungkwan would forget something, taking good care of his friends and his family, and always running to him, even on busy days, if Seungkwan needed to. Seungkwan was sure he found his person the first time he met him at the basketball court and, even now, he’s still sure about it.
«Can I ask you one favor?»
«Of course.» And Seungkwan melts again as soon as he sees Mingyu smiling. Maybe his sister is right, he has a certain puppy aura.
«Since I’ll be meeting your family and I know nothing about them, can you please tell me something?»
«Okay, but first, give me one bite of your mother’s kimbap, please. I’m sure it’s better than any other thing they have on this plane.» Seungkwan chuckles at the compliment and opens the tupperware, handing Mingyu one bite of nude kimbap. «My family isn’t too different from any other. There’s a half you love and respect, and the other half you’d never want to see. We’ll try to avoid this part as much as possible, don’t worry.»
Mingyu stops talking to eat a bite of the kimbap and then another one right after, only when his mouth is fully empty he starts speaking again: «You’ve already met Jeonghan and Joshua. Joshua is the cousin I’m the closest to along with Wonwoo. Joshua graduated at the top of his classes at Brown; he is kind, smart, a fashion icon, and he started and is in charge of multiple charity projects. He and Jeonghan have recently founded a start-up for green energy. Then we have Wonwoo, he works for his parents and they have a luxury sports car brand, do you know Hyundai right?» Seungkwan nods, despite not having a car, since in New York he doesn’t need it, he has started to know more about cars only because Mingyu is inserted in them. «Well they own part of it; he’s currently dating Wen Junhui, his family is big in the movie industry, Jun was even an actor when he was younger but now he mainly works as a director; they are my closest cousins, and the only ones worth mentioning. And last but not least, Seungcheol, he’s not family directly, but I feel like he is, our families have always been very close to each other and he now works as a lawyer for my dad. He has kind of a scary aura, but once you’ll get close to him, he’d do his best to protect you, at all costs.»
«And what about Dokyeom? You told me he was basically your brother growing up.»
«Oh yes. He also comes from a rich family, they own luxury hotels in various places around the world. We were both homeschooled, also along with my cousins, up until middle school and then we went to the same private high school, where we both met Minghao, now his fiancè.» Seungkwan feels like he’s only able to nod. He now recalls that Mingyu has mentioned them before, but this is the first time he went into more detail.
As Mingyu said, Seungkwan had the chance to meet Jeonghan and Joshua when they came to New York three months before, he had found both of them very likable people. Joshua has also lived in LA for most of his life, for this reason, Seungkwan could casually speak in English with him and even Joenghan could easily speak English, not as fluently as someone who has lived in an English-speaking Country, but it was still very good. On this first meeting, Seungkwan was curious about why everyone could speak English and Joshua explained to him that everyone in the family had been taught English since they were young because of something that had happened in the past, and every member joining the family was also required to speak English fluently. Thinking about it now, the fact that a family and the in-laws were all required to speak English should have made some alarms ring in Seungkwan’s head, but he probably was too mesmerized by Joshua’s sweet and kind voice to pay too close attention to what he was saying.
The flight is going smoothly, the sky is calm and the plane is big enough to not feel any turbulence. Everything is dark around Seungkwan since the staff is inviting them to sleep as much as possible, but Mingyu is awake next to him reading a book. In the past couple of hours, they decided to watch some films they never got to watch at home, but then they were mostly forgotten because Mingyu was always too dangerously close to Seungkwan, kissing him on any given occasion and playing with his hair. Seungkwan has never appreciated a private suite so much in his entire life.
«Mingyu, do you think your family will hate me?» Seungkwan knows Mingyu has already reassured him multiple times, but now he knows that his family is extremely rich, and well, he’s just a guy who still feels guilty about treating himself with something more expensive than usual. «I know Joshua and Jeonghan liked me already, but what if anyone else hates me? We’re already staying in a hotel and not at your childhood house…»
«That’s because I want to have you for myself as much as possible,» Mingyu says, just like Vernon has predicted. «In the last week, your students have seen you more than I have, and if we spend too much time with my family I can’t bring you around Seoul. Also, my mom would probably make you sleep in another room.»
«Didn’t she book the hotel for us too? Maybe she asked for two single beds.»
«Then we’d put them together, it’s not like she can get into the room,» MIngyu places a kiss on Seungkwan’s forehead. «Or we can sleep in the same single bed. You can be particularly small if you want to.»
«Thank you for before, for not embarrassing me when I asked if the champagne was free and when you ordered something to eat for me even if I was sleeping.»
«Stop thanking me for the bare minimum, I’m happy and lucky to have you in my life.» Seungkwan knows that, Mingyu says that every time Seungkwan thanks him.
«Can you promise me one thing?»
«Anything you want.» Mingyu is now on the same side of the bed of Seungkwan.
«Will you love me even if your whole family hates me? Will you love me even if I embarrass myself in front of everyone?»
«I don’t think there is anything that can ever make me stop loving you, Boo Seungkwan.»