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“Hyung, it’s too hot!” Gilyoung uttered out as he stretched across the floor.
“He’s right, oppa.” Yoo Mia cried out in agreement.
“Do you want me to turn up the AC?” Dokja asked with concern in his voice.
“It’s not enough!” Yoo Mia pouted, clearly looking for a specific solution to the heat problem.
“I could make you something refreshing.” Joonghyuk offered, trying to placate his younger sister.
“It doesn’t matter if we’re all just going to be cooped up in here.” She pouted before going back to her room.
Dokja looked around at the impressive highrise apartment in the middle of the city, so he had some difficulty trying to understand Yoo Mia’s personal problem with her brother’s home. He knew first-hand how difficult living conditions could be if you didn’t have enough money to throw around.
Once Joonghyuk had demanded that they should finally move in together, after literal years of friendship then eventual romance – he knew that his quality of life had drastically changed from what it used to be. His boyfriend earned good money as a professional gamer, while Dokja’s corporate salary was nothing to scoff at either as well.
Dokja decided to brush off this unusual interaction until he overheard Yoo Mia talking to somebody on her phone the very next day, “It’s so unfair that you guys get to go to the beach, while I’m stuck in this stuffy city.”
There was a moment of silence, Dokja assumed the person on the line was speaking.
“No, I couldn’t ask him. He already does so much, and I’m not sure if he has the time off.” Yoo Mia softly replied with a somber tone.
Everything suddenly made sense for Kim Dokja. It was the middle of summer, and there was a current heat wave on-going. No wonder, everyone was slightly irritable. Most people had gone on trips to beat the heat, but of course, homebodies like Joonghyuk and himself would rather stay at home.
No amount of state of the art air conditioners could effectively alleviate this heat, which was amplified by the large volume of the large buildings and the bustling population in the city. Beyond the heat, everyone else would want a drastic change in scenery.
Normally, Dokja would want to curl up inside while reading his novels, however, the heat was getting to him as well. He found himself wearing lighter clothes, and constantly switching his seating position. With this new knowledge in mind, he decided to mention it to his boyfriend, “I have a couple of days off coming up.”
“That doesn’t justify you staying up all night to read your novels.” Joonghyuk answered.
“Hey!” Dokja turned all his attention to his boyfriend’s response, “Why don’t we take a beach trip? Let’s invite everyone and make it a small get-together!”
Joonghyuk only grumbled in supposed acknowledgement from the living room couch. Normally, he would be sequestered in his room, streaming or training for an upcoming tournament – so Dokja knew that the heat was also getting to his normally stoic and collected boyfriend.
Amused with his boyfriend's unenthusiastic lack of a reaction, Dokja decided to rile him up a bit, “Great, I’ll go contact your brother to see if he has any good recommendations. Hell, he might even own a beach or two.” He took his sweet time trying to find Joonghyuk’s brother’s contact, hoping a certain someone would get a hint.
Suddenly a large figure wrapped itself around Dokja’s skinny body, “No need for that. I know just the place.” Normally, Dokja would bask at the comforting warmth and weight of his boyfriend, but the heat made it unbearable as he subconsciously slinked away trying to find a sense of refreshment. “Alright, Hyukie.”
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Before they all knew it, a week later, they ended up taking a road trip to a nearby beach. It was just a few hours away from the city, but the lively atmosphere in the vehicle made for a fun journey, as hours seemed to pass by quickly in the presence of good company.
Eventually, the metro landscape turned into expanses of green fields, and then the scenic view of the oceanside.
“Woah, how did you find this place?” Jung Heewon asked, mesmerized by the sight of the clear blue waters.
“Joonghyuk and I used to go here years ago, when we wanted to escape the city life.” Lee Seolhwa mindlessly supplied as she looked out the window. “I’m surprised you still remembered this place.”
This caused a brief moment of silence within the vehicle as the former couple vocally reminisced about their memories, disregarding the other presences in the car – notably Joonghyuk’s current boyfriend. Dokja knew that they held no malice nor any lingering feelings for one another, but sometimes it still hurt knowing that they still held each other in such high regard.
It would’ve been easier if Seolhwa was vindictive and bitter, painting her as the clear antagonist in Dokja’s mind. However she was nothing but an absolute kind sweetheart who fully supported her ex and his new boyfriend’s relationship. Sure, her and Joonghyuk seemed to fall into old habits around each other without knowing it, but everyone knew it was more a product of the long duration of their previous relationship.
He remembered a time where Joonghyuk and Seolhwa seemed like a perfect couple that would eventually make a perfect family. During this time, Dokja was just Joonghyuk’s mere best friend who stuck with him despite their initially clashing personalities.
Sometimes, Dokja pondered on how exactly Joonghyuk fell in love with him, when he had already had the perfect partner by his side.
But before Dokja could spiral any further, Han Sooyoung gave him a heavy pat on his back, as she directed the conversation to another direction. Dokja gave her a comforting smile as it was her way of giving him comfort. Despite Dokja’s best way of trying to conceal his emotions, Sooyoung always seemed to see right through him.
She knew that he would never speak up about his issues since he didn’t want to disrupt their long established group dynamic – so effectively she had become his voice in a sense. He was grateful for her brash personality that he had grown to love.
Once they had finally arrived at the beach, everybody in Korea seemed to have the same idea as the beach was bustling with people. The half naked bodies of people of all ages populated the beach as the group tried to find an empty space to settle down their things.
Once they finally found a spot which a distance from the water, Hyunsung started to set up the umbrellas while the rest laid down their towels.
The kids were brimming with excitement as they wanted to get into the water as quickly as possible. The two girls, Yoo Mia and Shin Yoosung quickly dashed towards the water after putting down their things without a second thought. That’s odd, usually the kids were all together.
He had spotted the young boy with an indiscernible expression on his face, “Gilyoung? Aren’t you going to swim?”
Gilyoung turned and looked at him with stars in his eyes as he invited him to the water. “Hyung! Go swimming with us!”
Truthfully, Dokja just planned on staying under the cool shade of the umbrella and reading one of his novels, while the kids had their fun. However, there was something about Gilyoung’s expression that made him what to indulge in the boy’s request, “Alright, let me just put on some sunscreen.”
When Dokja turned back around to look at his friends, he was met by the sight of their rippling bodies as they effectively changed into their swimsuits while he was speaking to Gilyoung.
The heat seemed to be the least of Dokja’s problems as everyone in the beach seemed allured to the sight of his boyfriend’s half-naked figure. Joonghyuk looked like he was crafted by God himself – ripples of his hard abdomen, the plush of his chest, and the strength of his broad back were evident to anybody with eyes.
He knew that his boyfriend was attractive, his tall yet muscular frame was enough to catch some eyes, but with the combination of his handsome face was enough for people to shamelessly ogle at him. God knows how long Dokja had worshiped those abs, so he isn’t really in any position to judge anybody.
In fact, almost all his friends were conventionally attractive. Lee Hyunsung was a wall of muscle, Lee Seolhwa was an undiscovered beauty queen with a heart of gold. Jung Heewon was pretty enough to be scouted. And Han Sooyoung? Despite everything, she was beautiful.
Everybody in his friend group but him.
He knew he had some attractive qualities about him, Joonghyuk wouldn’t have even considered dating him if he didn’t. He’s just bummed that he wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as his peers.
It wasn’t even that he considered himself to be ugly, he was just… very generic, or plain looking if the previous comments of his high school classmates were any indicator.
He knew he was slightly more feminine looking for a man, with his smaller stature and slender frame – not that he took that as a sign of weakness. In fact, he didn’t really have much care about his physical appearance, when there were more important things to worry about.
In fact, Dokja sometimes enjoyed being plain-looking, it made it easier to blend in the crowd and avoid any trouble. Trouble like what Seolhwa and Joonghyuk were experiencing now with all those eyes on them.
Taking this opportunity, he took off some of his outer layers, leaving him in a white wife beater as he tried to look for his swimming attire to change into.
“Damn, somebody’s looking healthy!” Soonyoung commented as she gave him an exaggerated wolf-whistle. This effectively put all of their friends’ eyes on Dokja’s almost undressed figure, which he responded with a groan and an eye roll.
Just when he thought he could retreat to the water without any fanfare, leave it to Soonyoung to not miss this opportunity to playfully insult him. He knew that Soonyoung meant no harm, but admittedly, Dokja was aware of his recent weight gain when he started living with Joonghyuk – which undeniably made him somewhat insecure about his body.
Thankfully, nobody else made any comment on it, as their attention turned back to the rising number of admirers for both Joonghyuk and Seolhwa. He could see that his boyfriend was starting to get pissed if the expression of his face was any indicator. Dokja assumed that Joonghyuk was in a grumpy mood since most guys on the beach were shamelessly ogling at Lee Seolhwa.
“You’d think they have never seen a pretty woman before.” Soongyoung complained, already over the situation.
“Forgive them, men are often prisoners of their own shallow desires, what much more when faced with a number of them.” Seolhwa commented with amusement in her voice.
“I know that’s right.” The women giggled at their jest, trying to make the best out of this uncomfortable situation.
“Anyway, they could stare all they want, but the moment they decide to touch, they have to deal with me and master.” Lee Jihye proudly professed.
“Joonghyuk and I have enough experience to deal with this efficiently.” Seolhwa commented as she nudged her ex, clearly referencing something in their past.
Dokja knew how the two used to date all those years ago, so it would be natural that those feelings of envy would naturally come back to Joonghyuk. It doesn’t matter that Joonhyuk was dating him now, he could still feel protective over his ex.
Taking advantage of this commotion, Dokja resumed changing into his swimming attire as he found the heat starting to become unbearable. Since his boyfriend was too busy scowling at the men who were ogling Seolhwa, Dokja decided to ask Hyunsung to help him apply some sunscreen on his body. “Do you mind helping me apply?”
“Are you sure?” Hyunsung had an unusual bashful expression on his face, evident by the red tint in his cheeks.
“Normally, I’d ask Joonghyuk, but he’s a little busy at the moment.” Dokja explained. “I also wanted to get in the water as fast as possible since this heat is getting to me.”
Hyunsung finally agreed, “Alright then, but only if you do mine as well.”
Dokja flashed him a wide grin, “It’s a deal.”
With this, Dokja finally removed his top off – expanses of his creamy white skin were exposed for everyone’s pleasure. His normally slender frame was a product of his bad eating habits, now his body had more meat in his bones – an effect of living with his boyfriend who made sure that he wouldn’t miss a single meal.
Admittedly, his healthier body suited him as the slight pudge made him look softer and disarming. Despite this, Dokja never did break out of that insecurity over his body. What he didn’t know was that everybody found this healthier side of Dokja more attractive as he know didn’t look as skinny when they first met him. In fact, all his friends considered him quite attractive, yet never voiced it out since they all never saw him in a romantic sense.
Usually sticking to his attire of stuffy suits and long trench coats, seeing Dokja wearing less clothing was a new experience for most. It suited him compared to what he had thought he needed to wear to emanate power.
Dokja was confused at the lack of sensation of the cold cream on his back, so he turned around to look at his friend, “Hyunsung?”
If Dokja thought his friend’s cheeks were flushed before, now he was certain they were burning scarlet, as the man was actively avoiding his gaze. “Hyunsung, are you alright?”
“Ye- Yes! Sorry, here I go!” His friend answered hastily as he turned Dokja back on his stomach, and started applying pressure on the smaller man’s back. Hyunsung’s large and heavy hands made the application of the sunscreen efficient yet relaxing – untangling the knots on Dokja’s back as an added bonus. Furthermore, his gentle touches made for a pleasurable sensation that made him at ease. “Have you been stressed out at work lately?”
“A little bit I guess, but I think it’s more of the heat that’s getting to me.” Dokja couldn’t help the pleased moan that came out of his mouth at the comfortable sensation of pleasure on his back, “Damn, I didn’t know you were so good at this.”
“Who’s so good at what?” A familiar deep voice asked, as a large shadow tower over Dokja’s periphery. Once Dokja looked up, he was met with the sight of his boyfriend’s large chest as he realized that he had two giant men towering over him right now.
Repressing those dirty thoughts in his head, he casually answered his boyfriend, “Oh, Hyunsung was just helping me apply some sunscreen on my back.”
“Er, I think I finished doing your back, Dokja.” Hyunsung sheepishly replied.
“Thanks, now turn around, it’s your turn.” Dokja pepped up ready to straddle his friend’s back, holding the bottle of sunscreen in his hands. “Forgive me if I take my time, my hands aren’t as big as yours.”
Suddenly, Joonghyuk took the sunscreen from him, and applied some to his hands, then slapping Hyunsung’s back then spreading it around with too much force, “There I applied it for him.”
Dokja was slightly confused at his boyfriend’s impatient action, “Alright, Hyunsung, want to take a dip with me and Gilyoung?”
“Su-”
“Jung Heewon needs some assistance with the food, Hyunsung.” Joonghyuk immediately cut in, notifying him about his crush’s predicament.
“Alright, I’ll go see if she needs any help.” Hyunsung physically perked up as he heard Jung Heewon’s name. “I'll swim with you later, Dokja.”
He said his goodbye and made his way to the direction of the food shacks.
After a brief moment of silence, his boyfriend commanded his attention, “Kim Dokja.” His dissatisfaction was evident in his voice, yet for some reason, Dokja didn’t want to deal with boyfriend’s sour mood.
“I didn’t know you wanted to swim that badly, Hyukie.” Dokja teased his boyfriend with a grin. “Did you already put on sunscreen?”
“Yes, Seolhwa applied it on me already.” Joonghyuk replied nonchalantly as he held Dokja’s arm.
Dokja felt the sting in his heart at his casual revelation as if it was just a normal occurrence. Hell, he didn’t have any position to judge them when Hyunsung was all over his back earlier. However, he can’t help the itching feeling of being second place to Joonghyuk’s perfect ex.
“Joonghyuk!” Lee Seolhwa called out, ushering him over.
Dokja could see the hesitation in his boyfriend’s face, so he made the decision for him, “It’s okay. I’ll just go swimming with the kids.”
However, his boyfriend’s grip on his arm didn’t falter, “What if somebody-”
“I think I could handle myself and the kids just fine.” Dokja replied coldly, offended that his boyfriend would even say such a thing. “What man would I be if I couldn’t handle something as simple as this.”
Dokja knew that was a flimsy excuse, but all he wanted was for his boyfriend to leave him alone, so he could temporarily distract himself with the water and play with the kids. Clearly his boyfriend wanted to confide in him with something, but maybe, it was hurt taking over which made him feel petty. If Joonghyuk wanted to spend all his time reminiscing with his ex-girlfriend, then Dokja was going to find some fun of his own.
He hastily made his way into the water, failing to notice some of the interested gazes on him. The cool sensation of the ocean provided him with instant relief from the scorching heat of the sun. He took a minute or two for himself to get used to the temperature, making sure his entire body was soaked, then he made his way to the kids.
Once he finally caught up with the kids, they all seemed to notice something was wrong as they looked at him with confusion.
“Hyung! Did you and that other hyung fight?” Gilyoung asked, wrapping his floating body around Dokja’s arm.
“What? Why do you say that?”
“He keeps on glaring this way.” Yoosung answered while attaching her body on Dokja’s other side. Now Kim Dokja had two of his kids on his arms like pool floaties.
Dokja snorted out in amusement, “Nah, that’s just his face.”
“No, she’s right. Oppa is glaring at you.” Yoo Mia supplied.
Well, that confirmed Dokja’s suspicions that Joonghyuk was mad about something, what he didn’t expect was to be the subject of that anger. He decided to play it off cool to not disturb the children’s fun time. “Nah, it’s just your brother is grumpy he can’t go into the water.”
“Why can’t Joonghyuk-oppa go into the water?” Yoosung asked.
“He has to protect the princesses.” Dokja answered, knowing it was a pathetic excuse to end the conversation.
“If you’re talking about Seolhwa-unnie, she could protect herself just fine.” Yoo Mia answered with a furrowed brow. “In fact, all the unnies could protect themselves.
“I never said they couldn’t, so maybe your brother just wanted to spend time with her.” Dokja answered before he could control his impulse, now Mia was looking at him like he was crazy.
“Anyway, let’s play!” Gilyoung suggested, moving the conversation along to Dokja’s absolute relief, “They always team up against me, so hyung will be on my team!”
“What games did you have in mind?” Dokja was
“Marco Polo?” Yoonsung suggested.
“Hyung, you’re it!” The boy shouted as he paddled away from him.
“What happened to being in the same team, Gilyoung?” Dokja asked with an amused expression.
“Sorry, hyung but I want to win!” Gilyoung answered back.
“Don’t go too far, okay?” Dokja turned around and closed his eyes, “Alright, I’ll begin counting while you assume the positions.”
After counting up to twenty, he had started the game. “Marco!”
“Polo” could be heard from different directions.
It was more difficult playing this game at the beach where there’s a symphony of other noises coming from other beach-goers and the sounds of the ocean, and his disrupted vision didn't make things any easier.
“Marco!” Dokja tried again.
Polo! could be heard from various directions. He decided to choose the voice he heard on his right.
“Marco!”
“Polo!” The voice in his right started to become louder so Dokja knew he was in the right direction. He was honed into the source of the sound, which sounded a lot like Yoo Mia.
Dokja felt he was close, so he uttered out, “Marco!”
Nothing as if the source of the voice suddenly disappeared. “You know keeping quiet is considered as cheati-”
Suddenly, there was a whisper in his ear which startled him, “Oppa wanted to spend time with you, dummy.” Mia’s voice informed him.
Dokja instinctively moved away from the unexpected sound, which led to him bumping into something firm and solid. Before he could open his eyes, two large hands wrapped around his waist.
“Woah there! Polo!” A strange deep voice supplied, “I guess you found me.”
When Dokja finally opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of a handsome man with platinum blonde hair that seemed to shine with the sun – accompanied by those golden eyes that seemed to devour Dokja’s figure on the spot. This man was vaguely familiar as if he had seen this man once before.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.” Dokja couldn’t help but blush with embarrassment at the fact that he had made such a fool of himself.
The man placated his embarrassment by shooting him a quick wink. “It’s alright, I don’t mind bumping into someone pretty.”
Dokja’s embarrassment was quickly replaced by confusion as he was baffled by the man’s words. Was this man flirting with him?
“I’m Sun Wukong by the way, and you are?” The man introduced himself as Dokja finally realized the short distance between them and the feeling of rough hands around his waist.
But before Dokja could issue an apology, another pair of arms manhandled him away from Sun Wukong’s grip as a familiar deep voice answered for him, “He’s taken.”
“Chill, I didn’t know he had a man.” The blonde man had an amused expression on his face, while raising both of his hands in surrender, “Such a shame, really…”
“It was fun playing with you, Marco. ” The blonde man adding insult to injury winked at Dokja, which tightened the hold of his boyfriend around his body.
After the man had left, Dokja could see the kids laughing at his predicament as he was still being held up by his boyfriend. How did Joonghyuk get to the water so fast, when their umbrella was so far away. “Hyukie, I swear it wasn’t what it looked like.”
“So that bastard didn’t just have his hands all over you?” Joonhyuk rubbed his hands all over Dokja’s torso, as if exchanging that man’s touch with his.
Dokja will never admit it, but he secretly liked the possessiveness of his boyfriend. Maybe, it’s because Joonghyuk wasn’t the most verbal partner, often showing his love through action and service. His boyfriend’s jealous tendencies were just a reminder that he still wanted Dokja – as toxic as that sounds.
“It was a complete accident, since I was playing Marco Polo with the kids.” Dokja explained.
“It seems like I can’t leave this squid all alone despite being in the ocean.” Joonghyuk said with an amused tone. There it was his boyfriend’s ridiculous pet name for him – that’s when Dokja knew that his boyfriend wasn’t truly angry.
“Maybe, it’s because a certain stupid sunfish wasn’t paying any attention.” Dokja didn’t miss a beat as he replied.
“I’ll be sure to keep an eye then.” Joonhyuk calmly replied before he effortlessly carried Dokja in his arms towards the beach, effectively claiming him for everybody to see. “Put me down! I can walk.”
“My little squid needs my guidance.” Joonghyuk replied before sitting back down under their umbrella. “What about the kids?”
“Jihye or any of our friends could babysit them.” Joonghyuk answered. “Right now, I want to spend some time with my boyfriend, okay?”
“Fine.” Dokja pouted as he settled into his boyfriend’s arms.
Now Dokja couldn’t escape Joonghyuk’s grip around his waist for the entire afternoon, as he was trapped sitting on his boyfriend’s lap.
“Where did everybody else go?” Dokja asked, confused by the lack of their friends under the umbrella.
“Some of them went to take a dip, and others went to get some food.” Joonghyuk supplied.
“So it’s just us here?” Dokja casually pointed out. ‘Where nobody could see us’ was unsaid yet understood by both of them.
“I believe so.” There was an unspoken tension between them, maybe it was the situation earlier, but all they wanted was to be in each other’s arms. However, the semi-public setting prevented anything from explicitly happening.
“Kim Dokja.” Dokja was used to his boyfriend referring to him exclusively with his full name. Initially, he had assumed this was Joonghyuk establishing boundaries between them, by referring to him so formally. However, eventually it has developed into a term of endearment long enough. Dokja also developed an understanding of what Joonghyuk would mean when he would say his name, and the way his boyfriend said his name right now, screamed that he wanted him right then and there.
“Aww, Hyukie, do you need some love in your lonely world?” Dokja teased his boyfriend.
Joonhyuk just grunted in affirmation, but Dokja could clearly see the slight blushing on his boyfriend’s ears. Having pity on his boyfriend’s dilemma, Dokja decided to give him what they both wanted.
They both met each other in a desperate kiss, the taste of the ocean between their salty lips – tongues battling for domination. Without a single word uttered, years of passion and love between them expressed exclusively through their mouths.
Until the girls came back with the food that they had bought, much to Dokja and Joonghyuk’s chagrin.
“Slow down there, love-birds.” Seolhwa commented effectively, breaking both of them from their heat of the moment lip lock. Feeling embarrassed, Dokja tried to move away from his boyfriend’s lap, but Joonghyuk kept his arms around his waist.
“Seolhwa beat up some guys who were following us.” Sooyoung told them as she was jittering with excitement.
And by the hard poking sensation Dokja was feeling underneath him, Sooyoung wasn’t the only one who was excited.
A few minutes later, the kids came back to shore, with the story of Dokja embarrassing himself in the water.
“Of course, this squid always has to make a fool of himself.” Sooyoung commented as she laughed at his mistake.
Dokja just laughed along. He may have made a fool of himself, but he came out as the victor for today.
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A few hours later, they were all finally ready to leave, as the beach trip was a success.
“Do you have another day off coming up?” Joonghyuk whispered to him, as they began to pack up their belongings.
“I think so, why?”
“I want to show you somewhere special.”