Chapter Text
Jaeyun loves stars. He was that one kid obsessing over planets, galaxies, and shooting stars in primary and middle school, wondering if shooting stars could fuel rockets and spaceships. All in all, he's a nerd, and he's proud of it. However, instead of spending an entire day looking through the telescope to find new stars, he's now stuck in the corporate world, working a typical 9 to 5. After all, he needs to make a proper living before he could pursue his dreams, even if that means making boring spreadsheets and reports in his shifts.
Heeseung, however, is having a blast working as a bar singer part-time, and he sometimes can’t help but feel jealous of his boyfriend, as much as he's happy for him. Upon returning home, Jaeyun realized that Heeseung isn't in the apartment, the latter taking the later shift today. Sighing, Jaeyun went to his room, plopping his bag on the floor and bringing a fresh pair of clothes, before making a beeline to the shower.
After a much needed shower, Jaeyun went to the kitchen to make himself some ramen, thinking of what he should do on the weekend, now that his exams are out of the way. With his noodles cooked, he sat on the chair in the dining room, his back slouching against the chair. It's him who ranted about how packed the schedule is, yet he also has nothing in mind of what to do once his schedule frees up. Binge-watching dramas for the entire week it is, then.
By the time he finished his dinner, Jaeyun no longer has the mind to watch any shows like he thought he would. He cleaned up and walked back to his bedroom, cleaning up his work desk that has been scattered with notes and textbooks for the past two weeks of exams. He can already feel his eyesore disappearing once he finishes organizing, his desk now tidy and mess-free.
He idly rummaged through his drawers, looking at the random stuff he had owned since childhood, slowly taking them out and placing them on his bed, many of them being good memories from his time in Australia for highschool. A signed baseball mitt and ball from his mates back in Brisbane, a tiny kangaroo plush the size of his palm, and copious amounts of DIY bracelets back at those summer camps. Jaeyun smiled unknowingly, those 3 years were the best of his life, as much as he felt like a fish out of water most of the time back then.
He paused when he found a tiny microfibre sachet, before bringing it out of his drawer. He opened the drawstring sachet to find a tiny cylinder of metal, before realizing that it's his retractable telescope he got as a birthday gift back then. Jaeyun extends the telescope, wiping the lens with the hem of his shirt before peeking into the hole. Although the lens got slightly discolored, the view is still crystal clear, surprisingly.
Jaeyun quickly opened his room's window, before peeping through the lens to test again. He gasped when the stars came into sight, glimmering brightly despite the ungodly amounts of lights from the surrounding buildings. He felt like a teenager flipping through astronomy books, gawking at the ethereal galaxies and constellations, memorizing their names again. Just like that, he spent the entire night stargazing, naming out every single one he sees until he feels his eyes get sore from straining too much, falling asleep eventually.
“I'm back.” Heeseung announced as he walked into the apartment, noticing that all the lights were off. Fair enough, his shift just ended and it's 1 in the morning. He knocked on Jaeyun's door to check on him, only to get no response from his boyfriend.
“Jaeyun? Baby, I'm back.” Heeseung called out, slightly worried at the lack of response. Usually, Jaeyun would just be preparing for bed at this time, and so his boyfriend would answer him.
“I'm coming in.” Heeseung said, before slowly turning the doorknob to welcome himself in. Heeseung sighed in relief once he saw Jaeyun asleep on bed, his glasses still on his face. Heeseung tiptoed over and kneeled down next to Jaeyun's bed, gently taking off the latter's glasses to set it aside, before placing a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead.
“Sleep well, Jaeyun.” Heeseung cooed, gently caressing Jaeyun’s face. He was about to stand up and leave until he saw something in Jaeyun's hand. He carefully unclenched Jaeyun's hand, before taking the object out to observe.
‘A retractable telescope.’ Heeseung thought to himself, before his gaze landed on Jaeyun's face again, a warm smile blossoming on his face. Now that he and Jaeyun had finished their exams, Heeseung can finally think of where to bring Jaeyun out for their first official date. And there's nothing Heeseung wants to see more than his boyfriend bombarding information about his interests to him, never finding it dull despite not understanding half of what Jaeyun's saying.
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The only time Heeseung has ever gone to the library is to get his music textbooks for college, and nothing else. And so, he felt overwhelmed and confused when he looked at the astronomy shelf, not understanding a single word written on the book covers. He eyed the astronomy children's books in thought, before picking one off the shelf and rushed back to his seat in embarrassment.
He was ashamed that he could only comprehend children's book-level astronomy, but he didn't want to be clueless if he were to take Jaeyun out for stargazing. It's like entering middle school all over again, learning about the solar system and such, are things that Heeseung had never bothered to remember ever since he entered college.
He wanted to quit after going through barely a quarter of the book, but then he thought about how impressed his boyfriend would be.
“Hyung, you like astronomy too?!”
“You’re so good at remembering names!”
“How did you know this one? It's so rare!”
No, he has to lock in or he could only dream to hear Jaeyun praise him like that. Heeseung took a deep breath, before opening the book again. For Jaeyun, everything is worth it. He even borrowed the book afterwards to bring it home with him, hiding it in his desk drawers so Jaeyun wouldn't notice, taking it out to read whenever he has time to spare.
His days go on like usual, working on his own music at daytime for classes, and singing his heart out at nighttime at Viesczy. Heeseung wondered how he's going to give Jaeyun a surprise date in the back of his mind, along with enriching his astronomy knowledge. He even bought himself a retractable telescope like Jaeyun so that he could practice stargazing, so that he wouldn't name constellations incorrectly and embarrass himself in front of his cute boyfriend.
Eventually, he came up with a foolproof plan, and he decided to save it for the weekend, when the both of them would definitely have time to relax. Heeseung sighed, slouching on his seat as he finally finished planning for their date, before feeling his eyelids droop in exhaustion, as he fell asleep.
“Heeseungie! I got us-” Jaeyun almost barged through the door, pausing as he saw his boyfriend napping on his seat. Jaeyun pursed his lips to keep himself quiet, about to close the door to let Heeseung nap until he noticed something in the corner of his eye. Jaeyun treaded carefully, hoping not to wake his boyfriend as he took a peek at Heeseung's desk.
Jaeyun chuckled as he picked up the book, remembering how 10-year-old him used to beg his mom to buy him this. Jaeyun wondered why his boyfriend is reading an astronomy children's book out of all things as he observed Heeseung's sleeping face. Not delving into it even further, he gently placed down the book and brushed away stray hairs from Heeseung's face. Maybe he could teach Heeseung a thing or two about constellations and galaxies, Jaeyun thought.
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“Jaeyun-ah.” Heeseung called out to his boyfriend, while they're making their favorite ramen together. Jaeyun turned around with his eyebrows raised in question.
“You know when I promise to take you out on a date once exams are over?” Heeseung brought up the conversation they had before their exams.
“Yeah, hyung?” Jaeyun urged his boyfriend to continue.
“Well, do you want to go out with me this weekend?” Heeseung asked shyly, fiddling with his fingers nervously. Before he knew it, Jaeyun pounced on him, wrapping his arms around Heeseung's neck.
“Of course, hyung! I'm so bored these days!” Jaeyun exclaimed.
“Hey, didn't you also complain about being too busy to your liking, Jaeyun?” Heeseung chuckled teasingly, causing Jaeyun to let out a groan.
“So do you want me to go or not?” Jaeyun rambled, and Heeseung went radio silent, before placing a small kiss on his boyfriend's nose. The last thing he wants is to see Jaeyun grumpy at him, because of him.
“I want you to go, baby. I'm sorry, okay?” Heeseung said, squishing Jaeyun's cheeks, before the latter sighed defeatedly. Jaeyun can't even try to stay mad at his boyfriend even if he wants to.
“Ahh, it's burning!” Heeseung shrieked once he finally paid attention to the stove in front of them, the both of them scrambling to put the pot away, turning off the stove.