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Wonwoo hurries back to Seoul. He’s spent a few days in Changwon enjoying his vacation, and now he’s on a train for the nearly three-hour journey back. On the way, he lets Mingyu know he’s heading home and then he reads some fan comments and letters left for him on Weverse.
After the long ride, one of the company’s managers is waiting for him at the train station to drive him home. It’s a much shorter trip by car, and before long, he’s walking into the apartment he shares with Mingyu.
Mingyu’s in their big shared closet-room, finishing up packing his suitcase. Wonwoo had to get back early—he wanted to see Mingyu off before he left.
"Got everything ready?" Wonwoo asks as he steps in. Mingyu turns around to face him with a soft smile.
"Almost. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough beach clothes," Mingyu jokes. Ah, that’s right—Mingyu’s about to fulfill his dream of vacationing in Hawaii. Though technically, it’s a work trip to Honolulu, a city over 8.5 hours away from Seoul. Wonwoo’s happy for him... but he also wishes he could tag along.
"I’m going to my Japanese class and then photography after that. I’ll be back before you leave," Wonwoo promises, and Mingyu nods, still smiling.
Time flies for Wonwoo between classes and quick commutes from one to the other. He gets home with just enough time to give Mingyu a proper send-off.
"It’s only a couple of weeks," Wonwoo tells himself as he steps into the apartment. Mingyu’s fresh out of the shower, his suitcases packed and ready by the sofa. He’s scrolling through Instagram sitting on the big blue sofa, but the moment Wonwoo walks in, Mingyu gets up and hugs him.
Sometimes, Wonwoo isn’t in the mood for hugs—he won’t lie—but this time, it feels right. Mingyu, his groupmate, his roommate, his love, is heading off for a couple of weeks.
The hug is long, and Wonwoo relaxes in the warmth of Mingyu’s arms, hugging him back. Mingyu pulls back just a little to plant kisses on him, starting on his right cheek and working his way to his lips. He takes his time, kissing him softly—innocent at first, but then Mingyu gently tugs on Wonwoo’s lower lip with his own. It’s still slow, a farewell kiss that carries a promise.
Their tongues meet briefly, exploring and teasing the way they’ve done hundreds of times before—maybe even more passionately than now. But in this moment, they savor a slow, lingering kiss, heads tilted to deepen it as they remain wrapped up in each other’s embrace.
Mingyu pulls his face away from Wonwoo’s, making him almost chase after his lips, eyes still closed. Min lets out a little laugh.
"I’ll be back soon," he whispers, his lips still brushing lightly against Wonu’s.
Wonwoo can only nod, their lips grazing once more. Mingyu wants to kiss him again—wants their kisses to last forever, or at least long enough to make it through the next couple of weeks. But Mingyu’s phone buzzes. The manager is waiting to take him to the airport.
"Don’t miss me too much," Mingyu teases with a playful tone as he heads out the door with his suitcases. Wonwoo just rolls his eyes, smiling, and waves goodbye to Min.
The house feels way too quiet. Is it always like this? Wonwoo wonders. Everything feels so lifeless. No music playing at a decent volume, no one randomly singing around the apartment. He’s been sleeping peacefully, sure, but there’s still something inside him that feels unsettled.
We made it to Honolulu, everything’s good here. Don’t forget to eat and sleep well. Love youuu ~
Wonwoo reads the message that came hours ago and finally gets out of bed. He’s managed the sleeping part; now it’s time to find something to eat. He checks his schedule—there’s not much going on. It’s vacation time, after all, so he probably won’t have much to keep his mind occupied today. But that’s fine. After breakfast, Wonwoo heads to his gaming room to play online with some friends.
The afternoon passes by faster this way, but when evening comes and he’s finished dinner, the silence creeps back in, heavier than ever. Wonwoo scrolls through social media for a while—boring. He checks Weverse, leaving a few comments on posts from his groupmates, but he’s still bored.
With a sigh, he decides to start a voice-only live stream on the app, figuring it’ll be nice to spend some time with fans. He puts on some background music for the Q&A session, but it barely helps.
The house is still too quiet. Sitting in the living room, he adjusts the heater to 28°C, just how he likes it, and he starts chatting with fans. But even then, the silence nags at him. His home feels strange, almost alien. The quiet is so intense that he starts noticing little details he’d never paid attention to before. Did he ever realize how loud the water purifier is when it makes ice cubes? Probably not. But now, in this maddening silence, it’s impossible to ignore.
Even with music playing and fans commenting, the house still feels empty. He’s still bored. Bored?
Where’s Mingyu? someone asks in the comments. Oh, right. Mingyu’s out of the country for work. That’s why I’m alone and bored.
That’s exactly what Wonwoo responds to the fan who asked. And maybe his mind is filtering the comments because it feels like everyone’s asking about his roommate tonight.
Is Mingyu’s room cold? someone else asks. Wonwoo gets up from his spot in the living room to check Mingyu’s room—or rather, the room they share. It’s not cold at all, actually.
The live ends late, and after spending a bit more time aimlessly wandering through the loneliness of his apartment, Wonwoo watches some YouTube videos and eventually falls asleep.
Wonwoo’s basically hibernating—not on purpose, though. Usually, he has more to do, especially when Mingyu’s around. When Mingyu’s home, he never gets bored. There’s always something to talk about, a movie to watch, or a bowl of ramen to share.
But at least today should go by faster, right? Today, Wonu heads to the HYBE building to do a GAM3BO1 live stream. Between a few rounds of League of Legends, finishing another game, and scarfing down a hot dog, time flies. He almost wants to keep playing until 2 a.m.
Because then, over in Honolulu, Hawaii, it’ll be 7 a.m., and he’ll get the chance to talk to Mingyu as he wakes up on the other side of the world. Mingyu, who’s still busy working but squeezing in some free time to hang out on the city’s gorgeous beaches.
But even after the live stream ends, Wonu has to head back home—the place he’s been trying to avoid. It’s where the loneliness hits the hardest, where the absence of just one person makes the whole apartment feel empty. Only a few more days, he tells himself. But damn, that stupid water purifier is still way too loud in the silence of this big, empty space.
Wonwoo’s days have been all about sleeping, eating, and studying a little. It’s day four without Mingyu, and maybe Wonu should head out and work out. He’s not bored anymore, but he still kind of misses his roommate. There’s just too much free time without him. How does Min manage to monopolize so much of his time? Well, it makes sense—they spend so much time together that neither of them feels the need to spend all day scrolling through social media when they’re hanging out.
At least Wonwoo’s thinking positively. When Mingyu gets back from the other side of the world, they’ll go back to doing all sorts of things together. In the meantime, he can use this time to connect more with his fans. He can also spend time with the other members.
Like today—he ran into Hoshi and Woozi at the gym. Not that it’s a big surprise; those two are always there. They end up having a long conversation while working out, and a great idea pops up.
“So, you want to play with me tomorrow?” Wonwoo asks Hoshi in the middle of his workout. Soonyoung looks a little surprised but agrees right away. Anything with Wonu is bound to be fun.
Later, S.Coups reaches out to Wonwoo, and they all decide it’d be a blast to play Mario Party with Hoshi since none of them have played it before. They’ll all learn as they go. Wonwoo’s excited about having guests on his gaming live stream, especially because he knows Carat will love seeing them play together.
Back home, the silence is still annoying. The apartment still feels incomplete without Mingyu. But at least Wonwoo has something to look forward to—playing games with his groupmates.
GAM3BO1 with Hoshi and S.Coups turns out to be way more fun than anyone expected. Wonwoo has a blast, laughing at Soonyoung’s antics as Rosalina, and they enjoy some good rounds of mini-games in Mario Party. However, the game makes Hoshi feel dizzy and unwell, so he’s the first to tap out, promising never to return to the show—turns out he can’t handle this type of game.
Wonwoo and Cheol stick around to play a bit longer, but eventually, they have to wrap it up and head home. Though, truth be told, Wonu isn’t exactly thrilled about going back. Later on Weverse, he admits that while the live stream was loud and chaotic, coming home is always the same—too quiet.
Even so, Mingyu has been keeping in touch, sending Wonwoo updates about his trip, from Hawaii to LA, and assuring him that the days will fly by. Wonwoo promises to stay awake for when Mingyu wakes up on the other side of the world so they can chat, even if it’s still the middle of the night in Korea.
By the time it’s 4 a.m., Wonwoo is thinking about calling Mingyu when he gets an incoming video call from him instead. Min is in Los Angeles, where it’s 11 a.m. They catch up, talking about what they’ve been up to, and Mingyu promises he’ll be back in just a few more days—though the flight will take another 13 hours. During their conversation, Wonwoo reminds Mingyu that while it’s still February 13th in the U.S., it’s already February 14th in Korea. And he’s not just pointing it out to get some Valentine’s Day kisses through the screen.
It’s also the day Seventeen celebrates Carat Day. Almost without meaning to, they coordinate their messages for fans to be published at the same time—even if it’s 4:17 a.m. in Korea and it may seem a bit suspicious. Wonwoo can always claim he woke up in the middle of the night because he went to bed early.
Mingyu’s flight gets delayed an entire day, unfortunately. He was hoping to return home on February 15th, U.S. time, but now his plane won’t leave until the next day. At least this gives him a chance to spend some time experimenting in the studio with Bumzu, who’s also in Los Angeles. Still, he can’t wait to finally reunite with Wonwoo after two weeks of work and vacation away from Korea. He’s ready to go home.
Just like Wonu has missed Min, Mingyu has been wishing Won could’ve come along with him. While walking around the city, he even found a book he thought Wonwoo would like and bought it for his dear hyung. By the night before his flight, his bags are already packed and ready.
The next day, Mingyu finally leaves the U.S. to return to his real home. Even though his arrival time wasn’t publicly shared, a few fans are waiting at the airport. Some photos of him arriving leak online, but Mingyu isn’t focused on that—he just wants to get home.
The drive from the airport to his shared apartment with Wonwoo feels longer than usual. He can feel the butterflies fluttering in his stomach as the excitement of seeing Wonu again builds. When he finally opens the door, holding the book for Won in his left hand and his suitcase in his right, he’s met with a surprise attack from Wonwoo.
But it’s the best kind of attack. Wonwoo wraps him in a tight hug, almost tackling him at the entrance. Mingyu laughs as he lets go of his suitcase to hug Won back just as tightly. Ah, this is what being home feels like.
Wonwoo finally feels the warmth of Min’s body against his, hears that laugh he’s missed so much during these two long weeks. The apartment feels brighter, less empty. As Wonwoo clings to Mingyu, the annoying sound of the ice maker in the water purifier fades into the background.
He sighs and smiles, still holding onto Gyu, but suddenly remembers they should probably close the door. Reluctantly, he lets go and helps bring Mingyu’s suitcase inside.
“You really missed me,” Mingyu says with a teasing grin as Wonwoo shuts the door and leans against it, looking at him.
Won’s cheeks turn red, but he presses his lips together and nods. He won’t deny it. Everyone knew it anyway—how much he hated the silence in the apartment. It was clear to everyone just how much he missed Mingyu.
“I missed you too,” Mingyu admits softly as he steps closer to Wonwoo, who’s still leaning against the door. Min holds a small book with both hands, lifting it up to show Wonwoo while half-hiding his face behind it.
Wonwoo reads the title easily: A Guide to the National Parks of the United States, framed with a bright yellow border and featuring a stunning image of a forest with towering trees. But as beautiful as the picture is, it doesn’t compare to the face partially hidden behind it—the face of someone who had clearly missed him just as much and thought of him while picking out this gift.
When Mingyu is close enough, he lowers the book, revealing his full face. Wonwoo’s eyes trace over Min’s lips, his features, the warm smile lighting up his expression. And then Wonwoo moves. He wraps his arms around Mingyu’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss, finally able to do what he’s been wanting to for weeks.
Their lips collide, then fall into sync effortlessly, as if they’ve done this a hundred times before—because they have. They know each other so well, every movement is natural, every moment filled with the longing they’ve both carried for two weeks. Words aren’t enough to convey how much they’ve missed each other, how much they’ve craved moments like this. It’s all in the kiss: the way their tongues meet, the way Mingyu softly bites Wonwoo’s lips as if claiming them.
Min’s hands can’t stop caressing the sides of Wonwoo’s body, sliding along his back, pulling him even closer. Won clings to Mingyu’s neck, their bodies pressed together. The kiss is long, deep, and leaves them breathless, but they still can’t get enough of each other. Even in the brief pauses to catch their breath, their noses brush, their lips linger, and they share soft smiles and looks filled with so much love it feels like nothing in the world matters more than this moment, than each other.
After a long make-out session, Wonwoo and Mingyu have to get ready because Min arrived just in time for Seventeen's monthly meeting. This time, it was organized by Hoshi, who asked everyone to wear sports gear—specifically, the jersey of their favorite soccer team. Wonwoo doesn’t have a favorite team, so he simply wears regular athletic clothes.
Mingyu has a hard time choosing which jersey to wear but eventually settles on Portugal's, just because he likes the color. They head to a small field to play a match. Min picks Wonwoo for his team, though he does so last. Even though Wonwoo might not be the best at soccer, their team takes the win.
For the second game, Wonwoo and Mingyu end up on opposite teams. To everyone’s surprise, Wonwoo's team wins again. After sweating it out on the field and having a great time, the group heads to a sauna to relax, followed by a trip to the bowling alley. Mingyu practically drags Wonwoo along, but they end up having fun.
Finally, after a packed day of activities, everyone parts ways to head home.
Back at their apartment, both Wonwoo and Mingyu are utterly exhausted. Despite Mingyu still feeling a bit jet-lagged and adjusting to the time difference from the other side of the world, all the running around after arriving in Korea wears him out. As soon as the two lie down in their shared bed, they’re out cold, sleeping soundly next to each other.
Mingyu’s return also means that he and Wonwoo get back to work. There are a lot of planned activities, so they spend quite a bit of time in the practice room, but they also have some time for themselves. And Wonwoo wants to connect with Carat a bit, so he decides to do a voice-only live on Weverse.
From the start, Wonwoo sounds really upbeat and happy, and quickly the comments start flooding in, with fans greeting him while “God Of Music” plays in the background. The live hasn’t even been going for five minutes when Mingyu’s voice chimes in.
“Can you do it for me this time?” Mingyu asks, his voice sounding distant.
“Do what for you?” Wonwoo responds, turning to look at Mingyu.
“Lotion,” Mingyu says, his voice quieter now, barely audible to the people listening the live stream. He also shows Wonwoo the lotion bottle he’s holding.
Wonwoo moves away from his phone to go help Mingyu with the lotion, applying it to his roommate’s broad back. He takes the chance to caress him, and he also kisses him on the nape tickling Mingyu with his lips. They both laugh, but Mingyu’s laughter is louder, so when he greets his fans, he’s still laughing.
“Hi, Carats…” he says, and then they both move closer to the phone, where Mingyu realizes that Wonwoo is only doing a voice live. “Oh, this has its charm too. Since there’s no video, I can be more comfortable at home.”
“Of course, this is fun. I think it’s a lot more comfortable and fun.” Wonwoo replies, also leaning over to check the comments from fans. “'Please show your faces,’” he reads from Carat, glancing at Mingyu, who still hasn’t put on a shirt.
“My face isn’t looking great right now, neither of ours... He’s not presentable and neither am I…” Wonwoo stumbles a little over his words as he looks at Mingyu’s bare chest.
Mingyu just laughs and moves away, so Wonwoo changes the subject. “Thanks!” Mingyu shouts from a distance, and Wonwoo nods.
“Okay,” he murmurs before continuing to talk about his meeting with Keria from T1. The conversation with fans keeps going, and then someone asks about the soccer match with Seventeen. He talks to Mingyu again.
“Mingyu!” he says, waiting a bit. Mingyu peeks his head out from the room.
“Yeah?”
“Both teams I was on won the soccer game—first when you picked me, the team won, and then when Seungkwan picked me, we won again,” Wonwoo shares excitedly, and Mingyu smiles at him.
“Yeah? It must’ve been you that made us win,” Mingyu says, still smiling. Wonwoo smiles back, but then remembers both teams picked him last, so he feels a little bad about bringing his team luck, but still, it’s nice to have been the last picked.
Mingyu keeps getting ready, rushing after he took a shower before to head out to exercise, while Wonwoo continues chatting happily with Carat. When Mingyu finishes, he comes back to say goodbye.
“See you, Wonwoo hyung,” Mingyu says, coming over to grab Wonwoo’s chin and give him a kiss so light that their lips don’t even make a sound. Wonwoo blushes and almost wants to push Mingyu away for being so bold, even though no one can see them. “See you, Carats…” Mingyu says after a brief pause.
Wonwoo continues with the live while Mingyu leaves the house, heading to the gym to work out. He promised to bring something for them to eat together while Wonwoo showers and waits for him, and then they’ll have dinner and go to bed together.