Work Text:
“Okay! Five-minute break!”
Jungwon’s voice booms across the practice room, followed by a cacophony of squeaking sneakers against polished floors. Sunoo trudges towards the back wall, his back slamming against it as he slumps down. From a distance, he watches the members settle into different parts of the practice room. Closing his eyes, Sunoo lets his breath even out, thinking back to the moves he kept messing up on.
“You okay?”
A warm voice alerts him of a familiar presence, and Sunoo smiles. There, standing before him, was Sunghoon. The latter was drying his face with a towel, chuckling when he realised Sunoo was staring at him. “I’m fine, just tired from practice, that’s all,” he mutters, scooting over to let his boyfriend sit next to him. Sunghoon’s presence soothed the incoming ache in Sunoo’s bones, and he did nothing except draw himself closer to seek the other’s warmth.
Moments like these were few and far between. Through the chaos of shoving clothes into different luggages and running past crowds like their lives depended on it—a slow lull to their fast-paced life was almost lucrative, addicting, even . Sunoo wondered what type of person he’d become if he was allowed to interlock his fingers with Sunghoon’s whenever and wherever he could. Probably a possessive little freak, he surmises.
Dragging him from his thoughts, Sunghoon entwined their fingers together, his thumb running along his knuckles before he brought it up to his lips to kiss. He doesn’t ask, doesn’t press Sunoo on the things that plague him simply because he knows . That’s the type of love Sunghoon gives, and he gives, gives, gives .
“Remember when I told you what my goals for the year were?” Sunoo’s voice was a whisper, afraid to break the bubble they’d built for themselves. Sunghoon responds with a hum, eyes finding Sunoo’s own. Chuckling, “You mean the one where you told me you want to do a live with me this year?” The younger boy laughs, lovingly leaning his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Yeah, that.”
“What about it?”
Sunoo pouts, fingers playing with the ones intertwined with his. “When do you think we can do a live together? It seems like we never have any time.”
It’s true. Both of them were raking up sponsorships and brand deals like there was no tomorrow, and they could singlehandedly count how many times they’d spent time together alone. Dismissing thoughts of their upcoming schedules, Sunghoon shrugs, then replies nonchalantly, “Let’s just do one today, then.” Sunoo squints at him, “Today? You have a shoot tomorrow morning, dummy. ” His boyfriend chortles, the sound reverberating through Sunghoon’s chest. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s do it anyways.”
Before he could respond, Niki called out to them.
“Oi lovebirds, no time for you to start making out in the middle of practice! Break’s over!”
Propping the camera up, Sunoo starts the live, returning to his position next to Sunghoon. They watched as an onslaught of viewers entered, the chat immediately filling with comments. Sunoo grins, “Hey guys!” Sunghoon reciprocates Sunoo’s excitement, waving just as enthusiastically. The comments were nonstop, slowly becoming a blur, yet the fans seemed to be just as excited as they were.
“Hm, is this the first time we’ve done a live together,” Sunoo ponders, his feet tapping the ground. Sunghoon looks at him incredulously, in disbelief at what he is hearing. “We have! Don’t you remember?” He resembled a kicked puppy, uncanny from the videos of Gaeul he’d enthusiastically show Sunoo. Teasing, Sunoo retorts, “You seriously think I don’t remember?”
Sunghoon’s face was turned slightly away from the camera, just enough for him to gaze adoringly at his lover. Sunoo prays the cameras don’t catch it, but who the hell cares, honestly. Sunoo’s sure they’ve done a pretty horrible job at hiding their relationship, lest the netizens are truly oblivious.
“Actually, we’ve been wanting to do this live for a while now, but it kept getting delayed,” Sunoo explains, hands waving comically at the screen. He continued, “We’re lucky we got this chance to do one.” Sunghoon smirked, stating matter-of-factly, “ I made it happen!” A wide grin graced his face when Sunoo’s smile mirrored his.
“He did! He really did!”
sunsun4eva
WE WON WE WON WE WON FINALLY
hoonsun
Sunsunists this is OUR year
Giggling, Sunoo scrolls through more comments before sitting back and smiling widely at the camera.
“So, how’s everyone’s day been?”
“ No, this filter looks better.”
Sunoo rolls his eyes at Sunghoon, insistent that the lighting wasn’t the best and the filter was going to ‘fix’ the problem. The latter begged to differ, because he believed Sunoo looked perfect in whatever lighting there was. “The filterless version is nicer,” he countered, firm in his tone. The younger boy shivered internally. Sunghoon’s voice was stern yet light, and his eyes stared at Sunoo hard through the phone screen. Sunghoon’s eyes told him all that he needed to know: that he didn’t need a filter to look pretty; that any angle of him was perfect the way it was.
The younger wanted to melt, wanted to cave in.
But he’s not Kim Sunoo if he wasn’t a little bit headstrong.
“Please, hyung,” he begged, hands clasping together, his voice turning sickly sweet. He knew this would get Sunghoon, and it got him good. The older boy moved closer to the phone, inspecting the filters. “Guys, Sunoo said he really wants a filter.” Sunoo giggled, “We already started filterless, so please put a filter on now.” Sunghoon sighed, scrolling through the list of filters and looking towards his boyfriend for his opinions. The other nods, pointing at the usual one he uses.
“Use this one, hyung.”
The screen of their phone brightened instantly, and it almost made Sunghoon jump from the whiplash. The filter was lighter, almost smoothening out their features that were more prominent in the natural shadows of the room. To Sunghoon, they looked almost uncanny. Raising his eyebrows, Sunghoon remarked, “I don’t think the filter makes us look any better.” This got Sunoo pouting, ready to rebut his statement. “It literally looks nicer! Look how much clearer we look.”
Sunghoon moves closer to the screen.
“It has facial smoothening!” Sunghoon looked at him in disbelief, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Sunoo lifts his hands to defend himself again. “It does not! The filter just changes the lighting.”
The two went back and forth for a while, each defending their stance on the idea of a filter versus filterless live. Below the camera, however, their knees bumped each other affectionately, their ankles slightly hooked together—as if neither of them could spend a single second apart. It feels normal; this feels normal. Their little harmless jabs at each other brought back a sense of normalcy that they often lacked in their recent days, akin to the bickering they did back when they first debuted.
On-screen, it just looked like two friends who enjoyed twisting each other’s wits just to get a rise out of them (perhaps more like two friends who were overly affectionate in their own way. Because let’s face it, having matching couple lock screens with your friends does sound a little bit odd to some people).
Resigned, Sunghoon turns to their live chat for opinions. “Engenes, you guys decide. Filter or no filter?”
sunnysun
defo filterless
jaysguitar
lowkey with filter isn’t too bad
enkids
idgaf i need to be in the argument yalls look like ur having too much fun there
“They said with the filter!”
“Nope! More comments said without!”
Their exchange continues again, somewhat comical in the way that they’ve forgotten they have an audience watching them.
sunsunwrld
it’s giving iland to early debut sunsun
LoveSUNGHOON
Lol this the GOOD shit
Eventually, Sunghoon reigned as the victor, and they settled with the filterless live. Grumpy, Sunoo began checking his reflection on the phone screen, hoping the light wouldn’t make his face look too dull. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sunghoon watching him with a minuscule smile on his face; subtle, but there if they looked close enough. He swallowed thickly, then sighed.
“Do I look alright?”
Sunghoon replies instantly, “Y-yeah. You look good. I like it.”
Sunoo was stunned, but he brushed it off quickly just in case their fans noticed something off. There’s a slight hint of rose dusting the apples of his cheeks—matching the blood rushing into his boyfriend’s nape. “Oh. You sound so sincere,” he joked, but his knee nudged Sunghoon’s tenderly. The latter smiled at him warmly, dimples carving into his skin, and Sunoo felt like he wanted to end the live right now because no one, no one, is allowed to see his boyfriend all flustered and cute.
That’s for him, and only him to see.
Sunoo leaned closer to the phone, reading the first comment he saw. “Ah, right! It is Jungwonie’s birthday soon!”
Speak of the devil, Sunghoon mused, as Jungwon barged into the practice room. Their leader cutely walked up to them, a bright grin on his face as he successfully interrupted his hyungs’ live. “Hyungs! You’re doing a live right now?” Sunoo, who could feel no amount of annoyance at Jungwon (much to Sunghoon’s disdain—this was meant to be his Sunoo and Sunghoon time, but it’s whatever; Jungwon was too cute and frightening to get mad at anyway), smiled sweetly at his best friend. “Jungwon-ah! We were just talking about you!” The older of the three nodded, watching as the other two chatted a bit. Whilst Sunghoon zoned out for a bit, somehow, the conversation got diverted to their group’s different unit names.
“Wait, I never got to ask this, but why are you guys named ‘Kungyaz’?”
“Oh,” Sunoo clapped, “It’s because hyung looks like the rice ball kungya, and I look like the onion kungya.” He flashed a smile at Sunghoon, and he swooned. Jungwon hummed in understanding, not missing the fond looks between his two members. Internally, he rolled his eyes at them, shaking his head at their obviousness. However, he doubted others could pick up the hidden affection between the two unless they were closer to them.
Turning towards Jungwon, Sunghoon asked, “Wait, if we’re Kungyaz, then what about you and Sunoo?” Their leader replied, “We’re ‘Pocketz’.” Almost immediately, Sunghoon’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Pocketz?” Getting excited again, Sunoo piped up, “Because we’re so small that we fit in your pock—”
“No! No,” Jungwon interjected, receiving matching startled glances his way. “It’s because we’re fox and cat.”
Sunoo and Sunghoon murmured harmoniously in acknowledgement, so unbelievably in sync that Jungwon felt goosebumps rise on his skin. This time, though, their warm gazes towards each other were much more noticeable, and the comments gave no graces nor nuance of heedlessness.
sunsun4eva
DID YALLS SEE THAT DID U GUYS SEE THAT
SUNGHOONLUVR
is it just me or can u guys see the way hoon is smiling at sun too… idk man that’s kinda…
ilanders
not the damn shippers again. yalls are gonna make them awkward w each other.
Jungwon’s lips pursed. There were the typical jokey comments and the ones pointing out how cute his other two members were. But there were a few that left a sour taste in Jungwon’s mouth. He looked at the other two by his side through the phone camera, watching as the glint that was in their eyes slowly disappeared. Jungwon knew they saw it, too, but neither of them acknowledged it, choosing to sweep the comments under the rug. He could even hear what Sunghoon was thinking, too: It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just the fans messing around with each other.
And maybe Sunghoon is right, but it doesn’t change the fact that it does sting a little bit to see.
seongie
u stupid shippers ruining their relationships. look how awkward they are
sunniesun
yalls stfu and just enjoy the live no one gaf what u think abt their relo
enkids
sybau pmo.. leave them alone idgaf if u like sunsun or not just enjoy the live!!
There’s a bit of a lull in their conversation once Jungwon left, the exhaustion from the day beginning to seep into their skin. Sunoo, who’s quite literally mastered the art of ‘pretending everything’s okay', tugs his lips into a wide grin, squares his shoulders, and pushes on. It’s not every day he’s able to do a live with his boyfriend, so they might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Sunghoon, on the other hand, was a little bit more honest and blunt, his face plagued with fatigue. Yet he smiles along, because he and Sunoo share the same sentiment after all.
It’s nice to spend time like this—just them and their fans, only on the verge of freedom. There are still millions of eyes gazing at them, watching their every move, waiting for them to slip and fall. Lives are freedom, but they are also not. They can say what they want, but they’ll bite their tongue—never too much, but too little is a disgrace. Comfort is cherished, but the uncomfortable is ever present; one wrong touch and the netizens will be burying their names six feet under.
“Have you all eaten dinner yet?” Sunoo tilts his head in question, his eyes scanning the influx of questions. He looked so cute like that, lips pouted as he called out the people who’d had next to nothing for dinner, and Sunghoon could feel his fingers twitching just to get a feel. “Sunoo and I ate together earlier,” he starts, his eyes turning toward the ceiling to think briefly, “We had some tteokbeokki for dinner. Oh, and ice cream too.”
“Yup! Hyung treated me to dinner today because I helped him with his makeup the other day!”
sunoosday1
omg.. makeover w sunoo
SUNGHOONLUVR
STOPPPP I NEED THE PICS FROM THAT SO BAD
“Pictures? Hyung, did you take any pictures?”
SUNGHOONLUVR
FUCK DIDHE READ MY COMMET
“I think I did? I’ll have to check my gallery later,” he sighs, thinking back to that specific day.
(Only, it just got Sunghoon a bit riled up, because all he could think of was Sunoo sitting on his lap as he added shadows on his eyes and—maybe this isn’t a good idea.)
Sunoo continues rambling along, reading comments and responding to them. The older boy was content to simply let him talk, finding his boyfriend’s voice enough to dispel the sagging of his shoulders. He was usually more of a listener to Sunoo, always there to lend an ear whenever he needed to rant about anything at all.
He takes a moment to peep through the comments whilst Sunoo is explaining what ice cream flavours they ate recently.
jaykehoonism
sunoo having melona and NOT mint choco? crazy era we live in
sunnysun
oh em gee this is like that one twice meme where nayeon was going crazy but momo js sat there 😭
A laugh bubbles in his chest, simmering on the surface, but pops and goes cold, and now there’s a ringing in his ear he can’t quite get rid of.
xXENHYPENXx
Omg… so awkward. They’re literally coworkers.
A warm hand places itself on Sunghoon’s knee. Coworkers? It would’ve been fine if it was just a singular comment, but the longer the live went on, even more comments reiterated the same thing. On a better day, a much brighter and less chilly one, he might’ve turned a blind eye to it. Maybe he would’ve tucked it away into the back of his mind, because what fool gets frustrated at a bunch of randoms assuming his relationship with his members?
It was not one of those days.
He can almost feel the internal panic settling in Sunoo once he senses the shift in his emotions. The hand on his knee became more insistent, keep your damn mouth shut, it said. How could he have, when they questioned his affection for his boyfriend? The hell, did they want him to cling to the boy 24/7, even when Sunoo was never much of a skinship guy? Sunghoon tries to use Sunoo’s presence to ground him a bit, taking deep breaths in and out.
Suddenly, he’s glad Sunoo’s the one next to him, because who else can calm the raging storm within and keep him in check if not for his lovely boyfriend?
To retaliate, Sunghoon brings himself closer to the camera, “Do I still have Sunoo as my lock screen wallpaper?” A glance at Sunoo told Sunghoon that the former raised his eyebrow at him, knowing full well that he was lying. There wasn’t a single comment present that asked the question; heck, the fans were too preoccupied with either arguing or contributing to Sunoo’s fervent discussion to even conjure a question like that. Sunoo even wondered if the fans remembered the lock screen fiasco from a couple of years ago. Sunghoon lets out a hollow chuckle. “My lock screen? Yeah, it’s a new selca Sunoo secretly took on my phone.”
Sunoo stares at him with his mouth agape. “Yah! You say 'secretly' as if you weren’t aware of me doing that in the first place!” He points an accusatory finger at the older boy, glaring as Sunghoon lets out another exuberant laugh. Trying to clear his name, Sunoo defended himself, “Guys, guys! Sunghoonie-hyung literally hands me his phone all the time. What was I supposed to do with it?”
Smirking, Sunghoon counters, “I don’t hand my phone to you; I place it in front of you. There’s a clear distinction.”
“Oh my god, I cannot believe you.”
sunnieville
WHERES ALL THE MFS SAYING THEYRE COWORKERS NOW????
hoonsunist
This is so married couple coded
LoveSunghoon
This is the best live ever.
“You literally fill up my gallery when you get the chance!”
“And whose fault is it for ‘placing’ his phone in front of me?”
Sunghoon rolled his eyes, his fangs peeking as he tried to discreetly hide his smile. An annoyed Sunoo was honestly the most adorable thing ever, and for a moment, he considered annoying his boyfriend a bit more often just so he could see those reactions more frequently. He decides against it almost immediately, though, because he’d rather stay alive than face Sunoo’s wrath. Instead, he chooses to complain to his boyfriend (perhaps Sunoo would be less inclined to disagree if he said it on camera).
“Sunoo-yah, I have you as my lock screen, and yet your lock screen is a picture of your hand,” he pouts, putting on a show. Sunoo’s eyes instantly softened, the sparkles in them shining brighter than ever. Sunghoon feels the air in his lungs getting punched out of his system. “I’m sorry, I’ll change it later so we can match again,” he reassured the other, his hand rubbing circles onto Sunghoon’s knee.
He doesn’t know if it was visible on the screen, but Sunghoon turns to complete mush. It was like his entire being was attuned to respond to anything Sunoo did, and it made his heart swell at how quickly his boyfriend began comforting him. Truthfully, he didn’t care what Sunoo’s lock screen was. He could have it as his current K-drama crush for all he cared because, at the end of the day, the place Sunoo would always return to would be Sunghoon’s arms. He places a hand atop Sunoo’s, their fingers intertwining. The table obscured the view of their hands, and Sunoo was grateful for it. Certain things should be kept from the public eye, after all.
But there was a kind of guilt that crept up in the back of Sunoo’s throat, its presence getting more prominent in his stomach. Sunoo decides then that he’ll ask his boyfriend about it later.
sunsun4eva
this is crazy sunsun lore drop
SUNGHOONLUVR
DID ANYONE SEE THAT??? HELLO??? SUNGHOON I SAW THAT
–
Sunoo knocks on his boyfriend’s door before walking in. The latter was standing in front of his closet, organising the sweaters from his luggage back where they belonged. Shuffling, Sunoo wrapped his arms around Sunghoon’s waist, leaning his chin on the older boy’s shoulder. Instinctively, he felt Sunghoon lean back, pressing them even closer together. All they could hear was the air conditioner's whirring and the hangers' clanging against the metal rod as they stayed in that position.
Once Sunghoon was finished, Sunoo led them towards the bed, his hand warm on Sunghoon’s wrist. No words are needed between them, not right now, at least. The older boy lets himself get taken away—lets himself confide in the comfort of familiarity, of hands that turn him pliant with every touch. Sunoo made him sit on the edge of the bed, his hands now insistent on the other’s shoulders. Dazed, Sunghoon looked up, eyes meeting his boyfriend’s as concern swam over Sunoo.
“Are you okay?” Sunoo murmured, careful not to break the stillness of the air. Now, Sunghoon was confused, because everything was perfectly fine; why wouldn’t it be when it was finally just the two of them? Sensing his bafflement, Sunoo continues, “I didn’t know you wanted us to have matching wallpapers again. I promise I’ll change it.” He bit his lip, his fingers playing with Sunghoon’s hair. “What? No, I only said that because of the comments on the live, baby. I don’t care about materialistic things like that. You know that.” Sunghoon rubs Sunoo’s arms, wrapping his hand on the other’s waist to bring him closer.
Relief settles into his chest when Sunoo laughs lightly, palms moving down to cradle his face. “I had a feeling you were just saying that. But I was scared that that’s what you felt, y’know. That you aren’t important enough to me.” Sunoo’s words are laced with guilt, but he doesn’t shy away when Sunghoon pulls him down for a chaste kiss. “How could I ever feel that way when you never fail to show me you love me?”
“I just had to prove a point. I hated it when people were saying that we didn’t care enough for each other.”
Instead of replying, Sunoo kisses him again, longer this time, and full of love for his boyfriend. He knew Sunghoon was only teasing him during their live, but when he saw some of the comments saying that the older boy wasn’t important for him to continue to have as his wallpaper, he got worried that Sunghoon actually felt that way.
(In the morning, though, when he’s hit with some post-fatigue clarity, he realises that he was overreacting. Of course, Sunghoon wasn’t affected by that, considering he was so confident in their relationship and so trusting of Sunoo.)
“Let’s head to bed?” Taking the younger boy’s hand in his, Sunghoon tugged him down, laughing as Sunoo crashed into him. In the midst of his giggles, Sunoo managed to somehow manoeuvre himself on top of the other’s lap, his arms wrapped around the latter’s neck.
“Well…,” he starts, “We need to decide what our lock screen should be, I promised after all”
–
ENHYPEN @ENHYPEN_members
[It’s a mirror selfie of Sunoo and Sunghoon, both of them holding their phone screens towards the mirror. On Sunoo’s screen was a photo of Sunghoon, who had his face pressed against someone else’s cheek. Similarly, on Sunghoon’s screen, was an identical photo of Sunoo. It seemed that Sunghoon used another member’s phone to take the selfie, given by the guitar pic wedged between the phone case on the phone he had in his other hand.]
full circle moment, i guess.
— replies
yuri @kungyaz
HELLO??? AGAIN??????? IS THIS A COUPLE ANNOUNCEMENT??????
@hoonsun
this just gave me intense sunsun flashback I FEEL SO ALIVE
SUNSUN CAME HOME X2 @sunnietruther
does this not give couple announcement???
aj @sunstagram
these bitches gay
jay’s gf @jayseong
bye is that jay’s phone AHAHA
And for the rest of the week, their hashtag was number one on Twitter.