Work Text:
It was well past midnight when Yushi decided he was going to do one more scroll before finally going to sleep.
He sat upright in his bed, hair still a bit damp from a shower, the soft hum of the air conditioner filling the room. The only light came from his phone screen, illuminating his face. His eyes moved with laser focus as he scrolled—refresh, scroll, tap, repeat.
At first glance, one might have thought he was monitoring his fancams and fan reactions from earlier in the day, having just concluded three fulfilling days performing in front of thousands. He's an idol after all. But a closer look at his phone screen revealed he wasn't looking at videos of himself or his group. He was in the DMs of a seller account, his fingers typing faster than he can blink.
He didn't hesitate for a second before pressing send:
"hello! is the jaehee and yushi unit photocard still available? i would like to purchase it 😁" -@dbdntl45
His pulse picked up as he waited for a reply. There was some kind of thrill to it, definitely not the same one he felt before taking the stage, but a thrill nonetheless. Even if it was because of a piece of laminated paper.
Not a moment later, the seller messaged him back:
"hi, yes it's still available! i'm able to send tomorrow as well~"-@wishyangdo221
Yushi grinned. He continued to message the seller, sending them payment and mailing info before locking his phone and laying down, ready to finally go to sleep.
Another card secured for his collection.
Hidden at the bottom of his bedside drawer was a small binder housing his beloved collection. Its blue-and-green checkered cover was a bit worn, but the inside was kept pristine—each page sorted chronologically and each photocard double-sleeved.
Once in a while, or whenever Yushi received new cards, he would flip through the pages, his fingers grazing over each photocard. Daeyoung's face stared back at him, starting from their NCT New Team days all the way up to the present. Sprinkled throughout the photocards of Daeyoung were the unit cards of the two together. Their gentle expressions gradually maturing as he flipped through more and more pages of the binder, reliving the memories they'd made—not just through their idol journey, but together.
His collection started off rather innocently. The members were given copies of their albums to keep for themselves, and Yushi almost always pulled Daeyoung. The other members joked around, saying that he and Daeyoung were "spiritually connected" and "always meant to be together." At first, Yushi saw it as a funny coincidence—something to tease Daeyoung about whenever they unboxed their albums for new comebacks. But soon enough, he had accumulated a small stack of photocards. One thing led to another, and he eventually turned to the reseller market to get the ones he was missing.
Keeping this little buying habit of his a secret took some work. The dorm had an unwritten rule: Don't touch mail that isn't yours, and don't ask any questions. They all used pseudonyms to order things online, both for safety and privacy. Yushi's burner account, @dbdntl45, was just his name in Hangul typed using the corresponding English keyboard letters, plus his birthday. There were no pictures or tweets. Nothing. If anything, it looked like a typical seller account with no layout and a blank name. The only interactions that his account had were with the various sellers he messaged to buy photocards from.
Could he have asked his manager to give him Daeyoung's photocards directly? Yes, but Yushi would rather die than have anyone find out that he was collecting photocards of his boyfriend who also happened to be in the same group as him.
Much to his dismay, there was one person who knew about Yushi's collection: Riku.
Late one evening, while Yushi was cataloguing new photocards into his binder, Riku barged in unannounced, asking to use some of his face wash.
"Yushi, can I use your cleanser? I forgot I ran ou—What are you doing?"
Yushi panicked and slammed the binder closed. "Uh… nothing! Just reading!"
Riku looked at him with a curious expression. "Reading what?"
"You know… a book."
"Can I see the book?"
Yushi had dug himself into a grave, and there was no escaping. He hesitantly opened the binder, and Riku leaned forward to take a look.
"Are those all photocards of Daeyoung?"
"No, not all of them… Our unit photocards together are in here too…" Yushi admitted, ears burning as he avoided Riku's eyes.
Riku fell silent for a moment, looking at Yushi with a surprised yet fond expression.
"You really like him a lot, don't you?" he said, his tone warm and amused.
The redness from Yushi's ears traveled to the rest of his face. "Yes, I do. I really do. But I swear this isn't weird."
Riku crouched down, looking up at him with gentle eyes. "Hey, I never said it was weird. I think it's… kinda sweet."
Yushi looked back at him with wide eyes. "You do?"
"Yeah." Riku pointed at a unit card. "You both look so happy here. I get why you would want to keep these."
Yushi sighed with relief. He was worried that his best friend would think he was a complete weirdo for collecting photocards of his boyfriend, but he should have known not to worry in the first place. Riku was very understanding of Yushi's feelings. Hell, Riku was the first person Yushi confided to when he realized he was falling for Daeyoung.
"Riku, please don't tell anyone..."
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Riku patted Yushi on the back before walking towards his bathroom to grab the cleanser he initially came for.
Yushi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, still a bit embarrassed but visibly more relieved.
Before walking out of the room, Riku turned back to face Yushi, "And hey, it's okay to love and care for someone. There's nothing wrong with keeping things that make you happy. Don't stay up too late looking at those tiny pictures, alright? You can see the real deal bright and early tomorrow morning when we leave for schedules."
Yushi huffed a tiny laugh as Riku closed his door, restoring the room's calmness. He looked back down at his binder for a moment, smiling, before returning it to its hiding spot.
The dorm was quieter than it usually was on a typical day.
It was one of those rare instances where Yushi was the only one with a schedule, so while he was out working, Riku and Daeyoung were given the day off. Riku was sound asleep in his room, worn out after staying late at the company practicing the night before.
Daeyoung, on the other hand, was up bright and early. He had seen Yushi off before he left, unsure of what time he'd return, and found himself too awake to crawl back into his bed afterward. Rather than let the rest of the day go to waste, he decided to go for a walk and grab some groceries so he could cook a nice meal for everyone to enjoy when Yushi came back. It had been a while since Daeyoung last cooked, and he knew how much his Japanese roommates enjoyed his homecooked meals, especially Yushi.
Daeyoung arrived back home a couple hours later, bag of groceries in his arms. Greeting him was a small pile of packages stacked beside the door. Among those cardboard boxes was a small bubble mailer. The bubble mailer was inconspicuous, except for a fanart sticker of him and Yushi doing a heart pose together stuck on the front. He bent down to get a closer look and froze when he saw that it was addressed to the pseudonym Yushi used.
"There's no way…"
Daeyoung stood back up, his pulse racing. Many questions ran through his mind—why was there a package with such a sticker in front of their door? Did a fan or someone find out where they live? If that was the case, how did they find out the fake name Yushi used?
Daeyoung decided to leave the package where he found it before inputting the passcode and entering the dorm.
Riku, who was now awake and cooking ramen in the kitchen, looked at Daeyoung with concern. "Why do you look so startled? Did something chase you coming from the grocery store?"
Placing the groceries on the dining table, Daeyoung hesitated before replying, "…I'm fine."
Riku shrugged and returned to his ramen when Daeyoung quickly blurted out, "I found a package outside."
"What kind of package? Is it too heavy for you to carry inside? Do you want me to hel—"
"No. It was a small package. But it had a picture of Yushi hyung and me on it. And it was addressed to his mail name… Should we be concerned? Should I tell our manager?"
Daeyoung continued to ask questions, worry building, but all Riku said in reply was, "I don't think I'm the one you should be asking these questions to."
Daeyoung's gut flipped, his feelings all over the place. "Okay, yeah you're right. But do you know anything about this?"
Riku nodded. "Let's just say you don't have anything to really worry about."
And the conversation ended there. A sense of uneasiness filled the kitchen, with Daeyoung putting the groceries away and Riku finishing his ramen—neither of them saying what they were really thinking.
A few hours later, Yushi had finished his schedules and was making his way back to the dorm. He slowly made his way up the stairs until he saw a small package sitting in front of the door.
The small sticker of him and Daeyoung was suddenly all he could see. He picked up the mailer and brought it closer to his face in disbelief. "No… no, no, no… Was this supposed to come today?"
Usually, Yushi was very good about requesting that sellers not put any stickers or decorations on the outside. But he had fallen asleep before he could ask the most recent person he bought from not to put anything on the packaging, and when he remembered the next morning, the seller had already sent it out.
Yushi tried his best to stay on top of checking when packages arrived so that there was zero chance of Daeyoung seeing it before he did. But the postal service gods were not on his side and delivered the photocard while he was out working. "He definitely saw it. This is the only package left out here."
He stuffed the parcel into his bag and took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from panicking before he entered the dorm.
Daeyoung and Riku watched from the couch as he speed-walked toward his room, not even stopping to greet them properly.
"Hi guys, I'm gonna just go straight to bed. Schedules got me beat today," he said, shutting his bedroom door behind him.
Riku turned to face Daeyoung, who was fiddling with the drawstring of his sweats. "Yeah… he definitely knows you saw it. You should probably talk to him."
Daeyoung spent the next ten minutes lost in his own thoughts, sitting frozen on the couch, eyes fixed on Yushi's door. Riku had retreated back to his room, leaving the tall boy alone with his nervous heart and the knot of curiosity tightening in his chest.
Eventually, he forced himself up, dragged himself toward Yushi's door, and softly knocked before he could chicken out.
"Hyung?"
He put his ear up against the door. The room was silent except for the sound of something being shoved under bedding.
"Come in…" Yushi said, his voice small and reluctant.
Daeyoung opened the door and saw Yushi perched on the edge of his bed, sitting stiffly with his hands clasped in his lap. He sat down next to him.
"Can we talk?"
Yushi nodded. "But before you say anything, let me explain."
"So you know what I'm going to ask?"
Yushi exhaled, shoulders slumping forward. "You saw it, didn't you? The package?"
"Yeah, it's kind of hard to miss something with both of our faces on it."
Yushi groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Of course the one day I have a solo schedule… and of all the sellers… they just had to put a sticker of us on the front…"
Daeyoung's face warmed. "I wasn't sure if it was safe. I was expecting the worst. Like what if someone found out where we lived? How would they know what fake name you used?"
"It was me," Yushi cut in gently. "I bought a photocard from a seller online."
Daeyoung looked at Yushi with wide eyes. "…A photocard?"
Yushi nodded. "A photocard of you. Well… us. It's the one we took together for our concert merchandise." He slipped his hand under his pillow and pulled out the opened bubble mailer with the photocard inside.
"I'm not trying to be creepy," he muttered. "You know how our manager gives us our albums and I usually pull your photocards? I figured that since I already have a few, maybe I should just… collect them all?"
"You collect my photocards?"
"Not just yours," Yushi mumbled, ears turning red. "I collect the ones where we're together, too. I like having things that remind me of you. Of us. Especially when work gets stressful…"
Daeyoung's expression softened instantly. "Hyung, you don't have to hide something like that from me."
Yushi hesitantly lifted his eyes to meet Daeyoung's. "You don't think it's weird?"
"Of course not," Daeyoung assured, taking Yushi's hand and offering a small smile.
Another breath escaped Yushi, this one lighter and filled with relief. He relaxed under Daeyoung's touch, tension melting away from his shoulders. He didn't have to hide this little secret anymore.
The two spent the rest of the evening flipping through Yushi's binder, giggling at past selfies Daeyoung barely remembered taking and reminiscing about the moments behind their unit photocards.
A couple of days later, the dorm had returned to its usual rhythm, but a just a bit warmer. It made Yushi happy to see how easily Daeyoung had accepted everything.
Yushi came home much later than his dormmates, drained from hours of recording. He kicked off his shoes, mumbled a hoarse "I'm finally home…" and trudged down the hall toward his room.
He pushed open the door and put his bag down before noticing a small green envelope sitting neatly on top of his pillow. It was addressed to his mail pseudonym that he used for all of his online purchases.
Yushi squinted in confusion. "Huh? I don't think I bought anything recently…"
He picked up the envelope, inspecting it carefully. There was nothing on the outside—not even a return address. He even held it to the light; still nothing. Finally, he ripped the envelope open.
Inside the envelope was a printed photo of Daeyoung, bright and soft. Yushi distinctly remembered telling him it was his favorite selfie of him and then immediately setting it as his contact photo on his phone. And at the bottom of the photo was Daeyoung's neat signature, followed by a heart.
Yushi felt the corners of his mouth tick upward.
Accompanying the photo was a small note, written in a neat and familiar handwriting:
"Thank you for your purchase! This is the rarest Jaehee photocard to ever exist. And now he's all yours! Please take good care of him~♡"
Yushi smiled and looked up, only to be met by Daeyoung, who was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded and a tiny smug smile pulling at his lips.
"The mailman dropped it off, but you weren't home, so I decided to just leave it on your bed."
Daeyoung stepped inside, stopping right in front of Yushi. His eyes flicked to the photo in his hands. "Cute photo, huh?"
"Really cute," Yushi replied, his voice cracking like a teenager. "It's my favorite picture of you."
"So I've heard." Daeyoung sat down next to Yushi. "I think you owe me now."
"Owe you?"
Daeyoung gave Yushi a playful grin. "I've been inspired recently, and I think I want to start a Yushi photocard collection."
Yushi's face went red as he nearly dropped the photo from his hands. "Please be serious."
"I am being serious!" Daeyoung laughed, gentle and warm. "You're the expert here. So… where do I start? I have a long way to go if I want my collection to be as big as yours."
Yushi hid his face in his hands, flustered beyond belief. A shy smile tugged at his lips anyway.
He slowly lowered his hands, cheeks still red, but his smile brighter. "But why?"
Daeyoung bumped his shoulder, smiling back. "I figured it's only fair. And besides, I like having things that remind me of you, too."
By the end of the night—slipping well into the early morning hours—Daeyoung found his bank account a little bit lighter, but his brand-new Yushi collection already growing.
EPILOGUE:
Comeback preparations were well underway for NCT Wish. Their schedules were packed from morning to night. From outfit fittings to recordings, from photoshoots to practice sessions, each one bled into the next. The members were spending more time at the company than at the dorms, only returning to sleep—most days not even for a full eight hours—before repeating the cycle the next day. It was a tough job, but they all loved what they did, and they always supported one another.
During a small break in the practice room, Sion settled into the corner where everyone's bags were hastily piled. He rummaged through them, looking for his own, until something caught his eye.
Two black bags sat side by side, each with a matching photocard holder dangling from the zipper. One held a photo of Daeyoung, while the other held a photo of Yushi.
Sion blinked at the holders, his eyes widening before a soft smile pulled at his lips.
He leaned closer to Riku, who was sitting beside him, busy wiping sweat off his forehead. "Hey, Riku. Look at this."
Riku followed Sion's gaze towards the bags. He chuckled, already knowing about the matching holders before they'd even left the dorm.
"They're cute, huh?"
Sion nodded, and both of them glanced toward the mirror. Yushi was helping Daeyoung clean the last eight-count they had learned, laughing together, blissfully unaware of the older members watching them.
After a moment, Sion nudged Riku with his elbow. "You wanna get matching keychains too?"
Later that night, as practice wrapped up and the members filtered out of the room, Yushi and Daeyoung left hand in hand. Their matching photocards swayed behind them, tapping against their bags with every step. A subtle reminder that when things get tough, they'll always have each other.