Chapter Text
Kenny has had his eyes on Seok from the moment they met. His cute brown eyes, actually they might be black he's not quite sure sometimes? How interested he is in Kenny's culture–which definitely had more to do with the fact that he lived near and by China more than anything but oh well– asking him about the way he grew up, his family traditions. How he lets Kenny hold and touch him in ways he won't let others, how whenever he's having a bad day the first person he tells is Kenny, the trust Seok has in him, captivates him.
But the curiosity he has with the world, how he's always yearning to learn, his drive, how even if he feels like he isn't good enough he won't stop trying, he doesn't give up, that… that's what makes him fall in love.
Seok is such an amazing person Kenny will never regret falling in love with him. Even if the only way he can show it is through hiding behind the guise of joking, cause anything else would be too much. Too real.
Seok thinks Kenny is weird, and has since well since they met. But that's what keeps Seok captivated. How no matter what anyone thinks he'll be his weird authentic self, even if the words get to him. And he knows they do, he's held a crying Kenny in the dead of night because of what people say about him, their judgement. That doesn't stop him though, he's strong. Also how much he cares for Seok, is also another thing that just fully captures him, he once cursed an old Korean grandpa out on the streets in butchered Korean because he said something offhanded towards him.
Kenny also despite popular belief gets embarrassed really easily so right after that he took off running behind a building because he got shy about people staring. He's so cute.
Kenny has never once judged him based on his background, instead he judged him based off of who he is, his personality, and how he lives his life now.
Kenny cares about him, loves him because of who he is. All that's not to say that he isn't interested to know how he grew up, what his life was like. But, he does his own research on how life there was, doesn't hound him for information or even vaguely hint or ask. He lets Seok come to him, and that's why he loves Kenny why he'll never stop.
He doesn't know if it's one-sided, doesn't know if the way Kenny acts is just because of the way he grew up in America, or if it's because of something more. Seok can't help but wonder if it is what he thinks, that maybe just maybe Kenny likes him back.
••••••
Seok wouldn't say that he's a jealous person, just… cautious.
He knows Kenny and Nathan just see each other as brothers, and would probably throw themselves off the nearest building if anyone came to a different conclusion.
It's just that the way Kenny “flirts” with Nathan is getting to him.
The way Kenny winks at and touches Nathan, the things he'll say, he knows they're jokes, he does. But with the way his blood runs hot, and how he subconsciously glares at him whenever he sees Nathan. He's not quite sure his body knows.
Which is why he's here in Hyuk's room. “I think I hate Nathan.” He admits sheepishly.
Hyuk flinches, whipping his head around from his vanity where he's currently applying his makeup. “You what!?” Hyuk screams, genuinely appalled.
“Shhhh,” Seok places a finger over his lips.
“Oh sorry.” Hyuk quiets down.
“What do you mean you hate Nathan?” Hyuk asks, his tone sincere.
“I know it's terrible, but it's like every time I see him I get filled with this rage. That I don't think I've ever felt before.” He avoids Hyuk's eyes, ashamed of himself.
Hyuk stands to go sit beside him on the bed. Placing a comforting hand on Seok's shoulder.
“It's ok,” giving him a squeeze on his shoulder to soothe him.
“Can you describe it to me? How does this rage feel, when did it start?”
Seok looks up at him, the softness of Hyuk's eyes easing his tension. He knows that he's not being judged.
“Um it's like whenever I see him I don't know I just get hot all over, my teeth will start grinding and I can feel my fist clenching. I don't mean to, it's just that my body does it subconsciously.” Looking up at Hyuk. His eyes water with the shame and guilt he carries.
Hyuk pauses for a bit processing what he heard.
“It doesn't sound like you want to hate him, you sound remorseful, guilty. Maybe it's more like anger, something must've happened for you to start feeling this way, can you tell me when you first noticed your anger.”
“Um it was around when he first joined, I didn't think much of it at first but then it just kept growing and growing.”
Hyuk can tell by the way Seok's avoiding eye contact and shifting his lips over while simultaneously biting them that he's lying.
“Full story.” He demands.
Seok sighs, caught. “It was when I first saw how close he and Kenny got, I walked in on them holding hands and Kenny trying to kiss his cheek.”
Hyuk lets out a laugh of disbelief and surprise. The relief evident on his face. “Was Nathan backing away, trying to tear his hand away, you know like he always does.”
Seok blushed deep red. Staring intensely at the floor like it's telling him the secrets of the universe. “Yes.” He admits meekly.
“So you walked in and saw Kenny doing things he'd typically only do with you, with Nathan acting like you usually would with Kenny, and you got… jealous.” a wide smirk appears across Hyuk's face.
“I'm not jealous!” Seok yells in retaliation, lying to both himself and Hyuk.
“Yes you are.” Hyuk cackles he never thought he'd see Seok like this.
“No! No!” Seok pouts.
“Ok so if Nathan admitted he liked Kenny right now you wouldn't care.” Hyuk probes, teasing.
Seok just sits there, face blank as he pictures it. He imagines it Nathan taking away one of the only people he's truly cherished, adored. I mean Nathan hasn't even been here for that long, not even a full year. He hasn't known Kenny long enough for him to love him like Seok does. I mean who does that steals the person their group member loves. What an asshole!
Seok's fist clench opening and closing in a continuous pattern. His face tightens as his teeth begin to grind, his breathing picks up, and all that consumes him is pure unadulterated hatred.
“I'm gonna kill him.” Seok proclaims. He's not actually going to kill him but he's not too focused on the schematics.
“Woah woah woah!” Hyuk waves both his hands and shakes his head no.
“Calm, calm down.” His eyes wide shocked and confused that Seok would ever say something like that.
“It's fake, not- not real, Nathan doesn't like Kenny.”
Seok takes a deep breath. “Right.” He murmurs to himself. Calming himself down. “Sorry Nathan.” He grimaces.
“So let me ask you again. Are you sure you're not jealous?”
Seok processes his reaction, starts really thinking about it letting all of his feelings flow into him, and he starts to realize it. He's jealous
He's jealous.
“Im- I've never felt this way before. I'm confused? I've dated other people before but this is new, why does it feel different?” He asks, his voice shaking with a subtle tremor. His lips shake as he tries to keep in his tears. Scared of this emotion he's never known he possessed.
Hyuk looks at him gently, a mix of sympathy, sadness, and understanding fill his eyes. A frown ever present on his face.
“Oh Seok. Have you maybe thought that it's different, because those past relationships were somewhere where you were more worried about your safety, and staying alive. You were so worried if the two of you would be able to survive together that you never had time to feel that way. Maybe it's because Kenny's special. Do you think maybe you love him more than you've realized?” He speaks softly so as to not alarm an already fragile Seok.
“I- I um I-” Seok tries to speak but the words keep getting stuck in his throat. He's trying to stay strong but the harder he tries the harder he breaks.
His body starts shaking as he finally begins to cry, letting out the shame, fear, and confusion he's been carrying around for so long.
Seok sinks into Hyuk's arms. Falling apart at the seams. But it's different than he imagined, letting go. He held so tightly on to everything that he thought was too much, until it ended up consuming every inch of him.
It's freeing, allowing himself to feel. It lifts a weight off his shoulder, one that he's been ignoring, pretending that it didn't exist, except it didn't make it lighter, just heavier.
“I haven't, I've been really scared to. Thank you. Thank you Hyuk for being my friend, for helping me. I love you man.” His words come out unstable and semi illegible, from how hard he's crying.
Hyuk shushes him tenderly, rubbing a hand against the small of his back, making sure to avoid his hair. He knows Seok hates to have it touched or messed up in the slightest. He hasn't opened up as to why yet, he hopes one day he will.
He mumbles a soft, caring, I love you, back into Seok's ear. Staying silent the rest of the time, just letting him process his thoughts.
••••••
“Do you think Seok likes Hyuk?” Kenny asks, mouth full, he's eating a buttered roll.
“No. Like I thought the last 5 times you asked today. And the last 15 times you asked this week.” Nathan's face is full of irritation and confusion.
“Are you sure? Like a hundred percent?”
“Yes Kenny! I'm sure.” Rolling his eyes he exhales exhausted.
“And stop talking with your mouth full, that's disgusting. Don't you have home training?” His face scrunched up in disgust.
Kenny stares at Nathan deadpan for a second before a grin slowly breaks out across his face. He reaches towards the bread basket on the table and shoves a whole roll into his mouth, while smiling. He chews for a few seconds, before opening his mouth and saying a condescending “No.”.
Nathan reacts fast, grabbing a roll himself and launching it at Kenny before picking it back up to hit him with it repeatedly.
Kenny's laughing so hard. Holding Nathan back as best as he could while pushing his hands away; well trying to. Some of the bread gets spit out and onto both of them.
“Kenny!” Nathan semi yells appalled. His mouth falls open in disgust and shock. Looking like he's on the verge of tears, from how utterly disgusted he is.
“What's wrong with you man!?” He giggles.
Folding in on himself, from his space in their booth. He tries to stifle his laughter and just ends up shaking like crazy. Face flushed red.
Kenny on the other hand lets people hear him, he already finished chewing his roll when Nathan tried and failed to lecture him. He full on cackles like a villain in a Nickelodeon show.
Nathan's still laughing from his seat not making a sound, his body just shaking. “Bro, we're gonna be kicked out.” he manages to mummer out
“I can't. We’re so cooked bro.”
••••••
They manage to make it out of the restaurant without being yelled at and chased out. They are now browsing the alise of a Costco.
Nathan lets out an exaggerated sigh, and when Kenny ignores him in favor of checking the ingredients on a chip bag– why he's doing that, he can't tell you he can't even tell himself. Kenny's gonna buy it regardless of the ingredients so he really doesn't know why he bothers checking– he does it again
Like always he's correct, Kenny ends up shrugging and tossing it in the cart.
Nathan in turn sighs again. “What?” Kenny turns his head around. Clearly tired of Nathan's attitude.
“Why are we here?” He draws out pouting.
“Cause I want to shop, duh?” He rolls his eyes, his face twisted up in a sassy scowl.
“Why bring me? Why not Seok? He loves to browse around Costco.”
Kenny loses all attitude the second Seok's name is uttered. He breaks out in a dopey lovesick smile. Basically melting in on himself. “Do you think he likes browsing around, or likes browsing with me?” He blushes, giggling at the thought.
“He likes browsing the alise.”
Kenny's smile drops as fast as it was formed. “You can't let me have anything. You just have to shoot me down, can't let me be happy and delusional.” He turns dramatically, flicking his hair like a bratty stepsister in a musical. Before walking away with the cart.
Nathan just stands there bewildered, scratching his head in confusion on what just happened.
Did Kenny just leave him in the middle of a random Costco aisle?
In a Costco he's never been in, at that!
Nathan looks around nervously before sprinting after Kenny.
Clinging onto his arm once he finds him. “Papa.”
Kenny's eyes go wide, whipping his head down. “What!?”
“Papa.” Nathan repeats, eyes crinkle from trying to hold on in his laughter.
“Why are you calling me that?” Kenny squints confused.
“Papa.”
“Ok, Nathan stop.” He says, genuinely starting to get irritated.
“Papa.” His face shifted for a slight second, showing his barely concealed laughter. If you blinked you would've missed it.
Kenny did not blink. “Is this funny to you?”
Nathan finally breaks letting out a slight chuckle that devolves into full on belly laughter. “Yeah!” His teeth are flashing as he smiles.
“Normally, I would say that you have a beautiful smile and that if the cashier you have a crush on saw it she'd fall in love. But instead I'm just gonna tell you to jump off the nearest building and break your neck.” He finishes his sentence with a shrug and smile.
Nathan's mouth drops wide open in disbelief, giggling some more.
“Ok let's go, I think I have everything.” Kenny says picking up one final thing.
“You're not even gonna eat those, put them back.” Nathan tells him as they start walking to check out.
“You don't know that.”
“When have you ever had pickled garlic?”
“Well– well I haven't.”
“Exactly.” Flipping his hand in a “there you go” type of jester.
"Just cause I haven't had it doesn't mean I won't.” Kenny rolls eyes.
“You won't, and it'll sit there until Hyuk notices and eats it.”
“Why are you in a grown man's business?” He side eyes Nathan.
“I'm older than you dipshit. What are you even talking about?”
Kenny slowly looks down at him as if to emphasize how tiny he was. “I couldn't tell.” He cracks a smile, taking off in a sprint, before Nathan could attack him.
Nathan, who's about to chase after him, pauses when he realizes Kenny left him with the cart. Fuck, he thinks internally.
He could either, a. abandon the cart and go kill Kenny or b. go to check out and buy everything.
He's seriously contemplating the first option. Until he realizes that most of the stuff in the cart is stuff Michelle asked them to pick up, and only and he repeats only because he would rather not get yelled at by their CEO for not buying anything (because he wanted to chase Kenny around a Costco like a freak) does he end up just going to go pay.
He meets back up with Kenny and they walk to the bus station.
Backpacks filled with everything they bought.
“You better not leave me if I fall asleep again.” Eyeing him untrusting.
Kenny, who was obviously not paying attention to him, asks yet again. “Do you think Seok likes Hyuk?”
Nathan just tries to calm himself by taking a deep breath and walking ahead.
••••••
Seok and Hyuk are cuddled up on the couch watching Khemjira when Nathan and Kenny make it back home.
Kenny pauses in the doorway, turning towards Nathan slowly who's already mid eye roll.
“I told you.” He whisper-yells pointing aggressively at him.
“Ok Kenny whatever you say.” He's clearly tired of the conversation, sighing while walking away to put away the groceries.
Seok gets up to go greet them. “Welcome back.” Flashing Kenny a flustered smile, shyly avoiding his eyes.
“I'm back.” He greets back voice impossibly soft. He says it so quietly that no one else hears it, making sure Seok knows it's only meant for him.
Pulling Seok into a tight yet gentle embrace. Seok hugs back, snuggling into his chest.
They just stay like that for a while basking in each other's hold.
“I missed you.” Seok admits breaking their silence.
“I always miss you.” Kenny pulls him back to look in his eyes. Making sure Seok can see the sincerity in his gaze.
Tenderly holding Seok's face in hands. A delicate smile unfolding on his face.
Seok looks up at him, Kenny can see that same tender loving look that he has on his face reflecting back at him, for him.
Leaning down he kisses Seok on the crease near his eye.
In the back Hyuk and Nathan are eyeing each other, grinning and shaking their heads at how cute their friends are. Not daring to speak and ruin their moment.
It gets ruined anyways when Aito barges in throwing his bag against the floor hard. Angrily slipping off his shoes. “I hate men!” He shouts clearly frustrated.
Probably has something with the new barista at his favorite spot. Nathan can't ever tell if he wants to kill the guy or make out with him passionately. It's probably both.
Kenny let's go of Seok so fast you'd think he had covid or something.
Hyuk rushes over, almost tripping over his feet.
They grab one of his hands before dragging him off to Kenny's and Seok's shared room.
“So.” Nathan says awkwardly. “Wanna watch a movie.” Shifting on his feet.
Seok just laughs. “No.” Smiling, he goes back to his show.
“Yeah fair.” He mumbles to himself, walking to own room.