Archive of Our Own

"Are you busy today?"

Eunseok doesn't even spare him a second. He immediately fires the question as soon as the call connects.

"Hyung?" Wonbin yawns, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's going on?"

"My question first," the other says bluntly over the line. Wonbin takes a second to remember what day it is before his mind supplies the rest of his schedule.

"No." It's their one free day of the week. Of course he has nothing planned. "Now, answer mine."

"Run away with me."

"What?" That's not an answer. If anything, that just leaves him with more questions. Wonbin huffs, "Hyung, what are you talking about?"

"I'm being serious." It comes out flat, but he can sense the other's grin through the phone. "I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes. Wear something nice."

The line cuts, leaving Wonbin alone with his thoughts. Eunseok's always been a weird one, marching to the beat of his own drum, and Wonbin likes that about him. Still, he has his limits, and six a.m. on their one day off is testing every single one.

He sighs, throwing the blankets over his head, ready to ignore everything that's happened in the past few minutes, but he can't fall back asleep fast enough, mind dizzy with curiosity. A groan escapes him as he rips the blanket off his body and crawls out of bed to the bathroom. Fine, he thinks. I accept defeat.

Once he's decent, he bumps into Sungchan in the kitchen, absentmindedly staring at his bowl.

"Morning."

"Morning," Wonbin replies curtly, slowly shutting his bedroom door behind him. "I didn't know you were already up."

The other shrugs. "Forgot to turn my alarm off. Where are you going this early?"

Wonbin pauses. Would I'm running away with Eunseok be a perfectly acceptable response right now? Probably not. It would probably be the worst thing to say at the moment. Not that Wonbin thinks Sungchan will judge—in fact, he would be the last person to—but he's also not the best person to entrust with a secret. And Wonbin would rather this particular tryst with Eunseok be kept under wraps, at least until he knows what the plan is. Besides, what Sungchan doesn't know won't hurt him.

So, he spits out the first excuse he can come up with. "I'm meeting up with a friend." It's not entirely a lie, so he's not as nervous to say it.

"A friend?"

"From Ulsan," he supplants. Now that's a lie.

"From Ulsan?"

"That you don't know." That one too.

"That I don't know?"

"That you don't know," he parrots. Like a bobblehead, he feverishly nods, in the hopes that it'll hypnotize the other into letting the topic go.

Sungchan squints. It's a look that's always hard to parse. Judgment or the usual dust in his eye? Whatever it is, the other doesn't give him much time to think about it.

"That's nice. Have fun."

Beads of sweat have formed on Wonbin's head, and when he's finished wiping those away, he flashes the other a forced smile. As he walks pass the table, he notices Sungchan's bowl is dry and empty, and quietly thanks the universe that his dorm mate is dysfunctional without his breakfast. He just needs to make it past the hallway and—

"Do you know where Eunseok went off to?"

He turns on his heel and finds the door to Eunseok's room unusually open, enough for anyone to see that there's no one inside. Of course. He just can't have it easy, can he?

"I think…" Wonbin starts, the gears in his head turning, "..he said something about walking Charlie?"

There's a hum, and he takes it as a sign that he's just gotten away with this, but suddenly, Sungchan stands up, the chair he's sitting on skidding against the floor tiles. Alarm bells start ringing in Wonbin's head. As the other steps closer, he finds his feet frozen.

He's fully expecting Sungchan to see through his lies, to start questioning him about what he's really doing today but, then, he stops. He opens the fridge, the door nearly knocking Wonbin in the head. When he closes it, his hands are stacked with containers of leftovers. Wonbin stares, down at his hands and then up at his face, his mouth agape.

"I—I'm… going to go now?"

Sungchan breaks into a quaint smile. "Stay safe," he says, not a single hint of malice in his voice.

As soon as Wonbin closes the front door, his knees buck and he slumps to the floor. Finally, he remembers how to breathe.

When he gets downstairs, he finds Eunseok sitting outside in a not-at-all inconspicuous outfit: the full combo of a mask, cap, and sunglasses. Wonbin snorts as he shoves his bag in the other's hands. "You look like you're trying to get caught."

Eunseok lowers his mask and grins, a full set of teeth on display. It's a rare sight. "Maybe I am," he says, before giving Wonbin a quick peck on the cheek.

"Well, I'm not," Wonbin bites back, folding his arms. "I told Sungchan-hyung you went to walk Charlie, by the way."

"Remind me to ask my parents for pictures then."

Wonbin pouts. "They already do that anyway." He's trying not to be annoyed but it's not fair. Why is he the only one that's stressed right now?

Then, he feels a finger poking into the side of his face. "Thank you for covering for me." The older keeps the finger there, dragging on the skin to force Wonbin into a smile. Eventually, he has no choice but to. And when Eunseok stretches out his arms, Wonbin allows himself to get lost in the hug. The other is wearing the cologne Wonbin likes, the one he saves for special occasions. He tends to do that when it's just the two of them.

There's a lot of things about Eunseok that's unfair, like how it only takes a little for him to turn Wonbin's mood around. There's not much he would change about that one, though.

"So," he starts, breaking away from the embrace but still staying in the comfort of the other's arms, "where are we going?"

Eunseok smirks, then presses a kiss to his head. "You'll see."

The Nambu bus terminal is, unsurprisingly, packed on a weekend, so Wonbin pulls up the collar of his jacket and tries his best not to draw attention. His eyes never leave his phone, doing his best to avoid looking up.

Tickets in hand, Eunseok makes his way back from the counter, then snickers at the sight of him. "Now who's trying to get caught?"

Wonbin pulls his collar down, enough to stick his tongue out, then pulls it back up just as quick. It's the idol training, or maybe it's anxiety, but he's second guessing any potential camera in their line of sight. He takes the ticket Eunseok is waving in his face and carefully reads the details over.

"What's there in Jinju?" His eyes glance at the name of their destination, trying to conjure up an image. He can't remember if he's been.

"A surprise."

Theoretically, Wonbin could just look it up. He already has his phone in his hand. Nothing's stopping him.

He doesn't. If only because he wants to play along.

They don't have time for breakfast with boarding under way and departure in ten minutes. That's already calling it close. The only thing Eunseok can find for him in the vending machine is chocolate, but the smell of sugar this early in the morning kind of wants to make him wretch. He needs nutrition. And salt. He eats it anyway, in small bites, because he's not trying to pass out.

The bus pulls out of the terminal at eight a.m on the dot, and then they're on the Gyeong-bu expressway headed straight to Jinju. From the window, Wonbin watches the urban jungle of Seoul give way to nature, to tall grass and endless trees, steadily transforming into something akin to what he sees on his trips back home. It's not at an unfamiliar route.

"There's a tunnel coming up," he says, mostly for himself.

"Really?" Eunseok utters, and before he can even look outside to check, sure enough, they're suddenly shrouded in darkness. "How did you know?"

"It's the same route I take on the way home."

Wonbin can feel Eunseok sliding his hand down to meets his, squeezing as tight as he can once they're clasped. "Homesick?"

"A little." He yawns, the traces of his interrupted sleep cycle finally coming back to haunt him. Instinctively, his head finds itself on the other's shoulder. "Funny, right? I was just there for the Chuseok holiday but I already miss it."

He feels another squeeze, this one a little harder. It says a lot more than words could.

The tunnel doesn't last for much longer. As soon as they're out of it, the view outside opens up to stretches of verdant fields and rolling hills. Mountains dot the horizon, their peaks disappearing into the misty clouds. Next to the bustling highway, a river runs calm, almost frozen in its serenity.

Wonbin quickly pulls out his phone to capture the sight, eyes darting between what's on his screen and what's right in front of him. The train between Ulsan and Seoul goes so fast, he can hardly appreciate his surroundings, everything always rendered a blur. Here it's all crystal clear. In a way, it feels like he's seeing the countryside for the first time.

"Sleep," the other instructs. "You were up late again, right?"

"But—"

"It's not going to disappear." Eunseok clicks his tongue, then takes the phone from Wonbin's hands to slot it in the tiny space against the window. It's a perfect fit capturing an equally perfect shot of the landscape passing by. "You can watch it another time. Now, sleep."

It's tough to argue with his logic. Wonbin shuffles closer to Eunseok, positioning his body in a way that feels comfortable. It takes him a few seconds, a couple of turns, but he eventually settles on something that feels right, head resting close to the other's chest. Hopefully it won't twist his neck.

Gradually, with the sound of everything outside their bubble fading away, he falls asleep, the steady rhythm of Eunseok's breathing lulling his brain better than counting sheep ever could.

When he wakes, they're stuck in the slow crawl of traffic entering the city, three hours already past them. Eunseok tells him he can sleep some more, but Wonbin's caught up on enough today. Any more and he risks disrupting his rhythm. Instead, he stares blankly outside the window, eyes wandering as it jumps from peculiar strangers (he makes up stories to match their faces) to unfamiliar shop names (he's already considering souvenirs).

They hop off at the local terminal, but there's hardly a second to take in his surroundings when he's already being whisked away to another location. Wonbin can only hope it's somewhere with food, because his stomach threatens to grumble at any moment.

Thankfully, Eunseok leads him into the market just a few corners down the street from the bus terminal, though clearly with an intended destination. He weaves them through its labyrinthian pathways, passing by nosy hawkers and irresistible smells that don't help with Wonbin's growing hunger in any way. He's eyeing the gim-mari at one stall, salivating at the sight, when Eunseok stops dead in his tracks, causing Wonbin to nearly crash into him. He apologizes to the lady walking behind them before giving the other an earful.

"Hyung, do you even know where you're going?" He's hungry and confused and Eunseok is too busy looking at his phone to pay him any mind. "Should we ask for directions?"

They don't, and something's apparently clicked, because soon enough their hands are locked once more as Eunseok drags him down an alleyway, the path getting narrower and the downhill getting steeper. They walk and walk until the other seemingly finds what he's looking for, the otherwise unassuming noodle shop appearing before them like a desert oasis. Might have missed it too had a customer not exited the store.

The interior is compact and not at all designed for the weekend crowd, but the old man behind the bar beckons them over, asking them to drag some chairs at the side so they can sit right up front. Wonbin takes the initiative for both of them, pulling one up to the counter.

"Two orders of Naengmyeon," Eunseok says, reading off the menu on the wall, "and a side of dumplings."

Wonbin grins at the predictable order. "Make that two dumplings." He holds up the number with his fingers just to rub it in. "I'm not sharing."

Eunseok snorts at the comment, and the old man finds it in him to smile as well. He takes note of their orders then disappears behind the curtain.

"So," Wonbin starts, "the lantern festival."

Eunseok hums into his cup of water, a sound somewhere between acceptance and aloofness. Wonbin feels slightly apologetic. It's not that he meant to find out, but the signs are all over the city. Posters. Banners. Chatter. It's kind of hard to ignore.

A follow-up is momentarily held, the old man reappearing from the kitchen to serve them their noodles. He places one each in front of him and Eunseok, and once they've taken their commemorative photos and given their thanks, they go to town.

"I thought it would be fun. Something different," Eunseok mutters, slurping up a bunch of noodles. The noise it produces is audaciously loud, filling in the space between his words. "It was this or a lock in Namsan."

A lock in Namsan would have, of course, been the obvious choice. Eunseok rarely makes obvious choices. It's an established fact.

"So, this is a date?" Wonbin swings his chopsticks around, pointing them blankly at the other's face. It's rude, but then so is this. "Waking me up at six a.m. to take a three-hour bus ride to a city I've never been to before is your idea of a date?"

"You're here, aren't you?"

The retort is accompanied by another slurp. Eunseok's not a messy eater, usually, so Wonbin can only take it at face value. He's clearly trying to annoy him. Wonbin prepares to launch into another diatribe, to chew the other out for stealing his precious free time, but then two plates of dumplings are gingerly placed in front of them, and the overwhelming smell of green onions and sesame oil renders his every single one of his thoughts moot. Argument later, food now.

He grabs one off the plate and stuffs it into his mouth without thinking, burning his tongue n the process. Eunseok chastises him but still holds up a cup of water to pour into Wonbin's mouth, washing away the pain.

"S'good," he mutters, once he's recovered feeling. "Hyung, try it."

The other laughs, all airy and with his cheeks filled, his eyes lighting up, and Wonbin should probably be annoyed but he can't muster up the will to.

They spend the rest of their meal without much fuss, alternating between mouthfuls of noodles and dumplings. Wonbin regales Eunseok with the story of his morning run-in with Sungchan, the other doing his best not to spit out his food for most of it. Halfway through, Eunseok's parents send over photos of Charlie and they both coo at the sight, before picking out the best ones to post for the fans. And when he's about stuffed, Wonbin slides over his plate of dumplings, asking Eunseok to finish the rest. "Should have just shared," he mumbles, before taking them anyway.

When they're done and paid, the old man bids them farewell, and by the time they're out the door, they've already spent more than an hour there, the sun now blazing high above them. Looks like there will be clear skies all day.

"Okay," Eunseok huffs, putting one foot in front of the other, "time for the star of the show."

The walk back to Namgang river is a slow one, though not by choice. Everywhere they go, the streets are bustling with locals and tourists alike: kids running in circles, parents chasing after them, an endless stream of groups headed in all sorts of directions. Without warning, people will just hoist their phones up in the air to take photos of anything and everything that catches the eye, so they often find themselves stopping or redirecting to step out of view.

A parade takes up most of the major roads and also most of the attention, so they slip into the crowd without notice, moving with the ebb and flow. Eunseok actually has no idea where they're going again, he admits as much, but he's hoping everyone else does and will take them where they need to be. Not that Wonbin could care, now that he's not hungry. He clings tight to the other's hand and lets himself get swept up in the moment. It's the first time in a while he's stepped outside without eyes on him, so he's savoring the feeling. On the way, they pass a few shops of notice but only pause at one: a pet shop with a couple of cats getting groomed at the front window to draw in customers. Wonbin can't resist, and Eunseok can't resist Wonbin, so they stand outside the shop to play with them for a few minutes before the growing throngs of people gets too hard to ignore.

As it turns out, Eunseok's instincts were right. The crowd does take them to the riverside, where it seems like half of the city has congregated for today's events. They decide to stay in the edges, under the shade of some tall trees, avoiding the chance of anyone getting too close. On the plus side, that means they can be close with each other, so Wonbin lets his head fall into Eunseok's lap, his body taking up the remaining bench space.

"When was the last time you went to a festival?" the other says, spur of the moment. He's trying to get a shot of the life-sized dragon lantern (how life-sized could it really be?) just a few feet away from the them though he's failing to keep his hands still.

Wonbin rattles the memories off the top of his head and comes up with nothing. "I don't know. Probably before I became a trainee."

"Sounds about right." Eunseok gives up on the picture, and directs his attention instead to playing with Wonbin's hair, fingers dancing on his scalp. He could fall asleep like this. "Do you miss it?"

"What? Festivals?"

"And everything else. Being normal."

"Sure, but I like my job."

Wonbin rolls to his side, giving Eunseok access to his neck. The other responds by rubbing circles into it, enough to have him drifting. He really could fall asleep like this. He shouldn't, though.

"And me?" Eunseok waggles his eyebrows.

"On the fence about it," Wonbin bites back, grinning. "Buy me some hotteok, if you want to change my mind."

The slow circles quickly turn into fast little taps, and the next thing he knows, Eunseok is full-blown tickling him. He giggles and gasps until he can't take it anymore, pulling away to shield his body. There's a threat, a promise to get even, but Eunseok quickly puts his hands up to defend himself, before slipping out of the bench seat to make a beeline for the stalls.

Wonbin hopes he won't forget the cinnamon sugar. He probably won't, if he knows what's good for him.

And if Wonbin knows what's good for him, he would stay put, so naturally he doesn't. Instead, he finds his feet dragging him around the area, studying the statues and lanterns that adorn every inch of available space. There's some serious ones, historical figures he vaguely remembers from old textbooks, but there's funny ones, as well. Popular characters, celebrities, even a few idols. He's thankful to find no traces of himself, because who knows how badly they could have messed up his face.

There's activities here and there, though he's too anxious to do anything that will let anyone stare at him too long and blow his cover, so instead he watches it all from afar, maintaining a safe distance. At least, that's what he's trying to do, but then a kid starts running up in his direction before tumbling forward and landing on his face. Wonbin's by his side in a matter of seconds, helping him up on his feet.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay!" the kid says, flashing a big smile. At least several of his teeth are missing, and Wonbin internally panics for a second wondering where they could have all gone from the fall, before realizing that he's probably just at that age.

"You should be more careful," Wonbin remarks, picking dirt off the kid's clothes. "You're lucky you didn't break anything."

"Uh-huh, thank you, bye mister!"

And then the kid is off, his near-accident barely registering. Wonbin has no time to register it either when a shadow suddenly towers over him.

"Cute kid."

Wonbin dusts off his knees as he rises from the ground, then takes the hotteok in Eunseok's outstretched hand. He doesn't even have to sniff to tell there's cinnamon, which means Eunseok won't have to die today. Perfect.

"Reminds me of myself," he mutters, biting down on the snack. The filling coats his tongue in a syrupy glaze. "I used to get hurt all the time."

"Used to?" Eunseok comments, mouth full of dough.

"Shut up."

Heading closer to the river this time, they find a spot by the bank to rest their feet and finish their food. A few passenger boats sail the waters, taking people on a picturesque tour of the floating lanterns, and as each one passes by they take the chance to wave them off on their journeys. The rest of their time is spent playing word games, his pure mettle tested against Eunseok's capacity for bullshit (very large, but he already knew that), and when that gets boring, they walk off to see a few more of the food options. They settle on eomuk to warm their bodies, the steaming broth holding up well against autumn's evening chill. Their shared body heat, squeezed together on a tiny bench in the confines of the festival's makeshift tents, helps too.

As the sunset draws closer, the crowd gets denser, and Wonbin finds himself burrowing further and further into Eunseok's side, the other's arm keeping him steady as they navigate the stone paths. They only break apart when they come up to a certain stall, the volunteer running the table greeting them with a friendly smile before handing them a number of things: markers, candles, and each their own lantern. Wonbin ponders for far too long what he wants to write on his, what words he wants to send out into the unknown. A wish, supposedly, or a prayer. Is it too much for him to be greedy? To still want something when he already has so much?

When he's done, he's careful not to show off his work, whether out of embarrassment or a belief that it will ruin his chances. They walk off towards the pier, to another swath of people, until they find a clearing where they can set off their lanterns into the river. As soon as Wonbin's floats out into the water to where he can't reach, Eunseok nudges him, a smirk on his features.

"What did you write on yours?"

Wonbin watches as his lantern disappears along with the sea of others, his words out of his hands and into the arms of the universe.

"Not telling," he replies. "It's supposed to be a secret."

"Okay," the other says, without any qualms. "Well, I hope it comes true."

Well, he hopes it does, too.

The speakers blast with an announcement regarding the upcoming fireworks show, and the crowd starts swelling as everyone scrambles to find a spot. In silent agreement, he and Eunseok walk away from it all, holing up in the shadows to catch the show from afar. Like this, hands clasped and bodies pressed tight, they wait in muted chatter for the first spark.

"What color do you think they'll shoot first?" Eunseok quietly asks him.

"Isn't it usually red? It's auspicious and all that."

"Maybe it'll be orange. For us."

Wonbin snickers. "I'm not betting on a losing horse."

On cue, an explosive sets off into the night sky, lighting up their surroundings in a wave of orange hues. From his periphery, he can spot Eunseok's smug grin.

The rest start following in succession until everything around them is bathed in an uninterrupted kaleidoscope of reds, purples, blues and greens for however many minutes. It's a breathtaking sight, even if he has to crane his neck for most of it.

In the dark, stealing glances at Eunseok's face caught in glimmers of the colorful smoke, Wonbin wonders if it'll ever get any better than this.

They make it in time for the last bus of the day, the counter immediately closing as soon as the person hands them their tickets. Wonbin berates Eunseok for not keeping tabs on the schedule, but in his defense, they chose to take the long way back, only realizing how late it actually was when they saw the bus they were supposed to be on already en route out of the city.

In a tired heap, they collapse onto the first bench they see, Wonbin relying on Eunseok to prop him up.

"How long?" he asks, once he's caught his breath.

"Ten minutes. Plenty of time left." From underneath, he watches Eunseok's face contort into a number of expressions as he tries to steel his nerves. It's a fun watch.

Wonbin huffs, getting up from the other's body. "This the last time I let you drag me on an adventure."

"Don't lie," Eunseok teases, poking at his side. "You loved it."

Saying yes would be admitting defeat. Saying no would also be admitting defeat. Whatever he does, Wonbin loses. That's just how it is with them. Staying silent, at least, affords him dignity.

He scrolls through his gallery, reviewing the photos he had taken throughout the day. Most of it is scenery and food, save for a few things he had allowed himself to get away with: his reflection caught in a mirror, his face all bored and bundled up in his jacket as they made their way into the city, a stolen shot of Eunseok amidst the chaos of the parade while he follows from behind. He's swiping and swiping until he lands on one he had forgotten all about. It's their hands spread wide, braving the setting sun. Briefly, he thinks about what they would look like with matching rings. He swipes again before he can think about it any further and finds a photo of his lantern out in the water, the feeling only reinforced.

"We should have just done Namsan," he says under his breath, locking his phone and tucking it back into his pocket.

"We can do it next time if you're really bent on it," Eunseok argues, making it clear the words weren't as silent as he wanted.

Next time. Wonbin has to wrap his head around it. That there will be a next time. That there was even a today.

"Why, though?" he mumbles, weakly. "Why do all of this?"

Eunseok stares at him. Wonbin can't tell if he's pretending or genuinely clueless.

"It's about to get crazy again," Eunseok replies after a beat, and in a rather matter-of-fact way at that. "Tour, comeback, year-end shows. I thought we could use the break."

"We ran around all day," he bites, still weak. "I wouldn't exactly call that a break."

"Did you have fun, though?"

Wonbin thinks. He thinks about the question. He thinks about a lot of things. He thinks about Eunseok and him. He thinks about today. He thinks about this city. He thinks about how, ten hours ago, he had never been here before and now he wants to go back. He thinks about tomorrow, how he would do it all again, and he thinks about the next day, and the next, and the next. In his mind, every single one of those will be spent with Eunseok by his side, and the thought alone is enough to twist his insides into knots.

He folds over, both to get himself in check and to keep the growing blush of his cheeks as hidden as possible.

Eunseok snickers. "Should I be worried?" he says, voice muted outside the walls of Wonbin's makeshift cocoon, but he can hear it. The concern. The subtle shift in tone. Eunseok's no good at expressing his emotions but Wonbin's learned to parse what he can. He kind of wishes he couldn't.

"No," he answers, unleashing himself from his shell. "I had fun."

"Let's do it again some time?"

"Okay," he sighs, untangling his limbs from where they were plastered all over Eunseok's body. Their bus is pulling up to the terminal. Time to keep up appearances again. "That's a promise then."

Eunseok snorts. "It kind of sounds like we're getting married."

And really, that's the kicker. The words shouldn't make his heart flutter but Wonbin's never been one for rational thought. He gnaws at his lower lip and gives the other a light shove. "Come on," he says, getting up on his feet, "or I'm leaving you."

In this late hour, the bus is mostly empty, so they take up the entire back row to allow themselves as much privacy as possible. As the driver rolls out of the terminal into the highway, Wonbin watches from the rear window as the city disappears into the night.

"We probably shouldn't walk home together," he says, as he settles back into his seat.

"Or we can say we bumped into each other."

"You're really trying to get caught."

"Maybe," Eunseok says, grinning. "It's more fun like that, right?"

It is, but again, Wonbin won't admit to it. Instead, his head falls into its favorite spot, a yawn escaping his tired body.

"What time are we supposed to be up tomorrow?"

"You're asking me?" Eunseok scoffs.

"Right," Wonbin says, remembering exactly who he's talking to. "Wake me up when we get there?"

He doesn't have to hear Eunseok's reply to know that he will.