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Donghyun’s neck strains from looking up at the sky as they walk.
“We’ll have plenty of time to look, hyung,” Yejun says, swaying by his side, but Donghyun doesn’t care.
“What if the star formations change? They look so beautiful.”
Yejun laughs, “you act as if you’ve never seen the nightsky before. You’re not from a big city. Didn’t you see it a lot growing up?”
That’s what gets Donghyun to stop straining his neck and instead focuses on Yejun’s face illuminated by the moonlight. His features have grown into more mature ones, thicker lines and less baby fat on his cheeks, a sharper jawline and his smile is straighter, but when Yejun looks at him Donghyun still sees that same kid who walked into the company that first day and didn’t know what would happen.
“I guess.” Donghyun sighs. When he looks at Yejun he sees all versions of him, but when he looks at himself in the mirror it’s hard to see anything other than the guy he is at that moment. Sometimes it feels like there’s a pre-C9 and a post-C9 Donghyun and they have almost no relation to each other, despite having the same goals and thoughts and features. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been home like that, though.”
Yejun smiles softly, understanding him better than the rest of the members can, so far away from home. “At least we can go out to see them now. You went here as a kid all the time right? This hill we’re going for?”
That’s a part of pre-C9 Donghyun that he does remember. The hill he always brought his friends to so they could roll of it, upsetting their moms with the amount of dirt accumulated on their clothes because of it. But the fun was there and to them that was all that mattered. Luckily his mom never did anything but scold him for it and always let him go again when he asked the next time.
“It’s right around this corner actually, just past that playground. It’s pretty close to my parents’ place. Only this five minute walk we’re on now.”
The hill really is right around the corner. They only have to pass that corner and turn to the left to find a big pile of dirt with a grass cover to know they’re there. With a blanket in their left hands, a pair of earphones in Donghyun’s right and both their phones taken with them, they walk all the way up to the top of the hill to settle, which isn’t all that far up, but when Donghyun was younger it felt like he’d never reached the top, being a kid and all. Now it almost feels anticlimactic, though Yejun’s enthusiastic exclaim makes up for it.
“Let’s throw the two blankets over each other. It’s cold as hell out here. We can just huddle close together, I don’t mind.”
Donghyun laughs, because of course Yejun doesn’t mind. He’s not crowned number one in physical affection within the group for nothing. “I don’t mind either,” he replies, because honestly it is really cold and he took Yejun home with him because he’s comfortable enough with him. He’s part of his life. He’s not too cowardly to share a blanket cozily with another guy.
Yejun sighs, blowing into his hands instead of smiling like Donghyun is, because he can’t hear Donghyun’s thoughts. “Maybe we shouldn’t have done this in the winter.”
Donghyun tsks. “Winter’s the best for stargazing. The sky’s the clearest. We can take some cold, can’t we!” He puts the blankets on the grass on top of each other and plops down, patting the space next to him. “Come on.”
Yejun, with his thick winter jacket and gloves, sits down right there, immediately pushing his growing body against Donghyun’s. He used to be so small, but nothing compared to how small Donghyun used to be here when he was last on this hill. A million lifetimes ago. A million growspurts ago.
“Hyung, can we listen to music?”
“Already want a distraction?”
Yejun laughs. “Fine. We’ll do that later,” he says and lies down, taking Donghyun’s hand to take him down with him. They’re close now, but it doesn’t matter to either of them. It is warmer like this. It’s nice. “What’re those?” Yejun asks, gesturing towards a group of stars Donghyun doesn’t know the name of.
“We usually just made up our own names for them.” Donghyun points at a formation of stars in the sky. To Yejun it seems at random. “I’d call that one a bunny, with the little round tail and those two stars can be its eyes.”
Yejun doesn’t really follow, but he tries to find something himself, searching the nightsky. There are a couple of bright dots that connected in half a moon, he calls, “the second moon.” It makes Donghyun laugh so he tries to find another and another until Donghyun’s quiet laughs fill his ears and nothing else does.
The warmth of Yejun’s body against Donghyun’s is nice and needed. He moves closer just a little, whispering, “let’s just stay here a little longer.”
“Of course, we just got here.”
Donghyun smiles at that, getting out his phone and earphones. “You wanted music, right? Here.” He hands Yejun over one of the earbuds, still attached to the other by wire. “Maybe it’ll give us some inspiration.”
Music starts playing in their ears but Donghyun takes no moment of rest. He resumes naming the fake and even real constellations he spots in the sky as Yejun quietly hums along with the music.
“I’ll call that the star,” Yejun says at once, pointing at a formation of stars in a rather pointy formation. “How about that one?”
He purposefully leaves it to Donghyun, who hasn’t said anything since the last song started, busy thinking about the way the cold winterair hits his face and makes him hide his fingers deeper into his gloves, wanting to push his cheek to Yejun’s to gather more warmth. Anything.
The stars he’s pointing at are difficult to get anything out at first, but then Donghyun thinks he sees what Yejun’s getting at. Because while Yejun didn’t outright say he’d given Donghyun the chance to name it, it’s pretty clear he already sees something in it.
“It kind of looks like us,” Donghyun says lightly. The stars in two lines with circles of stars up top, two together, leaning. Close and familiar. “The Keumden. We have our own constellation.”
“Denkeum, I’m more important,” Yejun jokes but takes it back soon anyway. “No, Keumden sounds better. Eh. I’ll give it up then.”
Donghyun laughs, bumping his head against Yejun’s because he can’t resist the urge to. He likes Yejun a lot. He’s really glad he decided to take him to his old hometown. Showing him all the things that used to belong to him, the things and people he used to be. He’s never afraid of showing Yejun those things.
“You’re the more important one, anyway, we know that.” Yejun takes his earbud out to say something back to him, which Donghyun doesn’t quite catch, though he hears the way in which Yejun says it so he can guess what he meant. “Thanks.”
This time it’s Yejun who bumps his head against Donghyun’s. “Can we stay like this forever? It’s like time is nothing out here.”
“We’ll freeze to death,” Donghyun says, softly laughing but nodding regardless. “I’d like that too.”