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If there were one perk about dating Wumuti of XLOV, it was the fact that Bang Chan always got his hands on the albums and the special pack and the extra photocards and the Polaroids first.
But there was one problem: Chan didn’t want to receive them, at least not earlier than everyone else. He waited patiently for the concept photos like everyone else; he tuned in to the highlight medley like everyone else; and he watched the livestream before the comeback like everyone else.
He also purchased the albums and the merch like everyone else, too, even if Wumuti promised to give him the album versions already. Chan still wanted to buy them, just as a way to support Wumuti and XLOV, because he loved Wumuti, and he admired them so much.
And also because he had a little shrine—shelf—in his dorm room where he showcased everything he’d ever bought or received from XLOV. There was no denying that he had been fixating on trying to collect everything. Hell, he even tried to purchase the album and the vinyl of Imma Be. Wumuti told him she could easily give him a version of it, but he had blatantly refused. He wanted to support his partner this way. Was it a bit crazy? Sure, but Chan couldn’t help it; he loved Wumuti so much that he had to keep doing this insane thing.
Also, getting in line to purchase their album was exhilarating.
Chan had been on the phone with Wumuti right after their livestream ended the night before. As soon as it was cut, Chan immediately called Wumuti and told him how excited he was to listen to their new album. Wumuti looked so adorable blushing that all Chan wanted to do was to come over to his place, but he’d managed to hold himself back. XLOV had the showcase the next day. He had to be rational.
So, he stayed up until two in the morning because he couldn’t sleep. He was just too focused on thinking about Wumuti and looking at the pictures of Wumuti that he saved in his phone. Ended up jerking himself off in the bathroom at three in the morning because it was inappropriate to do it in the bedroom with Jeongin sleeping like the dead in the next bed.
He tried to go to sleep afterwards, and though he woke up a few times in between his sleeps, he finally woke up when Jisung’s voice boomed through the dorm hallway. Then, he woke up, had breakfast with everyone, listened to Jisung talk about Hyun’s concept photos—again, called his parents and checked in on Berry, went to the gym, and then put on a sweater and a hat and covered himself entirely before he came to COEX Mall.
The pop-up store was already crowded when he was there, which was expected. He would definitely be telling Wumuti about this when they met up later.
It took Chan seven minutes before he actually got inside the store. There were several glances his way, but he was sure that he’d covered himself up. His bucket hat covered his hair entirely, his sweater was big enough to cover his upper body, and his baggy pants were nowhere near suspicious. He was dressed in all black, too; even his sunglasses and face mask were black.
Was he trying too hard not to get noticed?
Shaking his head, Chan shuffled into the store and tried to find where they displayed XLOV’s albums. He scanned his eyes around the store, and there were a lot of Evols, based on the way they dressed. They were probably on the way to the showcase, too. Their clothes resembled XLOV’s styles a lot, and Chan couldn’t help but smile when he saw them. He was so proud. He would tell Wumuti about this later, too.
He took a stroll around the place, saw a glimpse of Stray Kids’ shelves, and ignored them. Yeah, he didn’t need to buy his own stuff. That’d be crazy. Or, he could buy one and give it to Wumuti.
No, that’d be crazier.
Chan’s breath hitched, and his eyes widened when he finally saw the I,God album versions on the shelves. They were displayed so beautifully, like a chessboard, and Chan gulped as he took a step closer.
This looked even prettier in real life.
He blinked, looking at the two shorter Evols in front of him, and patiently waited until they picked what they wanted. Then, four more Evols came, and two more arrived. It took Chan a few minutes before he got to breathe in the same bubble of air as XLOV’s album.
The four versions looked breathtaking, just like XLOV. Chan lifted his hand aloft, his heart racing, and he hadn’t even touched the album yet. This was exactly why he wanted to buy the album directly. The feeling was unlike any other.
With his fingers trembling, Chan gathered his courage and shot his hand out to grab the silver version.
He froze when somebody grabbed it, too.
His shoulders tensed up, and he stared at the hand holding the other corner of the album before his eyes flitted to the person to his right.
His lips twitched when he realized that said person was dressed just like him.
Black cap, black face mask, black pants, black sneakers. The guy had a black hoodie on, with the hood covering his head.
Usually, Chan would just apologize and let them have it, but there was something in his eyes that gave Chan such an unsettling feeling.
Like he knew him from somewhere.
Chan paled the second it clicked in his head.
“Binnie?” he hissed under his breath, and the guy widened his eyes, leaning in closer.
“Hyung?”
He gasped, yanking Changbin closer, and said, “It’s you? What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing!” Changbin whispered, adjusting his face mask on his nose. “You said you went to the gym!”
“I did! And you said you went to see Rui before the showcase!”
“I did! But—” Changbin’s throat bobbed. “I was sent away.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I wanted to kiss Rui, and Rui can’t have her lipstick smudged.” Changbin sighed. Chan knew the guy was pouting under that mask. “Their makeup is done, so that’s why. But I meant to come here anyway.”
“Why?”
“Why did you come here?”
“To get their albums!”
“Well, so did I!”
“But why?”
“I want to check my luck to see if I get the silver or gold card!”
Chan scoffed. “We all know those things don’t exist, Binnie. No Evols have ever gotten it before.”
“Rui said it’s real, so I need to see if I have enough luck for that,” Changbin muttered. “And you?”
“I wanted to support Muti, of course.”
“Yeah, yeah. We all do. Why are you actually here, hyung?” He raised his eyebrows under his cap. “You want to fill that shrine, don’t you?”
“It’s not a shrine! It’s a shelf!”
“You have multiple pictures of Muti’s in frames on the walls.”
“That’s just called being in love! And what about you? Bold of you to say that when you sleep with a picture of Rui under your pillow!”
“That’s because I want Rui to be the first person I see before I go to sleep and when I wake up! You have Muti’s picture in another frame on the bedside table, too.”
“Well, I’m Muti’s boyfriend, so!” He shook his head and said, “I think we’ve gone off track. Why are you here?”
“I just told you, hyung. I need to get the album,” Changbin said. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”
“I could say the same,” Chan said. “So, uh, you planning to buy all four versions?”
“Of course.” He let out a scoff of laughter and shoved the silver version into Chan’s hand before taking the four versions on the shelf for himself. “I have to get them all. I know I don’t have the best luck in the world, but I still want to do it.”
“Have you done this before?”
“Yeah. I did it once before I got with Rui.” He shrugged. “I’ve tried a few times afterwards, but no luck. I still want to do it, though.”
“Maybe this time you’ll get it,” Chan said, grinning under his mask, before he turned and grabbed three other versions. He held them to his chest safely. “I just want to collect everything for my shelf. It’s getting fuller. I like it.”
“You mean your shrine.”
“It’s a shelf!” he hissed, and Changbin cackled.
“You ready for check-out?”
“Yeah, I gotta go back soon after this.”
“Meeting up with Muti?”
“Evidently.”
“Can I get a ride there?”
“Okay,” he said, slipping past the crowd of people to get to the check-out counter. “I’m driving to their dorm, though.”
“That’s where we’ll meet up, too. Rui and I will go out afterwards.”
“Me, too.”
“To eat, hyung. Not to go directly into bed like you and Muti always do—”
“We don’t always do that!” he argued weakly, as Changbin already gave him an eyeroll.
“Yeah, right,” Changbin said, stepping into the line of people at the counter. There were five people in front of them.
Chan elbowed Changbin with a huff, swallowing dryly before he got the nerves to speak up.
“So, you saw XLOV earlier?”
“Yeah.”
“What—um, you know, what—”
“Which outfits were they wearing?
“Yeah.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“Fuck off, Binnie,” Chan hissed, which only dragged out a chuckle from Changbin. “I’m serious.”
“Don’t you want it to be a surprise?”
“Kinda.” He furrowed his eyebrows, clutching the album to his chest as he took a step forward. “Maybe. I mean, it would be nice to see Muti later, but also, I have to see the showcase live.”
“Can we watch it together?”
“Sure. But what were they wearing?”
“So you really wanna know?”
“Yes! No, fuck, I don’t know!” Chan groaned, shoulders slouching. Three people had left the line with the new album in their hands. “Just tell me if Muti looks good or not. God, who am I kidding? She always looks good.”
Changbin let out a laugh as Chan rubbed the bridge of his nose and adjusted his sunglasses. Another person finished their purchase.
“Fuck, I don’t know. I’ll see them on the live.”
“I just wish we could come see them at the showcase,” Changbin murmured with a sigh. “That’d have been nice.”
“We’d have been recognized.”
“I know, which sucks. I also wish we could publicly support them at least, if we can’t publicly tell the world that we’re dating them.”
“Yeah,” Chan mumbled. That really fucking sucked. “I know. But, soon, maybe.”
“Yeah.”
Chan patted Changbin’s shoulder, then turned around and grinned when it was finally their turn.
They both stopped in their tracks when somebody cut in line and put the basket down on the counter with a firm thud, nearly startling the employee.
From the back, the guy was wearing dark clothes, too. He had a gym bag slung over his shoulder. A beanie. A dark jacket with white stripes running down the sleeves. There were strands of black hair peaking out from under his beanie.
“Hello, I’d like to purchase these!” he said to the employee, then whirled around and showed Chan and Changbin his black face mask and his big sunglasses. He bowed down quickly and added, “I’m sorry. I’m in a rush, so I had to do this quickly.”
Chan stared at him, but the dude was already turning back and rummaging in his gym bag for his wallet.
Changbin leaned closer from behind him and whispered, “Doesn’t he look a little familiar to you, hyung?”
“Yeah. Didn’t we give him that gym bag on his birthday last year?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s him. He did say he went to the gym.”
“Right,” Chan muttered, then cleared his throat. “Han-ah!”
“Yeah!”
The guy in front of them went still as soon as he answered Chan’s call. Changbin snorted and grabbed him by the bicep to turn him around.
“Ya, what are you doing here?” Changbin said.
“Wait,” Jisung murmured, lowering his sunglasses. His eyes cut from Chan to Changbin repeatedly until he gasped. “Wait! Wait, you—”
“Yeah, it’s us,” Chan said. “What the hell are you doing here? You said you were at the gym.”
“I was at the gym! And what about you two? You said you were at the gym, too, and you said you went to see Rui!”
“We did!”
“So why—”
“Okay, I’m not explaining this again.” Chan laughed and said, “Are you here to buy—you know, too?”
“Of course! I have to support my Hyunnie!”
Changbin cocked his head to the side, then walked up and looked over Jisung’s shoulder to glance at his basket.
“You want to support Hyun by buying twelve albums?”
“What? Is that so wrong?”
“Well! It’s a lot!”
“I just want to make sure I get Hyun’s photocard!” Jisung whined. “I never get Hyun’s photocard!”
Chan guffawed and said, “Okay, but doesn’t Hyun give you the photocards anyway?”
“That wouldn’t be fair! This is a game of fate we’re talking about, hyung! I’m serious about it! What kind of boyfriend am I if I don’t get my partner’s photocard? Like, that’s a disgrace, hyung! I have to be a good boyfriend! Do you even want me to be a good boyfriend to Hyun, hyung? Do you? Do you?”
“You have never gotten Hyun’s photocard?” Changbin said, and Jisung let out a huff. “Like, ever?”
“Ever! Which is crazy. It’s like I’m being tested or something. I never get Hyun. I get a lot of Haru, so I gave them all to Innie.”
“Wait, you got Muti’s photocards?” Chan muttered, tugging at Jisung’s elbow. “Gimme it!”
“Me, too! Give me Rui’s photocards!”
“Well, I have a bunch! So come take them!” Jisung said, heaving a breath. “This time, I want to make sure I get Hyun, so I have to buy a few more, okay? It’s just—I’ll resell them online if I don’t get Hyun. It’ll be fine.”
“Fuck reselling online, I’ll buy them from you if you get Muti,” Chan said. “It’ll be a very nice addition to my shelf.”
“Shrine,” Changbin pointed out.
“Fuck off, Binnie.”
“I’ll also buy it from you if you get Rui. I need to have my Rui. I’ll put one in my wallet.”
“All right! All right, fuck, I’ll give them all to you guys,” Jisung said. “Now, will you let me buy these albums first? I need to leave so I can see their showcase on livestream.”
“We’re going back to watch it, too.”
“Cool! Wait, are you going to their dorm later?” He smacked Chan’s arm. “You both are, aren’t you? Can I hitch a ride there?”
“Sure.”
“Nice. Thanks, hyung,” he said, then turned to the employee. “Hello. Sorry for the delay. I’m ready to pay for these.”
“These, too,” Changbin said, placing his albums into Jisung’s basket. Jisung gasped.
“And these. He’ll pay for them all.”
Chan put the full set of albums into the basket, and Jisung gasped louder.
“Hey! I didn’t—”
“We’ll give you Hyun’s photocards if we get them,” Chan whispered, and Jisung cut himself off.
“Okay!” He whirled back and slid his credit card across the counter. “All of these, please. I’ll pay for them all.”
Chan grinned, giving Changbin a fist bump behind Jisung’s back.
*
In the end, it was an amazing day. The showcase was a success. The album was a success, of course, and Chan was beyond proud of his gorgeous, talented, perfect angel. Everyone was happy.
Except for Changbin at first, who didn’t get any gold or silver cards, as expected, and had to be comforted by Rui.
Jisung didn’t get any Hyun’s photocards, either, in the batch of twelve albums he bought. He was inconsolable until he saw that Hyun was still in their showcase outfit when they met at the dorm.
For Chan, he’d met with Wumuti, hugged her and kissed her until her lipsticks were gone, and obtained half a dozen new photocards of Muti for his shrine—shelf.
Everything was swell.
The End