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It’s an unspoken rule that not a day goes by that Sunghoon teases Sunoo. He knows it, the members know of it, and even Sunoo himself knows about it. You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t seen it once in your life.
Sunoo once confirmed that their bickering cheers him up whenever he feels down and out of himself; he thanks Sunghoon for it, who does it even without being asked. Of course, there would also be times when Sunoo loses his cool from the frequent teasing he gets—they, however, did not expect it to happen in the middle of filming their EN dive content in Australia.
🫙
Tonight was amazing. All the hardships and challenges they endured throughout this week were worth it. Given the sudden changes within the group, Sunoo experienced them firsthand and bore the brunt of their new performances.
He had to juggle the influx of new lines and learn new choreography for their songs; it was slowly taking a toll on him. It has to be perfect; Performing at a festival as the new ENHYPEN has to be memorable. He doesn’t want the fans to be let down. After practice, Sunoo decided to have a quick chat with Jungwon to ease his nerves. “Hyung, don’t be too hard on yourself. You can do it. I believe in you.”
“I just really hope that they do, I don’t want to go on stage and be underwhelmed with the results, considering that we did this in a rush.” Sunoo pouts; he has been restless ever since. Jungwon pats the elder on the shoulder and gives him a quick smile.
“I’m sure this will turn out great. You have your own ways that make the stage magical. Trust me.”
Screams and cheers can be heard from backstage; they’re currently removing their mic packs and giving their microphones to the staff to keep. Sunoo feels ecstatic. The Hello Melbourne audience did not disappoint. “Thank you for your hard work, everyone!” He greets the staff with a smile. Several thank-yous were thrown around as he headed to the changing rooms.
Once he reached the door and sat down in one of the artist chairs, Sunoo breathed a sigh of relief. In all seriousness, he felt quite dizzy and anxious after that heart-pounding set. He picked up a bottle of water lying around the changing room and took a sip, staying silent for a while.
Moments passed when Sunoo realized that he was staring at the mirror when the door to the changing room opened, revealing a tired Sunghoon who waved goodbye to someone in the hallway.
“Hi.”
“You did a great job today, Sunoo-yah.” Sunghoon greeted him with a smirk, followed by pinching his cheeks.
He knew it was a compliment, as his boyfriend showers him with endless compliments after every performance. Sunoo loves being praised, especially by the former, but at that moment, Sunoo took it the wrong way and thought the elder was teasing him about the performance earlier.
Maybe it was the exhaustion talking; he rolled his eyes at the comment and pushed Sunghoon away, causing the elder to let out a huge laugh.
Whatever, Sunoo thinks. All the sleepless nights and insecure thoughts are catching up to his anxious mind right now. He’ll have to deal with Sunghoon another day.
“I’ll head out first. Is that fine with you?” Sunghoon tilts his head, asking the person in front of him now who seems deep in thought. “Huh? What? Yes, of course, hyung. Take care.” Sunghoon leans in and pecks Sunoo on the cheek before walking away, mumbling about how he has to find his outside clothes to change into.
🫙
It was day one of their EN dive filming, and their first agenda was to eat at a restaurant, walking from their hotel. It’s an incredibly sunny day today, making Sunoo annoyed that he has to walk in this heat while wearing a zip-up hoodie.
Still hung up on their interaction yesterday, he tries to avoid Sunghoon during the walk. Sunoo hopes the restaurant they’ll be eating at has air conditioning. He doesn’t feel like eating today, so he hopes to just chill while sitting down.
A few minutes later, they arrived. He was about to get his hopes up, but then realized they had reserved a separate room for them on the second floor, a balcony facing the sun. Well, I’ll be damned, Sunoo thought to himself—tough luck.
They’re now seated in a secluded al fresco area of the restaurant. While deciding what to order, the members also discussed where to go after eating. They were handed a map with places highlighted for where to go, including a Vintage Shop, an LP shop, Home decorations, a Gelato Parlor, and a Cafe with the number one Croissant title, among other things.
Ni-ki and Jake wanted to go to the Vintage shop, so Jungwon decided to split the team into two groups. “We have to go to all the food places first,” Jay said while looking at the map. The other members agreed with his idea, but Sunoo thinks otherwise. “We’re going for Gelato too, right?”
“Sunoo just needs to go to the Gelato place.” Jake chimes in, trying to lift the younger’s spirits up, sensing that he seems annoyed and pissed today.
“No, I want gelato and the number one croissant place.”
“Then I kind of want to stay away from Sunoo,” Sunghoon exclaims, teasing Sunoo like always.
“Then stay away.”
Oh.
He did not expect that answer. There was a thick tension and a palpable silence around the table. Ni-ki breaks it first, putting his hands up in the air and egging on the moment that just happened. “Hohoho Ohhh.”
Jungwon, who was sitting next to Sunoo, side-eyes the two, silently telling them that they’re filming and to take this fight somewhere else. Jay and Jake awkwardly laugh, unsure what to do in their current situation and choosing not to question it further. That was not the usual banter between them. Something seems off with Sunoo today.
It was probably because of the Australian heat, Sunghoon thinks to himself—no, he wishes for himself. Jay called the waitress over and placed his order: a mushroom risotto and an Iced Matcha Latte. Jake continues for the rest of them and orders a Gnocchi for himself and Sunoo, as they plan to share the food together. Ni-ki and Jungwon get meatballs each, and Sunghoon gets a mushroom risotto too.
He tries not to be concerned for the younger, but it’s written all over his face, stealing glances whenever he gets, and he prays to God that the camera won’t catch it. Sunghoon hypes himself up; it was the right call to wear sunglasses today to protect his eyes from the harsh glare of the sun and to stare at Sunoo when he isn’t looking (even though Sunoo can feel the lingering stares from the elder).
Their drinks arrived: two Iced Matcha Latte’s for Jay and Sunghoon, three Iced Americanos for Ni-ki, Jake, and Jungwon, and a bottle of Apple Juice for Sunoo. “What does it taste like?” Jungwon asked, genuinely curious about the taste of the apple juice. Sunoo handed him the bottle to taste, and he gulped it down. “How is it? I want to try a sip too,” Sunghoon butted in.
He was about to ask Sunoo to let him have a taste from the glass the younger was drinking from, not until Jungwon shoved the bottle he was currently drinking from. “Here, hyung.” He had no choice but to accept the bottle and pass it to Jake, Ni-ki, and Jay, who also wanted to know what the apple juice tasted like.
After a bit of chatting with each other, the first round of food was placed on their table. Jay immediately takes a bite of his, burning his tongue on the hot food. Sunghoon saw the commotion and decided to blow the spoonful of his risotto before biting into it. “Mmm, these mushrooms are good for you.” he suddenly remembered a trivial fact about Sunoo.
“I noticed last time Sunoo doesn’t eat mushrooms.” This should be a great conversation starter again, right? But Sunghoon’s efforts were immediately squashed when Sunoo was quick to answer with “Yes, I hate them.”
The younger sharply replied, followed by a sigh. Sunghoon lets the conversation go, planning to just eat first before talking to Sunoo in private.
“Who wants to share? Want me to give you some?” He changes the topic instead, implying to Sunoo to eat.
“Me,” Jungwon replies, asking Sunoo as well if he wants to share the risotto with him. Jake also offered the members to try his Gnocchi, which they all happily obliged and took a bite.
As they continue to talk, the rest of their food arrives at the table, making the table full of food for all of them to eat. “It looks good” Jay eyes the newly placed meatballs in front of him, which made Jake remember that he was supposed to share his Gnocchi with Sunoo. “Wait, I was supposed to share with Sunoo, right? I was eating it all by myself, I forgot…”
The younger laughed, “No, you can eat it.”
Sunghoon noticed what was happening and quickly picked up his plate, offering more risotto for Sunoo to eat. But it seems like Sunoo is determined to avoid him today, so Sunghoon just put his food down dejectedly. He’s now starting to overthink if it is really just the heat that’s making his boyfriend mad at him or he did something beforehand that he didn’t realize.
🫙
Sunghoon, Jake, and Ni-ki were the first ones on the bus after visiting a couple of stores; they ended up not buying anything except for the ten-dollar lemonade after getting lost for a while since the youngest misplaced the map while walking, choosing to end early instead and rest on the bus while waiting for the others.
Jay, Sunoo, and Jungwon followed soon after, with the oldest carrying a bottle of wine. “Did you buy anything?” Jay questioned the three who were early on the bus. “Nothing,” they all replied in unison.
They arrived at the supermarket, all of them are excited to shop for their three-day stay at their Airbnb. Jake was mostly happy, filled with nostalgia for his childhood, pointing and smiling whenever he saw something he used to eat as a kid.
“Why don’t we split up?” Sunghoon asked, feeling overwhelmed by all the things happening in front of him. Only Ni-ki acknowledged the question, following his hyung onto whatever aisle in the store he went. Sunoo followed Jake with their own cart while Jay and Jungwon went together.
Sunoo mindlessly pushes the cart while Jake puts items in it. He thinks about what happened yesterday in the changing room and can’t help but feel guilty for twisting Sunghoon’s words in his mind.
He was just feeling very insecure that night, sure, their performance did well, but he still had this aching feeling that it could’ve been better. He knew Sunghoon meant well, and his emotions got the better of him. “Should we get this?” Jake showed him a box of ice cream, “Yes, hyung, thank you.”
While Sunghoon goes aisle to aisle, wondering what to buy for the group. His concern for Sunoo is at its peak, worried that he might have said something wrong while teasing the younger.He tries to recall the past two days, from boarding their flight to Melbourne, to performing on stage at the festival and to eating dinner after the show— wait, maybe that’s it?
He remembers sending Sunoo a message that night after he got back to his hotel room, asking the younger if he wanted to come join him in ordering room service food before showering. He was drying his hair when his phone lit up, Sunoo replying that he’s not in the mood and would rather eat by himself.
“Did I say something wrong? But we were fine during the festival.” Sunghoon murmurs to himself.
While he was in deep thought he didn’t realize Ni-ki parted ways with him. The youngest will eventually show up, so he doesn’t worry about him. Upon scanning a specific shelf, a jar caught his eye. “Marinated… Rollmops!” There were stars in his eyes; he had been wanting to try this for so, so long. For a while, he had forgotten about what he was overthinking between him and Sunoo thanks to his precious rollmops.
“What is that?” Jungwon confusedly asks, it was the first time he saw whatever Sunghoon was holding. “Wow.” Jake looks at the jar, while Jay questions what he is holding. Sunoo stares at him in the background, clearly still annoyed by what happened between them, trying to be blocked by Jake to cover himself from the camera.
Sunghoon, who was overly excited to show his love for the rollmops, took a picture and quickly posted it on Weverse for their fans to see. “Isn’t that like stinky tofu?” Jay inquires, trying to make sense of the mysterious jar. Sunghoon gives them a big smile, his fangs proudly peeking at the thought of his precious rollmops, which he held onto throughout their grocery shopping.
Deciding to use the self-checkout counter, Sunoo voluntarily carries their two bottles of milk to avoid breaking them. Sunghoon, of course, was still carrying his rollmops and a random box of meat that didn’t fit in their shopping bag.
The latter took this as the opportunity to talk given that it was a long walk from the supermarket to their bus. Sunghoon slowed his pace, trying to match Sunoo’s, but to no surprise, the younger caught on to what he was trying to do and quickly picked up his pace, choosing to walk next to Jake, who was pushing the cart with their groceries in.
He needs to talk to Sunoo before going inside the Airbnb. Sunghoon thinks deeply about what he’ll be planning to do, staying behind the entire group and waiting for them to hop on the bus first before him.
“This can’t break.. My precious rollmops.” Ni-ki speaks with a “Huh?” after seeing what Sunghoon was holding tightly. “I want to try this,” he says, tapping the jar's lid and showing Ni-ki its contents. “Like bait..?” Sunghoon swiftly denied it, telling the younger that it’s pickled fish.
Glancing to his left, Sunoo was now at the back of the bus instead of sitting next to Jungwon, currently fixing his hair through the reflection of his phone case. A habit that the elder likes from him, seeing how beautiful and breathtaking he is all the time, he, too, would also look at Sunoo’s face every chance he gets, like he did when they were eating lunch.
Sunghoon sat two seats apart from the younger, placing the rollmops gently in between them while trying to buckle on his seatbelt. Sunoo looks at the jar, then at Sunghoon, rolling his eyes at him for his undying love of the rollmops. Sunoo thinks about how silly it seems. Ah, he really can’t hate the elder for that much longer. They need to talk it out before getting off this bus.
“Look at that color…” He makes an exaggerated sound from the back of his throat, “I got you. I finally found you. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Sunghoon says to the rollmops he’s holding in front of him, maintaining eye contact like he’s speaking to it. Sunoo, who was side-eyeing them at the corner, holds in a laugh at the sight he just observed, his boyfriend can be the funniest person ever without even trying, or maybe because he’s down bad and will do anything for his happiness in a heartbeat.
“Has anyone seen my coffee? Did we forget to buy it?” Jake asks, searching their groceries for the drink.
After asking the other members where the coffee was, Jake realized they had forgotten to buy it, prompting him to hop off the bus before they leave for their destination. Still annoyed at whatever was going on between him and Sunghoon, Sunoo volunteered to accompany Jake right away because he didn't want to take the chance of being left seated beside Sunghoon on the bus.
The last thing he wanted was to snap at Sunghoon once more and have it captured on camera, which could lead to rumors among fans who undoubtedly analyze each exchange when the video goes public.
Jake and Sunoo comes back to the bus with the coffee drink in hand, and settle into their seats before they take off for their destination. “Refreshing rollmops time!” Sunghoon puts the jar in front of the camera, showing only his precious rollmops and his shoulders slightly in frame.
Sunoo deliberately keeps his attention elsewhere, still bothered by whatever was going on between him and the elder. Sunghoon, on the other hand, remains oblivious to the reason behind their misunderstanding, seemingly unaware of the effect his actions have been having on Sunoo.
🫙
Their manager announced they’d be arriving shortly, prompting the members to fix themselves up before getting off the bus. Sunghoon stares at the scenery outside, still hung up on the cows they passed earlier. He finds it astonishing that they traveled so far for this place they’ll be staying in, and he hopes it will be worthwhile.
A large two storey house came into view, which they all assumed it was the house rented for them. It’s near a small lake, a fishing dock, and a pool on the side. It looks beautiful, excitement fills the air, most of them wanting to go down as soon as possible and to explore all of its glory. Particularly Jake and Sunghoon, as the fishing equipment piqued their interest, hoping to catch at least one fish for real this time, considering the amount of times they went fishing but ended up not catching anything.
A shout can be heard to fall in line to depart from the bus, each one of them getting up from their respective seats; Sunghoon and Sunoo, however, did not budge. They looked at each other for a moment, then at the rest of the people in front of the bus, silently understanding what they were both supposed to do.
Sunghoon takes initiative, “You guys go ahead, we’ll follow shortly after.” Footsteps can be heard shuffling. Jungwon, the only remaining person aside from them on the bus, whispers finally, before fist-bumping the air, then follows his members outside the bus. Sunoo made sure the remaining cameras in the bus weren't rolling, checking each one by one to see if it could be turned off or stopped filming, before gathering the courage to speak. Sunghoon only looks at him, admiring how soft the younger features look, he wanted to squish his cheeks, especially now that his lips were in a pout, his greatest weakness.
“Are you just going to stare at me until I melt?” Sunoo sulks. He has been trying to get the attention of the elder for a while now, who was in deep thought, his unconscious habit of zoning out and staring into the void, well, in this case, his lips. Sunoo chuckles when Sunghoon realizes what he has been doing, blush creeping onto his cheeks. He holds onto the younger’s hand, interlocking it with his. They’re now facing each other, with an indistinguishable expression on Sunoo’s face.
Where does he start? Truthfully, Sunghoon has no idea why his boyfriend was acting weird all day, only leading to the conclusion that the earlier teasing went a bit too far, but it still doesn’t explain how and why that started. He purses his lips, contemplating whether to ask or just apologize on behalf of everything, but he wanted to understand, wanted to know why Sunoo was annoyed the whole day, and so he goes for it.
“I’m sorry for—”
“What happened—”
Their eyes widened, not expecting both of them to speak at the same time, giggling together as a result. Sunghoon nudges Sunoo to let the younger speak first, which he does.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier and ignoring you after. It was just… our conversation yesterday rubbed me the wrong way, you know? I know you meant well, but my emotions got the better of me under the stress of my new role in the group… The weather also did not help at all, you know how moody I get when it’s hot. I didn’t mean it. I missed you.”
I missed you. Sunghoon’s heart skipped a beat, even though he had already heard it a million times. He never gets tired of hearing the words, as he feels the same, maybe even more, if that were possible.
As cliché as it sounds, he would fight off all the haters Sunoo receives to protect him, knowing how the younger tends to overwork himself to the bone, proving the haters wrong. Sunoo is really the light of his life, the one who he comes home to whenever he’s feeling tired, the one who keeps his beating heart steady whenever they have to endure practicing at dawn, his ever loving boyfriend.
“I missed you, too. You don’t have to be sorry for feeling that way.” Sunghoon pushes their bodies closer, engulfing Sunoo in a tight hug. Their size difference makes a clear appearance; the smaller frame of Sunoo is devoured by Sunghoon’s, and they fit together like pieces in a puzzle. They stay like that for a while, cuddling each other until it gets uncomfortable.
Sunghoon was the one who pulled away first, proceeding to squish Sunoo’s cheeks, muttering “I’ve been wanting to do this to you all day, you cutie.” Before Sunoo can react, Sunghoon leans closer ever so slowly.
Sunoo’s cheeks are dusted in pink, his lips quivering a little, closing his eyes. It was a peck on the lips at first, savoring each other's taste. It was sweet and loving, a well-deserved kiss at the end of the day after everything that had happened. Sunoo pulls away and rests his forehead on the elder, catching his breath.
Sunghoon gives Sunoo even less time to react now, grabbing his nape and pulling him towards him, all while sucking lightly at his protruding bottom lip. Sunghoon hums happily with the surprised sound he hears coming from Sunoo’s throat, licking at him again, until Sunoo parts his lips and pokes his tongue out.
Sunghoon pulls away for a second to watch him, his glossy eyes and pink lips, and comes back to suck lightly onto Sunoo’s tongue this time. “Mmm..” the younger lets out a moan, his head falling at an awkward angle. Sunghoon is quick to catch him, Sunoo comes closer, climbing into his lap and licking his mouth with intense passion.
The bus is filled with wet, almost vulgar kissing sounds, and deep hums pass from Sunoo’s mouth to Sunghoon’s, back and forth as Sunoo settles into Sunghoon’s lap, straddling him and hugging him around the shoulders. Warm fingers find the skin of his waist, under his zip-up hoodie, and he hisses. The room is starting to feel hot. Sunghoon only pulls away for a second and studies Sunoo’s face, how flushed he already is, how plump and red his lips are from kissing. Sunoo bites into his lower lip to hide his smile.
“Do you think the members are looking for us already?” The younger says with a slight tinge in his voice, signaling to Sunghoon he doesn’t want this to end yet. “I don’t think so,” Sunghoon murmurs. He comes back with more enthusiasm, enjoying the adrenaline of getting caught making out on the bus.
A surprised gasp gets stuck in Sunoo’s throat when Sunghoon kisses him harder. Sunoo melts into it, relaxing his whole body and consequently sitting more comfortably on Sunghoon’s lap.
Sunoo inevitably starts moving his hips back and forth, grabs a fistful of Sunghoon’s hair on the back of his neck, and moans into the kiss. Sunghoon inevitably loses some of his control and turns his kisses a little harsher, almost hungrier.
There’s no reprimanding on his part now, either, when Sunoo returns the enthusiasm, and instead of moving his hips aimlessly, he presses down a little harder. The press of Sunghoon’s hardening member against Sunoo’s ass has both of them moaning brokenly against each other’s lips, making them part ways to look each other in the eye.
“We can’t do this here,” Sunghoon says in a slightly panicked tone, realizing that they’re in a public space and in the middle of filming. “I made sure the cameras were turned off. Please?” Sunoo whines on his lap. It was just starting to feel good, but Sunghoon just had to stop what they were doing. “No, this is too risky. We still have to film for the next few days,” the elder says while catching his breath in between words.
“Fine, but you have to make it up to me.” Sunoo gets off Sunghoon’s lap, his knees starting to hurt after straddling the elder in the cramped bus chair they were sitting in.
“I promise,” Sunghoon says, kissing the top of his head, grabbing his hand and intertwining them together, helping Sunoo with his backpack, and gathering the box of meat and barbecue sauce the members left behind.
They entered through the main entrance door of the house, Sunghoon first coming in with Sunoo following him from behind, acting as if nothing had happened between them in the minutes they were left behind on the bus. It’s fine, no one will notice. Except the other four do, but it’s not their story to tell.