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The sounds of wheels against carpet echoed lightly in the hallway of the hotel, soft footsteps moving in an unsteady rhythm beside it, carrying regret from choosing the stairs instead of the elevator
Hyunwook's body was slumped slightly, the exhaustion from the day weighing down on his now rounded shoulders. The volume in his hair had dulled, a mirror of the new, tired hood in his eyes. He counted in his head the number of doors that he was passing, before stopping outside of room 306.
He lifted up the room card, pressing it harder than necessary against the scanner, before pushing the door open after the soft beep indicated his welcome.
By the time the door was clicked shut, Hyunwook's shoes had already been kicked off, and his body had sprawled over the mattress, suitcase forgotten about, deciding that removing his jacket was a job for later.
The phone, thrown carelessly onto the other side of the bed, buzzed softly, indicating notifications from his manager, friends, and schedules that were due to begin in the next few days, but Hyunwook tuned it out, instead closing his eyes and listening over the vibrations to the sounds of the busy afternoon traffic outside and the soft chatter of guests occasionally passing by his door.
He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but soon enough his eyes were opening again to the sound of a soft knock, a pause, hesitant shuffles of footsteps, and then three more knocks.
Hyunwook sat up, a groan slipping past his lips as the muscles in his back complained, eyebrows furrowed, before calling out, "Who is it?"
Another hesitation, maybe the person had left?
"Ah, I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you. I'm staying next door."
His eyebrows relaxed, though his shoulders tensed, ears working to identify the voice that he recognised, but he couldn't quite figure out the owner of it. he stood up, making his way to the door, and pressed his ear against the wood, eyes closed.
"Can I help you with something?"
"Is there any chance you have a spare towel? They forgot to put one in my room, and the reception is closing up…"
Hyunwook felt a thump in his chest, the smoothness of the voice reaching his ears in a way that was too familiar. He stepped back, shaking the imagination away in his mind, before twisting the door handle and opening the door, eyes faced down to see a pair of sneakers.
"Hyunwook-ssi?"
Hyunwook's eyes snapped up, immediately meeting a pair of eyes that shone in the reflection of the light. slight tanned skin, full cheeks and lips that were tilted in pleasant surprise. a jawline that had softened over time.
Park Jihoon.
"Hyunwookie, what are you doing he-?"
In a panic, Hyunwook shut the door in his face and pressed his body against it hard enough for the thud to be heard on the other side. The palm of his hand slapped against his mouth.
What was Jihoon doing as his neighbour? Why did he shut the door on him? He had been waiting to see his hyung for so long, but clashing schedules and Jihoon's tour kept them apart. Why did he shut the door on him?
Hyunwook turned around, hand latching onto the handle-
How did he look? Does his breath smell?
He called out a weak "one second, hyung," that he wasn't sure Jihoon had even heard, before taking wide steps to the bathroom, too exhausted to jog.
The Hyunwook that stared back at him wasn't in any state of good presentation.
His hair had flattened, the mullet looking sad and defeated from the day's work. His eyes were hooded in exhaustion, eyebags puffy and shadowed. The jacket over his shoulders was skewed, the material crumpled after his nap, and there was a large crease mark on his face from his cheek pressing against the sheets.
He shrugged off his jacket, but ended up looking even more dishevelled. There was no way he could face Jihoon like this.
A soft knock, followed by an even softer voice.
"Hyunwookie, are you okay?"
Right. Jihoon. The towel.
Hyunwook picked up one of the two towels laid on the bench beside the bath, giving it a stroke to check the softness, giving the one still placed down a check in quality too, just to be sure, before heading back to the door.
Before he had made it all the way, he noticed a small crack under the door. An eyebrow cocked up, and he was on his knees before he had even realised what he was doing.
Jihoon heard a soft thud against carpet, and his head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. His fist was lifted, about to knock again, checking on Hyunwook once more, before he heard a soft grunt of effort, and fabric shuffling against fabric.
With a few more rasps of fabric, he noticed a corner of white fabric peeking out through the door. In a few more pushes, he recognised the material belonging to a towel. He huffed in disbelief, lips downturned in an amused smile.
"Hyunwook, what are you doing?" He asked, swallowing the laugh in his throat as he heard Hyunwook sigh in frustration when the towel stopped budging.
"Sorry, hyung- Jihoon hyung, it's nice to see you! I don't look my best right now. I'm getting your towel through, just one moment…"
There was a tug as a small part of the towel went back into the room, before it was pushed back out, with an extra inch or two following, before it was still again, the shadow of Hyunwook's fingers attempting to nudge the towel through being ever so visible.
There was a pause before a groan of defeat, and maybe embarrassment.
"Please help…"
Jihoon's nostrils flared as he tried to keep the laugh at a minimum, not wanting to bring more embarrassment onto the boy. He glanced to his side, just to be sure there was nobody about to come out from behind the corner, before crouching down and gripping his fingers around the fabric.
His feet planted onto the floor as he tugged, the towel pulling through bit by bit with a soft whoosh. His cheeks reddened at the idea of anybody, especially his manager, who was meant to be there at any moment, witnessing this.
When the towel had almost completely come through, it stopped budging, the thickness of the final corner hooking onto the door. Jihoon's eyebrows furrowed, and he gave it another tug, but there was no success.
"Hyunwook, I think it's stuck?"
"It's stuck? one moment, hyung, I'll push it! Just keep pulling!"
Jihoon did as told, giving the towel a hard pull, as Hyunwook had pushed it through on the other side, freeing the towel completely.
His cheeks were flushed as he let out a laugh louder than intended, standing up and straightening his clothes. He heard a softer hum of accomplishment on the other side, and a shuffle of fabric, seemingly hyunwook standing back up. There was a clearing of his throat, and then a much-too casual voice.
"Um, there you go, hyung. Have a good night, hm?"
Jihoon could visualise the redness creeping up hyunwook's neck, and exhaled, smile resting softly on his face.
"Have a good night, Hyunwookie. let's see each other tomorrow, yeah?"
Without waiting for a response, Jihoon pressed his keycard against the scanner, walking in and letting the door close itself, before chuckling softly, in amusement or maybe adoration, and walking into the bathroom.