Chapter Text
“Hey! Do you wanna play with me?” A boy - shorter than him, he noted - that couldn’t have been any older, or younger, than him, stood in front of him, a ball held in tiny hands. His front tooth was missing, as if it had just fallen out within the last day or so, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the least.
The boy, he also took note of, was covered in dirt, dusting across chubby cheeks, but still, he waited for the answer. Or, at least he thought the boy was waiting for an answer, but maybe his own lack of response is what prompted the boy to speak again.
“Ah- maybe you don’t speak Korean? I don’t know any other languages though… Can you understand me?”
“Ah-” He should respond, that would be the proper thing to do. “Sorry, I speak Korean. I just… was surprised. That’s all.”
“You talk funny… You’re not from around here, are you?”
“Oh… no, I’m not… I’m visiting from, um, Jinju... with my aunt and cousin…”
“Visiting Anyang? From Jinju? Heh, it’s a nice place, right? Oh, right! I’m Hongjoong!”
“It is… it’s really nice.” He smiled. Hongjoong, huh? “I’m Seonghwa. And yeah, I’d like to play.”
It was… nice. To play with Hongjoong. Jiwon didn’t like to play often, and even though he had Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Yunho to play with, it was… nice. To be seen as just Seonghwa. And Hongjoong… well, he was so small it was kind of cute.
“Hongjoong-ah, how old are you?”
“I was born in 1998!”
“Ah… we’re the same age, then. What month? I was born in April.”
“November. Hehe, that makes you my hyung, then, doesn’t it, Seonghwa-ah?”
“Your hyung…” He had heard the term before - Wooyoung, Yeosang, and Yunho had called him that once or twice, but only when the four of them were alone.
“Yeah, my hyung! I have a real hyung, too, but he’s annoying. He’s only like,” Hongjoong took a moment to count on his fingers, determining how old his brother was. “He’s like… 3 years older than me, I think. Yeah, three. But he totally acts my age even though he's already 10!”
Seonghwa couldn’t help but laugh at Hongjoong’s pout, lightly patting the other boy on the shoulder.
“I have a hyung, too, but he studies abroad, so I don’t see him much.” he admitted, tossing the ball back to Hongjoong. Hongjoong seemed to think for a moment, before nodding.
“I’m glad you get to see him, though. It’s nice having a hyung. I think I’ll like having you as a hyung, too, Hwa.”
“Hwa…?”
“Oh… is it okay if I call you Hwa?” Hongjoong looked so cute and curious, it absolutely made Seonghwa’s little heart melt.
“No, it’s okay! I like it… I’ve never been given a nickname before. Can I call you Joongie, then?”
“Joongie, huh…? Sure!” Hongjoong’s smile was brilliant, and Seonghwa in that moment never wanted it to leave him. He’d make sure Hongjoong never stopped smiling, even if they were only 7 years old.
“Joongie-ah…”
“Hm? What is it, Hwa?”
“Marry me.”
“E-eh?” Hongjoong laughed, a nervous sound, the ball held tight between too-small hands. “What d’you mean marry? We’re jus’ kids.”
“Mhm, but I wanna marry you, I decided. I like it when you laugh and when you smile. Plus, you’re tiny and cute, so I wanna marry you.”
“We don’t even have rings!”
“That’s okay, we don’t need rings. Does that mean you’ll marry me, Joongie?” Seonghwa knew there was a chance he would never see Hongjoong again, not when he’d have to leave soon, and there was no guarantee he’d ever be back. Not when his life would return to normal - so it had to be then.
“I… I don’t know why you’d wanna marry me anyway, but yeah, I guess so.”
“I told you, you’re cute and tiny, and I wanna see you smile.”
“You barely know me.”
“That’s okay.” He smiled at Hongjoong, before an idea came to him. “Oh, Joongie, wait! I do have a ring!” Seonghwa’s small hand reached into the front of his shirt, pulling out a necklace, a ring far too big for a child settled at the end of the (admittedly short) chain. “Appa gave this to me before I came here. He said it was supposed to be like a good luck charm. But, I can give it to you, and that can be your wedding ring!”
Hongjoong blinked at his new friend - husband? “But, Hwa, I don’t have a ring for you. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“It’s okay!” Seonghwa insisted, pulling the necklace over his head and putting it over Hongjoong’s, smile pulling wide as the silver ring glittered in the sunlight, admiring the way it just barely avoided falling into the pocket of Hongjoong’s overalls.
“No, it isn’t! I gotta give you something, too.” Seonghwa watched as Hongjoong’s brow furrowed, before an idea seemed to come to the other seven year old. He watched as Hongjoong picked a nearby flower - what looked like a daisy, but much smaller. Maybe it was a different kind of daisy? Seonghwa wasn’t sure, but was fascinated as he watched Hongjoong weave the stem of the flower into a ring, taking Seonghwa’s left hand and sliding the flower ring onto his ring finger. “There, now you have a ring, too.”
“Does that mean we’re married now, Joongie? Since I gave you a ring, and you made one for me.”
“Just as long as we don’t have to kiss.” Hongjoong laughed, tucking Seonghwa’s ring beneath his shirt, patting it twice. “I don’t think I wanna kiss anyone just yet.”
Seonghwa laughed, “We can kiss on our real wedding day, Joongie ~ We’ll have a big fancy wedding when we’re grown ups.”
Hongjoong laughed as well, before taking Seonghwa’s hand, pulling him towards the swingset, “Okay, deal!”
»»————- ♔ ————-««
“Wake up, your royal pain in the butt!” Seonghwa groaned as sunlight broke through his otherwise pitch black room, a scowl coming across his features as he registered just whose voice disturbed his dream - or, rather, his memory. How long had it been since he had dreamed about the boy he had met in Anyang? Groaning, Seonghwa ran a hand over his face, trying to will away the presence of one of his best friends. “Come on, up up.”
“Your volume is astoundingly at a solid 9 this morning,” Seonghwa mumbled, sitting up, gaze shifting over to where Wooyoung stood at his bedside. “Can you at least bring it down to a 4 until I fully wake up? Or let me go back to sleep.”
“ Nope , you know that if I’m not allowed to sleep in, neither are you.” That wasn’t necessarily the truth. Seonghwa could, in fact, tell Wooyoung to let him sleep in, and make it an order. But, knowing how the lilac-haired man was, it just wasn’t an option. Wooyoung would pull the best friends forever card on him (a title that Seonghwa knew permanently belonged to Yeosang), and then pout until Seonghwa took back the order.
It was, in fact, better to just give in. Sighing, Seonghwa ran a hand through his hair as Wooyoung took a seat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to straighten Seonghwa’s collar. It was intimate, weirdly so, but it was just so simply Wooyoung that Seonghwa didn’t mind it in the least. Besides, he had been close friends with the other for as long as he could remember, what was a little skinship between them?
“I don’t understand how someone like you, mister prim and proper and pristine, can go to bed without a wrinkle in your clothes, but wake up like you pulled them out of the dirty laundry bin.” Wooyoung stated, snickering as his hands returned to himself. “What would that husband of yours think?”
Seonghwa groaned, resisting the urge to smack Wooyoung, “He’s never going to know, so it doesn’t matter, now does it? Besides, we were 7 .” Sighing, he pushed the sandy blonde locks out of his face - somehow, oddly enough, his parents didn’t care about him changing his hair color, or really… anything . As long as he was presentable and cleaned up well, and didn’t do anything drastic, they didn’t mind.
One would think being the crown prince would give him a tighter leash. It still struck him as odd, at 24, that his figurative leash was so loose.
“Speaking of him, though… I was dreaming about him, before you woke me up. I wonder how he’s doing…”
“Hongjoong, from Anyang, right?” Wooyoung hummed at Seonghwa’s nod. “I’d tell you that you should find out, but you don’t even know how to contact him. Like, you could for sure look him up on social media, but who is to say he’s the only Hongjoong in Anyang? He might not even live in Anyang anymore!”
“Thanks, Young-ah, for the vote of confidence.” Seonghwa snorted, before letting him fall back onto his pillow, tugging Wooyoung down with him. He ignored the way Wooyoung whined in protest at the position, letting the younger get settled, before carding his fingers through soft lilac strands. “But you’re right. Hongjoong is 24 now, too. He probably left Anyang for university a few years ago, and never looked back.”
“I think it’s funny that you still think about him so much that you took the flower ring he made for you literally 17 years ago and got the flower tattooed behind your ear to hide it from your parents after taking a random trip to America.” Wooyoung snorted, pulling Seonghwa’s hair away from his ear to look at the little daisy settled on the skin. “It’s still super cute, though. The tattoo.”
“Well, I couldn’t just hop on a plane over to Seoul and get a tattoo. They’re much harder to get in Korea, and I didn’t want anyone tattling to my parents here about it.” Seonghwa knew that Wooyoung knew this story - Wooyoung had been the one to go with him, along with Yeosang and Yunho. Truthfully, they had all gotten some kind of modification on their adventure to America - Wooyoung had gotten the most done, with a small tattoo on his right forearm, as well as three piercings on his left ear, and two in his right. Yeosang, if Seonghwa could recall, had just gotten one piercing on each ear, and Yunho had been moral support until Wooyoung had called him a coward, and ended up getting his ears pierced as well.
(Both Yunho and Yeosang ended up getting a few extra ear piercings over the last few years, and Seonghwa refused to get any more at the moment.)
“Yes, yes, I remember.” Dropping his hand away from Seonghwa’s ear, Wooyoung let his arm drape across the older’s stomach, relaxing to the feeling of Seonghwa’s fingers in his hair. “You should try and find Hongjoong, at some point. I know when you were 7 you didn’t realize you legally married him, but you’re gonna have to take over the throne next year, and you should probably have your husband of almost 20 years by your side.”
Seonghwa groaned, “I know, I know. But what if he thinks I’m crazy. He probably doesn’t even remember me! Oh, god, I told him I was from Jinju, what if he went there looking for a Seonghwa, only for no one to ever have heard of me?”
“Seonggie, I love you, but you think too much. You were 7 .” Wooyoung chided, despite being the one to remind Seonghwa about the fact that he was in fact legally married over a chance meeting and random idea he had as a child . “...Your dad is going to want you to find him, though. Oh! You should ask Sangie to get Taehyun to find him. You know that Taehyun is able to find, like, literally anyone somehow.”
“Yes, Taehyun’s uncanny ability to find anyone hasn’t escaped my knowledge, Wooyoung.” Seonghwa sighed. The Kang siblings and their… unusual abilities to just know what Seonghwa wanted would forever be a mystery. Though there was a three year age gap between Yeosang and his brother Taehyun, the two acted more like twins… which scared Seonghwa, truthfully. “But all I have to give Taehyun is the fact his name is Hongjoong, and I met him by chance in a park in Anyang 17 years ago while Jiwon and my aunt were across the street getting drinks for us.”
“It’s still weird how your aunt just… left you in the park by yourself, even for just a few minutes. Literally anything could have happened.”
“Yeah, but she had asked a nice ahjumma nearby to keep an eye on me, since Jiwon was still in her super clingy stage when we were 7, and Jiwon and I had fought earlier that day so it was the best way she could keep us separated, I think. Otherwise, I think Jiwon and I would have had a full out screaming match in the cafe.”
At the confession, Wooyoung snorted, followed by his pitchy laugh that Seonghwa would never verbally admit he was soft for - it was unique, and entirely Wooyoung’s, even if Yunho could imitate the boy’s laugh almost perfectly.
“Wait wait, you never told me that! So, you and Jiwon-ssi fought while you were out shopping, and your aunt was taking you guys to the park so you could play and be separate, but because you and Jiwon-ssi were fighting, your aunt asked some random ahjumma to watch you so she could get your drinks and keep you and Jiwon-ssi from fighting?” At Seonghwa’s nod, Wooyoung couldn’t help but turn, laughing into Seonghwa’s shoulder. “Are you sure you’re both royals?!”
“I mean, last I checked, I was the crown prince. And last I checked, Jiwon was my cousin. So… pretty sure we’re royals.”
“Aw, were we not invited to the cuddle party?” Yunho’s voice broke through the conversation, and that was the only warning Seonghwa had before Yunho launched himself onto Seonghwa’s bed, narrowly missing Seonghwa’s crotch with his knee, and cuddling up to the other side of the royal. “Yeosang and I thought it was weird that Wooyoung came up here to get you, but neither of you came down. We had to make sure you didn’t throw him out a window.”
“I kind of wish he had.” Yeosang chimed, moving further into the room, taking a seat by Wooyoung’s feet, or rather, sitting on top of Wooyoung’s shins, much to the younger’s complaining. “Yunho and I vaguely overheard some of your conversation before deciding to interrupt. You want my brother to do your dirty work on finding your man, right?”
Seonghwa groaned again, though let Yunho cuddle up to him, reminding him of an oversized dog. “Hongjoong isn’t my man.”
“Technically speaking, hyung, he is.” Yunho commented, grinning as he propped himself up on his elbow a little to look down at Seonghwa and Wooyoung. “Even if he doesn’t know it.”
“You know, maybe he remembers your promise of having a big, extravagant wedding that can happen since you’re an actual adult now.” Wooyoung teased, poking Seonghwa in the side. Finding it impossible to squirm away from Wooyoung, Seonghwa groaned, pulling a face. “What’s with the face? You look constipated now.”
“We were 7.” he stated, the three younger males nodding, already knowing that fact. How could they not? At Yeosang’s expectant expression, Seonghwa continued. “Well, most children don’t really know their sexuality at 7. Like, they’re getting ideas of it, but they don’t really know until they hit puberty. What if Hongjoong ended up straight, unlike my gay ass?”
“Technically speaking, aren’t you bi?”
“I thought so for a period of like, 8 months, yeah. And then I realized I definitely wasn’t, and have been happily decided as gay since I was like, 13.”
“...Well, technically speaking, he’d still be married to you, which technically makes him a prince. So if by some tragic twist of fate he ended up straight, he can just find a girl he likes and have your royal offspring and heirs because he’d be considered part of the royal family.”
“...Thank you, Yeosang, I hate that.” Wooyoung cackled at Seonghwa’s statement, still stuck beneath his friend. “And, though you’re not technically wrong, you’re not technically right. If I want an actual heir, they have to be related to me by blood. Which in itself is going to be a process in finding a surrogate, anyway. But I don’t want to think about the fact that within two years I’m expected to have an heir, or at least be attempting for an heir.”
“What a life you lead, Seonggie,” Wooyoung cooed, reaching up to cup his friend’s cheek. “Crown prince Seonghwa, married for nearly two decades to a man who probably has forgotten about him, taking over the throne in April of next year on his 25th birthday, and then expected to have an heir or be trying for one by 26.” Snickering, Wooyoung planted a wet kiss on Seonghwa’s cheek. “Guess you better get started on finding Hongjoong~”
“Well,” Yeosang began, humming a little. “Taehyun and I may have gotten a head start on that one.”
“What?”
“Well, when we overheard your father mention handing you the throne on your 25th birthday, Taehyun and I knew you’d need Hongjoong here, or at least you’d have to meet him again and explain the situation. So, the brilliant little shit Taehyun is, found him.”
“Huh?!” Ignoring Wooyoung’s outburst, Yeosang pulled out the tablet from his small bag (the one Seonghwa had failed to notice the blonde had with him), waking the screen up and bringing up the file Taehyun had drawn up.
“Hyung, meet your boyfriend-slash-husband. Kim Hongjoong.”
»»————- ♔ ————-««
Kim Hongjoong, Scorpio, 24, was very happily in love. Sure, he had the most obnoxious boyfriend known to man, but his boyfriend was also incredibly doting and loving. And while Hongjoong didn’t really love skinship, he would continue to make exceptions for his boyfriend.
See, Hongjoong had a terrible habit of staying up all hours of the night in their living room, working on music. San, being the absolute gem of a boyfriend he was, never failed to curl up with Hongjoong in silence, his plush toy affectionately named Shiber held tight in his arms as he fell asleep against Hongjoong, the older of the two typing away at his laptop, clicking furiously to reorganize some parts of his production tracks, or answering KakaoTalk messages with his fellow producers, or his bosses.
San was an absolute angel, Hongjoong would fully confess. San never complained about Hongjoong’s work, and maybe it was because he was often part of Hongjoong’s work. Whether it was modeling for the older when it came to Hongjoong reforming clothes, or being the ghost vocals on songs, or doing the guide work for Hongjoong when Hongjoong just couldn’t reach the right notes, San was always involved.
So, maybe it would be a little hypocritical of San to be upset with Hongjoong’s work.
“Joong-ah,” San murmured, head resting against Hongjoong’s shoulder in the early hours of the morning, the sun already haven risen, Shiber long forgotten in favor of curling around his boyfriend who absolutely hadn’t slept yet, pulling the headphones off of Hongjoong’s ears.. “Baby.”
“Hm? Did you stay out here all night, Sannie?” Sometimes, Hongjoong got so engrossed in his work, he didn’t notice when San would wake briefly in the night and move from his shoulder to the couch, usually assuming San went to their bedroom. “Baby, you didn’t have to stay all night.”
“Mm, didn’t mind.” San’s voice was thick with sleep, Hongjoong noted, indicating that yeah, San just woke up. “Our couch is comfy for a reason, y’know.” But was definitely awake enough to tease Hongjoong. “I was gonna point out that you duplicated this section of the guide. It’s gonna sound off when you relisten to it.”
“Fuck.” Hurrying to correct the mistake, Hongjoong turned briefly to press his lips to San’s temple briefly. “Thanks, baby. I wouldn’t have caught that if you hadn’t pointed it out.”
Snorting a little, San nodded against Hongjoong’s shoulder, humming softly. “That’s why you should sleep before the sun comes up. It also looks like one of your Kakao groups messaged you like, a billion times and you never noticed.” Leave it to San to notice the way Hongjoong’s phone lit up once more with another incoming message.
“Shit,” How long had those messages been coming through? “Alright, I’ll save this, reply to these messages, maybe grab something quick to eat, then nap.”
“That nap better be in our room and involve me. It’s too early to function. I only woke up because I forgot to close the curtain last night and the sun is bright.”
“Of course my nap is gonna involve you.” Hongjoong snorted, clicking a few more things on the track before saving it and shutting down his laptop, an arm wrapping around San to let him move closer before opening the KakaoTalk group message. It looked like the chat hadn’t been active for too long, at least.
[4Racha]
ok versace: Kim Hongjoong I see you online
ok versace: When was the last time you slept
doraemon: hyung do u really have room to talk
ok versace: I took a nap!
ok versace: I swear I did
ok versace: But you know Hongjoong didn’t
mogi: i just want to know why all 4 of us are awake
mogi: at ass o clock in the morning
mogi: is this who we are
mogi: is this who we represent
doraemon: lol
doraemon: we should rly just put san in this chat
doraemon: so we can @ him to force hj to go to bed
ok versace: To be entirely fair
ok versace: Nothing is stopping you
mogi: joong is
insomniac: how about we dont use my bf as a threat
insomniac: also chan
insomniac: how much sleep did u rly get
insomniac: ur worse than me like 80% of the time
doraemon: he lives!!!
doraemon: and is tired enough to use shorthand!!
doraemon: pun absolutely intended btw
insomniac: :/
insomniac: fuck u very much jisung
insomniac: anyways im not stopping u from adding sannie
insomniac: he helps me w/ production enough
insomniac: hes asleep rn tho
ok versace: I want you to know my nap was a total of 45 minutes.
ok versace: Ask him when he wakes up then if he wants to be added
ok versace: You know I don’t mind when he’s the only thing
ok versace: That ensures you get any kind of sleep
mogi: we should get u one of those
mogi: u know
mogi: a bf to get u to fuckin sleep
insomniac: u know how sannie is
insomniac: he’ll appreciate the offer
insomniac: and then say no
insomniac: bc hes shy even tho he knows u guys
doraemon: which is still wild to me
doraemon: i’ve seen him dance
doraemon: he is absolute not shy on stage
ok versace: Yeah, true
ok versace: To both those statements
ok versace: I get it though
ok versace: As long as he’s getting you to get some sleep
insomniac: u know what
insomniac: changbin is right
insomniac: we should get u a bf
insomniac: so u can get sleep too
mogi: see? i told u
“What’s going on?” San mumbled, waking up briefly once more, pressing his face into Hongjoong’s shoulder. He must have shook San awake a little with his quiet laughter at Chan’s expense. “Was it Eden and Maddox?”
“Nah, just Bin, Chan, and Jisung. Chan came at me for being awake, but Jisung and Bin turned it around on him and are clowning him for being single. Did I wake you up?”
“Mm, no. I didn’t realize I dozed off, honestly. Tell them I say hi and that Chan needs to get laid. Also, I’m telling you this because I love you, but you really need to go to bed before Jjong realizes you’re still awake since he’s gonna be up soon for his 8 am classes.”
“You’ve always got my back, baby.” Hongjoong chuckled, turning back to the chat for the moment.
insomniac: sannie says hi and that chan needs to get laid
insomniac: im muting u losers until later
insomniac: im being forced to nap
ok versace: First, hi San
ok versace: Second, rude
ok versace: Third, still rude
ok versace: Fourth, sleep well, Joong
“Message delivered, Chan says hi and that you telling him he needs to get laid was rude,” Another KakaoTalk notification popped up as San snorted, already pulling himself off of Hongjoong and into a standing position, helping Hongjoong up.
“Bet that was Jjong yelling at you.”
“Go bring Shiber to the bed, I’ll be there in 30 seconds. I’m gonna forgo my snack. I didn’t realize how tired I was.”
Scooping Shiber up off the floor, San gave Hongjoong a lazy salute before kissing him briefly, feet taking him to their bedroom as Hongjoong opened the new chat.
Curse San for always being right.
[babysitting duty]
apple murderer: Kim Hongjoong.
apple murderer: It is 6:35 am.
apple murderer: I want answers.
dad: good morning to u too jjongie
dad: i dont have answers for u
sanshine: i do!!!
sanshine: he was working on a track
sanshine: and then i woke up
sanshine: and now im forcing him to come to bed
sanshine: <3
dad: i expected u to fall right back asleep
sanshine: u said 30 secs :/
sanshine: still waiting
actually baby: why are u spamming teh chat
actually baby: its early
actually baby: let me sleep :(
apple murderer: Sorry Mingi
apple murderer: You wouldn’t have been woken up
apple murderer: If SOMEONE knew how to sleep
actually baby: *i* know how to sleep
actually baby: now pls
actually baby: let me
dad: mute the chat mingi
dad: fr tho im literally in the doorway
dad: of mine and sannie’s room
sanshine: can confirm
sanshine: [img]
sanshine: gremlin mode and all <3
apple murderer: …
apple murderer: Hyung you look like shit.
dad: thanks jongho
dad: go get ready for school while i pass away
apple murderer: Yes dad
actually baby: holy shit
actually baby: i thought u werent supposed
actually baby: to feed those things after like 2
sanshine: OOF
dad: im unadopting mingi
actually baby: im the only reason ur w/ san
actually baby: so ur indebted 2 me forever
dad: … point taken
“Joonggggg,” San’s whine, along with a hand pulling his phone away (effectively sending something unintelligible to the chat that Mingi would laugh at in a few hours), is what pulled Hongjoong’s attention back to his boyfriend. Somehow, Hongjoong’s feet led him to his own side of the bed, and San had perched himself in the middle of it to take away Hongjoong’s phone. “ Nap . It’s still sleeping hours for everyone but Jongho who is insane for taking early classes.”
Chuckling, Hongjoong slid under the covers and into his side of the bed, sighing contentedly when San snuggled up to him. “Jongho’s classes end by 1 and let him get to his part time job at the cafe for 2. You know that’s why he’s got early classes.”
“He isn’t human, I’m telling you. He’s totally a secret android from another dimension. How else could the baby of our group be so strong and have perfect pitch like that?”
“He doesn’t have perfect pitch, Sannie. Jongho just has an incredible talent for singing. The strength though, I can’t explain that.” Threading his fingers through San’s hair, Hongjoong couldn’t help but smile as San snuggled up to him, a strong arm coming to wrap around Hongjoong’s (admittedly, very tiny) waist, the other arm wrapped around Shiber protectively.
“Android, I’m telling you.” San’s voice was a whisper through his yawn, and Hongjoong felt his heart melt just hearing him. “Anyways, sleep time, Joongie.”
Joongie… While San was nowhere near the first person to call him that, Hongjoong couldn’t really remember the first person who did call him that. A vague memory of a warm spring day, and the blurry figure of a child not much older than him.
Hongjoong could feel San’s finger trace over the silver ring on Hongjoong’s index finger - a ring Hongjoong couldn’t remember where it came from, or why he had such an intricately designed ring as a child. It had been too big for him up until the time he was 15, fitting perfectly on his thumb until he was 19, where it moved to his index finger relatively permanently.
“I still wish I knew where you got this,” San mumbled, voice heavy with sleep once again. “I wanted to be the first boy to give you a pretty ring.”
Hongjoong chuckled, burying his nose into San’s hair - currently, a beautiful shade of blonde, somehow complimenting Hongjoong’s white-blonde hair almost perfectly. “Why, Sannie, are you proposing to me?”
“Not yet. Been thinking about it, though.” It also wasn’t the first time Hongjoong and San had talked about marriage. They had been friends long before they started dating - met through Mingi during Mingi and San’s first year of university, and Hongjoong’s second year. Mingi and San had been in the same dance group, and Mingi shared a few elective classes with Hongjoong.
A year later, Jongho joined their group. Which, really, none of them knew how that had happened, except for Jongho. Jongho was a business major with a talent for singing. Hongjoong was pretty sure it happened when Mingi essentially kidnapped Jongho for a composition project he had been working on. He had heard Jongho humming to himself in the library, and had pulled the younger into the production rooms, asking him to record vocals for him before even introducing himself.
At least, that was the version Jongho had come up with. Mingi couldn’t recall the situation at all, having been running purely on coffee and every energy drink he could get his hands on to finish the project, but having forgotten to find a vocalist for it. The entire project was still a blur for Mingi, even years later.
(Hongjoong does remember Mingi getting the highest grade in their class on that project, and their teacher had endlessly praised the vocals mixed with Mingi’s rap on the track.)
But, San... Choi San had slid effortlessly into Hongjoong’s life, the two desperately flirting around for a year once Jongho joined their group, and after a year of flirting, ended up getting together.
(Mingi, when Hongjoong and San finally started dating, had to hand over a small amount of won to Jongho, as the youngest had won their wager of how long it would take them. Had they gotten together a day earlier, Mingi would have won their bet.)
Two years later, San and Hongjoong were still going strong, as disgustingly in love as young adults could be. (Which, for them, with Hongjoong a secret romantic, and San an outward romantic, was very much in love.)
“You know your ring will mean way more to me than this old one, Sannie.” Hongjoong soothed, twisting soft blonde around his fingers, with San humming in appreciation. “But, weren’t we supposed to be napping instead of talking about marriage?”
“Mhm,” Came San’s noncommittal hum, pressing himself impossibly closer to Hongjoong. “Dream about me, ‘kay? I’m too cute to not dream about.”
“I always do.” He didn’t, but when he did have dreams he remembered, they always had San in them. San, and the mysterious child whose name Hongjoong couldn’t remember.