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Jihoon’s eyes are still closed when he hears the first sound of sheets rumbling together. He groans at being forced awake, but he knows trying to go back to sleep is futile. Once Jihoon’s awake, he’s awake for good. It wasn’t always like that with him, but after spending nine years worth of mornings with 12 boys, it was only natural he’d become a light sleeper. That doesn’t mean he’s not envious of the other members who could sleep through an earthquake.
Rubbing his eyes, Jihoon opens them, and they fall on the other bed in the room. Vernon. He’s still asleep, curled under a thin blanket and a pillow. Lucky. Jihoon turns to the other side of his shared bed and sees that he’s not the only one awake. The figure next to him is still lying on the blanket Jihoon has wrapped around himself, but he’s tapping away on his phone.
Jihoon rubs the gunk in his eyes again, and the head on the pillow beside him turns. Soonyoung looks like he just woke up, like Jihoon. His hair is rumpled and probably tangled, and his eyes stick together closer than usual.
“‘Morning,” Soonyoung greets. Jihoon tries not to shiver at the deep and hoarse that only comes out after the other’s freshly awake.
Soonyoung’s eyes are still on him when Jihoon twists to grab his phone from the nightstand and plugs it into the charger. When Jihoon lies back down, body facing Soonyoung, he replies, “Morning. You woke me.”
At that, Soonyoung’s face is anything but apologetic when he says, “Sorry.” The grin makes Jihoon roll his eyes at him.
“What are you doing?” Jihoon asks, pointing to the phone still in Soonyoung’s hand with his head.
As if finally remembering there even was a phone, Soonyoung unlocks it again, and suddenly there’s red and black in Jihoon’s vision. He blinks to see the picture in clarity and realizes he’s looking at a photo of Soonyoung for his favorite kimchi campaign.
“It’s unfinished for now, they still have to edit some more. They just sent me a preview to show how it’s looking.” Soonyoung takes the phone and continues scrolling through more pictures before typing a message to whoever sent it.
Jihoon takes that moment to stretch his limbs, a cat-like yowl almost held back, and hears a scoff of laughter coming from Soonyoung’s side, and Jihoon watches as he locks his phone and puts it aside. Soonyoung faces his body towards Jihoon and opens his arm as if telling him to hug him and Jihoon rolls his eyes again but willingly falls into the other man’s arms. His face gets squished in his tanktop-covered sternum, and he can’t breathe for a second. Once he situates in Soonyoung’s arms, Jihoon has no qualms about being smothered and he breathes in Soonyoung’s body wash he used last night and rubs his nose against the cloth.
Above him, Soonyoung breathes out a laugh that Jihoon catches. “Someone’s clingy today.” Jihoon can just imagine the shit-eating smile Soonyoung has on his face.
“Shut up, or I’m getting up,” Jihoon mumbles into his chest with no heat to his words. And he knows Soonyoung knows that too when he nuzzles and presses a kiss to his hair.
They stay like that for a few minutes, and Jihoon almost falls asleep in the warmth of his boyfriend. Going to bed shirtless has downsides, and his skin gets prickly from the fan’s breeze even in the city’s heat outside. So, pressing his and Soonyoung’s bodies like this, the feeling of tranquility and intimacy surrounding them, Jihoon was definitely enjoying this. Although, he’d never admit it to him.
He’s knocked from the early throes of sleep from Soonyoung’s movement again. The arm that rested on the dip of his waist had traveled down to his clothed thigh, and Jihoon pries his eyes open because he knows. Pushing the chest he was lying on, Jihoon glares at Soonyoung’s face, which stares up at him. His eyes fill with mirth and something else only Jihoon has the privilege of getting out of him.
“Whatever you’re trying to do, don’t. Vernon’s sleeping just on the other bed,” Jihoon reminds him with narrowed eyes.
That pulls an eye roll from Soonyoung, too, obviously not caring. He continues to rub his hand on the smaller man’s thigh and pulls him closer. “Exactly, he’s sleeping, it’s not like he’ll wake up because of us. He’s not you, jagiya,” Soonyoung says absentmindedly, interrupting whatever Jihoon was going to say. “Relax, please. I missed you.”
“You’re just horny,” Jihoon grumbles but turns around so his back is to Soonyoung’s chest, and his legs curl in, making him smaller.
He feels the rumble of Soonyoung’s laugh before he hears it. “And this is supposed to stop my horniness,” he comments and puts his hand back on Jihoon’s hip to indicate he’s referring to his sudden change in position. “I’m not just horny. I really do miss you. Miss having you like this, being close to you.” Every word is emphasized with a kiss to Jihoon’s nape, and the goosebumps that rise on his skin aren’t because of the cold this time.
Half a minute later, the open-mouthed kisses turn into full presses of Soonyoung’s lips to Jihoon’s skin, and he has to twist his arm to slap Soonyoung’s head to stop him.
“No marks, Young-ah.” The words that were supposed to have an edge come out breathlessly, and Jihoon internally curses himself for losing control so fast. Soonyoung was right; it had been long since they’d done anything like this.
A giggle escapes Soonyoung’s lips. He says again, “Relax, jagiya,” and returns to the innocent open-mouth kisses on his sensitive spot. “We’ve done this enough times. I know what to do.”
Jihoon tsks and bites back, “Yeah, but you’ve still left so many marks on me.”
“Yeah, when we’re not on schedule and where no one can see,” Soonyoung reasons. “My boyfriend has no faith in me,” he sniffles.
Jihoon hits him upside the head again.
“Whatever. Can I just leave ‘em here,” Soonyoung pokes his nape. “You know no one’s gonna see. And even if you tie your hair back, I doubt they’re looking at your neck.”
“You never know with our fans.”
“Pleeeeaaaseeee,” Soonyoung whines, finally making Jihoon give in.
“Fine,” he grumbles. Even though Jihoon plays hard to get like this with his boyfriend, he loves how Soonyoung persists because he can tell when Jihoon’s body yearns for it just as badly. Soonnyoung knows Jihoon like the back of his hand.
Soon, the pecks grow into full kisses on the back of his neck with tongue and teeth. Soonyoung’s lips suck hard in one area, right where the atlas and axis of his neck meet, and Jihoon doesn’t try to suppress the full-body shiver that runs through him. And, like always, Soonyoung catches the subtle movement from Jihoon and uses it to his advantage.
Jihoon’s breathing grows shallow when Soonyoung moves his lips to the side of his neck, right under his ear, and bites down hard. A yelp escapes Jihoon’s lips, and he bites his lips to silence himself.
As Soonyoung continues his assault on his neck, Jihoon thinks about how long it had been since the two had fallen in bed together or even spent a moment in private peacefulness. Ever since their Tokyo concert, they could only sneak quick pecks on the cheek after long days of touring –a courtesy of Soonyoung and innocuous cuddles in their shared beds. With the cameras following SEVENTEEN’s every movement 24/7, it had been insanely difficult to get even a little intimate with each other.
At the thought of the cameras, Jihoon is reminded of the bare cameras watching every little thing he and Soonyoung have done. He jolts out of Soonyoung’s arms, sitting up and facing every camera he knows is in the room with them. There’s one in front of their bed, in the corner behind it, and the last one above Vernon’s.
“Shit,” Jihoon whisper-yells and glares down at Soonyoung’s alarmed face. He’s still lying on his side, and Jihoon slaps his arm. “You forgot the cameras, you fool. They’re gonna kill us.”
Like Jihoon, Soonyoung jerks up and stares back at him with confusion and understanding dawning on his face.
“Ah, shit. The cameras.”
“Yes! The cameras,” Jihoon hisses and frowns at him.
Soonyoung rubs the back of his neck and sheepishly smiles, “Jagiya, don’t be mad. It’s not my fault, you forgot too..”
“But you started it.”
“Yeah, I did...” Soonyoung looks away yet turns his head back to Jihoon just as fast. “Hey, don’t act like you weren’t indulging me. If anything, we’re both getting in trouble.” He points a finger at Jihoon’s scowling face.
Jihoon shoves the finger right down and falls back on the bed, on his pillow. He hears a giggle above him and glares up at Soonyoung again, daring him to try him. But he knows what he probably looks like to his boyfriend, as much as he hates it. Almost every morning, he had been the victim of Soonyoung’s “cuteness aggression” because, apparently, he looked too cute, just like a “skrunkled” cat. Jihoon has no idea what “skrunkled” or “cuteness aggression” are.
Above him, Soonyoung smiles down at him, crescent eyes about to disappear behind his lids, and Jihoon feels his worry dissipate, and his heart beats slow, just like that.
“Hey,” Soonyoung starts by placing a hand on Jihoon’s waist, “the editors don’t really keep any footage of us in the early morning, and just in case, I’ll go and tell them not to add ours in and delete it.” He finishes by moving the hand to his cheek and asking, “So… let us continue…?”
The slight anger and panic in Jihoon immediately leave his body at Soonyoung’s offer, though the phantom image of the editors’ faces makes his face flush but he instantly shudders it off. So, instead of giving him an answer, Jihoon lays his hand on Soonyoung’s neck and tugs him down until their lips connect. Soonyoung’s hand that wasn’t on Jihoon’s cheek goes to lightly grip his waist once more.
When they first break apart to catch their breaths, Jihoon makes out a glimmer of teeth above him. Soonyoung leans his head back to plant a peck on his cheek, allowing Jihoon to see his toothy smile, and Jihoon has to hold back a grin of his own. He brings Soonyoung closer until their lips gently brush against each other and whispers, “Don’t be too happy, Kwon-ah.” Then, he smashes their mouths together, and Soonyoung jumps into action and captures Jihoon’s bottom lip between his own.
In the quiet room, Soonyoung hums from his throat, and into Jihoon’s mouth. The vibration travels from Jihoon’s own throat and settles into his chest, causing him to shake and tighten his arms around Soonyoung. The other man’s hand on his cheek leaves and brackets Jihoon’s head on the bed.
They kiss like that in the early morning hush, without a rush to get anywhere or worry that anyone will catch them. Well, someone could be watching them through the cameras, but Soonyoung said he’d take care of it, and Jihoon trusts him. Because before anything, Soonyoung is professional, and he doesn’t mix his personal and professional lives, no matter how much they blur together. But if someone is watching them or will be, Jihoon knows he’ll feel embarrassed enough for the both of them, so he decides that the least he could do is conceal their figures a bit.
Jihoon untangles his hands from Soonyoung’s neck and pushes his chest lightly, telling him to stop. When Soonyoung pulls away from his lips, Jihoon is hit with a view of his boyfriend’s spit-slicked and swollen lips, and pride blooms in his chest. Quickly, Jihoon maneuvers Soonyoung so he can pull the blanket above both of their bodies and pulls him closer again.
“Can’t give them a show, can we?” Jihoon’s giggle fills the gap between their lips, and he peeks at another flash of teeth from Soonyoung, but before he can say anything else, Soonyoung takes his breath away–literally.
Without the blanket between their bodies, Jihoon can feel Soonyoung’s clothed chest against his own bare one, and their naked arms move around each other to settle in comfortable and intimate positions. Jihoon keeps his fingers wrapped around Soonyoung’s bicep while the other returns to his nape, pushing and pulling his hair to deepen the kiss. This time, the kiss is rougher and hastier, despite the time they have on their hands like they’re making up for the last week and a half.
Soonyoung’s tongue pokes and prods between his lips, asking for entrance, and explores his bottom row of teeth, then his upper. When Jihoon opens his mouth to accommodate Soonyoung’s tongue, an indistinct whine escapes, and Soonyoung promptly challenges back with a dull groan. Sensing an opportunity to fight back when Soonyoung’s lips part, Jihoon sticks his tongue in his mouth.
He feels there’s no getting closer than this, with Soonyoung’s right hand advancing to his side, sliding over his muscled abdomen, brushing his chest, and stopping under Jihoon’s armpit. He keeps it there as their tongues glide against each other, and Jihoon moves a hand from the back and brings it under Soonyoung’s jaw to separate their mouths. He pushes Soonyoung’s head lower, and Soonyoung already knows what to do.
Jihoon cranes his neck and closes his eyes, letting Soonyoung plant kiss after kiss on his Adam’s apple to his jugular. Soon, the kisses grow into light bites and sucks under his jaw and ear, and Jihoon has to drag Soonyoung’s hair back to warn him not to leave marks. In response, Soonyoung hums into his neck, and Jihoon uses all his inner strength not to arch his back. They both know this can’t go into pound town and can only use this time to have an almost sensual makeout sesh. Just because Vernon keeps his thoughts to himself doesn’t mean he won’t internally hate them for getting it on in the same room. No matter how much Jihoon wants Soonyoung, he must keep a strong grip on his desires.
A special suck from Soonyoung on his hyoid bone has Jihoon’s fluttering shut and cursing under his breath. With his eyes closed, Jihoon can only feel the warm and wet tongue that maps his neck and collarbones and the hands that hold his face and waist in place, so, he doesn’t expect the brush of something soft on his pecs. Soonyoung continues lightly sucking all over his neck and dragging his mouth down to his decollete. When Soonyoung gently bites down on the space between his collarbones, Jihoon opens his mouth for a silent moan and almost misses the flick to his right nipple in a quick moment of rapture. At one hard press to his pec, Jihoon opens his eyes and stretches his neck to see what the hell Soonyoung was doing. His boyfriend’s hand gropes at Jihoon’s chest, and he runs his palm across his nipple, releasing a gasp from Jihoon, all previously addled thoughts forgotten, as Soonyoung’s mouth goes lower and lower by trailing kisses down to the center of his heart.
Warning bells ring in Jihoon’s head, but they go unnoticed until Soonyoung’s lips brush against a nipple, and Jihoon plants his elbows on the bed and cants his upper body on them to look Soonyoung in the eye. Jihoon’s hand separates Soonyoung’s head from his chest by tugging his hair until their eyes meet. His eyes are wide with bewilderment and hunger, like a tiger distracted from his meal.
Jihoon keeps that to himself, though.
“What do you think you’re doing,” the accusation comes out breathlessly, and Soonyoung cants his head in confusion until Jihoon slaps him upside the head. “Why are you down there, you promised me you wouldn’t do anything like that,” Jihoon chides at him.
“I did?” Soonyoung asks, brows furrowed.
“Ugh, whatever,” Jihoon rolls his eyes because no–Soonyoung did not promise that. “But the cameras are on, and Vernon is sleeping. We can’t go any further.”
It’s not possible for Soonyoung to look even more confused, but apparently, it is. His eyebrows inch closer together, and his lips pout before he says, “Vernon already left, though?”
The way Soonyoung asks, makes him shove Soonyoung aside and sit up. “What do you mean Vernon “already left”?” He doesn’t let Soonyoung reply before looking at the very vacant bed in the room where Vernon is supposed to be sleeping. And sure enough, the bed is empty, and there is no Vernon in the room with them.
Jihoon doesn’t know if he should be relieved or ashamed because Vernon left the bedroom while Jihoon and Soonyoung were busy sucking each other’s lips off. And he saw them. Jihoon doesn’t know what face he’s making, but it must be comical to Soonyoung because he sits up, laughing in Jihoon’s face. In return, a scowl greets Soonyoung.
“I thought you knew when he left,” Soonyoung comments.
Jihoon crosses his arms across his bare chest, frowning at Soonyuong’s teasing. “I wasn’t paying attention,” he mutters in pseudo-indignance, avoiding Soonyoung’s gaze. He doesn’t turn to him when Soonyoung chuckles, most likely at Jihoon.
“Mmm, Jihoonie was distracted, wasn’t he,” Soonyoung coos in aegyo, grinning at Jihoon’s glaring expression.
Embarrassed, he lightly pushes Soonyoung’s pleased face, “Yeah? And who’s fault was that?” Jihoon queries back.
The push doesn’t throw Soonyoung off as he smiles fondly at Jihoon, melting his mortification. Scooting closer to him on the bed, Soonyoung locks his twinkling eyes with Jihoon, who’s not surprised at the barely concealed excited buzz from his boyfriend in the morning, already used to his mischief in the early morning, and says, “Mine, but Jihoonie keeps coming back for more of these.” He then puckers his lips in a kissy face and sends flying kisses in Jihoon’s direction, an obvious mock of what they were up to earlier, and Jihoon can’t keep the smile off his face.
Before he thinks about it, he grabs Soonyoung’s forearms to tug him closer, his body weight almost pushing Jihoon back into the bed, and Soonyoung’s eyes lose the sparkle and darken in want. It’s always daunting to Jihoon how fast he can switch manners, and funny how he’s always eager for Jihoon’s advances, and it causes him to suppress a wider smile by kissing him.
When Jihoon makes the first move, he knows it won’t catch Soonyoung off guard–not anymore. Maybe when they were fresh into their relationship and when Soonyoung waited for Jihoon to initiate affection by simply holding hands, hugging, and kissing, but now, when they’re years into dating each other, getting kissed by Jihoon is barely a surprise to him.
So, Jihoon presses their lips together and Soonyoung is quick to act and move his mouth gently. His arms shift to cage Jihoon, hands clutching the bedsheet around his hips, head angling to deepen the innocent kiss, the butterflies attacking Jihoon’s stomach. Feeling overwhelmed at what he started, Jihoon kneads Soonyoung’s tank top while his other hand travels up his arm to his veiny biceps and grips it tight.
Soonyoung hisses into the kiss as Jihoon’s perfectly manicured nails dig into his skin and the smaller smiles against his lips. Overcoming the pain, Soonyoung sucks on Jihoon’s bottom lip, his mouth falling slack. Soonyoung takes that as an advantage–tongue sliding into his mouth, and Jihoon’s hand almost curls around a fistful of Soonyoung’s hair when he hears the telltale creak of a door opening. Their door.
A voice echoes around the quiet room right as Jihoon shoves Soonyoung off him, and he pivots to look at the unexpected guest.
“Uhm…” is all that comes out of Vernon’s mouth as he stares at anything but them, with an awkward face and eyebrows blown wide. Jihoon sometimes thinks they could touch his hairline but he pushes that thought aside as humiliation overcomes him again tenfold this time.
Despite living with 13 men for almost half his life, Jihoon can never get used to the members coming across him and Soonyoung in intimate moments. Especially not with Vernon and his very judgemental and expressive reactions that would probably haunt Jihoon if the younger ever caught them in an even somewhat compromising position.
With Soonyoung a few feet away from him again, he rises to get out of the bed, pushing the blanket off of himself and over his boyfriend’s body. He brushes a hand through his hair and clears his throat.
“Sorry about that. Again,” he apologizes to Vernon for both, now and when he first woke up to them making out.
Vernon turns his head to make eye contact with Jihoon and opens his mouth but before he can reply, a “Yah!” stops him.
Pivoting around, Jihoon stares down at a pouting Soonyoung. The image he paints is silly yet domestic. With his hair mussed up in every direction, eyes squinting at him, and lips jutting out, he’s the epitome of a “skrunkly cat.” Whatever that is.
“Don’t baby him, Jihoon-ah. It’s not like he hasn’t seen worse,” Soonyoung gives Vernon a stink eye. “Or done worse.”
Jihoon rolls his eyes and rests a hand on his hip. “I’m not babying him. I’m giving him respect,” he counteracts dryly.
“Oh please, I’ve come across him and Seungkwan so many times, this should be nothing for him,” Soonyoung says, petulantly crossing his arms over his chest.
Soonyoung has a point, but Jihoon won’t delve into what he’s seen and put his dongsaeng on the spot. He resists the urge to huff and simply says, “Whatever.” When he glances at Vernon, he sees the younger is looking between Soonyoung and him, pursing his lips.
This time he sighs and turns to give his full attention to Vernon. “Did you need something?” he asks, not meaning to let the dryness seep into his voice.
“Just need to get the shirt. And they’re calling you downstairs,” Vernon curtly replies, already hurrying towards his bed, pulling out the specially customized na-tour shirt they were all given for the trip and leaving the other two occupants in surprise, just like how he came.
Jihoon doesn’t get to process the abrupt departure because he feels an arm drape over his shoulders and immediately scowls.
“This is all your fault,” Jihoon glowers.
Behind him, Soonyoung chuckles lightheartedly, “You act as if we committed a crime. Relax, jagi.” He squeezes Jihoon’s shoulder in comfort, and Jihoon smacks his hand away.
Instead of reacting to Soonyoung, he just steps away until he’s near the bedroom door and looks back at him, hand on the handle.
Still by the bed, Soonyoung stares back at him with raised eyebrows and Jihoon has to resist a smile on his own face when he says, “Pass me my phone.”
His phone sits on the table near the bed, but he doesn’t tell Soonyoung so when his brows furrow and his hands fly toward the bed, haphazardly searching for the device. It takes a couple seconds of him hunting the bed and under the pillows for the phone and of Jihoon standing by the door with a fond and amused grin, for Soonyoung to remember that Jihoon doesn’t keep his phone under his pillow. He lets out a deep sigh, like Jihoon’s been making him run laps around the heated city, and faces him at the same time his hand goes to grab his phone from the nightstand.
Before he can even blink, Soonyoung walks over to him in strides and almost corners Jihoon against the wall, Jihoon’s heart beating loud and fast. He wonders if Soonyoung can feel his pulse when he places a hand on Soonyoung’s cheek and pulls him in for a quick peck while his other hand reaches down to grab his phone from his boyfriend’s hand.
“Thanks,” Jihoon says, smirking when he pulls away and holds his phone so Soonyoung can see he’s got it. The face just inches from Jihoon shows an amazed look, eyes blinking repeatedly. It always amazed him how Soonyoung could act so confident one second and then be completely blown away by Jihoon the next.
“I’m calling dibs on the shower,” he continues
This knocks Soonyoung out of his stupor when he yells, “Yah! That’s not fair. You manipulated me.” He crosses his arms petulantly and Jihoon laughs at his innocence.
He’s already opening the door when he replies with a grin and cocked eyebrow, “Or maybe you’re just too easy.”
Soonyoung frowns, bushy brows knitting together and looking like his supposed fursona. Jihoon stifles a cackle as he steps out of the now-open door and shoves Soonyoung when he steps forward with him.
“Hey, don’t forget to talk to the editors and avoid Na-PD if you can,” Jihoon reminds him in a serious tone.
Slowly, Soonyoung nods in compliance. He knows Na-PD wouldn’t let either survive if he came across them. Everyone in the group and the managers know how he teased Seungcheol and Jeonghan before they left for Italy and Soonyoung understands that Jihoon can’t just shrug off his embarrassment the way the other two could. “Of course, I’ll go right now,” he answers with resolve, already moving back to the lone chair in the room to grab his shirt and shrug it on.
Jihoon stands in the same spot by the door when Soonyoung steps out of the room as well, grabs his hand, and swiftly squeezes it on his way out. He rolls his eyes and follows him into the main room where he knows the rest of the group will be.
Stepping into the living space, he notices that only a handful of the boys are out and about. Vernon sits on the loveseat, sipping on a juice box, and Mingyu moves in and out of the bedrooms. In the direction of the editors’ room, Jihoon spots Soonyoung knocking on the door and stifles a laugh as he makes his way to the bathroom.