Work Text:
“Baby?”
“Yeah!”
“Do you still have my phone charger?”
Silence.
“Jaemin Na!”
“Mm yeah! I’m in the kitchen!”
When Donghyuck wanders over Jaemin is hunched over his laptop in the strangest, most awkward way possible. Donghyuck laughs lightly in disbelief. “What are you doing, freak?”
“Nothing,” Jaemin says hastily. He nods towards the charger, resting on the granite countertop next to the fruit bowl. “It’s over there if you wanna grab it.”
“Thanks,” Donghyuck says. He steps closer, and Jaemin protectively angles the screen away from him. “Why are you sitting like that?”
“No reason,” Jaemin says. “It’s comfortable.”
Donghyuck walks over and picks up the charger, winding it around his fingers as he says, “You’re hiding something.”
Jaemin has been acting sketchy and distant for months now, and at first Donghyuck had thought maybe he was planning on breaking up with him, but now he’s not so sure. He’s trying not to think about it too much, trying not to read into things in a way that would dig at his scab of insecurities and make them flare up, but it’s hard. He doesn’t want to ask because:
- it might be all in his head
- he’s scared he won’t like the answer.
Jaemin scoffs, overdramatic. “I am not. I’m just working on some last minute things for our trip. Nothing too exciting.”
“Yeah? Let me see.”
“No,” Jaemin says. And then when he sees Donghyuck walking closer he shuts his laptop altogether.
Donghyuck shakes his head, dumbfounded. “I’m gonna go get ready for dinner. Did Renjun let you know which restaurant he ended up going with?”
“Yeah, I'm pretty sure it’s the same K-BBQ spot we went to last week, right? I’ll get ready after I’m done with…this.”
“Sounds good,” Donghyuck says. “Don’t take too long.” He messes up Jaemin’s hair and turns to head back into their bedroom.
“Wait, Hyuck.”
Donghyuck turns, blinking innocently. He’s almost sure that Jaemin is going to point out that Donghyuck just doubled his waiting time by ruining his hair. “Mhm?”
“You know I love you, right? As in, more than anything?”
Oh.
“I know, baby. Why? All of a sudden?”
Jaemin clears his throat. “No reason. Just checking.”
“Gayyyy.”
Donghyuck met Jaemin in January, about six or seven years ago.
It was the very beginning of a new year, and Donghyuck was attempting to pull himself out of a seasonal depression hole by making a video about his new year’s resolutions, which led him to a fancy gym across town, which led him— quite literally—into the arms of a personal trainer.
Enter Jaemin Na.
They didn't hit it off at first. Donghyuck was wildly out of shape and it showed. He wasn’t expecting Jaemin to be his age, and he definitely wasn’t expecting him to be so devastatingly hot that even watching him frown at Donghyuck’s horrible form made him go out of breath.
Maybe the truth is Donghyuck was too busy trying not to die to notice, because when he finally uploaded the video a couple of weeks later all the people in the comments could talk about was their allegedly scintillating chemistry.
Donghyuck hadn't dared to visit the gym Jaemin worked at again, but Los Angeles is tiny, and they ran in similar enough circles that they met again and again, at an album release event, at Erewhon, at a mutual friend’s birthday party–back at said mutual friend’s apartment after an unsuccessful night out.
They started out as friends, then became friends with benefits, and the rest is…Well, you know.
Donghyuck’s social media career has changed a lot since then. He had just over 375,000 subscribers when he made that New Year’s video, and now he boasts several well populated social media accounts, with over three million YouTube subscribers and various brand deals under belt. He’s made a living out of oversharing on the internet, and while it still gets overwhelming some days, there's little else he enjoys more than getting in front of a camera to eat or try a new makeup look or simply run his mouth.
Tonight, he only goes live on Instagram because he wants someone to ramble to while he does his makeup. He and Jaemin are going out for dinner with their friends in an hour or so. Since Jaemin is busy, the only people Donghyuck feels like bothering are the many doting fans on his phone. It’s a fairly simple setup using just his phone and a ring light, his back against an inconspicuous corner in his and Jaemin’s bedroom.
So…Jaemin decided to surprise me with a trip to a place I've always wanted to go. I've talked about it an annoying amount on my YouTube channel, so I wanna see if you all can guess.
He pauses, leaning forward so he can squint at the tiny comments on his phone screen. Half of them are asking him what concealer he’s using, and the other half are–surprisingly on topic. It's the Nars radiant creamy concealer. I couldn’t find my Tower 28 one. He picks it back up and shows it to the camera, then leans forward and beams after a couple more people comment. Oh that’s right! It's Thailand! I’m finally going to Phuket bitches! Well, we’re spending half of our time in Phuket and the other half in Bangkok. Can you tell I’m excited?
He goes back to patting concealer under his eyes. I swear I had no idea—actually I kind of knew something was up because he’s really bad at lying to me. I just never would’ve guessed that it would be this. I was going to save it for a proper YouTube video—like, maybe be like, surprise! I'm in Thailand? But I found out last week and it’s been killing me to keep it a secret. So you guys get the exclusive scoop.
He finishes the rest of his makeup routine while he talks, habitually filling in his eyebrows before rummaging around for his TirTir powder.
I’ve wanted to visit forever but it just never worked out— like the timing was bad or work got in the way…So I’m super excited that we finally get to go together. Jaemin has never been either. Hashtag baecation.
Someone in the comments asks how he found out about the trip, a couple more of them are talking about how jealous they are. One person mentions that Phuket is a good proposal destination. Donghyuck does not read that one out loud but laughs at it anyway. Who said it’s a proposal? Okay.
There are odd butterflies in his stomach at the mere thought of Jaemin getting down on one knee for him. They’ve talked about getting married before, mostly because they’ve been dating for so long and Jaemin is so practical about their finances that it had to come up at some point.
Sometimes, Donghyuck feels like they already are, with a mortgage (lease) and three children (cats). Obviously, if Donghyuck could pick anyone to spend the rest of his life with it would be Jaemin Na, but he doesn’t really see that happening anytime soon. And he’s happy with where they’re at. They’re happy. He thinks.
We were working together on the couch the other day. I was editing a video on my laptop and Jaem was reading client emails and I got a notification from him. So naturally I look up and go: why are you emailing me when we’re sitting in the same room like, three feet away from each other? And I check—and it’s two plane tickets and a complete itinerary for the full week and a half. Ugh.
He picks up his eyeshadow pallet and starts tapping at a worn down base shadow he uses for almost all his everyday makeup looks. Jaemin is seriously amazing. Really. Seriously. I never thought I’d be one of those people…but I’m obsessed with my boyfriend. Like, I wake up, my man. I make breakfast, my man. I’m driving, my man.
Just then, the man in question wanders into the room with a bowl of something and their oldest kitty Luna at his heels. He stops awkwardly when he realizes that Donghyuck is sitting cross-legged in front of his ring light setup.
“Are you filming?”
Luna wanders over into Donghyuck’s lap and settles down, meowing for attention. He coos at her and strokes the back of his free hand fondly over her soft fur. He can’t remember if he’d taken his allergy meds earlier that day, but he supposes he’s about to find out.
“Yeah, sorry. It’s just a little Instagram live. D’you wanna say hi? I was literally just talking about you.”
“Hi,” Jaemin kneels beside him and leans in to wave at the screen. “Little,” he says, “There’s two thousand people watching.”
Donghyuck giggles at the awe in his tone. You’d think Jaemin would be used to it by now. You guys are always saying I’m hiding him from you, but this is how he reacts to a 2k audience.
“Just an observation,” Jaemin pouts. “Besides, I like being behind the camera, not in front of it.”
Donghyuck hums in acknowledgement. “What’d you bring?”
Jaemin holds out the bowl. “I cut up an apple and some grapes for you. I thought you’d like a snack before we leave for dinner.”
“Are you done with your side project?”
“No…” Jaemin says shiftily. “You haven’t had anything since breakfast, right? I don’t want you to get nauseous later.”
“How’d you know that? You were at work all day.”
“I know you,” Jaemin says simply.
“Oh,” Donghyuck says. Feeling touched, he pouts and puts a hand on his chest. “Thank you, baby.”
“Of course,” Jaemin says, he places the bowl down next to him and smacks a kiss on the top of his head as he stands to leave. Donghyuck tugs on the sleeve of his hoodie, which is easy code for ‘Give me a real kiss, please’, and Jaemin easily allows him one, leaning down again as Donghyuck tilts his head up and pouts his lips. They share a chaste peck just out of frame of the camera, and then Jaemin is scooping Luna off his lap and cradling her against his chest like a real baby. She just lets him do it, permanently relaxed as he scratches underneath her chin.
Jaemin stands and watches Donghyuck do his makeup for a couple more seconds. Donghyuck wonders what he’s thinking about, but then he just says it.
“You look so pretty, baby.”
“Aw, thanks,” Donghyuck says. Jaemin tells him that all the time, but it still makes him blush. Maybe one day he’ll get used to it.
“Were you napping before this?”
“Mm. I woke up right before Chenle Facetimed me.”
Jaemin hums like that makes sense. “You’re still kinda puffy, it’s so cute.”
Donghyuck frowns. “Are you serious?”
Jaemin hesitates. “I’m sensing I’ve made a mistake of some kind.”
“Get out of my Instagram live, man.”
After Jaemin retreats back into the kitchen, Donghyuck picks up an apple slice and tucks it into his cheek, biting down into crunchy sweetness and blushing at the sentiment before remembering that he’s on live video. What was I saying? Oh, right. Thailand.
📹
The weeks leading up to their trip pass by in a busy blur. A few days before they’re set to leave, Renjun and Chenle agree to take in their cats Luna, Lucy and Luke while they’re gone, and Mark offers to brave the insane L.A traffic just to take them to the airport.
Mark used to work as a producer, but he's in between jobs at the moment, crashing at Renjun and Chenle’s swanky apartment for an indefinite amount of time while he hunts for his next gig, which is why he has so much free time and is always in a good mood. If Donghyuck was suddenly unemployed and lived off of his best friends’ inheritance money, he’d be pretty fucking thrilled too.
To be clear, Renjun is the trust fund baby, not Chenle. Also, Renjun actually puts his wealth to good use by donating regularly to charities and teaching free yoga classes and doing things like pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology and funding Mark's lifestyle. If Donghyuck had been born into money, he’d probably be doing really good cocaine in a foreign country right now, and maybe also diving into pools of cash just because he could. Just saying.
“He’s having a hard time,” is what Renjun says over his oolong tea. They’re sitting on the rug in his living room, going over cat sitting instructions while their boyfriends playfight in the kitchen, or something. Donghyuck’s not sure what else Chenle and Jaemin’s usual tickling and arm wrestling can be referred to as.
“I know that,” Donghyuck says. “And you’re being really good friends by feeding him and housing him and…having sex with him?”
Renjun raises an eyebrow. “I’m sensing some judgment in your tone.”
“No judgment here,” Donghyuck says. “You want me to change the subject?”
“Please.”
“Okay.” Donghyuck looks back at the kitchen and lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Be honest. Do you think Jaemin is going to break up with me?”
Renjun’s expression is startled before going carefully blank. “If he was, do you think he’d tell me first like I’m his mommy?”
“Yes. You’ve been friends longer than I’ve known him.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Answer the question.”
Renjun furrows his eyebrows, suddenly stressed out. He tucks his shoulder length blonde hair behind his ear and sighs, “No, I don’t think he is. I mean—he’s planned a whole vacation for you two, why on earth would he invest all that time and money just to break up with you at the end of it?”
“I don’t know. I get suspicious when things are good for too long. And things with Jaemin have been great for a really long time...And I’ve just been thinking…”
“You…think he’s going to break up with you…because your relationship is too good?”
“Well when you say it like that you make me sound crazy.”
“You are crazy, you self-sabotaging freak. What the fuck happened to you to make you think like that?”
“Umm. Ian probably.”
Renjun sighs and leans back against the couch. “You have so many horror stories from that relationship I’m honestly shocked it was like, six months.”
“Five. But yeah.”
“Well what about this trip is reminding you of that demon?”
“Well. Right before he broke up with me he took me on the best date ever. He pulled out all the stops, and then he dumped me over text the very next day. When I asked him why, he said it was like making memories with his dog right before he put her down.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“Yeah. So I still kinda get weird when things are going suspiciously well. Like, the moment he told me he was going to be paying for everything I got that anxiety again. I feel so bad because Jaemin is so sweet and so good to me. And I don’t want to tell him because I know he’d be upset if he knew I still felt this way after all we’ve been through together, but I can’t help it. It’s not him, it’s me.”
“Okay now you sound like you’re the one who wants to break up with him.”
“No! Definitely not. I’d baby trap him if I could.”
“He’d probably like that.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“What?”
“You’re fucked in the head, it’ll be fine.”
“Oh that reminds me.” Donghyuck picks up his Macbook and continues editing the cat-sitting document they’d been working on. “Don’t swear around the cats. That’s Jaemin’s rule.”
📹
Donghyuck has to sit on Jaemin’s suitcase to get it to close, but they make it to the airport on time. Their seats for this leg of the trip are in economy plus, but Donghyuck has long since gotten over the embarrassment of whipping out a camera to film himself in public. Jaemin is more or less resigned to it, wearing a neck pillow with his head on his shoulder while Donghyuck records.
Donghyuck is barefaced and in his prescription glasses, but he’s really proud of his skin lately, and he definitely wasn’t about to do a full face to sit on a plane either.
It is currently— he pauses to click his phone on and show the time to the mini vlog camera. It is currently 11:52pm. We just boarded. I think we have a…17 hour flight, a 2?3? hour layover in Singapore, and then it’s only a two hour flight to Phuket. That’s 20 hours of travelling, give or take. Please keep us in your thoughts.
He looks down at Jaemin on his shoulder, resting his head on his and squeezing his cheeks with his free hand to make him pout. Say hi.
Hi.
Donghyuck laughs at the gruffness in his voice.
Are you sleepy, my love?
Jaemin nods. He has his eyes closed, and his ridiculously long lashes fan out over his pale cheeks. Donghyuck reaches out to pluck a stray eyelash off his nose before catching himself. He blows on it instead, and Jaemin, startled by the sudden burst of air, chokes out a fake sob.
Why are you hurting me…he whines. Wait, why does your breath smell like cherries?
Donghyuck just giggles. He pulled an all nighter to finish packing—and because he thought it would help him adjust to the time difference better. He's also probably going to fall asleep and abandon me.
Jaemin sluggishly burrows his head into Donghyuck’s neck in protest. Don’t say it like that...
You are, though. I already have a hard time sleeping, but I definitely never sleep on flights. Jaemin can fall asleep literally anywhere, anytime. Give him something he can lean on and he’s out like a light. It seriously makes me jealous sometimes.
Honestly, Jaemin says. He opens his eyes, suddenly very awake. There’s a logical explanation for this. I work out a lot—usually in the morning—and studies have shown that at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a day makes a huge difference in sleep quality. You can boost your cardiovascular condition and get deeper, better sleep every night—
Donghyuck playfully rolls his eyes and sighs loudly for good measure.
Jaemin laughs. What? It’s true.
I work out…
Like at the gym?
Yeah.
Yeah, like twice a year.
Donghyuck flips him off, and Jaemin responds by bending his finger back as far as it will go until Donghyuck begs for mercy. He’s not sure if he’s going to keep that in the video yet, because there’s an interesting niche of subscribers who somehow believe that Jaemin secretly hates him and is only dating him for the clout, or something.
You know I could give you a private session whenever you wanted. I’d build you a custom workout plan and everything.
Yeah, but you have actual paying clients.
You can pay me in other ways.
What do you mean?
Jaemin bites his bottom lip, and then he looks pointedly up and down Donghyuck’s body.
Donghyuck stares at him for a beat as the implication sinks in and turns to make a scissor motion at the camera. “Cut! What are you doing?”
“What?”
“Keep it PG-13. And stay on topic.”
“Okay, bossy.”
Anyway—the reason why I’m so tired is yeah, because I stayed up all night and I didn’t get to work out today, so I’m missing my usual endorphin rush. So I'm sleepy.
Thank you for the science lesson, baby.
Anytime.
The pilot’s voice comes through the speakers to announce that they’ll be taking off soon, so Donghyuck wraps up this segment of the intro with a wave and a kiss to the camera lens.
I have to go because we’ll be taking off soon, but I will see you all in Phuket! Mwah!
📹
They’re not in Thailand the next time he decides to film. They're in Singapore for their layover.
Ok, I don’t know why I said that but we’re in Changi airport. In Singapore~” He sing-songs. Get it? Anyway, it's a little after 8 a.m and we’re currently on a mission to find something to eat. I didn’t really sleep on the flight—as expected~ so I’m…I feel a little dead, but hopefully I can knock out on our connecting flight. He gives the camera a thumbs up and an awkward toothy grimace.
I’m actually really excited to look around, Jaemin says. I saw online that this is the best airport in the world.
Who’s the worst? LAX probably.
Jaemin laughs. Babe. It’s not that bad. Just busy.
Oh I forgot to mention it earlier but the set I’m wearing is from Jaemin’s upcoming athleisure line. It’s sooo soft and comfy. You guys know I get weird about textures when it comes to clothes, but I’ve literally been wearing these all day everyday. Hashtag not an ad, except it kind of is. Please support my baby when it drops. I think pre-orders open while we’re in Thailand, right?
Jaemin is busy looking up something on his phone.
“Jaem?”
“Hm?”
“When does your store open?”
“Uhhh, next Friday. Midnight EST. Did you tell them we’re matching?”
“Yeah. I mean think they can see…”
Jaemin takes the camera from him so he can pose by a random pillar. Donghyuck obediently leans against it, flexing an all black velour set and the ‘Narcissism’ bedazzled across his chest in cursive. Jaemin then angles the lens towards himself, making sure his identical pastel pink tracksuit is fully on display.
Are you nervous about the launch?
Jaemin tilts his head. He’s still holding the camera, angling it so that Donghyuck is visible at his side.
Yes and no. I think for me it’s more like… I’ve been working on it for so long that it feels good to finally let it out into the world, you know? I hope people like it as much as I do. That makes me nervous. But it doesn’t match my excitement…
Jaemin is wearing a stupid amount of lip balm, and it’s all Donghyuck can focus on as he talks. Donghyuck is torn between wanting to tease him about chicken grease and wanting to kiss him on camera. He feels his face settle into a fond expression he just knows he’ll gag at later when he’s editing the footage, but only Jaemin can bring it out of him. Plus he’s like, in love with him, or whatever, so it’s fine.
I’m sure people will love it, Donghyuck says. He pats Jaemin’s tummy to reassure him, and rests his head on his chest as he feels himself running out of steam. He’d wanted to say more about it, but the long flight is catching up to him, suddenly. You know I do and I’m the only one who matters, so.
Jaemin smiles. Exactly.
Jaemin and him decide on Din Tai Fung for breakfast. They order a bunch of food—fried rice, beef noodle soup, xiao long bao, and some greens for Jaemin’s peace of mind—switching their plates halfway through so they can both try everything. They don’t talk much, both exhausted, but they play footsie under the table anyway. Donghyuck films all of it from one angle without stopping to talk to the camera, mentally planning to make a montage of it with a lo-fi song in the background.
The food is good but it makes Donghyuck even sleepier, so he catches a thirty minute nap on Jaemin’s shoulder while they wait at their boarding gate. When they get back on the plane, Donghyuck ends up taking a melatonin that knocks him out before they even get off the runway. They’re in first class this time around, so he gets to lie down and pass out for real, and in what feels like no time at all, Jaemin is cooing at him to wake him up.
Phuket is hot.
The blast of air that greets them the moment they walk out of the airport forces Donghyuck out of his oversized zip-up hoodie and immediately fogs up his camera lens when he pulls it out. In the short time that it takes them to find their taxi, he’s already sweating a visible amount.
He vlogs a little bit of the drive to their resort, but the jet lag catches up to him quickly.
When they get to the check in desk, Jaemin does all the talking while Donghyuck hangs back. The receptionist gracefully takes their information and hands them the keys to what she calls the honeymoon suite.
Jaemin seems confused.
“I’m sorry, but that’s not what we booked. The lady on the phone said it was a regular suite. I just wanted one with an ocean view.”
“Sure, I’ll double check that for you…” She types something into the computer, scrolling for a few seconds before shaking her head. “You’re right. It looks like you were charged for a regular room, but the honeymoon package is what I have on here. It does have a private balcony and that ocean view you wanted.”
“Wow, okay. I guess there’s nothing you can do about that huh? I just don’t want to—We’re not taking up a space that was reserved for someone else?”
“No sir, I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“Is everything okay?” Donghyuck asks. He’d been sitting a short distance away guarding their luggage, but he walked up to rest his cheek on Jaemin’s shoulder. “Did I hear someone say free upgrade?”
“Something like that,” Jaemin says. He smiles politely at the receptionist. “Thanks for all your help.”
“Of course. I hope you two lovebirds have a wonderful and relaxing time here in Patong.”
The honeymoon suite is beautiful and luxurious, with a king sized bed scattered with pink and red rose petals and a large stuffed teddy bear at the center. The bathroom is huge too, with a sparkling sink and two showerheads.
“Holy shit. They weren’t kidding,” Donghyuck says. He kneels to open the mini fridge in the cabinet across from their bed, pleased to find it fully stocked. He pulls out a Coke Zero to show Jaemin, who seems just as in awe. “They must’ve known I was coming.”
Donghyuck spends the first hour in their new room on his phone, lying curled up on the floor because Jaemin gets freaky about being on the bed in 'outside' clothes. There are a ton of notifications he missed over the last day or so, and a million Tiktoks from Chenle that he has to catch up on. He’s still in a fetal position when Jaemin gets out of the shower and smiles fondly at him.
“Our dinner reservation is in an hour and half.”
Donghyuck peeks at him pitifully from his place at the foot of the bed, Coke Zero untouched. “I don’t think I can do it…My body is…so heavy…”
📹
Sawadee Krap~ Jaemin and I are leaving for our dinner reservation in a couple of minutes, but I wanted to show you guys the fit. The collared shirt is a piece Bottega Veneta sent me, and the pants are…Uniqlo? I think. I’ve had them for so long that I don’t remember where I got them. I like them because they look fancy but they’re really comfy too. For shoes, I’m just going to wear the loafers my mom got me for my birthday this summer. They’re pretty but they don’t get a lot of mileage. Kind of like me. Ha.
Donghyuck steps back to show the camera his simple all-black dinner outfit, and accidentally backs into Jaemin walking right behind him. Jaemin puts his hands on his waist and kisses his cheek. “You look so stunning, baby.”
Donghyuck smiles and turns to face him. “You’re not so bad yourself. Wanna show off your outfit?”
“Sure. Should we make a TikTok to that Frank song that's trending?”
“Hm? Which one? Show me.”
“I’ve seen a lot of couples do it. We can film a clip of our outfits every day we’re here, and compile it into one...”
Jaemin pulls it up on his phone, and they film a clip to Frank Ocean's "Pink + White". Donghyuck is reviewing it when Jaemin asks, “Can I kiss you? Or will that ruin your makeup?”
“Nope, it's a lip stain, see? I’m planning on stuffing my face—”
Jaemin kisses him, doesn’t even let him finish talking. And then he peppers little dry kisses all over Donghyuck's face until Donghyuck pushes him off laughing.
“Why are you being all lovey-dovey with me?”
Jaemin’s thick eyebrows wrinkle with confusion. “Uh, because you’re my boyfriend and I love you?”
“No, but, it's more than usual.”
“I have no idea…” Jaemin says. He pauses mid-sentence to kiss Donghyuck on the lips for several long seconds. “What you're talking about.”
“Uh huh–” Donghyuck starts, but that too is cut off by another kiss. “Babe–”
“And we are going to be late for our reservation, so let's go.”
📹
I'm here today with my husband, Donghyuck says. He’s comfortably nestled beside Jaemin in their little booth at the restaurant, the lighting low and the chatter quiet. He watches for Jaemin’s reaction in the camera feed, but Jaemin is too preoccupied with deboning his fish for him.
It’s not that Donghyuck can’t do that on his own—It’s just that Jaemin insists on things like that, and who is Donghyuck to complain, really?
What is that? Jaemin asks, about ten seconds too late. He passes Donghyuck’s plate back to him and reaches for his own.
What—thank you.
The husband thing. Is it a TikTok trend?
No. Maybe. I can't call you my husband?
You can. I'm just saying you’ve never done it because usually when you’re fucking with me you call me daddy. I thought Keanu Reeves had walked in and sat down across from us or something.
Shut up. And button up your shirt.
Jaemin takes that as an opportunity to show off, stretching an arm over the back of their seat so his toned chest shows even more. Why? Am I making you nervous?
Donghyuck ignores him to drag his fish through the green sauce on his plate. He sticks it in his mouth so he doesn’t have to talk, moaning quietly at the explosion of flavor.
Wow.
Good?
So good. So fresh, too. Show them what you got.
Jaemin obediently points the vlog camera at his plate.
Wagyu, babay. Delicious, by the way.
“Do you ever think about how different we are?”
“We've been dating for five years and you’re asking me this now?”
“Well? Do you?”
“No. I think we’re really similar, actually. I don’t think we qualify as an opposites attract situation.”
Jaemin, why don’t you tell them what you have planned.
Like all of it?
Yeah. Rapid fire.
Beach tour. Beach. Another beach.
No sleep. Bus. Another bus. Another club. Donghyuck chimes in, citing the famous Lady Gaga interview-turned-meme.
Right, Jaemin laughs. No but really we’re gonna go beach hopping. That's like the main reason why we’re starting in Phuket. Um. We’ve got surfing lessons and lots of cool restaurants lined up. Clubs. Night markets. A cat cafe! Lots of cafes actually. A muay thai fight. Shopping. So much shopping.
My job is to make sure he doesn’t go overboard so we don’t need to buy another suitcase.
I think Phuket is gonna be fine. You’re probably gonna have to tie me up to stop me from going crazy in Bangkok though. There's a couple of malls I really wanna visit.
Ugh. My feet already hurt in advance.
Well, my job is to make sure you’re actually relaxing and having fun and, uh, not getting alcohol poisoning.
True.
And to also take beautiful pictures of him for you guys, Jaemin says. Oh! I forgot we have a couple massage scheduled for tomorrow evening.
Ohhh I'm actually so excited for that. You know I've never actually gotten a massage before like a professional one?
Jaemin frowns. Yes, you have.
No I haven’t.
You have! You let Jeno practice on you that one time.
Donghyuck puts a hand over his mouth, exaggerating his surprise. Oh yeah. I forgot. That was so funny. I’ll give you guys a mini story time. It was like, a little before Jaemin and I started dating properly, and Jeno was working on getting his masseuse license. Oh sorry, if you’re new here—Jeno is our friend who’s also a really good masseuse. I made a video with him a couple of months ago. If you wanna check it out, I'll link it below somewhere. But anyway, Jeno…was working on getting his license and needed someone to practice with and I volunteered because. I–I’m a good fucking friend okay? And Jaemin got soooo crazy and jealous. I still laugh thinking about it because—because I had no clue he liked me…in that way. I mean—at that point we were friends, we’d done a couple of videos together, our friends were friends….but we weren’t that close. Or at least I thought we weren’t. Which is why I was so confused when he started acting like that.
We were quite literally hooking up at this point, Jaemin reminds him. Like my dick had been–What do you mean we weren’t close?
Oh yeah, Donghyuck laughs. He’d said that with the sole purpose of rage baiting his boyfriend. He just can’t help himself. Fuck, sorry.
You’re—he just likes gaslighting and making me look crazy—
You are crazy… Donghyuck chimes in.
Silence, Jaemin laughs. The other crucial detail here is that Jeno was into him and openly flirted with him. Like, imagine being me and the guy you’re sort of in love with is getting oiled up and rubbed down by another guy who keeps talking about how tight he is. Of course I was jealous—and I didn't do anything about it, I just—well I don’t remember what I did.
You got all sulky…It was so cute. Donghyuck pouts and reaches out to rub Jaemin’s bright red ear. He’s a little tipsy. Your ears are so cute…
Whatever, Jaemin says. His hand is practically glued to Donghyuck’s thigh under the table, treating it like a stress ball while he talks to the camera. Do you want to know what made it worse? He thought I was jealous because I had a crush on Jeno. And then he tried to set me up with him.
I seriously didn’t know! Donghyuck laughs. It’s okay because Jeno is dating this really hot dancer named Jisung. So we’re all happy now. I was just such a mess back then. Like, you could tell me you liked me to my face and I still wouldn’t believe it.
I feel like you still do that sometimes. You get in your own head too much, baby.
But I’ve gotten better, right?
Jaemin nods.
Honestly though, a lot of our relationship has been–I know some of you guys might not see it this way, but I feel like our relationship has been pretty…public? He looks over at Jaemin for reassurance, who simply nods and keeps playing with his leg under the table.
They literally saw how we met, Jaemin says.
Right. And then there was the video…with the makeup…Actually—I think this is the first time we’re sharing this? We were friends with benefits for a while before we started dating— He looks over at Jaemin to make sure he’s okay with him elaborating on this, and Jaemin has an embarrassed look on his face, but he doesn’t seem upset. So that video title wasn't a joke. We were actually in a situationship. Sorta.
That’s such a stereotypically gay and toxic thing to do, Jaemin says.
I don’t think being friends with benefits is inherently toxic—
Of course you think that.
“—But we were really toxic. No. I think it was just me. I feel like you were so well-adjusted. Even back then. You communicated.”
“Yep.”
“And I was super avoidant…”
“Yep.”
“And I picked fights all the time but you put up with it because you wanted me so bad.”
Now that I think about it….did you even like me back then? Be honest.
Of course I did. What the fuck? Donghyuck laughs. It’s like that thing—What’s the metaphor?
I have no idea where you’re going with this.
You fell first but I fell harder?
That’s not a metaphor.
It’s a little embarrassing to talk about it now, but back when Jaemin and Donghyuck had thought they were still just friends, they'd filmed and edited a video together that Donghyuck had decided to title: ‘My Situationship Does My Makeup.’ It had only blown up because people in the comments kept writing things like:
sunflowervol606: Hyuckie the way Jaemin looks at you is sooo sweet please get married 🥺
Jim smoogie: @4:23 girl am i interrupting something
Potato_luvrx_x: lord i see what you have done for others…
1997brat: Bruh my boyfriend doesn’t even know what bronzer is. How does this guy have your Whole routine memorized????
And so on, and so forth.
But it doesn’t matter, because Jaemie asked me to be exclusive at Renjun’s Halloween party later that week and we’ve been together ever since. He pulls affectionately at Jaemin’s cheek, who of course tries to bite his fingers clean off in return. Sorry this kind of turned into a relationship Q&A, Donghyuck adds. I promise I’ll take you guys out tomorrow to make up for it.
I think you should keep it all in. They’re probably gonna love this. Your fans are so fucking nosy.
You can’t say that. They pay our rent.
That’s true, Jaemin says. He jokingly bows his head. Sorry.
At the end of the night, Donghyuck gets drunk off of exactly one and a half glasses of the most delicious white wine he’s ever tasted. He usually defaults to red, but the waiter had mentioned that white paired better with his seafood meal. What he hadn’t mentioned was how strong it was. Jaemin finishes off the second glass for him, but he still has to practically carry him back to their hotel room, do his double cleansing routine for him and help him brush his teeth.
If Donghyuck is being honest, the light grip Jaemin has on his throat to keep his head steady while he works is seeping a horny fever into his bloodstream. In an ideal world, he’d be dropping to his knees and giving Jaemin the best, sloppiest head of his life, but he's way too drunk and sleepy for that to end well.
“I love you so much,” Donghyuck says instead.
Except his mouth is full of toothpaste, so it comes out sounding like I wuv you. tho’m.
Jaemin seems to understand it anyway. “I know, baby. Spit out the toothpaste for me.”
Donghyuck does as he’s told, waiting until Jaemin helps him rinse out his mouth with a cup of water to say, “I can’t believe you just asked me to spit instead of swallow.”
Jaemin makes him rinse his mouth out again, with a look on his face that says, “Shut the fuck up,” in that caring way he can seem to manage even when Donghyuck is getting on his nerves on purpose.
“I really love you,” Donghyuck insists. “I'm not just saying it.
Jaemin laughs quietly at that. “I know,” he repeats. “I love you too, sunshine.”
He places the empty cup down and swipes gently at the last bit of eyeliner lingering on Donghyuck's waterline with his thumb, and then he kisses the tip of Donghyuck’s shiny clean nose. Donghyuck feels warm all over, from where Jaemin’s lips linger all the way down to his toes, sated and happy and so full of love that he could just melt down into a puddle of goo. He’s still a little dizzy, so he closes his eyes and drapes his arms over Jaemin’s broad shoulders, leaning forward so all his weight is on him.
“Take me to bed, princess.”
“It’s like three feet. You can walk perfectly fine.”
“Well that's not very in love with me of you…” Donghyuck pouts. He makes sure he’s looking up at Jaemin and blinking delicately when he asks, “So you hate me and want me to die?”
“Don’t even joke about that.”
Jaemin grunts, and then suddenly Donghyuck is being bent over, hoisted onto his shoulder and carted off to the bed like a sack of rice. Not exactly what he’d hoped to accomplish, but Jaemin smacks his ass once on each side before he sets him down ever so gently, so it’s close enough. Donghyuck crawls underneath the covers in an exhausted stupor, the jetlag and the alcohol in his system weighing him down and putting him vaguely out of it.
He watches with heavy eyes as Jaemin finishes off his own routine and undresses. He dozes off almost as soon as Jaemin pulls his shirt over his head, and he’s startled awake by his boyfriend finally sliding in behind him, his body warm and welcoming in the harshly air conditioned room.
“What time is it?”
Jaemin kisses his forehead ever so gently, blink-and-you-miss-it-quick like he just can’t help it.
“It's only been ten minutes, baby.”
“Oh.”
Jaemin turns off the lamp and maneuvers Donghyuck back into their usual sleeping position, allowing him to wrap his arms around his waist and bury his nose at his nape. He whispers goodnight, and Donghyuck is asleep again before he can even think to say it back.
📹
Donghyuck wakes up first, for some unexplainable reason. It's barely light outside, and his cheek is pressed against Jaemin’s chest. He lies there for a moment, synching their breathing, feeling comfortable and safe and warm.
Sometimes, he wishes he could film these intimate moments too, and wishes he could show the people who are constantly speculating about their relationship how much they care for each other, and how real their love is. Jaemin hates that he feels that way. Donghyuck's love is his to give, and this secret private thing that they share will never be understood by anyone as well as it’s understood by them. And, most importantly, why should he have to prove his relationship to strangers on the internet anyway?
Jaemin’s big brown eyes flutter open, and Donghyuck makes an unexpected sound, embarrassed at having been caught staring. He feels his face heat up as Jaemin gives him a slow, lopsided smile before pulling him close again. He's not usually a talker in the mornings, but he mutters something into Donghyuck’s hair that he doesn’t quite catch. To Donghyuck’s sleep hazy brain, it sounds like, “I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” And it makes his heart rate pick up.
“What?” he murmurs.
“I said m’gonna head to the gym in an hour or two,” Jaemin croaks. His voice is extra deep and scratchy from good sleep. It makes Donghyuck tingle. He huffs out a quiet laugh against his boyfriend's bare chest, somehow relieved and disappointed and horny all at once. “The gym? On vacation?”
“The grind never stops, babe. I gotta get those gains in.”
Donghyuck groans and sits up, stretching in the warm sunlight and immediately thinking of Lucy doing the same thing back home. “I don’t know why I like you.”
“Mm I do,” Jaemin says. He rubs his eyes tiredly. “It’s because I’m the only man who can put up with you. And because my dick is huge.”
“I’m gonna kill you.” Donghyuck whispers. “No one will ever know.”
Jaemin sits up and grabs him by the shoulders so suddenly that it makes him giggle. “I would haunt you into insanity,” he whispers. “Everyone would know it was you. I'd destroy your life. And I wouldn’t let you move on from me either. I’d haunt everyone you ever dated too.”
“Yeah?” Donghyuck asks, voice small.
“Jesus Christ,” Jaemin says in a normal voice. “Is this making you horny?”
“In my defense, I was already there before you started talking.”
It’s true that Donghyuck is a little messed up in the head, but Jaemin has to be the same kind of crazy, because he leans in to kiss Donghyuck as soon as the sentence leaves his mouth, reckless and sweet. His hand travels slowly up Donghyuck’s bare thigh as they exchange short kisses, leaving goosebumps in his wake.
Because Jaemin is a freak who doesn’t care about stale morning breath, he starts coaxing Donghyuck’s mouth open with his tongue and swallowing down the quiet moan he lets out. They lazily make out for so long that Donghyuck’s lips go numb, and then Jaemin switches his attention to his neck, kissing and sucking at it even as Donghyuck starts to doze off again. They’re both hard, but too lazy to do anything about it. Jaemin just rubs his stiff cock up against Donghyuck’s hip while they kiss, his thumb massaging dry against his hole and drawing out those desperate gummy sounds that Donghyuck can’t help but make when Jaemin is touching him like that.
When Donghyuck wakes up again, Jaemin is indeed gone. He slides out of bed to shower, pleased to find that his hangover is practically nonexistent.
When he flicks on the lights in the bathroom though, he jumps a little at his reflection in the mirror. There’s a massive hickey on his neck.
He’s still standing there in a towel annoyed and trying to conceal it when Jaemin gets back from the hotel gym.
“Yikes,” Jaemin says. “Did I do that?”
Donghyuck glares at him. Jaemin has a shit eating grin on his face, but he looks so good—flushed and sweaty from his workout—that Donghyuck is having a hard time staying mad at him.
Donghyuck does his best Jaemin impression, deepening his voice and parroting, “Did I do that?”
Jaemin kisses his exposed shoulder in apology before claiming the shower, leaving Donghyuck to put gold skincare patches under his eyes before putting on a robe and heading back to the room to pick out real clothes for the day. He gets sidetracked checking his social media pages almost immediately, and since he’s satisfied with his cover up job, he turns on the camera out of habit.
Good morning! It's officially day 1. Like, our first full day, so maybe day 2, I should say. I had a tiny bit too much to drink last night, and it’s…kind of later than I wanted to be awake but it’s okay…we’re supposed to go rent a scooter and check out a couple of cafes this afternoon. We’re also being killed by jet lag so—actually I'm being killed by jet lag. Jaemin woke up early this morning and went to the gym. He's in the shower right now. I know he has that massage planned for tonight too, so I'll probably film that. If not, we’ll try again tomorrow. I promised Jaemin I would try to focus more on having fun instead of getting footage for you guys, but I feel like I can do both, right? Anyway if this video ends up being a little short you guys can blame him and send him hate on Twitter. Kidding. Don’t do that.
“Babe?” Jaemin pokes his head out of the bathroom. “Could you please grab me a towel?”
“There should be a couple under the sink in there?” Donghyuck replies. When Jaemin doesn’t answer, he gets up to grab one of the extras he saw in the closet.
As soon as Donghyuck opens the bathroom door to hand him the towel, Jaemin grabs him by the forearm and pulls him inside. Disoriented by the steam and Jaemin's speed, Donghyuck gets pressed against the sink and kissed so deeply that there’s no air left in his lungs once Jaemin pulls back.
“You’re the worst,” he gasps.
Jaemin giggles quietly and cups his cheek to kiss him again, softer this time, before tilting his head to nip playfully at the side of his neck that isn’t covered in concealer. He’s still dripping from the shower, the heat of him ever present as he presses up against Donghyuck’s thin satin robe. “You’re getting me wet,” Donghyuck whines, and Jaemin only continues to kiss his way up his neck.
“I know. That’s the goal.”
“So you can say that but I can’t make spit and swallow jokes?”
“It's funnier when I do it.” Jaemin bites gently at his earlobe, and Donghyuck’s knees immediately go weak. His left hand lets go of humid porcelain to grab onto Jaemin's bicep, and Jaemin slides his bare thigh in between Donghyuck’s legs and lifts him onto the bathroom counter.
“There is literally…” Donghyuck gasps and grinds into the pressure of Jaemin’s beautiful thick thigh against his dick, squeezing his eyes shut as Jaemin’s tongue slides into his ear. “No universe…mm…where…you’re funnier…than me…”
Jaemin kisses him like they’ve been apart for years, like he hadn't all but gotten his fill when they woke up a few hours ago. The best part of this is getting to feel Jaemin up—the wet strands of his hair tangling around Donghyuck’s fingers, the roughness of his tongue, the firmness of his chest. The kissing is sloppy, desperate, and it leaves Donghyuck gasping for air before he even feels Jaemin is so hard that his tip is nudging sticky precum against Donghyuck’s tummy.
“Wanna pick up where we left off?” Jaemin whispers.
“Mhm.”
“Turn around,” Jaemin commands, and Donghyuck is whirled around before he can even think to tease or disobey. He comes face to face with his flushed cheeks in the mirror, the remaining condensation doing nothing to hide how debauched he looks just from kissing. Jaemin's hands come down just underneath his ribs, tracing the outline of his body before slipping his robe up and tucking it in at his waist.
He watches in the mirror as Jaemin suddenly disappears from view. He drops to his knees, spreads Donghyuck open with his large palms and licks a stripe all the way up from his perineum, tongue hot and wet as it swipes past his taint and returns to slide into him. Once again, his frantic grip on the sink is the only thing that keeps him upright.
“Fuck,” he moans, “Fuck, baby.”
Jaemin has eaten him out countless times before, but this round feels different. He goes at it like Donghyuck is his last meal on earth, groaning and slurping obscenely at his hole in a way that should be embarrassing but is just extremely hot. It’s making his legs shake, his whole body weak from pleasure. When he tries to pull away, Jaemin spanks him so hard the skin goes hot immediately, the sharp, localized pain dragging another honeyed moan out of Donghyuck. He’s going to come if Jaemin keeps going like this, and he tells him so.
Jaemin spends too long working him open with his fingers and lube, so when he finally slides home, it’s like sweet fucking relief. He’s balls deep, stretching him out just right, and god, god…
Jaemin’s thumb and pointer twist at his nipple. “Are you still here with me?”
“Yes,” Donghyuck gasps. “Jaem…”
“I know,” Jaemin says, “You can take it, baby. You always do.” He drags his hips back before slowly pushing into him again, and Donghyuck’s just trying to breathe at this point, so full that it feels like Jaemin is in his stomach.
“Babe.” Jaemin groans. His voice is so low and gravelly that it sounds like a growl, rumbling in Donghyuck’s chest. “You’re so fucking tight, god—” his hand comes up to Donghyuck’s neck, and Donghyuck moans at the pressure of his heavy fingers, at the sight of himself in the mirror, crowded in by Jaemin’s broader frame while he chokes him and snaps his hips forward, finding the perfect rhythm. He hikes Donghyuck's knee onto the counter, and Donghyuck can tell it's because Jaemin likes to ogle at the tug of his hole wrapped around his cock. It makes him feel so dirty, and his moans start to coincide with each loud slap of Jaemin’s hips against his ass.
Suddenly, there's a knock on their hotel door, but neither of them register it at first, completely preoccupied with each other. But then it comes again. Jaemin slows his thrusts down like it’ll make him hear better. His hand leaves Donghyuck’s throat and slides down the middle of his back.
“Who is that?” Jaemin asks.
“Whuh? I don’t know...”
Jaemin pulls out after a second of hesitation, and the sound Donghyuck makes is so embarrassing that Jaemin’s mouth twitches up in a smile.
Donghyuck wants to pinch him. “Not fucking funny.”
“You should get that.”
“Why don’t you get it? You booked the room.”
Jaemin blinks at him, gesturing at his own perfectly toned body. “Uhm. I’m…naked? And…really hard. Clearly.”
So Donghyuck gets himself decent and opens the door to an apologetic gentleman with a cart of flowers and breakfast.
“Oh! I’m sorry but, um, we didn’t order anything.” Donghyuck says. He’s still a little breathless, clutching the blanket in front of his crotch and hoping he doesn’t look as red as he feels.
“It’s complimentary! For booking the honeymoon suite.”
“We didn’t—okay, yeah. Of course, sorry. I mean—Thank you so much! Please, come in.”
As soon as the coast clears, Jaemin rematerializes in the bathroom doorway with a large towel around his waist and his arms crossed over his chest.
“Who was it?”
“The hotel sent us a free breakfast. For booking the honeymoon package. Are you sure you had nothing to do with that?”
“No. I swear. It’s kind of a happy accident though, isn’t it?”
“Whatever,” Donghyuck says. Still slightly irritated from getting blueballed. At least the food smells good. “Let’s just eat before it gets cold.”
Jaemin hums and grabs his arm as he walks past. “But I wanted to eat something else though?”
Donghyuck swats him away, albeit weakly. “That ship has sailed.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
Donghyuck makes the mistake of turning his back towards him, because all Jaemin does is sidle up behind him. Jaemin’s hands palm at his cock, teasing as he rubs his nose at the sensitive spot behind Donghyuck’s ear. “Please?” Jaemin asks. His dick is still rock solid through the towel, and Donghyuck arches into it, because he’s just a simple bottom, okay?
He allows Jaemin to walk him backwards towards the bed, pushing him down into the mattress before climbing over him to kiss him on the mouth. Donghyuck slides a hand over his neck and sucks gently on his bottom lip, drinking in the soft moan that Jaemin lets out and opening up for more.
“You know,” Jaemin says softly, “it does kinda feel like we’re on our honeymoon together, doesn’t it?” He keeps kissing his way down Donghyuck’s body—the mole on his chest, the one underneath his ribs, his stomach—undoing his robe like he’s opening a present. “We’re in a beautiful place together, making new memories, consummating our marriage...”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Oh but I am,” Jaemin hums. He’s on his knees now. His lips are pressed against Donghyuck’s inner thigh. Donghyuck squeezes his legs together to trap him there, but Jaemin seems more than happy to stay like that.
“Are you ready to give me a baby, hubby?” Donghyuck asks.
Donghyuck sits up on his elbows so he can see Jaemin’s reaction when he says it. He’s well rewarded, because Jaemin’s eyes widen and his cheeks flush so violently Donghyuck can feel the warmth between his legs. It’s there and gone in a second, though.
“Is that what you want? Isn't it too soon? What will our parents think?”
“My mom is already asking me about grandchildren. I'm sure she won’t mind.”
“Let’s make a baby then.” Jaemin says. He crawls up and positions himself between Donghyuck’s hips, teasing his cock at his entrance, and Donghyuck pulls him down for another kiss that seems too sweet for a mid-morning quickie, but Jaemin indulges him like he always does. He gasps when Jaemin bottoms out again, because even though he’s prepped well it’s a lot to take at this angle. He hates Jaemin’s big dumb dick.
“You think we can do it on the first try?”
“Yeah, my sperm is different.”
Donghyuck hates that he finds that funny. “Okay, no more talking from you.”
“Come on. You were so into it, wifey.”
Donghyuck groans and covers his face with his arm.
“Fuck off.”
“Hey, okay. I’m sorry. Wanna get on top?”
Jaemin always moans like he’s in heaven when Donghyuck rides him, but it’s somehow worse today.
“Why do you feel so good? It’s not fair.” Jaemin pants. His hands are like a vice around Donghyuck’s waist. Donghyuck is pretty sure he’s going to have bruises later, but he doesn’t really care because he feels just as good. He braces his hands on Jaemin’s chest and throws his head back, gasping out his name.
“Yeah. Right there,” Donghyuck moans. It feels like Jaemin is nailing him right in his sweet spot, thrusting up from the bed to meet his hips.
“Wanna hear you say it. Tell me how much you love my cock.”
“I love your cock, baby. Holy fuck. You always fuck me so well.” He’s close, which is kind of expected because he’s been on edge since they woke up, but the buzz underneath his skin is unmatched.
“I’m really close,” Jaemin pants, “Are you…?”
“Yeah. Want your come, baby.”
Jaemin comes in hot spurts like he’d been waiting for the request, painting Donghyuck’s insides with warmth. Donghyuck grinds down into the mess to milk every drop, uncaring of the gross, sticky sound that it makes. Jaemin puts a hand on his back and uses it to flip him into the mattress, and his hips don’t stop until Donghyuck is coming too, spilling all over their stomachs.
📹
Okay so we’re post massage. Couple drinks in. Jaemin agreed to meet one of his friends from college at this beach club, so that’s where we are. The DJ is crazy good but it’s so loud! Sorry! Wait, babe. Tell them about your friend.
Um, it’s just this guy I hung out with—we were in the same major until he switched to music junior year. And then we were RAs on the same floor for a bit.
Oh my god, yeah I remember. You trauma bonded. This is Chan, right?
Yeah. He lives in Australia right now but he’s here in Thailand often. We haven’t seen each other in years. I think he might be bringing his fiancé.
Oh em gee. Aw. Are we gonna be on a double date?
Something like that. How many drinks have you had, cutie?
“Only three. See?” Donghyuck holds up his palm so Jaemin can see the tally marks on them. “Are you having fun, baby?”
“Of course. Are you?”
“Helllll yeah.”
“Okay, you’re switching to water for a bit.”
“Noooo.”
Jaemin is feeding Donghyuck a water bottle when Chan finds them and makes his way over to their umbrella.
“Jaemin! How the hell are ya mate?”
The two of them exchange equally enthusiastic greetings, and the only thing Donghyuck can think to say is, “Oh my god. You're really Australian.”
Chan looks over at him and laughs good naturedly. “I am! You must be Donghyuck. It’s so nice to—”
“Do you like 5 seconds of summer? Like the band. Have you heard—”
“Sorry about him,” Jaemin says. He reaches a hand out to greet the unnaturally hot blonde holding hands with Chan. “You’re Felix, right? I've heard so much about you from your fiancé.”
“Yeah that’s me,” Felix says sweetly. “It’s lovely to meet you both. Chan told me a lot about you guys too.”
“You are so beautiful,” Donghyuck says earnestly. “Seriously. I would buy a magazine with your face on it.”
“Thank you! You are beautiful as well.”
“Oh no. Not like that—Oh my god, your ring.”
Felix sits next to Donghyuck and lets him drunkenly cradle his left hand.
“Isn't it gorgeous? I'm obsessed.”
“It is! Wow, congratulations, you two.” Donghyuck says. The ring is a stunning thing, simple but very clearly expensive. Up close, Felix has a constellation of freckles all across his supermodel face. It’s all very distracting. “How…Um, how long have you been together? Do you mind me asking?”
“Not at all. And we haven’t been together long—Well, I suppose it depends on who you ask. Two years or so.”
“Yeah,” Chan chimes in. “We met about a year or two out of college and didn't start dating until recently. But when you know you just know, right?”
“Oh absolutely.” Donghyuck nods. “Jaemin and I have been together five years but it feels like a lifetime. I mean, it felt like a lifetime when we were six months in.”
Jaemin comes up behind him, squeezing his shoulders with both hands. “I can’t tell if you mean that in a good way or a bad way.”
“In a good way of course,” Donghyuck pouts. He picks up the hand Jaemin has on his shoulder and presses a sloppy kiss to it. “You’re my soulmate.”
Chan and Felix exchange a look, although Donghyuck doesn’t know them well enough to decipher what it means. He files it away and decides to ask Jaemin about it later. (He’s not going to remember to ask Jaemin about it later.)
“I’m gonna order a round for the table,” Chan says. “Sounds good?”
“Oh, I like him,” Donghyuck says.
📹
On their last day in Phuket, Donghyuck makes the executive decision not to film anything. As much as he enjoys it, he’s on vacation, and it figures that he should actually try to spend time enjoying the moment instead of trying to film content. Honestly, he’s put at ease by the knowledge that he already has a ton of footage to sift through, and practically skips alongside Jaemin when they go to the beach. It’s a pretty laid back day in comparison to their otherwise packed itinerary. The resort they’re at has these cute little cabanas a little ways from the shore, so they can lounge and order food in between swimming.
They’re on one of their breaks when Donghyuck hooks his chin over Jaemin's shoulder and puts his arms around his waist. “Who's texting us?”
Jaemin startles immediately, which is completely unlike him, and it makes Donghyuck’s heart drop right into his ass.
“Nothing! Nobody. I was just…looking something up.”
“On messages?”
“Yeah, I was trying to find an old text thread between me and Mark.”
“Ah. Ok,” Donghyuck says. His mind reflexively goes to dark places. He thinks back to the cornered look on Renjun’s face when Donghyuck had asked him if he thought Jaemin was going to break up with him.
Jaemin’s athleisure line finally dropped a few hours ago, so it would make sense for him to be checking on it, but if that’s what he was doing it would’ve been easier to just say that instead of lying about finding old text messages.
“Hey,” Jaemin says, he puts an arm around Donghyuck's shoulders and falls back against the pillows, holding him in a chokehold despite his feigned protests. “What are you cooking up in that sick little head of yours?”
“Nothing.”
“You know I can tell when you’re lying to me, right?”
“Are you seriously trying to have a serious conversation with me while pinning me down like some WWE superstar?”
Jaemin lets him go, and Donghyuck rolls onto his side beside him, propping his head up on one arm and pushing his sunglasses into his hair. Jaemin mirrors him.
“Okay, so what is it? You’ve been weird since we got here,” Jaemin says. I’m being weird? Is what Donghyuck wants to say. He doesn’t answer though, just bites his lip as Jaemin’s eyes scan his face.
“You hate it. You're not having fun?”
“What? No. You know, Phuket has been my dream destination since forever. It's even better because I get to be here with you.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, baby. Promise.”
“Are you sad it’s our last day? I can reschedule our flight—”
“No, I’m not sad. I wanna explore Bangkok too.”
“Well then—what’s bothering you?”
Donghyuck sighs. Jaemin is so sweet and attentive. Donghyuck might be the worst boyfriend in the world. “You’re gonna think I’m crazy.”
“I already know you’re crazy. I've been dealing with your ass for years.”
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I. Hey, look at me. What is it?”
“I just can’t stop feeling like you’re…I feel like you’re hiding something from me. Like, for months now you’ve been all weird and secretive—and when you told me we were going on vacation I assumed that you’d go back to normal—I thought this was the secret you know? But you’re still being like that, and, I don’t know. I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, okay? I trust you. I’m just telling you how I feel.”
Jaemin’s face undergoes a myriad of different emotions before he finally buries his face in Donghyuck’s chest. “I hate how smart you are,” Jaemin says. He looks into Donghyuck’s eyes. “I hate that you know me so well.”
“So it’s not in my head? You are hiding something?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. It’s not what you think. At least I hope you’re not thinking about it. I really wanted it to be a surprise…” Jaemin trails off, muttering.
“A surprise?”
“Yeah. Sorry. I have something else planned for us tonight. Will you give me until then to show you?”
“Yeah, of course.” Donghyuck smiles. It feels like half the weight has been lifted off his chest, though he has no idea what the surprise could be, he feels like he’s finally able to relax.
They lay and watch the waves rolling against the shore. A server brings them more fresh fruit. Jaemin puts sunscreen on Donghyuck’s back, they make out for a little while, and then they go out to the ocean and tan some more. It’s bliss, honestly. Donghyuck thinks that whatever Jaemin has planned, it can’t be better than this.
📹
Okay. I’m trying to film this ‘get ready with me’ as fast as possible because I’m, uh, fuck. Donghyuck gets on his knees to pick up the heart shaped lip tint that he just dropped, shooting the camera an embarrassed look when he pops back up. I just spent the whole day at the beach with Jaemin, but we’re going back—to a different part of the beach? Because he has a surprise for me.
I’m whispering because he’s in the next room and I told him I wouldn’t film today hehe, but I’m too excited. I need someone to talk to! You guys know me.
You know what’s crazy is… I tanned so much, the foundation I used when we first got here is too light for me now. Which is fine, because it’s way too hot for foundation anyway. He puts a little shimmer on his nose, decides he hates it and then wipes it off.
I have no idea what the surprise is going to be. Like I've been racking my brain since he told me a couple of hours ago and I can’t guess. I mean, I have an idea, but I’m not going to say it in case I’m wrong. That would be too embarrassing. You guys will probably know by the time this video goes up. What is it? Can you tell me?
In the end, Donghyuck settles for a more natural look, styling his hair so it curls a little at his neck and dressing in a simple white linen shirt and shorts. He finishes it off the perfume he knows Jaemin likes best.
Jaemin looks nauseous all the way through their romantic candlelit dinner, and then when he asks if he can blindfold Donghyuck on their way down to the beach, Donghyuck starts feeling that way too.
“Is this a sex thing? Because I ate way too much for us to do anything remotely close to that,” Donghyuck says. The sun has only just begun to set, but it’s pitch black behind the blindfold, and humor is his only tried and true coping mechanism.
“No,” Jaemin says. “Watch your step.”
“You’re supposed to be watching it for me.”
That makes Jaemin laugh. Finally, Donghyuck thinks.
“Oh my god. Give me your other hand.”
They walk for what feels like ten years but is probably ten minutes, and Jaemin only lets go of him after parking him safely underneath a pine tree. Donghyuck knows they’re close to the water because the waves are louder here. When Jaemin takes his blindfold off, he’s greeted by the sight of an artificial archway with a hundred little lights, lush plants and flowers, like their own little grotto.
“Whoa…” Donghyuck says. He blinks up at it, stunned. “Jaemin…Did you?”
“I wanted to do this on the first night, but I kept getting nervous and putting it off. I don’t want to keep you in the dark any longer, so. Here I go.” He takes both of Donghyuck’s hands and looks directly into his eyes. The gentle sunset breeze blows his bangs off his forehead. His cheeks are tinted pink, and his lips, although set in a serious line, are soft and rosy. He’s so handsome. Donghyuck has thought that since the moment they met, but there’s a luminous glow in his eyes now that makes him all the more attractive.
“You’re making me nervous, Jaem.” Donghyuck laughs. “What is it?”
“Right. Sorry. Um, I had this whole thing planned out in my head for so long and now I’m—Donghyuck.”
“I’m here, darling.”
“I’m in love with you.”
“This, we knew.”
“Quiet,” Jaemin murmurs. He steps a little closer, their hands still intertwined, and begins again. “I love you, and I deeply admire you. All of you, even your smallest mannerisms. I love…your laugh, and the mole on your lower back. I love that you love to sing off key when you’re drunk even though you’re a really good singer. I love how passionate you are about life—about music, about food, about being your most authentic self even when you’re not sure of what the next day will bring. I love how kind you are to people who don’t even deserve it. I love that you love to make me mad. I love that we laugh at the same stupid jokes. I love how you hold me when I’m sad. I love the way that you love me. And, I hope you’ll let me love you for a really long time, babe. Because I think you’re my soulmate too.”
He lets go of one of Donghyuck’s hands to reach into his pocket, and then he’s getting down on one knee on the sand and Donghyuck’s chest is getting tight because he’s forgetting how to inhale and exhale.
“Every day, I think about how I want to be with you in every life for the rest of time, so I hope you’ll do me the honor of granting me forever in this one. Donghyuck Lee, will you marry me?”
“Jaemin, honey, are you being jinjja for real with me right now?” Donghyuck says, and then he doesn’t get to say anything else because he's bursting into tears. Of joy, of relief—all the anxiety he’d been carrying around dissipating in an instant.
Jaemin is tearing up a little himself. “Yeah, sunshine, I'm being for real. So, what do you say?”
“Yes. Yes! Of course I'll marry you.” Jaemin stands and gingerly slides the ring onto his finger, and Donghyuck surges forward to kiss him, so full of emotion that he doesn’t even know what to do with himself. Jaemin picks him up by the waist and spins him around while they kiss, and Donghyuck hears the rapid fire of a professional camera go off.
“You hired a photographer?” Donghyuck gasps. He’s still being lifted in the air by Jaemin, so he wraps his legs around his waist for support. Jaemin doesn’t even stumble.
“Yeah. That’s Johnny.”
Johnny waves brightly from his place a few paces away.
“Hiiii. I’m Johnny.”
“There was supposed to be a band but they canceled at the last minute. I’m sorry. I really wanted this to be perfect.”
“Are you shitting me?” Donghyuck sniffles. “Of course this is perfect, dummy. Now will you kiss me again already?”
Donghyuck is still teary and red nosed in half the photos they take, but he doesn’t care. He’s seriously so happy he could explode all over the beach.
The sun has fully set by the time they’re done and they have a flight in the morning, but Jaemin and Donghyuck decide to enjoy each other's company for a while longer. They walk further down the beach, holding hands and watching the ocean roll against the shore.
“This is so beautiful, baby,” Donghyuck says. Even in the moonlight, the diamond on his finger glimmers and sparkles like fresh fallen snow. “I can’t believe I was giving you a hard time and you were just nervous about putting all of this together. I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, you didn’t know. Which is exactly how I wanted it.”
“Mm.” Donghyuck kisses him on the cheek and pauses to whisper in his ear. “You are gonna get the best head of your life when we get back to the hotel.”
“Oh. Should we head back now?”
“Um. I kind of wanted some ice cream…”
📹
Later, when they’re both basking in the afterglow, Donghyuck starts staring at the rock on his finger again.
He takes a picture of their locked hands in front of the TV, angling it so KinnPorsche and their takeout is in frame. He tweets it and captions it never kill yourself. Of course, in the next few seconds someone quotes it with: they’re so cute it makes me want to kill myself.
Donghyuck giggles and tosses his phone aside for the night, snuggling up to Jaemin and burying his face in his neck.
Jaemin holds his waist and squeezes him closer.
“Happy?”
“Mmhm,” Donghyuck sighs contentedly. “Hey, how'd you pick out this ring, anyway?”
“Renjun helped me.”
“He knew? I knew he was hiding something!”
“Yeah. Well, everyone knew I planned this trip just to propose. Mark, Renjun, Chenle, Jeno, Chan, Felix, Lucy, Luna, Luke—”
“You were talking to the cats about this.”
“When you weren’t home, yeah. My family knew too, of course. And yours. As soon as we got here your mom started texting me and asking if I’d done it yet.”
“Holy fuck. How did I miss that…”
“It was a team effort.”
“Oh! Do I get to make a TikTok being all dramatic about you not being my boyfriend anymore so people think we broke up? And then I make another video saying that it’s because you’re my fiancé?”
“…Babe I think you already gave it away by tweeting that picture of our hands just now.”
Donghyuck bolts up and scrambles for his phone on the floor.
“Fuck!”