It didn’t take long for Myungsoo’s ridiculous kisses and cheesy words to get his boyfriend title revoked. But at the same time, it was the kisses and cheesy words that got him his boyfriend title back a few days later. They were more like boyfriends than anything else, Sungyeol would just get so fed up with his brashness sometimes. And though he never really admitted it, he kind of liked the way Myungsoo treated him.

After a few weeks of dating, Sungyeol came to the realization that Myungsoo was a gigantic dork. He was clumsy and he clapped like a seal when he laughed and Sungyeol found it adorable. After he had eventually given Myungsoo his phone number, he also found that Myungsoo texted with little acronyms and cute emoticons. And after having his text messages blow up his phone for days, he decided it was okay to like Myungsoo back.

Even if he was a cheesy bastard with no tact.

But that was all okay because Myungsoo was the sweetest boyfriend Sungyeol had ever dated. And he really loved him on days like today where he would take him out on dates and hold his hand the whole time.

“You’re going to get me wet!”

“We’re at a beach, it’s kind of the point.” Myungsoo laughed at him, pulling him over to kiss his cheek.

Sungyeol pushed him off with a squirm. “Myungsoo! You’re all wet, get off of me!”

Myungsoo flipped his wet hair and hugged his topless chest onto Sungyeol. “Aw, cucciolo, let me hug you!” He tackled Sungyeol down onto his towel and peppered kisses all over his face.

“Myungsoo!” Sungyeol exclaimed, grimacing as the wet droplets from Myungsoo’s hair rained onto his skin.

“Oh, cucciolo, you’re so cute!” Myungsoo laughed giddily, nuzzling his wet cheek into Sungyeol’s neck. “Come on, go with me into the ocean.”

“I already told you, I can’t swim,” Sungyeol replied, sitting back up. Myungsoo was still draped over his body, hugging onto him.

Myungsoo glanced up at him, his eyes sparkling. “Dip your feet in with me? Don’t worry – I won’t let the ocean take you away from me.”

Sungyeol rolled his eyes but grinned as he stood up, pulling Myungsoo up with his hands. “Maybe the ocean needs to take you away from me.”

“No,” Myungsoo sings, swinging their hands as they walk towards the crowded shoreline. “I want to keep you for myself. Hold my hand every time we go into the water, okay?”

“Okay,” Sungyeol agreed playfully.

His feet kicked at the waves as he watched foam recede around his ankles. Looking out at the horizon of the green-blue ocean, he bit back a sigh. He would miss all of this. After his semester in Italy ended, we would really miss all of this. He would miss Myungsoo especially.

They had been together for maybe a month now and they had never talked about the fact that Sungyeol had to go back to Korea after the semester. They didn’t touch on the subject of not being able to see each other physically for a long time. And even then, Sungyeol wasn’t even sure if they would be staying in a relationship afterwards.

His grip tightened on Myungsoo’s hand. “We haven’t talked about it yet.”

Myungsoo’s eyebrows furrowed as he brought Sungyeol in closer. “Talked about what?”

“About the fact that I have to leave for Korea in a few months,” Sungyeol clarified, turning his head to gaze Myungsoo in the eye. “We haven’t talked about it.”

The smile on Myungsoo’s face faltered slightly. “Well… what is there to talk about, cucciolo? It seems pretty straightforward. You will go back to Korea.”

“Are we still going to be in a relationship, I mean.” Sungyeol’s voice was soft, blending in with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. “Do you think we’ll be able to stay in contact?”

“Of course we will,” Myungsoo reassured him with a smile. “Why wouldn’t we?”

Sungyeol shrugged. “I don’t know. There are going to be things like time differences and the distance. Do you think it will work?”

Myungsoo’s face faltered as he pursed his lips. After a moment, he went back into a smile. “Of course we’ll work it out. We’ll have our phones and video calls. Nothing to worry about, cucciolo.”

“I don’t know…” Sungyeol sighed. “Will we really? Korea is really far from Rome.”

Instead of answering, Myungsoo brought him closer and kissed him on the lips. “Let’s not think about that right now. We’re here at the beach – let’s enjoy it!”

Sungyeol laughed and hugged Myungsoo’s arms around him. “I don’t swim though.”

“You can if I’m holding you.” Myungsoo winked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“Myungsoo, I swear, if you dare think about picking me up–”

“I won’t, I won’t!” He laughed. He shook water from his hair as he started dragging Sungyeol out into the tide. “I’ll just drag you!”

“Kim Myungsoo, I told you I couldn’t swim!”

“But I’m holding you! I promised you I wouldn’t let the ocean take you away from me, remember?” Myungsoo grinned cheekily, his eyes turning into crescents.

Sungyeol would be damned if he didn’t say he loved it. Even though his clothes got all wet and Myungsoo’s constant hugging made it worse, he would admit that playing in the ocean was really fun. Lots of fun.

Sungyeol decided to think about the future of their relationship when the time came. They had only been dating for a month or so, there was plenty of time to think about that later. Right now he needed to enjoy himself. After all, he had the beach and Myungsoo.

Splashing around in the crystal clear waves with Myungsoo was great fun. And it felt even nicer to lay around on the sand afterwards, drying in the sun, Myungsoo’s topless body draped over his own. Maybe it was the way Myungsoo’s wet hair tickled his neck, but Sungyeol felt tingly and happy all over.

✕
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Myungsoo lay on Sungyeol’s bed, the cool sheets feeling soft against his bare chest as he waited for Sungyeol to finish showering. They had decided to hang out in Sungyeol’s dorm after the beach to just relax. It was a hot, sunny Saturday afternoon and it felt nice to sit around in Sungyeol’s air conditioned room. Dongwoo wasn’t around so the whole place was to themselves.

Stretched out on Sungyeol’s bed, Myungsoo let his limbs fall everywhere. It was so hot out, he desperately just wanted to take off his pants and just lay in his boxers but he decided against it. Not in someone else room at least. Sungyeol’s sheets felt cool enough on his stomach anyways. He would be fine.

He sat up, reaching for the guitar he had brought into the room. The room was boring without Sungyeol to keep him company. He plucked at the strings absentmindedly, not paying much attention to the tune coming out. He hummed along with it, improvising a tune as if it was familiar.

“I’m impressed.”

Myungsoo glanced up, not noticing Sungyeol who had appeared. His hair was wet as he dried it with a towel. “This is nothing,” Myungsoo replied with a smile, placing the guitar back on the side.

“No, no – keep playing!” Sungyeol insisted, sitting down next to him on the bed. “It sounds nice when you hum.”

Myungsoo chuckled, bringing the guitar back on to his lap. “Yeah? You like that, cucciolo?”

Sungyeol nodded, leaning over to watch his fingers dance across the strings so fluidly. “How long have you been playing guitar?”

“Since I was five, maybe? My step-father played it and I wanted to pick it up. He taught me everything I know.”

Nodding his head to the tune, Sungyeol smiled. “You speak so highly of your family, I want to meet them.”

Myungsoo’s hands stopped on the guitar. “Cucciolo… cucciolo, yes! That idea is… magnifico!”

“…What is?”

“Meeting la mia famiglia!” Myungsoo exclaimed, his eyes bright and sparkling. “You have to meet them before you return to Korea!”

“But, Myungsoo, isn’t your family in Naples?”

“Sì, sì, most of them are in Napoli… and I would want you to meet them all at the same time.” Myungsoo pursed his lips in thought, resting his guitar on his bare chest as he looked up at the ceiling. “When is a time all my cousins can get together…?”

“Wait, all your cousins? Myungsoo, we’ve only been dating for a month–”

“Ah!” Myungsoo’s face lit up. “My grandparents’ anniversary is next month! My whole family will be there to celebrate. I’ll bring you with me when my uncle and I go down! My family will love to meet you!”

Sungyeol bit his lip. “Myungsoo, are you sure? That they’ll like me, I mean.”

With a giggle, Myungsoo leaned over and kissed Sungyeol. “Believe me, cucciolo, if I like you, they’ll love you.”

“But still, we’ve only been dating for a month.”

“I take you out almost every day,” Myungsoo reminded cheekily. “And by the time I take you to Napoli, it will have been two months for us. You have to meet my parents at least, before you have to go back to Korea. Promise?”

Sungyeol sighed with a grin. “Promise.”

“And I will give you a gift in return,” Myungsoo replied. “For when you go back to Korea.”

With a slight tilt of his head, Sungyeol asked, “What do you mean?”

“I have something planned. You’ll see.” Myungsoo winked. “But don’t worry about it now.”

“You keep seeing that!” Sungyeol whined, falling onto his boyfriend’s lap. “You’re being so mysterious today, it’s so unlike you. You usually always say what’s on your mind.”

Myungsoo snickered. “You want me to say what’s on my mind?”

“Yes, please.”

“You look really hot right now.”

Sungyeol guffawed, immediately laughing loudly. He felt Myungsoo’s fingers run through his damp hair as he chuckled to himself. “You know, I don’t get how I ever got used to your gross words.”

“Gross? Aw, cucciolo, I thought you liked it.” Myungsoo leaned down to peck Sungyeol’s forehead. “Don’t you love it when I flatter you?”

“Don’t you think you sound a little tacky with all the compliments you shower me with?”

“Of course not! It’s my favorite thing to do,” he giggled. He bent over to kiss him on the lips this time.

Sungyeol kept laughing, looping his hands around Myungsoo’s neck to bring him down for more kisses. Within the month they were dating, they somehow learned to kiss each other really well. They found a rhythm for just their lips to dance to. Sungyeol really liked it.

Between his laughs, Myungsoo somehow weaseled his way on top of him, pressing their bodies closer and making their kisses hotter. Sungyeol’s thin cotton shirt was the only separating their chests and even then, it couldn’t keep the heat from rolling off of their bodies.

Myungsoo sighed between their lips, smiling as he kept kissing Sungyeol. His hands traveled down to Sungyeol’s waist and rested there, gripping the cloth as their lips moved together.

“Look out, I’m back!”

“Dongwoo!” Sungyeol exclaimed, pushing Myungsoo off of him. He sat up quickly, fixing his hair and straightening his shirt. “Oh, hey – I didn’t realize you were back!”

Dongwoo grinned at him as he threw his backpack. “Sorry, I tried texting to you to see if you were here so you could get something out for me to eat when I got back. But I see you were preoccupied.”

Myungsoo grinned cheekily. “Oh yes, we were very busy. You interrupted us, Dongwoo.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Dongwoo laughed, sitting down on his bed. “Would you like me to leave?”

“No!” Sungyeol said quickly. He felt that familiar blush rushing to his cheek as he stammered, “Um, you don’t need to go. Don’t worry about it, we weren’t really doing anything.”

“Nope,” Myungsoo agreed sarcastically, pulling his guitar back on his lap. “Nothing at all.”

Dongwoo laughed at the two. Despite almost potentially walking in on something scandalous, he seemed very at ease. “What did you guys do today?”

“We went to the beach,” Sungyeol said. “We didn’t do much except for hangout and play in the water a bit.”

“Oh, sounds fun!” Dongwoo grinned. “Anything worth mentioning?”

“Sungyeol looked really hot today.”

“Oh my gosh, Myungsoo!”