WHAT'S UP?!

 

Nope, I didn't forget about this collection. Just managing to balance consistent updates for this collection and my ongoing stories.

 

ANYWAY.

 

Steph and Fei chose this to be the next story in the collection, so here we are!

 

No real warnings either, which means this is pure unadulterated fluff. SO LET'S GET STARTED!

---

 

The (Shipped) Gold Standard

 

Sometimes I wanna quit this all and become an accountant now

But I'm no good at math and besides the dollar is down

Plant palm trees on Lake Michigan before it gets cold

I gotta feel the wind chill again before I get old

 

~*~

 

“Argh! I can’t take anymore of this!” Myungsoo shouted, throwing his pen to the notebook in front of him. The table the young man sat at was littered with economics textbooks, notes, calculators, while the taller boy across from the other just glanced up from the laptop in front of him--the only thing in front of him being an iced coffee and a small notepad.

 

The other boy only grinned at the other and took a short sip from the coffee next to him. “ it up; you have that midterm tomorrow afternoon.”

 

“Sungyeol…” the younger boy whined, covering his head in his hands. “I absolutely hate finance. Why am I even doing this ?”

 

“Because you’re the hotshot heir to Kim Corp and you have to be ready to jump into the company, ‘Soo,” Sungyeol replied, continuing to type away.

 

Myungsoo whined again. “The only good thing about this damn business degree was the marketing; can’t I just specialize in that?”

 

“Why are you asking me?” Sungyeol asked in amusement. “I’m just your best friend; those types of requests go through your beloved family. I’m just here for when you whine about them saying no.”

 

Myungsoo only groaned in return, head still buried in his crossed arms. “Accounting was ok last semester; maybe I can talk them into letting me do that--”

 

“You weren’t exactly stellar at that either,” Sungyeol reminded none-too-gently.

 

“I managed an A in that one!”

 

“Yeah, after a curved final and basically stalking your professor’s office hours,” the other replied. “Face it, ‘Soo; math isn’t exactly your strong suit.”

 

Myungsoo pulled himself to sit back up straight, rubbing his nape. “Yeah, I probably couldn’t handle that… I wish I could do something like you, Yeolie.”

 

“Why?” Sungyeol retorted. “You think literature and composition is easy?”

 

“That’s not what I mean,” the dark-haired boy said. “Something I was completely passionate and devoted to. I don’t feel the same passion in running my dad’s business as you do about your writing…”

 

“Don’t say that, Myungsoo!” Sungyeol soothed. “Sure, maybe some aspects of the business are a little boring, but you’re still finding parts you enjoy. You liked the marketing and some of the research and management principles, right?” Myungsoo hummed in begrudging agreement. “See? It’s just taking you a little longer to find the things you love. And that’s ok, ‘Soo.”

 

Myungsoo smiled softly, picking back up his pen to continue with his midterm review as Sungyeol returned his focus to his laptop once again.

 

I already found something I love. Myungsoo could only think. I just don’t know if I can say it.

 

~*~

 

I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs

But I'm afraid that someone else will hear me

 

You can only blame your problems on the world for so long

Before it all becomes the same old song

As soon as we hit the hospital I know we're gonna leave this town

And get new passports and get get get get get out now

 

~*~

 

Myungsoo’s world had always been one of perfect order, set to the strictest of standards. When his family’s business took off as a child, Myungsoo suddenly went from a typical middle-class childhood to being the heir of one of Korea’s fastest rising business conglomerates, leading to the boy’s immediate grooming to be heir to the now-prestigious Kim legacy.

 

Of course as a child, the only real thing that changed for Myungsoo was suddenly having more new clothes than he could ever have imagined, any toy that he desired, and having the company of a newly hired household staff, rather than just himself, his younger brother, and his mother.

 

With the family’s newly acquired wealth, Myungsoo began attending the most elite schools in Seoul, surrounded by the children of politicians, top businessmen, judiciary members--any family whose name was whispered as Korea’s richest and most influential. Yet even with his own status, Myungsoo could never really find somewhere he fit; the students already seemed to have been born into certain cliques and groups, none of which were open to outsiders.

 

If Myungsoo were truly honest with himself, this actually was no problem at all to him--until his first year of high school when he was paired with the only other seeming outcast of the school, Lee Sungyeol.

 

While Sungyeol himself came from a highly esteemed family of top surgeons--owning at least three of the major hospital systems in Seoul--the boy had flat out refused to follow his family’s chosen path for him. He wanted to follow his dreams of writing, becoming a published author, and doing so without using any of his family connections. Surprisingly, Sungyeol’s parents honored the wishes of their eldest son and allowed the boy to begin his preparatory studies based around his writing dream.  

 

Myungsoo admired Sungyeol’s courage for asserting his desire to achieve his dream on his own--even when the decision led to Sungyeol suddenly losing his status among their classmates. But yet again, Sungyeol didn’t seem to care; in fact, it only helped him to become closer to Myungsoo in the long-run, something Myungsoo continued to thank the gods above for.

 

Sungyeol soon became Myungsoo’s closest friend, being one of the few friends Myungsoo made who passed his parents’ continually high standards for the people their son surrounded himself with. And the more time Myungsoo spent with the other boy, the more Myungsoo’s heart was pulled to the other.

 

But of course, this was neither in the Kim family plan for Myungsoo, nor something that could fit into their plan for the boy.

 

So Myungsoo just continued to curse his own heart and circumstances as he continued to fall inexplicably deeper for his best friend.

 

~*~

 

All the Yes men said 'no comment'

My mouth got going the wrong way and all the calls started snowing

The time my dad caught me a horse shoe crab

And I asked him if throwing it back into the sea would bring our luck back

 

~*~

 

All Myungsoo felt around him was warmth, so much so that the dark-haired young man didn’t want to open his eyes. Instead, he only groaned softly and curled up closer to the pillow he was clutching--although he distinctly felt that pillow move.

 

Fingers threading through his hair made him realize that he wasn’t just curled up alone on his bed alone. “You awake, sleepyhead?” A teasing voice asked.

 

Sungyeol.

 

Myungsoo rubbed his nose into what-he-now-realized was Sungyeol’s waist and squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to wake up from the warmth surrounding him. “No,” he said into the fabric of Sungyeol’s shirt.

 

“Is that so?” Sungyeol replied softly, a teasing tone to his voice. “So, this is my Myungsoo sleep-talking?”

 

Myungsoo smiled softly--he really liked hearing that My Myungsoo part. “Yes,” the boy replied, playing along with his best friend’s teasing while still curled in the tall boy’s sides.

 

“I wonder if what people say is true,” Sungyeol mused, almost as if he were talking to himself, but still clear enough that Myungsoo could hear. “That people who talk in their sleep will always answer questions honestly. Maybe I should try it?”

 

Myungsoo hummed, wrapping an arm across Sungyeol’s waist in his fake-sleeping state--Sungyeol usually never let him indulge in this much skinship and Myungsoo was going to take advantage. “Maybe.”

 

“Ok, I’ll start off easy,” Sungyeol replied, fingers still combing through Myungsoo’s dark locks. “Choose between kimchi jjigae or chicken for dinner.”

 

Myungsoo held back a snort--Sungyeol just had to choose his two favorite dishes of the moment. The boy hummed in satisfaction as he whispered, “Mmm, chicken.”

 

Sungyeol couldn’t contain his giggle. “Figures,” he laughed. “Hmm, what else can I ask about… oh! Are you secretly enjoying your finance classes this semester?”

 

Myungsoo groaned and tightened his grip on the other boy. “No! Finance is stupid,” he replied with his fake-sleepy tone.

 

Sungyeol laughed again. “Ok, maybe I should ask you more pleasant questions. So I don’t make you have bad dreams,” the boy teases. “Do you like photography?”

 

“Yes,” Myungsoo answered simply.

 

“Do you like your mom’s cooking?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you like having me around?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Do you love me?”

 

Myungsoo’s eyes popped open and he turned his head to face Sungyeol above him. The other boy continued to stare at him calmly, as though waiting for an answer. “What did you say?” Myungsoo asked in shock.

 

“You heard me,” Sungyeol said, one hand moving up from his side to pat down Myungsoo’s bedhead. “Do you love me?” Myungsoo moved to shift away from his best friend, but the taller grabbed his wrist quickly. “Myungsoo?”

 

“Sungyeol, I--You know my family…” Myungsoo stammered.

 

“Myungsoo!” Sungyeol exclaimed quietly. “Who cares about your family wants? What do you want?”

 

Myungsoo sighed, looking at their entwined hands. “You know what I want.”

 

“Then say it.”

 

“I can’t, Yeol,” Myungsoo replied. “You don’t know how much I want to, but I just can’t. Not right now.”

 

I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs

But I'm afraid that someone else will hear me

 

You can only blame your problems on the world for so long

Before it all becomes the same old song

As soon as we hit the hospital I know we're gonna leave this town

And get new passports, get out now

 

“Then when?”

 

“I don’t know,” Myungsoo sighed. “I have so much that I want to do right now, but I just can’t--”

 

“Then let’s leave,” Sungyeol said.

 

“Sungyeol--”

 

“I’m serious, Soo!” The taller boy replied. “Let’s get out of here--be free! No more dictating parents or society telling us who to be. Don’t you want that?”

 

“I do,” Myungsoo said. “I just don’t know how we can do this.”

 

Sungyeol squeezed the hand he was holding. “We do it together.”

 

“And my parents?” Myungsoo asked.

 

“I’m here no matter what happens,” Sungyeol asserted. “Then we’ll pack up and get out of here. Build our own lives, you with your photography, me with my writing--we can do this, Soo. Don’t you want that?”

 

Myungsoo nodded. “I do.”

 

“Then it’ll happen,” Sungyeol replied, leaning down to kiss Myungsoo on his cheek firmly. “Let’s get out of here.”

 

~*~

 

Tell that boy I'll leave you alone now

Like a stove, I'll turn my love down

Supra and the prophet are both in the business of souls

 

I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs

But I'm afraid that someone else will hear me

I wanna scream 'I love you' from the top of my lungs

But I'm afraid that someone else will hear me

 

~*~

 

As confident as Myungsoo felt when he was around Sungyeol of their plan, once Sungyeol went home to begin planning for their leave, Myungsoo could feel some of his own confidence slipping. He had always been the obedient first-born child, taking on the Kim heir role without much complaint. He was able to sacrifice his own desires to keep both his parents and his brother content--up to now.

 

Myungsoo lived with the decision to study business and keep photography as a mere hobby. He accepted that his social circle was limited to blurred faces over polite dinners and that Sungyeol was probably the only person who really knew his true thoughts and feelings.

 

But could Myungsoo keep his desires hidden any longer? Not after Sungyeol had made it abundantly clear that they were both feeling the same way.

 

So only one obstacle remained: the Kim parents.

 

When Myungsoo even broached the idea of leaving the house, his mother adamantly refused. After some muddled back-and-forth and Myungsoo’s father attempting to play down the situation as Myungsoo merely wanting to take a trip, Myungsoo couldn’t contain himself anymore.

 

“No, you don’t understand! I don’t just want to take a day-trip or study-abroad or anything; I want to leave! I can’t do this anymore. I can’t have my life dictated to the letter, between what I study, what I will do as a career, who I associate with--I can’t anymore! I want to be with the person I love and I want to study what I want!”

 

“And just what would that mean?” Ms. Kim asked flagrantly.

 

“I want to study photography,” Myungsoo asserted. “And I want to leave to be with Sungyeol.”

 

Ms. Kim snorted. “Absolutely not! Myungsoo, we’ve already discussed this--”

 

“No, we haven’t!” Myungsoo exclaimed. “There’s never been any ‘discussion’, just you making dictates. And I’m done with this!”

 

Storming out of the family eating area and into his bedroom, Myungsoo grabbed the already packed bags he had stored under his bed, along with a few other trinkets he had left unpacked so as to not arouse suspicion, and walked out the home’s front gate.

 

As he reached the corner of his street, Myungsoo pulled out his cell phone and hit his speed dial. “Change of plans,” he said after the other person picked up. “I’ll be at the hospital.”

 

“Good thing I’m already packed.”

 

~*~

 

A dark car pulled up near the bench Myungsoo sat resting at and the driver immediately popped the truck. Myungsoo shuffled over with his bags as Sungyeol exited the car to meet him at the back. The two placed the bags in the trunk wordlessly and Sungyeol shut the trunk. Glancing over to Myungsoo, a small smile appeared. “We’re doing this, aren’t we?”

 

“Yeah, we are,” Myungsoo replied, seemingly in disbelief.

 

A full smile appeared on Sungyeol’s face and the tall man pulled the other into his arms. Myungsoo’s arms wrapped around Sungyeol in return, burying his nose into the other’s shoulder. “I’m glad we’re in this together, Soo,” Sungyeol said.

 

Myungsoo hummed, pulling back briefly. “Sungyeol?” The taller’s bright eyes met Myungsoo’s own. “I love you.”

 

Sungyeol’s smile got even wider before Myungsoo smothered it with a kiss.

 

~*~

 

You can only blame your problems on the world for so long

Before it all becomes the same old song

As soon as we hit the hospital I know we're gonna leave this town

(know we're gonna leave this town)

And get new passports and get get get get get out,

Get get get get get out now!

 

---

This one definitely turned out different than first envisioned when I put this song on the list for stories, but I still like it. Sungyeol's coercing of Myungsoo's confession literally came to me as I started writing the section, so hurray for spur-of-the-moment ideas! XD

Considering how much caffeine is in me today and the wealth of ideas still flowing, hopefully I can get another update squeezed out in the next few days.

Meanwhile, leave a comment on the way out! <3 <3