Kihyun hums a tune under his breath as he washes dishes, carefully running them under water to rinse and setting them on the dish rack. The apartment is silent save for the sounds of work floating from the living room and kitchen. Kihyun enjoys this wonderful stillness, it’s so relaxing. 

Arms suddenly wrap themselves around his waist from behind, and a familiar pair of lips begins kissing at his neck. Kihyun sighs contentedly, closing his eyes as he leans back against his boyfriend’s broad chest. 

“Dinner was delicious, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok whispers into his ear, nuzzling gratefully into Kihyun’s neck. “Really, I don’t remember the last time you made such a good meal.” He returns to kissing the younger’s neck as he adds, “I feel like I should reward you for such a job well done.” 

The statement sets a flurry of butterflies loose in Kihyun’s stomach. It’s been so long, too long, since they’ve had a night like this. So perfect, so romantic… so potentially intimate. 

Suddenly, Kihyun’s phone begins to ring, a track from a popular drama blaring through the thickened air. The couple jumps apart in surprise. Kihyun glances around confusedly, having forgotten where he was for a moment, and can’t help but laugh at Hoseok’s widened eyes. His nose twitches similar to that of a scared bunny’s, and Kihyun can’t help but chuckle breathlessly at the sight. He turns to retrieve his phone from the nearby counter. Hoseok leaves the kitchen with a heavy sigh, rubbing at his neck. 

“Hello?” Kihyun answers, returning his attention to the remaining dishes. 

“Hyuuung,” a familiar voice whines on the other end, earning a knowing chuckle from Kihyun. 

“Do you have any idea what time it is, Hyungwon-ah?” Kihyun asks, his tone half-teasing and half-chastising. “What do you mean by calling me this late?” There’s a heavy sigh on the other end, one that Kihyun recognizes as his classmate’s working sigh. 

“Kihyun-ah,” Hyungwon groans, sounding very much exasperated, “this essay is being impossible. Have you started on it yet?”

“It’s due tomorrow morning, dongsaeng,” Kihyun nags him. “What have you been doing all this time?”

“I couldn’t help it,” Hyungwon defends, “my bed was just too comfy to get out of for this class.”

“You’re going to end up sleeping your way out of a decent GPA if you keep this up,” Kihyun tells him tiredly, setting the last plate on the drying rack. 

“Well,” Hyungwon says with a sigh, “I could just take the easy way out and sleep my way into a decent GPA. Or rather, I would if the professors weren’t so old and decrepit.”

“Aish, Wonnie,” he sighs, leaving the kitchen in favor of sitting next to Hoseok on the couch. His boyfriend merely gives him a knowing glance, this having become a regular occurrence throughout the year. “What am I gonna do with you…”

“Hopefully it’ll include helping me out with this assignment,” Hyungwon says, not in the least bit joking. Kihyun rolls his eyes, though more to clear his vision of the younger’s all-too familiar pout than anything. 

“Fine, fine,” Kihyun sighs in defeat. “Just send me the essay once you’re finished, and I’ll edit it for you.”

“Thank you, hyung!” Hyungwon says, his tone suddenly a thousand times brighter. “You’re the best.”

“I know,” is all Kihyun replies with, and then he hangs up the phone. 

The young man sighs again as he sinks further into the couch, rubbing at his face tiredly. Hoseok chuckles softly beside him, earning a small pout. 

“Go on to bed, Kihyunnie,” Hoseok tells him in a gentle voice, leaning over to kiss him. “I’ll be in there in a minute, I promise.” Kihyun gives him a skeptical look as he glances at what the older is working on. He recognizes it as one of his song-writing softwares. 

“No you won’t,” Kihyun take him plainly. There’s no venom in his tone, it being more of a knowing statement. He moves closer to return the sweet kiss, can’t his eyes just to lose himself in being so near to Hoseok. “Don’t work too hard, okay? You need to get some sleep before heading to work tomorrow.” Hoseok hums in acknowledgment, and Kihyun kisses him one last time before standing from the couch. “If you have any snacks later on,” he adds as an afterthought over his shoulder, “be sure to clean up after yourself. I don’t wanna wake up to a stray dish in the sink again.” Hoseok laughs, and assures the younger he’ll do as he asks. 

After quickly changing out of his day clothes and snuggling into the covers, Kihyun finds himself scrolling aimlessly through his different social medias one last time. He keeps up mostly with his Instagram, being a photographer major and all. It, luckily, is the one social media all his friend keep up with, as well. 

There’s an extremely typical picture of twin coffee cups posted by Changkyun, signifying he and Jooheon are very much not acting the part of responsible students have been out all day. Minhyuk’s posted yet another selfie of himself at work, holding an adorable toddler in his arms. He’s begun working part-time at a local daycare, and the job has ended up suiting him very well. There’s an awkward selfie of Hyunwoo at work, as well, the barren practice room walls and mirrors behind him very telling of his location. Minhyuk’s account comes up again with another selfie, this time of himself with Changkyun and Jooheon. Then there’s another selfie with just him and Jooheon. Then one of just him… 

Kihyun sighs tiredly, rolling his eyes at how often Minhyuk posts. He’s turning out to be a regular Insta-holic, which honestly shouldn’t be all that surprising. Kihyun quickens his scroll until he finally comes to a picture posted by someone else, and is surprised to see it’s the dinner he had laid out for Hoseok to be surprised by upon returning home only a few hours ago. The young man smiles to himself, liking his boyfriend’s post with a familiar double-tap. 

Finally, he comes to Hyungwon’s almost-obligatory selfie of the day. He’d become quite popular with his effortless looks about a year ago, around the same time he took up modeling. It’s a pretty simple selfie. The younger is bare-faced, his glasses and hair slightly askew, and the glare of a computer screen reflected in his lenses. His expression is incredibly blasé, which very much fits the caption below that reads ‘Really don’t wanna do this essay… thank god I have such a great hyung to help~’.  

Kihyun feels a swell of pride as he likes this post before finally closing the app and locking his phone. He smiles into the dark as he thinks of how grateful he is for all that he has, even if Minhyuk can be super annoying at times. He’s got a great boyfriend, and a close circle of friends. Despite his dongsaeng being incredibly hopeless at times, Kihyun can’t imagine his life without Hyungwon…