Seungcheol pads out his room, yawning. It’s about 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and the Seventeen dorm is mostly empty. Everyone else is out and about, exploring Seoul – Seokmin even took the chance to visit his parents and his dog; making full use of their free time. Seungcheol had slept the morning away, because Jeonghan had woken him up too early for a taste of Mingyu’s ramen before they’d all left for the day. He stretches for a bit, feeling well rested, glancing out the windows to peer at the beautiful blue canvas of the sky between the sky-high buildings that surrounded their dorm building. It’s a nice summer day, and suddenly Seungcheol wants ice-cream. 

Jihoon appears out of nowhere, his earphones plugged in, nodding along to the beat of a song. Seungcheol jumps in shock, surprised by Jihoon’s presence; fully expecting the younger to be in his studio, either gaming or composing.

“Hey.” Jihoon tugs his earphones out, shoving them into his shorts pocket. He raises his eyebrows in interest, lips forming a little smirk at Seungcheol’s right-out-of-bed appearance.

Seungcheol quickly collects himself; though his heart’s still racing – one of these days Jihoon’s going to give him a heart attack for being Too Cute Without Even Trying. “You going to the studio?”

Jihoon shakes his head. He has nothing planned for the day, really – which is perfect for Seungcheol’s plans.

“Wanna go get ice-cream?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jihoon shrugs nonchalantly without hesitating, and Seungcheol practically lights up, grinning widely. Seungcheol grabs two caps – one for him and one for Jihoon – and takes Jihoon’s hand, planning to leave right then.  

The pair tiptoe past Wonwoo, who’s curled up on the couch with a book. The lanky boy notices them leaving, and arches an eyebrow up at them; so Seungcheol quickly explains that he and Jihoon are about to go out for ice-cream.

“Do you want some, Wonwoo?”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Wonwoo turns back to his book – once the two of them leave, he’ll be the only one in the dorm. More peace and quiet for him, which is rare in Seventeen’s dorm.

It’s a balmy day, just perfect for ice-cream. Jihoon and Seungcheol walk together down the street; with Seungcheol’s arm around Jihoon’s shoulders protectively. Jihoon likes the familiar warmth and proximity; over the years, he’d grown to like it. It reminds him of their teenage years, when they’d return to their dorm way past midnight after hours of practice following their busy school lives; and he’d always find Seungcheol’s arm around him. Jihoon’s glad to know that things haven’t changed much since then.

They’re heading to the grocery store nearby, since the older wants something more than an extravagantly expensive cone at those ice-cream franchises. Besides, he argues, the ice-cream sold at grocery stores aren’t just much cheaper, but they also came in huge tubs. Value for money, Seungcheol says, especially when you have to take care of eleven other kids.

Sometimes Jihoon thinks that Seungcheol takes his role as dad of Seventeen too seriously, from dad wear to dad jokes. He doesn’t really mind, because it’s nice to know that the kids have someone to rely on, though they’re all growing up now, beginning to be independent. He gets more attention from Seungcheol now too, since the others don’t rely on their leader too much anymore, only for the serious things. Like when they’ve run out of toothpaste in the dorm.

Really, Jihoon spends all of his time with Seungcheol now; they’re practically inseparable. Not that they weren’t close before, but now it seems like the only person he sees is Seungcheol – in fact, he hasn’t seen Chan or Hansol in two days!  

The grocery store looms ahead, and as they enter, they discover that there aren’t many customers, only a few old ladies buying fresh produce for dinner. It’s a slow business day, considering that it’s in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, so most people are either at work, or at school. Which is good, because Jihoon hates crowds, and he prefers to do his grocery shopping in peace, knowing that Seungcheol has the same sentiments. Seungcheol gets excited when they approach the frozen section, rows of colourful ice-cream boxes arranged in several freezers.

“Wow, there’s a lot more flavours than I thought there would be!” Seungcheol’s like a kid in a candy store, peering into each freezer at the wide selection of ice-creams. Sometimes it’s startling to see the duality of Seungcheol’s personality: one moment he’s a reliable dad/boyfriend, and the next minute he suddenly turns into an excited puppy-man-child; but Jihoon’s familiar with all of them, though he needs to muster a lot of patience to deal with child-Seungcheol, but it’s hard to get mad at him.

“Go for vanilla.” Jihoon suggests, nodding at the generic vanilla flavoured ice-cream right in front of him.

“That’s a bit simple, don’t you think?”

“Well, I know what I like. Or the melon one, that’s okay, too.”

Seungcheol hums, pulling his lips into a little pout. “What do you think of white chocolate with raspberry and mint?” He points to the corresponding flavour sitting in the freezer.

Jihoon thinks that’s pretentious, but he doesn’t say it out loud. Instead, he just watches Seungcheol in motion, fluttering from one freezer to the other.

“Ooh! Durian ice-cream? What’s that?” Seungcheol’s practically pressed up against the glass door of the freezer, quickly grabbing Jihoon’s hand so that the younger can also see what he’s trying to point out. Jihoon looks at the green, thorny fruit on the packaging, and shrugs. He doesn’t even know what durian tastes like, and he’s not curious to find out how it tastes like in a semi-solid creamy form.

“Coffee and walnut, chocolate fudge, rocky road, honey coconut, rainbow explosion with unicorn sprinkles, orange and lime sherbet…” Seungcheol reads off the names of the ice-creams. “They all sound so good.”

“Red bean? Oh, there’s your favourite, cherry jubilee.” Jihoon suggests, pointing to the familiar pink box of Seungcheol’s favourite ice-cream flavour.  

Seungcheol shakes his head. “I really don’t know what to choose! Maple vanilla and burnt almond sounds fancy.”

Jihoon silently curses the grocery store for having a wide selection of ice-cream flavours. Trust Seungcheol to suddenly become adventurous with his ice-cream flavours, when he’d always stuck with cherry jubilee for ages.

“You’re so indecisive.” Jihoon mumbles, watching Seungcheol ogle over the ice-cream, as a little smile spreads onto his face.

“Jihoonie! Look, caramel macchiato-matcha fusion ice-cream!” Seungcheol waves him over.

Jihoon sticks his tongue out, wondering how the concoction would taste like; as Seungcheol laughs at his reaction. What happened to classic flavours like vanilla, or the Korean childhood favourite, melon? You’d never go wrong with those. Still, Jihoon thinks it’s charming to watch Seungcheol trying to decide over the various types of ice-cream flavours – his eyes wide open looking at the vibrant packaging; his animated tone when he sees a unique flavour that he finds fascinating, and the adorable smile that simply never leaves his handsome face.

Jihoon suddenly wants to poke the little dimple that appears in Seungcheol’s cheek when he smiles, but he manages to keep his hands to himself, shoving them into his pockets instead.

“Have you decided yet?” It’s been almost half an hour since they arrived in the store, and they’re only trying to buy ice-cream! Jihoon tries not to sound impatient, but he’ll gladly spend the whole day in the frozen section if it takes that long for Seungcheol to pick an ice-cream flavour.

Seungcheol turns to Jihoon, prepared with his sad puppy-dog face. “I’d ask you to help me out, but you’ll say…”

“Vanilla.” They say in unison. A split second of eye contact, realising that they’d said it at the same time, then the both of them burst into laughter, right in the middle of the ice-cream aisle at the grocery store. Jihoon’s doubles down to his knees, clapping maniacally, while Seungcheol tries to control his mirth, but to no avail, because Jihoon’s laughter is contagious.

“Jihoonie, we’re in the grocery store.” Seungcheol remembers where they are – they’re idols, in a public area. He helps Jihoon stand up straight, but the younger is still tickled with laughter when he meets Seungcheol’s eyes again. Jihoon clutches his stomach, clinging onto Seungcheol for support, still giggling at the automatic way they’d simultaneously completed the sentence.

Seungcheol checks whether Jihoon’s recovered from his laughing bout, and shoots a fond smile at him before continuing to browse for ice-cream.

“We’re going to be here all afternoon if you don’t decide.” Jihoon says, with a hint of playfulness in his voice. A thought crosses his mind; a solution to the problem at hand. “Hyung. Since you can’t choose, why don’t you buy everything?”

This time, Seungcheol laughs his guts out, eyes crinkling. It takes a few minutes for him to recover, while Jihoon watches him with a little smile playing on his lips. It’s been a while since the both of them laughed over trivial things like ice-cream, and Jihoon feels lighter, happy that Seungcheol finds his remark funny, though he’d been half-serious when he said it.

Seungcheol’s laughter is an delightful staccato of ha ha ha’s, maximum adorableness accentuated with that gummy smile of his. For some reason, it makes Jihoon feel warm, and it feels like home; listening to Seungcheol’s carefree laugh. He wonders if it’s possible to layer Seungcheol’s laughter in one of their songs – that would be a song he’d play on loop forever.

“That’s silly, Jihoonie.” Seungcheol pulls Jihoon closer, casually putting his arm over Jihoon’s slender shoulders. “Where in the world can we keep all of this ice-cream?” He gestures throughout the ice-cream aisle.

“In your stomach, of course.” Jihoon deadpans, but with a smile on his face; as Seungcheol bends down laughing again.

“You say the cutest things.” Seungcheol steals a quick kiss on Jihoon’s cheek.

Jihoon snorts. Only Seungcheol can get away with calling him cute – other people would be subjected to a murderous gaze.

Seungcheol’s impossible sometimes, but Jihoon knows that it’s one of the reasons why he has a special place in his heart; with Seungcheol, impossible becomes possible. Jihoon looks up at the older – from his messy bedhead hidden under his dark cap, to that little dimple in his cheek, down to sneakers stolen from Wonwoo - wondering how he’d become used to Seungcheol’s quirky antics over the years; finding most of them bizarre at first, but slowly growing to love them, as those are what makes Seungcheol, Seungcheol.

Jihoon’s glad that Seungcheol’s a huge part of his life, and he knows there’s no one that can ever replace him. He takes a moment to appreciate his partner, right there amidst the freezers filled with ice-cream, feeling amused that it took a trip to the grocery store, looking for ice-cream, for him to realise that Seungcheol is love, and Seungcheol is life.

(Jihoon knows that he can be more poetic than that, but his heart is bursting with so much love for the idiot next to him that he doesn’t know how to express himself anymore).

He doesn’t have to say those three little words to Seungcheol, because he already knows; even if he doesn’t show it openly. Jihoon rests his head on Seungcheol’s shoulder, letting out a small, grateful sigh.

“So, are we going to get everything?” Seungcheol smiles at Jihoon, still amused by the idea. Of course, when Jihoon’s thinking about the important things – like how much he loves Seungcheol – he’s thinking about ice-cream!

Jihoon contemplates for a while, thinking of the practicality of buying ice-cream in bulk. In the back of his mind, he remembers the tub of neapolitan ice-cream that Seungkwan’s been hoarding for weeks, hidden at the back of their freezer at the dorm.

“I have a better idea.”

---

“Yogurt’s good too, I guess.” Seungcheol says, holding the front door open for Jihoon. “Apparently, it’s healthier too?”

Jihoon hums in agreement. “I can’t believe you took another fifteen minutes to decide between strawberry or mango yogurt.” He kicks off his slippers, entering the dorm. They’d gotten both flavours in the end, anyway, packed neatly in the plastic bag that Seungcheol is holding.

The two of them are back at their dorm, deciding to watch a movie. Wonwoo’s gone from the living room, probably out to meet up with Soonyoung for food somewhere. The apartment seems quiet; it seems like no one would be returning soon, and Jihoon secretly likes it. He glances briefly at Seungcheol, who’s setting up the movie, and looks unperturbed by the fact that they’re alone at home. Most likely, he hasn’t realised it yet, Jihoon thinks.

Of course, Seungcheol cues up The Notebook on the television, preparing a box of tissues within his reach. Jihoon would’ve liked to watch an action movie, but he let it go, knowing how much Seungcheol likes the sappy flick for some reason. Maybe he’ll like it too, to some extent.

Jihoon settles on the couch, grabbing the tub of strawberry yogurt, shovelling a spoonful into his mouth. Seungcheol snuggles right next to him, with the mango yogurt in his lap, as the movie starts to play. Jihoon eventually gets bored after fifteen minutes, while Seungcheol is already entranced by the film, forgetting to eat his yogurt. Jihoon manages to steal a spoonful of the mango yogurt, savouring its smooth flavour, relishing the sharp tang of the mango in contrast to the strawberry.

“Here.” Seungcheol feeds more of his yogurt to Jihoon, who easily slurps it off Seungcheol’s spoon. 

Jihoon returns the gesture, scooping up some strawberry yogurt to spoon-feed the elder. But Seungcheol receives it sloppily, and he ends up having some yogurt on his upper lip instead. Without thinking, Jihoon leans forward and it off, gently brushing his lips against Seungcheol’s.

Seungcheol’s shocked by Jihoon’s sudden advance, but he pulls Jihoon closer, his arms snaking around Jihoon’s small frame as he kisses him back, completely forgetting about his surroundings as he pours himself into Jihoon’s touch, tasting sweet, sweet strawberry with a hint of mango, from the yogurt they’d been eating; his little rosebud lips warm and soft.

It’s gentle and loving and every cell in Jihoon’s body tingle with electricity; and with familiar feeling of Seungcheol’s lips against his, he knows, he’s home. Jihoon likes the way Seungcheol’s absurdly long eyelashes tickle against his cheek, as the elder flutter his eyes close, savouring every moment of the lip-lock: the taste, the warmth, the urgency – and he doesn’t want to let go. Not now, and not ever.

“H-hyung?” Chan calls out. He’s standing in the doorway, wide-eyed at the scene before him. Seungcheol immediately springs away from Jihoon as if he’d touched a live wire, but Jihoon stays in place, nodding at Chan in acknowledgment.

“There was something on Cheol-hyung’s lip. I removed it.” Jihoon explains calmly, as Seungcheol turns red in embarrassment.

“Whatever you say.” Chan rushes off to his room, closing the door with a slam.

Seungcheol glances at Jihoon, who’s acting like nothing had happened. The younger guy raises an eyebrow expectantly at Seungcheol, his lips curling into a smirk.

“Do you even have to ask?”

Jihoon smiles as Seungcheol leans in closer for another kiss.