There are a lot of things Daehyun doesn't like, especially in the summer. For one, he hates the way he wakes up every morning-- perhaps afternoon-- covered in a thin sheen of sweat that makes his skin stick to his clothes, his blanket and even other parts of his skin; pretty much anything that had the misfortune of making physical contact with him overnight. He contemplates sleeping shirtless during those unbearably hot nights, maybe even . But then he thinks that if-- by some freak accident-- his house caught on fire or an intruder broke into the house, he thought that it'd be in his best interest to face those issues properly clothed and not exposed for the whole world (or a robber slash murderer) to see.

He runs his hand through his bed-tousled hair and groans into his pillow. His mind is telling him to get up and into the shower as soon as possible but his body remains almost completely motionless, lying still on his lumpy mattress as he continues making sad noises into the lump of cotton squashed under his head.

BZZZ

He isn't sure if it was a message or a phone-call, but the persistent buzzing informs him that it's the latter. He s blindly in the space next to his head for his phone, only to realise it had fallen onto the ground beside him, most likely because of his tendency to flail his arms around in his sleep.

"Nguuh..." He grumbles into the phone, too tired to even pronounce a simple "hey".

"'EYYY DAEHYUN!" He winces and pulls the phone away from his ear momentarily to prevent himself from going deaf, "WE'RE TWO MINUTES AWAY SO YOU BETTER BE READY!"

"Yeah...kay-- wait what?" Daehyun instantly sobers up as the words ring obnoxiously loud in his ears. 

"Man, the beach is gonna be so great. I can already feel the breeze in my hair, SMELL THE SEA SALT IN MY NOSTRILS--" 

"Youngjae...Youngjae shut up you're giving me a headache." He massages the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

"I'll show you what a headache really is if you don't get your up and ready by the time we get ther-- Jongup, what do you want?!"

Daehyun hears shuffling and mumbling in the background and he faintly hears Jongup ask if anyone has seen his left slipper because he "was just wearing it but for some reason it's disappeared". Junhong's laughter reaches the phone and Daehyun is not sure what is going on on the other end of the line. He rubs his face up and down multiple times before finally swinging his legs out of bed, keeping the phone pressed to his ear. He makes his way into the bathroom, squinting as his eyes slowly adjust to the morning light that spews in through the frosted glass and searches for his toothbrush.

Reason number two why he hates summer: planned trips to the beach.

Apparently Youngjae's uncle and aunt were having a road trip and left their place in his care for about a week (Daehyun actually questioned their sanity because who in their right mind would ever entrust anything to Youngjae, of all people) and the house was big (enough) and situated in a quaint, seaside town and he figured it would be a great opportunity to spend some quality bonding time with "his favourite people in the world."

Now don't get him wrong, Daehyun enjoys the beach,

sometimes.

But most of the time the beach is just a good excuse for melanoma to attack your skin cells and an invitation for sand to sneak its way into your hair and between your teeth (God knows how it manages to do that) and into your pants where it will cause the most irritating itch on your bu--

"Daehyun I gotta hang up now Jongup and Junhong are fighting over the slipper and ARGH--" 

Youngjae's screams are abruptly cut off by a soft click and a few beeps and he lazily drops his phone onto the counter, not even flinching when it slips off and hits the floor with an echoing crack. He decides it'll be faster if he brushed his teeth in the shower, and he almost forgets to remove his clothing before stepping into the scalding hot water.

。。。。。。。。。。

"HOLY MAN, DOES IT HURT TO LOCK THE DOOR?! JESUS." Youngjae immediately turns to shield Jongup's eyes but it's all too late.

"WHAT THE ?!" Daehyun's voice becomes a squeak as he falls over dressed only in his underwear and is now desperately grasping for any article of clothing to cover himself up as Youngjae continues screaming in the doorway and Jongup is furiously apologizing over and over again. 

"First of all, seeing as my parents are out of the country for a holiday, I see no reason to lock the door, but now I realise I apparently do have one! Goddammit learn how to knock you piece of--"

"Language..." Youngjae raises his finger to stop Daehyun from finishing his sentence and he signals at Jongup who is standing behind Youngjae and having trouble looking Daehyun in the eye, "we have small children present."

Daehyun narrows his eyes.

"He's only one year younger than you, you ."

"A year is a pretty big difference." Youngjae points at Daehyun's pants and shakes his head. "You are not going to wear skinnies to the beach. Unless you wanna die."

"But--"

"No buts. Luckily for you, I came knowing that you do not own a pair of board shorts suited for this occasion-- shame on you-- so..." Youngjae reaches into the small bag he's got slung over his shoulder.

"Oh no...no no no--"

"What are friends for?" 

And when Youngjae pulls the item out, Daehyun is one hundred percent sure that the guy standing before him is, in fact, not a guy but a piece of that is dead set on making his life uncomfortable whenever he can, to the best of his abilities.

。。。。。。。。。。

"Suits you." Junhong comments with a smirk, causing Daehyun to shoot him a deathly glare. Jongup snickers and Daehyun slaps him on the thigh, eliciting a yelp from Jongup who retaliates by pushing his head into the window with a dull thud.

"Come on now." Himchan attempts to soothe the situation as he keeps his hand on the steering wheel. He glances behind at the three sitting in the backseats, but when his eyes drift to Daehyun he can't help the laughter that forces its way out.

"Are you ing serious right now?" Daehyun throws his hands up in defeat. "I might as well not wear shorts and walk around in my underwear instead, save me the embarrassment."

"Look what you guys did!" Youngjae complains from the passenger seat next to Himchan. "Daehyun, don't mind them you look great in those. They show off your y legs." 

The following eyebrow wiggle makes last night's dinner rise to his throat.

"Why did you even agree to wear them?" Junhong cackles as he leans forward, taking a good look at Daehyun's shorts before bursting out into laughter again.

"Why did I even agree to-- oh yeah because Youngjae pretty much tackled me and wrestled me to the ground before ripping my jeans off and forcing this on me against my will you asswipe." Daehyun spits at Youngjae who was pretending to be too busy with the map to hear Daehyun accuse him of such a terrible deed.

"." Himchan mutters. And Daehyun gasps before he rolls his eyes and throws himself back against the seat. He grips the hem of the almost non-existent legs of his powder pink short shorts, sporting a tacky, faux-gem studded "Y bAbY" across his thighs and tugs harshly on it, hoping that maybe if he pulls hard enough, the shorts will at the very least grow a few inches to cover even a tiny bit more of his too-exposed legs.

The remaining few hours of the car trip is filled with pleads of toilet breaks and stops over at any fast-food restaurant they pass by. But Himchan tells them that they need to retain their "summer bods", at least until the season is over, so fast-food is completely out of the question. Youngjae decides to add some excitement and "get them into the mood" by plugging his iPod into the adapter to play his summer playlist which Daehyun finds out, horrified, is nothing but Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. He stares at Youngjae with wide eyes filled with despair and is about to ask "why are you doing this to me" but is interrupted when Jongup scrunches his nose up at music playing and tells Youngjae that the lack of Chris Brown is very disappointing and upsetting.

Daehyun sighs and can't help the envy that rises when he sees that Junhong has his head rested against the window and is peacefully sleeping through all this cacophony, 

And the fact that he is wearing normal, black board shorts that actually cover his thighs.

。。。。。。。。。。

They arrive in town, driving along a small road, slightly dusty and sprinkled with gravel and Daehyun takes a look around and thinks for a moment that maybe this won't be so bad. Youngjae has his nose stuck in the map, squinting at the ant-sized print on the page, trying to figure out where exactly where the house he was meant to be house-sitting was located.

"Haven't you been here before?" Jongup leans forward and tries to look over Youngjae's shoulder at the map.

"Well, yeah, but not enough to remember where it is."

"Let me look at it." Himchan reached over to take the road-map from Youngjae who, despite probably being the one with the highest IQ in the group, obviously had no idea how to even read maps, and for all anyone knows he could've been reading it upside down the whole time.

"No I can do this." He irritably bats the hand away into Jongup's face, who immediately retreats as the hands start flying and pages start tearing.

"Youngjae just--"

"I said I ca--"

"Give me the map!"

"No!"

"SERIOUS--"

"LOOK OUT!" Jongup yelled, jolting Junhong awake.

Himchan jerked his hand away and jammed his foot down on the brake, but he was a split-second too late. They were all thrown fowards, but they weren't injured at all, unlike the poor guy who was now lying on his back and in pain after being sent flying through the air and onto the road. Luckily for them the street was pretty much deserted, as you would expect in a small town like this, and so the only witnesses were the ones sitting in the very car that hit him. All five of them stretched their necks to see if he was moving, and perhaps to gauge the amount of money Himchan would have to cough up for the medical bills.

"Did I just..."

"Did you just..."

"HIDE THE BODY!" 

"Youngjae, please." 

Daehyun sighed as he hopped out of the car to go check on the man that was rolling on the ground, not hearing Jongup and Junhong call out after him as Youngjae and Himchan shushed them before they could remind him of the shorts that were currently sparkling in the sunlight. They watch in amusement as he does an awkward half-jog half-run towards their victim, pissing themselves as the gems glitter and shine across his backside, especially the "bItE mE" that was slapped across his , unbeknownst to him.

Daehyun crouches down as the man is sitting up and the two knock heads, and more laughter erupts from within the car. The stranger is the first to recover as they both hold their heads in an attempt to mitigate the throbbing pain reverberating through their skulls.

"Oh , are you okay?" The man asks Daehyun as he sits on the concrete in pain.

"I'm fine-- wait, are you okay? You just got hit by a car!" Daehyun pushes himself up and reaches his hand out. The other man takes his hand but Daehyun doesn't have to do anything because he pretty much helps himself up and Daehyun is left feeling slightly awkward and unnecessary. He dusts himself off and looks at Daehyun.

"Nah, I'm alright..." Daehyun raises an eyebrow when he sees the other suppress a smile, "y baby."

"Wha-- I--" Daehyun chokes on air at that point when he follows the other's gaze to his legs and he feels his face heat up at an alarmingly fast rate, "Yoo Youngjae I'm going to ing kill you!" He screams at the car and he hears more laughter, before Himchan's voice pipes in,

"I think he could be serious."

"...."

Daehyun thinks he's about ready to throw himself off a mountain, pink shorts and all. He looks at the other. His hair was a pale shade of blond, similar to his own, with an undercut on both sides of his head. He thinks now would be a good time to explain himself, calm and collected.

"I...you see, these shorts...i-it was uh-- yeah no I mean, my friend-- son of a ...yeah." Daehyun stammers and the man standing before him is now glancing back and forth between him and the car which seems to be giggling uncontrollably. 

"You know what, I'm sorry but I have...stuff...to take care of."

Daehyun doesn't give the other guy time to reply before sprinting straight to the car, and Daehyun misses it when he says that maybe he'll see him around because Daehyun is way too intent on beating the out of Youngjae as soon as he can get his fingers around his throat to hear.

The man laughs and winces when the sunlight is refracted straight into his eyes.

。。。。。。。。。。

"Here, Daehyun." Youngjae call out to him when they finally step out of the car in front of the house that cutely resembled a cottage of sorts. They loudly slam the car doors, despite Himchan's protests, as they were glad to be out of the cramped vehicle in which they were driven insane.

He looks up and his vision is suddenly stolen by a pair of navy board shorts flung into his face. Ripping it off, he stares at it in disbelief and he hears Himchan snort in his direction.

"Why would you do this to me?" Daehyun asks, his voice quiet yet dramatic and filled with pain and betrayal.

"Hey, look, I was just screwing with you." Youngjae lifted his hands up as he defends himself, "I was going to give these to you when we arrived, how was I supposed to know that before that, you were going to run outside flaunting your in those baby pink shorts?"

"Flaunting my--" Daehyun scrunches his eyes up and sighs, "and these aren't even mine! Come to think of it, why do you even have these?!"

An uncharacteristic giggle bubbles out of Youngjae's throat and Daehyun narrow his eyes and shudders, wondering why and how he ever ended up befriending him. He takes a look at the others and he wonders the same thing about them too.

Jongup and Junhong are already at the front door and hopping up and down, leaving Himchan to lug all their baggage by himself. They continue nagging at Youngjae to unlock the door so they can they can chuck their stuff in and go explore the new and undiscovered (by them) places in town. There is excited chatter between themselves about all the fun things they're planning to do. Daehyun thinks that it's all talk and they're just going to end up at the beach every day, getting tanner and tanner until they're around 5 shades darker-- or redder if they don't listen to Himchan's constant reminders to slather on as much sunscreen as possible.

Daehyun shivers slightly at the breeze that grazes his skin and he scuffs his shoe on the driveway. For once he thinks that maybe Youngjae dragging him along might turn out to be a nice change from his usual white-walled life back at home.

。。。。。。。。。。

Daehyun was right.

Third day in and this time and the two youngest boys had managed to drag the three to the beach. It wasn't a far walk, they realised, in fact it was barely a 5 minute distance. Himchan was, again, left with carrying all their gear needed for the beach: their towels, umbrella, sunscreen, spare clothes, money in case there was a food stall nearby and other miscellaneous things like a deflated colourful beach ball with flowers all over it that Junhong refuses to be seen with.

"Come on! The water is really refreshing!" Junhong urges as he tugs on Daehyun's arms and pouts when Daehyun refuses.

"Don't be a little ." Youngjae adds, "water isn't going to hurt you."

"Junhong's right! And we get to be near..." Jongup puts his hand next to his mouth and whispers albeit very audibly, "girls in bikinis."

Himchan throws a bottle of sunscreen at Jongup and he flinches when it misses his head by a hair's breadth. 

"The girls aren't there for you to gawk at, have some respect." And Himchan resumes digging himself a little hole to sit in, explaining to the others that the sand keeps him nice and cool. 

"It's way too hot I think I'm gonna pass out." 

Junhong finally drops his arms and gives up before he sprints off towards the water with Youngjae and Jongup by his side. Daehyun watches their retreating figures and turns to Himchan.

"You're not going to go?" 

"Not when my sand chair needs digging." Daehyun his head to the side in intrigue, but he shrugs anyway. He wonders how long it will take him to dig and wonders if it's all going to end up caving in on him when he finally sits on his sandy throne.

"I think I might just go to sleep for a bit. I wasn't joking about the passing out thing."

He doesn't get 15 minutes into his dream before he feels like he just took a punch straight the face. It goes numb and he's left laying there clutching his nose as he feels the warm blood trickle down his face and streams down his hands. He lies still for a while, as the pain suddenly hits him and his eyes close tightly and he hisses loudly at the agonising pain. He thinks his nose his broken, but thank God he feels that it's still in the right place and isn't bending a way it shouldn't. He expects Himchan to immediately be at his side and help tend to his injury, but seeing as the motherly presence is missing, Daehyun opens his eye a crack. His vision is nothing but blur, but he can still clearly see Himchan-- that lazy -- is asleep next to the pile of sand from his sand chair's creation. He flops his left arm out and frantically looks for a tissue or even a towel to clean up the blood on his face as he desperately tries to stem the bleeding with his other hand.

"Oh oh oh are you okay?" He hears an unfamiliar yet familiar deep voice ask and Daehyun assumes through his closed eyes that he's the one being addressed.

"Tissue. Towel." Is all he manages.

"O-oh right."

A few seconds later he feels a towel being pressed softly on his face and it rubs soothing circles on his cheeks. His eyes flutter open and he's met with a face he's sure he's seen before. 

"H-have we..." And his eyes widen with recognition, "YOU!"

The other man watches with slight concern as Daehyun suddenly sits up and blood drips down onto the sand. But not long after, his eyebrows shoot up.

"Oh, so we meet again." He says with a smirk and pushes Daehyun back down to lie with his head turned up, just so his blood doesn't spill everywhere, "didn't recognise you without your y baby shorts."

This time Daehyun chokes on his spit.

"Yongguk! The you doing? Get back here!" A distant voice calls out to him.

"Shut up, Maslo I'll be right there! ing have some patience." He mutters the last part and Daehyun laughs.

"Yongguk was it? I'll remember that when I need to get my nose fixed at the hospital." Yongguk scoffs at him.

"I see you're already recovering,"

"Seriously stop wasting our ing time, dickwad!"

"...and that's my cue to leave."

Daehyun mumbles a soft thanks as Yongguk walks behind them and runs towards the group of boys standing around in the sand not far off. It seems his attacker was a football that was sent flying with a wrongly calculated kick, shooting through the air at the perfect angle, straight into his nose. He sits up and blinks slowly, regaining his sight, just in time to see Yongguk jogging his way back towards him. 

"Forget something?"

"Yeah, your name."

"Ah okay." Daehyun nods, and is about lie back down on the sand, "Huh wait what'd you say?"

"Your name." Yongguk repeats himself and smiles, a gummy smile, Daehyun notes, "I should know whose operation I'm paying for right?"

Daehyun laughs again and his voice his muffled by the large towel.

"Daehyun. Jung Daehyun."

And this time, he catches it when Yongguk says that maybe he'll see him around. Daehyun isn't sure what happened, but he smiles to himself anyway.

。。。。。。。。。。

"No! The shower is mine!" Junhong yells and he violently shoves Jongup into the doorframe.

"Hey hey, you're the youngest you're supposed to be last!" Jongup argues, but Junhong is already in the bathroom laughing from behind the locked door.

Himchan shakes his head as Jongup threatens to rip the door from its hinges and whack Junhong with the dismantled door. 

"Please don't." Youngjae chimes in as he flips through a magazine full of bikinis and cars and he clicks his tongue. He would like to go through an auto magazine without having half- girls purring at him through the glossy pages. He thought it was a bit demeaning and would prefer not to be lumped with those who bought these auto-magazines with other intentions.

Jongup flops down onto the couch, wrapped in Youngjae's discarded towel that he left hanging on the back of the seat after his shower. Youngjae didn't want him getting sand and sea salt crushed and stuck in the brown suede.

"Why'd you have to get blood all over my towel?" Jongup pouts as Daehyun looks up from the chopping board, "I'm cold and now Junhong's hogging all the hot water."

"Sorry, Jongup. I'll buy you a new one. Pink and sparkly with Barbie's face printed all over it okay?" 

"I hate you all." Jongup sinks further into the plush cushions and Youngjae watches him with sharp eyes, making sure the couch is kept completely dry and sand-free.

The sound of rushing water is shut off and a few minutes later, the sound of the door unlock sends Jongup immediately on his feet. He runs to the bathroom, not forgetting to shoulder Junhong into the wall as he steps out wearing a fresh change of dry clothes, sending him flying into the wall with a loud thud. Himchan leans out from the kitchen and sees Junhong on the ground hissing at the carpet burn. 

"What's his problem?" Junhong complains as he nurses the red patch on his knee. 

"Pissed because you stole the shower." Youngjae answers off-handedly as he flips the page, "and probably because his towel is covered with Daehyun's blood."

"I heard my name!" 

"Oh yeah, what was that about anyway?" Junhong asks, ignoring Daehyun.

"Balls in his face."

"Youngjae!" Daehyun yells from the kitchen, brandishing a gleaming knife, "And it was only one ball!"

"Not that he didn't enjoy it."

That night Youngjae gets a special type of mandu filled with nothing but the ghost pepper that Himchan bought the day before and Daehyun almost gets his eye taken out with a fork.

。。。。。。。。。。

Daehyun is woken up with warm sunlight as it filters through the sheer curtain and he stretches, accidentally knocking Himchan in the head. He isn't used to having to share a queen-sized bed with other people, especially those who tend to cling and smother themselves all over him in their sleep. Still, he reckons it's much better than having to sleep on the couch out in the living room space like Junhong and Jongup. He sits up and Youngjae's arm slips off his waist and drops dangerously near his crotch. The arm is about to curl around him again when he swats it away and crawls off from the foot of the bed. 

He grabs the blanket and in a swift tug, he rips the blanket off the other two, disrupting their peaceful slumber. Youngjae's hand feels around for the blanket as his eyes remain shut and he sighs when Daehyun laughs, knowing full well what that meant. Himchan on the other hand, curls up into a little ball and whimpers when the cool air hits his exposed skin.

"It's too early in the morning for this, Dae." Youngjae slurs, "stop ing around and give me the blanket."

"Early in the morning my ," Daehyun checks the clock sitting on the ornate bedside table, "It's past 12 in the afternoon, get up."

It really only is 12:03pm but Daehyun is determined to not waste their limited time here, in what he has decided was a little pastel-coloured slice of heaven. He feels a little hypocritical, considering he was the one complaining about the trip in the first place but he's done a little bit of self-reflection and slapped himself for being a pessimist. The place wasn't half-bad, in fact it wasn't bad at all, save for reckless boys kicking footballs into his face. 

When he garners no response above a mumble and a few insults, he sighs and makes a beeline for the other two sleeping on the sofa. 

Junhong is now sprawled on the floor, probably having kicked himself off the makeshift bed with those awkwardly long limbs of his. Padding quietly over, he nudged the youngest one with his foot.

"Go away, Jongup..." he mumbles sleepily and Daehyun isn't sure if he's sleep-talking or mistaking him for Jongup.

"I'm not Jongup."

"Huh?" The real Jongup stirs at the mention of his name.

"Oh you're awake." Daehyun turns to his next victim but Jongup retreats under his blanket as Daehyun approaches him.

"No I'm not."

Aaand he's gone.

Daehyun sighs in defeat as he realises that he's just been rejected by everyone in the house and resigns to padding around the house aimlessly. He hums quietly to himself and lets his mind go blank, tapping his hands on the kitchen island and stopping only to get a drink of water. The air around him is hot and he runs his fingers through his hair. Maybe getting out of the house would be a better option. Walking slowly to the front door, he opens it and is met with sudden blinding light and he almost slams the door shut again, if it weren't for the figure in the white wife-beater that happened to be walking outside the house at that very moment.

He stands there squinting as the sun relentlessly shines into his tired eyes. Seeing the other tilt his head, Daehyun lifts a hand in a pathetic excuse for a wave. Daehyun isn't sure if he saw, and he's about to go back into the house when Yongguk waves back and begins to walk up the driveway. 

"Hey y Baby. Three times, second day in a row, are you sure you're not stalking me?" Yongguk asks smugly as he stands at the bottom of the steps. 

"You wish. And don't call me that, I told you my name yesterday." Yongguk lets out a "pft" and looks up at Daehyun.

"So why're you here?"

"Small vacation. With friends." He picks under his fingernails and moves to sit on the top step.

"No I mean the house. Thought they were just on holiday."

"Oh, right yeah, my friend's their nephew. We're kinda just house-sitting until they come back." Yongguk raises his eyebrow.

"Really? I mean, I live right next door. So that makes us temporary neighbours."

Daehyun smiles as Yongguk leans against the brick and plays with his fingers, which Daehyun notices are surprisingly pretty for someone with such a manly aura. He isn't sure what to say, but the silence is getting uncomfortable. Daehyun opens his mouth to break the silence but Youngjae's voice beats him to it.

"DAEHYUN! I'M SO HUNGRY WHERE THE ARE Y-- oh, you're flirting with the neighbours that's cool too. Not like my stomach is about to implode on itself or snything."

Yongguk stares at Youngjae and Youngjae stares back. Suddenly Youngjae snaps his fingers and points at Yongguk (much to Daehyun's disappointment; his mum had always told him it was rude to point).

"Oh hey you're the one we hit with the car. And the one that kicked the ball into his face. Good job." He flashes him a thumbs-up of approval and nods.

"God! Youngjae will you just-- argh." Daehyun covers his face with his hands and Yongguk chuckles at the scene unfolding. 

"Yeah..." he nods slowly, and there's a grin on his face, "that's me." 

Youngjae let's out an insufferable "HAHA" before disappearing into the house and Daehyun is now one hundred and one percent sure Youngjae's purpose in life to fill his life with misery and embarrassment.

"I take you haven't had breakfast yet?" Yongguk asks as he stares at the top of Daehyun's head. He sees the blond hair shake from side to side and a tell-tale grumbling growls from his direction. Yongguk steps forward and and puts his hands into his pockets as he leans forward to look up at Daehyun's reddening face, "care to join me?"

。。。。。。。。。。

"What do you mean Daehyun's gone?" Junhong asks in disbelief.

"I don't know, the guy we ran over, he just came and whisked him away for brunch."

"Is this his revenge? To starve us? Who's going to make us food?"

"I wi--"

"NO." The other three say in unison. 

"If it weren't for Daehyun's help last night you probably would've poisoned us all." Youngjae ignores Himchan's feigned hurt and continues.

"I guess that means..." Youngjae rubs his chin in thought, "we have to make...our own food."

A collective gasp resonates around the room.

。。。。。。。。。。

"Your friend seems a little..."

"He's an ," Daehyun says around his ice-cream, "but he's still my best friend. I'm not sure why."

Feeling the stare burning into his head, Daehyun glances up and Yongguk is sitting across him and examining is face with unnerving intensity. He points to the ice-cream and Yongguk just shakes his head and Daehyun wonders what he's staring at. 

"Am I boring you?" Daehyun asks meekly, and he continues eating his ice-cream before it melts from the blazing summer heat.

"Not at all." Yongguk rests his chin on his fingers that are woven together and continues watching as Daehyun finishes the last bit of his ice-cream, barely fitting the remainder of the cone in his mouth.

They decided to sit in a small eatery a few metres from the beach and Yongguk decided on a salmon and cream cheese bagel (with extra fries on the side) whilst Daehyun chose a lighter blueberry waffle option, later grabbing himself a soft-serve as a small dessert. Yongguk pokes fun at Daehyun's choices, saying that it was exactly what his ex-girlfriend would choose.

"You had a girlfriend? What happened?" Daehyun asks, hoping he wasn't treading on closed-off territory.

"Ah, she moved away. I didn't want to keep a long distance relationship...too bothersome." Yongguk bites his bottom lip. "So how long are you here for?" 

"Well I'm here for another..." Daehyun sticks his tongue out and counts the days in his head, "two days. Then I'm heading back the next morning."

He doesn't miss the slight change of expression on Yongguk's face.

"Why?"

"Oh, well, my friend's having a huge beach party kinda thing tomorrow night and I was wondering if you-- and your friends of course-- wanted to uh...yeah." Yongguk scratches the back of his head as he waits for Daehyun to answer.

Daehyun is slightly taken aback by the sudden invitation. It wasn't common that he'd be invited to parties and on the rare occasion that he is, it's usually a small gathering of close friends and such, not huge parties on the beach and what he predicts will be copious amounts of alcohol and people grinding on each other at ungodly hours of the night. Then he imagines himself drinking copious amounts of alcohol and grinding on people (specifically the one seated right across from him) and he feels his face burning. And it's not just because the heat from the sun intensified.

"You don't have to come...I just--"

"No no, I'm sure we'd love to." 

。。。。。。。。。。

"Hot babes, aw yeah." Jongup rubs his hands together and Himchan slaps him upside on the head causing Jongup to headbutt Junhong and the two simultaneously let out cries of pain.

"And you're sure we're allowed? We're not going to be crashing are we? I mean what if it's just like, you know, a small party?" Himchan asks nervously.

Daehyun tilts his head to the side. Small party?

"Uhh..."

。。。。。。。。。。

"OH GOD I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!" Himchan yells as he gets doused with a summer fruits cruiser, "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!" 

"Kids! KIDS! DON'T GET LOST!" Youngjae blindly yells behind him as they attempt to navigate away from the swarming group of people as they jumped up and down and waved their drinks around in the air.

They were probably not even drunk on the alcohol, if the drink even was alcoholic. The atmosphere was enough to make anyone tipsy. Youngjae grabs what he thinks is Junhong's thin arm, but is met with a high-pitched squeal and he is sure Junhong's voice, despite not being as deep as the others, is not that high. He releases his grip and frantically looks around for the others, hoping they haven't been in to writhing crowd.

When they finally push through the horde to freedom, they sit down on the sand and watch as everyone jumps and moves their body to the song that is barely audible above the volume of the talking and the screaming and the singing that is erupting from the crowd.

A few minutes pass and they are still sitting on the sand away from majority of people.

"Man I feel tired watching them." Junhong brings a bottle of lime and cranberry vodka to his lips before it's pried from his hands by a horrified Youngjae.

"Where did you get this?!" Junhong shrugs and Youngjae narrows his eyes, "this kid..." then lifts the bottle and takes a swig, much to Junhong's irritation. Himchan punches Youngjae in the shoulder and he chokes on the drink and ends up spluttering everywhere.

"I'm done sitting here, lets go and actually have fun, when's the next time we'll be able to do this?" Himchan looks at the others. Youngjae shrugs and they both stand up to make their way into the pulsing crowd. Jongup and Junhong look at each other, then at Daehyun who just shakes his head.

"Are you serious? Come on, man." 

"Nah, you go." Jongup raises an eyebrow.

"You sure?" Like, you're sure that you're sure?" He asks. Daehyun laughs and nods before waving them off. 

"If you say so..." Junhong says quietly, before dragging Jongup along with him to impress some girls and hopefully get some numbers.

And it happens almost like last time, except with less blood.

"Glad you could come."

Daehyun turns to the voice and sure enough Yongguk is standing there, his features illuminated by the moon and Daehyun has a hard time looking away. He tries not to stare, but he knows that it's impossible. Yongguk takes a seat next to him and they sit in silence for a while. 

"Where are your friends?"

"Somewhere in the crowd." Daehyun pulls his knees up to his chest.

"Why didn't you go with them?"

Daehyun doesn't answer, instead he just buries his face in his arms wrapped around his legs. Despite being in the middle of paradise and in the middle of summer, Daehyun feels a bit cold and empty. He's not sure why there's a hole where his heart's supposed to be.

He tilts his head to the side and when his eyes meet Yongguk's, he's not sure what to do. So he unclasps his hands and reaches out for the other's, wordlessly intertwining their hands on the soft grains of sand. He feels him tense under his touch and Daehyun turns his head slightly to hide a smile. They sit like that for a little while longer and Yongguk thinks that Daehyun is looking a little bit beautiful.

Daehyun feels the hand slide out from under his, and when he looks back,

Yongguk is kissing him.

And he finds himself kissing back.

。。。。。。。。。。

"Can you not." A peppery voice interrupts them and Yongguk immediately pulls away, causing Daehyun to tip over.

Youngjae is standing in front of them, hands on his hips and shaking his head like a disappointed mother. 

"I leave you for what, five minutes and you're off making out with the guy who almost broke your face," Youngjae looks at Yongguk, "by the way there were a group of girls over there who really want to hop on your . They're pretty hot so I'm not...exactly sure what you're doing over here with this thing but--"

"I ing swear." Daehyun snarls under his breath and Yongguk can't help but chuckle at the two best friends who always seemed to be at each other's throats. In a way he found it endearing.

"Okay okay, I'll leave." Youngjae turns, but he wasn't going to leave so peacefully. And Daehyun knows that, which is why he's not surprised when Youngjae throws over his shoulder loud enough for everyone to hear, "don't forget to use condoms!! Safe , everyone!!" 

Daehyun's hands fly up to shield his scarlet face as a few people turn to look in their direction. He makes a mental note to punch Youngjae in the face with a heavy metal object when he gets back home, preferably a sharp one. But the thought dissipates almost immediately when he feels a soft brush against the shell of his ear and a shiver runs through his body,

"So, where were we?"

。。。。。。。。。。

It's a wonder that Daehyun manages to corral them all back in one piece. As the only fully sober member of their group, he's taken it upon himself to make sure none of them end up collapsing on the side of the road. A small feeling of guilt sits inside his chest as he doesn't recall properly saying goodbye to Yongguk, only remembering that he had been so startled by Youngjae throwing up merely a couple of feet away that he jumped up straight away and demanded that they return home.

Daehyun sits Youngjae on the steps and it takes him longer than it should to get Youngjae to tell him where the keys are.

"Youngjae, where are the keys?" Daehyun enunciates, nice and slow and clear for even a monkey to understand. 

Apparently a drunk Youngjae is not as smart as a monkey.

"Wha...I'm a the where keys? You...are keys? Yes."

"No, I need the keys," Daehyun mimics the action of unlocking the door for Youngjae, "so we can get inside the house."

"...Youngjae just...th'keys!!! Give him the f'cking keys!!!" Himchan yells and it sounds like he's about to cry. Daehyun learnt today that Himchan is an emotional drunk. In fact, so emotional that Daehyun had to comfort him and tell him that grass was non-sentient and that it was okay to walk on grass. 

Junhong and Jongup are giggling at the back and Daehyun doesn't know, and doesn't want to know.

"Pookets." Youngjae mumbles as his eyes struggle to stay open.

"Which pockets?"

"Bum pookets." Youngjae points to his back pockets before falling asleep and Daehyun sighs. He pushes Youngjae so that he's lying on his side and fishes around in Youngjae's back pockets and finally, after lots of questions and hair-pulling, he finds the keys. 

They all stumble inside, hands slapped onto the walls to balance themselves as they sway dangerously from side-to-side with every step.

"That was..." 

"Tiring." Himchan finishes Jongup sentence as he flops onto the couch that Daehyun is currently sitting on. 

"5 hours 'f sweat and alcohol, whadda night." Youngjae slurs comments as he plops himself on the other sofa, "so...s'great..." And his lights are out. 

Jongup and Junhong pass out on the floor and Daehyun sneaks away into the bedroom, and he jumps into the queen bed and enjoys the fact that he can spread his arms out and roll around in it.

His friends were a bunch of idiots, but he quietly admits to himself-- and only himself-- that they were the best bunch of idiots he'd ever met, and probably ever will meet.

。。。。。。。。。。 

The next day goes by a little too quick when they wake up in the afternoon and it starts to rain. It would've been forgiveable if it were just the refreshing pitter-patter sort of rain, but no. It was the kind of rain where the drops sound like bullets and the rushing of soldiers' feet across your window and on the roof, where the rushing water droplets drowned out the sound of your own voice. The grey sky had been cut right open.

"Whyyy..." Himchan whined while complaining about his "splitting headache".

Daehyun lies on the couch with his legs hanging off the arm, squishing a couch cushion on his face. The atmosphere is placid and the others are suffering from the aftermath of having one too many drinks and trying to deal with their hangovers as cleanly as possible. They do not want to mess up the place, unless they want to have their kicked to next week by a very angry and temperamental Youngjae.

A few games of truth of dare pass and after being forced (and drunkenly agreeing) to give Himchan a half-assed while having to wear those hell-sent "Y bAbY" for what he hopes is the last time, Daehyun sobers up and decides to send them all off to bed, in fear of Youngjae the demon spawn tainting the innocent minds of Jongup and Junhong any further. Surprisingly, they all comply and Daehyun is now wide awake in the middle of the night, lying between Himchan and Youngjae's warmth. He cranes his neck and sees that it's not even midnight yet. He feels unfulfilled and perhaps there's a reason, though that reason that seems to have eluded him.

For Daehyun, he feels like there's so much more in this town left to experience. He hadn't gotten burnt, he hadn't paid a visit to the local library, he hadn't watched the sun set and paint the horizon a soft mix of oranges and reds and yellows and pinks. 

But, he had met Yongguk.

Daehyun feels his heart flutter like a little warm bird in a cage. He wonders if this is love or infatuation, or none, perhaps a strange mixture of both. He tosses and turns on the bed, and he would've thrown himself off it it weren't for the human barriers on either side.

Was this what they called a summer fling?

Daehyun sighs as he recalls their conversation and he's come to the conclusion that he was only really a summer fling. Which is why it doesn't make sense when Daehyun finds himself jogging down the hallway and out the door. 

"What am I doing?" He mutters and before he knows it, he's at the house next door and his heart is beating and he doesn't know what to do with himself.

Raising his hand, he knocks softly at the door-- softly but quickly. He doesn't want to regret chickening out. 

He stands there for what feels like a hundred years and he's already feeling like an , standing outside in a thin t-shirt and sleeping shorts and socks and nothing else to protect him from the boreal temperatures. He thinks maybe it was a stupid idea, he was stupid for even doing this and he's about to run straight back to the house when the door opens to reveal a dishevelled Yongguk.

"Daehyun?" 

"D-did I wake you?"

"No, I was just watching tv...but, why are you here?"

"I-- to say goodbye?" It comes out sounding more like a question and Daehyun is positive he looks like a complete idiot. Under-dressed and shivering outside someone's house almost as the clock strikes midnight.

"O-oh yeah...right, tomorrow's the last day, huh?" Yongguk rubs the back of his neck and at first Daehyun just stares.

But he is tired and tiredness leads to impulsiveness and suddenly he finds himself grabbing Yongguk's face with both hands and kissing him with more force and passion than he knew was possible.

Yongguk reacts with a small growl, and his hands sneak around Daehyun's waist and he pulls Daehyun into the house before roughly using Daehyun's body to slam the door shut. Daehyun gasps as the air is knocked out of him, but Yongguk's mouth is slanted over his again and he has no time to breathe.

"Can't--" Daehyun speaks against Yongguk's teeth and he places his hands on the broad shoulders and pushes him away, finally able to regain his breath.  

Daehyun leans back against the door as he takes big gulps of air. Yongguk's hands are still gripped painfully tight on his waist and his hands are still placed on Yongguk's shoulders. They stand there while Daehyun gets his breathing back to normal.

"Finished?" Yongguk smirks and Daehyun takes a couple more breaths before nodding. 

And just like that Yongguk's solid body is pressed into his and Daehyun involuntarily grinds against him again and God that feels so ing good and when a shameless moan escapes his lips, he realizes they're both still fully clothed. 

"Daehyun..." the husky voice whispers all too closely in his ear and he trembles as a hand slides under his thin shirt,

"Yongguk. Yongguk." He repeats the name over and over again and it just feels nice the way it flows out of his mouth like it belongs there, "..."

Everything happens in a blur, and before he knows it his back hits the bed and Daehyun finds himself clawing at Yongguk's back, leaving angry red lines on the pale skin as Yongguk s him roughly into the mattress, long fingers fisted tightly in Daehyun's hair. Daehyun can feel his throat go raw as another scream rips through when Yongguk s especially hard and Daehyun can feel the pain shoot up his spine. Yongguk loves the way Daehyun is broken down into a mess of sweat and he finds it cute and a turn-on the way Daehyun whimpers and breathes hot air down Yongguk's neck. Daehyun's toes curl into the sheets as Yongguk's mouth is busy leaving marks along his collarbone, nipping at them and trailing his lips along his neck. He smoothly snakes his hand around Yongguk's neck and lures his face up to his before his kisses Yongguk, slowly this time, savouring the taste he leaves on his lips.

"Yongguk," Daehyun gasps as Yongguk pushes into him again, "are we...is this too fast?" Yongguk presses a soft kiss to his temple.

"You're leaving in less than 12 hours, I say it's time that's going too fast." 

Daehyun doesn't reply when he feels Yongguk's movements become more erratic and his breathing gets ragged. Daehyun feels like he's teetering on the edge of a cliff and Yongguk is whispering his name in his ear and he's so loudly that he's sure the others in the house can hear them.

"Yongguk, I'm--" And Daehyun is gone, screaming and digging his nails painfully into the other's back. Yongguk follows shortly after with a guttaral moan and he collapses beside Daehyun. When their post- glow dies down and their breathing regulates, Daehyun's voice drops to a low whisper.

"What am I to you?"

"What?"

Daehyun stops himself before he asks anything else.

"I didn't want to keep a long distance relationship...too bothersome."

He bites his tongue and keeps quiet, instead he turns to nuzzle his face into Yongguk's chest and he relaxes as strong arms wrap themselves easily around his narrow frame. A small pressure meets his forehead and Daehyun realises it's Yongguk's lips. He suddenly feels exhausted.

He lies still in those arms and lets himself get lulled to sleep by the slowing heartbeat in his ears.

Daehyun didn't mind if it was just fleeting romance or a submission to lust. He wanted to stay in these arms, even for just a moment.

Because in that moment he can pretend they were in love. 

。。。。。。。。。。

If it were someone doing it to him, Daehyun would've been infuriated, but he has no choice. He apologises to Yongguk who is still fast asleep as he rolls off the bed. Checking the clock, he almost falls over chucking his clothes on. 

9:17am

The red letters blink, urging him to hurry up because the others are probably worried sick and wondering where he was. Not to mention they were leaving in approximately 45 minutes plus minus 3 or so minutes. He finally gets his clothes on and searches frantically for a pen and paper, because leaving without even a written goodbye would be a ty way to go. He scribbles a quick note and leaves it on the pillow and makes his way quickly to the door.

But he finds himself going back, and he brushes the hair out of Yongguk's face before leaving a small kiss on his cheek.

And then he's running out the door.

。。。。。。。。。。

"I don't know! You're the one who shared the bed with him!"

"Yeah, but you sleep on the couch! You should've heard him leave-- or something!"

"Guys! He'll come, don't worry." Jongup attempts to pacify the situation before starts flying.

"ARGH!" Youngjae's hands grab his hair and Jongup worries that he might tear the chunk out, "That idiot!"

Suddenly, as if on cue, the door bursts open and Daehyun is standing there, panting and the three of them turn to look at him, wide-eyed, like they've just witnessed the second coming of Jesus or something.

"Jesus." Junhong mutters.

"Told you!" Jongup lights up and looks accomplished, "You okay there?"

"Yeah!" Daehyun answers, almost too eagerly, ignoring Youngjae's glare, "I'm fine, totally fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Youngjae beckons and Daehyun gulps before slowly walking over, afraid that he'll get his kicked to next Friday because that is definitely not what his needs right now.

"Did you use a ?" Youngjae asks suddenly, and Junhong lets out a "OH MAN" and falls off the couch.

"Wha-- I-- How--"

"You're limping. And..." he waves his finger around, pointing out all the marks littered on Daehyun's pale skin. Some red, some purple. "Also...your shirt's inside-out." 

Daehyun's instantly feels his clothes and Youngjae is right.

". By the way, where's Himchan?"

"Packing." 

Daehyun makes his way to the room where Himchan is punching the top of his suitcase in an attempt to flatten it all down. He's tugging furiously at the zipper and swearing at the inanimate object, threatening to "set its family on fire if it doesn't co-operate."

"Need a bit of help?" 

Himchan nods and Daehyun sits on the suitcase and he thanks him profusely when the zipper stubbornly slides from one end to the other.

"I can't even tell if someone went at you," Himchan grunts as he pulls sharply on the zip to make sure it's closed properly, "or in you."

Daehyun mouth drops open and he pushes Himchan's face away with a hand to the face.

。。。。。。。。。。

When he wakes up, the bed feels colder and he sighs, burying his face in the pillow. The scent of the other lingers on the sheets as memories of the night before flow into his mind. He rolls over on the bed that seems a little big now and something crinkles under his head.

------

Yongguk,

Thank you.
Enjoy the summer.
Don't miss me, but please, don't forget me.
I love you, I like to think that you loved me too.

- Daehyun.

------ 

Yongguk furrows his brows in confusion. After all that and he thinks he doesn't love him? 

A particular sentence sounds in his head and suddenly he knows why.

An alarm goes off in his head and Yongguk falls out of bed with a loud thud. He doesn't even bother buttoning his jeans or putting a shirt on.

。。。。。。。。。。

"Hurry up!" Junhong yells as he leans against the car door.

Himchan is pulling his suitcase down the stairs and taking a long time doing so. Youngjae shakes his head when Himchan's hand slips and the luggage makes its way down the stairs by itself, only a bit more loudly and recklessly than he intended. Jongup snickers to himself and Daehyun joins, while Jongup-- being the sweet kid he is-- runs up to lend him a hand.

"So," Youngjae begins as they watch Jongup help Himchan re-zip up the luggage that had managed to open up, much to Himchan's dismay, "enjoyed the trip?" 

Junhong nods and Daehyun hums in agreement, Youngjae turns and one eye is squinting in the sun. He looks Daehyun up and down, lingering on the marks bright on Daehyun's collarbone.

"I know you did." He turns his head back, "Probably more than you should've."

"Sorry about that," Himchan says as he reaches them, "it was a bit heavy."

"Aight, time to say goodbye and head back home." Youngjae announces as Himchan unlocks the car.

They're about to get in and head home when,

"Wait!"

"What the." Himchan mutters as a half- man runs towards them.

Daehyun stops his movements when he hears the voice and his heart feels all too heavy in his chest.

"Daehyun." 

The others eye the red scratches on his back and a low whistle sounds from Youngjae. 

"Daehyun you ing beast." Daehyun's face goes red as the evidence of his experience last night is on show for everyone to see.

"So you came to say bye?"

"Of course. Why didn't you wake me up?" Yongguk tries to meet Daehyun's eyes, but the latter keeps avoiding his gaze.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles and Yongguk pulls him in for a tight hug.

"I'll miss you, y Baby." The others laugh quietly at the name, but Daehyun doesn't. Instead he cries, "I love you." Yongguk repeats the words back at him and Daehyun just cries even more and Yongguk isn't sure what to do with himself.

So he leans down kisses him and Daehyun finally stops. 

"Kids. Kids don't look." Youngjae turns to cover Jongup's eyes, and again he's too late.

Their foreheads knock softly, and Daehyun laughs as he thinks about the first time they met. 

"I'll miss you too." He presses a chaste kiss on Yongguk's lips for the last time, "I'll miss you a lot."

"You better get going."

Yongguk ruffles his hair and steps back and he bites back his tears when Daehyun disappears into the car to get taken away, back to the place that seems all too far away.

。。。。。。。。。。

"You still smell like ." 

"YOUNGJAE!" Himchan yells as his arm reaches over and smacks his head into the window.

"What!? And stop being so loud you'll wake them up." He signals to the two in the backseat, Jongup's head resting on Junhong's tall shoulder as Junhong's head sits on top of Jongup's, snoring away.

Daehyun sighs and sticks his hands into his pockets and feels a small piece of paper. He thinks it's a piece of rubbish, probably a candy wrapper, but he pulls it out out of curiosity anyway. He doesn't remember putting anything in his pocket, and he unfolds it to reveal a messily scrawled number, with a message underneath.

------

Daehyun,

Maybe long-distance relationships aren't that bad.
I'll see you around. 

- Yongguk.

-------

A/N: Idk. I can't write at all so I tried to get it over and done with. And idk if I should mark it as M? Idk, it's not that graphic buuut...
Anyway, I don't know what to do with this. I wrote this at 3am and I'm not sure why but yeah. Haven't proof-read it  but I will probably do that when it's not so early in the morning.
I think I just wanted something different that was a bit more light hearted and not so many zombies...yeah... 
I don't like summer. But drunk people are always funny.

Also, if you know who Maslo is without having to search him up I send you my love.

♥