Jongup checked himself in front of the mirror for the umpteenth times. He had taken shower to clean him from the sticky sweat, used generous amount of body wash and brushed his body thoroughly so that no smell or dirt would even dare to make its appearance against his smooth skin, used strawberry-scented shampoo as it was Daehyun’s all-time favorite scent and meticulously brushed his teeth, twice with a minted toothpaste in order to avoid foul breathe.

          Jongup was so worried that he did not look perfect enough for Daehyun. After what seemed like forever, he finally decided to step out from the bathroom confidently. He grabbed a white bathrobe, wrapped himself in it and with a chant of ‘Don’t be a coward, Moon Jongup’, he marched out from the bathroom. Calming himself down, he stepped into the bedroom and found his brows creased the next second as there was no sign of Daehyun in the bedroom.

           A faint sound of instrumental song caught Jongup’s attention and he slowly made his way to the living room. His steps came to a halt when a sleeping Daehyun on the super comfy sofa came into sight. His husband was lying on his back with his head resting against the armrest, and only wearing a pair of grey sweat pants. Standing next to his husband, Jongup slowly took the remote control from Daehyun’s loose grasp and pressed a button to switch the TV off.

           He then sat himself on the table and faced the sleeping Daehyun. A pang of guilt overwhelmed him as he realized that he had taken a very unnecessarily long time in the bathroom and let Daehyun fell asleep in the living room. Jongup was about to wake his husband up when suddenly his brain commanded him not to. Instead, he took the opportunity to examine Daehyun’s handsome features. He wanted to memorize every single thing about Daehyun… because the latter now was his everything.

           Daehyun’s black lock covered most of his forehead and Jongup found himself adoring the cute mole under his left eye. Though Daehyun’s nose was a bit big but it was well-shaped and sharp enough to make his husband looked macho. Jongup’s eyes travelled down and stopped at the plush lips that were parted slightly. He unconsciously his own lips as he remembered that they had their lips connected few hours ago for the first time and he could not be happier that his first kiss was taken by his first love, his own husband.

           Jongup’s eyes landed on the bare broad chest that was steadily moving up and down inhaling and exhaling the oxygen. Those strong arms too… How Jongup wished to be in those protective arms again and had the warm chest as his pillow. The nip— Wait! He shook his head and abruptly stood from his seat. A tint of pink started to appear on his cheeks for thinking something dirty. He was so-called reprimanding himself when he realized the room temperature was quite cold.

           Daehyun sleeping without having the shirt on made Jongup worried. He did not want his husband to catch a cold; he did not want him to get sick. All the dirty thoughts and first night nervousness he had before vanished into thin air and was replaced with concern and worry. Jongup decided to wake Daehyun up and asked him to sleep in the bedroom. He gently shook Daehyun by the arm as he softly called for the latter.

           “Daehyun hyung… wake up…” Daehyun did not budge. Jongup shook again.

          “Hyung, go sleep in the bedroom.” Silence. Jongup pouted. He shook a bit harder in attempt to really wake Daehyun up.

          “Daehyun hyung…” A groan was heard as Daehyun shifted a bit. Jongup let out a relief sigh as he thought Daehyun was awake but boy was he wrong. Daehyun freaking continued his sleep, and this time on his side. Jongup blinked his eyes in disbelief. Poor hyung, he must be really tired.

           “Hyung?” Jongup tried his chance again and he received a faint mumble.

           “Five more minutes, Jae…” and Daehyun still had his eyes closed.

          “What did you say? Hyung, let’s just— ah” Jongup could not finish his words when his wrist was unexpectedly being pulled by the other and caused him to fall next to the lying Daehyun on the sofa. His eyes widened when he felt his body being pulled closer until his back made contact with the warm bare chest.

          “H-Hyung…” Jongup’s voice broke. His calm heart was now beating extraordinarily fast and he could not control his breathing when Daehyun decided to pressed their body together, to close any tiny gap between them. Arm wrapped tightly around Jongup’s slender waist and the bride closed his eyes when he felt hot breath against his bare nape.

           “Shhh… you’re noisy, Jae.” Daehyun mumbled in his sleep but due to the close proximity, Jongup could catch what the former said. J? What J? Oh, wait! Is J for Jongup? He’s calling me J in his sleep?... and Jongup blushed for his new nickname.

           “But it—”

          “Jae, sleep.” Daehyun unconsciously gave a kiss to Jongup’s neck and the latter shuddered under that simple affection.

       A shaky breath escaped from Jongup’s parted lips as he tried to digest the fact that he was now in his husband’s arms. It was like a dream to him and he could not be happier that all of this was real. Ignoring his awkward lying position, Jongup closed his eyes as he let himself drown in the warm embrace of his Daehyun. They did not need to be in the bedroom precisely for they could cuddle to sleep at anytime and anywhere. Jongup slowly drifted to dreamland, happy smile on his face.

           Daehyun groaned as his back was feeling sore due to the exposure to the cold temperature. He was about to stretch his numb arms and legs when he suddenly felt a foreign weight over his arm and a sweet strawberry scent lingered around him. Inhaling the scent deeply, Daehyun slowly opened his eyes and was greeted with a familiar light auburn hair. Jae? He shook his head and closed his eyes only to open it again. No, it was not Jae. Daehyun’s brows knitted together before realization hit him.

          Daehyun tried to remember how he ended up sleeping with Jongup in his arms. Seeing his arm was wrapped comfortably around his wife’s slim waist, he was sure he was the one who started it as he knew Jongup would not dare enough to purposely lie down next to him. A deep sigh escaped from his lips as he remembered that he had dreamt about Youngjae and probably thought Jongup was Youngjae because the latter would always disturb his sleep when they were in Paris. And in order to stop being disturbed continuously, he would pull Youngjae closed to his chest and cuddled him to sleep. Like what he did now to Jongup.

          Carefully removing his arm around Jongup’s waist and head, he slowly pushed his body from the sofa and stood on his feet. His body was aching and he just wanted to stretch his numb arms and limbs. He shivered when the cold air brushed his exposed skin and immediately wrapped his torso with his towel that was hanging around his shoulder. A soft whimper was heard behind him made Daehyun to automatically turn his head to the source. His eyes widened upon seeing the sight in front of him. How come I did not notice this before?

          Daehyun watched as Jongup curled himself into a ball and had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He noticed his wife had a knee length white bathrobe on and due to his body shifting on the sofa, Jongup accidentally exposed his smooth white thigh that was initially being covered with the bathrobe. Daehyun found himself staring at the exposed skin of his wife and only realized that he had been staring at it longer than he should when a sudden wave of heat overwhelmed him. Shaking his head fervently, he quickly averted his sharp gaze before he stumbled toward the walk-in wardrobe.

          He grabbed a blue shirt in the suitcase and put it on. What was I thinking? What exactly had gotten into you, Jung Daehyun? Get a grip of yourself now! Suddenly the word ually deprived crossed his mind and he found himself splashing icy cold water to his face the next second. He stared at his own reflection in the mirror as to calm himself down. No way am I ually deprived! I don’t agree to this marriage and ah, screw all this . Think of Youngjae, you pabo. He turned the faucet off and walked out from the bathroom. He was about to lay his tired body down on the sumptuous bed when his heart was telling him to go check on Jongup again.

          Sighing, he made his way to the living room as he felt guilty for leaving Jongup alone. He fixed his gaze on his wife’s sleeping face before he carefully slipped one arm under Jongup’s knee and another one at the back of his neck. He slowly lifted his wife up from the sofa and he stumbled upon how light the younger was. On his way to the bedroom, he could feel Jongup pressed himself against his broad chest in attempt to find any source of heat. Yeah, yeah fine. You’re part of the reason why he was sleeping in the living room with only this bathrobe.

          Daehyun gently lay Jongup down on the bed and the latter whimpered for losing the warm he needed. The husband pulled the thick duvet over Jongup’s torso and the body stopped from trembling. A heavy sigh escaped from Daehyun’s lips. I’m sorry that you’ve to go through all this, Jongup. He was going to go sleep on the sofa back when a sight of single tear that slid down from his wife’s closed eyes caught his attention. Daehyun’s brows furrowed. Is he crying in his sleep?

           “Please… don’t go. Dae-Daehyun hyung…” Jongup mumbled in his sleep but was loud enough to be heard by the said person who was now having his eyes wide opened. Another tear slid down from the corner of Jongup’s closed eyes and Daehyun was clueless to do anything. What kind of dream is he having now? Daehyun could not help but feel curious because hey, he was sure his name was slipped from his wife’s mouth and could not contend himself for being too curious about the dream.

          “No… hyung…” Hearing the faint soft voice triggered something in Daehyun’s mind.

FLASHBACK

Less than 24 hours ago…

          “Hyung…”

         “What now?”

        “Please make Jonguppie happy.” Daehyun looked up at his dongsaeng and hesitantly nodded his head. He was then being enveloped into a hug by Luhan as gratitude. He returned the hug as his mind tried to comprehend the fact that he was now getting married to his childhood friend Moon Jongup and not his beloved boyfriend that he left in Paris, Yoo Youngjae. A bitter smile plastered on his face.

          “You’re forgetting your appa now, sons?” A deep voice broke the deafening silence and the Jung brothers pulled away from the hug only to face their smiling father who was standing not far from them. Luhan skipped to Yongguk and pulled him to stand next to Daehyun. They three looked at each other before did their family hug. How Daehyun missed this affection so much. They broke the hug and soon, wedding planners approached the groom to fix the wrinkled tuxedo.

           “It’s about time, Daehyun.” Yongguk announced after he took a brief look at his wrist watch. Daehyun nodded his head understandingly and after he took a deep breath in, he followed Yongguk who led him to the door. Luhan held the door opened so that his father and the groom could easily pass through it. They met Yifan in their midway at the corridor as the latter was on his way to Jongup’s suite. After exchanging a couple of words, they split to their own destination.

             Faking a bright yet nervous smile, Daehyun made his way down the aisle and stopped right before an arch which was decorated with overflowing white blossom and long lines of white gossamer ribbons and stood rather stiffly beside his smiling father. The groom was kept accompany by his father as they would talk about random things while waiting for the bride to make his appearance. They chuckled when Yongguk told Daehyun about his wedding with Himchan. It was a funny yet sweet moment between his parents.

            “Daehyun-ah…” Suddenly, Yongguk’s voice turned serious and Daehyun whipped his head to look at his father.

            “I know this is hard for you, but think of your mother. You sure don’t want to disappoint him, right?” and Daehyun’s heart went weak at the mention of his mother. He nodded his head and received a squeeze on his shoulder.

            “Please, son… Please try to love Jongup. It’s okay if you take longer time to do that, but please, open your heart for Jongup. He’s going to be your wife, your future and Jae… he’s your past.” Daehyun closed his eyes as he was being reprimanded by his father. Past? I’m hurting inside, Appa… but he found himself nodding his head the next second.

            “Thank you, son…” A warm hand patted his right cheek and Daehyun gave Yongguk a sincere smile before his attention to the touch was distracted by the opening to the bridal chorus that was starting to play. Averting his gaze from his father’s face to the far end of the walk, he could not help but stare at Jongup who was walking down the aisle, mouth slightly opened in admiration. Daehyun quickly recomposed himself when he heard someone cleared his throat.

            After taking Jongup’s hand into his, he led the bride to stand in front of the pastor. Being witnessed by hundreds of guests, they vowed to be together and the crowd erupted into applause as the newlyweds sealed it with a kiss. It was during the reception party that Daehyun and Jongup had to dance in front of an audience. Cameras clicked feverishly as to make those memorable moments into hardcopy.

            The music changed and Yifan tapped Daehyun’s shoulder. The newlyweds and the parents exchanged their partner – Yifan with Jongup and Daehyun with Zitao. They had a small talk while dancing and Zitao did not miss the chance.

            “Jung Daehyun...”

            “Yes, Auntie…”

            “It’s Mama, my dear.” A giggle escaped from Zitao’s lips when Daehyun sheepishly whispered a sorry.

            “Daehyun-ah, thanks for accepting Uppie in your life. I’m really happy and grateful to have you taking care of our one and only precious Jongguppie. I know I could count on you, Dae. You’d be a good husband for my Uppie.”

            “Mama…” Daehyun called as he saw tears threatening to fall from Zitao’s panda eyes. The mother sniffed and smiled.

            “Oh no, why am I being emotional here? Spoiling the good mood. Amuten, please take care of Jonguppie for us, Daehyunnie.”

END OF FLASHBACK

            Daehyun climbed on the bed and lay himself down under the thick duvet. He closed the gap between him and Jongup before he stretched one arm and put it under Jongup’s head. He enveloped the latter into an embrace and the next thing he knew, his wife was already snuggled closer to him. Jongup unconsciously buried his head in the crook of Daehyun’s neck and gripped the latter’s front shirt loosely.

            Daehyun watched Jongup’s cute sleeping face and noticed the tears had stopped flowing. Letting a sigh out again, he tightened his hold around Jongup before he closed his tired eyes and let himself fell into slumber.

            Jongup woke up to the new comfortable warm that was emitting from other body that was pressed against his. He inhaled the foreign sweet scent, indulged himself into it for moments before he fluttered his eyes opened. At the same time, Daehyun too, started to open his sleepy eyes as he felt some movements against his chest. Jongup’s body tensed when he felt something wrapped around his body and his eyes went wide when his gaze met Daehyun’s bare neck.

            “Morning there…” A hoarse voice was heard so close to his ear and Jongup tilted his head upward only to meet Daehyun’s half lidded eyes. He blushed when Daehyun’s eyes were penetrating his chocolate brown orbs. His body started to relax when he knew he was in his husband’s protective arms, not in some strangers. Right, you’re married, Jongup… to Jung Daehyun.

            “Morning.”

            Daehyun removed his arm that was wrapped around Jongup’s slender waist and sensing that the older wanted to stretch his numb limbs, the latter slowly got up from his lying on the king size bed. Wait, bed? Jongup’s brows creased as he did not remember making his way to sleep on the bed. Something clicked on his mind and he could not help but blush when the thought of Daehyun carried him from the living room to the bed crossed his mind. OMG! And he noticed Daehyun had a blue shirt on.

            Daehyun got up from the bed and made his way to the window, stretching his body in the process. His eyes caught a glimpse of swimming pool and he thought it was a good start to move all his body part in the lovely morning. He turned his body and faced Jongup who was now on his feet, tightening the bathrobe that wrapped his body. Last night image suddenly flashed in Daehyun’s mind and he instantly averted his gaze before he cleared his throat.

            “Jonguppie…”

            “Yes…”

            “I was wondering…” Daehyun stopped and slowly turned his face to look at Jongup who mirrored his action. He continued.

            “I was wondering if… maybe you’d like to take a morning swim with me?”

            “What?” Jongup squeaked. Pink blush started making its way on Jongup’s cheeks. Morning swim with me? He started to think differently.

            “You see, the swimming pool down there is quite inviting, and I thought maybe we could have morning swim this morning… just like we did few years ago.” Daehyun explained and Jongup suppressed him from kicking himself for having those dirty thoughts again when it was actually a normal thing.

            “Yeah, why not?” Jongup found himself nodding and Daehyun immediately asked him to get ready as he walked over to the bathroom.

            Minutes later, they made their way to the ground floor of the hotel and Daehyun stopped his track as he remembered something. Jongup too, stopped his step and turned to his side.

            “Waeyo, hyung?”

            “Ani. Jonguppie, can you go first? I need to settle something.” Without any protest, Jongup nodded before he started to march to the doorway which led to the swimming pool that was located outside. Daehyun turned his heels and went to stand in front of the front counter. He really needed to ask the cleaning room service to clean their suite and he wanted it done before he and Jongup finished their morning swim activity. The aromatic scent is driving me crazy.

            Outside, Jongup took off his slippers and stripped himself off from the shirt he was wearing. He looked around and spotted a few people were swimming in the pool. With only an appropriate and legal outfit on him, he slowly went into the water and shivered when the cold water touched his skin. He was enjoying himself in the water when a big burly man suddenly came and interrupted his happy moment.

            “Hey, sweety. Are you alone? Mind if I join you?” That deep voice made Jongup to swallow his saliva down his dry throat. He gave an awkward smile to the man before he slowly waded away from him. To his dismay, the man followed wherever he went to and he started to feel scared and uncomfortable. He was mindlessly swimming around the pool as he was trying to avoid the man when he felt a pair of arms stopped him from doing so.

            Jongup’s breathe hitched in his throat when his back made contact with the chest of the person who wrapped his arms around his waist. His body started to tremble and lips quiver when the thought of him being in the stranger’s arms crossed his mind.

            “I’m sorry but he’s taken.” A too familiar voice was heard right next to his ear and the next thing he knew, his left hand was being lifted in the air and another hand appeared next to his. Two shimmery white gold rings appeared in sight and Jongup turned his head slightly to the back only to be greeted with a sight of serious Daehyun. Daehyun hyung…

31st January 2014

5:30pm

Friday

MSnanaii : He's okay. Jongup's cool, isn't he? ^^ I'm not sure whether to end this with DaeJong or HanJong or Daejae... hehe (it's another way of saying that I'm not gonna reveal the ending hehe)

bap_exo1995 : Thank you for spending your time reading this fanfic. I'll try to write HanJong more keke. Thanks again for your comment is a big help for me. :)

starmoonlight : Updated :)

jongupxoxo : I smell another HanJong here... hehe. or is it just purely to make Daehyunnie jealous of HanJong relationship? ;)