Himchan yawns, it’s 2 a.m in the morning and they have been in the studio since supper. There is an empty pizza box on the coffee table to prove just that. The love seat is too small to accommodate the entirety of Himchan’s frame, so he imagines that he’s a house cat, small enough for his limbs not to spill out of the seat. That might also justify why he’s awake at this ungodly hour. He connects his next sentence with the end of his yawn, making the first word come out louder than expected-

 

 

 

"So I was thinking maybe during our next break I could take some time off and I don't know... Vegetate at a beach resort in Phuket or something..." Himchan trails off, toying with a stray piece of string he found on Yongguk's desk. This is their routine. Yongguk would pour over his music scores and various beats on the computer and Himchan would sit not too far from him like a fat pet cat. Himchan would talk through the night about something completely irrelevant to music and Yongguk would occasionally respond with various alternations of grunts and hums. Yongguk isn’t what one would typically consider ‘quality company’, but Himchan feels comfortable in their space.

 

 

 

"What?" Comes Yongguk's not-very-pleased reply. Himchan had been working on his fifth knot when Yongguk interrupts him.

 

 

 

He jumps when the gruff voice breaks the silence and he loses the piece of string.

 

 

 

"God damn it Yongguk..."

 

 

 

Now, how does he expect Himchan to entertain himself through the session.

 

 

"Anyways," Himchan continues, rearranging himself on the tiny love seat that seems out of place in the studio, "It would only be a short trip. Couple of days? A week? I'd come back before practice starts." He tries to sound convincing because he’s scared that Yongguk might think that he’d never return, and he just wants Yongguk to know how frightened he is of that thought as well.

 

 

 

"But... that's when I usually write music..." It's dim in the studio (Yongguk doesn't do very well in bright light, light is too loud, too pressurising, too blatant, light murders the artistic soul, Yongguk had once said, and Himchan thought he was absolutely insane), but Himchan can make out Yongguk's frown from the light of the computer screen.

 

 

 

"And?" Himchan raises a brow, discarding the loose piece of thread he had pulled from his shirt to replace the old bit of string.

 

 

 

"And." Yongguk pauses. A little too long for a mid-sentence pause, but Himchan has gotten used to it. He has given up rushing Yongguk along his words and Yongguk has given up trying around Himchan. The younger male has learnt to give him as long as he needs. "And... You usually come to the studio with me?" If Himchan hadn't been paying attention he'd probably not have heard Yongguk's murmuring but he notices and he feels something tugging at the corners of his lips. Himchan leaves the smile on his face, Yongguk wouldn't notice it in the dark anyway.

 

 

 

"You barely even notice I'm here when you're working. Don't give me that face!" He catches Yongguk in the midst of him attempting a scandalized expression, "I've seen your startled look too many times when you stumble across me on your way to the bathroom."

 

 

 

Yongguk laughs, a high-pitched giggle and Himchan rolls his eyes, smile stretching.

 

 

 

"They'd probably stop me from going anyway..." Himchan sighs, sulking when he sees Yongguk turn his attention back to the computer screen, wearing a triumphant expression on his face.

 

 

 

"Don't you always vegetate here? What's the difference?"

 

 

Himchan groans, making sure it spreads to every corner of the room, "This place feels like an art museum, I can't comprehend half the things coming through those speakers. I feel like I'm going to fail a class or something..."

 

 

 

Yongguk laughs, that same airy laugh. Himchan thinks that Yongguk must be some kind of ert for viewing that as a compliment.

 

 

 

"I thought you liked my music?" He asks, teasingly, like he always does, he knows how to make Himchan admit he's right, and Himchan almost always does.

 

 

 

Himchan sighs, "I do," he tucks his legs into his chest and rests his head on his knees, "I just thought a change might be good, you know? The sun, the wind, open skies, the sea." Himchan unclenches his fist slowly, imagining soft, powdery sand trickling off his palm.

 

 

 

"Never mind... As I was saying-"

 

 

 

Himchan stops short as music starts to play through the speakers. He anticipates piano melody, hollow beats, strange hallucinary voices and a strange vibe that never fails to send chills up his spine. But instead Reggae music starts to resonate off the studio walls. Himchan cackles a little too loudly and he starts snorting, tipping Yongguk into a laughing fit.

 

 

 

"Tell me you didn't just search 'beach music' on YouTube." Himchan says, wiping a tear from his eye. At this ungodly hour in the morning everything is funnier than it actually is.

 

 

 

"I don't have any Pina Colada with me right now but here's some Fiji water, that should do it." Yongguk turns to face Himchan, bits of laughter still slipping past his lips as he tosses the bottle over to Himchan. It hits him on the shin and Himchan sulks like a child.

 

 

 

Himchan closes his eyes and drinks, letting the flat taste wash over his taste buds, "Oh I can taste the Caribbean." Himchan scoffs and lets the bottle hit the floor with a thud. It's quiet for a while, and the Reggae music continues, spilling over to the next playlist. They catch one another's glances and they explode into peals of laughter again. Himchan is glad the other members are too young and fidgety to watch Yongguk write, so times like these, where the sounds of their laughter mix in with the dry breeze of the early morning, are only meant for the two of them. It’s something they share and Himchan thinks it's endearing.

 

 

 

"If you weren't already engaged to your music I'd take you to the beach with me." Himchan manages through chuckles.

 

 

 

"If I wasn't already engaged to my music I'd be hitting on you." Yongguk says, in an almost matter-of-fact way and Himchan sometimes wonders where his occasional confidence comes from. But he likes Yongguk like that, he would also like to punch the said man in his face. Instead he settles for tossing the empty bottle at Yongguk's head.

 

 

 

"Would you hurry up and finish your music? I want you to take me out and tell me I'm pretty." Himchan says, in a fit of late night/early morning bravery and he almost regrets saying it, but his body is running on adrenaline and he's starting to feel like he's floating.

 

 

 

Yongguk doesn't object, "Okay," he says simply, "okay." And he turns back towards his computer. Himchan sees a broad smile on his face from the reflection off the glass and he feels his own cheeks heat up. He leans his head back into the seat and stretches like a sated house cat, silly grin plastered on his face and everything that is Yongguk swimming around in his head. At times like these Himchan thinks it's okay that he'll probably never get to go to that beach resort until he's old enough to retire. Especially so when Yongguk takes him out after he's done composing, even though it's 4 in the morning and Himchan is too tired to support his own body weight and he still feels the pizza somewhere in his system. But it’s perfectly alright because Yongguk's post-artistic high is enough to fuel them both.

 

 

 

(And because Himchan is rather attracted to Yongguk's post-artistic cockiness, although he would never admit it. Not when they're at a 24-hour sushi joint sipping green tea and Himchan's only way of countering Yongguk's wit is by shooting edamame peas into Yongguk's cup.)

 

 

 

 

 

---

Titled after cur(x)e by Bang Yongguk

[Just a really short one^^ I've had the foreword lying around for a while now so-

Tell me what you think^^]