“This would make for a charming little place of our own!”

“Baby, it’s not little at all…” Seungyoon mumbled as he stared up at the overwhelmingly derelict facade of the two-story house in front of them, his arm gently wrapping around his husband’s waist as he pulled him close.

“We’ll grow into it. It will just be perfect for us!”

Seungyoon sighed, leave it to his husband - Jinwoo, to find quite frankly the most miserable looking house that he’s ever laid eyes on. Of course, he didn’t dare tell him that, he didn’t have the heart to. Not when his husband has gotten all dreamy over it, stars literally shooting out of his eyes each time he spoke to him about it and asked him to go with him and see it.

Fixer upper? This is a lost cause! Seungyoon auto-smiles yet again as Jinwoo grasped his hand and started pulling him towards the house or at least whatever that thing is in front of them that ambiguously resembled it.

Straggly grass and rampant weeds covered most of the front yard while ivy had overtaken one side of the house as if out what little life it had left in it, shingles were half-sliding off the roof, the front porch looked appallingly ramshackled, one of the glass windows upstairs is broken, the mailbox has been knocked down along with about half of the picket fence - tire tracks and crusted mud was all over it. Calling the house ‘dilapidated’ at this point would be putting it kindly.

“I swear, it’s so much better inside!” Jinwoo told him, his sparkly starry eyes gazing up at him in a way that his husband knew he found hard to resist - totally not fair.

Still grumbling under his breath, the earth dips under his sneakers, soft and muddy. Reaching the front porch, the weather-beaten wood creaks ominously under their feet. Jinwoo’s smile doesn’t falter when he drops the keys and not even when he fails to push the door open after a few attempts. Seungyoon eventually helps him, the paint chipped door gives way and creaks open into vast darkness and the smell of mold.

The windows downstairs were partially boarded up from the inside, vague sunlight trickled in between the wood illuminating the interior of the house revealing the greying ostentatiously patterned wallpaper that was already peeling off the walls. Jinwoo moved ahead, visibly excited. Seungyoon stayed close to him, intent on not letting go of his hand - he has to, in case this ‘pile of kindling’ starts to fold over and they need to make a run for it.

On their immediate left was the living room - a stone fireplace was on the far wall with an olden portrait of a woman with a red parasol haphazardly hanging above it.

“Baby, what happened to the house we looked at before this one?” Seungyoon glanced towards his husband who was now busy looking at some old framed photographs sitting on the mantel, all are covered in a thick layer of dust. “You know, the one with the skylight in the master's bedroom that we like.”

“Compared to that one this house is ridiculously cheap.” Jinwoo picked up one of the frames and inspected it closely. “It’s out of the way so we’ll have plenty of privacy and with all this room you can finally have your own studio at home.”

“Forget having a studio.” Seungyoon frowned, “What if recording runs late and I can’t come home right away? Will you be alright out here all on your own?”

Jinwoo chuckled softly and placed the frame he was inspecting back on the mantel. It was of a little boy building a sandcastle on the beach with a distinct dark patch on his lower arm that looked like a bird with outstretched wings - a birthmark, possibly.

“I’ll be just fine.” Jinwoo said, leaning towards him and pecking his cheek. “I’ll be here. At home. Safe and sound.”

Seungyoon scowled at his response and Jinwoo returned it with a cheeky grin as he playfully pinched his cheeks. “You’ve always wanted a dog, right? With how big this place is, it will have so much space to run around.”

“But this house is far from the city.” Seungyoon said, letting out a frustrated huff of breath. “What if something happens while I’m gone? We don’t know anyone out here and our nearest neighbor is more than a mile away...”

Jinwoo cocked an eyebrow at him. “Why do you keep thinking that something will happen?” Seungyoon can tell by the tone of his voice that he was starting to get exasperated.

“Baby, you know I don’t like leaving you alone at home.”

“Well, you can’t bring me everywhere with you either.”

Seungyoon’s lips smoothed in a line and a moment of silence settled between them. Jinwoo lowered his gaze, twisting the wedding band on his ring finger, something he does whenever he’s feeling anxious.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Seungyoon bit into his bottom lip, “I just worry about you. A lot.” he reached up, his thumb caressing Jinwoo’s cheek. “I can’t help it. You’re someone I want to protect and I always want to k