“Say the name—“

“Seventeen! Thank you!”

Seungkwan and the other members bowed before all yelling their separate goodbyes into their microphones, some in English (mostly Hansol and Jisoo) and some in Korean (basically the rest).

“It was a lot of fun. We hope to see you again next year!” came from Jisoo.

“Let’s meet again soon! Have a safe trip back home!” came from Hansol.

Seungkwan waved his hand as he said several bye’s to the crowd, who were all cheering and waving back at them with their glow sticks. He couldn’t help but smile. Although the fan meeting they had at KCON had been quite tiring, making him sweaty and sticky, it had been a lot of fun. The crowd had been great and even though he didn’t speak their language that well, it was a fun experience to have with all the members.

A little bit later they all walked off the stage towards the backstage area. As he looked around, he couldn’t help but notice that Hansol was eyeing him, which he was doing before their fan meeting as well.

As Seungcheol began telling them that they had done well, though they might have to work on their English a bit for next year (hey! Seungkwan had practiced very hard, okay?), Seungkwan saw that Hansol was inching towards him. He shot the younger (though not by much) a puzzled look, which went ignored.

Not much later only Soonyoung stood in between Seungkwan and Hansol, though, before he could ask what he was up to, Seungcheol told them to get to the cars so they could drive back to the hotel. However, before Seungkwan could take his first step, he could feel a set of fingers closing around his wrist. Even though he would never admit it aloud, he recognized the fingers immediately.

Hansol.

Seungkwan shot him yet another puzzled look, which was returned with a - very fake looking - innocent smile. As he opened his mouth to ask what the hell he was doing, Hansol pressed a finger to his own lips, which made Seungkwan close his mouth again. He couldn’t help but be curious, so he decided to hold off on his questions, for now.

As they followed their leader out of the building, accompanied by a few escorts, Seungkwan could feel how Hansol softly pulled him further towards the back, slowing their steps. A little bit, later they were at the back of the group.

Seungkwan could see the doors which would lead them out of the building. The members all filed out, including Hansol and himself. Seungkwan’s eyes fell on the two cars waiting for them, which the members were walking towards, but before he could set foot to follow the others, he felt Hansol tugging him away and breaking into a run around the corner of the building

After they rounded the corner, Seungkwan was pressed against the wall by Hansol. Hansol didn’t speak, nor did Seungkwan. It looked as if Hansol was listening really hard. It soon became obvious what he was waiting for.

“Okay, let’s count!” came the voice of Seungcheol from around the corner. “One.”

“Two!” followed the voice of Jeonghan.

“Three.” Said the soft voice of Jisoo.

Before Jun could say ‘four’, however, Hansol said, “Quickly, we gotta move or they’ll know we’ve disappeared and go look for us.”

Seungkwan didn’t even have time to open his mouth before Hansol started tugging him along once more, walking alongside the building. He decided then to keep his mouth shut for now even though he had a lot of questions.

Seungkwan followed Hansol, not that he had much of a choice since the boy still had a hold of his wrist, and they soon arrived in the parking lot. There were some people around, but before anyone could get a good look at them, Hansol pulled him towards a taxi, opened the door, pushed Seungkwan inside, and climbed in afterwards. “Could you take us here?” Hansol asked the driver in English as he passed him a slip of paper with something written on it in his scrawny handwriting. Soon they drove away.

It was quiet for a second, but Seungkwan couldn’t keep his mouth shut for much longer than that. He looked at Hansol, a skeptical look on his face. “Care to explain what the hell’s up with all of this?” he asked. A grin appeared on Hansol’s face.

“Relax,” Hansol said, “I just want to show you something in New York.” He explained, though it wasn’t much of an explanation. Before Seungkwan even had the chance to open his mouth to ask more questions, Hansol opened his and said, “You’ll see, don’t worry about it.”

Seungkwan let out a big sigh, but nodded in the end. “Okay.” He said. For some reason he felt.. nervous and it was because of two different reasons. The first reason being, what would the other members think? Wouldn’t they get worried about the two of them just disappearing? Or had Hansol informed someone about their whereabouts? The second reason was actually a mixed feeling of nervousness and excitement. He felt nervous about the whole sneaking off thing, but excited because he got to go on some sort of adventure with Hansol. The two of them had gotten much closer in the last couple of months since Hansol had helped him with his English (See? Seungkwan really had practiced). While they had always been close, spending a lot more time together than usual caused them to become even closer. 

“I told Jisoo Hyung about it, and he will tell Seungcheol hyung at some point so they won’t worry too much.” Hansol told him, at which Seungkwan nodded.

“I hope that’s true, because if they get mad I’ll just tell them you kidnapped me, so only you will get your beat.” Seungkwan told him with his signature diva-like look, though he grinned shortly after.

Hansol let out a hearty laugh. “Whatever you wish.”

Seungkwan looked out the window as they were driving through New York. He hadn’t seen much of New York yet, as they had only been in the hotel and the venue so far, so it was a very pretty sight for him. It looked quite different compared to Seoul. He could see the view changing from skyscrapers to smaller buildings, while they were driving towards the outskirts of the city. Seungkwan couldn’t help but wonder where Hansol was taking him.

It had been quiet for a while, but Hansol eventually broke the silence. “I lived somewhere over there when I was little.” The boy stated as he pointed out the window on Seungkwan’s side towards a cluster of houses.

Seungkwan looked outside of the window, before looking over at Hansol, scanning the boy’s face. Hansol had a hard-to-read expression on his face. He could see the sadness in his eyes, but there was also a smile on his lips. It seemed almost bittersweet.

“It looks nice.” Seungkwan told Hansol with a small smile. He couldn’t help but think that they were going to do something that was linked to the life Hansol had lived here when he was younger.

Hansol let out a chuckle. “It was. I mean, not that I remember much, but from what I do remember, it really was.” Hansol said with a smile.

“Hey,” Seungkwan said and nudged Hansol’s arm with his elbow. “Don’t get too sentimental on me or you’ll move back here and leave us behind.” He joked, a grin visible on his lips. He hoped to lift the  atmosphere a bit in order to get rid of the bittersweet feeling that hung in the air.

Hansol laughed, which was a relief to Seungkwan. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you behind.” Hansol told him, a grin now visible.

Seungkwan couldn’t help but think whether  he meant the other members and Seungkwan or Seungkwan himself. A chuckle left his lips. “Good.”

A short while later, Seungkwan felt the car slowing down. As he looked out of the window, his eyes fell on small alleyway.

“I can’t take you any further than this I’m afraid. It’s just up this little road.” The taxi driver had said, though Seungkwan only understood half of it, if not, less.

“Yeah, I know. Thanks,” Hansol said as he rummaged through his pockets, taking out some money. He passed it towards the taxi driver. “Keep the change.” Hansol said, which would have been a great thing to do, had the change not been 50 cents. Seungkwan snorted. He said a small ‘thanks’ before exiting the car. He heard Hansol do the same.

Hansol walked around the car towards Seungkwan. “It’s just up this alleyway,” Hansol told him. Once more, the younger boy grabbed hold of his wrist, before dragging him along. The comment, ‘you know I can walk fine on my own, right?’ laid on the tip of Seungkwan’s tongue, but he kept his mouth shut for some reason.

Seungkwan took a deep breath as they kept walking. “Care to tell me now where you’re taking me?” He asked Hansol, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Hansol pondered for a bit, before letting out a hum, apparently deciding it was finally time to tell Seungkwan something about his little plan. “Well,” he said and shot a sideways look to Seungkwan. “There is this restaurant where my family and I would often go to when I was little and I just..” Hansol gave a shrug of his shoulders, “I don’t know,” he muttered, as if he only now noticed how stupid his plan sounded, which it didn’t. “I wanted to show it to you.” Hansol finished rapidly.

Seungkwan couldn’t help but feel touched by the whole gesture. He had expected Hansol to take all the members, but instead he chose only one member. Seungkwan. A smile crept upon his face. “I’m excited to see what kind of place it is then.” Seungkwan said and bumped his shoulder against Hansol’s.

He could see the uncertainty fade away on Hansol’s face, which was replaced by a more confident look. “Okay, we’re almost there.” He said with a wide smile.

The words had hardly left the younger’s lips when he pointed at a building with a sign which read, ‘Patty’s Pancake Place’.

Seungkwan was surprised to see that it was a place that sold pancakes, which Hansol apparently noticed.

“I-it’s not about the food, really.” Hansol stammered softly. “The garden, where we can sit while we eat, is breathtaking.” He explained to Seungkwan.

“Hey, it’s okay. I like pancakes.” Seungkwan said simply, as he dragged Hansol towards the restaurant.

As they stepped foot inside, a plump looking lady approached them. “Hello, dears! Would you like a table for two?” she asked them with a wide smile.

“Yes, please. Do you have a table free by the Fire Light Fountain?” Hansol asked the lady hopefully.

“Of course! Follow me.” The lady said as she hurriedly walked towards a set of doors which would lead them outside.

The moment Seungkwan set foot outside, he stopped dead in his tracks.

The garden was absolutely breathtaking, just as Hansol had said. There were all sorts of flowers in all sorts of colors in the garden and the walls were decorated with fairy lights. However, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life, was the fountain in the middle.

The fountain was surrounded by lampposts, although, they were lampposts without lamps. In each lamppost stood a single lit candle. What really caught his eye, though, were the lanterns in the fountain itself, where a single candle each stood in. The small fires from the candles made the water sparkle and they reflected in the water in the most beautiful way.

“Your table is over here.” Said the lady, pointing at a table for two, close to the fountain.

They both said their thanks, before walking over and sitting down opposite each other.

Seungkwan couldn’t keep his eyes from the fountain, the candles, the sparkling water and everything else there was to see, though, when he heard Hansol’s voice, his eyes shot to the younger boy.

Hansol looked almost nervous. “And?” he asked softly. “What do you think?” Hansol asked him as he played with his menu.

Seungkwan hardly ever saw him like this, nervous and fidgety, but he liked it. Especially because he knew that the members had never seen Hansol like this. A smile appeared on his lips. “It’s absolutely gorgeous.” Seungkwan could see the relief on Hansol’s face.

“I’m glad you like it.” Hansol said with a small, private smile on his face.

It was quiet for a while as they looked at each other. Eventually Hansol cleared his throat. “Let’s find something to order, yeah? Dinner is on me.”

~

“Have a nice evening, dears!” the lady called after them as they exited the restaurant.

Seungkwan felt some sort of blissful feeling. The evening had been very nice. It was great to just relax and talk with Hansol while eating dinner, which was something new as well, because they usually ate with all the members, or at least with a few of them.

“Thanks for taking me here. I feel honored that you chose me as your special guest.” Seungkwan told Hansol, followed by a soft chuckle.

“Any time.” Hansol said and shot him a gentle smile.

For the umpteenth time that evening, he felt Hansol’s fingers on his skin. A small smile crept up Seungkwan’s face as he casted his eyes down, towards the ground. A fuzzy and warm feeling filled Seungkwan’s body.

Seungkwan couldn’t help but notice that Hansol hadn’t taken a hold of his wrist this time, but had slid his fingers in between Seungkwan’s, gently holding his hand.