Jihoon pads downstairs in his sweatpants and oversized T-shirt; his standard sleepwear. He’d taken his sweet, sweet time to get ready for bed; trying on different combinations of pyjamas, then starting an unnecessarily tedious skincare routine which he’d never done before. Of course, Seungcheol and Soonyoung are already lounging in the living room – Jihoon had heard them brushing their teeth together earlier in the bathroom; at this point, Soonyoung is going to declare Seungcheol his best friend, since the two of them are really clicking.

(Sometimes Jihoon envies Soonyoung’s ability to warm up to just anybody – but the thought that he’d have to talk to people drains him, so no thanks.)  

“I did taekwondo in school,” Seungcheol’s saying. Jihoon can’t see the surfer since he’s blocked by the couch; but the blond stands in the hallway for a little while more to summon all his strength to face those two. A passing image of Seungcheol attempting a high kick materializes in his brain.

What a delicious sight.

“Hey, me too! I put the Kwon in taekwondo.” Soonyoung giggles; while Seungcheol bursts into gut-busting laughter, peals of mirth echoing throughout the house.

Great, now they’re bonding; and over a pun, too!  

Jihoon peeks over the couch to see the two men already lying down on the floor, curled up between the pillows, facing each other. A tinge of jealousy pinches in Jihoon’s chest – they aren’t supposed to look that intimate! (If Jihoon didn’t know better, he’d think that Soonyoung might just like like Seungcheol; but of course, Soonyoung’s just being his overly-friendly self.)

Soonyoung’s giggles cease, but his grin doesn’t leave his face. “Hoonie doesn’t need taekwondo; he’ll just kick your if you cross him.”

Jihoon saunters over to an unsuspecting Soonyoung and kicks his backside. The vlogger shouts out in exaggerated pain, as Jihoon tries to hide a smile, keeping his lips in a thin line.

“Go lie down next to Cheol-hyung, Hoonie.” Soonyoung orders, rubbing his . “I’m going to turn off the lights so we all can sleep.”

Jihoon tries to make himself comfortable next to Seungcheol, drawing an imaginary boundary between the surfer and himself - just in case, since Soonyoung’s hogging all the pillows.

The vlogger gets up to switch off the light, then stumbles along in the dark, bumping into the couch three times before he finds his spot again. Jihoon snorts as he hears Soonyoung cursing as he stubs his toe by the little side table – he could’ve switched the lights off earlier instead of Soonyoung, who’s partially blind in the dark.

The streetlights from outside stream through the windows, dimly illuminating the living room; and Jihoon can barely make out Seungcheol’s form next to him. His senses become more acute in the darkness, more aware of his surroundings. Jihoon doubts he’d sleep well tonight – his heart his pounding loudly, a tad too excited for no reason.

(Maybe there is a reason, but Jihoon’s not going to openly admit that.)

“Good night, guys.” Seungcheol’s voice floats into the darkness.

“Night.” Jihoon yawns just loud enough for Seungcheol to hear. He closes his eyes and wills for his heart to rest – he needs the sleep; since it had been another long day of babysitting Soonyoung.

A moment passes, then Soonyoung pulls Seungcheol into a short conversation, something about piñatas. They’re giggling like schoolkids over lame puns; and Jihoon knows that this is the result of Soonyoung’s sugar rush. Seungcheol? Either he’s as lame as Soonyoung is, or he’s playing along with the vlogger’s jokes. In this rate, Soonyoung’s never going to fall asleep in the next hour. They keep talking about random things in the dark, while Jihoon keeps his eyes closed, hoping to fall asleep, while eavesdropping on their conversation at the same time.

Soonyoung sighs. “It would’ve been fun if Wonwoo was here too. You’d like his jokes, Cheol-hyung.”

Jihoon coughs – three’s a crowd, and so is four. If Soonyoung were next to him, he’d kick him in the shin to shut him up – it’s the nth time that Soonyoung has mentioned Wonwoo that day. Jihoon hopes that the two of them will go to sleep soon, since he’s tired, and their incessant whispering is bothering him – and no, he’s not jealous that Seungcheol and Soonyoung are bonding.

Nope, definitely not.

But he still feels like kicking Soonyoung again anyway.

Jihoon’s conscious of Seungcheol’s warm body lying next to him in the semi-darkness, the rumble of his low voice deliciously sending shivers down his spine. Maybe they shouldn’t sleep yet – he’d still like to listen to Seungcheol’s voice a bit more. Would it be pretentious if he took out his phone and recorded Seungcheol’s deep tone, just to lull himself to sleep when the surfer’s not around?

“We could watch that movie he made.” Soonyoung pipes up, rustling under the covers.

“Which one?”

“When the Wind Blows. Starring heartthrob actor Yoon Jeonghan.” Soonyoung adds in the last bit unnecessarily – it was the movie that made the actor famous internationally; being nominated for several acclaimed film awards, too. Jihoon remembers that Mingyu from Human Resources had played the movie once at the company’s movie night, but he doesn’t remember the plot, only the androgynous actor with long, flowing hair that whipped around in the wind.

“I love that movie!” Seungcheol gushes. “I made Joshua watch it with me. He might have a crush on Jeonghan.”

Soonyoung giggles. “That scene when he’s by the river, holding that paper airplane, hoping that the wind will bring it to his love, wherever she is…”

“You know that’s impossible by the law of physics.” Jihoon retorts, pulling the blankets over to his side; since Soonyoung’s hogging it all.  

“I thought you’re asleep, Hoonie.” Soonyoung says. “But anyway, Wonwoo worked on that movie. Now he’s doing something huge. I think Angelina Jolie’s in it.”

“That’s really awesome.” It sounds like Seungcheol’s starstruck.

“Hyung, you said that you wanted to be an actor, right?”

Seungcheol simply hums in response. Right now, he doesn’t feel that way anymore, though he remembers his eighteen-year-old self, starry-eyed, boarding a flight to the City of Angels so that one day, with perserverence and hard work, he’d get a star on the Walk of Fame, too. He’d eased into the simp