Soonyoung's number song here!

“One-and-two-and-three-and-FOUR-AND!”

If there’s an award for Third Wheel of the Year, a certain Kwon Soonyoung would certainly win it. The vlogger’s armed with his camera (of course), planning to film Jihoon’s swimming lesson. There’s a weird feeling in Jihoon’s gut, since having Soonyoung around makes him slightly on edge, and it’s certainly not helping that his best friend is singing a Korean children’s song at the top of his lungs, and that Seungcheol is shirtless again, scrolling on his phone nearby.

At least today Jihoon decided to stick his wetsuit on. He’s prepared for his lesson, his kickboard by his feet. His street clothes are neatly folded on a deck chair next to him.

“LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU; FIVE - I’M GOING TO TELL YOU TODAY.” Soonyoung croons.

Jihoon remembers singing to that song when he was four years old, learning how to count. Soonyoung himself had always mixed up the numbers, growing up with the belief that the number order goes: one, three, two, six, four, five. Imagine his shock when he entered elementary school, and had to learn how to count from scratch; but he’d picked up quickly, singing the number song in the correct order every day after school when waiting for Jihoon’s grandmother to fetch the both of them.

“SIX! I MET YOU IN A WORLD OF SIX BILLION PEOPLE – NUMBER SEVEN IS LUCKYYYYYY.”

Jihoon shoots Soonyoung with a death glare that says I’m going to push you into the pool with your camera before he can finish his impromptu recital. Soonyoung stops singing, but it doesn’t stop him from humming the rest of the song; and he flounces away from Jihoon just in case he goes through with his threat. 

“Oh, yeah, Cheol-hyung? Wonwoo’s coming over?” Soonyoung says excitedly. He’d just texted the budding cinematographer Joshua’s address, and he’s eager to see Wonwoo again.

“Mmm.” Seungcheol nods, barely registering Soonyoung’s words, while Jihoon presses his eyebrows into a frown – the Hong mansion is going to be a filming location for Soonyoung’s vlog.

Soonyoung flounces over to Jihoon, scrutinizing him unnecessarily, like a predator preying on prey; and Jihoon feels self-conscious in his wetsuit that’s clinging to his skin a bit too tightly.

“You look like when we were ten! Remember your old kickboard?” Soonyoung picks up the black kickboard at Jihoon’s feet. “Ooh, now you have a man-sized kickboard!”

“Shut up, Soonie.” Jihoon snatches the kickboard away from his best friend, contemplating whether to smack him with it.

Soonyoung snaps a photograph of Jihoon with his phone; the sudden flash surprising him. “I’m sending this to your mum and dad and Aunt Nana.”

Jihoon can’t stop him anyway, since Soonyoung is always faster than LTE; so, he ignores his excited best friend and turns to the shirtless Seungcheol, who’s still on his phone looking at who knows what.

(Seungcheol’s been staring at the photo of Jihoon wearing marshmallow armbands with himself taken by Teddy the other day for the past fifteen minutes, with a dopey grin on his face, feeling like the luckiest guy on earth.)

“Hey Cheol, lesson?”

“Right.” Seungcheol grins, setting his phone on the poolside table. He stretches languidly for a little warm-up, then slips into the pool easily, like the water’s his home, and nods at Jihoon to follow suit, which Jihoon does.

Soonyoung waves for Teddy to come over to help him film as Seungcheol and Jihoon start their swimming lesson. The old butler calmly walks over, and Soonyoung hands him the camera, so that he can appear in front of it to narrate whatever is happening in the pool.

“Hello viewers! Soonie and Hoonie in M-A-L-I-B-U! Today Cheol-hyung is teaching Hoonie how to swim, which is sweet and they look so cute, don’t they?”

Jihoon splashes some water in Soonyoung’s general direction, but the vlogger expertly hops away to avoid it. He chatters on about swimming and Jihoon and Seungcheol, essentially distracting Jihoon from Seungcheol and his lesson.

“Soonyoung.” Seungcheol calls out calmly. “Keep it down, will you?”

“Sorry, Cheol-hyung!” The vlogger bows ninety degrees in apology, as Teddy hands him back his camera, hearing the doorbell ring. “I’ll just sit hear quietly and film, then.”

Soonyoung sits on one of the pool chairs and trains the camera onto Jihoon, who’s floating on his kickboard – he’d improved so much that he doesn’t have to tiptoe on the floor of the swimming pool anymore (Jihoon adamantly denies that he’d been doing this, when Seungcheol points it out, but now he can say it truthfully). The secure feeling he’d felt when his feet were planted on the swimming pool floor – knowing that he wouldn’t suddenly drown – had been replaced with the confidence that he can at least paddle around the whole pool with his kickboard.

Oddly enough, the kickboard reminded Jihoon of surfing – the feel of the vast body of water ahead, the dynamic movement of the ocean, and the scent of salt in the atmosphere; paddling around on the surface of the sea with his huge, rented longboard. Only now, his kickboard is much, much smaller, and there are no surprise waves unless Seungcheol’s in a teasing mood.

Seungcheol can only sigh inwardly at Soonyoung’s antics, but he quickly returns his attention back to Jihoon.

“Back to basics today Jihoonie. Let’s try treading water. I want you to be comfortable without your kickboard.”

Jihoon reluctantly leaves his kickboard by the poolside, then slowly drifts toward Seungcheol, who’s floating in the middle of the pool. The surfer spreads his arms, as if welcoming Jihoon with an embrace. Only that Jihoon is moving at two centimetres per hour, unsure without his kickboard, and pressured under the scrutiny of Soonyoung’s camera.

Soonyoung films them quietly with a huge smile on his face, secretly wishing for Jihoon to reach Seungcheol quicker.

“Mr Kwon, do you know a Mr Jeon Wonwoo and a Mr Lee Chan?” Teddy appears from nowhere, with two young men – one tall and lanky, and the other smaller, but with curious young eyes – following him through the French doors.

“WONWOO! DINO!” Soonyoung almost drops his camera as he rushes over to the new additions, enveloping them into a tight hug, mumbling something into Wonwoo’s shoulder.

“…Dino?” Wonwoo frowns, stiff in Soonyoung’s embrace. Next to him, Chan the intern makes a confused face – he has absolutely no idea what’s going on, poor soul, being roped into the whole thing just because Wonwoo didn’t want to face Soonyoung alone.

“Little Dino guy over here.” Soonyoung pats young Chan’s hair fondly, pressing the camera into his face.

The intern clears his throat shyly, slowly backing away. “My name’s Chan, actually.”

“I think that Dino’s a cool nickname for you.” Soonyoung grins, remembering young Chan’s dinosaur figurines. The intern makes the connection quickly and shakes his head, a weak smile on his face, too polite to reject the nickname. “Anyway. You’ve met my best friend Hoonie and that’s Cheol-hyung. Hoonie’s learning how to swim.”

Wonwoo nods at the pair in the pool, while Chan raises a hand in acknowledgment, smiling at them. Seungcheol waves back, then turns back to Jihoon, who’s already notably closer to him. Teddy quietly excuses himself, letting everyone mingle, and returns indoors.

“Soooooo. How are you?” Soonyoung smiles, brighter than the sun.

“I’m good.” Chan mumbles, nodding slightly.

“What about you, Won-won?”

Wonwoo looks scandalised at the sudden nickname that Soonyoung had suddenly bestowed upon him, as a small laugh escapes Jihoon’s lips, sounding like he’s getting water in his nose from laughing too hard in the swimming pool. He shrugs casually instead, though internally, he’s flattered that Soonyoung has a nickname for him, even if it sounds cheesy.

No one’s ever given him a nickname. Ever.

“Great.” Wonwoo manages to choke out.

“C’mon, let’s hang out inside and leave these two lovebirds to do whatever they want to do.” The vlogger immediately drags Wonwoo and Chan back inside, into the airy sitting room where Jihoon and Seungcheol routinely spend their lazy afternoons after a whole morning of swimming for the past few days.

Wonwoo unshoulders his backpack and makes himself comfortable on the couch, as Chan drifts over to the bookshelf, eyeing the spines of the neatly arranged books.

“This is Cheol-hyung’s friend’s house. Hope you don’t mind hanging here! The guy who brought you in is Teddy, he’s a really cool guy.” Soonyoung flops right beside Wonwoo – a little too close for comfort.

“Alright.” Wonwoo powers his laptop up, adjusting his glasses. “I’ve compiled a couple more videos for your vlog.”

“Wait, what?” The vlogger leans forward, naturally settling his chin on Wonwoo’s shoulder. “You didn’t have to do that! And I thought you were busy with work…”

Wonwoo had been busy with work – the huge Hollywood project he’d been leading had just wrapped up; in record time, enabling it to be released ahead of schedule. It had been stressful for Wonwoo, who’d thrown himself into work for the past few days, ignoring all forms of communication from the world. He’d been especially guilty when he saw Soonyoung’s missed calls and messages, and managed to squeeze in some time to edit the vlogger’s footage between finishing up his own project.

“Chan helped me.” Wonwoo lies, hoping that the young intern won’t overhear him. He selects a folder, and the thumbnails of the completed vlogs appear on his computer screen. “I think that your vlog can be a mini-series, now that there’s four parts.”

Soonyoung goggles at the videos, his mouth agape; as a fond little smile forms on Wonwoo’s lips.

“Can we watch them?” Soonyoung’s eyes are twinkling with excitement.

Wonwoo simply smirks and presses play.

The rest of the morning passes by quickly: Jihoon and Seungcheol swimming outside, while Soonyoung and Wonwoo watch the final cut of Soonyoung’s vlogs. Chan feels completely out of place, so he christens himself cameraman, arming himself with Soonyoung’s abandoned camera, filming Soonyoung’s excessive gestures as he reacts to the videos of himself that Wonwoo had compiled.

“Hoonie! You’re getting a tan.” Soonyoung says, as his best friend enters the house with Seungcheol in tow. They both have towels thrown around their necks, hair still damp from the pool.

Pale, pale Lee Jihoon, now soaking up sunshine in South California, his exposed skin turning slightly red. And it’s not because of Seungcheol’s close proximity, who’s practically breathing down his neck.

“It’s a sunburn, Soonie.” Jihoon tugs the collar of his wetsuit down to compare the covered skin underneath with his exposed neck. He’d diligently slathered on SPF 15 since the moment he touched down in Los Angeles, but apparently his skin is a bit sensitive to the sun, after twenty-odd years of being indoors all day. That, and the extended time he’d been exposing himself to the sun with his swimming/surfing lessons.

“I’ll get you sunscreen with a higher SPF.” Seungcheol’s not affected, instead, he’s glowing like a freaking Greek god after being in the sun. “Maybe aloe vera gel to soothe the sunburn?”

Jihoon simply hums at the suggestion – he feels like a roasted crab right now, and Soonyoung roasting him verbally (though his best friend would defend that he’s just stating the truth) isn’t helping much.

“You have green hair, too. Like a lettuce.” Soonyoung adds bluntly. On normal days, he knows that Jihoon would attack him – physically, verbally – but with Seungcheol around, Jihoon wouldn’t do anything out of line.

Jihoon instinctively touches his bangs – he’d noticed that since a few days ago, but he didn’t think the discolouration was obvious. Blond hair is always susceptible to bleaching from the chlorine used to clean swimming pools; Teddy had said, right after the first swimming session, then he’d shared a few pointers to preserve the lighter colour. Jihoon liked the blond, but now the green had an odd hue against his skin. He should’ve listened to Teddy’s advice, like getting a swim cap to prevent the colour change; but he’d thought it wasn’t a very flattering look…

“It’s not completely green.” Seungcheol retaliates, placing a hand on Jihoon’s shoulder.

“There are ways to get the chlorine out of your hair.” Wonwoo adds helpfully, glancing at Jihoon.

The now not-so-blond Jihoon nods. “I’ll look them up, thanks. But I don’t really mind what colour my hair is.” His words are the contrary of his thoughts.

“It’s fine, Jihoonie.” Seungcheol touches Jihoon’s hair lightly, smiling. The surfer thinks that Jihoon would look good in just about any hair colour, if he’s that daring to dye it. 

The vlogger smiles at Seungcheol, secretly thanking him for taming his best friend – Jihoon’s clenched fists shows that he’s really suppressing himself from lashing out at him for saying something embarrassing. “We should have a pool party here sometime.” Soonyoung comments randomly, stretching languidly next to Wonwoo.

Seungcheol’s eyes widen, immediately shaking his head. “Uh-uh. Josh would kill me.”

“It’s a nice place, so why not?” Soonyoung’s already imagining the ambitious camera shots he’d take of the grand mansion. It’d be like one of those shows on MTV, the one about cribs or something. The Hong mansion reminds Soonyoung of his family estate back in Korea, and suddenly he feels a bit homesick.

Teddy the butler cuts in smoothly, appearing in the doorway. “Mr Choi, Mr Jihoon, the showers are ready.”

“Thanks, Teddy.” Seungcheol grins.

“Lunch will be right after.” The old butler adds, holding the door open for them.

Soonyoung immediately leans over to Wonwoo, whispering. “They’re gonna shower together.” Wonwoo simply raises an eyebrow at the information, unsure of its truth, as he watches Jihoon and Seungcheol leave the room.

 The vlogger bursts into melodic laughter seeing Wonwoo’s reaction, then focuses on the Hongs’ butler, who’s impeccably dressed in his suit as usual. “Hey Teddy, do you want to learn Korean?”

“Young Master Joshua did teach me a few phrases.” Teddy says, keeping his expression neutral.

“I’ll teach you a song. It’s a number song.” Soonyoung sits cross-legged on the floor. “Sit down here!” He pats the space next to him. The butler hesitantly joins him, looking out of place in his impeccable uniform among the youngsters.

Chan trains the camera on Soonyoung, who starts singing the number song that’s been on loop in his head all morning. He’s patient in teaching old Teddy the Korean numbers, then launching into the happy lyrics, added with disgustingly cute gestures.

A fond smile creeps onto Wonwoo’s face, as he watches Soonyoung teach Teddy pronounce the correct syllables.

Silly Soonyoung, with outrageous ideas - exactly what makes people drawn to him. Though sometimes it’s tough to keep up with Soonyoung’s endless energy, it’s undeniable that spending time with him is so much fun.