Hanbin stares out the car’s window with a huge smile plastered on his face as they pass by the fields, he can see sky-high mountains towering over some village in the distance, wishing he could be there. He wants his tired body to be filled with energy again and wants to feel the chilly breeze blowing into his face while he is enjoying its cold touch with closed eyes. He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment to help his imagination work better. And when he opens them again he doesn’t realize he put his hand on the window glass until a forest comes into sight and the view changes, so he leans back properly in his seat, a bit taken aback by the sudden alteration.

He turns his head to the side to see his boyfriend focusing on the road, which makes him smile fondly this time. He feels grateful to Bobby, because if he didn’t come up with the idea to visit his relatives living in the countryside, he would spend his whole break time in his dorm room studying without a wink of sleep, because it’s never enough, he likes to say. He needs the rest, needs the nature his heart always yearns for, and most importantly: he needs time to be with his boyfriend. Because above all, he feels grateful for Bobby’s existence.

The town where Bobby’s grandmother and cousins live is three hours away and it’s not exactly a small one, but definitely better than Seoul in terms of its beautiful landscape. Hanbin was there only once as the other occasions when he met the granny happened in the capital when she was there visiting. She is a nice old lady who welcomed Hanbin from day one as if he was her own grandchild and always makes him feel loved and cherished. He is more than happy to see her again and have long talks together in the evenings as a good closure of their days.

Bobby glances at him and reciprocates his smile before turning his attention back to the road, always being extra careful in driving whenever someone, especially Hanbin sits next to him. He loves the stupid and loving smile on his boyfriend’s face though and wishes he could stare at it longer and get lost in those happily gleaming eyes. The silence surrounding them isn’t awkward, the light music playing in the radio helps to maintain the relaxed atmosphere.

They arrive shortly after travelling for another half an hour, Hanbin quickly snaps a picture of the board that is marked with the town’s name. Even though it’s blurry he is content with it because he promised his little sister that he’ll send their mother as many photos as he can, so it will be like as if she is there with them - she’s thrown an adorable tantrum about not being able to accompany his brother.

Bobby’s grandmother standing on her porch to greet them, hugs them tightly and ushers them into the house where Chianti, the beautiful white swiss shepherd stops them and demands attention for herself as well. Hanbin crouches down to pet the lovely dog and give her a hug too, grinning at Bobby’s childish whining.

“Ah, we just arrived and he is already stealing you from me. I’m hurt, Chi, I thought you were my partner in crime.” He crouches down as well, laughing at how the dog barks in response and his face.

Hanbin tilts his head. “Won’t you share her with me?”

“Nope, this beauty is all mineee.” Bobby hugs her too which only causes him to get in the face a couple times more. Hanbin chuckles as he shakes his head at his boyfriend, but also knows that Chianti is just as important to him as his grandmother. “Hey, cuddle bunny. I missed you too.” He gently cups her face and blows kisses in her way.

Hanbin adds, trying to suppress a laugh. “What a good boyfriend. Shamelessly hitting on a girl in front of me.”

Bobby’s lopsided grin tells him everything so he doesn’t need to wait to know what he is about to say, he could easily guess it without putting much effort into it. Hanbin knows his boyfriend too well.

“Alright you two, you can play with Chianti later, now come here and eat.” Eventually the grandmother ends their banter and beckons them over to the kitchen where the table is already packed with delicious food and cakes.

Hanbin wants to take a photo of it, but decides against it, instead he wishes he had taken one of Bobby and Chianti.

Chianti follows them as they obey to the granny and Hanbin watches her sprinting over to her owner to get her meal too. Her name was always an interesting thing for him, he was very surprised when Bobby first told him that she got it after the most famous red wine of Italy.

Apparently, the granny was very fond of wines or maybe still is, Hanbin has never known for sure, but he swears he saw a dusty bottle hidden carefully in her pantry on the first day he visited her house. He doesn’t pry though, it’s not his place to ask about that.

The granny makes sure they eat until they can’t move anymore, stuffing more food into them when they try to protest and not letting them get up from the table, though Hanbin is convinced they couldn’t lift a finger after the plenteous amount of food anyway. Bobby’s grandfather arrives halfway through their meal and tries to help out by stealing some cake, but this doesn’t go unnoticed by his wife, so he stops soon and just chats with them.

They talk for almost two hours, it is always easy to communicate with Bobby’s grandparents, they remind Hanbin of his own grandparents and he loves the feeling of home whenever he gets a chance to be with them.

It’s time for Chianti’s evening walk in the neighborhood which is usually the cousins’s job to take care of, but since they are out of town and Bobby needs to help with something in the garden his grandfather can’t do alone, Hanbin offers to go with Chianti.

The moment the words leave his mouth Bobby frowns at him, worry clear in his eyes and he starts to protest, but Hanbin cuts him off.

“No, seriously, I can take her. You can help your grandpa in the garden till I get back.”

Bobby isn’t convinced, not because he doesn’t trust his boyfriend with the family dog, but because Hanbin doesn’t really know the area. “It’s almost dark out there. What if you get lost?”

“Hyung, why would I get lost?” Hanbin makes a weird face and when Bobby senses that the boy actually expects an answer from him, he decides not to start an argument about the topic right in front of the elders.

So Bobby sighs and smiles at his lover who is way too adorable with that look on his face, he can’t find the will to protest anymore. (Maybe he is too whipped for Hanbin.)

Chianti is a well-behaved dog who enjoys her walks very much, so that shouldn’t be a problem for Hanbin, and for the navigation part, how hard could it be to take a stroll in the city and get back home following the same path backwards?

Hanbin’s love for the nature shows through his outing with Chianti too. He isn’t in a hurry, he is just like an enthusiastic kid who sees the world for the first time, looking at every tree, bush and flower with a joyful smile. He can see mountains at the distance, probably the same ones he saw during their drive here, and he is thinking about asking Bobby to take him climbing on their next school break.

He isn’t really paying attention to the directions while he is talking to Chianti and goes further in town, following all the green stuff around them, then a small park at the other side of the road. It attracts Hanbin, so he steps beyond the gate without thinking.

When it’s starting to get dark, he realizes that they should head back home before their only source of light will be the streetlamps. They go out at the other end of the park to take the road at left.

“We’ve got this, right Chi? Bobby shouldn’t have worried.” He pets the dog fondly and he gets a bark as a reply.

“What is taking so long for them?!”

Bobby is a complete mess. He finished helping his grandfather half an hour ago, but he expected Hanbin to be back before then and he is not happy about the dark out there either.

“Calm down, honey. Why don’t you call him and ask him where he is? I’m sure he’s going to be home soon though.” His grandmother tries to remain positive and she fully means what she says, Hanbin is a smart boy after all.

Bobby fumbles with his phone, but he manages to dial Hanbin’s number and his hopes rise again… until G-Dragon starts rapping his boyfriend’s favourite song loudly in their kitchen.

Bobby is gripping his phone tighter to his ear and he needs a moment to collect himself before he loses it completely. Hanbin left his phone here. Of course he did, it’s not the first time he forgot to bring it with him. But it’s the last straw now, he’d played with fire enough, Bobby will glue it to his hand so he won’t have the chance to go anywhere without it ever again.

Okay I’m being angry again, what if something bad happened to them? What if they need help and can’t get it because he doesn’t have his phone with him? OMG WHAT IF SOMEONE KIDNAPPED THEM AND--

“Bobby, sweetie, are you okay? You look so pale.”

He felt arms grabbing him and guiding him to the couch where he plops down without hesitation. No, he can’t think of the worst things. Hanbin is okay. He has to be. “Yeah, sorry granny. What were you saying?”

She looks at him with empathy clear in her eyes. “I said why don’t you go with your grandfather and look for him? Maybe someone saw where they went. I stay here just in case he gets back before you.”

Bobby nods. Yeah, they need to find Hanbin.

Okay, maybe he is starting to regret his decision to not listening to Bobby. Next time, he’ll just offer to help out in the garden instead while his boyfriend can take the dog out.

Hanbin wants to cry, but he can’t because he is afraid that would scare Chianti, and the last thing he needs right now is to deal with a scared dog too.

“Sorry, girl. I know it’s my fault.” He rests a hand on her head.

He had so much confidence in himself at the start that he didn’t consider to be cautious about the directions. Now here he is, unable to tell where did they come from, because of his stupid heart that wanted to see the nature more and more. And clearly, the town is way than he imagined.

He is starting to understand what Bobby feels whenever he fights with him for forgetting about his phone so easily. He’ll never leave the damn device behind if he gets out of here alive.

Because, it’s dark and it’s a forest across the street, so what’s stopping the monsters hiding in the shadows to come for them? At least he has to protect Chianti, Bobby might be already mad at him for endangering his cuddle bunny.

He knows he’s being childish right now, but he doesn’t want to move from his spot on the bench, he doesn’t want to get more last than he is now. He messed up the right and left turns so many times that he is almost sure he ended up in another city. Almost.

He doesn’t want to lose his faith, but only the thought of his boyfriend is keeping him from breaking down. He can’t give up hoping because then he might not see Bobby ever again. He is too afraid to even think further about that.

Great, now he is hallucinating too. His mind is tricking him by playing Bobby’s voice to him over and over again, louder each time.

He buries his head in his hand to stop this foolery until fingers firmly grab onto his arms and pull him up. Hanbin doesn’t have time to blink before lips crash to his and when Bobby’s scent fills his nose, relief washes over him.

They’re practically squeezing each other as they hug and kiss, Chianti’s barking hollering around them. It’s an odd time to laugh, but Hanbin feels the urge to do it when they break apart, looking over at their girl who is wagging her tail while Bobby’s grandfather pets her.

Hanbin’s looking back at his boyfriend eyes, muttering “sorry” for countless times before Bobby finally stops him by giving a long kiss to his forehead. After that Hanbin rests his head at the crook of Bobby’s neck, breathing in his boyfriend’s calming scent.

“You’re never going out of the house without your phone again, even if you only go to the garden.” Bobby whispers, his fingers drawing patterns on Hanbin’s back.

“Never again.” He promises, leaning in for another kiss.

Bobby’s grandfather watches them with a fond smile on his face and let’s them be lost in the moment for a few minutes before heading back home.

“Ah, young love.” He giggles quietly and Chianti barks as if agreeing with the grandpa’s statement. All of this goes unnoticed by the couple lost in each other’s presence.

Young love indeed.