It was past 1am already but Donghae didn’t feel like sleeping at all.

He strummed the strings on his guitar as a tune that he had randomly made up resonated clearly across the living room. It was usually quiet in his apartment since he lived alone and didn’t have any pets, but when midnight came about and people went to sleep, the world seemed to mellow down and become even more silent.

An idol’s life is extremely hectic, leaving them with no room to even breathe most of the time. So Donghae especially loved midnights, the only time he could feel at peace. No schedules, no being stalked by fans, no need to care for his public image. No nothing. It was healing to just melt into the silence.

Tonight was one of those nights where he decided to give up on sleep to unwind a little. He and Hyukjae will be starting the preparations for their Japan tour in a few days, so he really needed to recover his energy before they spiral down one whole month of practicing, performing and nothing else. It will be extremely draining.

Donghae didn’t feel like playing with his guitar anymore so he set it aside and picked up his phone. After checking through his SNS accounts for awhile, he decided to text his best friend to check if he was up for some midnight endeavors.

D: ‘Hyuk, you up?’

H: ‘Yeah what’s wrong?'

D: ‘I’m bored’

D: ‘Wanna come over and watch a movie?’

H: ‘If you don’t mind me sleeping anytime during the movie’

D: ‘Yeah'

D: ‘You can sleep if you wanna’

H: ‘kay’

H: ‘See you in a few then’

Setting his phone aside, Donghae got up from the couch and went to his bedroom to get some blankets and pillows. He threw them on the couch before switching the TV on and looking through his collection of DVDs. After running through the titles, he picked a comedy movie in hopes that laughing would keep them both up later.

Donghae appreciated solitude but he was also someone who got lonely very easily. These contradicting sides made his life a little hard at times but fortunately, he found himself really great friends who knew him well enough to come when he calls. Donghae always provided nice company himself too, so the others didn’t mind. And well, they all have a soft spot for him anyway.

Over the past decade, he would often call or text Hyukjae, asking to meet up at midnight. At first it was just for fun but as they became seniors in the entertainment industry, it slowly became their way of escape instead.

They used to go to the cinema but after gaining popularity drastically and getting recognized by fans even at 3am in a small mall, they thought up of other alternatives. They would just stay up in the dorm watching movies or playing games, or go for a quick food trip. Sometimes they would get more adventurous and go for night drives instead. They often drive without a destination in mind and it was liberating for both of them to take turns driving aimlessly.

Once they got sick of doing something, they find other things to play with. But after 17 years of hanging out with each other, they had done almost everything together. There was nothing left that they both haven’t tried yet. So they slowly settled with just movies at home nowadays.

To Donghae, Hyukjae was one of the very few people he didn’t mind sharing his quiet space with. It was a weird concept to many people. Letting someone be with you in the same space while enjoying the solitude. But Hyukjae to Donghae was no longer another person; he was his soulmate, his other half. Spending time with him just didn’t feel like a task anymore. It felt like home.

Fifteen minutes later, Hyukjae showed up. Times like this made Donghae feel glad he had insisted for the other members to live in the same apartment complex because they would be able to meet up anytime they wanted. For someone who got lonely as easily as Donghae, it was reassuring that he could go to any of s anytime he wanted to.

Hyukjae plopped down the couch and got into a comfortable position. He wrapped himself up in the blanket that Donghae had placed at the side after taking a pillow to hug. At this point, it was like a routine for them. They have done this so many times that nothing need to be asked for anymore.

“You look tired. Busy day?” Donghae asked after noticing that he was quieter than usual.

“Yeah. Had a recording today and it went on longer than expected.” Hyukjae answered with a sigh.

Donghae hummed in reply and handed him a box of strawberry milk and a few bags of chips that he had gotten just for nights like these before settling down beside Hyukjae. Food always made him feel a little better, which was the reason Donghae made sure he always had a stash of Hyukjae’s favourite snacks at home.

Hyukjae opened up a bag of chips and started munching on them and sipping on strawberry milk. He instantly looked happier already. Donghae couldn’t help the small smile that graced his face looking at his best friend’s child-like antics.

The movie started playing and neither of them talked anymore. After an exhausting day, talking about it only made them feel worse. Being an idol made it hard for them to discern between real life and work. Pushing it aside was their way of escaping reality.

There was some noises coming from the TV, but Donghae set the volume really low, so the little noises were more comforting than distracting to them.

Twenty minutes into the movie, Donghae had lost interest in it. He realized they did, in fact, watch this before. Glancing to his side, he realized Hyukjae had fallen asleep while still holding the box of strawberry milk in hand. It didn’t take long this time. He was probably really out of it tonight. Donghae took the box out of his hand gently as to not wake him up.

Their movie nights always end up with Hyukjae falling asleep.

Donghae didn’t mind though. He only sought for his company anyway. It didn't matter what they were doing or if they were even doing anything at all. He simply wanted his best friend beside him. It meant a lot to Donghae. It was comforting.

Donghae knew that Hyukjae knows that as well and that was why he always agreed to come no matter how exhausted he was. Thinking back, Hyukjae didn’t like the idea at first but he eventually warmed up to their movie midnights. He never complained about it and Donghae could pick up signs that his best friend found the same solace in them too.

Hyukjae was different from Donghae. The older one between the two didn’t openly show his emotions like the younger one. When Hyukjae gets lonely, he doesn’t reach out to people and rather choose to endure it himself. After Donghae found out about that, he started doing more of these on nights when Hyukjae obviously needed it more than him.

Eventually, it became a thing between them that no one ever questioned anymore. They enjoyed each other’s presence more than anything else. Neither of them every said it aloud, but they were so grateful towards the other.

Donghae felt his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned closer to Hyukjae, his source of warmth, and slowly fell asleep to his soft, even breathing.

Nights like these made all the struggles they had been through worth it.

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