The apartment is quiet when Youngjae walks in. Jaebeom must be in his studio working on something. Youngjae goes to the kitchen to put away the groceries he just bought on the way home from work. Once Youngjae is finished with that, he goes straight to look for Jaebeom. As expected Jaebeom is busy painting.

Youngjae smiles the moment he sets his eyes on his boyfriend. Jaebeom is completely immersed in his work, probably unaware that someone has even entered the house, and Youngjae hates to interrupt the serenity, but he misses his boyfriend too.

Certainly a quick hi won’t hurt. So quietly goes up to where Jaebeom is sitting and bends down to hug Jaebeom from behind.

Jaebeom jumps, a little startled and he cranes his neck to see who it is, then he smiles shyly realising it’s only Youngjae.

“Hey.” Youngjae says and kisses Jaebeom on the cheek.

“Hi.” Jaebeom carefully puts his brush down and brings his hands up to hold Youngjae’s hands which are resting upon Jaebeom’s chest.

Youngjae looks at what Jaebeom is painting and he tips his head to the side, trying to understand what it is. He has always been so bad at artsy stuff. “What are you painting?” he ends up asking because he can’t see anything but an array of red, white, black and orange colours splashed about on the canvas.

“I’m working on emotions. This piece depicts rage.”

Youngjae nods, taking the information at face value even though he doesn’t understand how the hell what he’s seeing means rage. Shrugging, he slides his gaze down to Jaebeom’s. “How was your day?”
“Good. I got a lot of work done.”

“I can tell. You look tired.” Youngjae points out, looking at the dark circles under Jaebeom’s eyes and the dry skin on his cheeks and lips. “You are not taking good care of yourself.”

Jaebeom shoots Youngjae a very big, very placating smile. “I’m trying.”

“No you’re not. You’ve been wearing this shirt for 3 days.”

“I just haven’t come round to doing the laundry.”

Youngjae shakes his head and he really wants to scold but he’s smiling fondly instead. “You’re so lazy.” He softly kisses Jaebeom’s forehead. “I suppose I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Youngjae is just happy to see his boyfriend doing what he loves, living his dream.

“That’s why I’m the luckiest guy around.” The issue of laziness isn’t an issue Jaebeom can deny and yes the level at which he forgets everything and gets lost in his work is alarming. He knows that his bad habits are not something just anyone can handle. That’s why he feels incredibly grateful to have someone as nice and understanding as Youngjae is.

Jaebeom remembers many moments such as now when Youngjae should have scolded, nagged or even cursed at him for his bad habits; but Youngjae gave Jaebeom a kiss instead. It’s these moments that remind Jaebeom of how loved and utterly lucky he is.

Tipping his head back further, he catches Youngjae’s lips in a tender, slow, sweet kiss. “How was your day?” he asks after.

“It was good. My boss wants me to accompany him to Japan next week to help him with a marketing campaign we are working on in advertising.”

“For how long?”

“2 maybe 3 days.”

Jaebeom pouts. “I’ll be all alone here for that long?”

“Don’t give me that face. You don’t get to complain about the nature of my job.”

“Really? Can’t I?”

“No, because I let you wear your hair this long.” Youngjae slides one hand out of Jaebeom’s to play with the stands of Jaebeom’s silky soft blonde hair. “Compromise, remember?” and Youngjae uses the word compromise loosely. He honestly loves Jaebeom’s hair. Youngjae loved it before when it was black and made Jaebeom look y like a vampire; and Youngjae loves it now when it makes Jaebeom have a delicate kind of handsomeness that makes him want to kiss Jaebeom’s pale-skinned face over and over again.

Jaebeom lets out a long suffering sigh and tugs on Youngjae’s hand, pulling him into his lap. “Then I guess I better spend this weekend getting my fill of you since you’ll be gone for so long.”

“I like that idea very much.” Youngjae slides his arms around Jaebeom’s neck and leans in to kiss him again on the lips.

When Youngjae pulls back, his facial expression is unexpectedly serious. “There is one other thing.”

“What?” Jaebeom asks, already getting a bad feeling in his gut

“My mum called to invite us for the weekend. I said no.”

Jaebeom doesn’t reply immediately. He chews on his lower lip while considering what Youngjae just told him.

As the silence stretches on, Youngjae gets uneasy and has to ask. “What are you thinking, hyung?”

“Don’t get mad.” Jaebeom calmly says but apparently it’s a bad way to start because Youngjae tenses up immediately. Jaebeom voices out his thoughts anyway. “I think we should go.”

“Why?”

“We can’t avoid your parents forever.”

“Yes we can. They don’t even want us to be together. Who knows what they are plotting?”

“Come on, baby. They might not like the guy you’re dating but you are their child. I’m sure they wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”

“I’m the one who grew up with them, so I know what they are capable of when it comes to getting their way.” Youngjae retorts hotly to drive his point across.

“All I’m saying is that we have to face them sooner or later anyway since we are thinking of getting married. we might as well use this invitation to tell them face-to-face.”

Deep down apart from the annoyance he is feelings, Youngjae knows that Jaebeom is right. Then again there is a part of Youngaje that wishes he could keep this one thing from his parents, protect it from their wrath. He wishes that he and Jaebeom could be happy like this in their own little world. It’s a childish and selfish wish, yes but he wants it anyway.

Seeing the wariness and internal conflict written on Youngjae’s face, Jaebeom sympathises and pulls closer, holding him against his chest. “I know this is hard for you and you wish you didn’t have to, but the truth is that parents are important and we need them in our lives no matter how difficult they are.” Jaebeom is saying. “There is a whole other void that needs to be filled by the kind of love and approval only parents can give. I love you but I can’t fill that void.”

“I know.” Youngjae mutters against Jaebeom’s shoulder, voice muffled

“we can’t hide forever.”

“I know that too.”

“Then let’s go and visit your parents.”

“Why can’t mine be as nice as yours?!” Youngjae laments, suddenly feeling the stress from his work day hit him all at once.

Jaebeom can’t find the right words to say to that, so he kisses Youngjae’s temple and runs his palm up and down Youngjae’s back in a way he knows comforts Youngjae when he’s feeling down.

*********

Cool as he may try to seem, Jaebeom is still slightly nervous because there is a niggling feeling in his belly that Youngjae’s parents certainly won’t like him. Jaebeom is deeply touched that Youngaje thinks his parents will like Jaebeom as he is. The vote of confidence is nice and all but Jaebeom kind of thinks he can look more presentable when he finally meets Youngjae’s family. The problem is that Jaebeom doesn’t know what presentable looks like or what it should be, so without delay he takes his phone out to consult with his 2 best friends Jackson and Jinyoung in their group chat. Not long after Jaebeom pours out his troubles, his friends reply with some actually helpful solutions. It’s surprising considering how idiotic and moronic Jinyoung and Jackson can be most of the time. Jaebeom has never been in a place to judge though since he is best friends with them.

When I met Jackson’s parents, I bought them a nice bottle of wine, Jinyoung replies.

We can help you shop for something, Jackson offers.

Jaebeom supposes that when it comes to love matters, Jinyoung and Jackson have never let him down. Ever since they all went to university together, Jaebeom has been subjected to their love advice every time he’s dated. The advice is annoying to listen to but it’s not half bad. After all there is a reason they’ve been a couple for 6 years now since their university days.

Let’s meet after work today, Jaebeom accepts the offer.

*********

Jaebeom and his friends first stop for a pizza dinner before setting out to look for a gift for Youngjae’s parents.

Apart from Jinyoung’s wine suggestion, they actually try