“Stupid elephant.”

Kyuhyun mumbled under his breath, as he vacuumed the living room floor.

“Stupid, stupid elephant. Who do you think you are, huh? Stupid Haengko.”

The maknae lifted up the soft rug on the ground to reach for the dust underneath it.

“Acting cute in front of Jongwoon hyung? Only I can do that. Psh. Stupid Haengko.”

The front door to the apartment opened and Jongwoon stepped in. His heart skipped a beat in excitement and happiness at the fact that Kyuhyun was home and was even looking so adorable and domesticated in his home clothes and penguin bedroom slippers while vacuuming the floor. With the younger’s hectic schedule, Jongwoon could count on a single hand the number of times he managed to catch Kyuhyun at home for dinner together in the past two months.

“I’m home~”

Jongwoon expected a hearty, warm welcome from his boyfriend, preferably paired with a sweet kiss and wide smile — but all he got was Kyuhyun sparing a quick side-eye at him, before he turned back to vacuuming the floor harder.

What?

“… I’m home, Kyu?”

“Welcome home.” The younger grumbled with a frown and turned off the vacuum. He picked it up and headed for the kitchen to empty the dust collected.

Jongwoon was so confused at the lacklustre response. What did he even do? Just three hours ago, they were happily video-calling each other from their respective schedules, updating each other about the funny things that happened at work that day. They even agreed to make time for a trip together to Jeju soon before Kyuhyun started to get too busy with his solo album preparation.

The older dropped off his belongings and trailed after the maknae. Now, Kyuhyun was chopping up some carrots at the kitchen counter, the sullen pout still present on his face.

“Kyu? Did something happen?”

“Nothing.”

Jongwoon tried to duck in front of Kyuhyun’s face to get his attention, only to receive a glare.

“Go away, I’m cooking.”

“Kyu~~ Baby? What’s wrong? You don’t ever tell me to go away.” Jongwoon busted out the big guns and started begging cutely while backhugging the younger and nuzzling his face into Kyuhyun’s neck. A pout for a pout, you know? But all he got was some soft mumbling from the other man.

“What did you say, baby? Hmm? Tell me, Kkuru~” Jongwoon whispered into the other’s neck and left fleeting kisses on the soft skin that smelled like their milky body wash. Kyuhyun can’t possibly ignore him with this, right?

And just as Jongwoon expected, Kyuhyun abruptly slammed down the knife in his hand, and turned around harshly, jostling Jongwoon, which almost sent him tumbling backwards if not for the tight grip on his waist and neck.

“Oh, so I’m your baby now?!? Don’t you have a stupid elephant that you like more?!”

Jongwoon was so confused again.

“Huh?”

“Don’t act dumb with me, Kim Jongwoon! I know what you did! I told you I watch everything from you!”

“What exactly are you talking about???”

Kyuhyun’s grip on Jongwoon only seemed to get tighter as he glared at the older man. Jongwoon wondered if he was considered “down bad” as the kids would say it, if he still found the annoyed Kyuhyun adorable. Like an angry puppy throwing a tantrum. So cute.

“You and your stupid elephant! Stupid Haengko! Why was he acting so cute to you, huh? And you just let him? You sang a duet with him too?! And he flirted with you! He called you ‘y’ and said he wanted to kiss you and your collarbone! The audacity? Doesn’t he know that you’re mine? I see the way you looked at the elephant too, oh my god, that’s what makes me the most annoyed — you looked at Haengko like he was the cutest thing in the world, when I’m supposed to be your cutest maknae!? You were laughing so much at the dumb things he was doing too? He wasn’t even that funny! I’m going to strangle Leeteuk hyung the next time I see him for bringing you onto that show!!”

Kyuhyun was all out of breath by the time he was done. Damn, pouring your heart out over a random elephant mascot must be tiring. Jongwoon simply stared back at his lover in wide-eyed disbelief.

“So? What do you have to say for yourself, Kim Jongwoon?”

“Cho Kyuhyun…”

“What?”

Kyuhyun yelped in pain suddenly as Jongwoon reached up to twist his ear.

“Cho Kyuhyun, I can’t believe you’re getting jealous over Haengko! How old are you? Here I was thinking that I did something really wrong to upset you, when it was just actually all about Haengko? You’re the most jealous man I know!”

Kyuhyun gasped dramatically, even as he struggled to fight off Jongwoon’s strong grip on his ear. “Hyung, you know other men?!?!!”

“You’re sleeping on the couch tonight!”

“What the — hyung, you can’t do that to me!”

Finally, with divine intervention, Kyuhyun managed to wriggle out of Jongwoon’s grasp. Instead, he trapped both of Jongwoon’s small wrists in one hand and wrapped his other arm around the older’s waist.

“Hyung, do you not love me?”

Jongwoon could feel his annoyance dissipating immediately at the pitiful and wounded look on his boyfriend’s face.

“Of course, I love you! Why do you have to ask stupid questions?”

“Then you can’t make me sleep without you, hyung. If I sleep without you, I can’t sleep well, then I’ll go to work tired the next day, then I can’t focus, then I’ll injure myself at the musical, then I’ll—”

“Okay, okay! I get it. You can sleep in the bed. But no cuddling!”

“Hyung~~! If I can’t cuddle you, then I can’t sleep well either, then I’ll be tired tomorrow, then—”

“Arghhhhh! Okay! You win! Do whatever you want! You’re such a big baby.” Internally, Jongwoon confirmed that he was indeed down bad for his lover.

The younger cheered as if he just won rock-paper-scissors against all the members, and proceeded to rain kisses everywhere on Jongwoon’s face, making loud 'muach' sounds after every kiss. When he pulled back, he asked gleefully, “But I’m your only big baby, right?”

Jongwoon jabbed a finger at Kyuhyun’s chest repeatedly to emphasise his point. “You. Are. So. Annoying. Yes, you’re my only cute maknae, not Haengko, okay? Haengko was just cute. But you’re the cutest to me. And only you can kiss me, not him. Because you’re my boyfriend, and I love you the most.”

“I knew it. You love me so much.”

Jongwoon sighed, as if resigning to his fate. “I do.”

Kyuhyun gasped again. “Hyung, you’re so eager! I haven’t asked you to marry me yet!”

“Shut up and go back to cooking.”

Just as the older was about to step out of Kyuhyun’s arms to make his way to the bathroom, the younger stopped him. Jongwoon looked at the other man quizzically. Kyuhyun was staring at him so tenderly and with so much fixation that Jongwoon could feel his cheeks turning hotter.

“What now?”

“Just so you know, I really do love you, Jongwoon hyung. Just now, when you came through the door, it made me so happy to see you come home to me, but I was jealous and annoyed so I didn’t show it. I can’t wait to have you to myself in Jeju.”

Jongwoon melted at the heartfelt confession. Cho Kyuhyun needed to stop being so sweet and charming already, doesn’t he know that there are many juniors and friends out there who like him too?! Jongwoon gets jealous too, okay?

Just as Jongwoon was about to return the sweet confession, Kyuhyun just had to open his stupid mouth and beat him to it.

“We’ll have so much y time in Jeju that you won’t even be able to walk, hyung. We’ll do it day and night, we’ll do it on the—”

Jongwoon stomped on the younger’s foot, and turned around to storm to the bathroom.

“No cuddling tonight for the erted brat!”

“What? No! Hyung!”

Kyuhyun chased after his boyfriend, only to have the door slammed in his face. And so it begins another round of grovelling and endless aegyo that is only reserved for his hyung.