The two men grunted as they carried the last of the boxes into the house. They dropped it on the floor and panted, trying to regain their breath. Youngjae flopped himself over a pile of the boxes while Himchan hurried to wipe the seat off his forehead, fixing his hair.

            “Whew. Okay, thanks, Hyung. You can go now and I’ll set up the furniture and decorations.”

            Himchan’s eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow. “Do you mean to say that you’re doing this alone? It’s so much work and you want to have it done by the end of this week. Let me help you. My taste is not to be overlooked you know.”

            And so the two started to place the decorations throughout the house. They worked diligently, handing one another the different paintings and glass pieces, not really talking but thinking about how they wanted the house to look like. It was a while before they finally took a step back and looked at one another’s works.

            “Wait, why would you put this vase on the coffee table when we have another mini stand right by the couch?” Youngjae went to fix it.

            Himchan pushed the vase back. “Because it’s more welcoming to have a flower on the table and to have the guest walk in and see such warmth. Your placement of the mat is too off center. When I walk in, I wish to have my bare feet touch the soft fluffiness not to have to miss and land on cold wood.”

            Youngjae’s jaw set into his stubborn square and he pointed at the kitchen table. “It’s not practical to have the salt and pepper stuff all set up. We normally already have it in our dishes. You don’t have to be so Western. And I don’t like that huge cat poster hanging there. It’s like the cat is staring at us while we eat.”

            Himchan joked and did his classic wide eyed face. “Okay. But how about we also fix the position of the couch. It’s blocking the way to the patios a bit. We should move it a bit further back.”

            “I like being able to lean on something when I sit on the edge of the couch!” Youngjae protested. “I want to fix the cabinets. This one is too cluttered, and this shelf is too dedicated to one thing. We need a well-rounded balance.”

            Himchan scoffed. “It’s to bring emphasis to certain parts. You can’t just have a balance and everything won’t have a theme.” Youngjae decided to be quiet and respect his hyung. He nodded and went back to work.

            The two of them worked diligently but Himchan went over and tapped the younger on the shoulder. “Put a stool here. It’s more artistic.”

“You can’t just put the stools at random places. People will trip over them. You need to be practical and worry about aesthetics later. It’s no point having an architecturally pleasing house if you’re going to have people killed just living in it.”

“Well you can’t kill people’s eyes by presenting to them such an indelicate eyesore!” Himchan was mad now. He had worked hard with a vision to make the house beautiful and all Youngjae did was ruin it with his practicalities.

“And look, I told you I didn’t want this painting to clash! We wanted to make the wallpaper a sea blue but this painting is black. It would ruin the happy effects we wanted to have.”

            Himchan growled. “And look here. You messed up too. Your walls here are meant to be pristine but you decide to add this scribble scrabble from your childhood.”

            “That’s going to be the future nursery!”

            “You’re planning pretty far,” Himchan drawled.

            Youngjae turned red. “Well yeah. We’re planning on moving to this house permanently. We can’t afford to keep rebuilding and renovating; it would take too much time.”

            There was a tense silence before Himchan stood up. “Can I at least set up your bathroom? The bedroom’s the only thing left and since that’s yours, I’ll let you have free reign.”

            The two walked into their respective rooms. Himchan struggled to bring over the large full length mirror he had managed to smuggle in. He placed it behind the door and smiled. This would do Youngjae good. He had to make sure he snuck it into the bedroom before Youngjae realizes. Himchan placed the shower curtains and stuck his head out the door.

            Youngjae was downstairs, unpacking the pillows and Himchan towed the mirror into the closet, knowing that his dongsaeng would never touch it. He chuckled as he pictured the surprise on Youngjae’s face when he tried to dress in the morning. “About time too. The kid rarely takes notice of his attire.”

            When the two were done, Himchan walked into the last place he had not checked, the recreational room. Youngjae had stuffed it with board games and logical games, stuff people would never want to play with. He also had bean bags stacked neatly in a pile. Himchan itched. He snuck over and threw the bean bags in haphazard order, giving the room a messier feel.

            He also took hand paint and scribbled on the walls to make the room seem more inviting. He stepped back and appraised his work. He did a good job. Now the room had a fun, inviting atmosphere rather than the stiff one Youngjae had created.   

            “What did you do?” Youngjae walked in and upon smelling the paint, nearly fainted.

            “Good don’t you think?”

            “No! The walls are all messy and covered now. Why? This is my house! You should be going by my rules!”

            Himchan grew furious. “And she’s my sister! You should be letting me make sure her home is comfortable!”

            “I’m the one marrying her, you idiot! I think I should know what she likes.”

            “I’m the one who grew up with her, you ungrateful imbecile!” Himchan roared back.

            “What is going on here?” You had just come home from work and was surprised to find your fiancé and your brother having a shouting match.

            “Look at this! Is the reality you wanted? I’m sure Himchan has ruined everything.” Youngjae walked over to you and tried to advocate you for his side.

            “No! It was so dry. The rest of the house is so plain and boring!” Your brother whined. “Come on, I’ve stood up for you against those bullies all those years before! Help me now!”

            You rolled your eyes. “Okay, guys. I think we can all calm down. The house looks fantastic, yes, but in the end, I still have the final say. I’ll keep this room and I’ll look at the others. But I’ll fix things up to fit my taste.”

            Youngjae scowled. “I worked hard on the other rooms.” Himchan chimed in, “Yeah, me too.” And together, they both shouted as you reached to take down a poster, “You can’t destroy our hard work!” 

plot requested by shigapetal 

don't ask about that ending LMAO