If Kyuhyun had thought that Hyukjae would leave the vacation idea alone he was sorely mistaken. Not two days passed before he called Kyuhyun to ask him out to dinner with him and Donghae. Against his better judgement Kyuhyun agreed, still suffering from the guilt of being a bad friend that he had felt at their last meeting.

They had met at a local restaurant that served tacos. Kyuhyun had never before stepped foot in the place but apparently Donghae who snatched the phone out of his boyfriends hand to talk to Kyuhyun, swore they served the best food in the world, after his mothers of course, and Hyukjae had agreed straight away.

So here he was. The place was cosy and looked clean and proper, when a waiter emerged from the kitchen he could see through the open door that the floor in the room looked spotless. Why Kyuhyun even noticed these things was beyond him.

After eating his food, the entire time spend with Donghae asking him if it wasn’t “the best taco he ever tasted” an uncanny silence lingered over the table. Kyuhyun knew he should have excused himself at that point as something was definitely up with the way Donghae was throwing suspicious glances at Hyukjae. But before Kyuhyun could come up with a good enough of an excuse Hyukjae had finally given in as his boyfriend elbowed him in the side, and he moved the plates aside to place a folder on the table right in front of Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun looked at the blue paper binder like it would jump up and bite him at any given minute. He did not like this at all.

‘What is it?’ he asked, lifting his gaze from what was on the table to glare at the two men.

‘It’s information’ said Donghae before Hyukjae could figure out how to start what he knew would be a difficult discussion.

Kyuhyun looked at the folder again. He didn’t dare touch it.

‘Information about what exactly?’

Hyukjae seemed to have finally grown some balls and he quickly put a hand over Donghae’s mouth as the man was getting ready to leap into a long explanation.

‘It’s just some info about travel agencies and such.’ He said with a nervous smile. He knew Kyuhyun wouldn’t approve of it and he had been hesitant to bring it up from the start. But the minute the idea had left his lips in front of his boyfriend, Donghae had latched on to it and basically gathered all the information himself. He had never stopped to think that Kyuhyun wouldn’t go anywhere and that bombarding him with numbers and webbpages would be useless. But if there was one thing that Hyukjae especially loved about Donghae it was his never ending optimism and energy, and his desire to have everyone around him smiling. So Hyukjae had gone along with the idea, knowing what places his friend would never set foot at and what hobbies he used to have that might be rekindled during the trip.

Kyuhyun was giving him one of his famous angry glares and Hyukjae would have flinched back if it wasn’t for Donghae’s hand on his lower back. Instead he stared back.

‘I know you don’t like the idea Kyuhyun, but please would you just think about it? If nothing else then for me.’

Hyukjae knew he had him when his friends eyes softened and Donghae was sent nothing more than a slightly venomous stare before Kyuhyun snatched up the folder and rose from the table.

‘I hope you know this means you cannot play the “Do it for me cause I am your best friend” card for a year!’ he told Hyukjae before throwing some bills on the table and gathering his things he walked out of the restaurant.

Behind him Hyukjae drew a sigh of relief. That had actually gone better than he expected. He smiled when he felt strong arms wrap around his shoulders and with a smile he lent into his boyfriends touch deciding that the rest was up to Kyuhyun and faith.

That was how Kyuhyun found himself sitting in a somewhat threadbare armchair, in a small office located at the outer part of the city, waiting for a woman called Sunny to make them some tea. He didn’t know what had possessed him to open the folder that same night when he returned home from the restaurant, but no matter how he had tried to busy himself he couldn’t help but to let his thoughts and gaze run back towards the papers laying on his living room table. After several failed attempts to watch TV and read a book, he had given in to temptation. The idea of him going on a vacation was ridiculous to say the least but still he was curious as to what his friend had in mind for him. Carefully opening the folder he pulled out a small stack of neatly handwritten papers. He didn’t recognize the writing and he realized that even if this had been Hyukjae’s idea, Donghae had apparently taken it upon himself to do all the work. Kyuhyun wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or offended by the fact that the man was trying this hard to make him go away. He really should learn to mind his own business. Even with that thought in the back of his head, Kyuhyun spent the rest of that evening going through the notes.

If he hadn’t known what had possessed him to look at the papers, he certainly didn’t know what had actually made him call the number in the folder the next day, but he had. Donghae had used this firm before and had repeatedly assured him through the notes that they knew what they were doing and that Kyuhyun would have a great time.

But Donghae’s standards where not anything like Kyuhyun’s which the man had become acutely aware of as soon as he had stepped into the small travel agency.

It was one of the warmest days of the year so far and even entertaining the thought of traveling to an even warmer country was enough to make Kyuhyun believe he’d gone insane. In fact he knew he had. The chair on which he was sitting was oddly comfortable but the fabric was too warm for the day and he could feel himself sweating inside his suit. The place was quiet since holiday season hadn’t started yet but he was grateful for being the only customer there. He wasn’t in the mood for company. Instead he was slowly taking in the place, absorbing the things he had overlooked in the wake of the sheer terror that hit when he first stepped through the door and the jingle of a bell had announced his arrival.

Sunny had looked up at him from her desk with sleepy eyes and a small smile. A smile that when he mentioned Donghae’s name, like the notes had instructed him to, lit up and took over the woman’s face and before he knew it he was ushered to sit down while she got him something to drink. He had read her name from her nametag and laughed dryly in his head at how appropriate it was for her line of work. Sunny. As the posters around him said, the place specialized in sun trips.

Her colourful outfit that seemed to be the required work-clothes, as he saw the same one on another woman crossing the room to a back office, made him cringe. The shades of bright yellow and green that could also be found around the office hurt his eyes. He couldn’t even imagine the horror of working in a place like this. He let his eyes drift over the room he was in. Several of the posters had come undone in the corners from where they had previously been stuck to the walls, and they had started to curl inwards in the heat. He read a couple of them, advertisements for foreign countries with pictures of happy families and smiling resort staff. They were all lies he thought bitterly.

A fan standing in the corner of the small room gave him some respite from the heat when it swung his way, but with a click it always swung right back to waste its air on the opposite wall. If he had been able to muster up the energy he would have stood up and directed it at himself only. Instead he lent back in the chair, letting his damp hair stick to his neck as his head rested on the warm fabric. The desk Sunny had been sitting at was half hidden under a massive amount of papers and knickknacks. To one side stood a ridiculous table fan in the shape of a palm tree. No wonder Donghae liked the place, it was just like him.

His eyes travelled towards the windows. They were in need of a wash and the strong sun filtering through the glass only made them seem dirtier than they were. He watched as a fly was repeatedly trying and failing to find a way out, he found it difficult to tear his eyes away from its incessant struggles. After a minute of staring at the small creature it slowly started to sink in and when the realization dawned on him he froze in his seat. That might as well be him! He was trapped by something invisible that he himself put up there. The only difference was that the fly was still trying, only taking short breaks before attempting the escape again. Kyuhyun however had given up long ago.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Sunny come back to place a tray on the table in front of him and herself in the chair opposite of him. She was watching him for a while, noticing the emptiness in his eyes and the tightly clenched jaw. Donghae had already called her about the man. Apparently this was going to be some sort of soul searching trip, but the only problem was Kyuhyun himself didn’t seem to be aware of this intention. Donghae had told her to be aware that the man might not be willing to listen, but he had asked her to try her hardest. He needed it. But looking at the man now, she could see the faintest glimmer of defiance in those eyes and when he finally turned to face her she knew he had made up his mind as well. No persuasion would be needed, all she would need to do was to guide him.

Hyukjae had just finished a very strange conversation with his best friend. He was still standing in his bedroom with his phone in hand staring into space, when Donghae emerged from the bathroom where he had been brushing his teeth. At the sight of his boyfriend standing around in his underwear with a dazed expression Donghae couldn’t help but giggle at him.

‘What’s up Hyukjae?’ he said effectively waking the other up from his thoughts.

Hyukjae didn’t answer him straight away and Donghae let him climb into the large bed, settling himself next to him under the covers before asking once more.

‘He’s going to France.’ Hyukjae said with a voice that clearly showed that he thought his friend might have gone insane. Who would have thought Kyuhyun would actually go anywhere.

‘I know.’ Donghae said snuggling closer to his boyfriend and resting his head on Hyukjae’s chest, slinging an arm around his lean body only to be knocked off him when Hyukjae sat up with a jerk.

‘Wait, what!? How do you know? Did he call you? Why would he call you before me?’

Curling up next to Hyukjae’s side Donghae pulled the cover over himself once more.

‘I know because it was my idea remember?’ Donghae looked up at him and the smirk playing on his lips made Hyukjae have some very dirty thoughts.

‘When we gave Kyuhyun the folder I had already called and talked to Sunny and suggested he might be persuaded to go somewhere if there was wine, somewhere in a quiet countryside away from people, but still in place with all the technology he could want… along with free Wifi.’ He giggled and planted a peck on Hyukjae’s hipbone.

The man was staring at him with a surprised and awed look on his face before suddenly throwing his body on top of Donghae’s and pushing his boyfriends back into the mattress.

‘You do realize I might love you.’ He growled into Donghae’s ear before catching his lips in a strong kiss.

Donghae was breathing heavily when they parted but his voice was strong when he answered Hyukjae.

‘You do realize I’ve loved you for some time now.’ He said before wrapping his arms around Hyukjae’s neck, pulling him down once more.