a/n: the way i have been writing this for months and i come out with this literally weeks before byulwon's anniversary T^T also this is set before enhypen's comeback last year, oktylybye
| AT JEJU ISLAND |
"Guys, do you smell that?" Heeseung asked. "I never thought this was possible."
"What? Smelling clean air?" Jay quipped. "Hyung, we have an air purifier at the dorms," Jungwon added, looking confused.
Eunbyul chuckled. "Oppas, I think he meant 'the smell of freedom' and not the actual air," she explained.
"Oh..." Jake nodded slowly, the realization settling in. "Yeah, makes sense."
Jaehyuk shook his head. "Why are you so confusing, Heeseung-ah?" He sighed.
As soon as they got into the minivan, they let out sighs of relief, relaxing in their seats as the drive to their hotel began. Well, it wasn't really a hotel per se, rather a cosy cabin in the rural area of Jeju Island.
Eunbyul let out a quiet gasp as she felt a soft touch, turning to her side to see Jungwon had intertwined their hands.
"Oppa..." She paused, struggling to control the flutter in her chest. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm holding my girlfriend's hand. Can't I do that?"
The female gulped, at a loss for words. "You've changed after dying your hair red, oppa." She cracked a small smile. "Confidence is a nice look on you," she commented.
Before Jungwon could respond, Heeseung spoke up, not missing the chance to tease the younger ones.
"Wah ... right in front of my single ass," he stated, exhaling. "Tell me about it," Jaehyuk added, shaking his head.
Unbeknownst to the others who were now teasing the universe couple, Jake sat on the sides, typing away on his phone after getting some inspiration.
This is our universe, whoever is aware of it. Just this free moment; you and me.
| AT THE CABIN |
The rookie idols ran around the cabin once they came, surprised to see only three rooms were cleared up for use.
"Do we have to pair up?" Heeseung asked out loud, though he already knew the answer.
"If you don't mind sleeping on the couch, I don't mind taking the entire room." Jaehyuk grinned, dodging a playful punch that came his way.
Realising the pairings, Jay quickly held onto to Jake, steering away the male who was on his phone as he took them to a separate room in the cabin.
"We got dibs on this!"
Jungwon's brows raised at the sudden announcement, rushing to the room he wanted. Eunbyul only looked surprised when she felt herself being dragged, realising the elder was oblivious to her presence.
"Are we rooming together?" She asked softly, startled when the eldest duo popped by their room.
"Oh, Byulie, are you rooming with Wonie?" Jaehyuk asked. "Unless Byul wants to room with Jae or something?" Heeseung added.
Jungwon looked at the female, waiting for her opinion. "I don't mind anything, really," she answered, blushing when the male spoke on behalf of them.
"Then Eun and I will room together."
***
Despite not having shared rooms with him before, Park Eunbyul found Yang Jungwon's presence oddly comforting.
The younger laid her head against the elder's arm while his free hand scrolled through random videos, the two enjoying being in each other's embrace.
Jungwon locked his phone, placing it away as he turned to his girlfriend. "Eun-ah, you sleepy?" He asked, noting the younger's droopy eyes.
"Nuh uh," Eunbyul sleepily mumbled. "I'm awake."
The red-haired male chuckled. "Of course you are." He noted how Eunbyul held her hand, realising she was unconsciously doing her sleeping habits.
"Oppa, I'm not sleepy."
"Yeah, me neither." Jungwon wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her into his embrace before intertwining their hands. "Let's just stay like this for a while."
Eunbyul knew what her boyfriend was trying to do. He knew she was sleepy, so he was trying to get her to rest.
And as much as she fought to stay awake, something about holding Jungwon's hand and being in his arms made her feel relaxed as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
***
Click, click. Snap, snap.
Yang Jungwon squinted, surprised by the cameras in his face that woke him up from his nap.
"Hyungs, what are you doing?" He whisper-yelled, gesturing the others to leave as he saw Eunbyul was still asleep. "You'll wake her up."
"Gosh, look at you guys," Heeseung cooed, snapping another picture before moving away. "Holding hands and everything."
Jaehyuk stood by the door, smiling fondly as he looked at his best friend and her boyfriend. Jake noticed the elder's silence, understanding what he was going through as he looked at them.
"Jules doesn't easily fall asleep with anyone like that, right, hyung?"
"No ... Eunbyul seems really comfortable with Jungwon. I'm happy she found someone like that."
Like clockwork, Jake quickly grabbed his phone, typing down the lyrics that came to his head — once again, getting the inspiration from the universe couple.
With my real voice, I'll tell you my true feelings.
| GOING HIKING WITH THE BOYS |
After their manager informed them about a secret trail from the cabin to the top of a mountain, the teenagers packed some essentials before starting their trek.
Being the oldest, Heeseung and Jaehyuk took the lead, with the others following them from behind. It was only so long before the boys stopped, panting and puffing from the workout.
"Hyungs, we came for a vacation," Jungwon complained. "Why are we climbing mountains?"
"Because these two wanted to." Jay pointed at the oldest two, shaking his head. "But they seem the most tired out of all of us."
Jake and Eunbyul were the only ones who had some energy left in them; one of them excited about taking photographs at the top while the other was just excited, regardless.
"Come on, oppas!" The female urged. "We can do it!" She looked around, frowning when they didn't match her energy.
There's only one thing left to do. Park Eunbyul took out her phone, going to her music before playing the one song she knew would be perfect to liven up everyone's spirits.
And just like hearing the devil himself calling from the depths of hells, the ENHYPEN boys felt their blood run cold upon hearing the familiar tune to Hey Tayo.
"Super genius! Okay, break it down!" Eunbyul announced, making a random pose before she continued. "Tayo, Tayo! Tayo, Tayo! He's a friendly little bus!" She sang, dancing along.
Jaehyuk laughed at the younger's attempt to cheer them up, knowing it was working as he looked around. The ENHYPEN boys had fond smiles on their face, forgetting how tired they were upon seeing the female dance.
And Jungwon? Well, Yang Jungwon was absolutely whipped.
The heart-eyes he had for Eunbyul didn't go unnoticed by the others, finding it weirdly comforting to see the way the red-haired male looked at his girlfriend.
"Are you guys feeling excited now?" She questioned, stopping her cheerleading to check on the elders. "What say, huh?"
"Very rejuvenated now, Byulie."
"Daily dose of serotonin received, Jules."
Eunbyul turned to the person who didn't comment, tilting her head as she looked at Jungwon. "Oppa? Are you energised now?" She asked, the bright smile never leaving her face.
"Me?" Jungwon chuckled, nodding. "I'm so energised I can swim mountains and climb oceans now."
While the others cringed and awed at the younger's line, Jake was sparked with inspiration once again, quickly grabbing his phone as he jotted down the lyric that came to mind.
The world is beautiful if we're together.
| AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN |
After a lot of panting, puffing and whining, the idols finally made it to the top of the mountain. Upon feeling the cool breeze wash over them, everything felt so worth it.
Heeseung took a step forward, climbing on a rock ledge before screaming at the top of his lungs. "Argh!" He let out his frustration. "I'm so happy right now!" He yelled.
Jaehyuk followed suit, copying his best friend. "Me too!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. "I've never been this happy after becoming an idol!" He looked at the others after his vent, a huge grin on his face.
The 02z stood on the ledge, readying themselves. "Sometimes, I hate what I do! But sometimes I love what I do too!" Jay yelled, adding a scream. "Argh! This is so fun!"
"I'm proud of you, Jake! I'm proud of how far you've come!" Jake screamed, smiling in relief before cupping his hands over his mouth again. "Let's keep going till the end!"
As they got off, Eunbyul steadied herself on the top. "There's nothing I have to say," she muttered. "But if I have to share something with the world, there's only one thing." She giggled to herself, taking a deep breath.
Jay smiled upon seeing the youngest so happy. "And what would that be, Byul?" He inquired, quite curious himself.
"Yang Jungwon is mine! He's mine and I want everyone to know that!"
The older members had knowing smiles on their face, laughing to themselves upon seeing the youngest's giddiness. Jungwon's ears were red as he got on the ledge, unable to contain his smile at what he heard.
"I only have three dreams! To do my best! To be the best! And to spend the rest of my life with Park Eunbyul!"
There was a moment of silence as the elder members processed Jungwon's outburst, his words taking them by surprise.
"Spend the rest of your life together?" Jake muttered. "Really? You mean that?"
The ENHYPEN boys turned towards Eunbyul as their leader nodded, wanting to know her reaction to his words.
But the calm expression on her face — as well as Jaehyuk's — depicted that this wasn't something Jungwon said for the first time.
"How are you so calm about this?"
"Jungwon-oppa's always like this."
"He throws around marriage so casually like this?"
"In every talk he can, he will include it at least once."
Now it was Jungwon's turn to be questioned and Eunbyul laughed to herself, watching the boys crowd over the red-haired male. She noted one of them distanced from the rest, typing something on his phone.
"Oppa, no working when we are vacationing!" The female scolded, nudging Jake playfully. "What are you even doing?"
"It's the lyrics for the song I'm contributing to," Jake replied. "I just need a couple more lines, but I can't get it to flow."
"Maybe I can help. Could you play the part for me?"
Jake played the demo, right at the part where he was having trouble. "Till the end of time, the story of you and I," he sang softly. "We go and shout, shout, shout, when we're together."
"Stay, stay, stay you make it better," Eunbyul sang along with the tune, the words instantly popping to her head. "My life without you is a misery, the heart is beating as if it'll explode."
The chorus continued to play and the Brisbane buddies looked at each other, realising the words fitted well. Excited grins took over their features, with Jake quickly jotting down the lyrics before questioning the youngest.
"Where did you even get that sudden inspo from?! That's so cool!"
Eunbyul looked just as confused, pointing at the red-haired male who was talking to the others. "Jungwon-oppa," she replied.
"Jungwon?"
"I realised my feelings from him when I was listening to Taylor Swift's 'Stay, Stay, Stay', and I don't know. I heard the demo and the words just mixed well, I think."
Sim Jake chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he reread the words on his phone screen. "I should be surprised, but considering this entire song is literally based on you two, I really have nothing to say." He shrugged.
"Yeah, I mean—wait a minute, what?!"
a/n: this is not proofread bc it was written over the course of a couple of months and i was too excited bc i finally finished it and put it out asap! please show your love, y'all <33 ilysm