27/10/2023, friday, 7.20am
when m/n awoke from a deep sleep, one he wouldn't had gotten in years if not for sleeping pills, he felt rejuvenated, resurrected from a death-like trance almost.
the golden hues of the sunrise seemed more vibrant than he ever remembered, the sound of birds chirping sounded more crisp and bright, and colors seemed to have a whole new dimension. even his vision seemed to be more crisp, his hearing cleared too.
peeking at his phone on the bedside table, he glanced at the time and breezed through the notifications of messages, most of it were from his boyfriend from the past evening.
–
26/10/2023, thursday, 4.59pm
my sungie<33
what happened? are you okay?
you looked exhausted...
my prince, are you okay?
5pm
–
president grant is calling...
accept ✔️ decline ❌
–
my sungie<33
baby why are you not replying?
you're okay right?
pls tell me you're okay☹️
6.03pm
–
26/10/2023, thursday, 11.03pm
my sungie<33
call cancelled x 5
prince why aren't you picking up or replying?
i'm so worried i can't fall asleep
pls give me an update
11.07pm
–
my sungie<33
my prince you're okay right?
please please please tell me you're okay
11.45pm
–
ignoring the frantic messages and calls from the president, he swiftly slipped on his slippers and rushed to the bathroom, locking the door behind him.
he closed his eyes, took 3 steps, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in jisung's hotel room, standing by his bedside.
he could see that jisung had buried under the covers, and he slipped into bed beside him, removing the covers to expose his boyfriend's face. stricken with dried tears and dark eyebags, m/n frowned, feeling his heartstrings being tugged on. as gentle as he could, he brought his palm to jisung's cheek, who instinctively nuzzled into the warmth.
for a moment, m/n thought of jisung as a fragile glass which he had mistreated and slight tears left his eyes as jisung's slowly blinked open.
"my prince," jisung greeted with the biggest smile on his face before he let out a loud yawn. "you're back."
"i'm sorry sung," m/n started to sob. "i made you worried."
jisung pat his back, consoling him.
"it's okay my prince, i'm just glad you're safe."
jisung brought the sobbing man into a tight embrace, burrowing him into his chest.
"i'm so glad you're,"
jisung finally took notice of the thin material of the hospital pyjamas.
"why are you in hospital clothes? are you okay?" jisung asked with urgency and worry laced in his voice.
"i overworked and fainted," m/n shamefully admitted. "i'm sorry." he said in a timid voice.
"don't be sorry," jisung stated warmly, letting out a sigh of relief as he gave him a peck on the head. "you're back and you're safe, that's all that matters."
m/n's heart swelled even more. since they started dating weeks ago, jisung had become his refuge, his safe place. and to hear the other speak so endearingly to him that him being back was all that mattered, m/n felt a myriad of emotions, and yet no word seemed to be able to describe how he felt. he felt full, somehow, as if worldly needs were no longer needed to him, wordly desires no longer important. the earth could stop spinning and yet, his fullness would sustain him. he had a lover to call home, and he was his lover's home as well.
he was home.
"i'm home sung."
"welcome home."
jisung pressed their lips together as he cradled m/n's cheeks and m/n kissed back with equal amounts of passion.
when they separated from the kiss, a flushed m/n realised what they just did and quickly burrowed his head into jisung's chest.
"my prince is shy hmm?" jisung teased, hugging m/n back who said nothing in reply. it was not their first kiss, but each one with jisung felt like a first to m/n – passionate yet pure, intoxicating yet liberating, unreal yet so very real.
a loud buzz from m/n's phone sounded, but he ignored it, continuing to hug his boyfriend.
"prince, your phone..." his words trailed off. m/n simply shook his head, not wanting to pick up the call.
"you should see who it is, could be someone important?" jisung nudged. begrudgingly, m/n took out his phone, his eyes bulging from who it was.
"it's the president," he looked up at jisung who nodded his head.
he picked up the call reluctantly.
"good morn-" he got cut off by the raging voice of the world leader.
"where are you?! i've been trying to reach you to no avail! there's an emergency! get your ass here, now!" his seething voice screeched, emphasizing on the last word before he hung up.
"you have to go, right?" jisung asked.
"i don't want to," m/n mumbled in reply.
"want to be with you."
"i'm always here love. you can come back to me whenever." jisung reassured, patting m/n's head. "you're my chief of staff too you know." he joked.
"fine," m/n frowned. "i'll be back soon." he kissed jisung on the lips one more time, before he teleported back to the toilet to get dressed.
when jisung saw m/n evaporated into nothingness in the blink of an eye, he felt a certain uneasiness in his chest. a sense of foreboding. an internal, intrusive voice told him m/n might be in danger, but his logical side won.
"maybe it's nothing..?" he convinced himself.
by the time m/n changed and reached the secret meeting room, it was 8.10am, which is still considerably much earlier than his usual 9am-5pm, but he was still late nonetheless, because he worked for an overbearing leader.
when he stepped into the room, if there was one word to describe the atmosphere in the room, it would be tensive. aside from the president not humming a song like before, the deputies were talking over each other. the moment he entered the room, a sheet of silence covered the room in thick smogs as they turned to him.
"what happened?" m/n apprehensively asked.
"someone sabotaged the device mid-flight." the president said.
m/n took a few seconds to process the detail, a loud gasp punched out of him, before the next few words left his mouth.
"but how? we're the only ones who know about it." he feigned ignorance, like it was his profession. well, lying was a skill he honed during his time in the white house.
"that's what we were trying to figure out." president grant replied. "do you have any ideas?"
"um," m/n bit his lip. "there's so many possibilities."
the silence encouraged him to go on.
"someone could have hacked into our calls or emails. a super could have read our minds." his hands twirled horizontally in a "do you see where i'm going" motion. "the possibilities are endless."
a few more seconds of silence ensued before m/n continued.
"of course the most probable one," he felt all eyes on him. "one of us in this room sabotaged it."
their eyes scanned at each other suspiciously.
"do you have any idea what that meant?" grant roared in anger. "that is a very serious accusation."
"but think about it!" m/n defended himself boldly, deputy paul reluctantly defending him.
"i hate to say this, but he could be right..." he said as his gaze jumped onto every person in the room.
"this meeting is over." the president scoffed in disbelief, storming off.
before he could walk out the room, deputy grace spoke up.
"but sir, we need to discuss on what to do!"
"i'll handle it." he said before he disappeared out of sight.
the 3 watched awkwardly as the president marched off, and started packing their materials.
as m/n walked out, deputy paul assured him with a hand on his back.
"it's okay, you weren't wrong."
–
27/10/2023, friday, 5pm
the moment the clock hit 5, m/n was ready to leave for the day. as always, work was hellish, yet that day seemed even worse than usual. with the president still stuck at the meeting in the morning, his attitude towards the young adult was one of spite and pettiness, which hindered with his job especially since he was his chief of staff.
he could only hope the president could find it in himself to get over it so he'll be back to usual the next day and not make his work life even more torturous than it already is.
he was just about ready to print a resignation letter after all, if not for his plan to save others like him.
by the time m/n reached home, it was 5.20pm. without even changing out of his work attire, he teleported to jisung's hotel room, forgetting to do his daily ritual of checking the cameras eric had set up.
seeing as it was empty, he messaged jisung, asking how practice was.
—
my prince:3
sungggg
are you at practice?
miss youuuuu:(((
5.23pm
my sungie<33
yess am at practice:((
sorry prince:((
i miss you too:((
sosososososoooo much
5.25pm
–
m/n quickly saved the selfie sent to his phone, admiring it far too long.
–
my sungie<33
i see you're enjoying the selca
5.27pm
–
m/n felt a blush creep onto his cheeks.
–
my prince:3
jsjdjajdjsjdj
askpakfkwos
my sungie<33
knew it:D
my prince:3
i'm making an excuse with your manager to bring all of you out for dinner>:(
my sungie<33
yayyyy!
so i'll see you later?
<3333
my prince:3
ugh the things i do just to see my beloved boyfriend😒
my sungie<33
hehe you can't resist me, admit it
my prince:3
😒😒
my sungie<33
🫶🏼🫶🏼
5.33pm
–
27/10/2023, friday, 7.30pm
when nct dream's manager gave him a reluctant "okay" to bring them out for dinner, he already had a place in mind. it was difficult to reject and say no to an important figure in another man's land after all.
now, they were sat at a table in a bustling italian restaurant that was well known for its wood roasted pizzas and open kitchen concept.
upon realising who m/n was, the owner personally greeted the group and sat them at their best table on the second floor which boasted private rooms with a clear glass panel to allow guests to look down into the kitchen below despite their lack of reservations.
after placing their order through a server, haechan and chenle were first to scramble to the glass panels to peer down onto the kitchen staff who could feel the gazes of the two's feline-like curiousity.
the rest of nct dream engaged in conversation as they waited for the food, and a few minutes in, jisung slipped his hand into m/n's, who sat beside him, under the table.
m/n's cheeks soon flared a light red, and jisung delighted in seeing his reaction, proud he could conjure such reactions out of the younger. his confidence with that one action emboldened him, and his hand soon moved onto m/n's thigh. m/n let out a squeak at the action, his cheeks reddening even more as jisung patted his under thigh teasingly.
mark eyed m/n intricately, his eyes widening seconds later as his cheeks flushed at a thought and he cast his eyes away from him.
leaning into jisung's ear, whispering harshly, "what are you doing? even mark thinks we're..."
it was now m/n's turn to delight at jisung's flustered state, as he quickly removed his hand, putting it on the table for mark to see they weren't doing what he thought they might have been doing. mark cleared his throat as the redness in his cheeks faded.
jaemin questioned him about his flushed cheeks caringly and mark blabbered an incoherent response.
m/n sent a glare in jisung's direction, who remained aloof and shone his gummy smile, disabling m/n's ability to stay angry at him.
he whispered to the other again.
"you're lucky you're obnoxiously adorable."
jisung stuck his tongue out at his partner, giggling while m/n just smiled endearingly at the older's cute antics.
"and if i wasn't?" jisung jokingly questioned with an eyebrow raised, m/n replying in the same manner.
"i'll have you arrested for sexual harassment." m/n whispered.
jisung brought brought his wrists together, directing it at m/n.
"arrest me then, sir." he winked. m/n flushed furiously, and in the corner of his eye, he swore he saw the other members fake gag at their public display of affection, which others would otherwise misinterpret it as a 'bro joke'.
a knock on their door brought m/n back to reality as he composed himself, sitting upright. he motioned for the server to come in, layla bringing in their appetisers: burrata salad, margherita flatbread, and some italian meatballs.
before layla could take her leave, he halted her, asking the group if they wanted drinks, realising they had not ordered drinks and only had glasses of water on their table.
haechan (being haechan) asked for a beer unabashedly, raising his hand like a preschool kid. despite groans of embarrassment, the remaining members agreed with him.
"what beers do you have?" m/n asked, and as if she knew the menu at the back of her mind, layla recited the names.
"for now we have seven beers: the peroni, nastro azzurro, menabrea, angelo poretti, birra morena, asahi, and the birra raffo."
"one of each then, and do you have piscos by any chance?"
"we do!"
"okay then one of those too!"
"okay! i'll be back soon with your drinks!" layla said enthusiastically, walking out the door.
and sure enough, she walks back in with their drinks on a tray in seven minutes.
in about ten more minutes, layla walked in with a plate on each hand. one had the house special thin-based pizza, which had a pesto base, and cherry tomatoes, onions, arugula, smoked ham, and fresh burrata. the second plate was lasagna with a crusty top and layers of tomato sauce, beef, mashed potatoes, and of course pasta.
in about three more minutes, layla returned with the remaining of the dishes: a mac and cheese, rigatoni alla vodka, four-cheese ravioli in pomodoro sauce, and spaghetti carbonara.
and as the group dug in, m/n's gut feeling burrowed deep into his heart and he couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling. he started feeling slightly jittery, his hands clammy as he became more distant as the night went on.
by just 10pm, the group of eight had managed to rack up a bill of $600 by ordering countless more amounts of alcohol, mostly piscos, since they seemed interested in the drink m/n had, and enjoyed it after ordering one for themselves.
m/n stood up, announcing he would be in the restroom, and walked off, throwing his phone from one hand to another.
deciding not to mull over it, he called eli on the way to the toilet, since eli had always been quickest to answer calls.
"eli," he greeted, letting a sigh of relief. "is everyone back home okay?"
"oh why the sudden question? of course." eli replied. "no it's fine, i was just curious."
they soon hung up the call after reassuring each other.
he tucked his phone back into his pocket, and switched on the tap before his hands went into a cupping shape underneath the falling water. he quickly rinsed his face, hoping it would take away some apprehension he withheld.
"m/n?" jisung peeked his head into the bathroom.
m/n put a smile on his face and turned to jisung. he grabbed a piece of tissue and wiped his face.
"are you okay?" "yeah, just... stressed."
jisung frowned.
"a kiss should make me feel better though." m/n said in a low tone, entering a cubicle with jisung quickly following him inside.
a loud rattle sounded through the toilet as jisung threw m/n against the flimsy separator, throwing their lips together. m/n's hands soon found purchase on jisung's nape, bringing them impossibly closer while jisung tightened his arms around m/n's waist.
when they finally unchained themselves from their makeout two minutes later, a string of drool connecting the two's mouths, jisung sighed.
"i know it's out of my place, but since you're so stressed over your job, why don't you consider resigning and running the law firm with your friends?"
"i... can't." m/n hesistated before spitting a lame reply, bringing his forehead to jisung's.
"thank you for being with me sung."
–
after m/n brought them back to the hotel, it was almost midnight.
that same night, m/n teleported himself and jisung to his apartment.
"i'll heat up one of my meal prep for us to share," m/n said, briskly walking over to the fridge to take out a container, putting the contents into a rectangular ramekin and topping it with more cheese before putting into the microwave.
they waited with much anticipation, and when the mac and cheese was ready, m/n carefully placed it onto the dining table, the growl in jisung's stomach grew louder and they laughed.
feeding the first bite to jisung after meticulously blowing on it, m/n's eyes lit up expectantly. jisung's eyes lit up in awe.
"it's delicious!" he exclaimed. "my turn!" m/n said, taking a bite of his mac and cheese.
mac and cheese was the only dish that held high importance to him as it was something his biological mother liked to feed him. this dish reminded him of his biological parents. it was a full circle moment to him. his powers that he grew to love, brought him to an idol he loved. when they started to date, he fell in love with jisung, who fell in love with him too, and now, they were eating a food m/n loved, which reminded him of the only people he ever loved.
after they ate, the two decided to dance in m/n's room, choosing to burn off the energy they gained from the food.
settling for a slow ballroom dance to nothing but the sounds of the air-conditioning, m/n laid his head on jisung's chest as they swayed side to side. listening to jisung's heartbeat, he sang,
"if only, yeah
am i crazy?
maybe we could happen, yeah
will you still be with me
when the magic's all run out?"
-
later, m/n brought them to the washington monument park.
hand-in-hand, they ran through the park under the dark skies of nightfall. wind caressing them as they hopped, trees dancing along to the couple as the silent night sky was filled with just their merry shouts. their random spurts of light kisses that felt like home and heavy eye contact that felt like true love, one that caused fireworks to explode in every vein and every organ in their bodies.
an hour later, m/n brought them back to his apartment when jisung yawned.
"i'm gross," jisung laughed as they walked into m/n's apartment, tugging on his shirt.
"shower?" m/n offered, throwing jisung a towel after dragging him to his room. "together?" jisung shyly asked. m/n nodded with an equally embarrassed yet warm smile.
after just a short 10 minutes, they hopped out the bathroom giggling. even with the lack of sexual deeds, their love for each other was real. pure, innocent, and so real and scorchingly hot one would be burned if they got near.
home.
m/n felt at home with jisung.
-