Taehyung woke up to the smell of pancakes and caramel, aka heaven. When he woke up to the unfamiliar room, he panicked for a moment before sinking back into the soft duvets after he smelt Jeongguk's cooking and heard him humming a tune. The bed was still dipped next to him, and Taehyung could feel the ghost warmth of Jeongguk lingering on the pillow next to his.
When he padded into the kitchen groggily, Jeongguk shot him a lazy smile that sent Taehyung's heart into overdrive. It's too early to have a heart attack.
"You're awake. Did you sleep well?"Jeongguk continued flipping pancakes like a pro, the delicious golden brown making Taehyung drool on spot.
"Yeah, I had a nightmare but I fell asleep quickly afterwards." Taehyung peeked at the almost finished pancakes from Jeongguk's back, their position weirdly intimate and domestic.
"Well, we will be leaving Seoul at once after we finish breakfast, so you will get a pretty long car ride and you can rest if you are tired," Jeongguk explained patiently while placing the pancakes on the plate carefully, before spreading some whipped cream on it. He then put some sliced bananas on top of it. "Viola! If I quit my job at Joon hyung's lab one day, I'll go and be a patissier. Or a professional pancake maker."
"I'm sure people will love your pancakes. You must be the God of Pancakes in your last life Ggukkie," Taehyung placed the plates on the small island in the middle of the kitchen. "But we don't have to leave Seoul yet, we just got here last night! I can stay here, and maybe you can go do whatever you planned on doing here."
Jeongguk washed his hands and joined Taehyung. "I'm not going anywhere myself, mister. I suggested we go to Seoul because I want to show you around the city. I've been to Seoul a million times. We'll go back to Busan. I'll drive us around along the coast of Busan. We can think of something to do then."
The two of them finished breakfast in comfortable silence, Taehyung looking out the window to take a last glimpse of Seoul before he leaves the city and possibly never to see it again. Taehyung dozed off several times during the car ride before Jeongguk announced they reached home. It was a weird sensation for Taehyung to hear the word home, because he knows that the Jeon's residence is not his technical home; but deep down he could feel his heartbeat quicken when Jeongguk mentions it because God knows how much he wishes he could stay here and be with Jeongguk, his real home, his real shelter from all the storms.
Jeongguk's mom was the one answering the door, and she looked quite shocked to see the two young men back so soon from the capital city. "Huh? Jeongguk-ah? Aren't you supposed to be in Seoul with Taehyung-ah?"
"Taehyung is not comfortable with the city smell, it made him very sick. We had to cut our trip short," said Jeongguk, shrugging off his backpack. He hung his coat on the hanger and dropped his full weight on his mother, crushing the shorter woman. "Did you miss me, mom? Did you miss me while I was away last night? Aww, you must have missed your Jeonggukkie so much you weren't able to sleep last night!" Jeongguk then squished his mom's cheeks and planted a loud kiss on his mom's cheek.
Mrs Jeon swatted her son away and pushed Jeongguk off of her. "Why would I miss you rascal? Though I did stay up last night, thinking of Taehyung-ah. It's going to be one month since Taehyung's arrival very soon, oh honey, I am going to miss you so much," Mrs Jeon took Taehyung's hand into her own, her expression a sad and devastated one.
Taehyung's smile faded away slowly. He looked at the woman in front of her and saw his own mother in Mrs Jeon. Although in her late forties, she is usually very youthful with her chatty personality and smiley face, but now it was as if she aged overnight: her eyes look distant and sorrowful, her brows furrowed, a hint of worry and sadness in them.
"Mrs Jeon, I-I will miss you dearly too," Taehyung pulled her into a tight hug, circling his arms around Mrs Jeon's shoulders. The hug was longer than the brief ones they use to share whenever Taehyung leaves the house with Jeongguk. He could feel Mrs Jeon shaking slightly in the embrace, and he knew she must be sobbing quietly. Taehyung ran his hand through her hair and whispered gentle words against her ear. "I will never forget you."
It was Mrs Jeon who pulled out from the hug first. She wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve and put up her usual cheerful smile. "Now is not the time for mopping. I'm sure Jeonggukkie have planned some other things to do with you this afternoon. Now go! Be sure to come back for dinner though!" Mrs Jeon shooed them to Jeongguk's room and closed the door.
"Your mom is so nice," Taehyung muttered softly when he sat on Jeongguk's mattress. Jeongguk sat next to him and opened his laptop, shoving it to Taehyung's face.
"Let's go cycling. I'll teach you." Jeongguk was showing a clip of Tour de France to Taehyung, who looked utterly baffled.
"Cycling? This looks really fast and dangerous. Should I be concerned?"
"Nah, your speed will be nowhere near them. Don't worry. And we won't be going uphill. I'll drive us to a nice promenade near the sea, I think you will like it a lot."
"Well, okay. I trust you, even when the last time I trusted you you made me jump out of a plane and made me cry on a roller coaster." Taehyung flashed Jeongguk a cheeky smile, ruffled Jeongguk's hair softly.
Jeongguk pouted and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Hey! Stop ruffling my hair! And you said you have forgiven me already," Jeongguk's expression then turned serious, as he looked down on his laptop, refusing to meet Taehyung's gaze. "I didn't realise you were still mad at me, I'm sorry, we can just stay home if you want."
"Aw Jeonggukkie, your hyungie is not mad at you anymore, hyungie is just kidding," said Taehyung as he threw himself on Jeongguk, which made the latter boy lose his balance and fall back on the mattress. Taehyung was still clinging on Jeongguk's neck like a koala while burying his head in Jeongguk's neck. "I was never mad at you to begin with, I could never be mad at you."
Jeongguk was positively sure his ears are bleeding red now. He didn't understand why he was feeling like this, Taehyung's words were not something too special, nor his declaration of love. But it felt good to hear that Taehyung trusted him. "Well, that's glad to hear. Do you want to go cycling now?"
"Sure, but can I go take a shower first? I still smell some faint city smell lingering on our clothes."
♆
An hour later, they are on the promenade next to the beach, with Jeongguk standing next to Taehyung in a protective stance, Taehyung half mounting Jeongguk's bike. The weather was pretty nice, and there were quite a few joggers and runners zooming past them, some small kids were cycling with helmets and elbow pads. Some people were walking their dogs, and some was just taking a stroll, chilling and enjoying the winter sun.
Taehyung has been in this pose for more than five minutes now. After Jeongguk parked the car, he pushed the bicycle to the promenade and showed Taehyung how to cycle. Jeongguk made it look all so easy. So when Taehyung first mounted the bike, he almost fell off of if it weren't for Jeongguk's fast reflex. And now he won't mount on the bike anymore because he was scared he would fall off for real this time.
"Tae, it's okay, I'll be right next to you, I won't let you fall." Out of context, Jeongguk thought, but this is not how he planned to confess to Taehyung. Luckily, or unluckily, Taehyung was too nervous to notice Jeongguk's choice of words. His grip on the bike handles was so tight it made Jeongguk feel sorry for the handles.
"Can you hold the handles for me? I don't know how to navigate this thing and I'm afraid I'll crash and hurt the kids and other people." Taehyung wiped the nervous sweat off his forehead and glanced at Jeongguk nervously.
"Um. It kinda defeats the whole purpose of cycling, but- I guess that's what we will settle on then." Jeongguk instructed Taehyung to get on the bike and put his hands on top of Taehyung's on the handle. " Now, keep your eyes on the road. Don't sway left and right. I will keep my hands on yours, remember to keep your head up, back straight. You only need to keep the paddles going. Got it?"
"Okay, got it, I trust you."
When Taehyung stepped on the paddle the first try, he was too gentle so the bike did not move forward a lot. Jeongguk told him he should step on it harder. Then after a few tries, Taehyung got a hang of it. It was slow and far from elegant, but he still managed to move the bike forward.
"That's it, you're doing great Tae, keep going, don't look at me, look at the road!" Taehyung was very very excited, and he looked like a puppy when you gave him his favourite treat. Out of all the human activities, Taehyung tried, cycling was by far the easiest and the one that he did the best in. Taehyung soon increased his speed, and Jeongguk started jogging along with the bike in order to keep up. "Maybe not this quick, Tae, try to keep it slow and steady, I'll help maintain your balance."
For Taehyung, everything was perfect at the moment. He got Jeongguk's hand on his, and the familiar smell of the ocean right next to home. He felt like his roots and his home collided, and he has never felt more at ease. He relaxed more, and as time passed by, he got more and more comfortable with it. "Ggukkie, can I try to do it on my own? I feel pretty good now!"
Jeongguk nodded at him and slowly let go of his hand, while still jogging next to him. "Eyes on the road Tae! Keep your back straight!"
Taehyung was doing pretty well. He managed to cycle for a few minutes in peace. But then a dog kept barking when it saw Taehyung approaching its direction. It scared Taehyung so much he lost his cool and his balance. He felt himself toppling and tilting to the left, and all he thought of was how it was going to hurt like a bitch if he crashed the bike to the concrete ground, and how Jeongguk's bike will probably break.
But before his body collided with the ground, he felt warm arms circling his shoulders. Jeongguk had wrapped his arms around Taehyung just before he hit the floor and managed to save Taehyung from crashing on the ground. But unluckily for Jeongguk, he saved Taehyung, but he was not able to save his bike and himself.
When Taehyung's shock finally wore out, he could hear the man behind him grunting painfully. As he looked at the ground and found out that Jeongguk stuck his foot out and took the weight of the bike, so the bike did not fall on top of Taehyung. The bike was solely leaning on Jeongguk's leg, and judging from Jeongguk's look, the bike looks pretty heavy and it was making him hurt. Taehyung immediately wiggled himself away from Jeongguk's embrace and helped lift the bike away from Jeongguk.
"Ggukkie! Ggukkie! Is your leg okay?" Taehyung crouched down and lifted the leg of Jeongguk's sweatpants, inspecting the reddened skin with grave concern. It did not bleed, but the impact was quite direct so it might bruise the next day. After persuading Taehyung that he was fine, they decided that it was probably the best if Taehyung does not ride the bike on his own. Jeongguk suggested Taehyung sitting at the backseat of the bike and giving him a ride.
After climbing on the bike, Jeongguk carefully instructed Taehyung on how to sit tightly on the back of the bike. It was not the most ideal, because Taehyung's leg is a little bit too long, dangly from the sides, and there was only a tiny paddle thingy at the back of the bike where Taehyung could put his legs on. But Taehyung's arms are also securely locked on Jeongguk's waist, head leaned on Jeongguk's back while humming softly. Things could not get more perfect.
"Ggukkie, thank you for taking me here. It feels really nice."
"I'm glad you like it," Jeongguk said it so softly it almost got carried away by the wind.
Most of the time they rode in silence, Taehyung enjoying the sweet scent of home and familiarity, while resting his head on Jeongguk's sturdy back. He could make out Jeongguk's strong heartbeat, and hear his rhythmic breathing. Even if he can't see Jeongguk's face right now, he was sure the younger will have a soft smile that he has grown to love over the weeks. Taehyung cannot describe the warm honey-like feeling in his chest whenever he thinks of Jeongguk's smile. It makes him want to stay with the younger boy forever and make him laugh every day, witness the way he laughs so loud that wrinkles appear on his face, the way his bunny teeth peek out when he is smiling slightly but not full-on grinning, the way his smile soften whenever he sees Taehyung does something stupid, and maybe hold his hand when he's feeling sad. He wished this moment could last forever, him on Jeongguk's back, with Jeongguk's warmth so close to him. He wishes he could travel with Jeongguk like this around the world- anywhere, as long as he has Jeongguk next to him.
But all good things have to come to an end, and time flies when you are having a good time. He doesn't know how long Jeongguk's been riding the bike, it felt like minutes, but he knew it was way longer than that. He saw Jeongguk's car appear in his vision, and he knew it was over. Just like he and Jeongguk in a few days.
"Hey Tae, I don't think I can go any further. My legs hurt. Sorry." Jeongguk stopped the bike near his car and helped Taehyung hop off the bike. He scratched his neck, and Taehyung knows that admitting he doesn't feel well is something that Jeongguk considers embarrassing.
"Aww Ggukkie, you should have said so earlier! My ass hurts so much, ugh! I cannot feel it anymore, you know what I mean? And I'm soooo hungry, I can't wait to eat." said Taehyung, adding his dramatic acting, wailing around until he got the attention of a few parents, who stared at him judgingly. Jeongguk laughed fondly, shaking his head when he closed the trunk of his car. If Jeongguk knew that Taehyung was only saying it to make him feel less embarrassed, he did not comment on it.
♆
The first half of the dinner was uneventful. Jae made silly jokes and told them his day at school, Mr Jeon listening to him patiently, Mrs Jeon keeps on telling him to stop talking and start eating. The usual stuff. Things were pretty good until Jaegguk decided to start his own little speech.
"So, I have been marking it on my calendar, there are only four days till Taetae hyungie has to leave us. I think all of us should have a day with Taetae hyungie, because we haven't been able to spend some alone time with Taetae without hyung."
Everyone stopped eating and looked at Jaegguk. "Hey, what's wrong with me being here?" asked Jeongguk, annoyed at his little brother. Mr Jeon and Mrs Jeon appear to be intrigued by Jaegguk's suggestion.
"Well, he's my friend as well, maybe you should stop being so selfish and let me hang out with him too!" Everyone was surprised by Jaegguk's little outburst, since the kid was very different from his usual happy self.
"I'm not being selfish-"
"Yes, you are! You guys always go out when I'm at school, and you never take me with you! Why can't you just wait till the weekend? I want to play with Taetae hyungie too!" Jaegguk pouted and sniffled, and that was when the family realised how upset the little boy was.
Taehyung was the first one to act, kneeling down by Jaegguk's chair and pulled him into a big hug. "Aw, Jaeggukkie, hyung wants to play with you too! Your plan is amazing by the way, I want to spend some alone time with all of you, especially you, Jae! Hyung is sorry you feel this way, we don't ever want you to be sad. You know how you play with kids your similar age? Hyung is like the new kid to a new school, and your Jeongguk hyung happens to be my only friend with similar age," Taehyung patted his head gently, before planting a loud kiss on the top of his forehead. "Taetae hyung loves you a lot, you know? You better plan very carefully where you are going to take me to, I have high expectations from you!"
Jaegguk broke into a grin, wiping his eyes furiously. "Jaegguk loves hyungie too, I can't wait to grow up so Taetae will play with me instead of hyung."
The whole family, except Jeongguk, laughed at the little boy. "Well, I think you owe your hyung a little apology, don't you think? You were a bit mean there Jaeggukkie..." Taehyung pouted and used his puppy eyes on the boy, hoping it would convince him. It worked out perfectly because Jaegguk heaved a sigh and looked down on his lap, before getting up and walked towards Jeongguk. He stood next to his older brother, head hung low and fidgeted with the loose ends on his sweater.
"Hyung... I am sorry for being mean and rude to you. I promise I will never do it again." Jeongguk looked at Taehyung, who gave him a thumbs-up and a silly smile and looked at his brother. Although Jaegguk annoys him some (a lot of) times, he still loves his stupid little brother. Jeongguk acted like he was still mad at him, and said, "Well, if you are so sorry, you can do my chores for a month." He managed to say it in a straight face, but he could no longer hold his laughter when he saw Jaegguk's bug eyes almost falling out of his skull from the shock.
"A month? Hyung I said sorry already- why are you laughing?"
The little incident ended with Jeongguk tickling Jaegguk, Jaegguk running around screaming. They decided that the next day it would be Jaegguk's day with Taehyung since the little boy could not wait. Mrs Jeon even granted Jaegguk a day off from school because she knows how much Jaegguk wants to hang out with Taehyung alone. Mrs Jeon would be the next one to hang out with Taehyung, the lady seemed delighted and already listed out a list of places she wanted to take Taehyung to. Mr Jeon would be the next, before Jeongguk has his turn and takes Taehyung to a little rented beach house, somewhere quite remote so it would be easier for Taehyung to return to the ocean without people noticing. It was not a unanimous decision, since Jaegguk really wanted to see Taehyung off, but since he had school the next day and also it was way past his bedtime, his parents rejected the idea. Jeongguk, of course, has no problem with spending a night in a nice little beach house with Taehyung alone, he honestly couldn't wait for it. Jaegguk pulled out a tablet and helped suggest different locations and types of houses to the rest of them. They finally settled on one that is relatively more expensive, a little two storey beach house in the outskirts of Busan, an area quite isolated but accessible since Jeongguk will be driving. It has a small private beach, so they won't have to worry about people wandering nearby the time Taehyung has to go back into the sea.
After the cleaning up with Jaegguk, Jeongguk retired to his room and opened his laptop. He saw his notification go off when he received some promotion mail from uponthestars.com. Ever since Taehyung mentioned that he used to come up to the surface from time to time to stargaze, Jeongguk subscribed the website because he wanted to take Taehyung to the Planetarium and Astronomical Observatory at Busan National Science Museum, which is one of the best stargazing places in Korea. He postponed and postponed the stargazing trip and never told Taehyung about it because 1) stargazing is weirdly romantic and super date-like, 2) God knows what kind of stupid things he might do/say if he lies there on the grass field next to Taehyung in that scenario. He knows that he can no longer postpone it any more, since Taehyung will be spending the remaining days with his family, and he can't possibly bring him to stargaze on the day he has to leave either.
Jeongguk clicked on the email. It was one of those generic emails that they send to every subscriber, just changing the name of the recipient. There was a big picture of a starry night, though Jeongguk doubted that's what they could see in Busan. The email went like this:
Dear Mr Jeon,
Guess what you can see tonight when you look upon the sky! That's right, the Orion constellation! Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It is named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. It is very easy to find, perfect for beginner stargazers! Good luck!
** Check your local weather before planning your stargazing trip.
Best wishes,
Upon the Stars
Jeongguk opened another tab and searched for the weather in the Seoksan-ri region, which is where the observatory is located. Clear skies with little clouds, new moon, windy but not too cold. The perfect weather for stargazing and camping. He jumped up immediately, pulling out his camping stuff under his bed, and threw in two extra hoodies in case they get cold. Two yoga mats so lying on the ground would be more comfortable, a tent, a charger in case his phone's battery dies out, two sleeping bags, and some snacks because he knows Taehyung (and himself) always gets hungry. When he was finished, he packed a backpack as big as half of his body. He was quite excited because the last time he went on camping, it was with Namjoon and Seokjin and he kept on hearing kissing noises next to his tent, not the best camping experience.
When he burst into Taehyung's room, he found out that the older man had just finished showering. Jeongguk was so thrilled by this whole thing he forgot to knock, and when he burst the door open, he saw Taehyung talking loudly on his shell phone with- presumably Jimin or Yoongi, animatedly.
"Oh, are you sure about that? That's absurd! What kind of moron is he?" Taehyung was holding the shell next to his ear in one hand, the other was just pulling his hair out of obvious frustration. But when he saw Jeongguk, he mumbled a quick goodbye to the person on the line.
"Oh hey Taehyung, sorry I didn't know you were on the phone. Was it Jimin? I can come back at another time."
"Yes, it's Chim, he's just telling me some updates. He updates me thrice a week, I hope you don't mind."
"Why would I mind? Of course I won't mind! Well, you'll be seeing him in a few days, I hope he doesn't need to reach out to you before that, it means there's no emergency or serious stuff, which I guess, is good news." Jeongguk dumped his gigantic backpack on Taehyung's unmade bed, followed by a heavy thud with the mattress dipping low. "I have a suggestion. I know you love stargazing, so, I want to-"
"Oh my god, you are not bringing me to the stars are you?" Taehyung's face was suddenly all Jeongguk could see in his vision. Taehyung grabbed Jeongguk face and squished his cheeks, shoved his face in front of his own. Jeongguk could tell that the merman was super excited, from the way his eyes are comically wide, and how his rectangular smile is on full display. It made Jeongguk wish he could take Taehyung to the stars, whatever it takes.
"No, Taehyung, we have not developed a way to go to the stars yet, sorry to disappoint you, but I can take you to a place where you can have a good view of it." Jeongguk smiled at Taehyung's childish grin. Despite being told that he cannot go to the stars, Taehyung still looked at Jeongguk like he promised him his biggest wish. "If you want to join me for this camping trip, you will have to change into some comfortable and warm clothes. I'll meet you at the door five minutes later."
Taehyung stood up immediately and ran to the wardrobe. He didn't have a lot of clothes in it, because he insisted that Jeongguk should not waste money on him. He usually borrows some from Jeongguk, but Mrs Jeon also insisted that Taehyung should get to pick clothes that he likes. The small pile of clothes in the wardrobe are all chosen by Taehyung and Mrs Jeon together.
"What should I wear! Where are we going! Is it a formal occasion? How cold will it be?" Taehyung bombarded Jeongguk with questions, in the end, Jeongguk just took off his own hoodie (he may have intentions of showing off his body, but we may never know) and threw it at Taehyung. He left before he saw Taehyung's blushing mess, smiling satisfyingly to himself when he left Tae's bedroom.
Having chosen a new hoodie pretty quick, Jeongguk was waiting at the door a few minutes later, with his enormous backpack on his shoulder, waiting for Taehyung to come down the stairs. It wasn't quite late, ten to eleven, his parents are still awake, but it was past Jaegguk's bedtime. His dad had gone to his study to finish up his work, while his mom was doing the laundry.
"Hey mom, I'm going to take Taehyung to the observatory and camp there. We'll be back tomorrow morning so Jaegguk gets to go out with Tae."
His mom was unsurprised with his son's suggestion. "Honey, that sounds like a great idea. I'm sure Taehyung-ah will love it," He watches as his mom put down the basket of clothes before walking towards him. She fixed Jeongguk's hair before gently stroking his cheeks, "but baby, when are you going to tell him?"
Taehyung's entrance saved Jeongguk from answering his mother's question. As he watches Taehyung come down the stairs, he can't help but feel proud like a soccer dad. Taehyung has managed to go up and down stairs on his own after a few days of his arrival. He still remembers the day Taehyung came to this house, Jeongguk had thrown him on his shoulders and carried him up the stairs. Feels like a lifetime ago.
"I'm ready! I am ready to see the stars! We should be able to see Orion today! Ah! One of my winter favourites!" Taehyung was bursting with energy, jumping around, squealing and flapping his arms. Drowning in one of Jeongguk's favourite hoodies, he just wanted to pinch his baby cheeks and pull him into a big hug and never let go again.
"Sweetie, have fun!" Mrs Jeon's usual smile had returned as she saw the two boys off. Taehyung was skipping along excitedly next to Jeongguk.
"I will mom!"
"Wasn't talking to you!"
"Thanks, Mrs Jeon, I'm sure I will!"
"Mom!"