stay » hyunghyuk

seven

DAY ONE

❀

hyungwon honestly hadn't expected to fall asleep at all last night, but it turns out he had severely underestimated how tired he became from his never-ending schedule.

it's also because of said schedule that he developed a habit of waking up without needing an alarm (well, he didn't exactly need the schedule to wake up particularly early—he was already like that since college, unlike minhyuk, who always used to sleep till almost noon on weekends).

"good morning." minhyuk greets hyungwon from the kitchen when he goes downstairs after washing up, which surprises him.

"you're up early," hyungwon says, albeit still quite sleepily. he walks up to the counter next to where minhyuk's currently cooking to pour himself a glass of water.

"can't sleep very well these days." minhyuk doesn't take his eyes off of the stove. "could you help me take these to the table? i can barely lift a plate with this damned cold."

hyungwon isn't quite sure of how to feel at the last sentence, but chooses not to press further as he grabs two sets of tableware and puts them on opposite sides of the dining table, then goes back to take the two plates of bacon and eggs with slices of toast.

"i hope i remembered correctly how you like your eggs. it's been too long since i last made breakfast for you," minhyuk laughs.

"you did, surprisingly enough," hyungwon confirms with a small smile. "so... where will we be going?"

"hm?"

"we couldn't possibly stay at home for the next five days, right? you definitely have something in mind planned out." the word 'home' hasn't left hyungwon's lips in so long, it practically sounds like a different language.

"you're too smart, hyungwon. even if you're not, in some aspects." minhyuk chuckles at his own conflicting words, setting down his fork. "but yes. i have planned out where we're going to go, and today i was hoping we could go to namsan tower."

"i..."

"i just want to find our old lock. nothing more," he assures, seeing the hesitant look on hyungwon's face. the latter has no choice but to oblige.

"i guess i can't say no to that, then."

❀

hyungwon and minhyuk soon finish their breakfasts (well, only hyungwon did, to be exact—minhyuk's breakfast was mostly left untouched) and go to each of their rooms for a change of clothes, before getting in hyungwon's car and starting on their journey to namsan tower.

"it changed," minhyuk points out suddenly.

"what did?" hyungwon gives him a brief glance before his gaze returns to the road.

"your favorite song. the one you used to play before anything else. right?" the moment minhyuk ends his sentence, hyungwon hears the sound of coughing next to him.

"...yeah," hyungwon admits, once the coughing ceases. "well, times change."

minhyuk doesn't answer; he only laughs quietly to himself. looking up, he sees that hyungwon has an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"yes?"

"nothing, it's just that... i think there was a saying." the aftermath of minhyuk's laughter is a smile that somewhat looks bitter. "which is funny, since now i know not to believe in it."

"which one?"

"'times change... but people don't'."

❀

walking up the stairs leading to namsan tower, hyungwon finds himself having to stop and wait for minhyuk every now and then; which he finds unusual, because the last time they were here, minhyuk was always ahead of him, arriving at the top in no time, even teasingly advising hyungwon to exercise more.

by the time they're at the top, minhyuk already looks like he could seriously use a bench to rest on.

"do you... need to rest?" hyungwon asks cautiously, and minhyuk shakes his head determinedly with a reassuring smile.

"no, i'm alright. let's go find where we hung our lock."

they walk side by side along the rails which are packed with colorful locks in various shapes and sizes, and they both keep their respective distance, yet they still walk close enough to each other that their hands occasionally brush against the other's. minhyuk smiles to himself when he sees a lock decorated by someone named yoo kihyun, saying that he loved im changkyun to the moon and back with several stars surrounding the letters and a moon in the top corner. (oh, could it possibly have been the kihyun, from the music performance major in their college? if so, then hopefully he and changkyun would experience a much more better, happier ending than that of their own.)

"remember when i was so excited that i dragged you here just to hang locks together? and you thought that your words were impossible to interpret, so we decided to just hang mine," minhyuk says softly, finally spotting the one he had written on years ago. pointing it out for hyungwon to see, minhyuk leans his head gently on the latter's shoulder. "look."

'i will always love chae hyungwon until the day i die'

reading the words in silence, hyungwon feels a wave of guilt wash over him and eat away at his heart. while he feels something wet seeping through the fabric of his shirt (which the back of his mind faintly processes as minhyuk's tears), he recalls the ironically now-broken promise he had almost hung on the railing that day.

'forever lee minhyuk's.'