unknownballad | ❝ Snowflakes swirl down gently ❞

Hayun said he wanted to go to Santorini for his winter break, so that’s where they’re going. Yohan sends Jun to the US to meet Hayun while he heads to the house he’s let in Greece to get things set up for them. Hayun & Co. will be taking Yohan’s private jet (important since one of Hayun’s guards is on a no-fly list). Yohan and his entourage (including a bulk of the household staff) will already be In Santorini when Hayun arrives.

The house is decorated for Christmas, barely a room left untouched with the holiday spirit. Garlands, lights, baubles, gnomes. It looks like something out of some perfect home décor magazine. When he gets a text saying they’re on their way from the airport with Hayun, Yohan’s there to greet his boy by the door… along with Baba and Siwoo and a few other fixtures of their household in Seoul.

“Welcome to Santorini, darling.”

Edited 2024-11-24 17:43 (UTC)

Hayun's not sure he'll ever get used to things like private planes and travelling to different countries on a whim. He's been with Yohan for long enough that he should be accustomed to such luxuries, but he really isn't. He still expects to mention something like Santorini for winter vacation as a joke, he expects they'd laugh about it, and then find something local to do. It's what he and his grandparents used to do, though they'd throw in some food from the subject of their joke. Greek food. Italian food. They couldn't take him on destination vacations, so they did what they could to bring the destination to him.

And now here he is, fast asleep on a private plane with his bodyguards, on his way to Greece.

Hayun is practically vibrating with anticipation once he's off the plane, in the car on his way to the house where he'll be staying with Yohan while he's here. He doesn't sit still for the whole ride, looking this way and that, trying to see absolutely everything he can as though this'll be his last chance. Oh how he wishes his grandparents could see where he is now.

His eyes light up when he sees the home and the way it's decorated. The home and location, itself, are beautiful but with all of the holiday decor, it's incredible. All of that pales in comparison, though, to seeing everyone at the door waiting for him. He expected Yohan and probably Siwoo, but not everyone else. He gasps and drops his bag on the ground, throwing his arms first around Baba and then around Siwoo before finally the man he was most excited to see.

"I can't believe you're all here. I've missed you all so much," he says as he presses his face to Yohan's chest, trying to hide the fact that he has tears in his eyes.

Don't worry, Hayun, Baba's already in tears! She's so happy to see that sweet boy. Just give her a few minutes to start questioning if Hayun's eating enough, getting enough rest, all those matronly things she always asks after not seeing him for more than 48 hours. Siwoo, the consummate professional, pats Hayun on the back when he's hugged. Yohan, however, drapes his arms around the boy and strokes his hair with great affection.

For once, he doesn't speak for the staff. He lets them speak for themselves with Hayun. "We missed you, too, kiddo," Siwoo replies. "Now, let me go help get your things to your room." It's not an offer so much as a statement, and a way to excuse himself. He picks up the bag Hayun dropped and vanishes down a hall with it.

Baba, on the other hand, swats at Yohan's arms when he holds on too long. "Let the others have a chance," she chides him, pulling a very newly freed Hayun against her. "What do you want for dinner, dear boy?"

"Thank you, Siwoo!" he calls out after Siwoo, pulling his face away from Yohan's chest just enough to be heard. He really has missed this. He's missed being in Yohan's arms and being surrounded by the people he's really come to love. Once upon a time, going off to college would've been easy. The only attachment he had was to a house. He'd already lost the last two people it would've been hard to leave behind. And then he started seeing Yohan, but it was still years before he'd be going to college so his opinion on how easy leaving would be didn't change, because he assumed Yohan's opinion on him would've in that time.

And then all of those years passed with he and Yohan remaining together. He grew more attached. He had someone he didn't want to leave. And that someone came with an entire household of people who Hayun didn't want to leave either. Those others, though, Hayun didn't understand just how hard it would be to leave them too until he was already without them. He'd cared about them for a long time, but he didn't notice how much until he had to leave them. He didn't realized he loved them. They're family. They're his family.

Hayun quickly wipes the tears from his eyes before Baba makes Yohan release him and pulls him into a hug of her own. He wraps one arm around Baba and with his free hand, reaches out to take Yohan's. "Don't worry. We'll spend lots of time together while we're here," he assures her. Though he intends to spend most of his time with Yohan, he won't neglect the others. "I missed getting to be in the kitchen with you. It's not the same with Yohan. He just sits there." And they all know why. Truthfully, he does actually love having Yohan in the kitchen with him, even if he's doing everything himself, and he makes sure to tell Yohan often. It's nice having him there for company and getting him to taste things. And who else is he going to steal kisses from while he's waiting for water to boil?

"It's been a while since I've had really good galbijjim. Can we have that for dinner?" He has this whole list of Greek dishes in mind that he wants to try, especially dishes local to the island, but when she posed the question, all he wanted was something familiar.

Baba looks absolutely aghast at the mention of Yohan even being in the kitchen. She bristles as they move to go further into the house and get Hayun settled. "You let him in the kitchen? I hope you keep a close eye on him! You know why he's not allowed, no?"

"Baba, please," Yohan sighs in a warning that will be dismissed shamelessly.

"When he was a little younger than you are now, he nearly set the family's country house on fire! Oh, Master Jang was livid, but the lady of the house just laughed. And that night we agreed the kitchen of any place we resided would be verboten to Young Master Yohan."

There's such a fondness in the way Yohan rolls his eyes. "Stop filling his head with nonsense. Go, go make sure we have what you need for galbijjim. I'll do the shopping if you need anything so you can catch up with every, darling."

Apologies Yohan, but Baba's reaction makes Hayun burst out laughing. He then gives her a mock sheepish smile and nods his head in equally mock shame. "I do let him in the kitchen. He doesn't touch anything thought, don't worry. He just keeps me company and tastes things for me while I cook. Though just in case, I've known how to use a fire extinguisher since I was about seven." He looks up at Yohan with a smirk before returning his attention to Baba. "Harabeoji was very firm on me learning how to use one. We went over it again every year until he started to get sick. He was insistent that if I was going to learn how to cook, I was going to learn how to put out kitchen fires too."

Hayun grows quiet as they make their way deeper into the house, not only so he can listen to Baba (and learn yet more things about Yohan. It seems like there's always a new little tidbit of information to learn and he really enjoys that) but also so he can look around at the house that they'll be staying in for at least some of Hayun's winter break. It's a beautiful house and the decorations are beyond anything he could've even imagined. It's perfect. It's all perfect.

This time when Hayun laughs, it's a lot softer. "I don't think I ever heard about that, no. I knew he was bad for burning things, but I never knew it was that bad! Don't worry. I'll keep a very close eye on him if I ever let him into the kitchen again." He will. He always does.

Hayun stops in his tracks when Yohan speaks, and he looks between the older man and Baba, chewing a little awkwardly on his lower lip. "Um, Baba? Can I please have a few minutes alone with Yohan? I'll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes, okay?" It's the mention of Yohan going to do the shopping that did it. Even if the plan is just a quick trip to the market, Hayun isn't ready for Yohan to leave yet just. Not when he's barely gotten to see him.

Baba knows exactly why Hayun asked to be excused. And so she dutifully nods to him and heads off in the direction of the kitchen. Yohan or another member of their holiday household could show Hayun the way when he's done schooling Yohan.

Yohan, for all his cleverness, is a bit at a loss for what Hayun might want. It makes sense to him that the boy wants to catch up with Baba and the others. It's been longer since he's seen any of them than it has been since he's seen Yohan.

"Look at you," he quips, "ordering my staff around like that." There's a clear note of amusement in his voice. He knows they adore Hayun and he doesn't mind them following Hayun's instructions when it comes to household things. They know who they answer to at the end of the day.

Hayun mouths the words 'thank you' to Baba and gives her a small wave as she departs. He'll see her again soon enough. He'll get to cook with her and spend time with her. He'll have lots of time to tell her about school and America and his friend Vincent. He has a few weeks off from school so he'll have time enough for everyone before he goes back. Yes it's been much longer since he's seen them than Yohan but he's not dating them. He's not in love with them. He could've seen Yohan only yesterday and would still want to see him first. He'd still want to spend the most time with him.

They are like his family now, but Yohan is his person.

"It wasn't an order! I just asked if she could leave us alone for a few minutes. She could've said no. She knew that, right? That it wasn't an order? That's not the way I meant it." He looks in the direction that Baba went, but she's already gone. There's no sign of her. Or anyone. He and Yohan are alone, just like he asked.

"Nevermind. That doesn't matter right now." He turns to look up at Yohan, arms folded across his chest. "I'm upset with you."

Of course Baba knows that. Yohan knows it, too. He just enjoys teasing Hayun. So much so that when Hayun says he's upset, Yohan simply lifts his brows in curiosity.

"Shall I have the plane take you back to college, then?"

Realistically, he could've probably figured it out for certain himself that Baba knows. Hayun is not Yohan. People can say no to him in a way they probably can't with Yohan. There are no consequences to refusing Hayun anything, unless Yohan decides there are. It's just that the very idea of someone thinking he's trying to order them around stresses him out!

"Are you trying to get rid of me just so you don't have to deal with me being unhappy with you right now?" The very idea of being put back on the plane and taken back to college is horrible, actually. Hayun steps closer to Yohan, staring up at the older man with narrowed eyes, though it's no time at all before there's a shift in his expression to something more disappointed looking, and he wraps his arms around Yohan.

"Send someone else to the market. Even if you wouldn't be gone long, I don't want you to leave so soon after I got here. Please Yohan."

Yohan blinks as Hayun winds his arms around him. Was he serious when he said he was upset? Young men are so dramatic, it's hard to tell. Well, Hayun's never been needlessly dramatic about anything that matters.

He sighs and pulls Hayun even closer. "Is that all?" A hand runs over Hayun's hair and Yohan leans in to kiss the top of his head. "I'll send someone else."

Hayun was very serious about being upset with Yohan. He's rarely quick to resort to unnecessary dramatics about important matters, and he tries to make it clear when it's about something that isn't important. He tries to keep from blurring those lines so hopefully Yohan knows when he's being serious.

Is that all? This is a big deal to Hayun! It's important to him! Important enough that it was worth mentioning to Yohan instead of wandering off in some unfamiliar place to get some air and time away from him. He presses his face against Yohan's chest. "You think I'm being ridiculous, don't you?" he asks, his words practically disappearing into the older man's shirt.

"No," he answers easily enough. He just... Well, he thought there might be some bigger reason for Hayun's upset. Not something he could remedy with the smallest change in his plan. Surely Hayun's noticed by now that Yohan can and will blatantly ignore any 'problem' he deems ridiculous or beneath him to even take notice of.

"What was I thinking when you came all this way to spend time with me."

"I'm sorry, Yohan." That he made it seem like a bigger deal than it actually is (to be fair, it's a big deal to him). But the idea of Yohan leaving again so soon, even if it's just to go to the market, even if it's just for a few minutes, made his heart sink. There are so many lovely people here who he cares about and who care about him, but he can still get lonely in the absence of one person specifically. It'll get less intense as their vacation goes on, but being so fresh off of a period of not getting to see Yohan, it's still hard to ignore.

Hayun tips his head up to look at Yohan, resting his chin on the man's chest. "I'm sorry. I kind of started our vacation off on a weird foot, didn't I? It was a really kind gesture, offering to run out and get anything we might need so I could spend time with Baba, but I missed you and I'm not ready for you to disappear again so soon."

"Hey." Yohan shifts, moving to take Hayun's face in his hands so the boy will look at him. "Don't apologize for articulating your needs. That's not ever something to apologize for. You have to look out for yourself as if no one else will. Got it?"

Before giving Hayun a chance to respond, he leans in and presses a soft kiss to his forehead. "I'm sure Baba can find someone to get anything she needs."

Look out for himself as if no one else will. That's a concept he's grown very familiar with over the years. Look out for himself as if no one else would, because there was no one else to look out for him. There was only Hayun. Looking out for himself was the only option. Even after Yohan started to become a bigger part of his life, even after they became a couple, Hayun continued to look out for himself like no one else would. He never wanted to rely too heavily on Yohan just in case something happened and the older man disappeared from his life. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. He has Yohan and all of Yohan's people to look out for him now, but he still has to look out for himself too. Advocate for himself because he's the only one who's guaranteed to always be there.

"I got it," he says softly, closing his eyes briefly when Yohan's lips touch his forehead. Such a soft and simple gesture that makes him feel so warm and loved. "I'm still sorry though. I could've just told you what was wrong without making things weird."

Exhaling slowly, Hayun tips his head a bit to one side, leaning a little more into one of the hands on his face and smiling up at Yohan. "Thank you for all of this, by the way. For this trip and... everything." It's important to him that Yohan knows that he's so happy and so grateful for all of this despite the one small hiccup. "This was always a dream destination of mine. I didn't think I'd ever actually get to come here though." He didn't even think he'd ever leave Seoul, truthfully.

Hayun turns his head to the side, kissing the palm of one of Yohan's hands. "Thank you, too, for bringing everyone here. I really missed everyone."

He listens to Hayun, drinking in his face and all its expressions as he speaks. Has there ever been someone so very good in his life? If there ever was, he doesn't remember. Oh, there've been plenty of naïve, innocent boys before Hayun. Naïve and innocent until Yohan stripped that from them piece by piece, opening their eyes to the ugliness, the brutality of the world (whether that was his intent or not). But Hayun's just so... good. Decent, caring, tenacious, strong, persevering. A survivor who hasn't been jaded by everything trying to harden him.

"I feel confident in speaking for everyone else: we missed you to." But Yohan most of all. How could any of them miss Hayun like he does when none of them know Hayun the way he does?

If Hayun was going to live through his circumstances, it was going to be as himself. He was determined to keep them from changing him. He wanted to live as the good person he feels he was always meant to be, not the jaded, cynical person that life was trying so hard to turn him into. His family wouldn't have wanted their deaths to change him, and he doesn't want that either.

"I'm really enjoying college but I hate being away from you all. I hate being away from you." He really does enjoy college. Living away from home is hard but having some familiar faces in the form of his bodyguards makes it a little easier. College allowed him to meet Vincent. College is teaching him so many fascinating things. College is exposing him to an entirely new culture. There are a lot of downsides too though. Downsides that won't really feel like they're corrected until Hayun is home for the summer. Or until college is done and he's home permanently.

"Yohan, I have a question." He chews on his bottom lip as he looks up at Yohan. "Why haven't you kissed me yet?" And not just his head or his forehead!

He breathes out a subtle laugh at the question. There's no need to think about the answer. He gently combs his fingers through Hayun's hair and sighs again.

"I haven't kissed you yet because I can't trust myself to stop at just a kiss."

Hayun closes his eyes and breathes deeply, tipping his head back a little to follow Yohan's hand. He remains that way a little longer before slowly opening his eyes. It's difficult to keep himself from looking away almost immediately though when Yohan says the sorts of things he does. One would think Hayun would be used to it by now, and one would be right, but also wrong. He expects it, yet it still catches him by surprise.

"I'll make sure it stops at just a kiss." He presses his lips together and gives his head a small shake. "Or I won't."

Ah, Hayun's breathtaking. Everything about him from his beautiful features to his pastel hair to his sweet but sassy disposition. Yohan runs his fingers once more through the boy's hair, this time leaning in when Hayun tips his head back.

Just a kiss for now Hayun has to get unpacked and socialize with the others. Yohan will have him all to himself after.

So, for now, the kiss is slow and gentle. A warm hello after time apart. A tender re-acquaintance with the familiar terrain of Hayun's mouth. Yohan even breaks away before either of them have a chance to get too breathless (clap for him!).

❝ Snowflakes swirl down gently ❞

@detricote

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