Chapter Text
Predictably, everyone starts hopping up and down with excitement as soon as the announcement is made.
“Free food!” Zhang Hao squawks, doing a little ‘happy’ dance while Hanbin unsuccessfully tries to shush him. He’s simply too full of joy to be stopped and continues bouncing up and down on his heels.
“I guess we’ll be eating in private rooms,” Gyuvin ponders out loud. “Or our audio will all get mixed up.”
Some kind of unknown reality TV instinct seems to be hitting him as Gyuvin continues to think aloud. Perhaps in another life he’d been on a ruthless cutthroat survival show or something.
“It just seems too good to be true. Something about this.” Gyuvin continues. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
“Perhaps this show has somehow made the university a ridiculous amount of money,” Ricky suggests. “Or this is sponsored so there’s a discount. This is promo for the restaurant too.”
Behind them, he notices Zhang Hao and Hanbin are looking ridiculously couple-y and realises him and Gyuvin need to step up their game. The two of them have their arms around each other, so they’re glued together from the seam of their shoulder down to the waist. They’re basically doing the three-legged race all over again, except without a rope connecting them.
Ricky sighs to himself. The only metaphorical rope tying them together is the red string of fate. How very beautiful and romantic.
Meanwhile, Gyuvin is eyeing a crowd of pigeons by the riverbank, as if holding back the inexplicable urge to rush at them, probably while barking. He’s actually a huge dog. He’s just a puppy trapped in the skinsuit of a tall handsome boy.
“Gyuvin,” Ricky commands. “Don’t chase the pigeons.”
“What?!” Gyuvin sputters, looking offended. “I wasn’t going to, what the heck?”
“I saw the way you were watching them.”
“I only have eyes for you, babe!”
Ricky stares flatly at him.
“We need to act more couple-like,” he mouths at him. He jerks his head in the general direction of Zhang Hao and Hanbin, who are admiring the weather as if the sky is vibrantly blue and full of heart-shaped clouds.
“Carry me,” is what Gyuvin responds with. “You should carry me!”
“Why should I carry you?” Ricky sneers. “You should carry me.”
“My legs are sore from baseball practice,” Gyuvin coaxes. “I was running laps till I collapsed.”
“No one forced you to play that ridiculous sport.”
“I know you check out my ass when I’m in my uniform.”
“How do you know-no I don’t!” Ricky says, scandalised. “Shut up!”
Gyuvin gives him a sleazy grin.
“I know you love me, Kim Ricky.”
Ba-dump ba-dump. Ricky feels panic creep up on upon him.
“Fine, hop on,” Ricky says stretching his arms out towards Gyuvin. He’ll princess-carry the baby as far as he can then. If that’ll make him shut up. And he did say his legs were sore, after all.
His knees almost buckle as Gyuvin’s weight drops on him all of a sudden, because he’s decided to take a running leap to launch himself on Ricky’s back.
“You’re taller than me,” Ricky wheezes, winded. “You could have just climbed on.”
“Sorry,” Gyuvin says, without an ounce of apology in his voice. His legs are so long that they cross over around Ricky’s waist. He digs his chin into Ricky’s shoulder. “Teehee.”
Now, he has to be doing that on purpose. No one says teehee unironically.
He adjusts Gyuvin’s position and continues down the street. Sushi Matsumoto is just a few blocks down on the left. It shouldn’t be that hard to walk Gyuvin all the way there.
“Hey, piggyback me too,” Zhang Hao suddenly demands behind them, jabbing Hanbin in the sternum. Hanbin's eyes light up at the suggestion, because of course they do.
“Don’t copy us,” Ricky threatens, glaring at Zhang Hao as hard as he can – which is to say, very softly.
“This is a free country,” is the rebuttal, as he climbs onto Hanbin’s back.
Ricky rolls his eyes and keeps moving onwards. Gyuvin digs his heels into Ricky’s side, like he’s got spurs on his shoes and Ricky is his trusty steed.
“Go, Rik, go!” he cries, slapping Ricky on the bottom for good measure.
Ricky speeds up, but only very slightly, from a slow walk to an average walk.
“What, are we having a piggyback race?” says Hyunjin curiously.
“No,” Ricky says heavily but it’s too late.
The question has already reached everyone else and before he knows it, Hyunjin is on Changbin’s back and Changbin is running full pelt towards the restaurant.
“After him!” Zhang Hao demands, having caught on to the competition. Except, there is no competition.
Even the girls are running towards the restaurant too, Minjeong screaming shrilly as Jimin charges down the street after Changbin, and somehow hasn’t fallen over with the high heels she has on. Girls are truly amazing.
“Ricky! We have to run too!” Gyuvin shouts, the grip on Ricky’s shoulders tightening. His fingers dig into Ricky like claws.
“I am not running,” Ricky hisses, continuing at his slow pace. There’s not even a prize for this. He’s not messing up his makeup and hair with sweat or wrinkling his clothes just for the bragging rights of an unofficial piggyback race.
Besides, slow and steady wins the race. No one actually has the stamina to run that far and Ricky marches past everyone, cool as a cucumber, while they’re all sweaty and panting in the lobby.
They’re separated into private rooms, where there’s a cameraperson in each corner. The decorations are in a traditional Japanese style, featuring sliding doors and tatami mats, with hanging wall art of cranes and mountains.
The two of them sit down cross-legged at the low table and skim over the menu. Fun fact: Ricky loves sushi. Raw fish is an acquired taste that he acquired early on as a child. Other kids begged their parents for cheeseburgers. Ricky begged for ikura and uni.
He’s very excited. Even if he orders sushi, like, all the time, Ricky’s not been to this restaurant yet.
They flip through the menu, so excited at the prospect of free food that they forget they’re meant to be stacking couple points and acting for the cameras.
“Fuck, it looks delicious,” Gyuvin mutters, rifling through the pages. Ricky nods eagerly.
There’s a good mix of the classic sushi rolls, as well as more avant-garde takes on sushi for them to try.
“I want to try so many of these,” Ricky says, already feeling drool threatening to leak out of his mouth.
They’re interrupted by the sound of the sliding door opening. But instead of a waiter, they’re unfortunately greeted by the sight of Seungkwan.
“Ladies and gentleman,” Seungkwan says chipperly, as if he hasn’t just crashed their romantic date. “This is a surprise challenge!”
“Girl, be serious,” Ricky mutters under his breath. He is not in the mood for whatever the bullshit is going to be thrown their way now. He just wants to have a peaceful lunch and enjoy his sushi on his wonderful date with Gyuvin.
“It’s simple!” Seungkwan continues, blasting their ears with his microphone. Why does he need a microphone? They’re in an enclosed space. In a little room. They are perfectly capable of hearing him, for crying out loud.
He feels Gyuvin poke him in the shin with his toe, his eye twitching in Ricky’s direction.
Shit. His stink eye must be obvious. Ricky clears his throat and schools his features into a more camera-ready expression.
“I’m up for the challenge,” Gyuvin says, with the fakest smile ever. His nostrils flare weirdly as he tries to perform a smile. “Go on, Seungkwan.”
Another poke.
“Yeah, lay it on us,” Ricky deadpans.
“You’re going to have to order your meal in English!” Seungkwan exclaims, as if he’s just revealed something amazing.
“But this is a Japanese restaurant?” Gyuvin says in confusion as Seungkwan leaves with a big grin and no further explanation.
“I suppose people are less likely to know Japanese compared to English,” Ricky muses to himself. “Still, what’s the point of this?”
“I knew there was no such thing as free lunch,” Gyuvin says sombrely, flipping through the menu glumly. Then he squints at Ricky.
“Why are you even complaining? You can literally speak English?”
“Shut up, Gyuvin,” Ricky says desperately, but it’s too late. He doesn’t want to do this stupid mission and order food. “No, I can’t? I literally failed English in school.”
Gyuvin raises an eyebrow sceptically.
The cameraman also looked confused now. Ricky has spoken English multiple times on the show, in a way that clearly demonstrates some level of fluency.
“You have lived in America for several years,” Gyuvin says very slowly. “Your family home is in LA-”
“You’re ordering,” Ricky interrupts.
“Excuse me?!”
“Are you hard of hearing, or what?”
“No, I’m just so utterly confused by the utter stupidity you’re exhibiting right now.”
Gyuvin’s mouth straightens into a flat line.
Seriously, Ricky doesn’t want to order. He wants to relax. It’s one of those moods. There’s nothing stopping him from ordering. He could totally order himself if he wanted, and easily in English at that. In fact, he can read the English on the menu faster than the Korean but-but- some days, he’s just feeling…feeling kinda…babygirl?
Or, maybe, lazy.
“You said utterly twice,” Ricky snickers, right as Gyuvin snaps the menu shut, successfully provoked.
“You!” Gyuvin cries, slamming his hands on the table. “What’s your problem?”
Ricky decides to pull the big guns out. This is a reality show, after all.
He bats his eyelashes at Gyuvin and gives him a pout, mimicking the way Zhang Hao often acts when he wants something from Hanbin.
Gyuvin lets out a shudder. It must feel too familiar to him.
“Gross, what is that?”
Ricky ignores him and continues. OK, maybe channelling Zhang Hao’s energy isn’t the right strategy here.
“I don’t wanna order, Gyubi,” Ricky says, in the most ridiculous display of aegyo. “Can you…can you order for me…please?”
Gyuvin wilts immediately. He just needs one more push.
“Please, babe,” Ricky says, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table and his face in his hands. He tilts his head to the right. “For me?”
“Ugh,” Gyuvin groans, but Ricky can see his resolve cracking. He knows Gyuvin too well. Gyuvin loves doing things for people. He loves making people happy.
He is a people-pleaser but the bickering nature of their friendship makes it hard for Ricky to demand things outright.
But what if Ricky gives him another incentive?
He sneaks his hand under the table, fumbling around till he manages to grasp Gyuvin’s ankle. Predictably, Gyuvin straightens up from his slouch all of a sudden.
Ricky maintains eye contact as he runs his hand along Gyuvin’s leg, till he’s grasping his knee. All it takes is a little squeeze and Gyuvin comes crumbling down like a tower of bricks.
Ricky feels a little bad for taking advantage of their perpetually horny state for this, but what did his mum always say? Work smarter, not harder.
“Fine,” Gyuvin says, ears turning red. He scoots backwards on the tatami mat, away from Ricky’s wandering hand, a hand placed strategically over his lap, over his crotch.
Ricky resists the urge to leer at him.
“I’m just gonna go to the toilet quickly,” Gyuvin says, in a strange voice then pushes the sliding door open so hard that it rattles in its frame, before disappearing down the corridor.
In the meantime, Ricky peruses the menu and composes a list of everything he wants.
Gyuvin takes a few minutes to return, and when he comes back, he seems a little sweaty, which is kind of odd. Ricky is too focused on his order to think much of it for now.
“Gyuvin,” Ricky says with a gummy smile. “I want this one…and this one…and this one…can you order them for me, please?”
“C’mon Ricky,” Gyuvin wheedles in one last attempt. “Your English is better than mine.”
“I know you can do it,” Ricky says encouragingly. “You went to an English kindergarten.”
At the moment, the waiter comes in and asks for their order, in English.
“Ah, uh!” Gyuvin startles at his appearance. He frantically starts pointing at items. “This one…and this one…the cheese and steak…”
He reels off a rather long list, which they’re going to have no problems demolishing. Gyuvin can eat like a bear.
“…and a ginger ale, please,” Gyuvin says, in extremely passable English. See, Ricky knew he could do it. Gyuvin’s English is pretty good, he’s just shy. Ricky’s just giving him the kick he needs to flex his bilinguality. It's only going to make him even more popular on the show. Like, a reveal of his hidden charm or something.
“Wait,” Ricky whispers, nudging Gyuvin’s foot under the table. Gyuvin stiffens again, evidently conditioned for a repeat of earlier. “Gyuvin, this one too.”
“Just say it to the waiter!” Gyuvin hisses at him.
Ricky gazes at him insistently. He could just open his mouth to speak. But it's soo much easier to just tell Gyuvin what he wants.
“The-the creamy salmon too,” Gyuvin stutters out. He looks like he’s going to explode soon.
“Anything else?” the waiter asked, glancing between them.
“No, that’s everything,” Gyuvin says, as the waiter closes his notebook and slides it back into his pocket.
Ricky comes to the dire realisation that they haven’t ordered the Caliifornia rolls. He informs Gyuvin promptly.
“You order it then,” Gyuvin pleads.
“One more time, one more time,” Ricky coaxes him. He links Gyuvin’s fingers with his across the table.
“Uh, excuse me?” Gyuvin stammers, blushing bright red, just as the waiter has stepped out the room and is about to close the sliding door. “One California roll please.”
“Okay, anything else?” the waiter repeats. He’s staying polite but Ricky can feel a hint of irritation emanating from him.
“Ah, no thanks, thank you,” Gyuvin says as the waiter turns around.
Ricky gives the waiter a thumbs up, then realises it’s pointless, because he can’t see him.
“The things I do for you, Kim Ricky,” Gyuvin says, burying his face in his hands. “That was so embarrassing, you know?”
“There, there,” Ricky says, patting him lightly on the head. “I’ll make it up to you later.”
Whatever that means. Gyuvin is having the same thought too, staring at Ricky with a mixture of fear and possible horniness. Ricky is used to having that effect on people, but there’s something especially delicious about it coming from Gyuvin.
The rest of the meal passes quite smoothly without any further interruptions from the crew and plates upon plates of sushi begin to pile up on their groaning table.
Ricky eats till he feels like he’s going to explode, while Gyuvin continues to absorb everything he hasn’t eaten endlessly like a black hole. They successfully polish off every grain of rice on their table.
“That was…something,” Gyuvin groans out, cradling his stomach like he’s expecting his newborn any to pop out soon. “God, I can feel the food coma about to hit.”
“The food was amazing,” Ricky agrees, massaging his own belly. Gyuvin crawls over sluggishly, weighed down by the pure volume of food in his stomach to poke Ricky in the bellybutton.
“Don’t!” Ricky shrieks, sliding away from him. “I’ll throw up on you!”
“Your tummy is cute, hehe,” Gyuvin says, and tries to poke him again.
Ricky tries to kick him in the face, but Gyuvin wraps a hand around his ankle and yanks so hard Ricky collapses backwards onto the tatami floor.
The sliding door conveniently slides open to reveal Yeri, whose eyes widen like saucers.
The cameraman (who both of them had completely forgotten about) is also sweating nervously. Well, they had also offered him some of their food during the meal, but he’d stayed professional and refused.
“Alright…” Yeri says, raising her eyebrows unsubtly. “Just wanted to tell you guys that we’re going to the theme park next and to get ready to leave."
“Cool,” Ricky croaks and sits up, managing to land a single kick to Gyuvin’s forearm. “See you.”
“I’ll pack up too,” the cameraman says, and hastily boxes up the camera before rushing out the room.
“Is it just me or do you think that Yeri thought we looked suspicious?”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
There’s a small coach parked in front for them to climb into. Ricky and Gyuvin cram into the back row with Zhang Hao and Hanbin and they all make small talk with the other two couples as the coach travels to Lotte World.
“Ooh! I’ve never been here!” Zhang Hao cries as they pull up to the main entrance. Ricky feels a fond smile creep across his face. An almost parental feeling washes over him. Is this how Zhang Hao feels about him, sometimes?
Zhang Hao is always incredibly cute when he’s excited. Ricky nods his head approvingly. Never change, Zhang Hao.
Yeri and Seungkwan are waiting for them at the entrance, grinning like evil twins.
“So, before you can go off and enjoy the rest of the attractions by yourselves, there’s two challenges we need to ask you to complete,” Seungkwan says.
“You’re going to take turns to go through a haunted house together,” Yeri says, eyes gleaming menacingly.
Immediate protests start up from almost everybody except Ricky. He’s actually not that easily scared by creepy things. The real world is far scarier than the occult to him.
Gyuvin on the other hand begins shaking like a leaf and clings onto Ricky’s arm.
“No way,” he whispers, the blood draining from his face. “I can’t do this..”
Ricky turns to look at him.
“I mean, ahem,” Gyuvin clears his throat noisily. “Don’t be afraid, princess. You can always hide behind me if you get scared.”
“More like you’re going to be hiding behind me, you scaredy-cat.”
“I’m not a scaredy-cat!” Gyuvin protests, crossing his arms. “Not anymore. I’m all grown up now.”
“Since we went to the haunted house last year?”
“You’d be surprised what a year can do for some people,” Gyuvin replies sagely. Ricky leaves it at that.
Zhang Hao and Hanbin both look like they’re going to crap their pants, as do Jimin and Minjeong. Even Hyunjin and Changbin are holding onto each other for dear life.
C’mon, is Ricky the only realist here? They’re in a freaking theme park, for crying out loud. The décor is fake, the props are just decorations and all the creatures jumping out at them are just normal workers who are paid to scream in their face.
It’s not as if they’re going into a real haunted house in the middle of a dark forest. If you get too scared, you can always leave. The actors aren’t allowed to actually hurt them. It’s gonna be a piece of cake for Ricky.
Although, he does suppose it’s more entertaining for the viewers if he’s scared. Maybe he’ll try to act a little surprised inside.
“Hold your horses!” Seungkwan calls out, trying to settle the muttering. “Then we have one final activity. And don’t be worried, it’s not scary this time.”
“Or, it could be scary, if you’re the emotionally distant type, I suppose,” Yeri muses to herself. “But I don’t think you would’ve made it this far in the contest if you were. We’ll tell you about it once you make it out of the haunted house.”
“If you make it out of the haunted house, that is,” Seungkwan says, with a wicked grin.
Hanbin lets out a little scream of fear at his words.
On the short five minute walk from the theme park entrance to the haunted house, the cameras film the collective deterioration of everyone’s mental state.
“Is this what the viewers really want to see?”
Gyuvin is still complaining which only convinces Ricky that he’s terrified, despite his repeated insistence otherwise.
The inside of Lotte World is swarming with people. Unfortunately for them, they’re not important enough to have the entire theme park just for themselves so the air is packed with the screams of children and adults alike as the rollercoaster shoots around the interior of the building and groans and clunks of rides. Combined with the various songs playing for each ride, it’s a deafening cacophony of sound.
Some people pause to watch as they go by, having spotted the cameras, probably wondering if they’re influencers or K-pop idols or something. Maybe in another world.
Even though they just gorged on sushi, Ricky feels his stomach growl as they walk past snack stands of hotdogs, churros and skewerse of seotteok-seotteok.
There’s even a drink stand with...is that a strawberry milkshake?
The haunted house is tucked at the back of theme park, a dark portal of doom compared to the bright colours elsewhere. It’s as if all the sadness and negativity of Lotte World has been sucked into this one corner.
Artificial candles cast flickering shadows over the backdrop of the haunted house, which is covered in fake spiderwebs and wrangles of ivy cast over menacing-looking concrete blocks. Eerie music and static crackles over stealthily positioned speakers.
The screams of the current people in the haunted house cut through the air.
“Now, who wants to go first?” Yeri says gleefully.
There’s a silence around the room as everyone glances around nervously, hardly daring to be the first one to brave the terrors that await.
Gyuvin looks like he wants to turn tail and run and without realising, is subconsciously edging further and further behind Ricky’s broad shoulders, although the top of his head still peeks out.
Well, in Ricky’s opinion, it’s best to get it over and done with. He can only imagine that Gyuvin’s going to get more and more jittery awaiting their turn, and be on the verge of shitting himself.
Ricky thrusts his fist in the air.
“Looks like we have ourselves a volunteer!” Seungkwan cries, nodding approvingly at Ricky’s boldness.
“Noo, what the hell?” Gyuvin moans next to him.
“Gyuvin, we’re going to have to do it at some point,” Ricky tries to convince him. “It’s like ripping off a band-aid.”
He grabs Gyuvin’s clammy palm in his.
“Look, we’ll be just fine,” Ricky says, puffing his chest out. “I’ll protect you.”
“I don’t need protecting,” Gyuvin says immediately. “I’ll protect you.”
“No, I’ll be protecting you,” Ricky corrects, feeling wronged. “I’m not even scared. You are.”
“You will be.”
“Is that a threat, Kim Gyuvin?”
Well, Gyuvin definitely isn’t scared anymore, now he’s all riled up. Both of them are staring daggers at each other, determined to protect the other.
Gyuvin is clearly going to be Ricky’s damsel in distress. He’ll bet his life on it. The second they go inside, he knows Gyuvin is going to whimper like a little baby and cling onto Ricky for dear life.
“Thanks for going first,” Hyunjin whispers to them gratefully as they pass the other couples to the entrance.
Ricky shrugs in return. It’s no big deal, seriously. And he’s totally right. Gyuvin’s turning green.
Hand in hand, they step inside the entrance to the haunted house.
It’s completely dark, save for a dim bulb in the corner of the room. It looks like some kind of laboratory inside. There are cracked test tubes in dusty racks on the table and faded brown papers scattered over the floor.
Ricky hears Gyuvin suck in a shaky breath next to him.
“Scared already?” Ricky taunts, although he feels his heartrate spike a little. It’s just the atmosphere, that’s all.
“You wish,” Gyuvin retorts but he’s gripping Ricky’s hand so hard that he’s crushing Ricky’s fingers.
They just need to walk through all the rooms, then it’s over. Why do people like haunted houses so much? There’s not much to it, really.
There’s a faint rustle as the two of them amble towards the table, then Ricky feels a cold hand clamp around his ankle.
“Ah-SRRHJGKL!” Ricky lets out a shriek that is most unlike him and flings himself onto Gyuvin, quite literally. He leaps and wraps both arms and legs around him.
“Ha, and you said I’d be scared, you wimp- WHAAA! THE HELL!” Gyuvin must be getting the treatment on his ankle because he jumps about a foot in the air – Ricky hears a dull thud as his head no doubt collides with the ceiling. He is one tall motherfucker, after all.
It’s quite an impressive show of strength, considering Ricky is still hanging onto him like a sloth.
Gyuvin’s still yelling and kicking his legs in some kind of surprisingly impressive Irish dance imitation.
“Shut UP!” Ricky yells over him, raising his voice to almost unheard levels. “Dumbass!”
Gyuvin freezes, long enough for Ricky to gracefully unmount from his steed.
“I’m not a dumbass,” Gyuvin says petulantly, and they stagger into the next room.
The only difference is they’re now stuck to each other like two magnets, glancing around warily.
Now that Ricky’s gotten over the initial scare, he’s onto their gimmicks. He looks at the lines of hospital beds in this next room that’s imitating an hospital ward. Each one has a dummy on it. That’s easy. One of them will be an actor and jump out at them or something.
He releases Gyuvin, determined to prove his coolness and strides up to each bed.
“Look, at some point one of them is going to be real,” Ricky says. He feels the hand of the first one, then the next. “Fake. Fake. Fake.”
He gets to the end of the beds, then frowns.
“Why is this one fake too?” Ricky wonders out loud. He was expecting to feel warm flesh and for the actor to grab him.
“Behind you! Ricky!” Gyuvin shrieks suddenly.
“What?”
Ricky looks over his shoulder, his heart skipping a beat, only to see nothing there.
“Ha, got you.” Gyuvin snickers, sounding ever so pleased with himself.
Ricky watches in muted horror as a menacing figure in a lab coat and gas mask comes up behind Gyuvin, brandishing a syringe with a large, thick needle.
“Gyuvin,” Ricky whisper-shouts. His throat is dry all of a sudden. “G-Gyuvin, behind you!”
“You can’t pull the same trick on me, Kim Ricky,” Gyuvin admonishes, wagging a finger at him, completely unaware of the peril he’s currently facing. “That’s so lame.”
“No, I’m being serious!” Ricky says. God, should he just abandon this idiot and run for it?
No, he can’t. That’s his dumbass fake boyfriend. Ricky loves him too much to lose him to a mad scientist.
The syringe descends towards Gyuvin’s neck and Ricky moves on instinct.
“Don’t touch him!” Ricky screeches and he makes a spectacular flying tackle towards the mysterious person – who he just then remembers is an actor, as they both collide in a pile on the dusty floor.
“Fucking hell,” the actor groans, as Ricky kneels over him on all fours.
Fucking hell indeed! When had Ricky become so immersed in this fake haunted house experience?
It doesn’t matter, he reasons. He’s just saved Gyuvin, who is widemouthed with shock as he realises that Ricky in fact had not been lying.
“I-I told you I’d protect you,” Ricky stutters out, in a meek attempt at bravado.
“I do not get paid enough for this,” the actor groans on the floor. Ricky extends a hand to help him up.
“Sorry about that, bro,” Ricky says and they progress to the next room.
Gyuvin recovers enough to make another joke.
“That’s so sweet of you,” he says. “You thought I was in real danger?”
“Shut it,” Ricky grumbles, embarrassed. “If it was real, I’d leave you for dead.”
“He loves me so bad!” Gyuvin sing-songs, as they thread through bookshelves and moth-eaten armchairs. “He can’t live without me!”
“Shut up!” Oh, the sweet irony of his words.
The next few scares are less eventful, in which they escape from some mad test subject zombie creatures until they finally reach a long corridor, where light glimmers at the end. Ricky never thought he’d admit it, but he’ll be relieved to see the light of day again.
And then they hear footsteps and a sinister electric whirring.
It doesn’t even make sense with the plot of the haunted house for there to be a chainsaw-wielding maniac! But he’s there and running towards them, full pelt.
Ricky really hopes the blades of the chainsaw have actually been removed for safety reasons. Because his body has frozen to the spot. Now he knows what would happen to him in an emergency. Flight or fight – his body chooses freeze.
But then, Gyuvin throws himself in front of Ricky, blocking him from the chainsaw man.
“If you want to get to him, you’ll need to go through me first!” Gyuvin announces defiantly, hands splayed out.
Ricky’s heart skips another beat, but this time it isn’t out of fear. His Gyuvin is such a sweetheart, sacrificing himself for Ricky like this.
When he realises neither of them are running, the chainsaw guy kind of just slows down as he gets closer.
“I’m not actually allowed to hurt you guys, you know?” he says, sounding exasperated. “The exit is just ahead of you.”
Ricky grabs Gyuvin’s outstretched hand and tugs the two of them through the thick fabric obscuring the exit and they blink as the light hits them.
“See, I protected you too,” Gyuvin says proudly, once they’re out.
“Good boy,” Ricky says tiredly, out of steam. They collapse onto a bench at the side.
The crew and rest of the couples give them a round of applause, then Jimin and Minjeong volunteer to go second. Somehow, they hear both the couple and the actors screaming. Something odd is happening inside.
Changbin and Hyunjin are next and there’s a lot of screaming from the two of them two and it takes them twice the time of Minjeong and Jimin to emerge from the exit. They must have been scared so stiff that they hadn’t even been able to move.
Finally, it’s Hanbin and Zhang Hao’s turn. The grand finale. By now, him and Gyuvin have shaken off any remaining nerves from their turn and are just chilling, whereas Zhang Hao and Hanbin have a white-knuckled grip on each other.
They disappear into the haunted house and within seconds, Ricky hears Zhang Hao’s signature crow-like squawks, clashing horribly with Hanbin’s high-pitched shrieks. Truly a match made in heaven, he thinks. They scream the entire way through, followed by a lot of crashes and shouts of pain.
“Their throats must be raw,” Gyuvin winces, massaging his own Adam’s apple in sympathy.
When Zhang Hao and Hanbin emerge, they look a mess. Their hair is rumpled and they’re limping. It turns out they’d kept their eyes shut the entire time and had navigated the haunted house blind, which also explains why they took such a ridiculously long time.
Everyone is utterly worn out from the experience.
Thankfully, this is the only hard part of the day. The next challenge really isn’t much of a challenge, it just involves them all having to take a ride through the ‘Tunnel of Love’, whatever bullshit that is.
It better not have any jump scares or Ricky will riot. They listen listlessly as Seungkwan rambles on for a bit about how they’re encouraged to share their true feelings and confess anything they haven’t admitted already about themselves – if they’re comfortable sharing it with the audience.
Like the haunted house, there isn’t much to the ride. It’s just a small boat floating along the water through a dimly lit tunnel that appears to be adorned with fairy lights and flowers on the inside.
It’s…kind of tacky looking, if he’s honest.
Nevertheless, they have the rest of the day to spend at Lotte World, so what’s one more lame ride?
Ricky and Gyuvin clamber into the little wooden boat, which has hearts and gaudy cherubs carved into the side. The seats are purposely narrow, forcing them to settle very snugly against each other. He tucks himself into Gyuvin’s side, feeling Gyuvin’s arm automatically settle around his waist.
Ricky resolutely ignores the thrill that runs through him at this. There’s bigger fish to fry right now. At least it doesn’t matter if he sends goo-goo eyes at Gyuvin on camera. He’s just in character.
The boat clinks against the rails and speeds off into the tunnel, slowing to a gentle walking pace when the light from outside vanishes and Gyuvin’s brown hair is muted by the shadows.
Aside from the gentle sloshing of water lapping up against their boat, the two of them are silent. However, Ricky’s mind is already buzzing with thoughts.
The finals of this competition is in two weeks, the holiday one week after. The deadline for their relationship draws ever closer.
The producers want some kind of moment between them, something more intimate and touching, but Ricky doesn’t know what to say right now, even if he disguises it as an act. The only sentence pushing at his lips is ‘I don’t know if I can go back to being just friends with you after this’.
But maybe this in itself is also a romantic moment. Ricky and Gyuvin are so often depicted as going at each other’s throats onscreen that maybe the silence is all that’s needed.
Ricky reaches for Gyuvin’s right hand and intertwines their fingers. Gyuvin isn’t saying anything either, but he gives Ricky’s hand a little squeeze. One of them has to, before the ride ends.
“I’m glad we entered the contest,” Ricky says finally, as the boat makes a turn around the corner. “I’m glad I got to do this with you.”
He hesitates, glancing briefly at Gyuvin, who tilts his head towards him, lips curving in a faint smile to signal he’s listening.
“I’m glad I have you,” The words roll off his tongue slow and sincere. Ricky braces himself. He can blame it all on the magic of this tunnel for his ‘performance’. He was feeling inspired in the moment. “I don’t think you know, Gyuvin, how much you mean to me.”
Television static seems to crackle in his chest as Ricky stares ahead into the distance, followed by fear. Has he said too much this time? It’s what the producers want for this contest, at least. They’ve met their requirements.
He can’t bring himself to look to the right and see the expression on Gyuvin’s face. Ricky’s too afraid of what he’ll see. But he has no choice to listen to what he has to say in return.
He hears a soft chuckle and feels another squeeze of his fingers.
“Kim Ricky,” Gyuvin says, then he swallows audibly. “I don’t think you know how happy that makes me feel right now.”
Ricky exhales in relief – he’s not sure if that’s what it is. But the knots in his stomach unclench and he lets himself lean his head on Gyuvin’s shoulder, overwhelmed with the desire to be closer to him.
“I think…I think,” Gyuvin starts, then falls silent. This time, it’s Ricky’s turn to encourage him with a squeeze of the hand. “Meeting you was the best thing that happened to me since I turned eighteen.”
Is it too corny if Ricky feels tears gather in his eyes? He blinks frantically, looking upwards at the ceiling, willing himself not to embarrass himself on camera.
“I’m just happy to have had the privilege of falling in love with you.” Gyuvin says and Ricky feels his entire world tilt on its axis.
There isn’t time for Ricky to say anything back, because the ride turns its final corner and brings them out the tunnel.
Gyuvin’s words have him biting his lip so hard that it could be bleeding. He leaves the Tunnel of Love in a daze, not listening to a word of what the MCs and producers tell them next.
Gyuvin is quiet too, the two of them having not looked at each other since they’ve gotten off the ride.
Ricky is biting his tongue – he desperately wants to ask Gyuvin if he had meant it. But all he can imagine is how much of a desperate idiot he’ll seem if Gyuvin was just acting and how it’s going to fuck everything up. He can’t. Not here, in public.
They all filter off into small groups, the producers packing up their cameras. All the footage they need has been secured, and the couples are free to enjoy Lotte World to their heart’s content for the rest of the day.
“What…what do you want to do, Ricky?” Gyuvin says. Even the way he says it sounds strange.
Zhang Hao and Hanbin have headed off to the food stalls, leaving the two of them still standing by the Tunnel of Love, still in their trance.
“I don’t mind,” Ricky says.
The way they’re talking feels weird and wrong. They’re both being unnaturally careful in how they speak, unable to look each other in the eye. It’s the one thing Ricky has always been worried about – making things awkward.
He reassures himself that it’ll pass in a few minutes, just like how it had done after they’d first kissed, gotten each other off.
But it feels so much heavier than all of that. Ricky doesn’t think he can cut it by clapping Gyuvin on the shoulder and saying: ‘Hey bro, great acting in there from us!’, then going about their day. Even the power of ‘bro’ isn’t enough to diffuse the situation.
They agree on the rollercoaster and start to walk over towards it, still caught in this thick, unpleasant silence.
In the end, Gyuvin is the one to break it. He slings an arm around Ricky’s shoulder, casual as anything.
“The last line was believable, right?” Gyuvin says uncertainly. “It’s all thanks to you speaking first. I really didn’t know what to say. But I could tell you meant what you said and I kind of carried the vibe over.”
Ricky nods stiffly, not trusting himself to speak.
“But you really are my best friend, Ricky,” Gyuvin says seriously. “I really couldn’t have pulled off acting in this contest with anyone else. I mean it.”
Ricky schools his features into something vaguely resembling a smile. Why had he gotten his hopes up? Of course it wasn’t that deep. He shouldn’t have been projecting so hard onto Gyuvin.
A few months ago, he would have been ecstatic to hear that Gyuvin considered him as his best friend. It’s cruel how sharply the words sting now.
Forget it. It’s not happening. He needs to get his head straight. This is his best friend Gyuvin, not his boyfriend.
“I couldn’t have done it with anyone else either,” Ricky admits truthfully. Quick, change the fucking subject. “We did well. I’m sure we’ll win the popularity vote to make it into the finals.”
Gyuvin nods, pumping a fist in the air.
“The holiday is so close I can practically taste it!”
When the footage for this round comes out a few days later, Ricky and Gyuvin’s socials collectively blow up and the number of followers they have skyrockets. Even Gyuvin’s dog Eumppappa back at home gets more followers on her Instagram account.
They can only cross their fingers and hope that they receive enough votes to make it into the finals. The competition is stiff but unlike the other contestants, they have Gunwook on their side.
“Trust me, you’ll win the vote,” is all he says.
Ricky doesn’t know if Gunwook is threatening people into voting or if his connections simply extend that far, but he trusts him enough to relax, knowing they have it in the bag.
Ricky gets his fair share of teasing from people around him for his dramatics in the haunted house, but he takes it in stride, because however embarrassing he was, Gyuvin was just as bad, if not worse.
There’re also a few troll comments, as you always get on the internet, even when it’s just a random university contest. Those don’t bother Ricky either, because he knows they’re either losers or jealous of him. He is young and rich, tall and handsome, after all.
The worst part is actually the reception to him and Gyuvin in the Tunnel of Love. All the comments on how cute they are, how obviously in love they are – those are the ones he can’t bring himself to read and Ricky learns to close the page immediately if he sees anything about it.
Even if anyone mentions it in person, he quickly dismisses it and changes the subject.
For the most part, Gyuvin and Ricky had a fun time at Lotte World, went on all the big rides like the rollercoaster and log flume and had gorged themselves on snacks.
They had arrived home, and they’d collapsed into bed together, drained of all energy before even eating dinner. Gyuvin still cuddles up to him and Ricky has half a mind to push him away, but he’s so tired he accepts it and simply falls asleep.
Gunwook wakes both of them up when he returns from library, kicking open the door to Ricky’s bedroom and yelling for them to wake up, demanding updates on what happened.
“And dinner’s ready,” he adds.
They sit around a lukewarm pizza in the kitchen as Ricky and Gyuvin fill Gunwook on the meal, then the haunted house. They collectively trail off when it comes to the Tunnel of Love and Gunwook directs a pointed glance at Ricky.
“We just had to confess something and make it look touching,” Ricky summarises, attempting to gloss over it as quickly as possible. “Gyuvin and I basically did our bromance but with more behind it. If you get me.”
“…Yeah, I get the picture,” Gunwook comments, reaching for the final slice of pizza. “Good job, both of you.”
Despite the sushi and snacks at the theme park, Ricky and Gyuvin manage half of it between them, Gunwook devouring the other half.
“What about your day?” Gyuvin ask, yawning mid-stretch, mouth wide open. “What did you do, Wookie?”
“Studied, saw Matthew, terrorised the Law Society members, the usual,” Gunwook supplies freely. “Started making a revision timetable for finals.”
Ricky and Gyuvin both groan.
“Dude, why would you bring that up before the end of the contest?” Gyuvin complains. “I was living a life of ignorance and bliss till you mentioned it.”
“I don’t know about bliss, but you’re definitely always living a life of ignorance,” Ricky can’t help but slip in.
He’s not that gassed about the news of finals either. Not with the ninety-nine problems in his life, that can all be traced back to the clueless guy sitting next to him.
Well, his course is more about coursework than exams, but this means Ricky’s going be spending more evenings holed up in the studio desperately trying to finish his sketchbook and final pieces before they’re due for presenting.
With the news of finals, all three of them really do knuckle in for some revision, which means more time in the library and seeing less of each other. Gyuvin’s also at the height of baseball season, so Ricky barely sees him around the house.
That means nothing really happens between them for the next few days, except for the fact Gyuvin always sleeps in Ricky’s bed and hugs him. He doesn’t really know how to feel about it.
They’ve spent so much secret time in close proximity that Ricky misses Gyuvin like mad even if they’re only apart from morning to evening.
A week later, the polls for the finals close and the results are announced.
Ricky’s in the studio looking at his canvas with his eyes crossed when his phone starts vibrating. He ignores it, more focused on trying to make sure he doesn’t fuck up the textures on his oil painting.
His phone starts buzzing again, so Ricky huffs and puts his paintbrush down, wiping his forehead and no doubt smudging paint on himself in the process. He jabs a clean finger on his phone.
“What,” he says, annoyed at the disruption to his creative process.
“RICKY!” Gyuvin hollers into his ear. Ricky pulls the phone away from him and sets it on the table. That wasn’t even on speaker and it deafened him.
“That’s my name, well done,” he mumbles, going back to mixing the precise shade of vermillion he needs.
“Dude, listen!” Gyuvin bellows, the sarcasm bouncing off him. “WE MADE IT TO THE FINALS!”
“Of baseball?” Ricky says, absent-minded. Is it just his imagination, or is the antlers of the deer slightly wonky?
“The COUPLE CONTEST, OH MY GOD!” Gyuvin shouts, exasperated. “We made it! We’re one more round away from our holiday, Ricky!”
It finally clicks.
Ricky feels a massive grin break out over his face.
“We did it?” he says, breaking out into laughter. “We actually fucking did it?”
There’s no way. There’s no goddamn way.
“We fucking did, man!” Gyuvin cries and he lets out a few whoops of celebration. “And guess who our opponents are?”
Ricky already knows what Gyuvin is going to say even before he says it.
“Zhang Hao and Hanbin,” they say in unison.
Not only is their free holiday coming, it’s also time for Ricky’s petty revenge. They’re going to take down the most perfect couple in the world.
As per usual, Gunwook has even managed to acquire details of the finals.
“This one’s going to be spicy,” Gunwook says. “They’ve really outdone themselves.”
Matthew grins deviously.
“What?” Gyuvin demands, elbows on the table and leaning forwards. “It’s not R-rated, is it?”
“Calm that dirty mind of yours, boy,” Gunwook chides with disapproval. “Of course not.”
“Well, you did call it spicy,” Ricky points out. He’d been thinking along the same lines as Gyuvin himself.
“Get this,” Matthew says, lowering his voice to a stage whisper. “A blindfolded kissing challenge.”
Ricky feels his eyes roll into the back of his head. Of course it’s something ridiculous.
The logistics are as follows – each couple is blindfolded and handcuffed. They have to spin around fifteen times then attempt to kiss each other on the lips. The first couple to kiss wins.
It’s both simple and very complicated.
“You two have a week from finals,” Gunwook says. “So it’s time to start practicing. I’ve already acquired the goods.”
He pulls out two sets of fluffy handcuffs and blindfolds.
“These better not be used,” Ricky says, glancing at Gunwook and Matthew warily.
“They were on sale,” Gunwook shoots back, glowering at him. “Anyway, even if we did have handcuffs, no way in hell would I lend them to you.”
“Yeah babe, you’d be chained to the bed instead,” Matthew adds blithely. He smiles with the innocence of one thousand angels when everyone looks at him in disgust. “What? It’s true.”
“Hyung, please,” Gunwook begs, ears burning bright red. “Just because it might be true.”
“Oh, no, I’m not playing around, it’s definitely true,” Matthew protests in utter obliviousness.
Gunwook drags Matthew out the door with him, face glowing like Rudolph’s nose. This leaves Ricky and Gyuvin sitting at the dining table with handcuffs and blindfolds. It’s certainly not weird or anything.
Ricky also hasn’t kissed Gyuvin for an entire week. It’s getting so bad that he’s holding back from begging. If it wasn’t for his pride, he would have collapsed like a house of cards.
“Should we…practice then?” Ricky suggests tentatively, picking up one of the fluffy handcuffs gingerly, as it bites.
“We can just put our hands behind our backs for now, I think,” Gyuvin says, also eyeing them cautiously. “As a trial run.”
Ricky breathes out through his nose and tries to stay calm.
“You wanna do it in your room or mine?” he asks. Shit, he hadn’t meant for it to come out sounding like that.
“I don’t mind,” Gyuvin says, gnawing on his bottom lip nervously. “I think the living room has more space though.”
“We’re going to need an open space for this,” Ricky realises belatedly. “If we wanna practice properly.”
“I have more floor space, let’s use mine for now,” Gyuvin decides.
Gyuvin had said they didn’t have to use the handcuffs, but Ricky can’t help but be a little curious about them. There’s a key that comes with each pair too.
He slips his wrist into one of the cuffs, clicking it shut, tugging it against his wrist. Interesting.
“You try it on too,” Ricky demands, pushing the other pair towards Gyuvin. “Put it on!”
“Why though?” Gyuvin groans but he puts his wrist out and lets Ricky cuff one of his wrists. “We shouldn’t both put them on, how are we gonna get out of them?”
“Well, then it can just be one of us at a time, duh,” Ricky says, and before Gyuvin can react, he clicks the other handcuff around his wrist, guiding Gyuvin’s hands behind his back. Gyuvin is effectively trapped.
“Hey, you dickhead!” Gyuvin realises, trying to grab the key from Ricky. “What are you doing?!”
Ricky snatches the keys and jams them down the pocket of his trousers and runs to Gyuvin’s room, laughing his ass off as Gyuvin takes off after him.
“You asshole, unlock me!” Gyuvin cries, marching into the room. The door slams shut behind him.
Ricky sits down on Gyuvin’s bed and smirks at him. The key is tucked under his ass, snug in his back pocket. Gyuvin’s range of motion is severely limited with his hands handcuffed behind his back.
He clearly knows it too, because instead of making any attempt at trying to free himself, he just launches himself at Ricky, pinning his torso to the bed with Gyuvin’s body acting as deadweight.
“How is this going to help you free yourself?” Ricky says, in a mild panic. “You’re still trapped.”
“I’m going to lie on top of you till you suffocate and die,” Gyuvin growls in return, looking down at Ricky. He can feel the warm air coming from Gyuvin’s mouth when he speaks.
“I have arms though,” Ricky says and he shoves Gyuvin off him, rolling him over to the side. Without his arms to steady him, Gyuvin has no choice but to flip over onto his back.
In an act of quick thinking, Ricky then grabs the blindfold on the desk and pulls it over Gyuvin’s eyes.
Now he has a handcuffed, blindfolded Gyuvin lying before him.
“Fuck you, Kim Ricky,” Gyuvin seethes, wiggling like a worm. He really is defenceless now. He could stand up, but he can’t see and he can’t even take off the blindfold by himself.
Is this what a power rush feels like?
Ricky cackles evilly.
Truth be told, he’s still a little salty about the Tunnel of Love. It’s not really justified, if he’s rational, but Ricky almost feels played. At this point, he’s close to waving his dick in Gyuvin’s face and screaming at him – “You see this thing! You fucking love it! You and me, we’re sexually compatible, what’s to say we can’t be compatible romantically too?!”
Of course, because he’s not completely insane, Ricky had just sulked for a few days instead before being sensible about it.
“If you want me to unlock your handcuffs, say please hyung,” Ricky announces. “What do you think? Please, Ricky-hyung?”
He can feel Gyuvin’s annoyance radiating off him in waves.
“Go fuck yourself!” Gyuvin squawks. “When hell freezes over.”
In his indignance, his t-shirt rides up his abdomen, revealing a strip of skin that is extremely enticing.
Ricky moves before he thinks, sliding a hand across Gyuvin’s midriff.
“What the-?” Gyuvin’s breath hitches. Ricky watches as rosy blotches appear on his cheeks.
Ricky had just been thinking of how he could piss Gyuvin off a bit, but now he’s starting to realise this is pretty hot. Kind of kinky.
Gyuvin seems to think so too, because he lets out a gasp when Ricky trails his hands lower, towards the strings of Gyuvin’s sweatpants.
“Can you call me hyung now?” Ricky says, smoothing his palm over the growing bulge. Gyuvin squirms under his touch.
“I don’t think this is what Gunwook had in mind when he gave us these,” Gyuvin says breathlessly. “Nngh!”
Ricky watches the Gyuvin’s abs flex as he tenses up as Ricky ghosts his hand over his crotch. He realises he’s also hard as a rock from watching.
The bed creaks as Ricky steps onto the mattress, lowering himself till he’s kneeling over Gyuvin. Gyuvin registers his movements but remains pliant, simply waiting.
He rucks Gyuvin’s shirt up his chest, taking the chance to ogle Gyuvin’s waist. Their build is pretty similar but Gyuvin has much bigger hands. Ricky can’t quite get a hold of Gyuvin’s waist the way he can with Ricky.
As he tries to fit his hands around Gyuvin’s waist, Gyuvin exhales harshly at the skin contact. Of course, Gyuvin can’t see. He can’t predict what’s going to happen. It makes each of his reactions bigger, jumping with trepidation at every touch and squeeze.
Ricky slides his hands upwards till he reaches Gyuvin’s chest. His pecs are bigger than before.
“Baseball training has been paying off, huh?” Ricky muses to himself and out of pure indulgence, gropes at Gyuvin’s chest like they’re boobs.
“Hey,” Gyuvin groans out. “I’m not a girl.”
“No shit, Captain Obvious,” Ricky replies, relaxing his weight onto Gyuvin so he can feel the erection poking against his butt. He grinds against it and flicks his thumbs over Gyuvin’s nipples at the same time.
“Ricky-!”
“C’mon, you can add a hyung onto that,” Ricky says, still not letting go of that. He’s not a stickler for age hierarchy by any means and forgoes formalities if necessary but he knows it matters to Gyuvin and that’s what he wants to get at.
Gyuvin finds it embarrassing to submit and call someone hyung, even in games. He gets all giggly and huffy about it in a way that Ricky can’t get enough of. It’s adorable.
Ricky could just have his way with Gyuvin right now if he wanted to. Lube himself up and just bounce on it.
Quite the scandalous thought, he knows but Ricky thinks it’s unfair to expect him to think rationally when he’s got Kim Gyuvin, bound and willing in bed.
He pulls Gyuvin’s sweatpants down, watching his cock flop out. It almost pokes him in the eye as it stands to attention, flushed dark red and drooling at the tip.
Ricky wants to put his mouth on it again. He thinks back to the one afternoon of madness and remembers the heavy weight of Gyuvin on his tongue, the pressure in his throat.
So what if he’s a bit of a cockslut?
Ricky repositions himself and gets off the bed again, pushing Gyuvin’s thighs wide open – Gyuvin lets out another beautiful sound at that, then he stabilises himself by holding onto said thighs and takes Gyuvin into his mouth.
“Ah!” Gyuvin bucks into his throat, back arching off the bed. There’s an obscene gagging noise as it hits the back of Ricky’s throat. Surprised by the response, Gyuvin’s dick slips out of Ricky’s mouth, leaving a glistening trail down his chin.
“This is not practice,” Gyuvin says weakly.
“Don’t see you complaining though,” Ricky says and gets right back to it.
There’s something very fulfilling to the soul about watching Gyuvin get all whiny, panting and gasping but unable to do anything but beg. And he breaks, eventually.
Ricky can feel him getting close, the cadence of Gyuvin’s breathing growing more erratic and pulls off again.
“You’re still not going to call me hyung?” Ricky asks, voice rough from the abuse of his throat. “I might just go take a nap in my room.”
“Argh…” Gyuvin lets out a defeated sigh. “Fine…god. Please, Ricky-hyung.”
Ricky lets out a delighted laugh.
“One more time?”
“Ricky…hyung,” Gyuvin says through gritted teeth and Ricky is all to happy to oblige, finishing him off with long, hard sucks and keeping his mouth on Gyuvin even as he comes, till he’s shaking and asking Ricky to pull off.
Ricky swallows and winces at the bitter taste in the back of his throat, then wipes whatever mixture of bodily fluids is on his chin off with a tissue from Gyuvin’s nightstand.
Gyuvin’s spent, chest heaving with exertion. Ricky leans down over him to press a chaste kiss to his lips.
“We got there in the end,” Ricky says. Feeling merciful, he pulls the keys out his pocket to undo the handcuffs.
It’s a mistake. As soon as the cuffs click and open, Gyuvin whirrs into action. He springs up from the bed, bare ass out and reverses their roles, pushing Ricky down onto the mattress.
“If you wanted to suck my dick so bad, you could have just asked,” Gyuvin says teasingly. “You didn’t need to handcuff me for that.”
“Oh please,” Ricky says. “You loved that.”
“Yeah,” Gyuvin agrees surprisingly easily. “Your head game is great. Makes me wanna return the favour.”
He proceeds to unzip Ricky’s trousers. Ricky processes it a beat too late.
“Wait, you’re going to-?” Ricky is left with little warning as Gyuvin holds him down by his thighs and suckles at the head of Ricky’s dick.
It’s clumsy and sloppy, clearly the moves of someone inexperienced and doing it for the first time. Gyuvin’s teeth nudge against Ricky’s dick on occasion, sometimes dangerously close to scraping him but what he lacks in technique, he makes up for with pure enthusiasm.
Ricky’s glad he isn’t blindfolded so he can watch everything up close, the way Gyuvin is swallowing him down, eyes watering as he pushes past his gag reflex.
It slips out of him by accident.
“Good boy,” Ricky says, almost unconsciously. Fuck, it’s not just the blowjob. It’s the fact that it’s Gyuvin, trying so hard for him – for god knows fucking why.
He’s so horny that Ricky just wants to blow his load in his beautiful face and watch pearls of come drip from Gyuvin’s eyelashes.
Ricky’s never been this much of a freak. Gyuvin just makes him into one.
“It’s good,” Ricky chokes out, small whimpers escaping his mouth. “Feels good, Gyuvin, close-“
Ricky grabs of fistful of Gyuvin’s hair to warn him that he’s close, to push him off. Just as Gyuvin gets the message and shifts backwards, Ricky comes.
It might just be the best orgasm he’s ever had, produced by the worst blowjob he’s ever had. And as if God had heard his prayers, his come is spattered over Gyuvin’s face, trickling down his cheek.
“Fuck, sorry,” Ricky says, reaching to pass him the tissues.
Gyuvin wipes the come off his face, but he looks proud of himself.
“We should actually practice for real now.”
They do practice for the rest of the following week, whenever they get the time. The handcuffs and blindfolds also get used for other nefarious purposes, but Gunwook doesn’t need to know what the fluffy handcuffs are currently going through or the things they have seen.
They’re pretty much recovered from the awkawrdness that had hung around for a few days following the Tunnel of Love, and once again they seem to be back to business, fumbling around with each othe rat every given opportunity.
Maybe it’s because it’s finally sunken in that they’re at the finals and it really may be the last chance for Ricky to fuck around before he finds out. He instigates things constantly, whether it’s trailing his feet up Gyuvin’s calves at the dinner table, or when they’re in bed, and Ricky will roll over and look at Gyuvin with a dark, heavy gaze that makes his intentions clear.
Ricky knows that the more he lets himself go, the more that he doesn’t hold back, the more the heartbreak will hurt later. But when Gyuvin is next to him, the pain seems worth it, if not just for these few moments Ricky will forever replay in his memories.
On the day of the finals, they’re instructed to arrive in black tie. Both of them own formalwear, so it’s not really a tall request. Ricky even books out an appointment at the tailor’s so they can look their best.
Rather than the sports hall, this time, the producers have managed to rent out a small venue, commonly used for conferences or meetings.
Ricky isn’t nervous. He’s been constantly dizzy from the amount of spinning they’ve been doing but it’s paying off. The time it takes for them to orientate themselves has considerably shortened. Gyuvin’s athleticism may also be the key to their victory. Something about his excellent special-visual abilities and proprioception, honed by his intense baseball training.
They’re sitting ‘backstage’ – really just a small seminar room along with Zhang Hao and Hanbin, getting micced up and awaiting instructions.
The audience is quite loud, filled with their friends – Gunwook, Matthew, Taerae, Jiwoong amongst others. Zhang Hao and Hanbin had attempted to ban Yujin from the venue, but somehow he’d sneaked in with Ollie and was at the back. It’s slightly embarrassing what they’re going to be doing but it’s just a simple kiss. They’ll keep it PG.
It’s going to be the final time that Seungkwan and Yeri come into their makeshift waiting room to haul them onto stage and MC for them. Ricky wouldn’t say he’s going to miss doing the contest, but it had been good fun overall.
Hanbin and Zhang Hao look dapper in their suits, with blue and pink roses pinned to the front.
“May the best couple win,” Hanbin says solemnly, raising an imaginary wineglass.
“We promise not to rub our victory too hard in your face,” Gyuvin says, joining the toast, downing his own invisible glass of wine.
“To free holidays,” Ricky chimes in.
They all look to Zhang Hao, who lets out a yawn at their theatrics.
“I always win,” he says simply. “I'm Zhang Hao.”