Chapter Text
They have the tendency to be a bit…much, and Nam Cheolmin will admit that he’s being generous when he says that. Still, he’s one of the few that can stomach them for extended periods of time without wanting to scream and cry so he does his best to avoid making direct eye contact. He, however, can't help it when his gaze eventually ends up there unbidden like seeing a car accident on the other side of the road.
Toned down, it could have been sweet; the picture perfect definition of devotion and affection, the pure love between two people who couldn’t fathom being in a world where they were apart. But those two had the unfortunate habit of taking it way way WAY too far, it was like discretion and shame were ripped out of both their dictionaries and everyone was left suffering for it.
The closer he gets, the soft sound of continuous kissing and whispered sweet nothings grows ever louder and brings a shiver down his spine. Cheolmin can feel the flush rising in his cheeks and the goosebumps start to dot at his forearms. It seemed that the shame they should have felt lives in him instead and he’s keenly aware of his brother's sympathetic, pitying gaze. Cheolmin loves his baby brother, truly, but if he doesn’t look away soon he’s going to poke his eyes out - he doesn't remember when he became the designated point of contact between Gaon and these two but it's a thankless job.
He should ask for a raise.
"Um, Hoyeol-ssi?" Cheolmin calls out after clearing his throat a few times does absolutely nothing; Lee Hoyeol was the safer option as the more rational (and normal) of the two and if he can, he'd rather avoid interacting with Grandfel all together. "Can I have a moment of your time?"
The disconcerting and disquieting sound of mouths parting for air for the first time in minutes precedes Cheolmin’s funeral procession and he has to look at Hoyeol’s nose instead of his eyes when he’s finally able to pull himself away from his boyfriend (?), partner (?), spouse (?). He has an embarrassed, defeated grimace on his face like his lips weren't slick and swollen and like his boyfriend (?), partner (?), spouse (?!) wasn’t still trailing open mouth kisses along the column of his neck.
"Of course, what can I do for you?"
“No, leave us.”
Two voices overlap and Hoyeol turns back to face his partner with a glare. It would have been more effective if he weren’t firmly encapsulated in Grandfel's arms, cradled gently by the back of his head and around his waist. There's the usual silent (and unnerving) stare down between them, speaking an archaic wordless language with their eyes that Cheolmin has given up trying to decipher or understand, before Hoyeol turns back to address him. Cheolmin nods back politely trying to hide the fact that he would rather die than have to be here for a moment longer.
Hoyeol gives him his usual tremulous smile, nervous and apologetic.
“Can you give us a moment, Cheolmin-ssi?”
“Yes, please, take all the time you need.”
Cheolmin doesn’t exactly run but he is out of breath and sweating when he gets back to his brother and the rest of their guild. He doesn’t need to turn around to know that Grandfel is staring daggers into the back of his head. He will never understand what exactly he did to earn this particular third degree when Grandfel was mostly neutral with Taemin and Gaon as a whole but he also doesn’t want to spend any longer around him to try and clear the air.
“Never again,” he vows, hands on his knees. “I’ve never felt more single in my life.”
“You’re so brave, hyung,” Taemin crouches by his hunched over form and gently rubs soothing circles on his back. “I would do it but I legitimately start breaking out into hives whenever they start getting clingy with each other and I get the urge to text my ex.”
“Forget dungeon breaks, that would be the real disaster,” Cheolmin mutters under his breath before standing upright and sighing, face up to the sky. “I get that they’re in love, right, but I just wish we witnessed less of it.”
“They’re certainly, um, affectionate?” a new recruit chimes in, eyes glued onto the spectacle several guilds were still watching and processing - he remembers the first time he bore witness to Grandfel and Hoyeol in action. “I’m sorry but do they do this all the time?”
Cheolmin turns a dead eyed look at the rookie and tries not to cry. The sound of Grandfel soothing Hoyeol, platitudes and pet names dripping like honey, is too loud in his ears. The whispers of Hoyeol replying sweetly carries in the wind and makes him feel desperately alone.
“All the fucking time.”
“Grandfel,” Hoyeol coos, reaching up to cup Grandfel’s face in his hands. “Sweetheart, I’m going to-.”
A kiss.
“Absolutely-.”
Another kiss.
“Fucking murder you.”
Grandfel nods, tipping Hoyeol’s head back to press another kiss onto his trembling mouth. Hoyeol may be smiling for all the literal cameras but he hopes Grandfel is aware of the incandescent rage just boiling under the surface. He ignores the blue window pop up with practiced ease and lets himself be dragged back, ever closer in the circle of Grandfel’s arms.
“Apologies, my heart.” Grandfel demures against his lips. “It won’t happen again.”
“That’s what-.”
Grandfel kisses him again but Hoyeol bulldozes on to make his point clear in between each touch.
“You said last time-.”
A longer kiss this time with a wet press of tongue at the seam of his lip and Hoyeol presses his mouth tight and closed into a thin line.
‘You goddamn lunatic.’
Hoyeol resists the urge to pull Grandfel by the hair to get him off of his mouth and smiles instead, all too aware of the eyes on the both of them.
“I’m not a power bank, honey.” he bites out before Grandfel is back on him and he jumps a little when Grandfel’s hands on his waist tighten.
“Of course not, dear.”
“Oh, so you are aware?” Hoyeol gasps out faux-shocked and uncharacteristically sarcastic in his fury. “And yet, here we are again… gummy bear?”
They both pause, waiting for the chime of an inevitable pop up. Grandfel raises a brow when it shows an increase in their luck stat.
“Huh, look at that,” Hoyeol replies, steadying himself by hooking his arm around Grandfel’s neck. “Guess that one works. Isn’t that fun, cutie pie?”
Grandfel hides a wince but he can’t help but scoff at the blooming, smug, shiteating grin on Hoyeol’s face he’s forced to experience when they’re this close.
“So. Fun,” Grandfel grits out, relaxing his jaw when Hoyeol goes onto the tips of his toes to press a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “So incredibly fun, my flower.”
“No, not that one. That’s-, just don’t use that one,” Hoyeol ducks his head against the span of Grandfel’s chest like he’s feeling vulnerable and not like he’s trying to hide the way he’s forcefully digging his forehead into his sternum as punishment. “Add that to my list, sugar plum.”
“Noted,” Grandfel concedes, biting back a pained wince. “Add that one to mine, beloved.”
“Noted,” Hoyeol parrots back, using Grandfel’s chest as a chin rest and looking up at him with narrowed, exhausted eyes. “How many was that, babe?”
“Twenty three,” Grandfel eyes the pop ups before his gaze flicks back down to Hoyeol. “Two more, my heart.”
“Well, get over here, you mana-guzzling nutcase.”
Title: Half of Me
You did it - you've found your other half! Your souls are intertwined forever, this is a bond that cannot be broken ♡
Title effect: +1% to stamina regeneration for every minute you two are in close proximity ♡
You’ve temporarily increased your total stamina regeneration by 11%!
Title effect: +1% health regeneration speed for every minute of skin to skin contact ♡
You’ve temporarily increased your total health regeneration by 7%!
Title effect: +1% mana regeneration speed for every kiss shared ♡
You’ve hit your maximum mana regeneration at 25%!
Cooldown: 24/24 hours left
“I don’t believe that one counts,” Grandfel remarks seriously. “Don’t waste our skill on your experiments, my own.”
“Yeah yeah,” Hoyeol stops himself from staggering as he unwraps his arms from Grandfel, finally feeling like the vertigo of severe mana depletion wouldn’t knock him over and all the way into unconsciousness. “I’ll keep my experimenting to a minimum, um. Daddy?”
Buff: This is all for you, my love!
Buff effect: +0.01% to a random stat for every pet name you call your partner (cannot be the same pet name in a row)
You’ve received +0.01% to your luck stat!
“Okay, in my defense, I didn’t expect that one to actually work.”