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There are many reasons to visit Greece in the summer: for vacation, for tourism, for a wedding, to visit relatives or friends, to swim, to go to scenic places.
That wasn't the case for Seonghwa.
Oftentimes, it comes to a point where not only unemployment becomes unbearable, but you also need to do something drastic.
Luckily, he had a friend who could help. When Minho told him he knows someone who could get him a job, flying across the globe wasn't what he had in mind.
"It's a thing in Greece, people do it all the time," he told Seonghwa. "Unemployed or not, a lot of Greeks ditch their homes in the summer and work the season at seaside towns."
Seonghwa put his phone on speaker to free his hands and clean around his apartment as they talked, trying to shake his nerves. "They ditch their homes in Greece. In the same country. I'll have to fly over 15 hours."
"But it's going to be worth it!" Minho's voice came through the other end of the line. "The money is good, I promise you. I know it feels risky and believe me, working high season in Greece could be awful-"
"You're not making a great case, you know," said Seonghwa.
"—but this one has been tested and approved. Listen, Chan has been working there for literal years. He leaves Korea every spring and returns late autumn and doesn't work the rest of the year."
"Yeah, 'cause it also so happens that he is the manager of the place."
This wasn't the first time Minho tried talking him into contacting Chan. He had offered to speak to him on his behalf before and Seonghwa had kindly declined, saying if he was going to go through with it, he should initiate contact himself and not have Minho do it.
So there they were, Minho giving him a solution to his problem, and Seonghwa cowardly accepting it.
"You're ignoring why he's a manager," Minho replied. "He wouldn't have stayed if it wasn't worth it. He's endured awful conditions before: unlivable accommodation, bitchy bosses, disgusting roommate."
Seonghwa shuddered thinking about it. "I don't need to know all that."
"I'm telling you, he once roomed with this old man, not only did he not clean up after himself but he always made a mess in the toilet-"
"Minho!" he cringed. "Seriously stop talking. At this rate, I'm going to step foot in Greece and all I'll be able to think about is an old man's mess."
"Okay, okay, forget I mentioned that! I never said anything," he retracted. "Wait- you said you're going to step foot in Greece. As in… you are going?"
He could picture Minho, eyebrows raised and eyes loaded with hope.
"I might." Seonghwa groaned. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
Minho giggled. Loud and clear. "I'm telling Chan. Or no, you said you'll tell him. I'm sending you his number."
The ding came instantly, immediately supplying him with Chan's contact information.
"Let me guess, the second one is his Greek phone number?" Seonghwa asked.
"Yup. You're probably gonna need it. In Greece."
The process moved faster than Seonghwa had anticipated. He expected Chan to be sceptical, to debate whether he'd hire him or not. On the contrary, that never happened. He gave Seonghwa the job, putting faith in him and Minho's judgement. There was a brief mention of previous friends of friends he'd hire and that was about it. His only demand was that Seonghwa was to fly out as soon as possible.
And Seonghwa booked the soonest, most financially reasonable flight and packed up his clothes and hopes and headed off to Mykonos.
And if Seonghwa made the mistake of flying directly to the island? And if it was a 30 hours flight consisting of three layovers, so what? He would at least get there eventually.
After three endless stops and various naps at inconvenient positions, Seonghwa was ready to land. He wanted nothing more than to get his feet on actual land and breathe in fresh air.
For the amount of calls and texts between him and Minho, it seems the younger man failed to warn him about the weather. Apparently, when people said Mykonos is windy they meant it. The landing gave him whiplash, being met with the Greek summer breeze after sweating and undressing down to a tank-top.
The hotel company had sent a car with a chauffeur to pick him up. He picked up his luggage and met him at the exit, spotting a sign with his name written in all three languages: English, Greek and Korean.
The driver helped him with his suitcases, Seonghwa thanked him and followed him to the car, rushing to get inside.
He crossed his arms, running his palms up and down his biceps in an attempt to warm himself up. It wouldn't have been that bad if he had been prepared, literally and mentally, but the shock added to his shivering.
It was nearly midnight but the island looked lively as ever. Every place was crowded, from bars and clubs to restaurants. All Seonghwa wanted to do was see Chan, get a good night's sleep and save his energy and excitement to explore the island for later, when he would eventually have the time.
In a matter of minutes, the car had come to a stop, the chauffer announcing their arrival. He stepped out, his bags already waiting for him and the man greeted him goodbye before departing.
Ahead of him was a white path decorated with various large grey stones. He looked around, and with having noone to ask, he paved his way, dragging his luggage as it rolled against the stone. He reached the glass doors of the hotel entrance, pushing them and entering.
A woman, dirty blonde with hazel coloured eyes, was at the reception behind the counter. Her head was tilted downwards as if she was reading and snapped to the source of the sound once she heard Seonghwa coming in.
"Hello, how may I help you? Are you checking in?" she asked.
Once he reached the front desk, Seonghwa smiled politely and cleared his throat. "I am Park Seonghwa."
The woman typed into the computer and came empty handed. "I have zero results under that name, was the reservation booked under a different name?"
Before Seonghwa could try and explain, tell her that he is not checking in as a paying customer but rather as staff, a new voice interrupted them, belonging to no other than Bang Chan.
"Don't worry, Anastasia, I got this from here," he assured her, pronouncing the name as Anastah-see-uh, and walked up to Seonghwa, putting an arm around him.
Seonghwa was surprised by the gesture but reciprocated.
"Welcome!" he greeted. "It has been so long, how have you been?"
"I've been…" Clearly not good since I'm here. "…doing alright. I'm glad to be here."
"We're glad to have you." Chan smiled. "How was your trip? Minho told me you booked a flight straight to Mykonos? The layovers must've been hell."
"They weren't exactly jolly," Seonghwa agreed, a shiver running down his spine at the memory of the trip. "Thank you for sending a car at the airport, I appreciate that."
"Of course, are you kidding? I expected you to land in Athens, that's how it usually goes. They land at Eleftherios Venizelos and I have somebody escorting them from the airport, to the port and then all the way back to Mykonos. Sending a car at our airport was nothing," Chan said.
Seonghwa stored the information in a drawer in his brain and locked it, trying not to think how different his journey could have possibly been. He kept it on the back of his head, in case, God forbid, he'd have to use that knowledge in the future, if things didn't take a turn for the better next summer.
"You must be exhausted, let me help you." He reached for his bags, seamlessly lifting both. "Come on, I'll show you your room for the night."
Chan guided him into the hallway, stopping in front of the elevator and pressing the button. He let the baggage down as they wait, both men stepped inside once the elevator pinged, signalling its arrival and opening the doors. They went a couple floors up and then Seonghwa followed him out until they reached his door. Chan looked through his pockets, taking out the card that opened his bedroom door and let them both inside. He inserted the card in the holder on the wall and flicked the lights open.
"Here you are." He set the bags down one final time. "This is your place for the night. We have the staff reside together, rooming, but since you arrived so late I thought it'd be best we give you privacy to get some rest and we'll talk business tomorrow. Sounds good?"
He responded with a nod. "Yes, sounds great."
"Alright. I'll be heading out now." He placed a hand on the door handle and paused. "Were you to need anything, don't hesitate to call the front desk."
"Thank you." Seonghwa smiled. "Good night."
"Good night."
The door clicked and Seonghwa almost fell on the bed immediately, forgetting he's still in his outside clothes. He undressed himself quickly and then fell onto the bed groaning. He stayed like this for a few beats, collecting strength before he got up and went through his belongings, collecting his toiletries and heading for the shower.
After a much needed refreshment, Seonghwa took up Chan's words and called the reception, asking them if there was any food available. Despite the late hour, the options were numerous and within the following ten minutes Seonghwa had a warm meal knocking on his door.
He enjoyed it in nothing but his white, soft robe, licking lips and fingers when he was done. He brushed his teeth and checked his phone before bed, catching up with all the messages he had missed from his loved ones, letting them know he had arrived safely and he would be going to bed.
Minho texted back, the typing bubbles appearing immediately as Seonghwa had hit 'Send'.
Minho
You're alive!!!!
Seonghwa
Obviously, unfortunately, etc etc
Minho
How is it? Did you see Chan?
Seonghwa
Isn't it 7am for you??
yes I did briefly
I'll see him in the morning
Minho
All my friends playing business while
I'm back home
Seonghwa
Ah how unfortunate of you to have a steady job
Minho
Well when you put it like that…
Seonghwa
Go back to bed Minho
I'm going as well
Minho
Fiiiine
I will be expecting updates and nothing less
Seonghwa
Ok
Good night :)
Minho
nightttt!
The next morning, Seonghwa woke up before his alarm, his nerves aiding him kick-start the day. Hooray.
He took his time with his morning routine and started applying his skin care, unsure when would be the next he would be able to do it again peacefully. The process always made him feel better, refreshed, anew. He moved on to getting dressed, picking an outfit that he deemed fitting, not knowing whether he would be given a job uniform or he would have to work in his own clothes.
Running out of things he could do as he waited to be summoned, he remembered what he was told last night, by one of his fellow coworkers, the one who served him the meal.
Along with the booking came admission to the food court, where they held breakfast, lunch and dinner. His tummy growled and Seonghwa grabbed the QR code that came with his key, necessary for his entrance to the food court, and made his way downstairs.
By the time he had stuffed himself full with food, there was not much else to do than wait. He went back to the lobby, where there now were two new people he hadn't seen before, although to be fair, he barely had seen anyone at all.
He asked them about Bang Chan's whereabouts and they said he'd be informed shortly. Seonghwa doubted they knew he was a new hire, as well.
When Chan came into view, he greeted him loudly again and it made Seonghwa if it was a habit he picked up here in Greece. He wished him good morning in two languages, Seonghwa proudly recognizing the equivalent greeting in Greek.
The day started off simple with Chan giving him a tour of the estate, Seonghwa struggling to map out the entire place in his head. It was hard to remember the information all at once, especially with the ever-growing list of people he was being introduced to, as well. He'd have to take it easy and get to know and memorize everything at his own (but quick) pace.
In the midst of chaos and new faces, Seonghwa met who Chan called his 'teacher'. He had been very open about his lack of Greek knowledge and his limited English, something that originally made Seonghwa believe he would not get the job, but Chan was very open to help from the beginning.
"Seonghwa, this is Kim Hongjoong. Hongjoong, this is Park Seonghwa." Chan was standing with each man on his sides. "I've already filled Hongjoong in about you. He will be helping you adjust, he said he'd lend a linguistic hand. Σωστά, Hongjoong;" Chan directed the last word to Hongjoong, after all he was the fluent one. Right, Hongjoong?
Seonghwa's eyes roamed over the man in front of him. He started from the bottom, skipping past the uniform, all the way up to his face, framed by orange hair. They lingered there, his focus moving slowly from his pink lips to his eyes, which he found staring right back at his.
He stood straight with his hands behind his back. "Nice to meet you." Hongjoong flashed a polite smile to Seonghwa and added, "I'd be happy to help."
Returning the smile, Seonghwa bowed his head down. "Likewise."
"Gentlemen, if you don't mind, we all need to return to our respective tasks," said Chan. "You two will be seeing a lot of one another, can't have you getting sick of each other just yet."
The two men separated from the ginger, leaving him behind as Chan continued walking Seonghwa through the basics. He listed everything that would be supplied to him at later time, hopefully within the same day or the next, things like an ID badge and his uniform.
"I saw you've already sent the required information to my email, so I'd like to think you'll get your badge today. Now, about the clothes, since we didn't have much time to prepare I'll see if I have something that would fit you tucked away." He ran his hands through his hair as he spoke. "You're free to move to staff quarters. We recently had someone move out, you'll be taking his spot and stay with his roommate."
Ah, the word Seonghwa was scared of. Roommate.
He couldn't help but ask, "Do you know the person I'll be rooming with?"
Chan chuckled. "I know everybody."
"No, I mean, do you know him? Is he… uh… a good person?" he stuttered.
His steps came to a halt and he turned to look at Seonghwa. He didn't ask, he stated. He knew. "Minho told you the old Greek man story."
Seonghwa scrunched up his face. "Well…"
"For the hell of it, I'm not telling you shit about him," the words came out of Chan's mouth with a laugh.
The groan hadn't even left his mouth when he heard someone yell a foreign name, Seonghwa had a hard time disguising it. Christakis?
"I'll be right there!" Chan yelled back and Seonghwa realised he was responding to the name. He was the one they called. "Wait- sorry, shit," he cursed. "I'm going to send somebody see you off to your quarters, yeah?"
Seonghwa nodded and watched Chan leaving. He lingered, staying put as he waited for somebody to guide him to his rooms. He thought back to the name they called Chan. He knew about some vague relation between him and Greece but he wasn't exactly sure what it was. He made a mental note to ask Minho later.
In a matter of moments, a member of staff came through, accompanying him to his room from last night and assisting him with his baggage as they walked to the quarters he'd be residing for the rest of the summer.
It was a tiny house, enough for a bathroom and a common room that included two beds and a kitchen. There was a door at the back, leading to an even tinier yard, enough for a drying rack, a table and two chairs.
His coworker let him know that he were to contact Chan if any issues come up and left him alone.
He wandered in the tiny space, taking notice of the stuff inside the house and what they provided them with, from furniture to electronic devices, feeling immense gratitude for the laundry machine.
Within the next hour, Seonghwa had showered, unpacked and hung his clothes. The temperature during daytime was nothing like the wind he was met with when he landed the night before. He looked at his clothes, thinking he might have packed a bit differently, or with more variety, if he knew. Still, he was half to blame for not researching it.
Seonghwa
Got settled in my room.
Minho
Are you kidding where's my picture
you're so dry
Seonghwa
Would you like me to text you like I'm updating
my status on Victorious
Minho
That would be perfect actually
How is it!!!
Seonghwa
Haven't met my roommate… feeling #nervous
and #scared :0
Minho
That's more like it
A knock distracted him. He opened the door, finding the same person who helped him earlier. She was holding a stack of clothes, that looked too many to be his uniform and on top of it was a card with his full name, the hotel name and his photo on it, his ID badge.
"All these for me?" Seonghwa asked.
"Mr. Bang said he doesn't know your size. You can try them all out and keep the one that fits," she explained.
Seonghwa noticed the girl's badge, spotting her name.
"Okay. Thank you, Sofia," he said before clicking the door shut once she was gone.
He took his time dressing himself in each change of clothes, knowing he didn't start work until the next day. He picked out his size and washed it, hoping to have it freshly cleaned until tomorrow but if the heat outside was any indication, he'd have it dry and ready in a couple of hours.
Seonghwa killed some more time at his place, contemplating whether he should go out or not. He was going to head out and hand back the unnecessary uniforms, he wasn't sure what to do after that. It was his last free day, a good opportunity to explore the island on his own and he wasn't sure what was holding him back.
Acting before he overthought it further, Seonghwa grabbed the clothes and his keycard and left his small house behind.
He stayed outside the majority of the day, spending money on food that was definitely overpriced. He strolled around Chora and after being exposed to too much sun and re-applying sunscreen a hundred times, Seonghwa was ready to call it a day and spend the rest of his time relaxing on his bed.
He kicked off his shoes and rushed to take his clothes off. He set the sweaty clothes aside and hopped into the shower, practically moaning when the cool water ran down his skin.
Tranquility washed over him alongside the soap as he scrubbed himself clean. Behind the transparent shower glass, Seonghwa was caught in the feeling, on how good it felt to lower his body temperature after all the sun exposure.
The house door opened, the person who entered whistling to a melody as they moved around the space and Seonghwa missed all of it and most importantly, he missed the sound of the bathroom door opening.
Seonghwa had his eyes closed while rinsing his hair, blissfully unaware he wasn't alone.
A shriek. And a scream. And another.
It happened very fast. The sound of his roommate shrieking to Seonghwa opening his eyes, making direct eye contact with him and joining him on the screaming. Both his hands flew to his privates and covered himself up at the same time his roommate turned away and exited the room, leaving behind a litany of apologies. When Seonghwa said he wanted to visit a nudist beach in Mykonos, he didn't expect to experience the free trial in his own home.
He rushed out, the idea of a relaxing shower long gone, and wrapped himself in a towel. And of course he hadn't brought clothes or underwear with him in the bathroom. Damn him.
Seonghwa walked out, hair dripping wet as he stepped into the common room. From the corner of his eye he caught a seated figure, his roommate hiding his face behind the palm of his hand in embarrassment.
"Hey," he greeted, sneaking a peek between his fingers.
Ginger hair and the same pair of bright brown eyes staring at him. It was Hongjoong, the guy he met earlier. The guy he was supposed to spend his shifts attached to his hip. And from the two times he'd seen Seonghwa, of course he had to have already seen him stark naked. No better way to kick start a relationship with your coworker than laying everything bare.
"Lemme just…" Seonghwa motioned towards the closet.
"Yes, yes!" he exclaimed in agreement and immediately paused. He cleared his throat and lowered his pitch. "Yes, of course."
Seonghwa came back dressed and found Hongjoong still in the same pile of mess. They hadn't shared the room for a day and Seonghwa had fucked up, Hongjoong was struggling to look at him.
"It's nice to see you again," Hongjoong said. "Again, again. You know- I didn't mean to walk in on you, I stupidly let my earphones in and didn't-"
"Don't think about it," Seonghwa interrupted him. He wished they could move on from the incident and the conversation. "I should have been more cautious myself, I left the door unlocked. But anyway, I think we can move on from that. What's done is done."
"Of course," the ginger agreed. "I want you to feel comfortable."
"Me? I flashed you."
"That's okay-"
"I didn't exactly think that's how my first interaction with my roommate would go," Seonghwa chuckled.
"If it makes you feel better, we had our first encounter. And it was rather normal," he pointed out.
"That's true," Seonghwa nodded. "I simply didn't expect this to happen so early in our cohabitation."
"Were you planning to flash me later on, then?" Hongjoong teased and Seonghwa got flustered. "I'm kidding. Look at it that way: shit happens, at least now you got it out of the way."
"Does that mean you'll flash me to get even?"
Hongjoon's mouth dropped open but nothing came out. Seonghwa saw this as a win.
"Great. I can't wait." He winked and excused himself, stepping in their little yard to check the uniform he had hung there to dry.
Luckily, they didn't bring the incident up again that day or any of the following ones.
Training Seonghwa meant that Hongjoong was around him at all times. They woke up together, worked together and then went home together after each shift. Hongjoong would sometimes disappear after a shift but always made it back to bed. Seonghwa guessed he must be with friends, either other coworkers or people he met on the island, he had worked at the hotel long enough to have both.
His first week, Hongjoong helped him adjust to working the front desk. Seonghwa's English were better than Chan had prepared Hongjoong for and he was able to hold minor conversations and serve customers with few inconveniences. At first Hongjoong was doing the talking as he guided Seonghwa through their software, teaching him the process of checking people in and out, checking availability, accepting payments and whatnot.
By the second week, he started urging Seonghwa to take the lead, talk to customers himself with partial assistance from Hongjoong, who not once left his side.
By the third week, Hongjoong supervised him, watching how he did and rarely interjecting, unless there was an issue out of the ordinary.
Seonghwa was focused on the job and his determination was showing. He was careful of Hongjoong's words and sought feedback. He processed the information, accepted his mistakes and made sure to fix them and avoid repeating them. It was one of the smoothest training periods of Hongjoong's career. It was refreshing.
They spent most of their time together, except for the moments he lost Hongjoong. The ginger had briefly asked Seonghwa of joining him, something like a night out or gathering but Seonghwa was short on mental and physical energy and politely declined.
At home, Hongjoong stayed true to the role of a teacher. He had purchased a big board and a tripod to help them with the lesson. Seonghwa believed he did it for the theatrics, a pen and notebook would have worked just fine.
He was teaching Seonghwa the most basic or common of phrases, the ones that were most likely to hear or have to use himself if need be.
They had been stuck on 'I don't know Greek' for a while now, Seonghwa's stubbornness insisting on the pronunciation despite his struggles.
"Δεν ξέρω ελληνικά," Hongjoong repeated for what Seonghwa counted as the hundredth time that day. "It's not a /d/ sound, it's more like…" he paused to think. "Think of English. It's quite similar to 'then'. That 'th' at the beginning, that's what you're aiming for."
"Den. Den ksero ellinika." He mispronounced and groaned, unsatisfied. "Okay then. Go then. Then. Then." He kept repeating in English, but still missing the /ð/ sound.
"Don't drive yourself crazy," Hongjoong interjected. "They're nice people. For the most part. They won't care if you can pronounce delta or not."
Seonghwa threw his weight against the back side of the chair, pressing his whole weight against it and sliding down with arms crossed and a pen and notebook on his lap. "It just bothers me that I can't get the basics right."
In the notebook he wrote every important detail, centring around his language learning journey, keeping notes of necessary vocabulary. The list kept growing, looking tall and thick as the words kept multiplying and he had to write down the translation in all three languages.
"You know the basics," Hongjoong corrected. "As far as I can remember, you're good with the most important ones."
Seonghwa glared. "You taught me how to curse."
"That's Greek enough," Hongjoong said. "Believe me, using 'malaka' at the right times will get you further than 'Hello, how are you?' in this country."
Seonghwa laughed until Hongjoong added, "You won't need me soon, and I'll be out of my teaching job."
"I'll keep fucking it up then."
Their shared time under the roof consisted of that, and cooking and eating together. The cooking part was debatable.
At first they started both cooking, each assigned a different task so they could finish faster and share a meal. Seonghwa was quick to notice that Hongjoong didn't have it. He tried cooking or rather helping, but Seonghwa ended up picking his tasks, too. It eventually turned to Seonghwa cooking them a meal while Hongjoong either stayed silent, his stare burning holes on Seonghwa's skin or talked non-stop while following the other man around the kitchen. He could swear he could see Hongjoong's smile but every time he turned to look at him, he avoided him like the plague. It all narrowed down to undeniable attraction on Seonghwa's part and complete confusion on Hongjoong's. It was impossible to interpret his signs, Seonghwa toeing between being oblivious and full of himself. Victim to his thoughts and inner monologue was Minho, who chugged the information down like alcohol and always asked for more. Their conversations kept getting riskier and Seonghwa made sure to hide his message previews and change Minho's contact, naming him after a nation-wide company to make it look less important.
It came time, after assuring Seonghwa can do the work on his own, that Hongjoong had to leave their post to assist elsewhere. He was hesitant but bit by bit he had gotten used to it and grow his confidence. He had his notebook with him for safety, ready to rely on it if something were to happen. Hongjoong had equipped him with some sort of buzzer.
"It alerts me when you click on it and I'll come running to save you," Hongjoong explained.
A hand flew to Seonghwa's chest. "Ah, my prince."
Hongjoong chuckled and bowed, as if paying respect to a royal, and exited.
The rest of the shift passed with minimal complications. His biggest and current problem was an old lady in her seventies, who seemed very adamant on getting what she was asking for.
"Pi… piperies?" Seonghwa tried repeating in Greek.
The old lady had been at the front desk for ten minutes now, and luckily for Seonghwa no other customers had shown up in the meantime. He clicked on the emergency button several times but Hongjoong didn't show up. From what he could make out, she tried to order room service and had issues with the menu. He had his notebook as well as the specially made menu Hongjoong gave him on the desk in front of him, the one containing words translated in all three languages, scanning the text for what the 'piperies' she was asking for was.
"Oh! Peppers?" he asked, the question slipping in English.
To his surprise, she understood.
"Peppers? Μόνο σκέτο peppers έχετε;" she switched back to Greek, all hope brutally leaving Seonghwa behind. "Ξενοδοχείο πολυτελείας και δεν έχετε ποικιλία στις πιπεριές;" Peppers? You only serve plain peppers? How do you, as a luxurious hotel, not have variety?
Seonghwa apologized in his shaky Greek accent. "Do you want- Θα θέλατε-" He caught sight of Hongjoong and let his sigh of relief die in his throat.
"What's the matter?" Hongjoong asked, the lady turning at the sound of his voice. Something changed in his eyes, recognizing her. "Hello, Mrs. Pola," he greeted in Greek and settled for a small wave.
Mrs. Pola had other plans. She stuck to his side, her smile wider than Seonghwa had ever seen before she pulled, or rather yanked, Hongjoong into her arms and trapped him in her hug.
She greeted him back, her response seeming lengthier as she listed a number of pet names.
"Με το μαλακό." Easy there. Hongjoong pulled away and smiled at her. He shifted his focus to Seonghwa, checking up on him. "Everything okay?"
"She's asking for something off the menu," Seonghwa said. "She said something about piperies flo…"
"Piperies florinis?" The question was directed to Seonghwa, but the customer's ears perked up in interest.
She exclaimed in agreement, knowing Hongjoong understood what she was talking about. "Ναι, παλικάρι μου. Ξέρεις εσύ, το καθιερωμένο μου." Yes, my boy. My usual, you know.
Seonghwa watched as they kept interacting, keeping a smiley face as they spoke in Greek, being unable to add to their conversation.
"I'll take care of it, Mrs. Pola. Why don't you go to your room?" Hongjoong suggested.
"My room? No, no, I'm waiting for Sophie, we never miss a night out in Mykonos," she giggled. She put her hands on Hongjoong again, both touching either sides of his arms as she looked up at him. "You're a young man, what are you still doing here?"
"Somebody has to keep the place running, otherwise who's going to get your specially made order?" He grinned and Seonghwa could almost physically feel the effect he had on the old lady, the way he charmed her. He was guilty of being under the same spell.
"Oh, I won't tell Christakis if you run away," Mrs. Pola whispered with a laugh.
"You might not but Christakis has eyes everywhere on the island," he said.
A second female voice joined. She was in the middle of her sentence as she entered the room. She was the same age as Mrs. Pola, except unlike Mrs. Pola's dyed ginger hair, hers was entirely grey. Seonghwa assumed she was Sophie, the friend she mentioned earlier. He recognized the name from the records as well, remembering them checking in with her name. There was a young man with them, her grandson who seemed annoyed at the time, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Καλώς τον! Τι κάνεις, αγόρι μου;" Welcome! How are you, my boy? She leaned towards Hongjoong, kissing him on both cheeks and he was surprised to see him do the same.
Then she turned to Seonghwa, her face shining. She smiled, the expression growing wider across her lips and it looked as if she personally knew Seonghwa. And still none of it was fake, she was always genuine. There was no physical contact but she greeted him too, using Korean.
Surprised, he greeted back.
"Κυρία Σοφία, με εντυπωσιάζετε όπως πάντα." Mrs. Sophia, you impress me as always. Hongjoong remarked. Then he explained to Seonghwa. "Mrs. Sophia speaks a little English and French. And as of late she has started familiarising herself with Korean when she's around the hotel."
"Σου 'χω πει να με λες Σόφη." I told you to call me Sophie, she corrected.
"Well, Sophie," Hongjoong returned to Greek, "your friend has been giving my colleague a hard time."
"Theopoula," Sophie warned, using her full first name. "We've talked about this."
"We've been vacationing here for years, I thought they'd eventually make an addition to the menu," her friend defended innocently.
"Apologise to the young man," Sophie ordered and looked back at Seonghwa, motioning at him. "Έλα εδώ, αγόρι μου."
Seonghwa looked between her and Hongjoong confused, waiting for permission. Hongjoong told him to come closer and he slipped from behind the counter, nearing the three of them. Hongjoong stared and smiled at him a beat too long and Mrs. Sophie noticed.
"Τι όμορφο παιδί." She admired Seonghwa and then translated. "You're a handsome man!"
"Oh, you're very sweet," he replied.
Hongjoong stayed put, staring at the two of them with fondness in his eyes, Mrs. Pola also noticing and smirking next to him.
"Εσένα ποιά είναι η γνώμη σου;" she asked mischievously.
Hongjoong froze and became a stuttering mess.
"Με το πάσο σου, δε βιάζομαι." Take your time, I'm not in a rush.
Hongjoong thought he was going to explode. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Είναι πολύ όμορφος."
She was having the time of her life.
Seonghwa narrowed his eyes, and tried keeping the smile on his face. "What did she say?"
"Uh," Hongjoong hesitated. "She asked for my opinion. On your looks."
With his mouth forming a silent 'oh', Seonghwa asked, "What did you say?"
"That you're very beautiful."
They stayed silent, staring at each other. The two women beamed at them.
Sophie tugged Hongjoong closer to Seonghwa, making them stand next to each to other, admiring them and then broke the silence. "Τζουτζούκο μου," she pinched Hongjoong's cheek. "Το είχα καημό να βρεις ένα καλό παιδί."
"No-"
"Άντε εμείς να πηγαίνουμε τώρα, μας περιμένει η Ντόνα," she didn't let him finish. She took her friend by the hand. "Au revoir!"
And then they were gone.
"What was that about?" Seonghwa asked. "The last bit."
"They had to go, their friend Donna is waiting for them," Hongjoong translated.
"No, before that," he clarified. "What did she call you? Joong Joong?"
"Oh, no, it's uh," Hongjoong struggled. "It's a pet name. It's like, it means- it basically is-"
"Do you need a moment?"
Hongjoong made the mistake of looking up at Seonghwa, seeing him bite the inside of his lips to hold back a smile.
"It's a away of endearingly calling somebody little and cute. It's rare, I'd never heard it until them. They use it on me all the time." He collected himself. "But to be fair I do think it's a play on my name, because they are similar-sounding… ish."
"Alright… Is that all she said?"
His head snapped to Seonghwa's direction. "Huh?"
Seonghwa pressed. "Didn't she say something afterwards?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Nothing important." He scratched his nose and mumbled, "Some worries about my love life."
"Sorry? I barely made out any of that," said Seonghwa.
"I said, uh," Hongjoong trailed off. "She made a comment about my, uh, personal life. And her worries. And that you're a nice guy. Basically. Yeah."
"She's worried about your personal life and she thinks I'm nice?" Seonghwa repeated. "How are these two correlated?"
Hongjoong groaned. "Don't make me say it."
"Did she mean-" he started. "Ohhhh."
"Yes, oh." Hongjoong walked back to their post. "Now come, I want you behind the counter."
Seonghwa complied and stood next to Hongjoong.
"Behind the counter, over the counter. However you want me."
The words came so suddenly Hongjoong swore he imagined them.
"What?"
Seonghwa looked up from the papers he was supposedly reading on the desk with an innocent look on his face. "I didn't say anything."
Hongjoong nodded and got back to work, keeping his thoughts clear of Seonghwa in compromising positions.
The day stretched, both men finding themselves out past midnight. They had called it a night, deciding to enjoy their night in silence and go to sleep when they heard banging on their door.
Seonghwa groaned, refusing to get up from his bed.
Hongjoong was laying down on his bed, hair messy against the pillow. "What the hell is that?"
He forced himself to the door, dragging his slippers across the floor and the sound echoed in their room.
Seonghwa opened the door, revealing Chan behind the loud, disturbing knocking.
Chan looked Seonghwa up and down, puzzled that he was ready for bed. "You're going to bed?"
"That's the plan yes."
Hongjoong yelled from inside the room, "Who is it?"
"Jehovah's witnesses," Seonghwa deadpanned.
"Hi, Joongie!" Chan yelled.
A string of no's starting coming from Hongjoong's mouths, rushing to joining Seonghwa by the door. "No," he said one final time.
"You don't know what I was going to say," Chan countered.
"We are not interested."
He tried closing the door but Chan put a hand against it, preventing him from shutting it.
"The night is still young, you're not telling me you'd rather spend it on your bed," Chan said.
"Our bed is very comfortable, thank you very much," Hongjoong hit back.
"I didn't realise you guys sleep together." Chan smirked. "Although that would explain why Hongjoong-"
In the blink of an eye, Hongjoong's hand covered his mouth. "Sorry, we don't have time for this, we have to go."
Chan raised his eyebrows in interest. He bit Hongjoong's hand, earning a squeal from him as he removed it.
"Of course, I didn't mean to interrupt couple's night in," Chan apologized, that mischievous grin not leaving his face.
Seonghwa shook his head. "Hongjoong and I, we're not…"
"Exactly, we aren't," Hongjoong agreed.
"And we sleep on different beds," he added.
"Alright, then you're coming with me. Young, hot and single on an island filled with horny people. Come on." Chan put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I'll give you ten minutes. After that, I'm dragging you out myself."
Seonghwa
I hate your friend
VODAFONE (Minho)
What did he do
Seonghwa
We're gay clubbing
VODAFONE
Awhhh #ally
Seonghwa
He's not letting the lgbtq community (me)
sleep, that sounds more like homophobia
VODAFONE
oh no baby's grumpy
Seonghwa
😐🖕
He groaned from where he was walking behind Chan. The manager turned around, walking back to Seonghwa and Hongjoong, putting himself between them and looping his arms around their necks.
"What's wrong, honey?" Chan pinched his cheek.
"It's the middle of the night and I left my home. At 1am," he complained.
"You're a young man on a popular summer location. Nobody stays at home at 1am," Chan said.
"You're in Greece," Hongjoong chimed in. "People probably go out at 1am even during winter."
Chan nodded. "Exactly. You need to adapt."
With a roll of his eyes, Seonghwa spoke. "I adapt better with a well rested mind."
"Why don't you leave that to me? I promise this night will be worth your time." Chan turned his head to face the ginger. "Right, Hongjoong?"
"Right. Worth your time and money." Sarcasm laced his voice. "That's important to add."
Chan laughed and they kept walking.
Seonghwa always thought that familiarising himself with the island would include exploring the place outside Chora, not Hongjoong's mouth.
Keeping his promise, Chan dragged them to club after club, and somewhere between the new people he met and the drinks they bought him, Seonghwa started thinking less of his cosy bed and the busy day awaiting him tomorrow and started letting himself loose.
In his first month in Mykonos, Seonghwa hadn't done as much as he wished, but that was a price he knew he was going to pay, knowing how demanding and time-consuming his job was, his shifts stretching longer than the regular eight hours per day. With work on his mind and limited time to rest, he hadn't gotten close to anyone beside Chan and Hongjoong, every other relationship with his colleagues remaining merely an acquaintance, not moving past introduction.
He also didn't typically enjoy night life, it was only reasonable this was his first time seeing Mykonos past midnight.
There were countless efforts put in, by Chan's friends as much as party-goers, to hit on Seonghwa. It seemed that the manager had a mission all along, set up both Seonghwa and Hongjoong despite his unsuccessful attempts.
Hongjoong got flustered at the attention, turning them down kindly but firmly and keeping his hands to himself.
For Seonghwa, it was harder. There was a pang of guilt, trying to politely decline only for them not to take the hint. In his attempt to be nice and not hurt their feelings, he made himself look interested and available, keeping the small talk going.
They kept losing sight of Chan, always getting called from left and right. They weren't kidding when they said he knew everyone.
The two of them were left unattended, left catching their breaths after losing themselves in the dance floor. They had kept their eyes locked while dancing, an unspoken conversation between them as they held back their laugh while getting away from the men they were partnered with. They managed to escape, a firm hand around Seonghwa's bicep as they slipped between the bodies and found a quiet corner.
Once they separated from the crowd, they caught their breath and the moment their eyes met, they erupted into laughter.
"I think we're safe here," Hongjoong breathed out.
"I hope so." Seonghwa leaned and looked around the club, confirming nobody noticed them. "Never in my life have I turned down so many men in the same night."
"I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to you before," Hongjoong said.
"You don't have to say that to be nice," Seonghwa chuckled and Hongjoong pouted at the words, baffled at the thought that Seonghwa didn't know the affect he had on men. "And they weren't my type anyway. They were… too broad, too big. I'm not into that."
Hongjoong hesitated before he asked. "What are you into then?"
"From the top of my head…" Seonghwa pondered. "Barely shorter than me, brown eyes, ginger dyed hair."
"Oh, that's… nice." Hongjoong gulped, suddenly too conscious of his hand on Seonghwa's arm. "I'll let you know if I meet somebody like that."
"No need," Seonghwa was fast to reply. "I already have my eye set on someone."
Hongjoong's eyebrows raised, anxious that Seonghwa wasn't actually saying what he was implying, like it was a twisted trick his mind played on him.
His grip tightened and he stepped closer, eyes staring deep into Seonghwa's and flickering down to his lips.
The words came out impatient and breathy. "Are you going to kiss me?"
Hongjoong stuttered, "That was the pla-"
Hungry lips attacked his, open and inviting, delving into his taste immediately and it was sweeter than he could imagine.
Seonghwa's own hands travelled over Hongjoong, landing on his waist and neck, pressing him closer, needing him closer.
Their first kiss was like breaking the dam, both unable to stop afterwards and starving for more. Hongjoong slipped his fingers through Seonghwa's hair and gave it a tug, eliciting a moan out of him.
In the midst of satisfying his desire, Seonghwa pulled his body flushed against Hongjoong's, aching to be closer. The kissing momentarily stopped, gasping for air, but Hongjoong's lips were like water after a drought, and Seonghwa needed him more than oxygen.
Dizzy and dazed, Hongjoong's ears didn't miss the sound, a wake up call from a familiar voice.
He stopped and pulled away from Seonghwa, who seemed puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"We have to go," he responded.
"What, why? Go where? What happened?"
Hongjoong took him by the hand, hating himself for pulling away and hoping Seonghwa wouldn't lose his interest.
They made it to the exit, ready to disappear and not be seen when they stumbled on another person and much to Hongjoong's displeasure was Sophie and her friend, Pola.
"I see you took our advice!" Sophie exclaimed, happy to see them outside the hotel for once. "Where are my loves going?"
"I'm taking him to bed," Hongjoong replied and Seonghwa added, "We've got a busy schedule."
"I would hope so. Relationships always start this way when you're young," Mrs. Pola said.
"We were talking about work. About tomorrow."
"Sure you were," she smirked. "Have a fun busy night."
She didn't need to tell them twice. Hongjoong took Seonghwa away as fast as he would.
"Exactly how busy are we tonight?" Seonghwa asked, knowing they indeed weren't talking about their shifts.
Hongjoong winked. "As busy as you can go."
The next day, Seonghwa was at his post behind the counter, silence thundering as he typed on the laptop. Suddenly, it was slapped shut, a hand keeping it firmly closed. Seonghwa lifted his gaze, seeing Chan hovering over him.
"Όμορφες καλημέρες," he greeted, Seonghwa glaring at him and then proceeded translating. "Best of beautiful mornings to you, my Seonghwa."
Seonghwa kept glaring. "You didn't say all that."
"Γιάννης, Γιαννάκης." Chan couldn't help himself. "Potayto, potahto."
"Can I help you?"
Chan slid around the counter and joined Seonghwa, body pressed against the wood so he was face to face with the other man. "Sure, are you busy?"
"Very, I don't think my manager would be happy to see me slacking," Seonghwa retorted.
He barked a laugh. "What a proper malakas όπως λέμε και στο χωριό μου." What a proper douche bag, as we say in my village. (*)
"Your words not mine."
"Sooooooo." Chan tilted his body to the left towards Seonghwa, leaning in a way that forced him to look at him. "Did you have fun last night?"
"When do you mean? Before or after you started selling me off to every single gay man in Mykonos." He immediately corrected himself, "Actually, no. Every gay man in Mykonos period. Some of them weren't even single."
Chan shrugged. "You're a catch, if you go fishing someone's bound to take the bait."
"Next time give me a heads up before you put me on a hook and throw me in the sea, yeah?"
"Yeah, yeah," the manager shook him off. "So, how was it?"
"Before or after?" Seonghwa asked again.
"After," he answered. "I would've helped you shake some men off if I knew you had all your eggs in one basket."
Seonghwa paused. "What?"
"Didn't you go home with Joong last night?"
"I go home with Hongjoong every night, we're roommates," Seonghwa played dumb. "We always leave together."
"Leave together, come together too I bet."
The words threw Seonghwa in a coughing fit.
"I'm sorry did I make you uncomfortable?" Chan asked, not one bit genuine.
"You know?" Seonghwa asked.
"Of course I know. I know everything, don't make me repeat myself. Now tell me."
He cocked an eyebrow. "But I thought you knew."
"Not the details, Joong wouldn't tell me that," Chan complained. "Now tell me how many times."
Not telling Chan details? That seemed natural. But Seonghwa was contemplating the entire situation. It seemed strange that Hongjoong told him anything in the first place. As close as they were, he didn't like giving Chan room to tease him and pry.
"What? I'm not telling you," he said.
"Was it only once?" Chan gasped. "Damn, I thought he'd have better stamina."
Seonghwa took the offence. "I'll have you know both our stamina are great."
"Oh yes, please have me know. I'd love to know," he grinned.
They were joined by a third voice, saving him from the conversation.
"Hi."
Seonghwa shrieked and jumped the moment he saw Hongjoong.
His coworker walked up to them, remaining on the other side of the counter. "What are we talking about? Did I miss all the fun?"
Chan didn't hesitate to tell the truth. "We're talking about the two of you having sex last night."
"We didn't have sex," Hongjoong countered.
"You didn't? Seonghwa said you did."
Hongjoong's eyes were blown wide. "You told him?"
"You told him first!" Seonghwa defended.
"I didn't tell him shit."
"Ohhhhh," Seonghwa glared at Chan and pointed an accusatory finger at his manager. "You played me."
Chan threw his hands up in innocence. "Now is anyone going to fill me in or are you saving that for each other?"
Seonghwa turned pink and slapped him with a notebook. "Γαμώτο σου, Χριστόφορε," he cursed. Damn you, Christopher.
While the relentless teasing from Chan didn't falter, neither did their relationship, if it was one. Through the following weeks, Seonghwa and Hongjoong retained the proximity, finding comfort in being physically close to one another. The actions varied from sitting with their knees touching, to stolen touches as they worked to being all over each other in their kitchen.
None of it came without hesitancy. While initiating sexual intimacy wasn't an issue, both men being well aware of their mutual attraction, initiating affection was different. Seonghwa's feelings weren't quieting down. Instead of relieving his hunger, the more he had of Hongjoong the more he craved him. The more bits of him he unlocked, the more he wanted him whole. He constantly wanted to mindlessly touch Hongjoong. He wanted to be close to him without sex being a part of the equation. He dreamed of kissing Hongjoong, day or night, no matter the time or the setting. He longed to be held by Hongjoong and not just during post-coital cuddling.
Most importantly he wanted Hongjoong to want these things too. His heart beat intensified, echoed through his chest, the sound making it to his ears every time Hongjoong showed interest in him. It happened during work, standing behind Seonghwa and guiding him, hands set on his body, glued to his waist. Seonghwa would be lying if he said he heard a word Hongjoong had said.
Other times, he would pick his hand up. Not to hold while walking or for long, but it wasn't rare that Hongjoong's hand travelled and hovered over Seonghwa's, thumb caressing his skin.
Seonghwa was cooking in the kitchen when he felt a warmth pressing against his body. His movements were suddenly restricted, Hongjoong wrapping an arm around his waist and leaving a kiss on his shoulder, greeting him back.
The last one made him a little less confused. Minho argued that he's stupid and Hongjoong, in his own subtle way, was trying to start, or rather establish, something. Minho worked as his personal cheerleader, encouraging him to make a move.
On days off, Hongjoong showed Hongjoong the island. Similarly to Chan, he knew the place and the people, enough to navigate himself and get by with minimal difficulties. It was also quieter with Hongjoong, giving him the benefit of escaping social situations. After all, it was Hongjoong and only Hongjoong he wanted to spend his time with. At home, at work, off work, if you spotted Seonghwa you spotted Hongjoong, too.
Hongjoong had encouraged him to make a list, name things he wanted to try, whether that would be activities around the island or local dishes he had heard of. He didn't know if he would get Seonghwa for a second summer, he didn't know if he would get him outside of Mykonos at all, and he wanted to give him the best experience possible.
They spent early morning or late evenings on boat trips and visits to empty beaches, spots just for them to enjoy. They walked around Chora a lot, holding hands and dimples showing. Seonghwa had the habit of stopping at every tourist shop and picking gifts for his loved ones.
They went through his list, crossing things off line by line until it came to the inevitable, predictable visit to a nudist beach.
"You really want to go?" Hongjoong asked, unsure if he wanted to go there but willing to do it for Seonghwa.
"It sort of was the only thing I planned before coming to the island," Seonghwa admitted. "I've gone skinny dipping before and Minho and Chan talked me into it enough to have me convinced. It's totally fine if you don't wanna come though, don't worry. I can always go alone."
A set of alarms went off in Hongjoong's head, the idea of Seonghwa going alone sounding ultimately worse. "I'm coming with."
Seonghwa and Hongjoong got up from where they were laying on their stomachs, making a beeline for the sea when someone called Hongjong's name. Mortified, he turned and greeted back awkwardly. But the interaction didn't end there, the person stood up excitedly, wanting to be introduced to Hongjoong's companion.
"This is Donna," Hongjoong said.
"And the Diamonds?" Seonghwa joked.
Donna started talking in a mix of English and Greek, and Seonghwa understood most of the words but Hongjoong still had to explain.
"She says she's here hiding because her daughter invited three of her ex lovers to the island, trying to figure out which one is her father."
"You're not funny, you know."
Hongjoong laughed. "She's here to spy on her ex because, her words not mine," he subtly pointed to a woman sunbathing, "that short bitch stole her boyfriend."
At loss for words, Seonghwa said. "Ah, nice. Good luck?"
Donna thanked them and went back to her spying, laying down on her towel, sunglasses on and hiding behind a fashion magazine.
Hongjoong motioned with his head. "You wanna go for that swim?"
The swim ended up in a race, both too stubborn to accept defeat and asking for another round. It was Hongjoong who gave up, losing the last round and being too busy with gazing at Seonghwa's smile to be sour about his defeat.
Seonghwa took him out of his haze. "I'm sorry what?"
"I asked if you want to go again?" Seonghwa replied.
"You asked me that a lot," Hongjoong said and the other man pinched him for the innuendo. "But no, I don't wanna go again."
"Okay," his voice was whiny, enjoying his consecutive victories. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"I'm not laughing, I'm smiling."
"Same thing." Hongjoong kept grinning at him and Seonghwa slapped him on the chest. "Stop it!"
Hongjoong grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer, Seonghwa stumbling and falling against him.
He widened his eyes. "What are you doing?"
"I'm kissing you?"
"You can't do that!" He looked at him, scandalized.
"Since when?"
"Since we're at a nudist beach!" He yelled in a whisper.
"Baby, it's just a kiss, I'm not gonna jump your bones for everyone to see. It's already hard as it is not thinking about people seeing you naked."
Heat rushed to his cheeks, matching with his sunburned skin. Hongjoong saw him flushed and took the opportunity to go in for the kiss, pressing their lips together before Seonghwa could stop him a second time. He remained stiff at first before starting to melt into the kiss. Seonghwa placed a hand behind Hongjoong's neck and deepened the kiss, the ginger smirking against his lips. So much for being embarrassed.
The muttering they used to hear from people in the distance got louder, like people walking closer to them and popping their bubble.
"Ugh, I hate PDA. At the beach of all places."
Hongjoong snapped out of it fast, ready to bark back and argue. His brows narrowed, clearly annoyed and turned to the men who talked about them. His eyes zeroed on them and a whole different emotion washed over him.
"What the fuck?"
"Hongjoong, hi!" One of them greeted, smiling.
"We almost didn't see you there," the other one teased.
Hongjoong rolled his eyes. He turned to Seonghwa to introduce them. "This is Mingi, this is Yunho. This is Seonghwa."
"Wow, lighten up," Yunho joked. "Are you not happy to see your friends? It's been so long."
"I would be happy to see my friends in any other situation," he said.
Yunho leaned towards him, trying to check Hongjoong through the water. "Why, what do you have to hide?"
His hands flew to his crotch and stepped back, his body colliding with Seonghwa's front.
Mingi shrugged. "Nothing we haven't seen before."
"Right. Do you need anything or were you just trying to be annoying?"
"Don't be ashamed of us." Yunho turned to Mingi. "Doesn't he seem embarrassed?"
"He does," he agreed. "We might have to revoke his wedding invitation."
"And then you'd have to cancel on your plus one. It's not polite to do that is it?" Yunho said and turned to Seonghwa. "I'm assuming you're the plus one. Hongjoong's famous, mysterious guy?"
"Hopefully that would be me, yes." Seonghwa chuckled awkwardly. "Unless there are others I don't know about."
Hongjoong stared at him as if saying, I'd rather explode than be with anybody else.
"Great! Then we'll see you at the wedding?" Mingi chirped.
"Me?"
"Of course you!" Yunho exclaimed. "Hongjoong said he'll need a plus one. Don't tell me he didn't tell you."
"We haven't really discussed…"
"Hongjoong!" Yunho interrupted him. "Who gives out a late invite to a wedding?"
Turning to Seonghwa, Mingi added. "Please know this wasn't our lack of consideration but Hongjoong's."
"Guys." Hongjoong warned.
Yunho pretended to be scared. "Oh no, we've pushed too many buttons, Min."
"Shit, we better swim away or he might steal our voices and trap them in a necklace," his fiance said, already walking away.
"You're right, you're right." Yunho joined him, swimming away after shouting, "See you at the wedding!"
Once they were safe and alone, Hongjoong span around and faced Seonghwa.
"So… those were my friends," he said. "Some of them, at least."
"Are the rest as nosy as them?"
"No," Hongjoong replied fast. "Okay, maybe. Yes. Yes, they are. They might be worse, actually. No, they are worse."
"Well, thank you for the transparency." Seonghwa giggled. "The wedding?"
"Yes, I'm sorry," Hongjoong apologized. "It's not exactly a wedding, they're only doing the reception here. Greeks go big on weddings, it's going to be a whole thing. The guest list, the food, the music. It'll probably last until dusk."
"Γλέντι;" Seonghwa asked.
"Yes! It's a Greek's favourite part. I can't blame them. I've been to a Greek wedding before and I didn't know the couple but it didn't matter. I wasn't friends or family but everybody treated me like I was anyway," Hongjoong rambled. "I'm guessing this one's gonna be more fun. With it being my best friends' and everything."
"It sounds nice." Seonghwa smiled. "Do you have a date or…?"
"Yes," said Hongjoong. "I mean, no! I wanted to ask you, so I do already have somebody in mind, you, but if you'd rather not come…"
"Who are you going to bring then?"
"Nobody. It's either you or by myself," Hongjoong replied. "Plus, you're the reason I asked them if I could bring a date in the first place. I wasn't going to take anybody else."
Seonghwa bit the inside of his cheeks, unable to contain himself, thinking he might burst out of joy. "I'm coming."
The ginger sighed in relief. "The words every man wants to hear." Another slap came against his pecs. "You've been hitting me too much, I'll start thinking you have a thing for my chest."
Seonghwa smirked, tongue sliding across his front teeth. "Take me home and test your theory."
Hongjoong had never swam out faster.
He laid on his stomach, after Seonghwa had proven how much he actually liked Hongjoong's chest. He laid his head on his arms while Seonghwa was on his side, resting on the palm of his left hand as he gazed at Hongjoong. Seonghwa's hand was caressing up and down his back, soothing movements lulling him to sleep.
"I can't believe you didn't even like me at first," Seonghwa said, interrupting the ginger from his trance.
Hongjoong groaned and rolled his eyes. "Misinformation. I couldn't look at you because you were too fucking hot and I had to live with you."
"You still live with me," Seonghwa pointed, eyebrow cocked as he kept tracing circles on his bare back.
"But now I get to freak out in front of you," Hongjoong countered. "Back then I had to keep it all inside like internal bleeding."
Seonghwa furrowed his brows and chuckled. "Baby, I don't think that's how that works."
"Whatever." Hongjoong shifted, as if to get comfortable even though he hadn't changed his position in the first place.
"I'll let it slide because you're pretty."
With eyes closed, Hongjoong bit back the smile that was creeping on his lips. "And because I'm right."
"Mhm," Seonghwa hummed. He leaned in and kissed his temple. "Whatever you say, pretty."
Hongjoong was smiling widely now. Feeling Seonghwa's hand stilling on his back, he moved trying to get him to keep going. "Don't stop," he whined.
Seonghwa laughed and kept running his hand over Hongjoong as he drifted off to sleep.
They were outside the venue, having just arrived. Seonghwa noticed Hongjoong wasn't following him and stopped. "Are we walking in?"
"Yes, just…" Hongjoong hesitated.
"What is it? Did we forget something?" he asked.
"No, no. It's not exactly about the wedding, it's… It has to do with the wedding but not really, in a way-"
"Hongjoong," he stopped him. "What is it?"
"When we walk in… We're going to go in and see a bunch of people and meet a whole other bunch of people."
"That's the plan, sums up weddings pretty well."
"And I'm going to say 'Hi, I'm Hongjoong and this is Seonghwa'."
"Sounds about right, those are our names."
"I'm Hongjoong and this is Seonghwa…" Hongjoong repeated, trying to point out that his sentence is left unfinished. "Seonghwa, my…?"
Seonghwa held back the smile creeping on his lips. "If this is your way of asking me to be your boyfriend, you're doing a horrible job at it."
Closing his eyes and throwing his head back, Hongjoong let out a whiny sound. Seonghwa took him by his shoulders and forced him to look him in the eye.
"Ask me. Properly," he demanded.
Having Seonghwa's big brown eyes staring right into his didn't make it any easier. "Will you be my boyfriend?"
Seonghwa gave him a peck on the lips and stepped away. "I'll think about it."
The ginger pulled him in again, not letting him get away. "Hey," he pouted.
He kissed him again, sweeter this time. "Yes, I'll be your boyfriend. I've been waiting for you to catch on and ask."
"You wanted this?" Hongjoong asked, surprised.
"Obviously? What did you think, that I was leading you on?"
"I don't know maybe you were looking for something less serious-"
"God no. I'm not like that," Seonghwa said. "I want to be your boyfriend. Serious, official, taken. Is that clear enough?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." He gave him another kiss. "Now, come on! I want to see more of your friends picking on you."
They walked in, staff rushing to them to help them get seated and show them off to their table.
They sat with the rest of Hongjoong's friends, introducing Seonghwa to them one by one, shaking hands and his friends looked at him like they had a million things to say.
"You're trying to tell me you pulled this guy?" Wooyoung said and turned to Seonghwa. "You do know Hongjoong's not all that, right?"
Seonghwa laughed and stopped Hongjoong from latching onto him.
It was just like Hongjoong had described, everybody acted like Seonghwa had been family, like he was a part of the friend group. There was so much going on, so many people introducing themselves, an incredible mix of various languages all wrapped in one wedding celebration, from the guests to the music that played. It wouldn't be a γλέντι on a Greek island if Seonghwa wasn't dragged into dancing traditional Greek dances, something Hongjoong said was 'a must' as he tried coaching him through what he called Ikariotiko.
The music quieted down, Jongho and Yeosang standing on stage, sharing a microphone.
"Ο κάτοχος του ΝΒΡ 1317 να μετακινήσει το αυτοκίνητό του γιατί ενοχλεί. Ευχαριστώ." May the owner of NBR 1317 move their car because it's causing trouble. Thank you.
Yeosang snatched the mic from his hands. "He's kidding."
"Moving to more exciting news," the younger man started.
"We have a surprise for the newlyweds," Yeosang beamed.
"A gift from us to you." Jongho gesture to them before pointing to Yunho and Mingi.
"Hit it!" Yeosang shouted and music started playing again.
Another figure stepped on the stage, walking under the bright lights. A lady stepped on stage with her own microphone in hand, wishing a joyful life to Mingi and Yunho before the live music started.
And then she went deep into song, the dance floor getting crowded as she sang, Wooyoung being the first to jump on it and everybody followed his lead.
Hongjoong stood up from their table, hand in Seonghwa's, walking them both to his friends and joining the rest of the guests on the dance floor.
The woman kept going for another twenty minute, alternating between her songs before she gave her best to the couple again and walked off stage.
The two men got up on the stage a second time.
"Now for our next gift…"
Before Yeosang could finish, Jongho said. "We want to see Hongjoong naked."
"Yes!" Yeosang said too fast, before registering what Jongho said. "No! We want to welcome our next guest on stage."
"Yes, Kim Hongjoong. No clothes allowed," Jongho repeated. He looked at Hongjoong from where he was standing and motioning for him to stop. "What? I heard Yunho and Mingi got a free show, εμείς στο πηγάδι κατουρήσαμε;" Did we piss in a well? (**)
"With no further ado," Yeosang pushed him to the side and introduced the next singer they had secretly booked for the wedding.
The song changed, the sound resembling eastern music but not quite, as the man sang in Greek and the guests cheered. There were groups of people, rolling their bodies by emphasising either on the chest area or their hips. Their friends were kneeling around them, clapping their hands to the beat and hyping them up.
Somewhere in the room, Yunho shamelessly asked for a woman's shawl, a deep red with gold details that led to gold strings hanging off the edge. He wrapped it around his waist and made it back to his own table where Jongho and Wooyoung were making room by setting the plates aside. Yunho stepped on the table, loud cheers and whistles coming from all over the place. He danced, his moves drawing attention to the lower part of his body.
From where he was standing by the table, Wooyoung yelled, "Κούνα το, τσολιά μου!" (***)
Yunho looked at his friends, smiling and singing along with them, but he couldn't be alone up there and quickly dragged one of them up with him. He walked, still on the table, to where Jongho was crouching. "Come on, you're dancing with me."
His eyes were blown wide open. "No chance in hell."
"You love it drop the act." Yunho gave him his hand. "Σήκω είπα!" I said stand up!
As Jongho took his hand and let Yunho drag him, San shouted. "Έλα, πάμε λίγο! Keep going, keep going!" Come on, let's go! Keep going, keep going!
The two of them kept dancing, leaning forward and backwards at the same time.
"Can you tell they love tsifteteli?" Hongjoong spoke over the music.
Their friends rushed, looking around the room and stole another shawl for Jongho, handing it over. Jongho tied it around his body and kept dancing, his body rolling intensely as he did.
His eyes were burning onto Hongjoong with nothing but affection and desire. Hongjoong must have felt it, he turned to look back at Seonghwa and smiled at him from ear to ear.
Seonghwa thought about everything that happened the last few months. Mykonos was busy schedules, tiring shifts, annoying customers and lack of sleep. But that wasn't all it was. It also was late cold nights with friends and pretty sunsets. It was days off with scenic views and crystal clear blue waters. Everything was perfect.
With a new set of friends, a nosy manager and a promising new relationship, coming back to Mykonos next summer didn't sound so bad.