Hongjoong awoke giddy. He had fallen asleep to the memory of Seonghwa's sweet kiss, and it was the first thing that came to his mind when he woke up. He was falling for the man, rapidly so, but it was pleasant. Hongjoong knew how to spread his wings and fly.

The first thing Hongjoong did in the morning while he was still in bed was to check his social media. Seonghwa's schedule had changed to normal work and sleeping times, so Hongjoong would prepare to sleep in the afternoon instead. Thus, he got plenty of time today on the odd adjustment day to lounge around before he had to rise.

And what better for an idiot in love than to look at the handsome face of his dreams right after waking up?

Since he had a mission, Hongjoong ignored the private message he had received for now. Lightning fast, he typed in Seonghwa's online name into the search bar. It recommended the man to him after two letters.

Hongjoong was over the moon when he saw a new post of the man. He liked it before he had even looked at it clearly.

It was another one of his selfies. With a crooked grin that matched Hongjoong's pure giddiness, the man laid in his pillows with an arm behind his head. His dark hair was adorably ruffled, and his pretty hand hung over his head to partly cover bits of his face. His shy grin was still visible, however.

Hongjoong's heart did merry somersaults he could never execute in actual life. For far too long, he stared at the handsome man. His real features were even more attractive than dream-him.

The caption had Hongjoong bite his lip.

"Dreamt of kissing a cute boy, but woke up too soon. What's your favourite chapstick flavour?" He had added an emoji that rolled his eyes and a heart. Hongjoong giggled at it.

As before, he was too shy to reply publicly to Seonghwa's posts. He could only stare in wonder for a while longer. And chuckle at Wooyoung's reply that was just a lot of eyes.

Once Hongjoong had his fill, he switched over to his private messages. Just as his heart started to calm, it jumped to his throat once more. Seonghwa had sent him a direct message.

Hastily, Hongjoong wiped his sweaty fingers on his pillow. He opened the message with great delicacy.

Hey, good morning. I'm super sorry for disappearing on you like that yesterday.

Seonghwa even texted with lots of emojis. Hongjoong found it endearing. Quickly, he typed a reply.

I must be that good of a kisser. Let me add this to my book of instant remedies.

Since Seonghwa was at work currently, he likely wouldn't reply until his next break. Buoyantly, Hongjoong swung his legs onto the ground and stood up. With a hum, he changed into his lazing around clothes and left his room.

During breakfast, he checked the rest of his messages. Wooyoung had added him as a friend now, and he had sent Hongjoong a picture of Berry and San.

San had also written him a message. But it was just a bunch of nonsensical letters that Hongjoong countered with a single question mark. Not even two seconds later, his phone pinged with a reply.

Byeol!!!

Another question mark. Impatiently, Hongjoong stuffed his face with toast.

Wooyoung will adopt Byeol for me! She can live with him and I can come by whenever I want!

At that, Hongjoong could congratulate him properly. San was over the moon and sent a bunch of pictures of Byeol on his arm, Byeol on Wooyoung's arm, and the adoption papers. Chuckling, Hongjoong shared his enthusiasm.

The last message was a picture in their work group chat. Jongho had sent some lame office joke that was long since emptied of all fun because it was so overused. To humour him, Hongjoong sent some laughing emojis still.

After breakfast, Hongjoong threw himself on his couch to watch TV. Usually, he wasn't interested in crime shows, but since he watched nothing important anyway, he busied his brain with those. In his opinion, those camera crews should visit a certain someone's station instead. Hongjoong would love some camera content of Seonghwa.

An hour later, Seonghwa replied to his message.

I sure hope you won't use that on anyone else, or I will be mad.

With a snicker, Hongjoong replied right away as long as Seonghwa was still online. He prayed for another instant answer. When he got it, he nearly jumped in the air in glee. To Hongjoong's teasing question whether he was jealous came just a simple inquiry back at him.

What's your favourite chapstick flavour?

Hongjoong didn't miss a beat.

Strawberry.

Awesome, that's my favourite, too.

With that, the little green dot next to his name disappeared. Puzzled but at the same time ecstatic that he had already had a conversation with Seonghwa so early in the morning, Hongjoong went back to his slow day.

When Hongjoong came into the office late that day, Jongho was just on his way to leave. They had a brief conversation in the hallway where Jongho reminded Hongjoong to eat some healthy food in between if it got too much for him. He had also brought a blanket to their sleeping room since the chilly temperatures from outside started to creep through the walls.

Hongjoong had thanked him and wished him a delightful evening. Once Jongho had locked up behind him, Hongjoong climbed the stairs to the attic. Huddled in his oversized warm hoodie, he enjoyed the hot chocolate he had brought and watched the time pass as he waited for Seonghwa to fall asleep.

It didn't take the man too long, despite his change in sleeping pattern. At first, everything was peaceful. Hongjoong already settled into just watching the man sleep and maintain his rest. Not even minutes after, Seonghwa got himself into another nightmare, however.

Sharks, raft, ocean.

The mention of the ocean had Hongjoong chuckle to himself. Yet, he hurried into the sleeping chamber without further delay. He huddled under the soft blanket that Jongho had provided and fell asleep at once.

In limbo, Hongjoong took a moment to fill his backpack with bottles of water, snacks, and some rope. Then, he stared into the bleak white nothingness he usually created to avoid distractions for a long moment.

"Berry, come here! Good girl, come here," he called out into the distance. Out of the sheer void, the sheltie came springing. Her kind eyes excitedly waited for Hongjoong to give the next order. After some pets, Hongjoong grabbed her leash and took her with him.

For the split of a second, he feared appearing in Seonghwa's dream and falling right into the water. When he opened his eyes to solid wood under his legs, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hongjoong!"

Before Hongjoong even as much as could think about their surroundings, Seonghwa crashed into him. It came with a rush of water hitting his face, both making Hongjoong splutter when he was pressed to the swaying ground beneath. Berry gave a bewildered bark.

For a moment, a shadow covered the skies above them. Then, water splashed, and the sun returned with its unbearing heat.

Hongjoong laid beneath Seonghwa, quite befuddled. Berry's cold nose nudged his hand.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

Seonghwa sheepishly rose his head from Hongjoong's chest to look at him. For a moment, they got lost in each other's eyes.

"I made sharks with human teeth?"

"That sounds horrible."

Snickering, Seonghwa pulled them back up into a seated position. When Berry came over to push into their sides, he reached for her with a smile.

"And who is this beauty?"

Hongjoong ran a hand through the soft pelt of her neck. Berry leaned into the affection of both men on her. For a moment, they all forgot that they were out in the middle of the sea surrounded by sharks.

"She's Berry, I wanted you to meet her. San introduced us when I went with him to the animal shelter a few days ago," Hongjoong grinned when Berry tried to lick Seonghwa's face. Affectionate, he pushed her off and gave her a tight hug instead.

"She's adorable. Did Wooyoung tell you I wanted a dog?"

As if it were her new home, Berry settled down on Seonghwa's lap. She directed all of her attention at him and watched him without pause.

"He did. I was a bit gloomy that day and she came right over to be my companion. I figured a buddy like that might be what you are missing in life, too. So I brought her along."

Agreeing, Seonghwa ruffled the spots beneath Berry's drooping ears. Content, she leaned against him.

"I would love to meet her more often, yes. Maybe now that I find the time around my job for other things I might consider adopting her."

Hongjoong's heart sang with glee. Not only was the image of Berry together with Seonghwa the cutest he had ever seen, but Seonghwa's progress in time and stress management also sounded like healing. Hongjoong was glad to see the development.

"She might be able to help with your loneliness. And whatever darkness it is that causes these dreams."

With a faint smile, Seonghwa patted Berry's flank. Then, his attention returned to Hongjoong. When his eyes trailed over Hongjoong's lips and hung on them for a moment, Hongjoong blushed furiously. Seonghwa's lips tugged into a faint smile.

"How was your day?"

Hongjoong shot at one of the shark fins in the water when it circled dangerously close to their swaying raft. The casualty of it had Seonghwa's eyes shine with impressed wonder.

"It was pretty lazy. I watched TV for hours. How about you?" Hongjoong sat cross-legged on the raft, quite comfortable. It had the size of a small room and fit all three of them and two crates filled with what Hongjoong guessed to be food easily.

Seonghwa shifted his legs, looking uncomfortable in every position he tried to tuck them in. It was endearing to watch.

"I switched to half-day shifts now, which takes me out of the more interesting projects and basically has me stationed all day long. So that was pretty boring. But Yunho came by to bring me some snacks, and then I visited my grandma in the nursing home."

The sharks trailed lazy paths around them, never coming too close. Hongjoong monitored them while Seonghwa mindlessly petted Berry.

"I'm sure she looked forward to your visit," Hongjoong tried the diplomatic route. Seonghwa was clearly upset about working less, and his disrupted dreams showed it.

"She has a severe case of dementia, so she forgets me quite often."

Hongjoong grimaced. When the smile returned to Seonghwa's face almost instantly, his tension dropped, too.

"But enough of that, I will take care of her to the best of my abilities."

They shared a smile that conveyed the sympathy between them without words.

Just when Hongjoong turned his head to observe the sharks again, Seonghwa leaned over to him. He moved carefully so he wouldn't disturb Berry on his lap. The soft touch of his lips to Hongjoong's cheeks drew the redness into his face.

For a limited moment, Hongjoong got to relish the warm sensation. Then, Seonghwa pulled back timidly to go back to petting Berry as if his life depended on it. Hongjoong chuckled at his shyness that came right after the bold move.

"What was that for?"

"Because I disappeared on you again. It's difficult to keep kissing a pretty boy when I keep vanishing all the time." Seonghwa looked around on the vast ocean to remind himself of their dire situation. Hongjoong appreciated his efforts, even though he felt bad for making Seonghwa stick around in his nightmares because of him.

"So you consider me pretty? Here I was, thinking you only accepted me kissing you because I was the only one around without an axe or the intense need to kill you."

"You wouldn't believe how rare those people are in my dreams."

Hongjoong had to laugh because he knew best out of all the people.

"I think I can imagine. Now then, what do you want me to do? Shall I get us out of this situation so you can get some good sleep? Or do you want to spend some more time with Berry and me?"

Not that Hongjoong really needed him to answer that. Seonghwa's attachment to Berry and the sneaking glances he threw at Hongjoong were telling him everything he needed to know.

Ultimately, they settled to play with Berry. Hongjoong kept an eye on the surrounding sharks, and when they nearly stranded at an island once, Seonghwa consciously turned them away from there again because he rather preferred the danger at the sea than whatever surprises awaited them there.

Hongjoong was wearing his pirate outfit again and the salty water and air didn't make for the cosiest of atmospheres, but neither of them minded. They just sat there sharing random thoughts on whatever came up to spend time with each other.