The 1 Rule - haobin

haobin extra

Hanbin falls onto the couch, Hao sitting down beside him with a laugh

"C'mon, it won't be that bad" he says. Hanbin pulls himself up to look at his boyfriend with genuine eyes

"No. It won't be just bad. It'll be horrendous" Hanbin answers honestly. Hao rolls his eyes

"Would you rather go to the party or talk to Camille again?" Hao asks. Hanbin thinks about it for a while

"That's a difficult question. You can't just put me in the spotlight like that!" Hanbin says. Hao smiles lightly before getting up, taking Hanbin's arm with him to drag him out of the couch.

"C'mon! Get your lazy ass up" Hao exclaims as Hanbin gets up with a groan

"I'm not lazy. I just don't wanna go"

"Too bad" Hao says, dragging Hanbin up the cabin's stairs to one of the rooms

"Let's choose your outfit!" Hao says with an excited tone, letting go of Hanbin's hand, jumping to one of the closets

The family trip had been going fine, up until Hao got invited to a beach party. Of course, Jude was all too glad to be part of the company for the party, but Hanbin had no eager feelings whatsoever

"Tell me five reasons why I should go," Hanbin says, sitting down on the bed. Hao stops rummaging around and turns around, crossing his arms

"Let's see... Well, first of all, you can get rid of that boring reputation of yours. Second of all, it's going to be fun. Third, beach parties are the best ones that you could go to. Fourth... it's your last opportunity to have genuine fun before your last year of highschool."

"And fifth..?"

"You get to be with me," Hao says, laughing before turning back to the closet. Hanbin sighs in defeat, watching as he sees Hao flings pieces of clothing towards him, extremely serious about finding him a decent outfit. As the boy finishes looking around, he finally hands Hanbin an ensemble

"Is this ok?" Hao asks, putting it up in the air so that Hanbin can look at it as a whole

"It's good" Hanbin says, taking it from Hao's hands before kissing him quickly and leaving to go change

- time skip -

The lights blind Hanbin's eyes as they watch people dance, bodies leaning on each other with joy. Hanbin watches as people get carried away in the music, while others are jumping into the sea where the moon illuminates the waters. He watches as people talk and laugh, almost as if worries and fear were not an existence in the world. Colours illuminate all the people, some wearing shining white, while others wear blinding neon. Some wear dresses, while others wear bathing suits or jeans. The colour of fire lights up the whole place, along with the lights hanging from the air. People have firework sparklers in their hands, flinging them around without any care.

He finds himself smiling as he sees Jude run into the crowd of dancing people, who are currently jumping up and down to the loud sounds coming from the speakers. He finds himself smiling as he sees so many strangers laugh, leaning on each other without a care in the world. He smiles as he sees the colours dance around him in invitation for him to join. He smiles as he sees people play around in the water, chasing each other with loud laughs. He smiles as he watches pure happiness.

He beams as he watches Hao in front of him, giving him a genuine smile, extending his arm for him to take it

"C'mon!" Hao screams out. Hanbin furrows his eyebrows

"Where?"

"Just come!" Hao says, a smile still apparent on his face. Hanbin takes his boyfriend's hand in defeat, letting himself be dragged by the boy

Hao starts to run, Hanbin chasing after him as they approach the clear moon-reflected waters. Hao pushes himself into the sea, taking Hanbin along with him with a laugh

Hanbin rises up from the water, swatting his wet hair out of his face. He watches as Hao does the same

"Now my clothes are wet!" Hanbin says, half jokingly

Hao laughs and pushes Hanbin by the shoulders, making him fall into the water again. As he rises back up, Hao takes the boy's face in his hands

"Who cares about your clothes! I picked those out for a reason!" Hao says. Only until a few seconds after, Hanbin finally understands what he means by that

"Are you saying that these clothes aren't pretty?" He asks. Hao shrugs with a small smirk on his lips

"There's better," He says. Just after he finishes speaking, Hanbin springs onto him. Hao can only let out a small scream before feeling the salty water rush on his face, leaving him without option other than smile to himself

As both boys finally rise back from the water, both erupt into a light fit of laughter.

"Night on the beach is beautiful," Hanbin says after they stop laughing. Hao nods in agreement before turning back to look at the group of people on the surface. The people make a whole, a blur of a crowd. Strangers, nevertheless people

"It is.." Hao says. He feels Hanbin wrap his arms around his body in a loose hug "I told you that this place is worth it"

Hanbin laughs before nodding in surrender

"Yeah. I'm happy I listened to you" he says before looking at the surface, placing his chin on Hao's shoulder

"Hanbin?" Hao voices

"Hm?"

"I want to thank you," he says. Hanbin furrows his eyebrows in confusion

"What for?" he asks. Hao turns around to face him. He looks serious, but his eyes shine against the moonlight. A sight that Hanbin remembers so much of, but can't get enough of

"You taught me about life. You make me feel a certain type of happiness that I believe no one else could give me when you're not around. Genuine happiness" Hao says. Hanbin sighs un satisfaction, a feeling of reassurance involving him into a connection between him and his boyfriend

"You taught yourself as well, Hao. Don't give me all the credit"

"You're too modest. You taught me that kindness is important, but too much of it is unhealthy. Problems can happen, but at the end of the day, it's who truly cares about you that will always stand next to you. I learnt who my true friends are because of you. So yes, I will give you the credit" he says. Hanbin smiles lightly before nuzzling his head onto Hao's neck in easement. He has nothing to say. Nothing that he feels is able to be shaped into words. Nothing that he wants to say are able to describe his genuine feeling of bliss and the feeling of soothingness that he feels by the simple presence of his other half

"You gave me hope that there's not just good grades to me. You showed me that I'm more valuable than I thought. And then I ask myself how and when I got you to like me" Hao whispers, rubbing the back of Hanbin's head with his thumb, giving him a light massage. Hanbin smiles, not letting go of Hao, only digging his head deeper into his neck

"Well, you're the one who bought me an ice cream in a hot school day"