E2 Linong x Ten

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Even when Ten was trying to choke down a scalding hot quail egg, Linong felt that he did it so elegantly. It didn't look like he was suffering one bit. "Ge..." he chuckled as he decided to help Ten cool down another quail egg before feeding it to him. He picked one up with his chopsticks, puckering his lips and blowing on the small thing as the tendrils of steam rapidly escaped from it. And once he felt that it was ready to be eaten, he gently pressed his lips against the outer shell, like it was a small kiss, and then brought it up to Ten's mouth across the table, "For you," he offered, gesturing for the older to open his mouth, "Ahh..." Once again going back to cooking his own slices of beef once Ten had eaten from his hand, Linong nodded along with everything that his boyfriend was saying, "Didn't you hear too that Chang Jiwook...or was it Ji Changwook...whoever it is, will also get full a whole living accommodation paid by the company too? I don't know if it's true but the trainees had been saying that since a while back."

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ “Bodyguard to Vice Director in 5 years? I haven’t even gotten a raise in two years.” Ignoring Linong’s warning, Ten popped the freshly heated egg into his mouth, which promptly exploded with hot yolk scalding his tongue. He grunted in his pain, but rather than reach for his beer, he went straight for Linong’s lychee soda. “Uhng… so that’s where the budget is going.” Sweeping another piece of pork into the broth then through his sauce, Ten took little bites of everything, having learned his lesson from the molten egg yolk. "I know we said the baby is Nichkhun's but I still think it's Chang Jiwook's. Nichkhun probably photoshopped the paternity results so he can stay in Korea."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Even though the incident had occurred quite a while ago, Linong still couldn't help snickering when Ten brought it up. Their boss had already been making a fool of herself before she was ousted as a cheater, but Nickhun was in no better situation than before he found it. It wasn't as if he could just up and divorce her, not if he wanted to stay a citizen of their country. It seemed that Boa was even more shameless than before though, since she was doing anything and everything to milk her publicity. "I heard she's planning on giving her new sweetheart a more permanent position in the company too. I think he's about to become vice director of public relations or something. Does he even have experience to do that?" Linong asked. At Ten's behest, he scooped out the four quail eggs they had boiled earlier. Sliding two into Ten's bowl and two into his own, Linong gestured at his boyfriend, "Don't burn yourself Ge," he hummed.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ "Of course not," Ten said, always quick to reassure Linong, as the younger had quite the tendency to overthink. "Not if hyung has anything to do with it. I'll knock that b- that woman down onto the ground." Clunky as his Korean and Chinese was, Ten always happened to become fluent whenever he was worked up, such as no, on behalf of Linong. "Then I'm gonna pass the baby to Nichkhun so he can do something useful instead of moping around." The moping around was, of course, a direct result of nearly the entire company witnessing him finding out that his wife was cheating on him. Ten and Linong had, luckily, been in attendance when the whole thing went down, and Ten hadn't been able to stop laughing about it for weeks. "Nongnong, this quail egg is done."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ The stovetop that they were boiling their hot pot over was very strong, immediately bringing the soups and everything inside to a rolling boil. Linong waited until he had put everything Ten wanted into the soup before he got started on the thin slices of beef belly that he ordered for himself. Wrapping a thin slice around his chopsticks, he dunked it into the sweet sukiyaki broth, watching as the red meat instantly browned. Not even ten seconds later, he was trying to eat it straight out of the pot, huffing and hawing in an attempt to not burn his tongue. Ten, on the other hand, ate much more elegantly. Linong supposed if he wanted to debut as an idol, that was something he should work on. "Isn't she just so...scathingly selfish?" he asked, once he managed to swallow his food, "Of course suddenly she's making her rotating boy group take on diaper advertisements that her daughter conveniently needs. I wouldn't be surprised if she was making some money under the table." He sighed, "Hyung, is that what life is going to look like for me if I debut?"

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ "Eo... just a bit," Ten said, nodding his permission for Linong to drop the meat into the pork bone broth. He began to add an equal amount of beef balls and dumplings to each side too, biting back yet another yawn. "I blame our boss," he said all of a sudden as he swished his piece of pork around, "for messing with my blood pressure... now I can't even enjoy my vacation. I keep thinking she's gonna pop out around the corner and ask me to hold the baby again." Folding the meat neatly in his bowl, Ten dipped it generously into his dish of soy sauce. "Nongnong, the pork is good."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Linong opted for a lychee soda, since the subtle sweetness of lychee sounded like a perfect match for the savory hot pot broth flavors awaiting them. As the dishes arrived, he couldn't help but smile at Ten, who was already looking more relaxed and happy after their spontaneous change in plans. Linong immediately picked up the tongs to take charge of the cooking, wanting Ten to fully enjoy this moment without lifting a finger. He carefully dropped the ingredients, starting with the vegetables and seafood, into the boiling hot pot soup, ensuring everything was timed to cook just right. The steam rose around them, adding to the cozy atmosphere. "Hyung, what do you want to eat first?" he asked, depositing thin slices of pork belly into the pork bone broth side, "This okay? You need protein."

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Ten let Linong take his hand away from the steam, a small smile lifting his lips when his hand was enveloped in Linong's. Although Linong was younger, he was mature and took extremely good care of Ten over the years, and so whatever Linong suggested, Ten trusted—most of the time. This was one of those times. "Nongnong has such a good idea," he praised, pulling his hand away when their dishes began to arrive. "Let's do something more relaxing tomorrow." Although it was cold outside, Ten quickly realized it was muggy inside with all the pots of boiling water. "What do you want to drink? I'll have a... peach sour," Ten decided. "Peach flavour is pretty good from what I remember."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Linong glanced over the menu and decided on the Sukiyaki broth to complement Ten's choice of pork bone broth. Despite feeling just as tired, a small smile played on his lips as he thought about how hard they had worked to make this trip happen. Getting away from that darned company of theirs was never easy. "You know, Ge, we can always go snowboarding another day if you're too tired," Linong suggested gently, his concern for Ten's well-being evident in his voice. "I just want you to rest and enjoy this trip without pushing yourself too hard. You do enough every day as it is already." He reached across the table to take Ten's hand in his own, giving it a tight squeeze to express how grateful he was for the rare opportunity for them to spend this time together.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ "Oh right, more beef for you," Ten said, since they couldn't have it if Ten was sharing with Linong. Perusing the menu lazily, Ten said, "I'll eat the pork. We didn't pick a soup base yet. I want pork bone, you can pick the other." They inputted a portion of everything into the online ordering function, and as soon as a pot of soup was brought out, Ten hovered his hands over the steam to warm his fingers. "What are we doing tomorrow again? I'm so tired, I haven't looked at the schedule since we got here. Something... something snowboarding?" He couldn't help a yawn that he hid behind his palm. "Nongnong, I don't know if I can go snowboarding. I'm so tired."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ When Linong heard that Canada had its own Chinatown neighborhood community, there was hope that he wouldn't feel the difference of being halfway across the world. But as he soon learned as he got off the plane, English and French lined the walls of every building they passed. He tried his best to keep up with Ten as they experienced everything on the older's to-do list, but it was quite hard for his stomach to get accustomed to. So when Ten announced that their dinner would be AYCE styled hotpot, Linong was visibly elated. As they entered the clean and modernist establishment, Linong was already ready to dig in. The soup bases were different than the ones he was used to in China, but still flavorful and delightful to dunk their assortment of meat and vegetables in. "Hm, you're right Ge. Let's get more cabbage then." Linong peered into the hotpot and swiveled around before deciding, "And more beef." Luckily, the workers here spoke Mandarin, which made communication easy for him instead of having to rely on Ten as he had been doing.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ After a long day of doing virtually nothing but eating, walking, and eating again, Ten was ready to /eat/. As much as he liked Western food, the weather was cold, and Ten wanted to sit in front of a boiling pot of soup and slowly cook his things. "Nongnong, we have to eat a lot of vegetables," he instructed the younger as they were seated in a cozy booth. "This place has no vegetables wherever we go. We have to make up for the past few days. Okay?"

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Linong liked that Ten usually played along to his games. He liked to challenge himself, for no other reason than the fact that it was satisfying. As the bus pulled up to their stop, he let Ten get on first, making sure to copy his boyfriend's movements with the bus pass so that they wouldn't hold up the bus. Taking a seat in the back, Linong let Ten sit next to the window, himself still peering outside to get a look of the scenery. "Oh, the second one called Aqua Planet Jeju," he said, luckily able to catch onto the end of Ten's question from the Chinese part alone. They were both animal lovers, Linong learned, so he thought a trip to the aquarium would be a perfectly suitable activity for their date out.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Linong was always quiet until it was time to beat someone else's score or time. Ten laughed, sticking an arm out to flag down the approaching bus. "Yes, Nong Nong. I think we can. But I don't think there's a prizer for finishing faster, so let's just enjoy our time in there. Okay?" Letting go of Linong to search in his bag for his temporary bus pass, Ten stepped on first, tapping the pass against the reader and heading for the two empty seats at the back of the bus. "Wait," he began in English, finishing in Chinese, "You said there were two places. Where is the second one?"

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Linong could tell that Ten was doing his best with introducing the attraction to him in Chinese, so he nodded along, accepting whatever information made sense to him. He enjoyed playing games, so he was sure that no matter what the maze had to offer, it would be an interesting experience. "Sounds fun," he said, seeing the bus stop coming up in the distance. Luckily, there was no sign of the bus yet so they didn't have to power walk first thing in the morning. "I think we can do it in a shorter time," he told Ten, his brows quirked in a small bid for the older to accept the challenge with him.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Ten wasn't sure if either of them had the best sense of direction, but since Linong wanted to do it, of course they would. He copied the name of their destination onto the map in his phone, checking out all their available routes quickly. The fastest one had a bus coming in five minutes, so Ten slipped his arm around Linong's elbow again to guide him to the bus station. A cool breeze blew past them — perfect for cooling them down on the warm day. Digging in his bag, Ten jammed his sunglasses over his eyes before he started reading more about the maze. "Wow, the maze has been around since 1987," Ten reported. "There's some skywalks and observatories we can go to when we finish this maze, which is said to take up to 50 minutes for some."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Breakfast went from a quick and simple bowl of porridge to two servings of porridge, the entire egg tart Ten had shoveled onto his plate, and half a piece of cheese toast. Linong had to save the banana for later because there was simply no more room in his stomach. With a full stomach and a happy boyfriend by his side, Linong walked Ten out of their hotel and into the bustling city streets. They were up on a slope, so when they looked down, they could see the shimmering ocean water in the far distance. "Hm, well I had two things I wanted to try out. There's..." Linong started, then paused and tried to see if there was an easier word for 'maze' in Chinese that Ten would be able to understand, "Like a puzzle park! We have to try and walk through it!" he said, pulling out his phone to show Ten the place he'd searched up in Chinese. "Ehm...Kimnyong...Maze Park?" he read uncertainly in Korean.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ The moment Ten found something that Linong liked, he was acting like a grandmother, putting the rest of it onto Linong's plate. "Eat it," he encouraged the younger. "Eat it all. I can get more from the buffet line later." Ten helped, still, but they ate until they cleared everything off the plates and went back to the buffet line for seconds. Linong used to not eat a lot, especially in the morning, but Ten knew that he could not say no if Ten pushed a few more times. Once they had their fill, Ten looped his arm around his boyfriend's as they made their way out into the city. The air was refreshing, but the sky was a rather vibrant blue. "How romantic!" Ten announced. "Nong Nong, you said you wanted to explore. Where did you want to go?"

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Linong didn't really get why Ten was laughing, but just to be courteous, he also laughed softly alongside his boyfriend. Maybe his delivery wasn't as smooth as he expected, and Ten could see right through it. Deciding to try again, he opened his mouth wide to accept the egg tart, "Mm..." he considered, chewing thoughtfully, "This one is definitely not sweeter than you," he reached his conclusion as he swallowed, "But...it does taste pretty good," he stated matter-of-factly, leaning in and opening his mouth in a silent bid for another bite from Ten's fork.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Ten had to laugh — head thrown back, coming from his stomach kind of laugh — at Linong's attempt to be sweet. It was a very good try, but since Ten only saw Linong as a baby, really, it was like the little kids that Ten taught dance announcing that they were going to marry Ten hyung. Linong was adorable. Wanting to hear more, Ten egged him on as he prepared a bite of egg tart over his fork for his student, "What about this one? Is this sweeter than me?"

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Linong wasn't quite a morning person, so his brain didn't immediately jump to having conversation with Ten, even if he did enjoy having his boyfriend's company. He ate the mushy porridge slowly, liking that he didn't have to do much chewing. While it wasn't the best thing he'd ever eaten, he liked the deep savory taste of the abalone in his porridge. Across from him, he could hear Ten's utensils clinking against the plates as he ate his breakfast. "Hm?" he asked, looking up when his name was called. Seeing the dripping forkful of pancakes waiting for him, he leaned in to eat it. "Thank you Laoshi," he hummed, chewing the sweet dough for a bit before chasing it with the hot tea. "It's pretty good," he praised, smiling at Ten's sweet gesture. "Like you," he added in Korean.

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ "Let's share," Ten said. Conveniently, there were already empty bowls and utensils set up at each table, so Ten scooped up a couple mouthfuls of Linong's porridge into one of those, taking only a little piece for himself. He ate his way around the table, having a bite of this and then a bite of that rather than eating one thing at a time. When Ten saw that Linong wasn't really trying the rest of their food, he took it upon himself to cut up a bite of pancakes smothered in maple syrup and hold it out for the younger. "Nong Nong," he said sternly, letting the tone of his voice convey what he wanted.

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Okay. Chicken. Which word was chicken? Linong scanned the name plaques again before he found the one that Ten was looking for. He made sure to fill up a full bowl for Ten before following his boyfriend back to their table. "Oh, thank you," Linong thanked Ten gently with a smile upon seeing the tea. It looked like a nice and hearty breakfast, so he sat down to dig into his porridge while it was still hot. "Mm, Laoshi you should eat more," Linong answered, not being one who liked to eat too much in the morning anyways. "The porridge is nice. Did you try yours? Want to try mine?"

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Linong was so cute — he went right for the expensive stuff. Holding Linong's hot bowl for him (so that Ten could warm his hands as well), Ten perused the options before him. "Hmm..." he mused as he considered all his options twice each. "I want the chicken one," he reiterated, standing by his first decision, pointing to the dome in case Linong couldn't figure out which one he was referring to. With their porridge retrieved, they carried each other's back to their table. "I got us tea," Ten said as they sat. His three plates of food was suddenly looking like a lot next to Linong's banana and bowl of porridge. Ten gestured to his food as he said, "Share with me. You need to eat more."

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Once Ten's needs had been addressed, Linong then ambled over towards the porridge section of the buffet line. He read through the options, trying to remember any cognates that would help him distinguish what each type of porridge was. Luckily, some bits of ingredients in each pot made some easier to recognize for him. Settling on what looked like fish and abalone porridge, Linong scooped up a big ladleful before Ten joined him. "Getting this one," he said, gesturing to the name with a finger. "Which one do you want Laoshi? I can help you get it."

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ Linong picked a quiet spot. It was quiet and quaint, and Ten couldn't have found a better one himself. "Mm! Let me take these back. You get your porridge." Gripping his plate tightly in one hand, Ten too Linong's plate with the other. "Don't worry, I got it." Ten made his way to their chosen table without any trouble. Luckily, there were no screaming or running kids that would trip Ten on the way. Once their food was safely set down, Ten headed to the beverage table to pick up a drink for them: hot teas for the both of them, since it was so cool in Jeju at this time of the year. Leaving their food and drinks to stake their claim on their table, Ten found Linong by the porridge table. "Wow, there's a lot of options," he said as he came up to the younger from the side. "Hm... I want the chicken one. Nong Nong, can you get that for me?"

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Not picking up on the jest behind Ten's voice, Linong nodded earnestly, "En!" He followed Ten around, his fingers ready to grab at any tongs that Ten wanted food from. "Egg tart?" Linong replied, picking up the prettiest one that he saw. He made sure the crust around the edge was even all the way through and the surface of the egg filling inside was perfectly smooth. "Oh, hm..." he considered, looking at the other options for himself, "Porridge sounds good. I think I saw some abalone porridge on the other side of the buffet line," Linong said, gesturing for Ten to take a seat first. Linong could always get his own food later. When they reached the end of the buffet line, Linong gestured at a table against the other side of the wall in the dining area. "How about we sit over there Laoshi?"

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ "You will, Nong Nong?" Ten gasped quietly, as though he had expected anything else other than Linong carrying things for him. They walked around a bit more, eventually making their way to the table with more familiar foods. There was Chinese-style porridge, and Ten even spotted a station where fresh Thai-style omelettes were being fried up. "I want an egg tart," Ten decided, figuring he'd be back for the omelette after his first round of food. "What about you? You're not going to just eat that banana, right?" After all, bananas tasted disgusting and held no nutritional value. No wonder Linong was so skinny. Ten picked up a dough fritter for him and put it on his plate. "Want porridge?"

@✵ ten lee ᵈᵃⁿᶜᵉ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Honestly, Linong had been considering a nice bowl of porridge for breakfast since it was warm and hearty. Besides, he always preferred savory foods anyways. However, seeing Ten booking it towards the sweet breakfast items, Linong didn't hesitate to follow behind him. He took his time before choosing anything, scanning each option he had. It was no surprise when Ten walked right past the fruits laid out on the buffet table. His boyfriend had always had a distaste for fruit, though Linong could never really understand the reason why. He didn't question it though, but just picked up a small banana for himself. He perked up when he heard Ten's distress signal, arms moving reflexively to offer up his empty plate, "What do you want more of Laoshi? I'll help you put it on my plate."

@✵ chen linong ᵗʳᵃᶦⁿᵉᵉ The buffet line was enormous, and looked much more palatable than the menu Boa had bragged about choosing for dinner last night. Ten led the way right to the Western-style table, joining the pancake line. He picked up two plates and handed one to Linong, and after they received their waffles, they were given a plethora of add-ons to pile over their pancakes. Ten wrinkled his nose at the bowls of fruits, skipping right over them in favour of adding bricks of butter and pools of syrup (with a sprinkling of chocolate chips). There was also a long pasty table that held baked goods from all over the world — Ten was a big fan of this. He picked up a chocolate croissant to add to his plate. "Oh, what do I do?" Ten exclaimed in Korean when he realized his small plate was already full from a few measly pieces of food. "I don't have any more space." It was not a real issue, of course, but he liked the way Linong would scramble for a solution whenever Ten happened upon a minor inconvenience.