The Arrangement - UV_Reader19 - Stray Kids (Band) [Archive of Our Own] (2024)

Chapter 1: 1.

Chapter Text

With a weary sigh, Felix turned off the camera and successfully ended his hour long vlive.

He was mentally exhausted.

It was not easy to entertain a million people all by himself. Especially after receiving his manager's text about the plan of deciding dorm mates today which had left him distracted and anxious.

Felix knew it was coming but he was not prepared for it. He did not want to be separated from 4 of his members. See, Felix is a total sweetheart who loves and adores all of his members, who feels at ease around them, who feels content and safe with them. So, knowing that he will only wake up to 3 of his members instead of all 7, like he previously used to, made him apprehensive of the arrangement.

However, what hiked his anxiety was another text from Chan, stating that he should hurry up since the arrangement has been decided.

Felix halted his steps, suddenly wanting to crawl back to his room and cuddle his Minkitty plushie and go to sleep. Hedid notwant to know.

What if he got stuck with Hyunjin? Or worse, what if he got stuck with Hyunjin and Minho BOTH??

That would be a little too much for the brownie boy.

Chasing after Hyunjin while watching him chase after Minho would break his heart. Felix had finally started to try and give up on Hyunjin and rooming in with him would only complicate things.

Another sigh left his lips as he speedwalked to the dance practice room, knowing the strength might leave him if he waited too much.

He pulled open the door, hesitantly, peeking inside once to make sure he was at the right place.

As soon as his blonde head came into view, the quiet room erupted in chaos, calling him over to join them quickly.
Felix smiled at his friends as he made his way over to the couch, bowing and wishing the staff members around in the process.

Jeongin, Jisung, and Seungmin were sprawled out on the couch while Hyunjin and Changbin sat on the floor.

Felix's eyes wandered around in search of his aussie brother and Minho. And sure enough, he found them talking together on the other side of the room next to the speakers.

Minho seemed stressed about something with his shoulders hunched and posture limp, while Chan seemed to be comforting him about it, patting his shoulders as a sign of support.

That interaction definitely got Felix worried and curious for his feline hyung.

Minho was already very tired and anxious due to the upcoming Oddinary album drop. He had even snapped at Jisung once during practice because he kept messing around.

Felix made a mental note to comfort Minho later on, maybe with some brownies and an offer of massage since the older loved them so much.

For now though, Felix had bigger problems.

He turned back to his fellow members, moving over to sit on Jisung's lap as he finally got to the point.
"So...." he started out anxiously, "Who are the dorm mates now?"

And that was enough to make his friends go into a frenzy, making them all speak at the same time, trying to inform the blonde boy of their miseries at the arrangement.

Felix caught a couple of complains from Hyunjin stating something about Changbin being too loud.

Jisung was whining about having to share his place with messy humans, which was funny since he was the messiest of them all.

Jeongin, too, was speaking but he seemed happy for some reasons Felix failed to catch onto as his poor brain struggled in the chaos.

Finally, he threw Seungmin a helpless look, a plead for help.
"Alright guys, y'all can shut up your complain boxes now. So Lix, its us maknaes with Minho hyung and Hyunjin with the workaholics." Seungmin informed Felix, who felt his heart sink right to his toes.

Rooming in with Minho hyung?? Why is the world after the poor sunshine? What crime has he committed for such torture? How will he survive now?

So, maybe Felix was being a little dramatic, but could you blame him? Jeongin and Seungmin are almost always together, whether its their vocal lessons or hanging out. Its not that they wouldn't let Felix join them, far from it, but Felix knew they preferred to be in each other's company more.

Its also not like Felix doesn't wants to be with Minho, it was quite the opposite actually. Lately, Felix has been way into Minho than he would like to admit, which scared the poor boy out of his wits.

Not only did he like Hyunjin but he was also interested in Minho now?

Disaster.... It was a disaster for Lee Felix's heart.

It was kinda hard not to fall for Minho tho, when the older was just so sweet to the freckled boy.

Minho was your typical heartthrob. His smile and laugh made Felix warm and giddy inside. His voice is what Felix loves the most. The soft soothing pitch in which he speaks almost never matches his sarcastic words which never fails to make the freckled boy laugh.

Oh living with Minho is gonna be tough.....

Was what Felix realized as his eyes found the feline boy again who was coming their way now.

***

Miserable

That's how Hyunjin felt when he heard the words uttered by their manager.

He had woken up happy today, ready to record his part for Charmer and then bug Minho to go get some food with him. He had even rehearsed his dialogues and dramatic exclamations in case Minho declined.

The entire morning, he had been in an unexplainable epiphany, whistling tunelessly and being silly with Felix and Jeongin. He had recorded his rap in Charmer effortlessly, and had even made some changes in his part of Muddy Water. After the recording was successfully done, he had escorted Minho, Jeongin and Seungmin to the dance practice room, as instructed by their manager during the drive.

Chan, Changbin and Jisung had followed shortly, apparently done with the assembling of the song. Felix had left for his scheduled live right before the recording, and knowing him Hyunjin didn't expect the boy to be back for a couple of hours.

However, all his euphoric demeanor dropped when their manager stepped forward and started speaking.

"You guys have already been informed that your lease to the dorm is up. As instructed beforehand, us, the management staffs have found you new dorms to live in. The division is BangChan, Changbin, Hyunjin and Jisung in one dorm, for obvious purposes, while Minho, Yongbok, Seungmin and Jeongin are in the other." Hyunjin's heart fell straight out of his chest to his toes in despair.

"If you have any objections or inconvenience, do inform us. However, I surely do not expect anything of such sort." And with that friendly smile, their manager stepped back to give them space.

Those words....

Those last words were what was holding Hyunjin back from screaming and whining in protest.

No...

He rebuked himself.

You will do no such thing.

Invalidating the others' feelings for his own selfish need was not what Hyunjin had in his mind.

With a sigh, the poor boy tuned out his members excited chatters and trudged back to the couch, plopping down on the floor beside it. Why he did that despite having the couch in reach was something Hyunjin didn't know himself.

He was aware of the younger ones piling on the couch beside him, and Changbin sitting in front of him but he did not participate in the conversations. Meekly, the boy glanced around the room for a glimpse of his crush, and found Minho and Chan standing in the far corner beside the speakers.

With furrowed eyes, Hyunjin watched them cautiously. It seemed like Minho was incredibly stressed, which was not something new. Lee Minho was one anxious man. He was the kind whose love language was an act of service. Taking care of his members was a nature to him and Hyunjin could see right through his problems.

The responsibility of the three younger members was pressuring the elder, Hyunjin could see it in his tight shoulders and slouching position. He kept staring at them, not even realizing the entrance of Felix until the freckled boy was already sitting on Jisung's lap. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Hyunjin turned towards Felix, noticing the same anxious energy around the younger boy.

So when his members started getting chaotic and loose, he joined in, hoping to pull the blonde boy out of his distressing thoughts. It worked, of course. Despite being exasperated by the lack of a good answer, Felix visibly relaxed which was a relief to Hyunjin.

For someone as fragile as Hyunjin, taking care of the younger members was one of his first priorities. He knew it was stupid, they weren't even an year younger than him except for Jeongin, but for Hyunjin with no siblings, it was a blessing to have them in his life.

The older members fed into his innocence and childish energy while the younger members made him mature and protective. Stray Kids completed Hwang Hyunjin and he was upset over the fact that they were getting kinda separated now.

'Its ok'He told himself'Things are not gonna change over something as impractical as dorm arrangements'

But that insecure part of his brain kept screaming that something will vary.

Shoving away his vain thoughts, he instantly straightened up when he noticed Chan and Minho coming their way. Judging by the dull look on Minho's face, it was clear that he wasn't exactly satisfied with the talk but he was also willing to work on it. Chan, however, had a huge smile on his face.

"So? What are you guys' thoughts on this?" He asked, taking a seat beside Changbin while Minho sat behind Hyunjin.

"Its great, hyung. I can't wait to have a room all to myself without having to clean up regular mess." Jeongin was practically glowing with happiness. The snide remark from the smiley boy got Jisung, his roommate, very faux offended. They obviously started bickering, which continued into a full blown squabble and laughter.

Hyunjin leaned back into Minho's chest at the opportunity, smiling at his members. He could hear Minho quietly chuckling behind him, his breath tickling against Hyunjin's neck, as he wrapped his arms around the taller's waist comfortably.

And with that, Hyunjin felt all his worries and insecurities wash away.

No matter what happens, Stray Kids will never change.

***

Tense

Lee Minho was tense.....

New dorm arrangement?

Oh no, he was so not ready for it.
He was alsoannoyed....Why change the perfectly fine living they have? Ok, he admits they have some space issue but that doesn't means they can just divide them like that....

Oh yeah, Lee Minho was definitely pissed. Yet he knew nothing could help him with it so he went with the flow.

Right after his voice recording of Charmer, he joined the two youngest members in the dance practice room, followed closely by Bang Chan, Changbin and Han.
Hyunjin came in a couple of minutes later, however Felix was busy in a live with the fans, so he was excused.

Not being the one to beat around the bush, SKZ's manager quickly informed the boys of the dorm arrangement before going away to give them time to themselves.

However, it seemed that he had taken away Minho's resolution with him, because suddenly the feline boy couldn't accept the fact that he was in charge of the three youngest members now.

You see, the dorm arrangements are no joke. Being the eldest of the 3 put a lot of responsibility on Minho's shoulder. Waking them up on time, always making sure they are well fed and healthy, keeping track of their schedules, giving them proper routines, helping them when sick.... He knew perfectly finewhyhe was put with the maknaes.

If there is one thing Lee Minho hates, its responsibilities. And now, he was in charge of three kids.

His obvious stress at the situation did not go unnoticed by Chan, who quickly pulled him off to a corner to talk.

To be honest, Minho was in no mood to talk. All he wanted to do was to crawl into his blankets with his dwaekki plushie and drift off to sleep.

But he knew there was no escaping Chan, especially when he was on his leader mode. So as soon as Chan opened his mouth to talk, Minho spilled the beans like a good boy. His extraneous insecurity of letting someone down was grating upon his nerves and he needed Chan to tell him to just man the hell up and get over it.

But of course, Bang Chan being Bang Chan gently told him to not worry much and just be the perfect hyung that he is.

Minho could do nothing but sigh at that. They gave way too much credit to him but in reality he was not that great. He was the one most likely to fail at responsibilities. He was the one least helpful in dire situations. He got tongue-tied and nervous when needed to speak something. His 'harsh' and 'cold' nature definitely didn't seem very welcoming. Overall, Minho was impractical and that thought hurt the poor boy's ego.

Defeatedly, he followed Chan back to the group but his mind was racing away with the thoughts of the dorm arrangement. He did not want to be dramatic but he was sure that this arrangement will change their group dynamics a bit. He could feel it coming.... the change.

Which is why when Chan proposed the idea of calling it a day, he quickly nodded in agreement. They only have a couple of days now living together, might as well put it to good use.

As they walked out of the building, he could hear the younger members' excited chatter of getting a new dorm which made him smile sardonically. It was only a matter of time before they realized the depth of the situation and when it will happen..... Minho shuddered at the thought.

After picking up some food from their regular BBQ restaurant, the boys made their way to the dorm. Shoes were kicked off, jackets were shrugged off and strewn across the couch and murmurings filled the living room. Minho made his way over to the kitchen to arrange the food and prepare some side dishes. He quickly unpacked the food while heating up the pan to make some scrambled eggs.

Methodically, he cracked 5 eggs and sauteed them while heating up another pan to grill some meat. Within minutes, the meat was grilled and cut into smaller pieces and the side dishes were plated as he called over the boys to eat. Hyunjin and Jisung came over and helped him carry away the food to the living room where the others had already set the table.

There was a chorus of 'thank you for the food' before they started eating together. The small conversations, the excited exclaimations from the members and the plans for the new dorms caught Minho's attention who could only sigh at it wistfully, knowing full well that it might be the last time they were having a dinner like this. He frowned at his food, already feeling nostalgic over their moments in their 'home'.

Can their next dorms become their homes??

Minho hoped so.

***

Chapter 2: 2.

Chapter Text

"Lixie....." someone was calling him. "Lixie, wake up..." soft hands in his hair, gently caressing his head....

The warm blanket cocooning him, the soothing head pats and low voice was lulling Felix back to sleep but the blonde boy knew that if Chan was waking him up, it must be something important. Cracking an eye open, Felix squinted at his fellow aussie, his vexed out expression screaming at Chan.

Chan chuckled quietly at the boy's obvious displeased state, before leaning back on the headboard.

"You gotta wake up now Lix. It's around 10 right now and we are expected to leave the house at 12-ish to go take a look at the new dorms." Chan informed the sleepy boy. "Minho has already prepared some breakfast, and is getting ready right now. Jeongin and Seungmin are up too, so save your hyung some effort and get up like a good boy. I still need to wake up Hyunjin and Jisung."

That got the freckled boy's attention. Everyone knew waking up Hyunjin and Jisung is suicidal, especially when they are tired, so Felix did not want to be nuisance.

Nodding at Chan as a sign of understanding, Felix stretched his limbs and sat up.

Chan got up too and ruffled Felix's already messy hair, his affectionate way of saying thank you. "Fighting, Lixie!!" and with that final giggle, Chan was out of the room.

Felix looked around the place, taking note of the unorganized beds and cloths strewn across the floor.

Now, how am I supposed to find MY cloths in that mess??

With a whine, Felix flopped back onto his pillows, his mind going blank and his eyes losing focus due to his sleepy state.

New dorm..... new dorm..... Minho hyung.....

His train of sluggish thoughts were interrupted by Changbin walking in. As soon as the rapper found the freckled boy, sprawled in his bed, he bounced over and jumped on his bed beside him. "Lixie!! Good morning" He squealed, wrapping his arms around the blonde boy, who felt a huge smile spread across his lips.

Felix really loves Changbin. The elder just made him feel so comfortable and loved. He adored the rapper for his protective soft personality. Changbin had been one of the first members Felix had opened up to. One of the very few people, until a couple of years back, who knew about his sexuality.

Now of course, all of the members mean equally important to the boy, but Changbin, Chan and Hyunjin have that special chip on their shoulders. Since the very first day, Felix has been closer to them than he expected, which is why he fell for Hyunjin.

It was kinda hard not to, when the older boy is just so adorable. His laugh, his precious smiles, his soft hair, his caring personality, his soothing voice, his kind heart..... something about Hwang Hyunjin has always intrigued the freckled boy.

Despite being the younger of the two, Felix has always felt this immense urge to protect Hyunjin from the entire world. Just wrap him up in bubblewraps like a burrito and keep him safe, away from the unjust world.

......He still remembers that day Hyunjin finally came back. Still remembers the tears, the massive hugs, and gratitude. Still remembers his moment of epiphany when he finally realized he wasin lovewith Hyunjin.

A sigh left the boy's lips as he finally felt the drowsiness fading away. "I can't believe I won't wake up to your angel face anymore. Such a shame." Changbin was disgruntled. "If the new dorms aren't good enough, I am revolting" He raised his fist in dramatics making Felix chuckle.

"Sure hyung, I will join you." He reassured the rapper, getting up from the warm ambiance and making his way over to the mess on the floor.

Sweatshirt.... Jeans..... Sweatshirt.... where is it?

Triumphantly, he pulled out his favorite pair of black jeans from the mound of cloths, before making his way over to the closet. He pulled out his pastel green sweater and leather jacket along with some fresh socks.

After getting fresh and taking a quick shower, he pulled his clothes on and exited the washroom. The first thing he noticed was that Changbin had left, the second thing was that the mess on the floor was sorted, which made Felix's heart warm.

See, its things like these that make the freckled boy despise the dorm arrangements. Who will clean up his mess now?

By the time 11:30 rolled around, everyone was ready to go. Waving bye to the older members, Felix, Jeongin and Seungmin climbed in their assigned car. Felix watched out of the window as Minho exchanged a few words with Chan, Hyunjin clinging onto his shoulders. As soon as he was done, he ruffled Hyunjin's hair with a mischievous smile and waltzed over to the car. The members laughed at Hyunjin's complains and whines about his hair being ruined now, but everyone knew that one small gesture from Minho meant more to Hyunjin than his own life. And looking at Minho smile, Felix knew that no matter how much he acts like he gets annoyed by the weasel, the dancer would rather die than lose him.

And that made Felix wonder if he can ever mean that much to them.

***

"So, it has 4 bedrooms, obviously, along with a kitchen, 3 bathrooms, one small storeroom kind, and one balcony." The dealer, Han Sangwoo - a middle-aged short and stout man with the professional cold smile, informed the young men, leading them into the new dorm.

It had taken them the entirety of 7 minutes to get to the new dorm, and after their usual sanitizing protocols, the boys were led up the floors to their own residence.

The door had a keypad next to the doorbell and they were asked to set the password by themselves as soon as they move in. They were also provided 4 sets of keys for their benefit, especially since the group consisted of Han Jisung and Hwang Hyunjin.

The tour was customary, of course, since the arrangement had already been decided. But the members still had a say in the house renovation or environment.

The walls were pale almond shades which was something Hyunjin found euphoric. The color was soothing and welcoming, which was a great first-impression of the dorm. It was fully furnished with dark shades of cupboards and drawers distributed evenly throughout the living room and kitchen. The floors were tiled white. The couch was a deep gray color, the coffee table was rectangular and made up of glass which was slightly concerning because of the high rate of accidents caused by Jisung and Hyunjin, again.

As the dealer led the boys towards the room, the storeroom caught Hyunjin's attention, eliciting a big gasp out of him. The members quickly crowded around the awed boy in curiosity, asking him what was up.

With the biggest puppy-eyes that he could muster, Hyunjin turned towards Chan and Changbin. "Please, please hyung-nims, can I have this room for my artworks? Pretty please?" His polite but pleading tone made the other's laugh. The artist was just so desperate for the room, though. He had to have it.

"Of course, you can Hyunjin-ah." Changbin wrapped his arm around the taller's shoulder, who nearly jumped from excitement.

"Sure you can..... not like anyone asked me but..." Jisung playfully sulked off, trailing after the very annoyed dealer, making Chan giggle.

With that being done, 3Racha started exploring the rooms, calling dibs on them and such, while the raven-haired boy was still occupied with the storeroom, his mind crowded with ideas of how he could re-build the room into what he has always wanted. He could already imagine his artworks hung up on the walls, the entire place full of canvases and paints.... Oh how lovely it would be....

"Hyunjinnie, come take a look at the rooms and choose yours" Jisung called out from somewhere in the house, concerned for his dramatic friend.

"Just choose among yourselves and give the remaining one, Hannie." as Hyunjin was not at all bothered.

And that's how the dancer ended up with the smallest room and a shared bathroom with Chan.

Turns out, he should have cared a bit.

"Exhausted..... I am exhausted...." Hyunjin moaned, collapsing on the couch over Jeongin's lap, who started stroking his head. "I.N-ah, hyung is tired." His dramatic exclamation made the maknae giggle. This was the dancer's adorable habit—dramatics. He lived and breathed in drama. It made life easier and funnier. Who lives a miserable dry life without dramatics? No one.

"It was just a house tour, hyung. What was so exhausting in that? Me and Minho hyung did the house tour and also went grocery shopping, and yet we are perfectly fine. Look, Minho is even cooking right now." Jeongin replied, knowing full well him not babying and fussing over Hyunjin would irk the elder to no end. And it worked. Hyunjin huffed out in fake annoyance.

"You are lucky you are my favorite human on Earth or I would have thrown you across the room for such absurd answer to my misery." and with that Hyunjin changed the victim of his whines from Jeongin to Felix, who had just entered the living room in search of his twin.

"Hey guys, have you seen Jisung? I need to complete this anime with him but the idiot is MIA. I have another anime to start today." Felix looked over with his desperate eyes.

"He is in the shower, Lixie." Hyunjin answered, getting up from the couch and latching onto the blonde boy. "What you doing now, Lix fairy?" Felix blinked his eyes at the nickname, confused and flustered by Hyunjin's clinginess.

"Well, now that Jisung is showering, I guess I will just help Minho hyung in the kitchen." He answered, unsure of what the raven-haired was getting at.

'Oh great, let's go!" and with that, the freckled boy was whisked away to the kitchen by the hyper active weasel.

Minho was washing vegetables when the other two dancers entered the kitchen. A pan with three slices of tenderloin meat was sizzling on low heat, while another pan was boiling the black bean sauce of jjajangmyeon. The bowls were already laid out in the far corner, while the noodles were next to the stove, ready to be tossed in to the sauce.

"Ah Lix, can you flip the meat real quick?" Minho asked as soon as he noticed the two standing beside him.

"Yes, hyung" Felix picked up the tongs, quickly flipping the meats one by one before adding more butter on top with a spoon. Hyunjin helped Minho in cutting the vegetables for the noodles as well as the steak. By the time Felix was done grilling the meats, Minho and Hyunjin had finely chopped the vegetables. While Minho took charge of sauteeing the vegetables with the steak, Hyunjin quickly stir fried his part of vegetables and added them in the sauce. Within moments, the dance line of SKZ had prepared a delicious meal.

"Looks so tasty hyung." Hyunjin complimented the sauce Minho was pouring over the boiled noodles.

"Would have been tastier with you in it." came back Minho's sassy reply, as he carried away the bowls with Felix, who was laughing his head off at Minho's comment. Hyunjin, however, stayed back with the biggest lovesick smile on his face, wanting to squeal. His face was flushed red. That was not exactly a compliment, Hyunjin knew that, but any comment from Minho makes Hyunjin's day.

Savage love......
Looking like an angel,
But your savage love.....

People don't understand that from a man like Minho, even a few words are way meaningful than the best song's lyrics. Hyunjin knows the value of his words, even if they are playful or sassy. Sarcasm is his language. Sass is his way of communication, and if you don't get that, you don't get Lee Minho.

Because Lee Minho is unique....

***

With a groan, Minho flopped back onto his bed fully dressed. The entire day's labor had gotten to him and now the dancer was spent beyond expectations.

Shifting houses was such a chore and they hadn't even properly arranged the dorm yet. Furnitures and boxes were strewn across the living room, cluster of things kept at random places for immediate use and the basic necessities were taken out quickly. It would take them the entire night if they started arranging right now. Thankfully, the beds had been re-built by the workers on arrival, but the house was still in a disarray.

And Minho was disheartened. He did not like the dorm. He wanted to go back to their old home. He wanted those pale yellow walls and messy kitchen. He wanted all of them crammed into that small living room. He wanted things to stay the same......

"Hyung?" Seungmin popped his head inside the room. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?" The singer was troubled seeing the elder boy sprawled across his bed.

"I am fine." Minho sighed, pulling himself up in a sitting position. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we were just wondering that maybe we should complete this today. Y'know we only have the weekend for rest. We need to start the choreography selection from Monday....." Seungmin trailed off, feeling bad for disturbing an obviously exhausted Minho.

"You are right. Let's get this done then." Minho collected himself and sprung off the bed, much to the younger's shock who had expected a high dose of whining and curses. Seeing his dongsaeng in surprise made Minho chuckle, knowing full well that everyone expects him to be a menace 24/7, which is why his cooperation always throws them into a stupor.

Minho was woken up rudely, with a shriek. His eyes snapped open, mind completely blank before the depth of the situation sunk in. He haphazardly got out of his bed, nearly face-planting to the floor in his hurry. Wrenching open his bedroom door, he peeked out cautiously.

"Where's the intruder? Who died??" His morning husky voice was heard across the dorm, as he timidly made his way to the living room. Another door opened to his left and Seungmin stepped out, hair disheveled and face twisted into a deep frown.

"I swear to God, someone better be on their death bed or I will end up killing them." He muttered darkly, very disturbed with his sleep interrupted.

Minho let out a sigh and straightened up, stalking over to the kitchen to find Jeongin frozen in shock, behind the counter. His eyes were wide, his lips parted as he stared at something on the floor. Minho moved over stealthily, and near about lost his patience when he found himself looking at alizard.

"So... You screamed at 8 in the morning because you saw a lizard??" Minho could feel a headache coming at his group mate's stupidity but he tried to be nice.

"Hyung..." Jeongin whispered, looking downright terrified when the lizard crawled an inch. "Hyung, its a lizard...." and with that he screamed again, throwing himself on Minho, who rolled his eyes skywards, glaring at whoever was laughing at him through the Heavens.

Why...? Just, why me...???

"It's okay, Innie. Let's go back, ok? Seungmin will take care of the wretched animal, alright?" He let out a satisfied hum when Jeongin nodded and slowly started inching out of the kitchen.

"Yah, why me?" Seungmin, however, was not satisfied.

"Because I said so, Kim Seungmin. Take care of that lizard. We don't want Felix getting traumatized as well." And with that sarcastic thin-lipped smile, Minho followed Jeongin out, leaving behind a fuming puppy who was cursing everyone's existence for existing at 8 in the morning.

"Be careful on the way back, ok? It gets chilly at night. Take your scarfs with you." Minho was fussing over the two singers who were leaving for the vocal studio for their daily practice. Jeongin had grown over the wounding experience of the morning and was cheerfully putting his shoes on, while Seungmin was still salty over having to get rid of a pest. He huffed and turned away when Minho tried to wrap his scarf around his neck, which was very adorable to Minho, who laughed and patted his head.

"Still mad over that, huh? I will make up for it with a good dinner, ok? Breadsticks will be free of cost." He winked playfully, before turning his attention to a hyper maknae and zipping up his jacket. Needless to say, Kim Seungmin was happy.

"Hyung, noooo!" Jeongin immediately zipped it down. "Its fashion, hyung. Don't ruin my look." Minho narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him, pursing his lips.

"If you don't zip that up within a second, the only thing getting ruined will be your face. I don't want sick people breathing down my neck 24/7. Y'all are much trouble as it is." He opened the door and ushered the two out, calling out another warning to the maknaes before shutting the door quietly.

Its hard being the responsible one....

He walked back into the living room just as Felix walked out of his room, rubbing his wet hair with a towel. "They left?" He questioned when he noticed Minho coming back from the hallway.

The elder one hummed in response, throwing himself on the couch, reclining in, and switching on the T.V.

Felix sat down beside him, slouching down in his seat and wrapping an arm around Minho's torso, nuzzling his cheek against the victims shoulder.

"Ewww, affection. You owe me 50,00 won for this Lee Yongbok." Minho sassed, absent-mindedly flipping through channels.

Felix laughed at the comment and took it a step further by throwing his leg over the elder's crossed legs and completely sticking to his side like a glue.

Minho could only sigh as the cuddle bug attacked him mercilessly.

This was the life of Lee Minho....

Fancy living and rich lifestyle who? Lee Minho only knows pain and suffering of being Stray Kid's hyung.

And people question why he is weird....

***

Chapter 3: 3.

Chapter Text

Warm......

Cozy...... Soft..... Safe....

Am I DREAMING???

Felix woke up with a start, confused and groggy.

Where was he??

Ahh, yes... The new dorm.... Living room....

He slowly got up.... Or atleast tried to. His arm was stuck and something was holding him back. Looking down, he noticed his arm hooked around Minho's waist with the elder's arm wrapped around his shoulder. He had been half on top of his hyung, his legs tangled with Minho's sweatpant clad ones.

Felix breathed out evenly, relaxed with the revelation that no demon was feasting on him while he slept, and laid back down against Minho's shoulder. He noticed the time on the television, which was still playing the drama 'All of us are dead', displaying 4:42 p.m. He knew the two vocalists wouldn't be back till 8, which meant he had plenty of time with Minho.

Felix shifted his head, turning to stare at the specimen in front of him. He had always been a little intimidated by the elder's looks. Which was exactly the reason Felix never tried to get close to Minho during their trainee days.

When the elder had been eliminated, Felix had been a little relieved and a little miffed. Relieved because the competition with the elder was a losing battle towards the younger, and miffed because no matter what he did, Minho was always finding ways to be in the younger's good books. He was sweet and nice right from the beginning. He was helpful and Felix didn't like that because it made hating Lee Minho very, very hard.

Not only was the elder perfect looking, but he was also one of the best dancers ever born and his voice was so freaking angelic, it gave the freckled boy goosebumps. Everything about Lee Minho screamed perfection and Felix, poor soul, hated it. He hated how the elder's smile always lighted up his entire face, how his giggles always made everyone laugh, how his black hair was always falling into his eyes, how he was a beautiful human inside and outside, because that played with Lee Felix'x heart....

He always steered clear of Minho, even after they debuted. Everything about the elder was so damn perfect and intimidating, it made Felix feel small. He never felt good enough to be on that level with Minho. Afterall, what made Lee Felix so special? Nothing much. But Lee Minho? Lee Minho was born special, in Felix's eyes. Everything about the scorpio, ranging from his looks, to his voice, to his sassy personality, to his quick-witted brain and his dark humor, Felix found him a special case of making. And unfortunately, Felix couldn't compare himself to him.

With a sigh, Felix rolled his eyes at his own train of thoughts. Where was his dose of sugar rush when he needed it? Ahh yes, it abandoned him just like Chan did in that Choi SKZ game.

He continued staring at the elder's face, completely mesmerized by the perfection it displayed. Of course, Felix has seen handsome men, he himself is pretty good-looking and his members have unique visuals too, but could anyone hold a candle to Lee Minho's beauty? NAH.... Maybe Cha Eunwoo.... Or Taehyung.... But nooo..... For Felix, beauty was in the eye of the beholder and in his eyes, Minho was one gorgeous man, and he says this while having a full blown crush on Hyunjin. The elder's perfect nose, his sparkly doe eyes, his pink heart shaped lips, his pale chubby cheeks, sharp jawline, messy hair on forehead.....

Felix sighed for the umpteenth time.

He wondered...... how would it feel to hold the elder's face in hands, pulling his cheeks, touching his lips....

Of course, he would never dare to do so lest Lee Minho decided to go Kungfu panda on his ass. But still.....

Lost in his thoughts, Felix touched Minho's cheek lightly, feeling the soft skin beneath his fingertips.

"Its been a full half-hour since you have been staring at me like you wanna devour me." Minho's velvety voice snapped Felix out of his reverie. The poor boy jumped and nearly toppled over the couch before balancing back. His heart was racing, his cheeks flushed and his hands were a trembling mess. "If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were a vampire, just about to suck off my blood, considering how intensely you have been looking at me..." Minho stared at the younger pointedly who let out a breathy laugh.

"Why are your analogies so weird, hyung? You make me lose braincells." Felix tried hard to change the subject, knowing full well if he was asked to explain his uncanny actions, he would have a mental breakdown. Suddenly, Minho sat up straight and leaned over at Felix, his lips right beside the younger's gradually reddening ears.

"One day, Iwillget you to answer that question, Yongbokkie." His breath tickled the freckled boy's ear and neck, making goosebumps arise along his skin. However, Felix tried his best to stay calm and not react in any way to the obvious teasing. "As of right now though, let's go prepare some dinner so we can continue the drama." And with that, Minho sprung off the couch and walked away, stretching his limbs along the way.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Felix let out a huge sigh, feeling his heart rate escalating the norms.

This is why you never mess with Minho....

He mentally scolded himself for being stupid and mesmerized. He should have paid more attention to the fact that his hyung was a light sleeper and he was not exactly the stealthiest human alive. Well.... What's done is done. Let's forget that ever happened.

And with that motivational thought, Felix got up, switched off the television and mentally prepared himself for another round of confrontation with his lovely sassy hyung.

He could literally feel the tons of teasings and snide remarks all around himself from Minho's pretty mouth. And the thing was, no matter how much people insisted that Felix was a softie who couldn't handle Minho's attitude and sass, the freckled boy was the biggest enjoyer of his humor.

See, life as Lee Felix is hard...

***

"I cannot believe it...."

"She really screamed that? I mean, I know they are not kids but still...."

"Your daddy-ness is showing, hyung."

"SHUSHHH!!!"

The four rappers were focused on the big screen, watching one of their performance video from their tour. It was danceracha's WOW performance, and at the moment, the young men were mesmerized by the dance.

Hyunjin gulped when he saw Minho's smirk at one of the fans. It was so unfair. Everything about the man was so perfect. There was that imperfection-ly perfection that always pulled Hyunjin towards Minho.

NO..... NO NO NO....

This weekend was specially planned by Hyunjin to enjoy life with the 3 composers of the group since they had been so busy the last few days. No thoughts of Minho and crushes were allowed today. He was strictly going to focus on himself and his 3/7 members.

"Wow, Minho hyung is hot, no pun intended." And Han Jisung just had to ruin Hyunjin's resolution.

"I mean, he is Lee Minho, of course..." Changbin's abstract philosophy about how hot Minho is, was cut by angry noises from a certain tall weasel.

"What day is today? A Lee Minho appreciation day? Y'all cannot watch anything in peace" The three scolded men looked at each other, confused and weirded out by the sudden outburst. Hyunjin, on the other hand, just huffed and slouched in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and going all pouty over the fact that everyone loves Minho and his feelings are getting out of hand.

I need to get my feelings in check...

"By the way, Hyunjinnie, I was wondering if you, Minho and Felix can meet up with Donghyun-nim in a couple of days to finalize Charmer's choreography. We will be done with Maniac and Venom within the next two weeks, so it would be better to be done with one song first, y'know?" Chan sidled upto the dazed boy, showing him his best charming smile for persuasion since the taller could be a little..... lazy....

Hyunjin groaned in protest

Can people not mention Lee fricking Minho every second of his lovesick life?? It was kinda hard to forget about his crush when he was the only topic being talked of.

But no matter how dramatic Hyunjin is, he is no heartless inconsiderate jerk to neglect the group's dynamics for something as trivial as his feelings. So of course, he agreed to do his part and immediately texted Minho about the work. His message was not seen but it was no shocker since Minho wasn't the most attentive text replier.

"And just for this extra work, which you so mercifully dumped on me on my free week, you will have to buy me americano for the rest of the month." Hyunjin was no heartless jerk, but he was no virtuous saint either. Chan could only sigh at the demand and agree to it. It was a surprise Chan wasn't broke by now. The amount of biding the poor leader had to do for his dear members was such a holy number.

"I swear to God Han Jisung, if you don't move your butt out of my room now, I will roundhouse kick you to the other dorm." Hyunjin aggressively pushed the lazy squirrel off his bed, but it made no difference to the sloth whatsoever, who giggled and poked his tongue out to tease the aggravated elder.

It was 11 at night and both of the elder boys were asleep in their respective rooms, tired from their workout session, while the two younger problematic kids were sprawled across Hyunjin's bed, watching random videos and reels.

However, Hyunjin was sleepy and his dear best friend was being inconsiderate and that was pushing the llama to the edge of violence. He slapped Jisung's butt twice and then proceeded to roll him to the other side of the bed. He freed his blanket from the squirrel's tangled limbs, adjusted his pillows and then collapsed down with a weary sigh, pulling the blanket properly over himself and Jisung who was still laying down in the same position Hyunjin had propped him over with was just staring into the void.

"Yah..." His husky sleepy voice sounded across the room. "Why did you put the blanket over me...?"

"Because if you wanted to leave, you would have done so the second I threatened to kick you. Just admit it Ji, you wanted to sleep here with me. Leave the tsundere image to Minho hyung." Hyunjin replied smugly, relaxing back in this position and closing his eyes.

There was a momentary silence before Jisung let out a small squeal and scooted over to Hyunjin, throwing his arm and leg over the unsuspecting boy and cuddling him like a koala bear. The poor victim grunted and groaned in protests which were drowned out from the quokka's excitement.

"Our dear Hyunjinnie is so smart~" Jisung gave him his breadcheeks smile, rubbing his face against the elder's shoulder before closing his eyes and quieting down. Hyunjin chuckled lowly at the adorableness and patted the boy's fluffy hair.

And with that, the two kids fell asleep with the most content feeling in their heart and best warmth surrounding them.

"Flip it or burn it, Sung." Hyunjin glanced at Jisung's pancake which had solidified and was sizzling. Jisung, however, slipped the spatula under the pancake and then hesitated. He was not at all confident about flipping it right and the poor boy couldn't afford to mess up the perfectly shaped pancake.

"I.... ummm...." He trailed off, slightly picking up the pancake and then setting it down again when it leaned down the side of the spatula.

Hyunjin let out an airy laugh at his friend's struggle and gently pushed him away. He slid the spatula out and swished the pan front and back before flipping the pancake expertly and situating the pan back on the stove.

Jisung watched it all in amazement and looked at Hyunjin with sparkly eyes shining in respect. "Wah mom...." He drawled out, moving over to the coffee pot for making some morning coffee. His movement subtly meant that now Hyunjin had to take care of the pancakes, and the ravenette was smart enough to pick up the hint.

Together, the duo prepared an eatable breakfast before Chan and Changbin woke up, which pleasantly surprised the elder ones.

No matter how much they fight and bicker, its a known fact that Hyunjin and Jisung are more compatible than yin and yang themselves and their love connection needs no words of explanation.

***

Loud giggles erupted from the black-haired dancer, as he tapped his fingers on his phone screen to rewind 10 seconds of the fan made video he was watching. It was a really funny one, capturing their stupid and entertaining moments in one sarcastic compilation and it made Minho happy to see such videos.

He clicked on the account and his eyes sparkled at the amount of videos uploaded. Now he knew what he was doing the following evening. Just as he pressed on the latest video, his bedroom door opened and a hyper Changbin jumped on his bed. Minho yelped and jerked away to not get crushed under the bulky rapper, making his dongsaeng laugh.

"Hyung!!" He squealed, throwing an arm around the laid boy and snuggling to his side, eliciting a loud yell from the elder who tried to wriggle away from his grip.

"OMG!!! Get off." He whined, pinching the rapper's arm "Why am I always getting cuddle attacks?" He grunted and pushed with all his might, finally unhooking the younger's arm from around his torso. Changbin, being the nonchalant human that he is, wrapped his arms around Minho's waist again and nuzzled against his chest. Lee Know's lips pressed into a flat line as he laid there helplessly, staring at the ceiling with the utmost exhaustion in his eyes.

For God's sake, let me live....

Nevertheless, he smiled when he heard Changbin humming in pleasure. Sure, he had missed the boy, though he would rather drink Seungmin's coffee than admit that. He loosely situated his arms around the muscle pig's top half and closed his eyes.

They stayed in that position for a couple of minutes before a commotion rang out in the house. A few loud words were thrown around which made Minho frown.

He knew that Jeongin and Felix had left for some shopping and Seungmin had gone over to the other dorm, so who was shouting when Changbin was beside him? Just as he was about to get up and check what was wrong, an angry Kim Seungmin appeared at his door.

"Yah! Seo Changbin!" He yelled, stomping over and picking up a pillow to hit the boy who was now cowering beside Minho.

"Don't 'Yah' your elders, Kim Seungmin." Minho instantly rebuked, his respectful instincts jumping out and his hands shielding the man on his chest.

"If only you knew what he did..." Seungmin glared at the cheeky rapper who was quietly laughing at the entire situation, with Minho's protective arms around him. The eldest in the room raised his eyebrows at the singer who sighed. The second youngest left the pillow on the bed and calmed himself down, knowing he would get a severe scolding if he tried being a lil brat.

You do not want to hear Lee Minho's lecture when he is in his hyung mode.

"We were walking back here to hang out since Hyunjin was out and Jisung and Chan were leaving for the gym, but on the wayhedecided to get some baked goods from the cafe two lanes away." Minho nodded in understanding "Well some highschool students recognized us. They didn't approach us but they were clicking pics and stuff and thenthis idiotdecided it would be a great idea to abandon me there and run off since he is not wearing makeup." the dancer's mouth fell open at that and he quickly glanced at the rapper, who gave him a bashed grin.

"Can you imagine my dilemma? I didn't even have my wallet with me. I almost pissed my pants when the cashier looked at me." Seungmin whined, hoping for some sympathy. "Thank God, I had my phone with me for the online payment but DAMN IT, SEO CHANGBIN BETRAYED ME!" Minho let out a small breath at that and calmly sat up, before kicking Changbin off his bed.

"Here, you can have the pig, do whatever you want with him" He tilted his head with a sarcastic smile at the terrified expression on the rapper's face.

"But hyuuunnnggg~" Changbin whined, scrambling away from a now evilly-smiling Seungmin. "I didn't had any makeup on, I couldn't let them take a picture, right? You would have done the same, hadn't you?" He got up and rushed to the other side of the room to escape from the pillow attack.

"Nah..." Minho drawled out, enjoying the drama with a satisfied smile. "I am born pretty, Binnie" He added, knowing it would piss off the rapper. And sure enough, Changbin let out a faux offended gasp and charged the eldest. Both the men were suddenly giggling and jokingly wrestling each other while Seungmin just stood there with a dumbfounded expression.

Wasn't it his turn to demolish Seo Changbin?

".... And then Hyunjin said he wants to go to this art studio for some supplies and inspiration, and Jisung and Chan suddenly got ready for gymknowingthat I am still sore from yesterday's workout, those rats..." Minho sleepily nodded his head along with the younger's rant.

The trio had a good lunch of tteobokki and kimchi fried rice, with the dessert being the puff cakes Seungmin (and Changbin) had brought.

It was late afternoon and they were watching a kdrama on the T.V. While the ad had been in action, Changbin, being the attention deprived dongsaeng, had been whining to Minho about how poorly he was getting treated, wishing for some soft moments from the older who was guiltily half-asleep.

Seungmin shifted and laid his head on Minho's shoulder while getting comfortable for the drama that was finally playing again after a long ad, while Changbin pouted and glanced up at the lack of response from his hyung.

And there he was, eyes closed laxly and face relaxed as he slowly drifted to sleep, making Changbin chuckle.

And that's how Felix and Jeongin found the three guys when they came back from their shopping trip, snuggled together on the couch with a blanket covering them, fast asleep.

"Don't you dare tell them, Innie." Felix warned the youngest as he quietly took some pictures of the sleeping boys. Jeongin giggled and winked at him, stuffing his mouth with the remaining puff cakes left by the members for them.

***

Chapter 4: 4.

Chapter Text

"Here." Minho handed over the cherry chamomile drink to Hyunjin as soon as he and Felix entered the dance practice room.

The taller one excitedly received his drink and sipped almost half of it in one go making Felix and the choreographer laugh at his behavior. It was moments like these that made the freckled boy crazy for the older. His adorable smile over something as trivial as a drink was a gift to mankind, according to Felix.

Shaking his head, the young dancer dropped his bag next to Minho's and proceeded with a quick warm up. As soon as the Lee duo were done and Hyunjin had emptied his entire drink, their choreographer took to business.

Within the next few hours, the four dancers went over the complicated and energetic step thoroughly, putting inputs and ideas wherever needed.

Hyunjin improvised the whistle part in their chorus and Minho came up with the lewd idea of showing abs during the post chorus that was immediately accepted by Donghyun.

Felix himself didn't change any parts because he loved the dance as it was but he did give his opinions on the formation and centre parts, which were again very respectfully heard by the choreographer.

At around 4 p.m, Donghyun bid his goodbye for the day, with the promise of informing the trio about the finalized dance as soon as he can.

The three dancers dropped to the ground as soon as the door closed behind the choreographer. Felix adjusted Minho's legs and propped up his head on the older's thigh while Hyunjin let out some more dramatic whines and collapsed half on top of Minho. The victim complained of being used as a pillow but none of his dongsaengs moved an inch, so he gave up and closed his eyes in exhaustion.

The only sound in the room was their heavy breathing which slowly quieted down, and that's how their manager found them 20 minutes later, piled on top of each other in the middle of the practice room, fast asleep.

"Tteobokki." Felix mumbled, giving out his food order. Minho nodded in understanding and ordered a bunch of other food items while the freckled boy leaned against Hyunjin with his eyes closed.

The three exhausted dancers were sitting in a restaurant for dinner.

When their manager had woken them up at around 5 p.m, the sun had already started to set. After packing up their things, freshening up and resting a little bit, the young men had left their company building by 6 p.m and walked straight upto their regular restaurant for meals. The owner and staffs, by now, knew who they were and mostly had a secluded booth left empty for them.

Their order was placed and the waiter announced a 10 minute wait. Felix sighed in relief and snuggled up against his tall friend who put his arm around the boy and pulled his bucket hat low over his face. Felix could hear Minho typing something on his phone, most likely texting the maknaes for food.

Hyunjin had already received a text from 3Racha, stating that they will come home late and will eat out, which is why the exhausted boy made no attempts to refuse Minho's dinner offer.

Felix drowned out the world around himself as he felt his mind going fuzzy with Hyunjin's smell engulfing him. An unconscious smile fell over his lips with the comfort of being in the taller's arms. There was no specific reason for Felix's feelings for the rapper, or maybe there were so many that he couldn't put them into words. He just knew that being around Hyunjin made him feel safer, happier and more human.

Felix has always been a soft-hearted boy. He thought too much, he felt too much. And sometimes, it came back to bite him in the ass because those feelings and thoughts became too much. Similarly, his feelings for Hyunjin sometimes became too much. He felt too invested in the older boy's life, too infused with his feelings..... especially knowing that Hyunjin has a huge crush on Minho.

But that definitely didn't stop Felix from pining after Hyunjin. How could he stop? How could he stop when Hyunjin was everything he was looking for? How could he stop when the other's smile made his day and his pain hurt him too? How could he stop when he craved touching Hyunjin's long hair? How could he stop when all he wanted was to bask the older in praises to heal his fragile heart? How could he stop when Hyunjin's eyes enchanted him to the point of hypnotization? How could he stop when his heart raced every moment he was close with Hyunjin? How could he stop when Hyunjin's company was what he cherished the most? How could he stop when Hyunjin's company was what hedesiredthe most? How could he stop when every moment spent together was something special for him?

Hyunjin knew how to be the calm to Felix's storm.....

Just like Minho knew how to be the calm for Hyunjin's storm.....

Felix shifted his head when Minho called over the waiter again to add some food for takeout, which meant the maknaes had agreed and requested for it. He watched how Minho, despite being as exhausted as them, handled everything. Sure, it was no big deal to order food, but when you are second oldest member of a big kpop group who just went through a 7 hour dance schedule, everything seems hard. And Minho so professionally going through the simplest process of ordering food is also an amazing feat to Felix who could barely get a word out without snapping at the moment.

He admired that about Minho, everyone did. The man was so indifferent to problems and life troubles. He walked through everything without as much as a word of protest. Nothing seemed to faze him. He could see why people fall for Lee Minho.

And he couldn't bring himself to disagree with the fact that Minho was one perfect man meant to fall in love with.

And as the freckled boy watched his crush drooling overhis crushthrough his bucket hat,he knew no one could agree more with him than Hwang Hyunjin.

***

HOT...

That was all Hyunjin could think up of.

The sweat glistening on Minho's pale skin, his messy hair, his lean body in that thin loose t-shirt, his veiny forearms.....

f*ck....

Hyunjin felt like a sinner just checking out his hyung like a hungry animal. But could you blame him?

Hyunjin had always found Minho attractive, right from the moment he had laid eyes on the dancer years ago in his dance workshop. When he had coincidently met him months later in the JYPE building, he had had a serious skeptical moment. There was no way some stranger hot guy he had seen one day passing by was suddenly one of his potential team mates.

But no obstacle could prevent Hyunjin'sattractionto the boy. That's what it was, Hyunjin insisted. It was just an attraction because Minho was drop dead gorgeous and Hyunjin was just a teenager. He didn't know the elder, neither did he get a chance to because he was eliminated. Even through the next couple of years, Hyunjin didn'tknowMinho, he only found him handsome. And that was a given, right? Everyone finds Minho handsome. That man is created for perfection. God has his favorites and he was definitely one of them. It was not Hyunjin's fault for being attracted to him.

Atleast, that's what the ravenette told himself to console the fact that no matter what,he was head over heels for Lee Minho.

Sure, he couldn't understand the boy at first. But the thing is, you don't need to understand Lee Minho. Just love him the way he is, accept him the way he is, because its the way he is. There is no reason for his sass and weird behavior. People find him random and 'unique' but Minho is just another human. He is the way he is because he likes it. And that's how Hyunjin likes him too. Simple is boring. Hyunjin likes a man of character and Minho is just that. His humor is immaculate, his personality is gold, his voice is softer than clouds, his looks are ethereal and his body is unholy.

Lee Minho is a package and Hyunjin was dying for that.

A gasp left Hyunjin's lips when Felix accidentally knocked over his chopsticks from his jjajangmyeon noodles. The pair of wooden utensils flew in the air, splattering black bean sauce everywhere, before clattering on the table. The incident would have been no big deal except for the fact that poor Felix got black bean sauce all over his face and shirt.

The two elder ones nearly fell over laughing at their friend's predicament, while the said boy pouted and whined about being made fun of. But seriously, how could they not laugh when Felix's small nose had that small speck and his freckled cheeks were decorated with small droplets of sauce.

After calming down, they did their best to clean up the youngest, albeit a few laughs slipped up here and there.

"Aigooo, how are you such a baby, Lixie?" Hyunjin cooed, while Minho snorted out another laugh. Felix glared at them playfully and huffed, turning back to his food which only made the eldest laugh harder.

"Having fun at my expenses, hyung? You know I can break into your room for punishment no matter what you do, right?" Felix eyes shone with mischief which immediately shut Minho up. He quickly cleared his throat and picked up his chopsticks to eat. Satisfied with the reaction, Felix also stuffed his mouth with his food.

Hyunjin, however, was confused.
"What punishment? How can you punish Minho hyung?" The taller knew he wasn't the brightest light bulb but this time, he really had no idea whatsoever.

"Oh, nothing much." Felix mumbled a little conceitedly. "I just attack him with cuddles. That's enough of a punishment for our hyung."

"Yah..." Minho protested with a mouthful of tteobokki jjang. "Your little fragile ass cannot win against me. It was just one time, okay?"

Felix just smirked in that 'sure' way. Hyunjin, on the other hand, let out an indignant gasp.

"You let him cuddle you but you threaten to castrate me when I touch you? That's not fair, hyung."

"Ok, first up, I never threatened to castrate you. That reply is stupid. I have better ultimatums than that. Second up, you never tried to cuddle me." Minho sputtered out, feeling wronged.

"Sure hyung, there is a video on the internet in which you are garing at me when I wrapped my arms around you. Stays use that clip for every 'Tom&Jerry' moment between us." Hyunjin was teasing of course. The truth really was that he had never really tried to cuddle Minho. He was too much of a lovesick teenager for that.

"I...." Minho trailed off while his dongsaengs laughed at his loss of words.

"Be careful on your way back." Felix called after Hyunjin as the trio separated to go to their respective dorms. Minho and Felix waved back at the ravenette before disappearing in the dark. Hyunjin walked uphill to his own dorm which was just 3 to 4 minutes away from the restaurant. Their dorms were not more than 15 minutes away.

Hyunjin pulled his bucket hat low to hide his face in case he encountered fans on his way. He whistled tunelessly, hands in his pants' pockets, strolling in the cool weather and admiring his surroundings.

He felt happy, and content. It always happened when he spent time with his members, but the entire day with the Lee duo was a blessing to Hyunjin. He had dearly missed Felix. They didn't spend as much time together as they used too, which was a shame. Hyunjin really did miss his best friend. It wasn't as dramatic as he felt it to be but when you grow to spending EVERY SINGLE moment of your day with someone, a few hours per day suddenly seem way too less.

But he was not going to be a whiny baby about it and instead appreciate every moments he gets to spend with Felix. Because at the end of the day, he was one of the very few people Hyunjin absolutely cherished in life.

***

"Hop on." Minho crouched in front of Felix.

The Aussie had been complaining and whining the entire 2 minutes walk about muscle ache and bad mood so the older dancer finally took the hint and decided to give in to the baby.

The freckled boy quietly cheered, happy with the fact that his complains and whines were heard, and wrapped his arms around the dancer, clinging onto him like a koala bear.

Minho sighed and started walking the rest of the way to their dorm with his dongsaeng on his back.

Their 5 minutes walk was calming and silent. This was how it was between the two, they didn't talk much, just stayed in each other's company. And Minho liked this.

His dynamics with everyone was different. With Chan or Jisung, he knew he had to converse, but with Hyunjin or Felix or Jeongin, not much words were needed. Being together was what mattered to them.

It was true that he behaved differently around different people. Molding his personality and presence of mind according to people he is around. It is Minho's first class ability. And THIS is why people cannot understand his persona, because he has many. He can be sassy, sweet, warm, rude, blunt, inconsiderate, affectionate, clingy all on his own accord whenever and wherever he feels like. He could see where people fell short when analyzing him, they didn't ponder the fact that he may not be as transparent or as well-grounded as they assume him to be.

"Hyung..." Felix whispered in his ear. Minho hummed in reply, waiting for the younger to continue. But the blonde boy suddenly seemed too hesitant to carry on the conversation.

"What? You really gonna start a sentence and then trail off like that?"

Felix sighed and nuzzled his nose against Minho's neck and stayed there for some moments. It was only when they neared their dorm building that Minho felt the boy tense on his back. He could feel his hesitation waning away so he readied himself for whatever was bothering the younger.

"Does it....... Is it a... an inconvenience for you... when I try cuddling you? Like does it feels like a nuisance...?" Felix's husky voice trailed off towards the end of the sentence again.

Minho's nose flared in annoyance and he straightened up, a sign for the younger to get off his back. Felix did so without a word, feeling stupid for asking such a question and taking the actions of his hyung as a hint of a negative response.

It was silent for a beat as Minho tried to word his feelings properly. How could he do that, though? There was a reason he wasn't a songwriter, hewas notgood with words. But he knew he needed to answer the boy's doubts. It was his fault in the first place anyways, for being so obscure about his feelings that people start questioning their actions towards him.

"Lixie, I don't know what I did to make you feel like you are a nuisance, and I really cannot think of anything right now, but just know that you and your actions are not bothersome. I know I might seem closed off and I know you do not feel much comfortable around me, but your presence is anything but an inconvenience to me. Its just as fun for me as it is for you, those cuddle sessions or whatever you call them, but the only difference is that you show your pleasure while I don't." He completed, feeling weird and slightly hurt about the fact that no matter what he tries, he just doesn't seems like an approachable human.

"I know you don't feel comfortable around me. I am sorry for being so cold..." he added with disappointment in his eyes.

And with that, Minho unlocked their dorm and plastered on a smile for the maknaes. He waved the plastic bag with warm food in it and Jeongin was already jumping around him like an excited dog. Atleast his love language still works. Food can warm its way into anyone's heart.

"Go away." Minho whined, trying push away a clingy squirrel who had latched on him the second he collapsed on the couch.

Yeah sure, he had admitted he didn't dislike his member's cuddles but that doesn't means he likes getting ambushed with surprise hugs and clinginess everywhere he goes.

Jisung, on the other hand, refused vehemently and laughed evilly at his hyung's obvious annoyance.

The three dancers had met up again a couple of days later for the finalization of Charmer's choreography. The last two days had been very hectic because the members had to start their workout routines and dieting for the comeback. They also had their hair treatment and styling schedule the following weekend, so the boys managed to squeeze in a few hours of practice after their vocal recording. Jisung, Chan and Changbin had of course, been there in the studio which was how Minho ended up with a squirrel over him.

The whiny and tired boy had sneaked out of the studio a few minutes after Minho had left, and secretly joined danceracha in the dance practice room. How they failed to notice the hyper child was beyond the dancers' scope of intelligence, but anyways, after their choreographer bid his farewell for the week, the dancers indulged with Jisung.

Hyunjin laid down on top of Jisung, eliciting loud curses and threats from both Jisung and Minho, while Felix just laid down on the cool floor and laughed at his members. Getting hot and itchy from the sweat and adrenaline running in his veins, with one desperate push, Minho managed to shift Jisung and Hyunjin on the floor next to Felix and then watched in amusem*nt as the laughing boy's eyes suddenly widened in terror.

"Don't you dare, I swear to God, Jisung......." Felix warned, sliding away from the hungry squirrel. Hyunjin, on the other hand, climbed back on top Minho and cackled when he saw Jisung attacking Felix.

Minho laughed too, feeling the annoyance fading away as he heard Jisung's happy babbles and excuses of hugging Felix, who was screaming his lungs off.

Hyunjin was giggling against his chest, finding the tussle hilarious. Minho loved seeing Hyunjin happy. The boy was so damn adorable when he was laughing or smiling, it made Minho want to take him away from the world and just keep him somewhere he could be happy forever.

Of course, he would never admit such loving thoughts to anyone but deep inside, Minho's life became a thousand times easier when his members smiled. He would do anything in his power to keep them happy, especially scarred ones like Hyunjin.

Overall, it was a good day in SKZville.

They were together and they were happy.

***

Chapter 5: 5.

Chapter Text

"Ah sh*t.... sh*t sh*t sh*t...." Felix cursed, holding his hand which he had accidentally bumped against the hot oven. He closed his eyes in pain, feeling his bones and nerves pulsating with the blazing heat from the hard iron body he had knocked his knuckles into.

A few moments later, he finally felt the pain ebbing away and he quickly turned on the faucet to cool down his burn. Thankfully, the burn wasn't that bad since he had jerked his hand away pretty quick, but his knuckles certainly hurt from the collision.

He sighed in exhaustion. The weeks were getting tough and he had a lot of focusing to do. Especially since they were taking the comeback harder this time, with better vocals and tougher dance steps.

Despite the hectic week and promising stress, Felix hadn't been able to sleep properly in days due to that one night, when he had dropped the question on Minho. He had given in to his insecurity and was inconsiderate of the fact that his words could hurt his hyung.

And they did. He could see the moment his question wounded Minho to the point where he started questioning his own actions.

And that pained the freckled boy. He hadn't meant to hurt Minho's feelings. He only wanted confirmation that he didn't bother the elder with his clingy tendencies. But it seemed like the older got the wrong idea. Felix could still hear his voice in his head...

"I know you don't feel comfortable around me.."

That wasnottrue and Felix wanted Minho to know that.

Which was why the Aussie was baking brownies. He knew Minho loved those and what could be a better way to resolve this misunderstanding between them than brownies?

The boy glanced anxiously at the wall clock which showed3:49 p.m.Minho had mentioned he would come home around 4, which meant Felix had to hurry up. Thankfully, the brownies only had 3 more minutes to go.

The freckled boy quickly cleaned up the stove and dishes—he knew Minho hated messy kitchen—and then dusted off his cloths just as the oven beeped to announce the brownies being ready.

This time, the boy was careful with avoiding accidents and wore his mittens before taking out the brownies.

By the time the doorbell rung at 4:07, Felix had shoved the brownies behind some appliances he didn't know the name off, to cool it down.

Opening the door with a warm smile, he invited Minho in. The boy was sweaty and obviously tired which meant he most likely would take a shower, because Lee Minho cannot sleep messy. That would give Felix a lot of time to get the brownies decorated and cut up for presentation.

"Where are those two?" Minho rasped.

"Sleeping." Felix answered shortly, helping the older into his room. Minho dropped his bag in his closet and came straight out, carrying some comfortable clothes.

"I will take a shower. Do we have any food prepared?" It was the way Minho used 'we' instead of 'you' so as to not make it seem like Felix should have made him food as an obligation, that warmed the Aussie's heart.

"Some leftover kimchi fried rice and japchae." Felix answered, handing Minho a towel. "Should I heat it up?"

"Yes, please." Minho brushed the hair away from his eyes, tilting his head back. Felix felt his heart thrum wildly at how attractive his hyung looked, covered in sweat with his messy hair.

Aish no..... Stay loyal Yongbok....

Shaking his head, Felix left the room to heat up the food and cut his brownies.

"Mmmm this tastes so good.... Which genius made this? Wahhh~" Felix rolled his eyes at Minho's pathetic attempt of self-praising.

"Genius and food do not go together, hyung." He put some fried eggs in front of him before sitting down beside him. Minho methodically fed Felix some kimchi fried rice, while the younger could only stare at the precious human in front of him, feeling emotional over how naturally caring and sweet his hyung is. He kept staring at him the entire course of meal. He couldn't help it, while he looked like a meal himself.

"You gonna keep looking at me like a vampire again?" Felix sighed and picked up the dishes to take them to the sink.

"No, but Iwilltalk to you about something." He answered, nervously picking up a piece of brownie and holding it out to Minho.

He watched how the dancer's eyes widened in shock, flicking to the Aussie's face and back, before he took a bite. And suddenly his doe eyes were closed in pleasure as he praised the brownies taste.

"Wow Lix, you are getting even better when I thought you had already reached your best." Felix tried to suppress the huge smile spreading across his lips at his hyung's words but damn it, he couldn't do it. Its not everyday you hear a genuine praise and impressiveness in Minho's voice. Felix was going to treasure the memory forever it seemed.

He fed Minho a couple of more pieces before pulling the said male to his room. The elder was confused, of course, but he went along with the Aussie knowing it must be something important.

Felix could feel the nerves knotting in his stomach, he didn't want to mess it up again. He hands were sweating and he was shaking from anxiety. Either this would go very well and will improve their relationship, or it will ruin everything between them. But Felix wasn't gonna be a coward. That was the first thing he had learnt from Minho.

'Don't be a coward'he had said when Felix had admitted to being scared and timid in front of the directors and evaluators.

'If you let them scare you, they will scare you. But if you let them motivate you, you will be greater and better than them.'

"Hyung..." Felix turned towards Minho the second they sat on his bed. He wrung his hands together in anxiety which caught the elder's attention. Minho took Felix's hands in his own gently and patted it in reassurance, smiling softly. Seeing the small smile on his face fueled Felix's determination.

"I wanted to clear something up. Ido notfeel uncomfortable around you. I don't know where or how you got that from, but I am far from feeling anxious around you. You are one of the very few people I feel completely safe and comfortable with. Being around you keeps me at peace. Your presence calms me down. Whenever I see you, I feel reassured that someone is there for me, that someone has and will always protect me. I asked that question because I felt that sometimes I overbear you too much due to my high energy, not because you are not affectionate or open with me. I like you this way hyung. I don't want an over-affectionate and cuddly Minho, I want you, a sassy and hard-headed but warm-hearted Minho. I am sorry if I hurt your feelings, I never meant to. My insecurity got the best of me, but I will not let my insecurity drown you in your insecurities too. I like you how you are hyung. I like you a lot." He finished smoothly, feeling the thrill of being vulnerable about his emotions very comforting.

He had not only opened up and cleared the misunderstanding but also kind off solved his own emotions and confusions about the elder. Every single word he had uttered, from feeling safe to loving the sassy humor to liking him a lot, Felix had been nothing but true and genuine to Minho.

And as his eyes met Minho's surprised gaze, he saw the understanding lying there. They might not be the loudest with their dynamics but that quietness is exactly what makes their bond special.

***

"Hyung, there is an amazing restaurant down the block, do you wanna go there with me?"

"Hyung, let's get some food."

"You know, there is a fair playing in the field beside the cafe? Do you wanna go there?"

"Ahhhh sh*t" Hyunjin cursed, feeling stupid and embarrassed. He was practicing all alone in the store room of JYPE building for asking Minho to spend some time with him. And throughout the 17 minutes that he had been in there, he couldn't think of a single good enough excuse that would pull Lee Minho out of the dance practice room where he and Felix were. It had been a few weeks since they had hung out together and Hyunjin was seriously starting to miss Minho to the point where he would stare at his picture for hours straight.

He had been busy the entire week with their oncoming comeback and hair care routines. He also needed to take care of his fellow dorm mates who were over-working themselves now that the comeback was near. Chan has a disturbing habit of pushing himself over the edge for work which really ticks off Hyunjin, but knowing BangChan, he keeps quiet.

Still Hyunjin has a lot of authority and power over Jisung and Changbin who easily fall for his pleas and whines of going home or eating food. Through his dramatic acts, Hyunjin manages to keep the two hydrated and energized for work which was such a huge self achieved accomplishment he deserved a reward.

However, due to his hectic babysitting schedule and work, Hyunjin hasn't even talked to Minho for a couple of days, which was messing with his head. So today, the drama queen was ready to ask his hyung to spend some time together.

With his head held high and confidence pumping in his veins, Hyunjin stepped out of the store room cupboard, tripped over the threshold and made a fool out of himself in front of the staff coming his way. Still, nothing fazed the great Hwang Hyunjin and he marched straight over to the practice room.

He could hear the music trickling through the door of the practice room. Taking in a deep breathe, he peeped inside to find Jisung, Felix, Seungmin and Jeongin standing in front of the mirror, nodding rapidly to Donghyun-nim, their choreographer. Minho was sitting on the couch, brows furrowed at whatever he was watching on his phone.

Hyunjin walked in quietly, bowing slightly to Donghyun through the mirror as a sign of greeting, making the choreographer smile back at him in acknowledgement. He shuffled over to Minho, siting down beside him with an air of suspicion, which prompted the elder to quickly switch off his phone and turn his attention to the newcomer.

Once again, Hyunjin lost his breathe at how handsome Minho looked, his hair was messy and was resting on his forehead in the most sexy way possible. While his bare face was glowing and his lips were a pretty shade of pink. Mostly Minho's eyes held the galaxy in them with how beautiful and innocent they looked but today, they had an intoxicating gaze, which was a rare but alluring sight Hyunjin had only seen a few times in his life. His bare muscular arms and chest were well defined due to the thin black tee he was supporting and the low neck enhanced his collarbone.

f*ck.... the plan...?

Hyunjin tore his eyes away from the sculpted human and cleared his throat.

"Are you free?" He asked, training his eyes on Felix, who was dancing his center part of the Maniac chorus.

"Right now? Yeah, I am done with the practice. I was just waiting for the others if they would like something too". A bunch of orders were causally thrown off and with that, the duo left the practice room.

The walk to the cafe was one hell of a dream. The idols obviously had their masks on, and while that wasn't much of a shield for their stunning visuals, people recognizing them definitely didn't make any move of approaching them.

The two dancers enjoyed the slightly breezy weather, a peaceful walk and each other's company. Lee Minho was like the calm to Hyunjin's storm. Being with him put the younger at ease. His presence had a calming effect on him. Minho never hindered Hyunjin's thoughts and mentality, he just mellowed it down. He had that aura of simplicity and effortlessness around him, which really soothed Hyunjin's complex life down.

"This is so nice, hyung..." He smiled at the older, refraining himself from clinging onto him in public.

"It is... We should do this often." Even through his mask, his smile was visible in his soft eyes.

"Not walking to the cafe, no." He hastily added when he saw the instant look of mischief on hyunjin's half covered face.

"I meant, just spending time like this, you know, in the calm environment..." He was really starting to regret opening his mouth as he saw the impish glint in Hyunjin's eyes.

"Awww hyung, you really missed me so much? That's so sweet." What could he say? Hyunjin was over the moon at Minho's words.

"If we weren't in public, I would have kissed you." He made another bold statement which elicited a blush on Minho's cheeks.

"You are hanging too much around Jisung." was his reply as they both entered the cafe, making Hyunjin laugh at the obvious avoidance of his words and Minho's flustered face.

"Really hyung, you get flustered real quick." He kept on teasing, loving the shaking pupils and red cheeks of Lee Minho, who was looking around apprehensively and ignoring him. The older dancer scanned the counter display of baked goods while Hyunjin scanned him, biting his lips at the specimen of good looks in front of him.

Minho's black t-shirt and grey jacket hugged his body tightly, his sweatpants showing off his well defined thighs. His sleeves were pulled back to reveal his veiny forearms and hands. His baseball cap and mask were covering his face well. But his sparkly eyes still peeked out as shiny as possible, looking at the different kinds of cakes in glee.

Oh why did he have to be so damn good-looking..?

"This is the third time this week that I am getting stared at by myown memberslike I am some sort of art..." Minho turned towards the younger sharply when the staffs were out of earshot, making Hyunjin jump and look away.

Caught red-handed...

But Hyunjin wasn't going to be fazed anymore, so he smiled sweetly and leaned in, whispering right beside Minho's red ears,

"Because youarean art, hyung..." he winked slyly and turned his attention to a passing staff, ready to order the confectionaries, leaving behind a shocked and blushing Lee Minho.

***

"A COUPLE OF MONTHS?? ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Felix cried out, looking at Chan and the doctor in succession. Minho sighed and stayed back, knowing full well that the freckled boy was about to go in panic.

It had been such a great day. Minho and the younger ones had a delicious meal for breakfast, their recordings and pre-recorded interview had gone super well, and the music video shoot was almost done. The dance practice was going great despite all the members not participating yet, Hyunjin had gotten the opportunity to spend some much yearned time with Minho. And suddenly all good things came to an end when they got a call from Seungmin from the set, claiming that one stunt may have injured Felix a little bit.

"Mr. Lee, I know it is a lot to take in, especially with your career demands, but you MUST NOT take hasty decisions. Youneedrest for a couple of months to let your back heal or you might suffer from a severe case of paralysis." That had the three young men staring at Dr. Kim Hyungsoo in shock.

"Paralysis? Are you serious?" Chan gawked, glancing from the freckled boy on the hospital bed to the tall doctor beside him.

"Yes, Mr. Bang. I am afraid this injury can cost a lot to not only Mr. Lee's physical stature but also to his career and lifelong dreams. Hehasto rest this off with prescribed treatment and medicines if he wants everything to go back to normal again." Minho's heart broke when Felix looked over at him with teary eyes. He could see the desperation and pain swimming in there and for once, Minho was helpless. He had sworn to protect the sunshine, Felix had trusted him to, and now not only was he seriously injured but also in the potential danger of lifelong suffering.

"I am really sorry." Dr. Kim bowed his head grimly "I know this is asking too much, but I need your cooperation. Its my job to make sure you are well, Mr. Lee, and I know you hate me for bearing such miserable news, but this has to be done." With that he left them all alone in the private room their manager had booked for the young boy's treatment.

As soon as the door closed behind Dr. Kim, Felix palmed his face and started weeping. Minho was instantly by his side, patting his shoulder and head as a means of comfort while Chan stood not far away, feeling his heart clenching at the situation. The two elder members could do nothing but helplessly watch the poor boy cry over his misfortune. It was heartbreaking, hearing his sobs, but what was more painful was the known fact that the mental pain would go on for a long time than the physical ones for Felix.

"Here, hyung" Jeongin handed a glass of water to Minho and sat down beside him, gently massaging his shoulder. Minho sighed in pleasure and sunk back into the couch, closing his eyes.

"How is he? Is it bad?" The maknae made an attempt to inquire about Felix. Minho hummed in answer.

Chan had called in a group meeting the very next morning after Felix's discharge from the hospital so there was no rush for Minho to answer any questions from his bandmates or management people. Which is what he told the maknae, as sweetly as he could despite the sinking feeling in his heart.

He informed Jeongin and Seungmin that he had already ordered them some food, which would arrive any minute, and warned them to not wait for him since he was skipping dinner. Jeongin obviously protested and tried to get his hyung to eat something but Minho refused the maknae's offer, he however bestowed a small grateful smile at him and patted his head.

He may have lost the fight but Jeongin still won Minho's heart with his concern.

That night, when Minho laid down on his bed after taking a much needed shower for relaxation, he received a text from Chan.

- Everything is fine :)

It was a simple text, but it meant a lot to both of them. Being the older ones was a huge responsibility and just a small reassurance from each other at times was a comfort for both Minho and Chan.

He checked the time and deeming it worthy for a few minutes of talk, he called Chan. Three rings later he heard his hyung's soft voice through the phone.

- Hey

He was whispering which most likely meant Felix was sleeping.

Is he sleeping? -

- Yes, but don't worry, they gave him sedatives so he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

What are we gonna do now, hyung? -

- We will talk with the management and arrange him a physiotherapist for weekends. We will clear his schedule and adjust the dance and physical activities of SKZ code around his health. We will also issue a notice about it and avoid any unnecessary ventures. Lastly, we will just take care of him like the precious human that he is.

You have already done most of it, haven't you? -

He heard Chan's embarrassed laugh from the other side which made him chuckle in turn.

You are crazy, hyung, seriously. -

-Don't you dare come at me, young man. Do I need to start with the fact that you have already bought everyone's gift for Chuseokright now, like the anxious loving freak that you are..?

NO!! Uhmmm, let's just talk about how to take care of Felix. -

- Well this is where it gets tricky. I need you to look over him and be with him 24/7 since Seungmin and Jeongin have their concept shoot first along with Jisung. But I also need you and Hyunjin to take care of the dance arrangements.

No problem. I will talk with Donghyun-nim and re-arrange the dance positions tomorrow. Then I can take care of Felix. Its nothing hard hyung. We have multi-tasked all the time. -

- True, but you will get a load of stress with this , Min. The comeback is a hard one and you are one of the members in spotlight this time. We can't have you sick or mentally down.

Hyung, there are more important matters on our hand, as of right now, than my mental health. -

- This is where you go wrong, Min. Nothing is more important. Both you and Felix are equally important to me, to the team and to the world. I am not going to tolerate you putting Felix above your own health and vice versa. This is not how a team works...

Yesss, I am sorry, my fault, I got it. -

Minho cut off Chan's rant, feeling stupid. He should have known Chan would skin him alive for saying such an absurd thing. Bang Chan is not the type to stand his members being stupidly selfless even though he himself is a stupid selfless dork.

He assured Chan to keep his health in check while taking on the responsibility, but at the end of the day, they both knew that he would rather die than not do his best, even if it kills him.

***

Chapter 6: 6.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

"Hyung!!! I am hungry" Felix called out from his room as he heard the door open and close, announcing Minho's arrival. He only had a hurried breakfast made by Minho and Seungmin in the morning and now it was late afternoon.

A few seconds later, a disheveled and sweaty Minho stepped into the room, eyes dropping lightly from exhaustion. Felix felt his eyes widen at his hyung's state. What had he been upto?

As carefully as he could, Felix got up from his bed and walked over to Minho and held him by his shoulders. He felt his forehead and cursed when he instantly removed his hand from Minho's burning skin.

"Hyung you are burning up. What are you even doing to get these many health issues?" Felix clicked his tongue worriedly, refering to the incident a couple of days ago when Minho had nearly toppled over due to dizziness. The elder gave him a sloppy smile and swayed dangerously which made the freckled boy go full on panic mode. He slipped his arm around the dancer's waist and guided him to his bed.

"Lix...." Minho slurred, looking at boy with blood-shot eyes "Are you okay?"

Aish this hyung...

Can't even stand up straight and is still worried about me.

"I am fine hyung. You, on the other hand, are not." Felix helped him lay down while careful not to bend his back too much. He could see that Minho wasn't even fully awake due to his burning fever and weak body. Just as he straightened up and put the blanket over a now shivering Minho, the front opened again, making him stiffen. Seungmin and Jeongin had a radio station interview today which meant they wouldn't be back before 8pm, so who was it?

"Minho hyung?"

HYUNJIN??

Felix instantly walked out of the room and sure enough, Hyunjin was taking off his shoes at the doorstep.

"Hyunjinnie" Felix screeched, making the taller look up. A huge smile spread across the rapper face which made the freckled boy's heartbeat skyrocket, and he quickly bounded over. The two male met in the middle of living room with in bone crushing hug.

"I missed you so much fairy Lix" Hyunjin mumbled, leaning back on his feet to not put pressure on Felix's back. Felix nuzzled his face into the taller's neck, rubbing his cheek against the soft warm skin. It had been so long since they had properly had some moments to themselves. They stayed like that for God knows how long before Felix detached himself at the realization that Minho was sick.

"Oh Jin, I need your help. Minho hyung is sick. I think so." Felix bit his lips and looked up at the taller with worry evident in his eyes.

"You think so?" Hyunjin scoffed " Iknowso. That dummy was tripping over his own feet today at practice. Snapped at me and Changbin when we tried to get him to rest" Felix saw his worry and frustration reflect in Hyunjin's eyes.

It was getting a bit too much. Minho was barely there anymore. He looked lost and in a constant state of mental pain. It hurt Felix to see his lively hyung so dejected and depressed.

He knew some of it was his own doing, Minho was way too invested in taking care of Felix. He always cooked meals before leaving for the company. He would arrange the entire house and convenience for Felix with Jeongin, before dragging back the maknaes for lunch and then leave again for practice and schedulesaftermaking the dinner too. He would come home quite late and still be up at dawn for his workout. He would take Felix for his physiotherapy every weekend and spend as much time as he could with the injured boy, trying not to let him feel down over his injury, but being wrapped up in all this, the elder was loosing his health and mental peace.

Now Felix was determined to take care of him and let him know that being the elder means sh*t if they cannot take care of themselves.

"Ok, so let's get him some meds for the fever and make some lunch first" Felix spoke confidently, feeling decisive over being a good reliable dongsaeng. Hyunjin lifted his fist in a silent support and the duo instantly got to work.

They were relieved to see the groceries fully stocked and quickly put up a YouTube video for Galbitang. Felix took out some Ibuprofen and with the ginger tea that Hyunjin had boiled, he went inside his room, shooting off a warning to the taller boy to be careful in the kitchen.

Minho's forehead was beaded with sweat and his fever was definitely high if the burning skin was any indication. Felix picked up his soft handkerchief and wiped the elder's face with it, which instantly woke him up. His eyes fluttered open and Felix heart sank at the hollowness in them. Minho's eyes were the most beautiful and expressive part of his face. They held the sparkling galaxies in them and lit up the entire world with their charm. But now? Now, they looked empty and pained, as if seeing the world wasn't joyful anymore.

"Wha..." He focused on Felix and then winced.

"You are sick, hyung." Felix ran his fingers through the elders sweaty hair and that was another blow to his soft heart. Minho fluffy and smooth hair was now oily and sticky as if he had forgotten they existed.

"I am sick? Ughh" Minho groaned and held his head, looking teary eyed at the obvious pain racking through his body due to the high fever.

"My head hurts Lix..." He sniffled, his eyes finding Felix's who wanted to cry at his hyung's condition.

When had things gotten so out of hand? They were just fine a couple of weeks ago. The music video was done, more than half of the pre-recorded performances had been taken care of and all they had were interviews now, so why was Minho under so much stress?

" I know hyung. Here drink this tea. It will soothe your throat. Take a shower and then eat the soup we are preparing and then you can take your meds, okay?" Felix helped him up ignoring the whines and cries of protests.

He knew that there were no gains without pains so Minho would have to endure some. He made him drink the tea despite his complaints and then called Hyunjin to pull the elder out of the bed.

"Can you get him to take a shower while I take care of the soup?" Hyunjin nodded and put his arm around Minho's waist.

"I am not disabled, y'know" Minho whispered, trying to stand up straight and not lean too much on the taller boy.

"Yeah, you aren't disabled, you are an idiot" Hyunjin snapped, glaring at the stubborn human in his arms. Felix sighed at the anger in the rapper's eyes and walked closer to Minho, taking his face in his small hands.

"Hyung, we get it, you are tough, but you need to let go of this attitude or else you might shatter. Weren't you the one who told me to stop being so selfless and take care of myself? Then why don't you follow your own preaching?"

"Because he is stupid and he doesn't knows how to ask for help with his "I am elder, I am prefect" analogy" Hyunjin scoffed and Felix glared at him at that. His anger and frustration was a given but it wasn't helping. Felix understood that Minho's condition was painful and worrying for everyone and also a huge problem for their comeback but reprimanding him for his pure intentions, however damaging they were, was not cool. At the end of the day, Minho was only being a good responsible hyung, no matter how much he retrogressed his own health at that.

That was another factor that made Felix love him even more.

***

(Hyunjin)

"This is the second time within a month that I am drying your hair." Hyunjin informed the black-haired boy sitting in front of him. He ran his hand through the soft black locks and moved the hair-dryer properly to warm the roots.

"Thank you so much for the reminder, Hyunjin" Minho replied back snidely making Hyunjin sigh at the obvious displeasure in Minho's voice. Ok, he may have gone a little overboard due to his anger, but did no one understand his point? Were they not as worried of the dancer as he was?

Minho looked dazed and zoned out the entire days, his dance was almost robotic as if he wasn't even in the mood to do so, his voice sounded raspy most of the time with the constant dehydration, he has going on with his numerous activities, and his charming aura was replaced with a dejected one. He looked half dead and thatscaredHyunjin.

This was the first time he had seen Minho look so....depressed.

Even during their rookie days, the dancer kept his composure despite never being in the spotlight much, he never complained nor got upset when his lines were cut off in their title tracks, he never stopped smiling even though his talents weren't used to his potential butnow?

What had suddenly happened to make him likethis?

"Hyung.... I am sorry. Really, I didn't mean to be rude and inconsiderate. I was- Iamso worried about you..." Hyunjin stared down, feeling his heart skipping its beats as his eyes met Minho's dark ones. The elder stared back emotionlessly and that made the rapper sad.

He understood that Minho was way in too deep in his feelings about being a perfect hyung, no matter how much he pretends to be a non-caring human.

Getting no answer in return made Hyunjin turn off the dryer and place it away on the desk, but when he turned back again, he found Minho standing in front of himway too close.His breathe hitched and he froze at the intimate distance between them feeling his heartbeat skyrocket and his palms starting to sweat. His eyes roamed over the older's face, his skin fresh and glowing, his eyes not as depressed, his lips a pretty shade of pink, his nose and cheeks slightly red.....

f*ck!! God really plays favorites huh..

"There are better ways of being worried for me than being a lil brat, Hyunjinnie. I won't push away your care, y'know?" His voice was so soft and soothing, making the younger's heart flutter.

"Yeah, I am sorry, hyung." He replied back shakily, stepping away from the alluring human just as the door opened and Felix peeked in.

"Food is ready." He announced, coming over and standing in front of Minho, who shook his head at the freckled boy with a small smile on his face. Felix stuck his tongue out and grabbed his hand, whisking him away from the room, shooting a beckoning look at Hyunjin too.

Hyunjin nodded back in acknowledgement but didn't move, trying to calm down his pulse at the sudden incident that happened.Did he do it on purpose? Knowing that it might fluster him?

Aishhhh....

Now Hyunjin wishes he hadn't frozen up and had retaliated back like he used to....

"Call me if you need anything, ok?"

"Sure, be careful on your way back."

"I will. Bye Lixie, love you"

"Love you too Jinnie" Hyunjin waved back as the elevator doors closed after him.

Leaving the two was not something Hyunjin fancied, knowing their health conditions but he was pretty tired after the day's practice. It was quite tough to rearrange the dance and learn it quickly enough to perform well, knowing that they will have to rearrange it again when Felix will get better.

And knowing themselves, Hyunjin wasn't expecting any form of interaction with Minho for the next couple of weeks with how busy they were gonna be. So he just sighed and moved on, fully aware that no amount of whining and drama would win him a Lee Minho.

If only life was easy as Hyunjin's antics....

"Hello, sir." the saleswoman greeted him with a deep bow, smiling at him professionally. He bowed back and strode straight over to the shelf which consisted of acrylic paints and different sizes of brush. Examining the colors and the brush took him around 10 minutes, as he picked out his desired shade of crimson and turquoise and required length of brush. He also picked up a packet of brush pens, markers, colored pens of pastel shades, alcohol markers and water color. Its not like he was in a dire need of those but he still bought his supplies in advance as a reassurance.

"That would be 6,076 KRW" the lady glanced at his masked face a couple of times, most likely recognizing him, but kept quiet and solemnly packed his supplies. He handed her his card and waited patiently as she tapped on her computer screen.

However, that patience soon transformed to panic when he heard some squeals and shrieks a few aisle down beside him. His head snapped to the sound and sure enough, a group of teenage girls were crowded around the sketchbook area, whispering and fumbling with their phones.

f*ck....

He cursed and looked at the saleswoman imploringly, who threw a glance at the girls and slammed his card at the counter, making them all jump.

"I would request you all to respect our customer's privacy and also our code of conduct. You aren't allowed to click pictures of anyone without their consent." She spoke up firmly, handing the startled weasel his card and bag of purchases, who quickly bowed in gratitude and spun around to the exit, ignoring the girls at the aisle.

Double f*ck...

He froze when he realized that he had forgotten to pick some canvas paper and long sketchbooks from the very aisle they were in......

Hyunjin hesitantly turned his head back and saw them still staring at him, his eyes catching a phone peeking out from behind a girl's back which made him instantly take off, forgetting all about canvases and sketchbooks. He walked out as fast as he could without actually being a weirdo and pulled the bucket hat low over his face, trying to analyse what gave his cover off and made them all recognize him.

The walk back was thankfully deprived of any more traumatizing events and soon he was in the security of his dorm as he punched in the code and dragged his aching feet inside the homely atmosphere.

"Oh, you're back" Chan was at his side within second, greeting him with a warm smile and english words. Despite his disheveled look and tired frame, the leader's eyes were shining and as he wrapped the taller in his arms, his voice humming in satisfaction.

"What is the lovely occasion, hyung? You all forgot about me the last few weeks and now you love me? Tchh!!" Hyunjin scoffed jokingly, pulling a faux offended voice even as he leaned into the hug.

"Yah... shut up" Chan retorted back, just tightening the hold and putting his cheeks against Hyunjin's shoulder. The tall rapper closed his eyes, soaking up the warmth and affection he knew would disappear when their comeback officially starts.

Hyunjin could hate anyone, like anyone, be in love with anyone, but no one will come as close to being his brother as BangChan, a pillar for his emotions and support.

***

(Minho)

"You will get sick, Yang Jeongin, seriously, stop sticking to me." Minho scolded and tried to push off the youngest from clinging to the fever-induced patient.

It was two days after his outstanding off color behavior due to his solid fever and delirious state, that had enabled a protective streak in his members, especially Felix. He had gotten a heavy scolding from Chan after Hyunjin had outed his health conditions to him, that little snake. And then received complaints fromall7of themabout how stupid he was being and how he should lean onto them for help as much as they do on him, which was all pretty sweet and wholesome despite the brassy tones.

And now he had gotten bodyguards, namely Jeongin, Felix, and Hyunjin, as a form of punishment for pushing his limits, on accord of rooting his activities and schedule down.

"Wae?? You don't like me?"Jeongin fake smiled and rubbed his cheek against the older in a way to rile him up, making Minho hit his thigh.

"Don't be a brat" He smiled at the dimpled boy and handed him the bowl of popcorn, turning his attention back to the movie playing on the large screen, namely Oldboy. The maknae smiled back in return and fisted the popcorns, feeding some to Minho and tossing the left over in his own mouth.

Minho leaned back in his seat, breathing deeply at the scent of butter from the popcorn and vanilla from Jeongin. He had been forced to take off two days by Chan to recover from his fever, despite knowing that with the comeback not even two months away, they all need to be in action.

Not that he was complaining though. The rest had helped him restore his energy and not look as dead as he did before. His body didn't ache like it was on fire anymore, his head didn't pound like it was being hit by hammer and every movement didn't make him nauseous anymore.

Seems like he needed to be taken down a notch and he appreciated his members for that reality check.

Half an hour into the movie with the popcorns gone, Jeongin let his head fall onto Minho's shoulder and snuggled in close, pulling the blanket tighter around himself.

Minho shifted in return and wrapped his arm around the boy and slouched down lower into a comfortable position. Jeongin too put his arms around his waist and closed his eyes.

"Wake me up when the others come back." He murmured against the older's neck and sighed pleasantly, slowly drifting to sleep.

Minho softly smiled at the sight and patted his head in a rhythmic manner, feeling his own eyes getting heavy due to the warmth.

It was the quiet moments like these that Minho cherished a lot. Nothing scripted, nothing filmed, no one self-conscious about their actions, these were the real moments. Moments that showed that every member was as close to each other as they could be, despite their manifested scripted dramas on cam.

The dancer nuzzled his nose against the soft vanilla scented hair, and closed his eyes, pulling the youngest close to his chest and feeling his thoughts getting sluggish.

Someone was pressed against him....

It was warm.... comfy....

Who was talking??

"I will heat up some broth and steaks and make jjajangmyeon" someone was whispering.

Minho felt someone nodding behind him, his body trapped between two humans....

What the heck?

He opened his eyes and looked straight at the sleeping face of Yang Jeongin, still and relaxed in his arms, then who the hell..?

He shifted and met eyes with Felix, whose eyes widened at the realization that they had woken him up. A sheepish smile fell across his lips and he snuggled in close to the older.

"Ah you are back?" Minho rasped, moving his quite numb arm and laying it across Felix's lap, who threaded his fingers with the elder, holding it tightly. The elder leaned his head back comfortably and just stared at the boy beside him. His soft fluffy blonde hair, pale chubby cheeks decorated with freckles and pink lips.

Minho had always found the rapper very cute, ever since he met him back in their trainee days. The younger exuded an aura of happiness and comfort and that was a first for Minho. When he had been eliminated, he couldn't bring himself to face Felix, all of the younger members but especially Felix. He felt like he had failed them all despite his promise of trying his best.

"Yeah, came back 15 minutes ago. Seungmin is making dinner." the freckled boy replied, brushing away Minho's hair from his forehead and checking it for any signs of fever, relieved when he found none.

"Kim Seungmin in the kitchen? Did the sun rise from west today?" Minho joked, laying his head against Felix's shoulder while balancing the youngest well so as to not wake him up.

"No, he is just worried about you. Though he would rather kiss Chan than admit it." Jeongin answered making both the feline boys jump and yell in shock. Minho pulled his arm away from the boy and cowered against Felix, holding his heart, as the younger boy grabbed Minho infront of him as a shield. The sudden movement jerked Jeongin's posture who whined in return.

"Why did you move, hyung? Aish I was so comfortable." He tried pulling the older back into his initial position, eyes narrowed and forehead drawn in a frown.

"I thought you were sleeping, you punk." Minho uttered, still feeling his fast racing heart thrumming in his chest as he ignored the complaints and pulls away from Jeongin, adamantly stuck to Felix, who was still not over the little surprise.

"I was, but Lix and Seungmin aren't exactly the stealthiest, so that woke me up" the maknae shrugged, finally accepting his fate and sitting up, stretching hard over the 2 hour long nap he had taken.

"So you were awake this entire time?" came Seungmin's voice from the threshold of kitchen, where he had been standing the entire time, making Minho curse at the new startle.

"Now what are you doing there..? Ughh whatever, I am going to the washroom." he muttered, showing his obvious and faux displeasure at the small heart attacks here and there.

"TMI, hyung." was Seungmin's dry reply which made Minho spin back around and stalk after the laughing boy. Felix giggled too, standing up and holding him back from kicking the singer's butt who was maniacally laughing and teasing him. Jeongin joined them in the kitchen and punched Seungmin's arm for fun, whose smile disappeared as quick as a light flash.

He approached the youngest with a wooden spatula but was interrupted with Minho's "Yah, don't hit the maknae!" remark which made him roll his eyes.

"The favoritism is obvious." He rebuked, sticking his tongue out at the eldest in the room and walking back to the stove for preparing the food. Jeongin naturally joined him, picking up stuff to put away and bringing some vegetables from the fridge, while the cat duo walked back to Minho's room, Felix back-hugging the older the entire time.

The second they entered the room, Felix flopped down on Minho's perfectly made bed and turned over on his side to watch the older, who walked inside his closet to get a new pair of fresh clothes for shower.

Minho removed his tshirt in one swift movement and ruffled his hair, standing in front of the mirror for inspection. He scanned his body, his arms considerably thin due to his deteriorating health and his chest not as buff as it used to be, making him sigh. He rotated his shoulder and was satisfied to see his shoulder blade muscles and prominent collarbone which made him smile slightly. He caught sight of Felix's wide eyes following his movements with a dazed look in his eyes, which transformed his small smile into an evil smirk real quick.

"Do you think I should gain some weight?" he promptly asked Felix, turning towards him. The said boy snapped his mouth close and glanced away from the eye-f*cking session he had going on with Minho's body, clearing his throat.

"Ermm.... whatever you wish, hyung" his answer made Minho roll his eyes at the blatant avoidance of the situation and evoked his flirting skills as he made his way over to the nervous boy.

No way was Lee Felix escaping him again...

***

Chapter 7: 7.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

The freckled boy gulped and leaned back as Minho strode over to him, feeling his heartbeat skyrocket and his pulse quickening. He scrambled up in a sitting position, his wide nervous eyes looking around the room, clearly avoiding the elder's predatory gaze.

OH MY GOD!!! WHY IS HE COMING HERE???

Felix was internally screaming and begging for mercy from the entire universe as Minho leaned over in front of him with a huge smirk on his face. His right arm snaked around the younger's body situated on the bed, holding himself steady over the freckled boy, who was mesmerized with Minho's beauty. His bare-faced look with messy hair and muscled body, damn Lee Felix was stumbling through his charms.

"Wha-what are you doing, hyung?" He nearly stuttered, his voice shaking and his gaze being pulled towards the elder's prominent collarbone.

"Nothing.... something..." Minho's voice was breathy and velvety soft, eliciting a shiver from the freckled boy, who uplifted his eyes to the elder's lips. The tension was way too thick for the duo, a first time thing too since they had never been so close in such way... as they were now.

"Am I that attractive that you can't keep your eyes off of me, Yongboks?" that nickname combined with the silky voice and sultry gaze did some things to Felix's heart, which had definitely only ever happened with Hyunjin before. The desire to touch the specimen of a man in front of him was huge, and so was Felix's crush it seems. He unconsciously brushed away Minho's hair from his forehead to see his sparkly eyes better and that action formed a small adoring smile on Minho's lips.

"Uhh.... yeah.... you are attractive hyung." this time, his voice wasn't shaking, neither were his hands as he reached over to Minho's shoulder and tugged him closer, to the point where their noses were almost touching. Felix was no kid at flirting, he had flirted a lot of times and pretty smoothly at that too, even with his own members, but it was his first time flirting back with Lee Minho, and that thought definitely got him slightly excited. He ran his fingers up the elder's bare arm, a small mischievous smile on his face and leaned forward, touching their noses together.

"Oooh, Yogbokkie has gotten better at flirting." Minho teased, completely at ease despite the....questionablestance they both were in.

"Y'know what else have I gotten better at?" Felix's voice was even lower than normal, husky and deep as he stared back daringly at the elder.

He wants to play? Fine, they will play....

And Felix will win.

Slyly, he traced his fingers against the elder's lips and smiled cheekily.

"What? Yongbokkie wants a kiss, hmm?" he nearly died at the dangerously flirty voice of Minho, because damn he had never seen him like that. The elder looked almost....predatory and amused.

"I thought your kisses are special, hyung." Felix uttered, recalling back to a few months ago when Changbin had jokingly tried to kiss the elder and had ended up with the threat of getting castrated, because apparently, according to the elder'Lee Minho's kisses are special, only special people will get them'.And then he had mischievously clung to Jisung, knowing full well it would rile up Changbin.

"Yeah, but so are you..." despite his words, the elder leaned in close and only nuzzled his nose against Felix's freckled ones. He sighed contentedly and smiled at the younger, meeting his half-lidded gaze.

"Your freckles are the best part of you, and I am saying this full aware of your beautiful heart." his whisper made Felix swoon, his words nearly tearing up the soft boy. It was no secret that Felix was insecure about a lot of things, his freckles, his voice, his looks, his dance and his bubbly personality.

And because of that, he functioned solely on compliments and reassurance. They made him feel alive and welcomed, they made him feel his worth. And the fact that Minho never missed his chances to compliment Felix? Yeah, the younger was in love.

Where had those words come from?

Felix didn't know, nor did he care. Hearing such tender words from Minho meant the world to Felix, who smiled at his hyung back and kissed his nose, pleasantly surprising the elder.

As soon as they pulled apart, Minho's phone dinged with an incoming message.

"Oh sh*t, I need to shower." panicked and slightly disoriented, Minho untangled himself from the younger and rushed inside the bathroom, leaving a confused Yongbok behind.

The younger launched at the elder's phone and found a message from Jisung reminding Minho of his turn to record "Waiting For Us". So that's why he hurried away....

Holy sh*t...

He fell back on the tidy bed and stared up at the ceiling in shock. Had he just kissed Minho? Lee Minho? The very same Minho who was his teammate for years now? The very same Lee Minho who Felix never had much attraction for? The very same Lee Minho whoHyunjinsupposedly had a crush on?

It was nothing new in SKZ to share a few kisses here and there. No, most of them were not gay, in fact none of them had ever felt like they were gay, but they most definitely did not hold back with each other. If any one of them was queer, well it was pretty much quenched with their own desires. It was like, SKZ were pretty much straight but gay for each other, if that made sense.

But Felix had never kissed Minho....

NEVER....

He had kissed everyone.... everyone had kissed everyone.... but Minho.

Even if it was just an eskimo kiss....

It was some sort of fun between them, being fruity with each other. Because what kind of friend group is it, if they not are slightly gay for each other? But as far as Felix knew, Minho had only ever kissed Jisung, who he was like the closest with, and maybe Chan, who must have badgered him to no end with his unreciprocated love.

But the rest?Nah...

Its not like Minho didn't love them equally, hell he even behaved differently with them to treat them according to their wish. But it was a known fact that he wasn't as open or affectionate as the others. He had his soft moments here and there but mostly, it was a routine of him to be the perfect hyung everyday. So for him to willingly cross the line he had drawn for himself was a huge thing, even if it meant just being slightly affectionate.

The moment had Felix malfunctioning as he robotically stepped off Minho's bed, remade it, and slithered back to his own messy room, plopping down on his bed with a million thoughts on his mind.

How? Why? What?

He shut his eyes, burrowing his head in his pillow and shrieked, feeling his heart still hammering against his ribcage. The shy smile on his face was a clear indicator of his feelings, the blushing cheeks enhancing his lovesick look.

Oh to be Lee Felix...

***

(Hyunjin)

There are one of those days when I suddenly feel alone,
When I feel like I don't belong anywhere
And my head is hanging down...

Whenever those days come, you tell me how precious I am
At those words you say, everything's alright,
From nobody to somebody, I become a very special me

You make me feel special....

Hyunjin smiled as Sana's voice blasted through the speakers in the practice room. He twirled, arms spread wide, feeling a sense of euphoria in his veins. The comeback had been scheduled for March, they were almost done with the music video shoots and Felix was recovering well. On top of that, he had stepped into the new year with memories so epiphanic that he couldn't stop grinning. He had spent the first few minutes of the new year with Minho when they had left the room to get some whiskey for everyone, and then the entire day lazing around with all of the members. It had been a blast with all 8 of them finally together after a long time.

As Hyunjin sat on the rug of the maknae's and Minho's dorm, surrounded by all of his dear friends, he had realized just how much he had missed them all together. After his hiatus, they had a comeback and even after the comeback was over, they had a lot of time on hand to spend together, the weasel hadn't been in his best place back then, pretty traumatized and scared after the scandal. The others had been so patient and loving with him in those few weeks, always reassuring him that he was fine, that they would never let him go.

And starting the new year with those words and emotions again with his lovely team mates was the best feeling ever.

"You will sprain your ankle if you keep spinning like that." the tall rapper rolled his eyes at the dry words of Minho, who had just returned from the washroom freshened up and ready to leave.

"Let me have my moment, hyung." a chuckle escaped the elder at the younger's exhausted words and he walked over to help Hyunjin pack up his things. The two dancers had stayed back a little late at the company to ponder over stage executions they would have to perform when the comeback would officially start. And for the first time ever, Chan had left before them, making them the only SKZ members at the company for the night.

Hyunjin glanced at his phone when it lit up with an incoming message.

- Are you guys done?

It was from Changbin which made the tall boy grab it and quickly reply back.

Yeah, we are just leaving. -

He checked the time once, it was just after 9 p.m., before pocketing his phone and slinging his bag over his shoulders, a devilish idea forming in his mind. He handed over the white puffer jacket of the elder and picked up his own, formulating dialogues in his head over and over again which would convince Minho to spend some more time with him.

As they stepped out of the elevator to the reception area, they met Lia and Yuna. The duos quickly bowed to each other with smiles.

"What are you both doing here this late?" Minho asked, brows furrowed worriedly.

"Just some late night vocal practice." Yuna smiled nervously and gazed away which definitely broke Hyunjin's heart. It was pretty clear that the immense criticism for their voice had gotten to them and despite wanting to help or comfort them, he knew that nothing but improvement will soothe down their nerves. So he smiled back sadly and warned them to be careful on the way back home before dragging away Minho, who didn't seem very thrilled with leaving the girls all alone.

"They will be fine, don't worry." Hyunjin murmured as Minho kept glancing back with worried eyes.

"I hope so" the elder hummed back, sighing and falling into step beside the taller, who quickly put his drama into action.

"Its just 9, hyung. Let's have some fun." he grabbed the elder's hand and started pulling him in the opposite direction of their dorms.

To say that Minho was dumbfounded would be an understatement. One second they were worrying about their hoobaes and the other second they are going to hang out late at night? What was wrong with Hyunjin's brain?

Nevertheless, he let the younger pull him to a heavenly smelling small restaurant. The younger pulled out his phone and earphones, pairing them up together and playing 'The Conjuring 2' which they had started watching some days ago.

"Food in a run down restaurant with a horror movie on phone? You really know how to plan a date Jin." Hyunjin laughed out loud at the elder's dry humorous words and leaned against his shoulder.

"You should be thankful I took the time and effort to plan it though." the duo ordered their dinner which went so smoothly that Hyunjin was a little surprised. No bickering? No sassy remarks? No threats even when he stole the elder's food? Wow, Minho must be going soft on him, a thought which made him giggle.

"Please.... just one." ok, maybe he wasn't going soft on him.

The elder shook his head vigorously and tried pulling his arm away from the stubborn weasel who was using all his life forces to get Minho to go to the photo-booth with him.

It was almost 11 p.m and the photo-booth was bound to get closed after 11:30, so late only courtesy of the mass of students now leaving from their tuitions and coaching centers after their extra lessons, and Hyunjin was adamant on taking pics with his cold hyung. Afterall, he needs something to post on the internet for the world to see.

"Only one, hyung, please." puppy-eyes and pout activated as he stepped close to Minho and started tugging on his arm with the most begging expression he could muster and almost instantly the elder glanced away and grudgingly muttered an 'ok'. With a mighty squeal, the excited weasel pulled him over to the counter and fished out his money, not even noticing Minho's adoring eyes and red ears at his actions.

"One, two, three..." every pose was freaking weird but what do you expect from Lee Minho?

"Heart, heart, heart.... make a heart." Hyunjin chanted, holding up his hand for the elder.

After they were done with the endearing photo-shoot, they collected their pics and walked out on the road, suddenly high on excitement and serotonin especially when they noticed the cats.

Hyunjin cooed at how quickly Minho attracted every cat around him, who had started playing with them right in the middle of the road, murmuring gibberish at times and soft commands at other.

The tall boy whipped out his phone and started clicking pics and shooting videos in succession, satisfied with the mass of gallery dedicated to Minho.

A couple of weird poses were thrown here and there again as the two idols had the time of their life right then and there on the road. They posted some of the very simple pics on bubble and kept their special ones private by mutual understanding.

Exhausted by the entire day's situation, the two dancers finally sat down on the bench by the sidewalk, their faces glowing under the light post above them and feeling warm despite the cold weather.

***

(Minho)

Acalm feeling settled over the two idols as they leaned against each other on the bench. Minho crossed his legs and put his head on the taller's shoulder, sighing in pleasure as he felt his muscles relax while Hyunjin hummed the melody of a familiar song. A few seconds in and the elder realized it as 'Feel Special' by TWICE.

"You really like that song now, huh?"

"Its comforting. Reminded me of you guys when I was on hiatus. Its been on repeat for me after our new year's day." the younger whispered back, not wanting to disturb the quietness of the night.

Minho felt a sharp tug at his heart at Hyunjin's word.

He remembered those days, spent in despair and a constant state of nervousness and restlessness, trying to get any news from Hyunjin or the company on the case. For 4 months, the SKZ members had lived on edge, praying that their group mate would not meet the same disastrous fate as the other idols accused. For 4 months, Minho hadn't slept peacefully, knowing that any day could mark the end of Hyunjin's career in Stray Kids. The thought of his dramatic but adorable baby getting snatched away from him had been a constant fear in Minho's mind in those few months.

But thankfully, whenever he went online, he saw the support for Hyunjin and whenever he tuned in with their managers, they assured him that they wouldn't let their gem go that easily.

And one day, they won.

He came back....

After months of struggle and tears, Hyunjin was officially added back to Stray Kids.

Minho remembered that day, when their managers had solemnly called them all to inform that there were chances that Hyunjin might not make it through the scandal, he had felt his heart crack. And as they had kept up the fake pretenses, he had felt his heart crumble to pieces and tears sprung up in his eyes after a long time.

Felix had cried, so had Jeongin and Jisung. Chan and Seungmin had been close to tears, while Changbin was pretty much just in shock.

And Minho?

Minho had felt his entire world wither away with the thought of not having Hyunjin back.

"I am sorry I wasn't there to comfort you when you needed me...." he whispered, feeling his throat close up with emotions at the past memories.

"Oh no, hyung. Your existence was enough to comfort me. Everyday I watched you guys kill it on Kingdom, I lived a little more." Hyunjin was quick to hug Minho, wrapping him in a strong embrace.

"I would have fought them, you know? I would have fought them all for you, really. You belong with us. I was not going to let them take you away." he didn't know why he was being so sappy and blurting things out but he was glad it was happening.

It had been way too long since he had last let his emotions go, and the thought that his words healed him and Hyunjin both was comforting.

"Good, I don't want to be anywhere else either." somehow the younger's words didn't seem so straight forward to Minho. It was as if they had stopped talking about the hiatus and were somewhere else.....

"This is super embarrassing and I will kill you if anyone gets to know about this, but I love you Jinnie. And I will protect you." a wet sniffle left the younger who nodded his head against Minho's neck.

"I love you too, hyung" Minho helped Hyunjin wipe his tears before holding his face in his hands, staring at him like he was the most precious thing in the world, because he really was.

Never in his life had Minho expected to meet someone so real, so human, like Hwang Hyunjin. A man full of determination and emotion. A man so strong yet so sensitive. A man who was perfect. A man who was soft, serene, comforting and at the same time loud, chaotic and hilarious. A man who just made you want to protect him from the nuisance of a world and yet amazes you with his steel willpower. His emotions were not his weakness but his strength. His feelings and sensitivity gave him stability and power. He was a man of principles, easily swayed and yet stuck to his beliefs. He was someone Minho secretly adored and respected.

"Its getting late, Hyun. Let's go back." with that Minho intertwined their fingers together and the duo walked back peacefully to Hyunjin's dorm first.

"Be careful on your way back home, hyung" Minho smiled softly, patting the younger's head.

"I will be. Get inside now." he stepped back and was instantly attacked by another tight hug from Hyunjin, making him chuckle. He rubbed his back and pulled away, conscious of the time, but Hyunjin didn't let go. Instead he leaned in and placed his soft lips against Minho's cheek, making the elder's eye widen from shock and his heart skip a beat. He caught a whiff of Hyunjin's perfume and unconsciously inhaled deeply.

When the younger pulled away with a blush spread across his cheeks, Minho couldn't help the shy smile on his lips.

"Bye bye hyung. See you tomorrow." Hyunjin bit his lips before curving them up in a smile too.

Lips that Minho hadn't touched yet....

As he replayed his kiss with Felix again and again in his mind, he decided not today.... maybe one day, but not today.

Before he could act upon his desires, Minho spun around and started walking to his dorm, exhaling out his butterflies and nerves.

He liked the late night walks. The calmness and the beauty was so transparent at night. He also had no fear of being out alone in Seoul at such an hour, which made his walks more leisurely. What's the worse that could happen? Physical fight with drunkards or saesangs? Lee Minho was born prepared for that. He ain't a master in taekwondo and martial arts just for fun. He and his parents knew how hard life would be if he was out late for coaching and study sessions and some creep tried being, well, creepy. So he learnt taekwondo and martial arts. It not only helped him in the numerous common tussles with drunkards after his study sessions but also gave him confidence to be out alone with no damn fear. Who could survive him anyways? Especially now that he knows boxing too.

With a smirk, the idol strolled downtown, nearing his dorm. He could see some adults roaming around, some groups of drunkards or druggies too but nothing bothered him. He walked straight through the environment, unfazed and walked inside the lobby of his dorm. Thank goodness their dorm was on the 3rd floor, secured with passcodes and locks.

That night, when Minho plopped down in his bed after a warm shower, he couldn't keep the bashful grin off his face. The entire night with Hyunjin had been so fun, so calm and just something he needed.

The cheek kiss replayed in his mind over and over again as he held him pillow close to himself with a shy smile on his face, drifting off into the dreamland with the thoughts of a certain tall baby in his mind.

***

Chapter 8: 8.

Chapter Text

(Felix).

"Its B.I.R.T.H.D.A.Y Sung, not B.R.I.T.H.D.A.Y" Felix chirped from his destined position of setting up the cake. Jisung, who was hanging up the lettered balloons for Jeongin's birthday, reeled back and let out a defeated whine.

Muttering curses and swears, the poor boy removed the string and got off the chair, ready to jumble the words back again, making both the Aussie brothers laugh at his predicament. Seungmin rushed through beside them with the food containers and utensils, setting them up on the dining table while Changbin and Hyunjin were clearing away the living room to make space for the surprise celebration.

Within moments, the maknaes+Minho's dorm was filled with decorative clusters across the walls and floors, shiny shimmering curtains and birthday wishes adorning the pale untouched walls and black and gold metallic balloons scattered on the floor. The center table was occupied with the 2 pound chocolate and vanilla butter cake that Minho had ordered, accompanied by 2 shot-oreo and choco cheesecake and some puff cakes, apple juice, whiskey and wine. The salty snacks consisted of chips, hot soup and some spicy stir-fried shrimp Minho had salvated a couple of hours over. The main course meal had huge variety of food that both the Lee duo had spent their blood, sweat and tears on due to the short amount of time they were provided. Hot Bulgogi and Bimbimbap were still steaming in the glass containers, accompanied by some steak meat and other side dishes.

The 7 young men had definitely out-did themselves for their dear maknaes birthday and Felix felt pride coursing through his veins when he saw their arrangement for the beautiful day.

"Guys, they are about to leave." Hyunjin informed the boys, springing up from his lazed position.

For the very obvious surprise, Minho had decided to take Jeongin out for 'shopping' so that the others could set up the birthday celebration, and thinking back at the excuse now, Felix realized they had literally abandoned Minho with a hungry fox baby who was dying to buy some cloths. R.I.P Minho's wallet was all the freckled boy could wish for as a giddy smile fell across his lips.

It had been so long since they had planned such a 'James Bond' move on their members. Last year, Minho, Chan and the Sunshine twins birthday had gone without too much of a spark since they were in the media phase. That, burdened with Felix's injury and the comeback's stress, had built up a sombre environment in the SKZ life. Thankfully, now they were going to break out from it with their lovely youngest member's birthday. The year had started out dull but they were going to make it colorful, one step at a time, starting from Jeongin's birthday and carried out by Hyunjin's, which was just a month away.

"Ok ok, everyone get to the positions" Chan clapped his hands and Hyunjin and Jisung picked up the party-poppers taking their place at the end of the hallway, just a couple of inches away from the main door. Seungmin stood beside the switchboard from where he would switch the lights on and off, while Chan, Felix and Changbin stood behind the coffee table, ready to ignite the candles.

"They are 13 minutes away." Seungmin stated, with his phone in his hands wherein he was tracking Minho's location. Instantly, the anxious boys lapsed into relaxed states at their positions.

"If I don't get this much effort onmybirthday, I am setting the dorms on fire." Hyunjin uttered, glaring at the others challengingly.

"You should be grateful if we even remember your birthday." Seungmin rebuked back with a daring smile on his lips, fully enjoying riling up the dramatic boy.

"You should be grateful I spare your life then, Kim Seungmin-ssi" Hyunjin's manical smile was pretty attractive to Felix, who was watching the exchange, interested. It was true though, with the album drop just two days before Hyunjin's birthday, a celebration as substantial as Jeongin's would be pretty tough. But they will manage, of course, after all its Hyunjin they are talking about.

Sudden murmurings could be heard from outside the dorm when Chan held up his hand for silence. It seemed as if Minho and Jeongin were arguing about something trivial again, as Seungmin switched off the lights and the two rapper readied their poppers. There was a beat of stillness before the door unlocked hesitantly. It creaked at its hinges as two figures shuffled inside, the one in front suspiciously resembling the stark purple hair of Minho due to the light falling in through the cracked door, but before Felix could speak a word, Seungmin switched on the lights and Hyunjin and Jisung popped the party poppers straight at the young man in front.

A loud scream followed by numerous curses filled the dorm. Someone laughed out loud and when the sparkly papers cleared off, everyone saw the very scene they had been dreading.

Minho was covered in shiny pieces of papers, leaning against the wall with wide eyes and holding his chest in shock while Jeongin was giggling his ass off at the poor dancer's state. The austere silence was broken by Chan and Changbin's laugh, followed by Seungmin while Felix was transfixed on the elder dancer in front of him.

The shimmery piece of paper were scattered over Minho's purple hair and black shirt, decorating his handsome face in colorful shines. His shocked expression was adorable and the way he quickly started glaring at the dumb duo in front of him was hilarious and attractive.

Ok Ok, simping time over...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY INNIE"the shouts must have startled the entire building out of their residence, but who cares?

Jeongin stepped into the living room with the biggest smile on his face and was instantly crushed in a huge group hug. Giggles and squeals filled the dorm as the members dragged the youngest over to cut the cake.

"Make a wish, make a wish..." Felix chanted, clapping his hands excitedly and slightly bouncing on his feet, making Hyunjin cackle and put his arm around the hyper boy.

Jeongin clasped his hands together and closed his eyes for a moment before blowing out the candles. Whoops and cheers followed the fox boy as he cut the cake and held up the first piece.

"Ok, the first bite to our leader Channie." Jeongin spoke up in a slightly shaky voice which made everyone realize that the boy was more touched by their gesture than he was letting on. His eyes were sparkling from unshed tears and his voice was wobbly, but he still smiled the biggest smile he could muster and turned towards the older Aussie.

"Thank you, hyung, for always being patient with me throughout the years as I improved, for always staying by my side through every problem and for always believing in me. You are an annoying older brother, but you are the best annoying older brother in the entire damn world. Another year I have spent with you and another year I have lived, knowing that you are beside me as my brother, my confidence and my inspiration. I love you a lot, hyungie, you are the warmest person to exist ever" and to salt-down his emotional words, Jeongin stuffed the cake in Chan's mouth to avoid more emotional breakdowns, making everyone laughed out shakily.

His sweet touching words followed by his rough tsundere actions were the proof that Jeongin was definitely taking after Minho and that realization made Felix's eyes widen in horror.

Oh bugger...

He gulped as he saw the maknae advancing towards Minho with his second piece of cake, a sinister smile on his face that matched the crazed look in the elder dancer's eyes.

Damn, the maknae must have emptied his wallet.....

***

(Hyunjin)

"Let's not kill the baby on his birthday, shall we?" Changbin held back Minho's arm and looked at him meaningfully.

"Yeah yeah, ok" Minho held up his hands and gave everyone his cat smile, eyes still holding murderous intentions that made Hyunjin secretly giggle.

Jeongin skipped over to Minho with a sweet sarcastic smile and held up the cake to his lips.

"To the second oldest weird hyung of mine." Minho scoffed at his words and rolled his eyes at Jeongin but his eyes softened when the youngest sniffled slightly and looked away for a moment.

"Err.... you are weird, very very weird yes, but I like it. You are someone I trust to protect me all my life and get me killed accidentally, too, so yeah...." his words were followed by muffled laughs from everyone, even Minho, who bowed his head in acknowledgement of the fact.

"You did just spent 250k for my birthday cloths and drinks, all because I was acting bratty for attention but you never once complained about it even though we both knew I was doing it on purpose. You have always patiently helped me through every obstacle, never denying my request no matter how stupid they were. Let's not even get started on how much you helped me with dance because it might take us years to go there. You cooked for me at 2 in the night all because I was in a mood to eat, you have bought me gifts I would have never expected to receive in my life from anyone, you have always loved me in your own way and I am grateful for that. I know I don't say this often, never to you I think, but I really love you, hyung." with a soft sigh, Minho held Jeongin's hand and fed him the piece of cake back.

"That's for the dose of diabetes you just gave me."

Hyunjin shook his head at Jeongin and Minho's savage love language and immediately perked up when the youngest turned towards him, blatantly ignoring Changbin who had been jumping beside him and making kissing noises.

"YAH!!" loud protests rang out and Jeongin let out a comical defeated sigh.

"Yes yes, I am getting to you." he turned towards Changbin and stuffed a huge piece of cake in his mouth first.

"There goes half of my sappy speech, now the left one is here." Jisung near about toppled over Seungmin with his uncontrollable laughter, while Hyunjin had to hide his face in his palms to stop himself from letting out his own giggles.

"You, Seo Changbin-ssi, are one true man of principles. I know it probably doesn't means much to you but it does to me, actually. Your resolving and understanding nature has made me much more mature than I expected myself to be. The way you take care of everyone around you is really inspiring to me. You are one of the few people in my life that I have learnt something from. You have given me strength and life lessons throughout these years and I am thankful for your presence. You are like a star, hyung, always there in the sky, shining brightly and providing beauty but never disrupting others' shine. You are one of a kind to be honest, and I am glad you are my- welloneof my eccentric hyung."

"Such eloquent vocabulary. Did you practice this in front of your mirror, Innie?" Minho snorted and gently pulled Changbin out of the way to let Hyunjin get in the spotlight. Meanwhile Changbin was starting to get slightly emotional over the youngest words and most likely needed a heavy dose of Minho and Seungmin's dry humor to go back to his 'black bin' aura.

With a sniffle, Changbin reached forward to teasingly hit Jeongin for his mental breakdown but was held back from doing the impending disaster by Minho, who wrapped him up in a back hug.

"Let's not kill the birthday boy, shall we?" he quoted Changbin's words and received several punches of mirth from the 4 rappers of the group all together.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, felt his heart outright melt from his chest at the scene in front of him. Minho and Changbin hugging, Chan watching them all with a fond smile on his face, as always, Felix and Jisung holding hands and smiling, Seungmin with his glasses looking like a cute baby boy who was hungry for cake and most importantly, the huge grin on Jeongin's face despite his watery eyes. It was such a moment after so long, and Stray Kids definitely deserved it.

With his chest swelling in pride and happiness, Hyunjin grabbed the youngest in the tightest hug he could summon, hearing his surprised cackles sound like music to his ears. He ruffled Jeongin's soft fluffy hair and pulled back to kiss his forehead.

"Ewww, ok ok. I am getting to you." Jeongin hit the elder's chest but stayed in his warm embrace nevertheless.

"You are more like my elder brother than my elder brother himself, hung, and that's quite a threatening move according to my older brother. The amount of times I have uttered 'brother' should be illegal." the sentimental speech diminished into void with the youngest's embarrassed murmur and silence followed the idiotic words as Chan slapped his forehead and sat down on the couch with a sigh.

"Aren't you so poetic?" Seungmin drawled out with a lazy smirk on his face, taking place on the couch beside Chan.

"Hey, not fair. I ran out of sappy speeches." Jeongin protested and that elicited laughs from everyone, right before Jisung incredulously widened his eyes.

"What do you mean you ran out of sappy speeches? I am right here, maknae-ya, waiting for my turn of sappy speeches."

"The amount of time you guys uttered 'sappy speeches' should be illegal." Minho muttered and steered Changbin away to get the shopping bags from the hallway, where they laid out forgotten and discarded.

Oh, the justice for those Gucci and Chanel purchases that made Minho go broke.... R.I.P

"RIGHT ANYWAYS..." Jeongin continued with new found enthusiasm as he bounced in Hyunjin's arms with a sudden huge smile on his face. Seems like he found something down the memory lane.

"I still remember the first time I met you, you were so damn handsome that I instantly felt attracted to you. You had this comforting and approachable aura around you, and you were so friendly and cool that I really wanted to be friends with you." Hyunjin snorted when he remembered how his friendly and cool aura always disappeared around a certain cat boy, but he was glad Jeongin had never noticed his clumsy self in the past. God knows what would have happened if the boy hadn't decided to worship him and instead been as casual to him as the others, because Yang Jeongin can be very evil and harsh when he wants to be. Thank the Lords, Hyunjin was always on his good side.

"Then we went to school together and those years were one of my best. You always helped me with my homework, looked over me throughout the school year, making sure I was included and involved everywhere you went, kept me safe from those asshole bullies and protected me through my rough phase at school. You made those school years bearable and I can't thank you enough for that. I know we all know how much I admire you, your personality, your artistry, your thoughtfulness, your sensitivity, so we don't need to go there. Just know that I love you, every part of you, every inch of you, whether its the dumb part, the adorable part, the innocent part, the hot part,the scarred part...."Hyunjin did it.... He did the very stupid action he had promised himself not to indulge in....

He cried.

Despite the numerous promises he had made to himself in front of his mirror in the morning, he shed his tears like women in pregnancy. He couldn't help it, his emotions were high and Jeongin's words were enough to break his dam free.

***

(Minho)

Don't cry..... DON'T CRY...

Minho chanted in his head as he saw Jeongin and Hyunjin break down in each others' arms. The room was engulfed in sniffles and soft sobs as the two boys embraced each other and let go of their pent up emotions.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Minho noticed Chan vigorously blinking to keep his eyes tear free while Felix was full on bawling his eyes out in Jisung's arms.

It was a given though, because ever since Hyunjin had come back from his hiatus, he had been extra protective over Jeongin. But it wasn't the protectiveness that had ticked the youngest off, it was the closed off aura that Hyunjin had around him all the time, like he was trying to shelter the boy from his dark thoughts and scarred pieces. Jeongin didn't want to be shielded from his negative side and insecure thoughts,he wanted to be there for him.

Minho remembered the chilly night Jeongin had slipped into his bed with teary eyes. The elder had panicked and pulled him unceremoniously into a hug to calm him down, which had shocked them both. But after his tears had dried up, the youngest had admitted that he felt left out whenever Hyunjin bottled up his emotions around him to secure his sanity and instead went to the older members for help. It made him feel incompetent and useless. The two used to be one of the closest pair in the group and sharedeverything.But suddenly, the youngest wasn't the one Hyunjin cried with, he wasn't the one who was allowed much deep conversation with the elder and it broke his heart. Was he not mature enough? Or dependent enough?

That day, Minho had a different tactic of comfort. Instead of brushing away the youngest's insecure thoughts with positive words, he had confided in with him.

A secret for a secret,he had called it. Since Jeongin shared his self-conscious thoughts with him, Minho had shared his own with him, to prove that he was dependent enough for them all.

"You are the youngest here. I know it can get exhausting sometimes, having to be babied and treated like a kid always, but try to put yourself in our shoes, Innie. Every one of us have scars with our careers, everyone but you, and we want to protect you from it. It's not that you are not reliable or responsible enough, its that we don't want you to be so. So what if we don't share our demons with you? We share our dreams and celebrations with you, don't we? Because we all love you."

He had been proud of his speech at that point of time, until Jeongin had opened his wise mouth again and sent the dancer into a frenzy in his thoughts.

"The people who are there for you during your darkest times, are the ones you would share your light with, hyung. I don't want to be there just for your smiles, I want to be there for your tears too."

Wise maknae....

A wise maknae who was sobbing his eyes out in his favorite human's arms.....

"Ok, guys, let's not drown in our own tears today." Jisung spoke, wiping his own eyes harshly and putting up a brave smile on his wobbly lips, "I still need to hear Innie's sappy speech for me."

"If you say 'sappy speech' once more, Han Jisung, I swear to G-" Minho grabbed Changbin and shushed him down.

'Yeah yeah, ok..." Both Hyunjin and Jeongin broke apart with wet faces and red noses.

"You guys look ugly." Minho unconsciously let his mouth run, eliciting a gasp from Jisung beside him. Realizing his words, the dancer put his hand over his mouth in utter shock and bowed his head apologetically.

"Whatever, like I was saying, there is crack in everything and that's how light gets in, hyung. Our life is sh*t but we love it anyways, don't we? I want to share that sh*t with you, I want to light up your world when you feel sad. Don't push me away to shield me from your demons, Hyunjinnie, I want to help you fight them."

"Oh My God, another round of tears?" Seungmin complained when sniffles and sobs started resonating again, "When will my chance come? I also want sweet words." his pout was smacked off from his face by the one and only Felix who was crying like his rent was due.

"I don't need you to light up my world, baby, just sit with me in the dark and help me find my own light. I am sure Changbin hyung is already blind by now." Hyunjin winked at the quiet muscled man on Chan's arms. Chuckles followed his words and Minho gently pulled Hyunjin in a soft hug to let Jeongin go to their next whining victim, Jisung. The taller folded in his arms like a doll, head nuzzled against Minho's neck and arms around the elder's torso, hugging him like a koala bear.

"Jisungie!!" Jeongin fake cheered and stuffed a huge piece of cake in the squirrel boy's mouth to prevent him spewing sh*t during his speech.

"Yah, you disrespectful brat!!" Jisung yelled, or at least tried to with his puffed cheeks, but still calmly chewed on the cake and crossed his arm over his built chest in an attempt to look cool to be on the receiving end of the sappy speech (Yes, I am still on that -uv).

Jeongin took a deep breath and glanced back at Minho, who gave him an encouraging nod back.

"Another hyung who keeps his feelings to himself around me. I wanna rip your soft hair out at such moments, but I know its hard for you." Jisung's cheery smile disappeared and was replaced by a 'deer caught in the headlights' look.

"So for those hard moments, when you struggle with yourself to keep your anxiety in check, when you cry yourself to sleep because you have the irrational fear around you, when you are alive but feel dead, just know that I am here for you hyung. I am not your roommate anymore, but y'know I can always tell when you cry yourself to sleep. I know its your battle, and we can't interfere in that, but we can be there for you, right? Why don't you let me? Who knows, maybe I can be a better confidant than Seungmin."

"This bitch..." the attacked boy muttered, receiving a look from Chan and teasing laughter from everyone else.

"Watch it, your turn is coming." Chan smiled meaningfully and pulled the annoyed boy in his arms, while Felix stepped forward with his tear stained face. His nose and cheeks were red, making his freckles even more prominent. His blonde hair was resting over his forehead messily and his considerable small hands were held out in an attempt to hug Jisung, who had tears rolling down his eyes silently.

"I don't even know why we are doing this, not that I don't love all these sweet moments. But like, this is gonna be a pain in the ass tomorrow, with itchy eyes and sore throats." the smart puppy spoke up again, getting up from Chan's embrace to pat Jisung back.

"Fine then, let's end this with Felix." Jeongin innocently sniffled and turned away, making Minho chuckle at his evilness. As expected, Seungmin immediately yelled in protest and tried to hit the birthday boy for purposefully teasing him all the time.

All the while, the freckled boy beside Minho was still crying and the tall boy in Minho's arm was most likely asleep by the way he was leaning his entire weight on him.

***

Chapter 9: 9.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

"Its already dinner time and I am starving." Changbin complained, jerking Chan like a ragdoll to get his attention. The poor aussie sighed and looked at his fellow aussie with a look that had Felix ugly snorting and crying at the same time.

Keeping in mind that their sentimental fest was going on for too long, the freckled boy stepped forward to Jeongin. The youngest smiled wide and held up a perfectly cut up piece of cake for Felix. A scoff was heard as Felix chewed the delicious vanilla flavored cake.

"Right, I get stuffed with cream while he gets a nicely cut piece? The favoritism here is too bright...." Jisung dramatically swayed while holding the Bbokari plushie. Felix stuck out his tongue at his twin and softly kicked his butt before turning his attention back at Jeongin, who was making a face at Jisung too. Just to piss of the young rapper even more, Changbin tickled his side that had Jisung yelping and swatting his hand.

"Err guys, I think he might be asleep..." Minho's voice cut through the impending chaos and everyone spun around to where the dancer was leaning against the wall with Hyunjin in his arms. The limp posture and no response from the tall boy was clearly the proof of his statement being right.

"Wow, he is amazing." Chan chuckled, getting up and helping Minho put the sleeping boy on the couch next to Seungmin, who was not so gently kicked off by their second oldest member. Seungmin obviously protested and tried to push off Minho but the warning glare in the elder's eyes was a sign to retreat. Chan moved Hyunjin down to lay on the couch with cushions to cradle his head and silently, everyone descended to the floor.

"You guys have ruined the vibe of sentiments." Jeongin complained softly, mindful of the sleeping beauty on the couch.

"Its fine Innie. How about I go with some words for you?" Felix paused, repeating the sentence in his head to make sure it was the correct grammar.

A chorus of ooohhhs filled the room followed by an embarrassed groan from Minho, who fell sideways on Felix's lap.

"Oh My God, you guys are so mortifying." the elder covered his face and rubbed the side of his head against Felix's thigh as the younger ran his fingers through his soft hair.

"Says you." Seungmin chirped, assured by fact that he was far away from the attack zone of Minho.

"Whatever, before we start a riot, let's get back to the topic on hand." Changbin said, carefully opening the cans of beer on the table. Felix immediately snatched up one, even though he despised the bitter taste of the beverage, and gulped the entire content down in one go, making his teammates go wild with cheers.

"Jeonginnie, our dear maknae..." his voice was already deeper and slurry as he smiled wide, "One of the most comforting human to ever exist. The type of guy that just makes you go soft and warm. His entire existence is a blessing in disguise. He is always by your side, always ready to help, always ready to be the shoulder for everyone. His smile can make your day a hundred times better, his personality can make you fall in love with him. He is such a baby too." groans and whines left the youngest at that, "but still one of the most mature people to exist. He is so intellectually smart, so cute, so perfect-"

"Actually the intellectually smart one here is me." Minho interrupted, holding up his hand and looking up at Felix like an innocent cat.

"Hush hyung." Felix replied, patting his cheeks and resuming his rant.

"Anyways, I will end this by saying that Yang Jeongin is perfect. And Innie, if these traitors don't let you be the mature one, you can come to me. I will always let you hyung me." Felix winked at the youngest, who was giggling at him.

"Hyung me???I don't that is the right figure of speech." Minho snorted and that made Felix squish his cheeks in warning. Everyone was tipsy and laughing at them.

"I truly think Felix should have been the maknae instead of Jeongin, at times." Chan chuckled.

"I support, I support." Jeongin nodded his head, holding up his can of beer and nearly spilling it.

"Wow, you guys are sh*t drunk already? Its not even been 20 minutes since we started." Seungmin laughed out loud, leaning against Jisung, who had quieted down and was staring out in the space dazed.

"Our alcohol tolerance ran down..." Changbin muttered, turning back to the couch to wake Hyunjin up.

"Yah yah yah, what are you doing?" Minho kicked the muscular arm of the rapper, glaring at him. "Why are you waking him up? Let the baby sleep."

"Dinner, hyung. We need food." Changbin pinched Minho's small foot and stuck out his tongue.

"Ok everyone, round up." Chan took matters in his hand, helping up Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin while Changbin slowly and softly shook Hyunjin awake. The Lee duo stayed on the floor, Felix sitting with his back against the couch and Minho sprawled out on his lap. They didn't seem to be in any intention of moving, until Hyunjin woke up and stretched, accidentally hitting Felix with his feet.

"Oh My GOD!!" Sleepily, Hyunjin glanced down to see the younger Lee holding his head with in daze.

"Ahh Yongboks. I am sorry." Felix waved off his apology and smiled at the messy haired tall boy, all the while trying to push Minho off his lap. Minho swatted his hand and tried to cuddle deeper into the warmth but Felix was hungry now and he could smell the delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. With a lot of grumbling, the dancers finally made their way towards the kitchen, where Chan and the maknaes had heated up the food and served it in the utensils.

"Thank you for the food." everyone chorused, while Chan signaled the birthday boy to make a toast.

"To the great idol Yang Jeongin and his fellow team mates, let's celebrate this year with as much enthusiasm as the last one." Jeongin held up his can of fanta with the biggest smile on his face, surrounded by his lovely hyungs.

Cheers and whoops rang out once again, it didn't take a lot to replenish SKZ's energy.

As everyone dug into their food, random conversations broke out, Seungmin complaining about the fact that he was the only one who didn't get some nice words from Jeongin, Changbin repeatedly hitting Jisung for not writing the lyric to one of his songs, Hyunjin trying to provoke Minho into some kind of reaction and Minho threatening him yet again with dire consequences. With a fond smile on his face, Felix met eyes with Chan across the table, who threw everyone a sassy look and mimed a crazed action towards the bickering.

Giggling with a warm heart, Felix shipped some of his meat pieces into Minho's plate beside him since the elder loved it so much, all the while maintaining track of everything around him.

Such a relief, they are all together again.

***

(Hyunjin)

Cheers and whoops erupted in the green room as Minho's fancam zoomed in on his handsome fierce face.

Hyunjin couldn't help the pride that flowed in his veins, as he beamed at the screen showing his hyung. It was Minho's collaboration stage of 'Tiger Inside' that he had performed right after their 2 group stages and one more collaboration stage of the MCs' 'Snow Prince'. Not to mention, it was the 3rd take of the performance because the first time had some technical issues and the second time, another idol, Hyunjin had forgotten the name of, messed up.

All in all, Minho performed 6 times the entire evening with the same consistent energy and perfect choreography, all the while being the entertaining MC of MBC as well.

How could Hyunjin NOT be proud of him?

The performance had gone perfect, Minho's dance and charisma were overflowing and Hyunjin was damn sure that the legendary show will be talked about for long.

"That was awesome." Felix whispered next to him, and Hyunjin turned towards the blonde with a smile so huge, it radiated off excitement and happiness.

"It was, wasn't it? He spent so much time and effort over it." Hyunjin remembered the numerous late night practices when Minho had asked him to stay and watch over, while the elder went over his moves to perfect them. If Hyunjin had been amazed by his performance a week ago during practice, then he was over the moon with how well it turned out for real.

"He never came home before midnight." Felix voice was concerned and sad, but proud and prominent at the same time.

"You waited for him?" now Hyunjin was surprised. The young blonde was injured and not in the best head space right now, and yet he tried his best to look after that stubborn cat called Lee Minho?

"Yes, of course. Innie and sometimes Seungmin stayed awake too. We were worried for his health. Don't want a repeat of that week." a shudder ran through Hyunjin when he was reminded of Minho's high fever a couple of months ago. When Felix had been freshly injured and needed someone to look after him, which Minho was doing, but in the process overexerted himself and how the two young ones had to take care of Minho and get him to let go of his egoistic thoughts of being invincible.

A sudden murmur ran through the crowd and a few gasps were heard when the screen suddenly panned out to show Minho on the ground, clutching his chest and wincing in pain.

"Oh wow." Hyunjin blood ran cold as numerous JYPE staffs rushed out to help their artist. "Looks like wearegetting a repeat of that week."

"Make way." Chan snapped, shooing people away and making space on the couch for the awaited sick boy. Getting into action, Hyunjin and Jeongin wordlessly picked up a couple of water bottles from the stack, while Changbin pushed the cushions against the arm of the couch to make it comfortable. Seungmin was already rummaging in Minho's bag for his clothes and Jisung was asking the staff for meds and wet wipes, quite an expert in the anxiety ridden department.

A few seconds later, Minho was dragged inside, his arms over their two manager's shoulders.

"He is fine, just extra stressed and overworked." One of the camera man spoke up when Chan turned to glare at their staffs.

The purple haired man was laid down carefully on the couch and Hyunjin immediately rushed over to grab his warm hand. Felix was by his side in an instant, wiping Minho's sweaty face with wet paper towels. Jisung and Seungmin set on removing his boots and loosening his belt, while the pampered man was out cold. His breathing was slow and steady, his temperature lowering down within seconds. Hyunjin brushed his hair away from his forehead so Felix could stick a paper towel on it and watched as the blonde boy let his small hand fall against Minho's red cheek, caressing it softly. The scene made his heart stutter, the way Felix looked at the elder so lovingly and worriedly, it reminded him of himself, such a lovesick drama.

"He is so stupid, isn't he?" Hyunjin heard Jeongin whispering behind him, which cracked him up.

"Wait till he hears that you called him stupid Innie." Jisung whispered back.

"He won't do anything, he is too soft for me." the youngest scoffed, leaning over Hyunjin to remove the earpiece still tangled in Minho's hair and ear.

"I wouldn't be too sure of it Innie, he hit me with a spatula when I tried hugging him a couple of days ago." Felix whispered conspiratorially, making everyone chortle out.

It was so easy to make fun of the purple haired man as he slept peacefully on the couch, but everyone knew they wouldn't have the guts or the heart to tease him when he woke up.

Chan and Changbin entered back into the room after a heated discussion with their managers, their faces red with anger. The others didn't even try to ask anything, they knew that they will be informed eventually. The priority right now was their sick member.

"We will leave in 20 minutes." Chan spoke up, his voice barely containing his anger which made Hyunjin flinch. Oh how happy and overjoyed their leader had been, he had been near about jumping at his dongsaeng's performance, and then this happened.

"Get changed, and please get Minho to change too. Feed him some protein bars, I am ordering food straight to our dorms. Be ready to leave." and with that short speech, Chan walked out again, most likely to confirm that their schedule was over and that our departure was fixed.

"We will get him changed." Felix quickly glanced at Hyunjin for support and the two dancers simultaneously nodded their heads.

'Ok, so let's go, Seungminnie, you gotta help me get this blazer off." Jisung quickly latched onto the unsuspecting boy with a cheeky grin. Jeongin trailed after them, quietly laughing while Changbin rounded up their stylists for help and whisked them out of the room too.

Within moments, the three dancers were left alone in the green room.

"Why don't you wake him up while I get changed?" Hyunjin suggested, knowing that Minho might go easy on Felix for waking him up. The blonde seemed to catch his implication and smirked.

"Sure, but I get to help him with changing too."

"You are nasty Lix." Hyunjin gasped at the mischievous look in Felix's eyes.

"What? Our hyung is hot, you can't blame me."

"I really can't." Hyunjin muttered, eyeing the cheeky blonde boy suspiciously.

"If I come back to you kissing him, I might just join in." he sauntered over to his bag to get his casual clothes, before entering the adjoining bathroom, Felix deep voice floating over to him as the door closed behind him.

"No promises."

As quickly and carefully as possible, Hyunjin stripped out of his stage outfits and removed his hair clips that were keeping his beret in place. He washed his face lightly, knowing that he needed a shower anyway to remove all the hair product and face cream that he had on. He put his hoodie on, along with some sweatpants and tied his hair back.

A fresh and tired face stared back at him from the mirror as he leaned forward on the sink. His head was slowly starting to spin as the exhaustion started settling in his bones. Not to mention, his hands were still slightly trembling from minutes ago when he had realized that Minho had passed out after his stage.

With a deep breath, he fixed himself up and carried his outfit over to the racks to hang them. He truly didn't care much for them, the MBC staff could take care of it. He was still mad at the management for the poor technicalities and various shoots that obviously resulted in Minho's state.

When he walked back out, he found himself staring on a very much struggling Felix who was trying to get Minho to sit up.

With an endeared chuckle, he made his way over to help his blonde friend out.

***

(Minho)

Dizzy...

He was feeling dizzy....

The camera was close.

The audience were screaming.

Someone was speaking something.

He felt cold and hot at the same time.

His chest felt too tight, it was painful to breath.

Someone was shaking him....

"Hyung?" it was a familiar voice, a very warm and comforting one.

Minho suddenly reached out blindly to get hold of the blond boy, craving some warmth and cuddles. His hand was caught in Felix's small soft ones and he could feel the Aussie crawling closer to him, which woke up his dazed mind.

He regretted opening his eyes as soon as he did, the light was too blinding and his head was starting to spin slowly, a weird banging ache erupting. But he still squinted around, trying to figure out his surroundings.

'Where..?" his voice was painfully hoarse and his throat felt stuffy.

"Here, get up." Felix came into view, his face still full of makeup and his hair still styled, he hadn't even changed out of his outfit.

It was difficult to sit up, his body was screaming in pain and his headache was getting worse with every passing second. His leg muscles were stiff and his ribs were throbbing with every breath he took. All in all, Minho felt awfully sick and exhausted and he couldn't even recollect why he felt so.

After a few moments of struggle, he was sitting up on the couch, his head resting back as he felt another pair of hands on him. Due to his closed eyes to ward off the headache, he couldn't see who it was but the familiar whiff of perfume told him it was most likely Hyunjin. His suspicions were confirmed when the younger dancer told Felix to go get changed.

"Hey, hyung?" Minho hummed in response, not at all considering any movement because he was sure it would make him nauseous.

"You need to change, eat and and then take meds." Hyunjin's voice was careful and quiet and Minho knew he was making an effort to help him out of his miseries, no matter how antagonizing it might be.

"Give me a moment." he whispered, trying to collect himself.

What had happened?

He had been dancing.... his chest was aching, his head was spinning....

Oh right, he had fainted.

He had been mad about having to shoot his performance thrice, had even snapped at one of his stylists when they tried fixing his already perfect hair. But he had given his best again. Juyeon had even congratulated him mid performance when they had walked to the side of the stage.

He had been feeling dizzy the entire day, and the Maniac choreography had definitely not helped. The extra energy he had to give in every performance had drained him bad, and not to mention that weird chest pain that had started right during Tiger Inside's first take.

He remembered something about collapsing on the stage after the camera had filmed his ending pose, right beside Moonbin, who was suffering from stomach ache. He had tried helping the man up, but then a massive spin hit his head and he had passed out in his manager's arms, who had rushed out the very second. That certainly explained his predicament as he squinted his eyes at the young boy in front of him.

"Are you ok? Do you feel nauseous?" Hyunjin got right up in his personal space, eyebrows scrunched in worry. His large hand cupped Minho's burning cheek as he leaned forward, making Minho gay panic. He quickly turned his face away and swatted Hyunjin's shoulder.

"Yah, get off me." the rebuked the younger, who stuck out his tongue at him, making a face at his antics.

"You are in big trouble, baby Lino." his voice was very delighted as his eyes curved into that mischievous expression he wore whenever he tried provoking Minho.

"Chan hyung was hella mad, you should be careful lest he tries to wrap you up in bubble wrap and lock you in the dorm."

"And you are thrilled about that, why?" Minho questioned, slowly stretching his limbs out to get the blood flowing, his headache waning out slightly.

"Oh, you so deserve it, hyung. Two blackouts in two weeks, 4kg weight loss, a severe case of anxiety, fever, and pulling away from us? You so deserve it." Hyunjin spoke, his voice taking on the sudden furiousness, his eyes blazed with annoyance, and his lips pursued.

Ok, that was a given.

He did slightly deserve it.

He had ignored every caution and concern from his team mates, brushing his hyung and dongsaengs off. Changbin had snapped at him last week after an interview, telling him he needed rest after he had almost broken down in tears FOR NO DAMN REASON AT ALL.

Seungmin had tried to help him, speaking so softly and acting so tenderly with him that Minho had double backed, shocked. Their 'Divorce Couple' concept had started inhabiting their real life too, so for Seungmin to act like that was a pleasant surprise even though he had waved him off too.

Felix and Jeongin had tried numerous times to get him to go out with them on their shopping spree, but he had been too exhausted for that. Hyunjin and Jisung had even tried cornering him once during an early morning schedule when Minho had stumbled out of the house dazed.

But most importantly, he had disappointed Chan. He knew it. The eldest hadn't even talked with him the last couple of weeks, too mad at his stubborn nature. But Minho was now determined to talk to Chan. He had to. He wanted,needed, help.

So, strengthening his resolve, he carefully got up from the couch. Hyunjin immediately latched onto his arm, helping him up. Despite his harsh words, the younger was hot on his heels to still take care of him, and that thought really did something to his heart.

With a pained sigh, he stood on his two trembling legs and held on for a moment to let his consciousness get used to the action. His dizziness had subsided drastically and he could feel himself well enough to not pass out any second.

Change, eat food, take meds, go to sleep.

He started mentally preparing himself for the required measures for a good night's rest. And tomorrow, he will talk to Channie. Explain his stupidity, get his hyung's warmth back and maybe spend some with his dongsaengs.

Taking a deep breath, he shuffled closer to the source of warmth in the present. His arm was still in a vice-like grip of Hyunjin, the younger's hot breath on his neck making goosebumps erupt on Minho's skin, as he stoodclosebehind the dancer. Minho leaned back slightly against the younger, who chuckled. His long arm wrapped around Minho's broad shoulders as he steered him to the other side of the room just as Felix exited the bathroom.

The blonde boy perked up when their eyes met and he quickly shoved his cloths in his bag hastily, making his way over to the embracing pair. He snatched up Minho's casual clothes in the process before bounding over with a beaming smile on his face. His bare face and blond hair really complimented his freckles, which were so beautifully scattered across his cheeks, like stars in a galaxy.

Oh wow, exhaustion makes him poetic.

"Here, change into this. Sungie just texted me saying that we are excused from the schedule now. We gotta leave in 10 minutes." Minho nodded and tried to detangle himself from Hyunjin.

"Err, be careful." the taller cleared his throat and let go.

With a confused frown, Minho nodded his head and slowly made his way over to the washroom.

"Don't lock the door." Felix hollered after him.

Minho looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was was messed up even with the tons of hairspray that was spent on it, his makeup was just slightly ruined enough to look ruined and his eyes were red. All in all, he looked awful.

Time to work on himself now.

***

Chapter 10: 10.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

"C'mon hyung." Felix tried in vain to feed Minho the small red pill.

The stubborn feline human kept fighting with his small hands, adamant that the specific medicine tasted like sh*t and he didn't want to take it.

"But it will help with the weakness, hyungie." His attempts at charming his way were a failure as Minho ignored his pout and fixed his tired eyes on the wall.

"I don't need that. Just give me the sleeping pill, I will be fine after a few good hours of sleep." Minho had his own pout on, ashetried to charmhisway with Felix. Unfortunately, it was definitely working. The exhaustion in the elder's eyes compelled Felix to just ignore their manager's words and throw away the vitamin pills and instead just give him the sleeping pills for comfort. The poor man looked spent beyond words, his posture was limp, his bright face completely dull and his eyes looking dazed.

"Hyung...." Felix tried for one last time, his resolve crumbling at the look on Minho's face. He is such a softie sheesh...

"Just take one for me. Please."

Minho narrowed his eyes at the younger, and miraculously sighed in defeat. Maybe he was aware of the fact that it was almost 3 in the morning and Felix was as tired as him after the day's event, taking sympathy on the poor boy who was taking care of him. But whatever it was, it definitely saved the day for the soft-hearted blonde boy who was seconds away from giving in.

"Fine, but I will take it differently. It tastes terrible." such a baby, uff. A smile spread across Felix's lips when he heard his hyung back down from the fight they had been having for 10 minutes now, all because he played his 'for me' card. He reached forward for the water and instantly a frown edged over Minho's eyes. The dancer waved his hand against the water frantically and flinched back.

"Huh? You want me to pass it mouth to mouth to you, or what?" Felix snorted, shifting closer to the bundled up burrito called Lee Minho.

It was supposed to be a joke, he had blurted that out to distract the elder enough to get him to take the pill, but of course, it was Minho they were talking about. The nasty idea had him perked up in seconds as he leaned forward with an interested expression. Horror and a hint of desire spread across Felix as he jokingly pushed the purple haired man away.

'OMG hyung. You are wild. It was joke." Minho deflated like balloon at his words which definitely made him laugh out loud.

"I won't take it with water, it dissolves and leaves an aftertaste. And I won't just take it without water because that is nasty too. So, you figure out how you wanna give it to me." a smirk played across Minho's lips as he trapped Felix in a dilemma. The blonde's joyous expression fell, replaced by an annoyed one as he hit the elder on his arm. Dang it, he thought he had won.

"You are insufferable. Fine, don't take it." he huffed, giving in to the evil bunny.

"But when you stumble over the places again, don't expect me to catch you."

"Oh but I will always expect you to catch me, Yongbokkie." that honey voice was such a weakness for Felix. How do you escape from Lee Minho's charms?

There should be a book out there, labelled as '101 ways to avoid falling for the cat butler, Lee Minho'.

And maybe another one, labelled as '101 ways to remain loyal to your crush.'

"Tone down the flirting, hyung. I don't think your exhaustion likes your cheeky side much." somehow, his own voice came out leveled and unaffected, even though his heart was thrumming loudly and his thoughts were running wild.

Defeated and sleepy, Felix threw the vitamin pill on the bedside table, making a mental notes to find another way for that, and handed over the sleeping pill to Minho.

"Thank God." the elder breathed out, gulping down the pill without hesitation and leaning back, relieved. Felix chuckled at him endearingly and got up from the bed, making Minho shift down in a better position for sleep. The elder's face was free of makeup, his hair was falling over his forehead messily after the hasty shower he took to remove the hairspray and his hands were clutching the blanket tightly. The soft cheeks puffed out in relief, the squinting eyes and the small smile near about melted Felix right then and there.

Menace.... He is a menace.

Felix told himself as Minho grinned up at him sleepily.

Blushing furiously and feeling unjust, Felix arranged the bedside table properly, threw the dirty cloths in the hamper by the closet and did a quick check of the room. Minho didn't like his room messy at all.

Satisfied that everything was in place, Felix started walking out of the room but then, Minho called out to him drowsily.

"Yongboks?"

"Hmm?" Felix spun around worriedly, expecting the elder to be feeling sick or something.

"Where you goin'?" Minho's speech was slurred and his eyes were nearly shut, a pout playing on his lips.

"I am going to take a shower and then sleep, hyungie." Felix answered back just as quietly.

"Sleep here, with m'." The man was drained and half asleep and yet he was having his way with the younger like on a daily basis.

But Felix was really contemplating it. Sleeping with Minho meant that he would be able to take care of him throughout the night (or morning) and he would get good warm cuddles too. Not to mention, he was getting an opportunity to spend time with the elder and he wasn't going to give up on that.

"Ok hyung." he agreed readily.

"Just give me 10 minutes, I need to shower first." but Minho was already dozing off.

Feeling strangely excited and nervous, Felix stepped into the shower, the warm water loosening his tense muscles. He stretched his limbs and massaged his head, mindful to not evoke a headache. The shampoo and body wash really seemed to freshen him up and by the time he stepped out of the shower, he was drowsy with the content feeling enveloping his body.

He wiped off the fog from the mirror and stared at himself in the reflection. Full healthy cheeks with his freckles, tired brown eyes, wet blonde hair, water dripping down his chest, his small hands reached for the moisturizer for his night care routine.

After dressing up in large comfy night wear, he towel dried his hair because he couldn't use the hair dryer at 3 in the morning. His mind flashed with the scenes an hour ago, when he had been towel dryingMinho'shair. The elder had tried wrapping his arms around his waist, which had earned him a smack and a scolding to stay still. Exhaustion was really playing with the elder's head, Felix giggled at the thought.

The entire house was silent and dark as he quietly made his way over to Minho's room. Shutting the door behind him carefully, Felix climbed in bed beside the sleeping male and pulled the blanket over himself. He was just about to shift closer when Minho moved. The poor freckled boy froze, thinking he had woken up the dancer, but the elder just snuggled into his side. His arm looped over Felix's small waist and his head was nestled against his neck and shoulder.

Felix slowly relaxed in his hold, feeling his skin burning where Minho's lips slightly touched his neck. And so he shifted himself, putting his arm around Minho's shoulder and slinging his leg over the elder's muscled ones. His fingers threaded through Minho's silky hair, massaging his head slowly, and he felt the elder sigh in his sleep.

With a content smile, he let the sleep take over him.

***

(Hyunjin)

World tour

They were going on a world tour.

Hyunjin had felt victorious a lot of times, but the moment he heard their managers announcing their tour, he felt like the most prosperous human on Earth.

They had made it.

They were famous, they were a big name.

They were successful enough to have a world tour on their name.....

The depth of situation crashed on him as he heard his team members screaming.

f*ck, THEY WERE HAVING A WORLD TOUR!!

He squealed and jumped on Changbin, hugging the male so fiercely it made his arms ache. Not his best moment, yes, but he was excited, he was happy and most importantly, he was nostalgic. He heard Felix spouting off gibberish behind him, the exhilaration getting to his head, he could see Jisung looking around like a madman, he could see Seungmin staring at the wall in shock, he could feel Changbin laughing in his arms, everyone was freaking elated.

"A world tour?" Minho asked, looking so dumbfounded, it made Hyunjin laugh out loud. And once the dam broke, he couldn't stop it. Hysterical giggles were the only sound that were ringing out in the meeting room as Felix and Jisung joined in his maniacal antics. The tall rapper detangled himself from Changbin's arms and bounded over to Chan, shaking the poor leader with such fervor that his cap fell off.

"World tour, Channie, we are going on a world tour." a huge smile spread across the eldest's face and a few tears build up in his eyes. It made Hyunin emotional too.

He remembered a few months back when they had been working on their unit song 'Red Lights', Chan had mentioned that the only thing he wanted now was a world tour to quench his idol life's thirst. The man had been training for a decade, been an idol for half a decade and his entire life had been based on that dream. It made Hyunjin proud to see his dreams coming true right in front of his eyes, Chan deserved it the most.

The eldest had devoted his entire life to this ambition and now they were successful enough to hold a tour, across the world, where fans would come to see them again.

Their first tour had failed, thank you f*cking Covid 19, but they had another chance. One more chance to live that experience, and SKZ were going to take that chance to the fullest.

Chaos ensued as the 8 men started hyperventilating over the tour, asking questions, throwing suggestions, making plans and so on. Their managers let them feel the euphoria and backed down for a few moments to let them soak up the news and settle down. Hyunjin felt like he was on cloud nine. There had been a time when he had been disheartened that they might never make it to the big market, but then that concern had changed to unconditional fear when he had been put on hiatus.

Now was his chance again, another chance to make things right and appreciate his idol life.

With a wet sniffle, Chan breathed in his emotions and smiled wide at his group mates. The pride and excitement in his eyes never escaped Hyunjin, who felt like he could scream in happiness.

"The humankind better be ready for us."

8 pair of determined eyes turned to the two older men in the room, ready to conquer the world with their music.

"Felix starlight!! Wooo woooo~"

"NOOOO!!! STOP!!" Felix yelled, desperately reaching out to snatch the phone from Hyunjin's hand.

"Why? It's cute." Hyunjin cackled evilly and leaned back against the couch, keeping his phone out of reach from the annoyed boy.

It was the first week of May, just 2 days after their 3rd Seoul concert. The show had been a blast, their energies were incomparable, their excitement high, and their emotions sky-rocketing. The fans cheers and screams had been deafening and the euphoria that followed it was heart-stopping. It felt so natural, so habituated to stand on the stage with thousands of people losing their voices over them, appreciating their efforts, enjoying their voices, swooning with their dances and fainting with their performances that Hyunjin had absolutely gotten intoxicated with it.

He had been so high on serotonin that he hadn't slept the entire remaining night. The three elder members had tried their best to calm down the younger ones but no one was ready to get over themselves and the trio had resigned to the maknaes dorm to take rest while the 5 troublemakers, Hyunjin, Jisung, Felix, Seungmin, and Jeongin had stayed at the 3racha+Jin dorm to have fun.

Their Seoul leg of the tour was over and they had a month's time to get their next comeback in line before the Japan fraction started in June.

"I swear to all the f*ckers on this planet, if you don't stop that video right now, I will murder you."

Felix narrowed his doe eyes at him, his lips pursued and his cheeks bulging out as he huffed. His nose crinkled up once as the video replayed itself and then he set his jaws.

Hyunjin realized a little too late what the soft boy was planning. Before he could even blink himself into action, Felix sprang on him like a cat, his arm outstretched to grab the phone. They collided face-to-face as Hyunjin was pushed down flat on the couch. By some miracle, their heads stayed inches apart and they managed to not knock themselves harmfully. The couch creaked slightly and Hyunjin made a mental note to pass on the note to their manager that their practice room sofa is getting older than Chan.

Felix was completely on top of Hyunjin, one of his small hand on his shoulder for elevation and push while the other adamantly tried grasping the phone. Hyunjin, on the other hand, was dazed and instinctively wrapped his arm around the smaller boy to keep them both stable as his legs raised slightly enough to catch the younger in between. His other arm stretched away to keep his precious phone safe from the cat's clutch. The freckled boy let out a low growl of impotence and tried hitting the tall rapper which finally had him snapping out of his reverie.

Hyunjin ducked out of reach as Felix's small finger tried flicking his forehead and his laugh started spilling out. The poor boy was struggling so much, all for that blasted video. Hyunjin locked his phone let it drop beside him on the couch and grabbed Felix's wrists in one large hand when the boy instantly tried grabbing it. He poked his button nose, giggles and indignant words filling the practice room.

Felix retaliated by trying to bite his hand that held his wrists hostage.

"Wow, kitten, living up to your cat image, are you?" Hyunjin yelped, pulling his hands away. His legs still held Felix stable on top of him but he let his arms drop to his sides, exhausted by the small tussle.

Felix, too, let out a huge sigh and rested his head against Hyunjin's chest.

"You are a meanie." he mumbled, rubbing his face softly on the cotton texture of the elder's thin tee.

The young boy was slightly red in the face, which made his freckled blend in rose hue. There was an endearing pout on his lips and Hyunjin just wanted to bundle up the cinnamon roll and protect him from the world. He didn't want the reality to taint his beautiful innocence.

It was clear that the small brawl had tired down the energetic sunshine, after all he was still building up his stamina due to his back injury, so Hyunjin wrapped his arms around him and relaxed back.

"Look at it from our point of view, its adorable for us." he spoke up, referring to the video clip Felix was so desperate to erase from his existence.

The freckled boy glanced up, their soft gazes meeting. Hyunjin felt his heart stuttering at the angelic human in front of him, too mesmerized by his beauty. His mouth went dry as he realized their questionable position and possible actions while Felix's big eyes flickered between his wide ones and his lips.

Holy sh*t....

No no no.... not Felix.... not Lixie...

He was panicking and looking forward to it at the same time.

Felix licked his pouty lips once, his hands trailing up Hyunjin's chest to his neck to his jaw as the taller shivered under his touch.

OH GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING??

He wanted to scream out loud and melt simultaneously just as the door creaked open and Minho waltzed in.

Minho....

Their member who was supposed to meet them for practice.

Hyunjin's crush Minho.

The one Hyunjin has been in love with for years now.

All three of the dancers froze.

Oh f*ck.

***

They say 'Attraction is only intense when mystery is involved'.

Minho never paid much attention to it, he was not the kind to get attracted anyways. His entire life, Minho had felt thatthoseemotions just weren't for him, to feel any kind of love or lust for someone inthatway. Of course, he loved people around him, but falling in love? That was a tricky equation.

And yet, as his eyes locked on his two dongsaengs on the couch, a flare of heat spiraled through his body. His thoughts buffered for a moment before taking a completely south route.

They were definitely a mystery.... And he was attracted as hell....

"You two getting nasty in the practice room? Really?" he tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, even though his nerves were flayed and his mind was filled with mental images of things heshouldn'tbe thinking about.

His words seemed to have physically hit them as they jerked apart.

"Don't be ridiculous! It was nothing." Hyunjin burst out as the two scrambled away from each other.

Felix gracefully slipped off the couch in his haste to get off from Hyunjin, and hit the ground with a soft thud. The former grasped his phone defensively and sat up in a fetal position, pulling up his knees to his chest.

Minho watched the two with utmost curiosity. It was clear they had been doingsomething,but he wasn't sure what. Its not like two male just end up in that position with no damn reason and then break apart lookingthatguilty over it.

Felix's cheeks were red to the point of camouflaging his pretty freckles, while Hyunjin was avoiding his eyes and running a hand through his hair. It brought him some weird kind of feeling, watching them like that, like he was impressed and not pleased at the same time, like he was fascinated and envious of whatever was between them.

Minho tilted his head thoughtfully and studied his two flustered dongsaengs. For once, he was truly speechless and blank with his outtake on the situation in front of him.

One of his immaculately charming qualities was his capability of reading people. He was a great observer, someone who was clever enough to scrutinize people and measure their character and actions. That was the only reason he made it through everyone's company, even if he didn't like it. He was an expert in molding himself to suit people's taste.

Like, he was an annoying bug to Chan because he knew the elder liked to take care of him. He knew that Chan was the type to find his actions amusing and endearing, so he gave him the satisfaction of being his problematic child along with Changbin.

Similarly, with Changbin, he was a clown and very open. The two were practically the same, quiet and observing in reality but troublesome and menace in front of camera. Changbin was one of his partners in crime and their main goal was to annoy Chan and the maknaes. But, together, the two were very reliant on each other. Jeongin joked that they were the type to exchange notes on what they discern in people, but it was true. They did discuss it when they were alone, but that was for behind the curtains. In front of everyone, they were just maleficent clowns.

He was the closest to Jisung. There was no reason, he just was.
People don't have reasons for being best friends, and the two of them just were. There was an underlying understanding between them, their bond was the type where they could complete each other's sentences.
All in all, they were soulmates, in one word, and Minho would never change that.

Seungmin will forever be his 'supposed' nemesis. They didn't fight, never had actually, but their bickerings were always lethal to people who weren't used to their humor and words. He liked it, the joking but comfortable aura around them. Afterall, what friends are you, if you cannot jab a few remarks each other's way and still cuddle to sleep?

Jeongin was his baby, that's it. He was everyone's baby actually, but Minho and Hyunjin had officially adopted him. To Minho, Jeongin was someone to protect, someone to keep safe and someone to adore. There were times when the dancer so wanted to pull the boy out of his naiveness to toughen him up for the harsh world, but then, he couldn't look at his innocent eyes and bring himself to ruin his perspective. It was fine anyways, its not like Jeongin is an actual kid, just someone who needs a lot of guidance and he had 7 brothers for that anyways.

Hyunjin, however, was someone Minho truly regretted not guiding. Ever since they met, Hyunjin had come across as resilient and strong, someone who was not afraid to speak his mind and would never back down on the cost of his ego. His and Jisung's long term animosity was the best example of that. And yet, behind that rugged attitude, the boy was so soft and fragile to people around him. He was especially very shy from Minho right from the starting, sometimes pretty defensive and wary, other times nervous and skittish. There were moments where he was even flirty and implying at certain things, but that was about it.

If Minho didn't know better, he would have thought Hyunjin had a crush on him.

Lee truly doesn't know.

Felix was another baby in the group, the gullible, naive and sunshine ball of energy. Minho was suspicious and skeptical about him at first. No human should bethatnice, that careful and kind to everyone around them, that mindful and comforting. It was an odd thought, he was dubious that the freckled male was acting.

But then again, he had met Hoseok from BTS back when he was still a part of SDC and was hired for their Japan tour. Peoplecouldbethat ethically and righteously kind from within, Minho just didn't have much experience from it because he was a true man-made menace.

And then, years had passed, Felix was still the same soft, comforting, sweet boy, albeit he was a really good cusser when he lost his games. Minho had always had difficulty with being close to Felix, because he was used to complex people and their complicated personalities. He was used to observing and studying everyone around him, reading the room and acting conveniently, but Felix was far from complicated and it threw Minho off guard.

He was a simple boy, someone with a really kind heart and hopes to keep everyone kind around him. He was the type to find happiness in other's happiness and that sort of selflessness really made Minho wary of him at first.

Now, the cat butler was used to the hyper active ball of sunshine always hugging him, fretting over him, cuddling him and professing his undying love for him.

If he didn't know better, he would have thought Felix had a crush on him too.

They were an odd combo.

Hyunjin, the intricate soul, which is fragile and steely at the same time.

Felix, the tender, soft-hearted gentle soul, always thinking the best of others.

And Minho, the cold intellect who kept his emotions hidden inside.

The 'odd combo' was definitely evoking some odd feelings inside the dancer's heart and he was in a true mood to play.

"Oh yeah, I would like to be involved in that 'nothing', then." his cheshire grin was mischievous, his eyes bright with excitement and leisure.

***

Chapter 11: 11.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

The freckled dancer was studying Minho warily.

If the consequences of his actions weren't looming over his blonde head, he would have giggled over the calculative but adorable look on the elder's face, who was studying the pair like he was trying to solve a puzzle that wasn't really a puzzle to begin with and his eyes were getting comical by the second.

Felix risked a glance at Hyunjin and found him staring at Minho too, whose eyes were now glazed over, unconcentrated. In turn, Felix kept his eyes over the taller dancer. His hair was messed up from when he had raked his hands through it in agitation after seeing the elder, his cheeks were still flushed and he was gulping repeatedly in nervousness. All in all he looked like a hot mess, and it was so tempting to just kiss him.

Felix closed his own eyes and tried to think back at his stupidity. Just why had he been so reckless like that?

They had been swept away in the breeze of the leisure fun, not even realizing their actions until it had crashed upon them, and though Felix didn't exactly regret the epiphanic moment, he knew that Hyunjin was far from happy over the sudden stunt that gothiscrush looking at them like they were maniacal.

f*cking nuisance....

Romantic feelings were such an annoying aspect in a complicated life, and SKZ members' lives were intertwined as complex.

His tirade of thoughts were interrupted by Minho's mischievous remark and he rolled his eyes at the elder.

Minho was a really intricate human, and Felix's brain wasn't hardwired enough to understand him. One second, the elder looked bothered by them, the other he seemed to be enjoying it. That was the sole reason why they weren't the closest pair in the team, Felix was too easy, Minho was too difficult.

But it was true with the 'Opposites Attract' analogue.

Because Felixwantedto understand the elder.

Maybe he was attracted to menaces because both Hyunjin and Minho were definitely menaces.

"Back to work, hyung." he spoke up, as the dramatic silence stretched on and Hyunjin started to look nauseated.

"Yes yes, Mr. killjoy." Minho rolled his eyes and shot off a text message to one of their managers who was supposed to meet them.

During the one month leave that they had, before the Japan leg of their tour, SKZ were supposed to start working on their new album.

The title track, some funky sh*t Felix wasn't really fond of, was already decided, along with one b-side. But as usual, there had to be unit songs too.

So, unlike the previous album where they had rapline and vocal-line as the units, Chan proposed the idea of the same units as in their album 'IN LIFE' -- 3Racha, Danceracha and Vocalracha.

Felix was more than happy with that. A danceracha unit song will be, well, dance focused, and he was the most confident with that anyways. Not to mention, their unit song had received a prominent appraise from their fandom. It had even made it to other fandom's edits' or playlists, with how inflamed it had been with emotions and lust.

The three members of Danceracha were neither substantial nor shallow. They maintained a really good balance between the sensation and intensity of the song, along with their looks and dance.

Needless to say, Felix was excited for their unit song again.

"I will say this once, if we all don't like the songs, we reject them in a heartbeat, ok?" Minho came over and sat down on the couch beside Hyunjin, who was yet to react in any way, and looked at Felix for confirmation. The freckled boy nodded his yes.

The boys had two options, select one song from the samples their producer was sending, or write their own, and Minho was adamant on NOT settling down with some trash their producer might provide. It was a good thought though, because their producer was quite a questionable man at times, what with his weird ability of degrading their songs and uplifting it at the same time.

There is a reason why Chan, Changbin and Jisung wrote, composed and produced most of their songs.

The choice was simple enough.

The three dancers were ready to evaluate the songs, and if not satisfied, ask one of 3racha members for help or write one on their own.

15 minutes later, the speaker shut down as their manager, Kim Minjun, paused the audio on the bridge part.

"This is too melodramatic." Minho commented offhandedly, leaning back slowly to lay down on the floor. He seemed very detached to the entire selecting process but Felix agreed wholeheartedly with him.

The three songs they had heard just now weren't fit for them. The first song's melody was too upbeat and playful, the second song's rhythm was awry after the chorus and it didn't match the vibe, and the third song was too sad.

"We should give this to Seungmin and Jeongin then." Minjun sighed.

"Even they won't take it, trust me." Minho was clearly enjoying the look on Minjun's face and Felix had to stop himself from giggling.

Their manager looked very displeased and annoyed with them.

It was a common knowledge that if the dancers decided to reject all the songs, the producer will be insulted and well, annoyed. Not to mention, them writing the song will require a new composing of the track and approval from the company and all that was very exhausting to process.

"How about this, Minjun-ssi? You send these samples to me and we will discuss and relay our message to you tomorrow?" Hyunjin, the ever so placate one, finally spoke up. He was the only one who was even half as interested in giving the songs a chance, the Lee duo had already known their producer will never have the song of their desire.

"Alright, but please do consider these, ok?" Minjun collected his things and was out of sight within seconds.

The moment the door closed behind him, all three dancers spurred into action.

"This one is way too despairing." Hyunjin swiped his long fingers to ignore the third song.

"I like the vibe of the first one, but I don't think we can pull that off." his threw a glance at Minho, who was sprawled on the floor undaunted.

"I can pull off anything baby, I just don't want to. That melody makes my head hurt with how many fake cheery smiles it will require. Not to mention, songs like Surfin' are once in a blue moon for me." Minho answered back monotonously and went back to daydreaming.

"Felix?"

The freckled boy pursued his lips in concentration.

To him, all three melodies held no appeal. He wanted something sensual, something dark and deep and that was definitely not in the samples.

'I don't know.... I, for one, cannot digest any one of these." he spoke up hesitantly, looking in between Hyunjin frown and Minho's peaceful smile. He could tell both of them had expected his answer but only Minho was pleased with it. Hyunjin, the determined hard-working one, was not ready to back down unless a solution came up.

"Ok, that's fair. Let's do it this way, what do we three want in our song?" he really was adamant on focusing on the song, and Felix wanted to help as much as he could, so he straightened up and hit Minho on the thigh to get him to pay attention too.

"Well, I want something sensual, something dark but not in the hard metal kind. A soft melody but bass as the chorus support." Hyunjin nodded his head at that.

"Yeah, I like that. Sensual and dark suits us better. What about you?" he asked Minho, who was smirking lazily.

Felix was very confused by Minho's sudden offhandish behavior but he couldn't quite put a finger on the cause.

Was he really that bothered by the former drama?

Nah, can't be. Minho was the least bothered in the entire group.

But then... what was wrong with him?

He was unnecessarily riling Hyunjin up with his nonchalant ways and he wasn't at all concerned about the song. As complicated as calculus, he was.

And then it hit him. Yes that was it.

He was looking for a reaction from Hyunjin.

Ever since the spectacle an hour ago, Hyunjin had been uncharacteristically ignoring them both, and Minho doesn't likes to be ignored. Neither does Felix actually, but seeing as he was the cause of this drastic mood change, no words were expected to him.

Feeling the dangerous tension in the air between the two dancers, Felix gulped and skidded away slightly, lest the strain pulled him in too.

"Me..." the eldest in the room trailed off teasingly, running a hand through his messy hair leisurely and taking his time to formulate his words.

Felix slapped his forehead and watched Hyunjin's face go stoic, his eyes stormy in annoyance and his lips pursued.

"Hmm... well, I am looking for.... err.... something..." the youngest in the room wanted to kick Minho so bad.

Hurry up,he wanted to scream, feeling ominous with Hyunjin's anger looming over them. He so didn't want first row seats to an argument between Minho and Hyunjin. It would be a disaster, what with their fiery tempers and sharp tongues.

"... dark and sensual, too." the smirk on the cat butler's face was the highlight of his day, it seemed.

"Hyung..." Felix warned, glancing repeatedly at the tallest, whose expression was dark.

Too much dark for today....

"Very well." Hyunjin clipped, his voice snappish and his eyes sharp, "I will ask the others if they have any 'dark and sensual' song." he gathered up his cap and phone and walked away to the couch to get his bag.

"Leaving?" Felix was dumbfounded to say the least.

He had expected a night out, maybe get some food and take a walk around the neighborhood, all three of them, but now....

"Yeah, I promised Hannie a manga marathon. And I am tired."

"Sure, today's events havereallybeenexhausting, haven't they?" if Hyunjin's words were sharp, Minho's were a whole damn dagger.

A crackling silence fell over the three of them.

"Yeah, you wouldn't know anything about that, anyways." and with the last blow, Hyunjin was out.

Felix risked a look at Minho.

The elder looked pissed and pleased at the same time, which was honestly scary to the poor boy.

A few minutes passed with him studying Minho, and Minho just blankly staring at the floor, before his phone chimed with an incoming message. Felix hurriedly pulled out his own phone and opened the text.

FoxInnie🦊

-Bring back some dinner.

-Seungmin is being mean again, refusing to cook

ChickLix🐥

Don't worry, I will beat him up for you.-

What do you guys want?-

FoxInnie🦊

-Bulgogi, please

ChickLix🐥

Your wish is my command-

"The maknaes want dinner?" Felix flinched and looked up with wide eyes.

'Yeah... How did yo-"

"Let's go, Lix. I am sure you are starving too."

"Ah ok." Felix smiled, he couldn't help it. Minho was too unpredictable, but at the end of the day, he was the same soft hyung taking care of everyone.

The Lee duo walked out, talking and laughing together.

***

(Hyunjin)

Hyunjin was fuming in anger.

With his mask in place and his hair hidden underneath his cap, his strides quickened to take him down the lane to the quiet park that was situated at the end of it.

His blood was near about boiling at the reminiscence of the entire day.

First his joke getting out of hand, then him getting weirdly attracted to Felix, Minho finding them in that awkward position and then him riling up Hyunjin for hours on end for no damn reason.

What was he playing at, behaving like a jealous boyfriend, or a manipulative bastard?

Already Hyunjin's head was a messed up place what with his feelings for Minho, and the flirty interactions with Felix, he didn't need the elder to make implying reactions to it.

All the fault was of the f*cking dorm arrangement. That was it, definitely.

He was separated from Minho and the distance, no matter how small, was making him act up the last few months at best. In addition to that, his interactions with Felix had also diminished due to the comeback and the younger's injury. That was surely the reason of their weird exchanges.

It was such a disarray.

What was wrong with Minho, acting like a cold-hearted snake all of a sudden?

And what was wrong with Felix, acting like a lovesick puppy to him?

And what the f*ck was wrong with him, getting all confused between two of his ownmembers?

This is why feelings are complicated.

A sigh of relief left his lips when he found the playground empty. Such a blessing it was, he didn't want any company or noise, all he needed was to be left alone with his traumatic thoughts.

To put it lightly, he was questioning everything now.

All these years, he had thought he was attracted to Minho, his personality, his smiles, his body, his laugh.... they were his salvaging thoughts, the things that had kept him going through every day, even in his hiatus.

But, between those snaps of moments, he had never come to terms with the fact that liking, or loving, Minho was a very wild possibility. Not only did that have him doubting his own preferences in partners, but it also had him cross-questioning his beliefs and basis of feelings.

Afterall, what truly was this, this pining after the elder?

Not to mention, him longing for Minho inthatsense meant he was attracted to men in general, right?

Right??

Because here evolved another problem, hewasn'tattracted to other men, at least he doesn't think so. He was surrounded by attractive men, his team mates, his friends both in the industry and outside of it, his staffs....

And yet, the attraction was only for Minho.

That meant something, right?

He didn't have to go around questioning his feelings for the elder....

He knew what was love.

And he knew he felt that love for Minho.

He craved for his presence, he melted for his honey voice, his life seemed a thousand times brighter with Minho's smile, his heart filled with warmth at the elder's laugh, his consciousness would never survive without Minho's sarcasm and his empty but hilarious threats.

He could rave about Minho for days on end, from his vocals to his dance to his quirks to his face to his heart to his personality...

So, what was the problem?

Ah yes, the bloody insecurity that Minho doesn't feels the same.

And Felix.

Hyunjin wasn't stupid.

Dense and naive at times sure, but not stupid.

He had an idea about Felix's behavior, all of them did.

The young boy was too obvious, too lovesick, it almost made Hyunjin proud of howhewas managing his feelings for Minho.

But he wasn't too sure about it either, afterall Felix had never said anything, never initiated anything.

But it made Hyunjin's blood go cold when he finally came to the conclusion that their life was getting messier by the second.

He liked Minho, Felix liked him and Minho was an oblivious fool who was in love with his cat plushies.

Oh God....

He knew he needed to talk with Felix, maybe come clean about everything including his crush on Minho, but how could he break the poor angel's heart like that?

He could, of course, talk with one of the others, but slicing open things that weren't his to talk about seemed very insensitive to him.

With a tired sigh, Hyunjin sat down on the swing, feeling his heart sink when he saw children and families coming down the lane.

It was late afternoon, the sun was miraculously hidden behind the clouds and the summer air was pretty cool. Of course, the kids would be here to play now.

But he was in no mood to leave yet.

And so, he watched.

He watched how quickly the park was overrun by toddlers, filled with laughter and shrieks, someone was already crying, two of the boys had fallen down in a tussle, the girls were sliding down the slides with screams tearing from their mouth.

In a heartbeat, the sombre playground was filled with life, no matter how messy it was, and Hyunjin realized pretty poetically just how similar his own life was to it.

The chaotic mess was taking over his life, but at the end of the day, would he trade it for anything?
No.

Feeling unceremoniously cheerful, he smiled at one of the small girls observing him.

The kid had soft black hair pulled in a ponytail on top of her head, making it resemble an apple. Hyunjin wondered if the kid's parent's sense of humor was as broken as his own. The innocent eyes and small hands reminded him of Felix, but the pursued lips and chubby cheeks reminded him of Minho.

Oh, could those two not leave him alone?

Before he could put more thought on it though, the kid started walking over to him slowly. She was a little hesitant, understandable of course, in a baby blue frock. She was inhumanely cute and Hyunjin had to keep his hands to himself in order to not come across as a creep even though he so wanted to pull her cheeks.

"Hello." her voice so was sweet and adorable it made Hyunjin beam.

"Hi." he whispered back, not daring to raise his voice lest he scared her away.

Without another word, she thrust her hands forward at him, startling the sh*t out of him in an instant.

Clutched in her small hands was a big red rose he hadn't noticed before, the stock was long and the petals were fully bloomed in a big cluster.

"Mother says that flowers make people happy."

Hyunjin sniffled, bringing his hand forward and taking the red rose.

"Thank you."

Oh what a happiness she brought him.

Miracles, that's what he had always thought of kids, even though they were satanically evil at times.

He didn't have anything to give her return, not even chocolates, though he was sure he couldn't have done that anyways without coming across as a kidnapper or something, but he so wanted to thank her for putting him back in his happy self.

And so his eye caught the keychain dangling from his pocket attached to the dorm keys.

It was his SKZOO character, Jiniret.

As quick as flash, he detached the miniature plushie and handed it over to the girl.

"Well,mymother says angels deserve a gift." she beamed back at him, her eyes sparkling with wonder as she studied the small cute character.

"I love it, thank you Mr. Stranger." and she was gone, whisking away the small boys who were staring at him, with her other friends hot on her heels to see what she had received from the mysterious man on the swing.

Feeling pretty giddy himself, Hyunjin skipped out of the playground and walked uphill to the company building again.

Problems will exist forever but time will always run out.

And he didn't want to waste his time sulking away when he could be in the company of people he loved.

So what if his definition of 'love' was a bit messed up?

He arrived just in time to see the Lee duo walking out, giggling hard over something.

Minho caught his eyes and froze for a moment which made Hyunjin slightly nervous.

Will he behave the same like the last few hours?

But then, just as Felix turned around to look at him too, the elder's lips curved back into a blinding smile and he beckoned Hyunjin forward. Jittering with nerves, Hyunjin removed his mask and walked over to them slowly.

"Hungry? We are getting Bulgogi." Felix chirped, hooking his arm around Hyunjin's, falling back into their old comfortable vibe. His smile was as pure as ever, but Hyunjin could see the shifty eyes he was throwing at him and Minho.

Feeling like a complete prick, he shoved back his thoughts.

"Here..." biting his lips in embarrassment, Hyunjin held up the rose to Felix, keeping his eyes trained on the elder for his reaction the entire time.

Minho's brows furrowed in confusion, his head tilting to the side as he studied the scene again which made Hyunjin flush a deep red.

"A little girl at the park gave me this, reminded me of you..." he was practically digging his own grave in shame by now.

Making Minho jealous and leading Felix on...

There was a moment of silence before Minho started laughing again, patting Hyunjin's head like he was a dumb adorable puppy.

"Aren't you so romantic?" his words were light, his smile was bright but Hyunjin, and even Felix, heard the hard implication behind it and saw his eyes flashing with menace. Hyunjin gulped but kept the eye contact diligently.

"Oh God, you two..." Felix muttered, snatching up the flower from Hyunjin's hand and hitting him on the cheek with it lightly.

"Let's go before something drastic happens, ok?" poor Felix was trying his best to control the situation, but what could the lovely boy do when the two fiery dancers were having a f*cking cold war right there in the stand off?

"Drastic is our middle name, Lixie." Minho said, his sharp eyes still trained on Hyunjin's, who was starting to feel way more intimidated than he should have.

f*ck, Lee Minho is so scary at times.

Without another word, the elder spun around and started walking away, effectively breaking the eye contact that was breaking down Hyunjin's mental defenses.

He was in trouble.

***

Stupid attraction

Minho pushed himself off the mat.

Stupid jealousy

He lowered his body carefully.

Stupid beauty

He pushed himself up again, straining his arm muscles

Stupid feelings

He grunted in the effort of lowering down his body again.

"Why are you so hell bent on becoming the hulk today, hyung?" Changbin called out from where he was lifting weights.

The purple haired male turned his narrowed feline eyes towards the rapper, feeling unnaturally moody. He huffed out a breath and pushed himself off the mat to sit properly, his arms burning in the sheer tension of the 50 pushups he had subjected them to, in hopes of clearing away his negative emotions.

"I am angry." he replied back shortly, rotating his shoulders to help ease the stress in his back.

"Oooh, what did Hyunjin do again?" Changbin was animated with excitement, dropping the dumbbells, and sauntering over to sit in front of Minho.

"What makes you think its Hyunjin?"

Why is everything suddenly about Hyunjin?

Minho was going insane with the weird antics happening.

"Well, for one, it ain't me." Changbin grinned, holding up his palm and counting off his fingers. "And you never get mad at Chan, Jisung, Lix and Innie, so that leaves either Seungmin or Hyunjin, and considering the latter came back looking like a kicked puppy last night, I deduced its him."

"Oh look, Changbinnie finally knows how to use his brain." Minho smiled sarcastically, stretching his arms and twisting his torso a little bit to crack his bones.

"Oh look, you are in a bitchy mood again." Changbin sulked immediately, kicking the elder's ankle childishly.

Minho instantly regretted his words.

He was just in an exceptionally bad mood and poor Changbin was on the receiving end of it. But he didn't deserve that for being a considerate friend.

"Yeah, sorry. I am just not in the best headspace right now." he sighed, moving his legs out in front of him and and letting his arms flop down to his side, which made Changbin giggle momentarily.

"You look like a baby." both of them simultaneously turned to the side, gazing in the mirror.

Hedidlook like a baby.

Messy purple hair, small limp posture, stretched out legs and arms.... He looked like a neglected pouty baby who was waiting to be carried.

Pfffttt....

"Youarea baby." he retorted automatically. Not his best comeback, sure, but it was all he could muster from his current messed up head.

"Right right, of course." the younger was obviously enjoying all the antics, his eyes gleaming and a beaming smile on his face.

Feeling completely miffed and mortified, Minho sniffed and looked at Changbin disdainfully, slapping his arm sharply. It stung his own hand in return and he glared at the younger like it was his fault.

"What? You hit me, stop acting like its on me for having muscles." Changbin just laughed at him.

"Itison you for having muscles that hard. Why are you working out anyways? You are like, the most buff one out of us all. You will start scaring people away now." Minho was trying hard not to sound like a whiny child, but damn it was hard.

He was in bad mood and maybe he needed some babying.

"I don't workout to scare people away, hyungie, I work out to be a good cuddle provider." he smiled cheekily, holding out his arms in a mock hug.

"Look at this," he flexed his biceps and then puffed out his chest, "the best deal for good cuddles."

"No wonder Lix likes you the best." Minho murmured, eyeing the muscles warily and slapping his arm again.

He was a violent person when he was moody, who got a problem with that?

"Well, its a tie between me and Hyunjin, actually." the elder wasn't sure if the rapper was boasting or feeling unjust over having to share his spot.

Again with Hyunjin.

All he asks for is a day away from that attractive weasel and his thoughts.

"Yeah, he crushes hard on you both." now the topic was treading on dangerous waters and the dancer was watching his dongsaeng cautiously.

"Wouldn't you know?" Changbin gave him a weird look, like he knew something Minho didn't and such thought made him wanna chop the rapper up and feed him to stray cats.

"What do you mean now?" he asked, eyes wide in curiosity and agitation.

"Nothing." Changbin shrugged nonchalantly and got up, picking his gym bag from the floor, "Just that feelings aren't as simple or as complicated as you three are making it to be."

WHAT. THE. f*ck.

Minho was dumbfounded.

And bamboozled

Maybe even flabbergasted.

What did he mean, talking about feelings like that?

AND WHY THE HELL DID HE SAY 'YOU THREE'??

"Wh- I don't understand.... What the fu-" Minho sputtered, going all jittery with nerves as he desperately looked after the younger who was starting to walk out of the gym now.

"See you later, hyungie. Give a kiss to Felix and Innie for me."

And he was gone, just like that.

Letting out a frustrated scream, Minho flopped back down on the mat, a bad decision if you ask him considering he was on the floor.

His mind was reeling from all the drama going on.

Felix has a crush on Hyunjin, confirmed by the one and only Seo Changbin.

But he has something on Minho too, again confirmed by the one and only Seo Changbin.

It was nothing he hadn't suspected already.

Felix was an open bisexual who had spoken out clearly that he found all of them attractive, some more than others even, and his actions had always spoken that he felt some different kind of way for Hyunjin and maybe Changbin as well.

But Minho had never minded that, considering he was far from that business.

Yet, now he finds himself in the middle of the puddle, getting flirty remarks and compliments from the sunshine boy, and even having more physical contact than normal.

He wasn't sure how to handle it. He didn't hate it of course, in fact he pretty much loved it considering Felix had never shown much interest in him before (his poor cats TT), he had no idea what to do with the knowledge that Felix might see him as a potential love interest or something.

He was not against the idea too, it just threw him off actually.

The sudden drop of the problem was messing with his already stress filled life.

Not to mention, there was a whole as dramatic Hyunjin too.

Now, with Hyunjin, Minho had always had a suspicion that Hyunjin either liked him or Jeongin. And the last few months were becoming an increasingly constant proof that maybe he did like him.

Minho was not the type to be bothered by the sex of the partner he desired, he had grown out of that bullsh*t, what bothered him waswhothis drama was taking place with, his own group mates Felix and Hyunjin.

NOT TO MENTION, TWO OF THEM!!!

Sex never mattered to Minho, but number definitely does.

Two guys attracted to him and he had no idea who he was attracted to.

With a pained groan, Minho collected himself up and glared at his reflection in the mirror.

Stupid boy

Why was he even thinking of this right now? He had an MC schedule to get to, ughh.

"CHANNIE HYUNG!!" he burst into the studio, startling the crap out of his leader who screamed and dropped his phone.

"What?? Who died?" the insanely stressed male let his wide eyes wander over his hyper dongsaeng. Minho stood in the doorway, breathing heavy and lips parted. His hair was even messier than before, if it was possible, and he looked like he had walked through a storm.

"I wish it was me." Minho muttered darkly, sulking over to sit on the seat beside Chan.

"Yah! Lee Minho." the eldest rebuked instantly, leaning over to hit his shoulder.

Minho faked a hurt expression and slumped down further in the seat, looking at his hyung through his eyelashes.

"I have a problem." he said quietly. He saw recognition flash through the man's eyes and he felt calm in his presence.

Chan will make it right. He always does.

"Go on, I am ready."

And the dam broke.

"I AM SO f*ckING CONFUSED WITH ALL THIS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING. THOSE 00' LINERS ARE FLIRTING WITH ME LEFT AND RIGHT AND ITS MESSING WITH MY BRAIN, ESPECIALLY FELIX AND HYUNJIN. TWO DAYS AGO, JISUNG TRIED TO JOKINGLY KISS ME AND I SWEAR TO GOD, I COULD SEE THE PRE-DEBUT TENSION SPUR OUT BETWEEN HIM AND HYUNJIN WITHIN A SECOND. AND THEN YESTERDAY, HE AND FELIX WERE FLIRTING AND- AND DOING SOMET- I DON'T KNOW AND I FELT STRANGELY JEALOUS AND THEN I BEHAVED LIKE A BITCH AND HYUNJIN BEHAVED LIKE A BITCH AND THEN WE BOTH MADE FELIX UNCOMFORTABLE AND NOW I AM SAD OVER THAT. AND THEN CHANGBIN HINTED TODAY THAT MAYBE FELIX LIKES ME, BUT THEN, FELIX LIKES EVERYONE, AND I AM SO MUDDLED NOW BECAUSE I COULD HAVE SWORN HE HAD FEELINGS FOR HYUNJIN. AND HYUNJIN!! HWANG STUPID HYUNJIN KEEPS GIVING THESE MIXED SIGNALS TO ME AND I AM DISORIENTED NOW. WHAT THE f*ck IS HAPPENING?"

Chan sighed deeply.

"What else?"

Minho watched him warily, thoroughly creeped out by his intuition.

"And maybe I like Felix."

Now the eldest looked surprised.

"Really? Felix? I thought you will go for Hyunjin first."

"Hyunjin has created a mini chaos in my head, and also, Felix is just.... a sweetheart."

"True." Chan nodded thoughtfully.

"Y'know, Hyunjin liked you first, like right through the beginning. I still remember when you walked in through the practice room and he spun around to me with sparkling eyes said 'Hyung, that's him, that's the dancer I saw in the workshop' and I thought he was a goner by the way he kept staring at you."

Minho hung his head in shame.

"Its just hard around him, we are so similar but different at the same time, it throws me off at times. Not to mention, he has played with me for long, all with his stupid mixed signals."

"And you haven't?" Chan raised his eyebrows in skepticism, "He came home-"

"Looking like a kicked puppy, yeah Changbin told me." Minho sighed, crossing his arms on the desk in front of him and resting his head against it.

"What Changbin didn't tell you, is that he cried with how hard things have been between all of us due to these feelings." Chan rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, reaching out to pat Minho's head when the younger turned towards him with a guilty heartbroken expression.

"Its not your fault Lino baby." he gently said, threading his fingers through Minho's hair and messing it up playfully.

"We all are just too open with our- er... attractions I guess? I mean, its good just how comfortable we are with each other, but it also invites complications." Chan was looking down at his lap thoughtfully, his hand still cradling Minho's hair, who was starting to feel the weariness settle in his bones.

No sleep, hours of workout and sh*t load of thinking was exhausting to carry, especially when you are in Chan's comforting presence.

He could feel his eyes closing drowsily and he didn't want to stop anyways.

Chan noticed it and started his massage again, successfully lulling Minho to sleep within seconds. A small sigh left the younger's bitten lips and his face relaxed.

And suddenly, he looked so much like the young nervous young boy who had joined them last in the team, that Chan felt his throat clog up with emotions.

With a wobbly smile, he patted Minho's head with finality and picked up his phone to call the manager and cancel Minho's MC practice schedule for today.

And then, he put on his headphones, picked up his notebook, furiously starting to write about unrequited love and messed up feelings, while Minho slept soundly beside him.

***

Chapter 12: 12.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

"This.... here, we can put the beat drop." Felix paused the audio, leaning back in his seat to look at Hyunjin.

The said male was pondering over the lyrics of their song, while Felix was adding the mysterious melody for the chorus. Minho, who was supposed to be helping them with the song, was essentially with his MCing schedule since he had missed the last one.

That had worried Felix a lot, it was unlike the elder to ignore his work which means he must have not been feeling well. He hadn't even talked much with the freckled boy, or the other two maknaes, in the last 2 days, and was mostly zoned out throughout the day. Him and Hyunjin hadn't talked either for that matter, though Felix had noticed Hyunjin throwinglonging looks over to the elder.

But Hyunjin wasn't the only one doing that.

Changbin and Chan seemed very wary and cautious around Minho too.

What those three elder ones were up to, Felix had no idea, but he wasn't even sure he wanted to know.

He was just hung up on the fact that he was unable to confess to Hyunjin and was thinking about Minho 24/7. He would never admit it, but he was slightly hurt with the silent treatment, even though he wasn't the only one getting it.

He would have talked with Minho within the last 3 days but the elder looked very unfocused and exhausted and Felix didn't want to force him.

He was also, childishly, hoping that the elder would reach out first and... don't know... apologize? Explain his behavior? Clear out the mess?

What he did know, was that he was not fond of this tension between the three dancers.

He refocused his attention on Hyunjin as the male slid the notebook over to him.

"Look at it now. What do you think?"

Felix removed his headphones from around his head and let them fall against his shoulders, picking up his pen and going through the lyrics once again. The words were definitely very sensual and sexy, but he wanted a little taste of insecurity and hesitancy in there too.

Attraction was anything but just confident.

He wanted some charisma, he wanted some seductive vibe but he also wanted vague indecisiveness. He wanted the demanding dominant darkness but also a pleading appeal.

A very VERY bad idea formed in his mind as he went over the chorus. Just after the la-la-la part, he clicked his pen and started scribbling.

He could feel Hyunjin shift his chair closer and lean over him to peek at the paper, and he felt his nerves combusting inside himself as he glanced at the other dancer for any kind of reaction at his addition.

Narrow the gap between you and me, our breath touching briefly, true up
Faster in this sweet, heated in this sweet space...

Just look at me...

With a gulp, he met his gaze with Hyunjin who had an unreadable expression on his face, eyes flicking to the paper and back to Felix subsequently. He didn't look angry or disappointed with the lyrics, but he didn't look thrilled either.

Nevertheless, Felix continued writing after not getting any reply back.

He cut the simple la-la-la part and frowned in concentration, willing his word power to come up with something commanding but imploring at the same time.

Because that's what their situation was right now, of the three dancers. Very dominant but hesitant at the same time. They all knew what they wanted, and they did go to certain extents for it (ahem ahem Hyunjin and Minho), but they still pulled back in self-doubt.

They kept reaching to each other for a taste of theirs but then went fragile in insecurity.

And Felix was now determined to make it all right.

Don't make me bad, make me bad, I am addicted to you.
Setting fire to my already tamed feelings.

Don't make me bad, bad, addicted to you,
Once we have started, you must be mine.

With a shaky breathe, Hyunjin moved away from him, as if it was too painful to be near him.

It clenched his heart a bit but he ignored it.

No pains without gains.

"Is this alright?" he asked quietly, cautious of Hyunjin's mood.

The dancer didn't say anything for a moment, just breathing slowly and heavily. He threaded both his hands through his silky hair and pushed them away in a desperate attempt of control.

It drove Felix over the deg, watching his crush look so.... affected by him, or his actions. But he stayed firm in his decision. If he wanted to make it right between the three of them, and hopefully get their relationship somewhere, he will have to toughen up since the other two seemed way too deep in their conflicting emotions.

"I just thought its very fitting, y'know? We can pull off this double concept of seduction and delicacy. And we are very familiar with the clashing emotions anyways." his tone was light, but his words held the weight of his statement as he watched Hyunjin throw a sharp glare at him.

It was amusing, knowing that the taller was the one who was dying for something, anything, to happen between them, and yet he wasn't brave, or tentative enough to try anything.

"Felix.... that's- we are threading on dangerous waters now. I don't believe the company will like such implications.." his words were very simple too, but the innuendo behind them rung out loudly to Felix.

The world will not like what we are doing...

"You and I both know Chan can get it through." Felix instantly replied back, his own words sneakily answering Hyunjin's insecure thoughts.

Our loved ones will support us...

"Chan cannot fight the management, Lix." for the first time, ever since his hiatus, Hyunjin looked scared.

And for the first time in his life, Felix assumed wrong about the situation.

Hyunjin wasn't hesitant or wary of them, he was afraid. Afraid of what sh*t will break loose if they took the next step, afraid if they can ever make it to the next step, afraid that everything will change for the worse, afraid that one of them won't feel the same, afraid that they were messing it all up.

Chan will not be able to fix it...

"Wewill fight the company, if we have to, Jinnie." Felix reassured him, finally understanding his crush's point of view.

We will make it through...
Was what his words implied.

Feeling exceptionally bold, Felix stood up and walked over to Hyunjin, kneeling down in front of him to get to his eye-level. The elder one stared back with a helpless expression, his eyes dull and scared, his lips pouting slightly and his posture resigned.

Lifting his small hands, Felix cradled Hyunjin's face in his hands, smiling slightly when the dancer didn't fight back and instead relaxed in his hold.

"Don't be so scared baby, we are here for you." he whispered, feeling his heart bleed out for the man in front of him.

An exceptionally talented and sensitive man, with a heart made of gold and a personality carved out like an angel's... so shattered now due to the cruel world.

"We will protect you, we will love you, we will adore you, we will respect you, please don't pull away from us, Hyunjin." earlier, the 'we' used to mean them 7, but now, they both knew who they stood for.

"I am terrified Lix. Our feelings are so complicated, so unstable, what if something goes wrong?" his voice was f*cking trembling and it broke Felix's heart into a million pieces. Tears prickled his eyes as he gazed into Hyunjin's already watery one.

"Oh Hyunjin, don't think like that. Nothing will go wrong if you don't want it to. Its just us, baby, just us, what can go wrong with us? We, us, we are perfect, Jinnie, we can be imperfectly perfect together. Trust me, trust him, trustus." he wrapped his arms around Hyunjin, the two male connecting in a much needed embrace.

"I am sorry I am such a coward. I am sorry I let my emotions take over me. I should have thought it all through, I am sorry for making it complicated. I am sorry for not realizing your feelings. I am sorry I never did anything about them. I am so sorry, Lix. I am so sorry that it came to this. I am sorry because we could have been so much more had I not let my insecurities get in between. I am sorry we lost so much time. I am sorry we are still like this." Felix let him rant, he knew Hyunjin needed it.

And it also healed him.

It healedthem.

"Its alright, everything is fine baby, we are all fine. And we will be better now, ok? You are not a coward, you have made it all these years holding your feelings to yourself, I know how hard it is. And your emotions are what make youyouHyunjin, your emotions are your greatest strengths. You have not made this complicated, it just is, but we can make it right now, together. And no, we could not have made any progress anyways, Minho hyung is as stubborn and quirky as you are."

They pulled away from the hug and Felix held Hyunjin's hands in his own.

"But, that's all in the past. Let's learn from our stupidity and make this right, ok?" Hyunjin nodded rapidly, wiping his tear stained face on his sleeve.

"Let's take it slow. We can talk with Minho hyung next, come clean about everything and listen to his side. Baby steps, let's take one at a time, hmm?"

"You are such an angel Lix." that brought a beaming smile on Felix's face.

"Agree to disagree, I can be very evil. But you are an angel personified." Hyunjin instantly scoffed.

"Ohh please, your name quite literally calls you an angel."

"It calls me a 'happy pill'."

"Same thing."

"Says the great lyricist." a dramatic offended gasp left Hyunjin's lips at that.

"Oh no, you did not just-" Felix stuck out his tongue at that and scrambled away from Hyunjin.

"Angry, baby?" he teased, dodging the elder's reaching out hands.

"You bet." Hyunjin stood up too and Felix knew he had f*cked up now that he realised that they were locked into the small studio and he would have to maneuver around the elder to run out.

"Aww sh*t.." he cursed, feeling insanely happy as he watched the familiar mischievous twinkle in Hyunjin's eyes. Those eyes that held the galaxy in them, those eyes that had gone so dull the last few days, those eyes that had returned to the sparkly ecstatic ones...

Things were working towards being normal now.

***

(Hyunjin)

Hyunjin adjusted his arm around Felix and relaxed back again.

The sun had set long ago and the room was bathed in a dim glow from the single bulb they had left on. The computer was still on, so was the mic set. The lyrics notepad laid on the table forgotten and the wall clock struck 10p.m.

The two dancers were cuddled up on the couch after their small tussle and Felix was basically wrapped around Hyunjin like a small cat around its comfort item.

He wondered if he actually was Felix's comfort item...

The thought made him giddy and warm. He felt so homely and safe in Felix's arms, so comfortable and sheltered. The atmosphere was content and vulnerable and he wanted the moment to go on forever. For once, there were no insecure thoughts running around his head, there was no rush to get to, he wasn't drowning in his feelings, and there was no complications raining on his head.

But he had to speak up. He wanted to come clean with his feelings.

"Lix, I just wanna..... clear things up... talk about everything." he didn't really want to ruin the peace but he had to spill everything and start anew.

"Oh okkie." Felix smiled up at him, his eyes disappearing into crescents and melting Hyunjin's heart straight out of his chest. The taller looked away for a moment and took a deep breathe to calm himself down.

"I just... when I first met you, I was in awe with you. You were so pure, so beautiful, so tender-hearted, I thought 'No way is this boy real'. But then, I watched you practice your hangul so hard, staying back with Minho to polish your dance, taking lessons with Changbin to improve your rap and pronunciation and I was floored by your dedication. You were so hard-working, so driven and yet so soft and kind. You were so lovable Lix, you still are, and you will always be."

He paused to glance at the boy in his arms and found him looking at him just as softly and endearingly as he did.

"I was devastated when you were eliminated. Imagine a life without Lee Felix, I lost my sense of stability. " Hyunjin scoffed, remembering the staggering feeling when he realized that not only his crush was gone, but he would also lose the sunshine. No words could ever explain that moment in his life.

There had been only a handful of times when Hyunjin had questioned the reality of his existence, starting with when he had realized his crush on Minho and then watched him get eliminated, and then lost Felix too, found them both back again, and then left on hiatus himself.

In a sense, all of them had been f*cked over in their lives.

"But then you came back, Lixie, you came back and I had never been happier. Your presence is just a goddamn blessing. You came back and I promised myself I will protect you at all costs. Which I failed, by the way." He scoffed again, now remembering all the signs the past 4yrs that Felix had dropped for having a crush on him.

"But I swear on my life, I was never oblivious on purpose, baby. I really was too preoccupied with my feelings for Minho. If I had known about your feelings earlier, I bet I would have fallen for you instead, not that I still didn't, but you get my point." Felix giggled at that, leaning forward and kissing Hyunjin's cheek in a heartbeat that had the rapper gasping and blushing furiously.

"Oh My God, you cheeky ass. I cannot stand you." he immediately slapped a hand over his cheeks, feeling faint at the action. If this was how he would react every time Felix was lovey-dovey with him, he should better bid goodbye to dating the boy lest he had a heart attack due to his actions one day.

"You cannot stand to be away from me either." the cheeky ass in question smirked back.

"True, but give me a warning next time, ok? I cannot die before confessing my feelings." Hyunjin settled back again, his heart returning to its normal pace and his cheeks paling up.

"There will be a next time?" very miffed at the teasing tone, Hyunjin reached over and flicked Felix's forehead, resulting in a loud protest from the freckled boy.

"Hey!! You are lucky I love you, or else I would have roundhouse kicked you for that." the freckled boy whined, rubbing his sore forehead.

"Oh yay, if only I could confess that easily." Hyunjin lamented dryly.

"But I will bloody do it anyways. I can't pretend anymore. Throughout the years, I have grown to love you so much Lix, it has become the definition of my existence. I never realized I was in love with you, y'know? It was just... this slow and natural process of liking you, to knowing you, to adoring you, to respecting you, to loving you. It was so real, so genuine and honest, I cannot name a specific moment when I fell in love with, unlike Minho hyung, but I can assure you, I do love you. I just can'tnotlove you, its just not in me. I don't think I have ever met someone who makes me wanna treat them like royalty, except for you. I just... I hold you above the world Lix, you mean so much to me, its actually very scary now that I think about it." a sniffle interrupted him and Hyunjin laughed when he realized Felix was crying.

"Oh baby, I made you emotional?" his cackled bounced of the walls as he tried to peer into Felix's face and wipe his cheeks.

The freckled boy had big glistening tears rolling down his chubby cheeks, his doe eyes wide and shiny and his lips in a pout. He looked so adorable and fluffy like that, crinkling his small red nose every once in a while and narrowing his eyes at Hyunjin.

"Why are you glaring at me?" the elder was trying his best to control his laughter lest Felix really did roundhouse kick him for that.

"I am hoping you will spontaneously combust." Felix snapped, rubbing his eyes afterwards to dry up the tears while Hyunjin fell back to his slumped position, crying with laughter himself. It was so.... fun being with the younger. Life was a thousand times brighter and his heart was a million times lighter.

"Lixie, I love you." he spoke in a soft cute voice, looking at boy with stars in his eyes.

"A horrible decision, really, but I can't blame you." Hyunjin laughed. Again. What can he do, he laughs at everything.

"I am an expert at horrible decisions." he pursued his lips and met gazed with Felix, their eyes holding the twinkle of mischief in them.

"Agreed, how about we make more horrible decisions?" the atmosphere changed instantly as Felix's voice dropped to a low note and he lifted his face just centimeters away from Hyunjin.

Feeling plenty nervous and anxious, Hyunjin gulped and tried to calm down his racing heart. He knew what was coming and hell, he was very excited and expectant for it, but it was still nerve racking and heart wrenching. His stomach felt light and his heart was thudding loudly in his ears as he leaned in too.

"If its with you, I can make horrible decision for the rest of my life." don't judge him, he is a sensitive little ferret.

Felix's small hands threaded through his long hairs while Hyunjin adjusted his arm around the younger boy's torso to pull him up and keep him stable. Their noses touched and a smile broke free on Hyunjin's lips as the gravity of the situation crashed on him.

They were about to kiss.

"I love you too, I have for a long long time." Felix whispered, his deep voice doing things to Hyunjin's hearts and body that were unexplainable. As he closed his eyes, he just thanked his stars for setting everything right.

Now all we need is to talk with Minho hyung...

"I am so sorry I am late-" the door banged open and the two guys flew apart, screaming.

Oh... no... f*ck

In the doorway stood Minho, his eyes wide, his lips parted and his fading purple hair standing up on ends.

"Hyung..." Felix whispered, scrambling up quickly and starting to walk towards the frozen man..

"I- I should have knocked... I- you..." the poor guy looked traumatized and scandalized as he looked at his two dongsaengs in succession.

Hyunjin, on the other hand, was still on the couch, feeling faint by the situation.

One second, he had been millimeters away from kissing Felix, the other second he was staring into Minho's pained eyes.

Take back what he said about thanking his stars.

"I just ca- I asked Chan and he told me you guys were still working on the song and I came over to help and I-" he was rambling, Hyunjin could tell he was very confused and hurt by what he just saw, but he was trying to play it off, just like last week.

"I am sorry, I should have knocked." Felix threw an apprehensive glance at Hyunjin, his eyes uncertain and his lips in between his teeth in anxiety.

"Hyung.. listen, I- we have something to- we want to talk with you."

"I- we can continue later- I mean the song.." Minho's face was as red as a tomato, his ears conveniently ignoring Felix's words and his feet moved backwards.

"You can continue... this- that, I mean.." Hyunjin shot up from his daze and started walking forward as Felix grabbed Minho's wrist.

"No, hyung, its not like that... I mean no- itislike that, but its not like-" oh my god.... Hyunjin took a deep breathe to stop himself from cringing at Felix's helpless words.

"Hyung, listen, we wanted to discuss whatever is happening with us, between us an-" Minho was shaking his head before Hyunjin could even complete his sentence.

"Ah, yeah about that- I am really tired right now. Maybe later." completely vexed by the offhandish reply, Hyunjin straightened up and stared at the elder aggravated.

"Why are you behaving like this? We are trying to have a serious conversation." he snapped, feeling drained and irked by Minho's stubbornness.

"And I am trying to subtly avoid it." Minho retorted back, ripping his wrist away from Felix and stomping away in a heartbeat, leaving a heavy tension behind.

"This is going to sound controversial, but I think that went well." Felix chirped, smiling sardonically at Hyunjin, who raised his eyebrows in offense.

"Oh yeah?"

"At least he hasn't punched us yet. Imagine the horror of walking in on your two crushes kissing,twice." they cracked up at that.

It was pretty funny, Minho walking in on them twice, and being the only one left out of the loop of feelings for so long.

Poor guy.

"Don't worry about him Hyunjin, I will talk to him tomorrow before bringing him here, and then we can discuss everything together, ok?" Hyunjin nodded.

He trusted Felix to take care of the wild cat and anyways, he was tired and dazed by the day's events.

They had almost kissed...

He wondered what would have happened had Minho not interrupted them.

How would have kissing Felix felt like?

He really wanted to find out soon.

He blushed at his own thoughts as silence fell in the studio, and found the freckled boy smirking at him like he knew exactly what had Hyunjin getting all shy like that.

He froze up when Felix stepped forward into his personal space and spoke lowly in his ear.

"Don't fret about it, we have a lifetime of making horrible decisions now."

Hyunjin nearly died.

***

Do you know that unsettling emotion of grudge? That spiteful urge to just ruin yourself, or others, the unexplainable pain, the bitter savor of the situation...

That's what Minho was feeling...

.... against Hyunjin, against Felix, against his own heart and against the world...

Why him..?

Just why??

He was living just fine, he had a healthy life, a promising career, good family circ*mstances, great team and the feeling of satisfaction...

Why did things have to get so complicated all of a sudden?

Or was it even sudden? Because Hyunjin and Felix had been dealing with their feelings for years now, it seems, but what about him?

Did he even have feelings for them, even one of them? Was he even capable of being in love? Did he even deserve love like that?

He had no answer...

All he knew was that Hyunjin had always been special to him, and Felix had grown to be so too.

But feelings? Love? Dating? What the f*ck are they?

Minho had never thought about his future in that sense, ever since he decided to become an idol. Love, relationships, dating, kissing, hooking up were all out of question the second he put his pen on his contract paper. Despite not having any dating ban now, heknewdating was not his pursuit, his fans would murder him.

But would they mind if the partner was his own member?

...

.... Why would they even care...?

WHY SHOULD HE EVEN CARE???

He glanced at his phone, staring at the #Minsung trending on twitter after their SKZ code episode dropped.

A sigh left him as he started to massage his throbbing temples. It had been yet another day of MCing and he was dead tired now, with their brand promotions, new comeback preparation and solo activities.

He had been feeling haggard the entire week, in a constant state of headache and body pain. His temper was short, his nerves were flayed and his heart was crumbling as slowly as a toddler walking. His nose was clogged, his voice was straining a lot for no damn reason and he was growing crankier.

Maybe he could skip dinner today and sleep early?

But he was hungry...

Another sigh escaped him when he clenched his fist once, his knuckles cracking under the pressure. His stomach was revolting at the thought of food, but he was also starving after not eating anything for the entire day.

And then, there was that sick feeling in his body that was making his day worse for god knows what reason.

He still hadn't practiced his lines for his MCing the following weekend for some new group's debut and he wasn't feeling up for it anyways. He wondered if he could make up some excuse for his health and skip for once.

Why did he accept the offer anyways, ughh...

It was just another exhausting schedule to his day. He had only wanted to become a singer..... Who signed up for this sh*t?

A sharp pain shot through his body when he shifted slightly.

His chest felt stuffed, he was definitely having some problem with breathing.... which meant a trip to the doctor. He had promised Chan and the others that he wouldn't neglect his health again, and Minho always stood by his promises.

He mentally calculated his course of action now.

It was Thursday and his MC schedule was on Saturday night, which gave him enough time to get himself checked and also get ready for the day.

But he also had some meeting he needed to attend...

.... What was it though?

"Hyung?" a finger snapped in front of him, making his dazed mind clear up slightly.

"Hmm?" he blinked his eyes rapidly to focus on the squirrel boy in front of him.

Jisung was frowning at him while the others, even their managers, were staring at him.

When did they get here?

What were they even doing here again?

Chan and Seungmin exchanged cautious looks while Changbin threw a meaningful glance at their manager. The entire scene in front of him made him even more cranky.

Why did they always knew something he didn't?

"What?" he snapped instantly, feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable under everyone's pity gaze.

"Nothing, you just zoned out pretty hard and you look pale." Jisung was probably the only brave human to speak up even after his obvious bad mood. Minho glanced at Hyunjin to find him studiously avoiding his eyes, while Felix was watching him sadly.

He had successfully managed to avoid the two the last couple of days, even going as far as just approving their song without taking a single look at it, but now he was craving some attention. And seeing Felix determinedly staring at him made him flush with shyness.

If only he wasn't so confused and unsure...

If only his heart was as strong as his mind.

"I don't feel good." he answered back honestly, toning down his displeased voice and relaxing his vexed expression. He didn't want to snap at his members, they had enough on their plates already without having to deal with a moody scorpio.

"You don't feel good? What is it? Are you sick? Are you hurt? Is something wrong?" Chan was already firing questions before the room had even processed Minho's words.

Though the dancer was a very down-to-earth person, Chan's immediate worry made him float above the ground with pleasure.

Yeah, he was a sucker for people who cared about him, who got a problem with that?

"Just slightly sick, but I will be fine. I have had a hard schedule, that's it." he reasssured his hyung, even though subconsciously, he knew he would not be fine. This time, he felt sick right to his bones and he had never felt so icky and tired even due to a common viral fever before.

"Still, we should get you checked up. You didn't have a check-up last time either." their manager instantly took the matters in his hand when he noticed Chan and Changbin's glare his way.

Now, this was definitely not what Minho wanted.

All he was craving was a nice hot soup, maybe some kimchi jiggae, and a good night's sleep. He was so weary he could barely keep his eyes open and he didnotfancy a trip to the doctornow.

But he also knew that he had no time left on his hectic schedule to adjust in a check-up if he didn't leave now.

"But the meeting...?" his voice trailed off, confused and raspy.

"Is over. The songs have been confirmed and we will start the recording from next week." Jeongin answered his question while everyone started getting ready to leave the room. The youngest gave him a scrutinizing look before grimacing.

"You really ought to go to the doctor, hyung."

So, he had zoned out the entire meeting?

Fantastic.

Thiswas the meeting he was supposed to attend... wasn't it? What had it been about?

Ahh, yess, discussing about the new album and unit songs.

What wastheirsong even called?

He had no idea.

His heart sank to the bottom of his hell when he realized he will have no excuses to avoid his fellow dancers now that the recordings will start.

Phenomenal...

"Headache?"

"A tremendous one."

"Difficulty in breathing?"

"Since a couple of days now."

"Fatigue?"

"All the time."

"Body ache?"

"For weeks now."

"Sore throat?"

"My voice is practically gone."

"Loss of taste?"

"Don't know about that, I don't remember the last time I ate a meal properly or attentively."

Dr. Song sighed and let his pen fall onto his notepad. His old but wise eyes were trained on Minho in a stern glare which reminded the dancer too much of Chan.

"This is not good, Mr. Lee. If my guess is correct, you are so not gonna like the outcomes now."

".... And since you are the proficient doctor, I am sure your guessiscorrect?" Dr. Song laughed at his dry words.

He was a really good man, a caring and kind doctor, not like the greedy or offhandish ones Minho had frequently come across when taking his grandmother for check-ups. He was the medical help that had been persistent in the group's entire career, the one who had helped Seungmin during his knee injury, the one who provided the physiotherapy for Felix during his back injury and the one who always checked up on their health often enough to last them months of good health.

"I am sure, yes, but neither I, and nor you will like it." Minho rolled his eyes at that, he didn't like anything currently anyways.

Dr. Song picked up his phone to call his assistant to bring something for the test while Minho zoned out yet again. His thoughts were sluggish as he fixed his glassy eyes on the clock that was situated in front of him.

He slowly started to go through the possibilities of what issue he was having now but he was coming up blank.

He didn't have fever, neither was he losing weight or having eating disorder. His body was not physically hurt either and he wasn't contemplating food poisoning. Stress couldn't have made him this sick, having difficulty in breathing or sore throat, so that was out of option too.

Which left him with one daunting possibility that had him prematurely groaning at the thought of it.

He couldn't be.... could he?

Oh damn, he is so not gonna like it... no one will.

"Alright, Mr. Lee, let's take the covid test, shall we?" Dr. Song gave him a sardonic smile and waved his assistant over, who was holding a small box.

He exhaled sharply, clenching his jaws at his condition. Of course, his luck is running out like water from a tap.

And the emotional drama wasn't enough that he had to get sick withthatnow..?

Life just got a hell lot more complicated.

"I told you to get that monthly check-up schedule, when will you start taking me seriously?" Seungmin scowled at him darkly, his hair standing up on the ends with running his hands through them vigorously.

The young singer was sitting on the edge of Minho's perfectly made bed, his expression agitated and his voice raspy with uncontrolled worry. He had been helping the elder with packing his bag while Jeongin was packing up his toiletries and footwear in another bag.

Minho had two options.

1. Move into the old company dorm that was for the trainees.

2. Go back to Gimpo for the rest of this coming week.

He chose the obvious option, why would he pass up the chance to see his babies?

And so, the dancer was packing up his things for his weeklong stay at his home. He had already called his parents about the homecoming, who were more than ecstatic to have him back, and more than worried for his health. He was pretty satisfied about it actually. Some time away from the hectic drama to sort himself out and spend some much needed time with his cats and family.

He had wanted to catch the train or the bus for his short travel so as to get it over wth quickly, but of course he was forbidden to do so as an idol, and a covid positive one at that too. So, he was supposed to wait for his manager to arrive to drop him off as he was lazily throwing his cloths into the trolley.

"I will take you seriously the day you grow a mustache." needless to say, despite his weary appearance, his sharp tongue was still ready to slice through everyone's heart.

"The day I grow a mustache will be the day you finally mature the hell up." Seungmin bit back, obviously displeased and vexed by Minho's careless attitude.

"Seems like a day we will never see."

"Guys, just hug it for one night. I really don't get how barking at each other is gonna help this." Jeongin sighed in exasperation and stared at both of them with a 'disappointed mother' look.

"Well, maybe he should ac-"

A call interrupted Seungmin's words, startling the three singers in unison before Minho realized it was his phone that was ringing.

Chan.

He quickly picked it up all the while zipping up his trolley at the same time.

"Hello, hyung?"

"We are downstairs, are you ready?"

"Yes, give me two minutes." hurriedly, he snatched up the separated small bags from the youngest's hands and tossed them in his bagpack. He pulled his trolley off the bed, put his bagpack over it and turned around once to check his appearance.

A loose black shirt and grey sweatpants hung over his lean frame. His face was drawn and tired, his eyes looked intoxicated at best and his faded purple hair was so messy it made him scowl.

"Bye." he stuck out his tongue at his reflection, bidding farewell to the weak, shattered and confused boy and promising himself that the next time he sees his reflection in that mirror, it will be a stronger, more determined and happier version of himself.

Jeongin and Seungmin followed him out of his room to the living room where they met Felix, who had just stepped out of the shower.

"You are leaving already?" he asked, his bare face glowing under the light and his expression dejected.

"Yeah..." Minho trailed off, not knowing how to react.

Should he hug him? Should he say something? Should he clear things up?

He didn't know.

The silence was awkward and loud and so, he threw a helpless glance at his three dongsaengs and took a few steps away from them.

"Be careful in the house, you three. Don't burn it down and don't leave it messy, ok? And please, for god's sake,eat." he was the eldest here, the responsible one, and leaving the three young ons alone was not what he was liking one bit.

"Says you." Jeongin scoffed but still rushed forward to hug the dancer.

The two met in a warm embrace as Minho savored the feel of his little brother in his arms. It had been so long since he had last had an affectionate hug like that, so comforting and safe.

And it will be so long until he will have it again...

Suddenly, leaving didn't seem like the best idea.

He would miss his members too much, especially some certain dancers...

But sometimes, you need to take a step back to make the big jump.

And so, he smiled, like always, hiding his real emotions and pain, and stepped away from the comfort of the dorm that had become their home in the last few months.

He stepped away from his life, if only just for a week, and continued the path to isolation, knowing that it will help him come back better than ever.

As the van pulled out of the lane, Minho thought about everything he was leaving behind in his wake, and he wondered if they will still be there for him when he comes back.

***

Chapter 13: 13.

Chapter Text

"Ok, be safe. Keep your mask on all the time and call us when you arrive." Changbin warned the youngest and then stepped back to give Felix room to hug their maknae.

Jeongin was leaving for Busan.

Two days after Minho's departure, Jisung had complained about feeling sick and having a sore throat and hence, the entire team was forced to take up the covid test.

Jisung and Seungmin were tested positive.

It had hit Felix like a damn loaded truck.

Three of their members were now in quarantine.

Sick, alone, without company, taking up miserable meds, and with the awful feeling of sickness.

He felt so bad for them.

Unlike Minho, Jisung and Seungmin chose to stay in Seoul and quarantine themselves in the old trainee's dorms. This way, they could still work on their music and come back quicker because their quarantine only lasted for 2 weeks while Minho's lasted for at least 3 weeks.

But with Seungmin incapable of anything at the moment, the vocalracha song was also put on hold just like danceracha's and Jeongin took up the week long holiday to visit his family before their tour started again.

"Don't worry, hyung. You all stay safe too." the youngest smiled at Felix and Changbin and got inside the van. He rolled the window down and waved at them as the vehicle pulled out of the building. The two idols waved back till the van disappeared from their sight.

Felix sighed.

He already missed the maknae.

He missed the other three even more.

"They will all be back before you know it, Lix." Changbin, sensing his sorrow, patted his head softly and smiled at him reassuringly.

"I know, its just hard not having them around." Felix mumbled, staring off into the distance.

It had been 4 days since Minho left and 2 since Seungmin and Jisung left. It was messing with his head to see his members gone like that.

It also scared him a little bit even though they all knew covid wasn't anything serious now, especially for healthy people like them, but the irrational fear stayed the same.

But he knew that going depressed like a baby over it will do them no good, and so he tried to smile back.

"Let's get the stuff now, we are getting late." he changed the topic and started heading back into the dorm.

With the dorm empty now that Minho, Seungmin and Jeongin were gone, Felix was supposed to stay in the other dorm in Jisung's room.

Good for him, he didn't want to be alone in the dorm anyways, and it also gave him the opportunity to stay close to Hyunjin.

He wondered what will happen to their relationship now.

Despite acting all brave and initiative the last week, he was beyond shy and timid now that they were progressing into the dangerous territory.

He just wished the dangerous territory won't end up killing them.

"I don't get how lazing around on the bed will get our relationship going." Hyunjin snickered, occasionally poking Felix's side to annoy him.

It was late afternoon and the two lovers were sprawled out on Hyunjin's bed, passing time in a very futile way. The two elder ones, Changbin and Chan were out at the gym and the two dancers were left bored with nothing to do.

"We are not lazing around, we are saving our energy." Felix reported back, stretching slightly and turning towards the taller.

"Saving it for what?" Hyunjin was finding the entire conversation highly amusing and it was really melting Felix's heart to see him so joyful.

"For the horrible decisions." the freckled boy spoke up without thinking his words through.

An immediate silence fell in the room.

Oh no....

As the realization dawned on him, Felix blushed so hard he felt the heat scorch his cheeks.

A slow smirk developed on Hyunjin's lips, his eyes narrowing with mischief and his expression going sinisterly adorable.

"Aww really? If you wanted a kiss, you should have just asked Lix, no need to weave such traps." he laughed, crawling closer to the embarrassed boy, who was trying to shift away subtly.

Felix sputtered fruitlessly, feeling utterly awkward and shy as he hid his face in his hands, cursing his fate and his filterless mouth.

"I didn't mean it that way- I mean, no, its like I am rejectin- what am I even saying? I mean..." his voice died in his throat as Hyunjin leaned closer, his arms caging the poor boy in and his face hovering above his.

"Are you shy, baby? I distinctly remember your courage that day, what happened now?" his voice was low and husky and Felix nearly fainted at the distance between them. His heart was galloping loudly, his stomach was flipping weirdly and he was getting all hot and bothered with his crush so close to him.

He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. His eyes flickered to Hyunjin's lips unconsciously and he licked his own lips, desire coiling in his gut. His hands slowly lifted up to rest on the taller's collarbone, the fingers clenching his hoodie tightly. Hyunjin's eyes followed his movement sharply before meeting his gaze again, that smirk still on his face.

"Are you not gonna speak?" he is such a tease.

Felix huffed in fake annoyance and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you really such a pain in the ass or are you trying extra hard today?" he snipped, tugging on the hoodie slightly to pull Hyunjin even closer. Their noses almost touching, their breaths mixing together in unison as the tension grew to an unexplainable level.

"I am no try-hard, baby." Hyunjin whispered, the words making his lips brush against Felix's for a moment which drove them both crazy.

"I am just giving you a better reason to stay in bed now."

Felix closed his eyes.

The touch nearly sent Felix to the heaven.

Soft lips, hot breath, slow gasps and the damn tension.

Hyunjin pulled back after a second, his lips wet and his eyes hooded as they met Felix's dazed ones. It was still for a moment as the younger caressed his hair and smiled softly.

And then they were kissing again, this time with more passion.

Felix slowly licked Hyunjin's lower lip, teasingly pulling back when Hyunjin tried to do the same. The elder scoffed and gently bit his lower lip in return prompting the freckled boy to open his mouth. The kiss was so heated that Felix felt faint from all the strain.

His small hands fisted Hyunjin's long soft hair, deepening the kiss as he tilted his head while Hyunjin's hand cupped his jaw. The two moved in sync, their tongues fighting for dominance and their body flush against each other.

A moment later, Hyunjin loosened his grip and pulled back enough to signal the end of the kiss even though their faces were still as close as ever.

"Holy f*ck.." Felix whispered the second they separated, his breathing erratic and his forehead beaded with sweat. His eyes fluttered open and situated on Hyunjin, who still had his eyes closed but there was a small satisfied smile on his swollen lips.

"Not that, not now, Lix." he spoke in that teasing voice again and Felix groaned good naturedly.

"Oh shut up, or I will make you." he pushed Hyunjin off him and shifted slightly to circulate his high blood pressure. The insolent dancer laughed and shifted right back against him.

"You are so cute, all blushy and angry like that." and cue the cheek poking.

Felix rolled his eyes deadpan and grabbed the culprit's arm to put around his waist as he turned his back on the dancer.

"Hush now, I am sleepy." he said, snuggling back against Hyunjin's chest and closing his eyes. A small smile played across his lips at the memory of the kiss as Hyunjin threw his leg over his and cuddled closer.

"I love you." he whispered, hoping the taller will hear the emotions in his confession.

And he did.

Hyunjin kissed the back of his head and whispered back "I love you too."

***

(Hyunjin)

- "The fever is gone now, so is the muscle ache. I still have some trouble in breathing but it's fine. I will be back next Friday."

"Ok take care, Donghyun hyung has assembled some steps for your song but since the recording isn't done, he cannot finalize anything. He wanted your input in it anyways though, so don't worry." -

- "Hmm ok, is everyone else alright?"

"They are more than fine. Hannie and Seungmin will come back tomorrow, the test came out negative and Jeongin is also arriving in a couple of hours. The maknae's will move back into their dorm now." -

- "Ahh ok, tell them to be careful of locking the doors. And also, remind them that the oven is being bothersome."

"Yes sir, now you can go and entertain your cats. I am pretty sure Soonie is trying to murder me through the screen." -

- "Don't worry about them. They are just cranky because the toy light broke. But yeah, I will go play with them lest they become even more angry and start hitting me."

"Byee Lino." -

- "Bye."

"Not even a hyung, you brat- WAHH." -

A loud silence issued in the hallway.

Hyunjin grabbed onto Felix's hoodie tightly, keeping the freckled boy stable against the door. His own toes were cramping due to his questionable stance and his balance was staggering a little bit, but he managed to yank back the boy before he crashed and gave their mission away.

Felix frowned at him angrily and swatted his arm.

"You idiot, I almost shook myself out of my body." he whispered crossly.

"You would have gone smacking into his room if I hadn't caught you." Hyunjin whispered back, sticking out his tongue childishly at the accusation.

"I wouldn't have, my balanc-" Felix's indignant reply was cut off by Chan's muffled voice from the room.

"You two are aware I know you are there, right?" thrown off guard and slightly scared, the two dancers exchanged a wary look before turning towards the door in unison which slid opened in reply. Hyunjin flinched and took a step back in anxiety.

Chan stood in front of them in black short and a beanie,no shirt.

"Hello." he smiled pleasantly, as if he hadn't just caught his two dongsaengs eavesdropping on his conversation with Minho.

"Why do you not have a shirt on, Chris?" Felix grumbled, eyeing the bare muscled chest and abs while Hyunjin just went red in the face and froze up.

"Oh, I was video-calling Minho, right? That's why." evil human.

Hyunjin snapped his head up to face the sinister smirk on Chan's face and felt the urge to kick his leader's prominent ass.

"Don't test us, Chris." Felix groaned, slipping inside the room past Chan.

"Its bad enough we left things off like that before his departure, you aren't helping with this."

Hyunjin followed Felix in, his eyes wandering over the slightly messy room. Cloths were strewn over the floor and bed which meant Chan had most likely tried to dress up and given up at the same time. The purple lights behind his bed masked the entire room in a warm dim hue and the computer on his desk was switched on though his wheeled chair was closer to the bed than the desk. His phone was lying facedown on the seat of the chair which meant he was talking with Minho on the chair.

And so, Hyunjin walked over to the chair, picked up the discarded phone and plopped down on the seat. He typed in the password and clicked on the video call app to check his hyung's claims.

"Right, its all yours to use Hyunjin-ah. Don't mind me." Chan said sarcastically, coming to sit beside Felix on his bed while the tall rapper furrowed his brows in concentration.

"Hah, I knew you weren't video calling him." Hyunjin triumphantly held up the phone, the page showing the last video call being done to Seungmin a day before.

"Brat. Fine, I wasn't seducing your cat." Chan snatched his phone back and threw it across the bed to the headboard.

"Now, why were you guys eavesdropping on my conversation?" Hyunjin scoffed at the business-like tone of the eldest.

"Like you don't know already." Felix whined, flopping down on the mattress dramatically for effect of his dejected state.

"I do, but I would love to hear you both admit that you are dumb as f*ck." Chan answered back evenly, eyeing the two in annoyance. Hyunjin scrunched his nose in annoyance.

They were stuck in a dilemma.

Minho wasn't answering their calls, neither was he giving them any chance to explain their side. He seemed hell bent on avoiding the situation and finding his own solution.

And Felix and Hyunjin were stupid enough to let him be.

They knew he was unpredictable but guiltily enough, they wanted him to solve his emotions on his own and then come to them for the final word.

"Fine, yeah, we are dumb. We should have cleared it all with him, we know his emotional range, but we screwed it up a little bit. The plan was to sit him down and tell him everything but that sly rabbit dodged us and then got sick. And now, we are spending each day missing him and wanting to rip his soft hair out. Now, help us." Chan giggled at them.

"You guys are such a mess." he commented unhelpfully and Felix let him know by making a face at him.

"Thank you, Sherlock."

"Look, all I will say is that, drag him down to sit, explain everything and tell him to pull his sh*t together."

"But how? He ignores us like the plague." Felix murmured, pouting sadly enough to make Chan look at him disgusted. The two Aussies side eyed each other in unison and Hyunjin sighed in exhaustion at the drama.

"Guys, I will age 20yrs before we solve this. I am sure Minho will feed me to the cats by then." he tried to bring them back on track.

"And I will age 50yrs by the time everyone of you settles down. Seriously, itsjustyour three, and yet its so damn complicated, think about the others when they decide to date." Chan complained.

"Its complicatedbecauseits us three." Hyunjin corrected him.

It was true though.

It was only complicated and conflicting because it wasthem.

Group mates for half a decade now, fan services, insecurity, acceptance, what ifs, confusion, questions.... It would have been concerning if itwasn'tcomplicated.

Minho was no affectionate clingy man. He didn't let his emotions control him. He uses his brain much more than his heart and for a perceptive guy like him, all these situations must seem even more complicated because his brain cannot solve it for him.

It was a shame to be honest, how he tried to find something logical in everything by using his brain because it taught him to never go headfirst into emotions.

It was a shame because they needed his emotions for this to work.

"Its ok guys. He will come back, and he definitely won't ignore you, he isn't that insensitive. I think he is just trying to figure things out on his own pace. Give him time and space but don't let him wander off, that's it." Chan tried his best to reassure them, and it did work.

It calmed down Hyunjin's racing thoughts.

Because he knew, it will be okay.

Dwelling on the 'what ifs' are the signal that set them off.

If they wanted to be okay, they will have to work for it, and not in the negative way.

"I wanna name our song 'Taste' and also have a sexy choreography for it." Hyunjin blurted out, his mind wandering off to the 'WOW' performance during their tour that had him weak for Minho for days on end.

"Totally abrupt, but of course." Felix answered back absentmindedly. He was busy tying his hair in two ponytails.

Two thin rubber bands were on his wrist for the hairstyle but he kept messing it up letting his bangs fall out of the pony. After three to four tries, he managed to grab enough hair to make an awry little ponytail and then tied it down.

Chan and Hyunjin just watched.

The youngest in the room beamed at his new creation and continued to do the same on the other side of his head, taking half a dozen tries to get his bangs in the ponytail and then tying it.

The right pony was standing up straight like a twig while the left one was flopping down on the side.

Hyunjin cackled hard.

Felix seemed very content with that and started to tease Chan right afterwards, sticking out his tongue and making garbled noises to accompany the mocking ponytails.

Whatever he was trying to do was endearing af and Hyunjin just had to record it.

An idea struck him as Chan joined in playfully to mess with Felix.

He opened his ignored chat with Minho and forwarded the video to him.

Fried Ferret 🐾

- video attached

- You are missing out on our baby's growth (｡•́︿•̀｡)

Hyunjin smiled.

No matter how much of a stubborn cat he is, Minho cannot resist him.

Lino 😺

I will be be back (｡♡‿♡｡) -

Seen 21:13

***

"That will be 50,000 won, thank you for your purchase." Minho bowed his head and picked up one of the bags while Seungmin took the other two. They waited for his credit card and receipt and thanked the cashier upon receiving them. Seungmin took one final look at his list to confirm the grocery shopping and nodded at Minho, satisfied at the work they had got done.

"I don't want to overstep, but you guys are doing great. Fighting." the cashier spoke in a rushed voice all of a sudden while clicking away on her monitor. She smiled at them hesitantly, her cheeks a bright red at her luck of finding two Stray Kids member in front of her.

A huge grin broke out on the two idols' face and they bowed once again.

"Thank you for your support." Minho chirped, in a sudden good mood at the compliment bestowed upon them by the girl. Seungmin thanked her again and they walked out giggling to themselves.

"They are so cute, always so damn nervous to speak up but blurting it out anyways." Seungmin snickered as they settled the groceries in the trunk of the car.

"At least they have the audacity to speak up, you still go mute in front of Wonpil hyung." Minho attacked immediately, and Seungmin's smile fell in a second. He scowled deeply and smacked the elder's arm.

"You justhaveto hit me where it hurts." he muttered faux offended while Minho only laughed like the immature kid he is and spun his car keys on his index finger.

"Of course, that's the entire purpose of my life, puppy. Let's go now or Changbin will blow his head off in hunger."

"We can show a glimpse of our unit tracks in the Seoul concert when we come back from the Japan tour. I think its on 18th and 19th of September, that will give fans enough time to anticipate our comeback. What should we keep the date of the comeback? In the first week of October?" the leader looked around at his dongsaengs.

"7th will be a Friday, so we can choose that. And the Seoul concert is on 17th and 18th actually." Jisung put in, his phone falling back on the couch when he was done checking the calendar.

"Ohk, great. So, we will complete our recordings and choreographies this month. We can extend it to the first week of June at best, but we will have to be done by then. The Japan set list starts from 11th." Chan continued.

"And then, when we come back from the US leg of the tour, we will start on music video and concept shoots." Minho completed the discussion.

"Perfect plan. We are almost done with the recordings, so if possible, we can start on our music video blueprint." Jeongin spoke up on behalf of himself and Seungmin, who was munching on some chips Hyunjin had brought.

"They are still thinking about our unit song's music video though. Minhyuk hyung said that since our album will already have 4 music videos for the group song, having three extra for our unit song will be hectic and not possible. But we can make short trailers, I guess." Chan informed them, fiddling with his fingers.

"Even better, who wants to shoot 7 music videos? Definitely not me." Changbin yawned, stretching over the couch like a cat and almost hitting Minho in the face with his elbow.

"Yah!" the elder immediately ducked and pushed him away simultaneously making the rapper cackle.

"You better watch out or I will put uncooked spam in your bibimbap." Minho threatened, glaring at the menace half sprawled over his lap. Changbin just grinned back unashamedly and reached over to pinch the dancer's cheeks.

What the hell?

Is the guy not scared of death?

"Insolent brat." he muttered, feeling violated by the constant decrease of his fear in his member's hearts.

Why weren't people scared of him again?

What a disgrace hmphh...

"I am starving!!" Jisung suddenly whined, turning around swiftly to attack Hyunjin, who was peacefully eating his chips.

A few shrieks filled the air as the duo got in an impromptu fight out of nowhere and Minho sighed.

He had missed this.

A fond smile fell over his lips.

Changbin was half dozing off in his lap. Chan was sitting on the floor beside Jeongin, both watching reels. Hyunjin and Jisung were laughing and screaming and Felix was watching them quietly. Seungmin had fallen asleep somewhere after the discussion due to the trip to the grocery store leaving him exhausted.

It was a normal day in SKZville.

The group had decided to have dinner together in the maknaes+Minho's dorm after the weeks long separation and it was honestly the most comforting and calm the dancer had felt ever since his over-worked days and sickness.

They had made up the schedule for their comeback, this time their time management was better than Oddinary and Minho was secretly very excited for the song Hyunjin and Felix had prepared. Jisung had told him the song had 'sick beats' and 'amazing composition' but he had yet not heard it, neither had he fully seen the lyrics, so the recordings were definitely going to be a pleasant stun for him.

Surprisingly and frankly, he wasn't even a bit anxious about the recording now.

Spending time with Hyunjin and Felix again seemed way more inviting after his 3 week long vacation.

He had missed them, sure, but he was also calmer.

The separation had helped him put his conflicting and storming thoughts in check. He felt more confident in his skin with the situation now than he did earlier. He still had no idea what would happen when they sat together to talk, but he knew it would be better than it would have been prior to his sick stunt.

He wanted to talk it through now.
He wanted to step forward and solve everything now.

His stay at his home had really cleared his muddled emotional head.

So what if it was complicated? everything in this world is complicated. His own life as an idol is very complicated.

Since when was Minho scared of life?

Oh no, he was better and stronger than that.

He controlled his life, not the other way around.

And he was ready to be back on the wheel of his life, take control and have a safe ride.

"You want some help?" Felix asked from behind him, startling enough crap out of him to make the onion bounce off the cutting board. A curse left his lips and he giggled a little crazily at his own stupidity.

"You nearly killed me." he complained, picking up the onion to wash it again.

Felix laughed at him and walked over as Minho turned on the faucet and focused on setting the meat away from the sink.

He was about to wash the dang onion when he felt the presence behind him. Heat creeped up his spine as he glanced back to find Felix right beside him, his arms nearly caging Minho against the sink. The menace smiled at him innocently and leaned forward, his chest touching the elder's back.

"We should wash our hands before cooking, right?" stupid stupid adorable freckles...

Minho gulped.

That cheeky bastard.

His heart raced a thousand miles per second as their eyes met.

The faucet was still running.

Their bodies were pressed together.

Their faces were inches apart.

Minho was dazed.

Felix was longing.

They leaned forward at the same time, their noses touching now.

"Please save our planet you both." an amused voice interrupted them

Minho jumped away, feeling dizzy.

Hyunjin was leaning against the doorframe with folded arms, a smirk on his face.

Minho blushed a deep red and smacked his forehead when he remembered the veggies on the pan.

"Oh no..." he yelped, rushing over to the stove.

Thankfully, the heat was low to medium and the vegetable were only slightly crispy. Minho sighed in relief and picked up the spatula to stir them again. He breathed in deeply, fully aware of the two dancers hovering behind him.

Aww hell, were they trying to gang up on him to fluster him?

Stupid kids.

"Hyung?" Hyunjin whispered in his ears, his low voice sending shivers down Minho's spine but the elder held on strong. It was a three way tug off war, a battle of dominance and hormones and it honestly drove him a little crazy.

The tension and emotions crackling between them was so lively, it made his head spin.

"I am hungry." a smirk fell across Minho's lips at that and he turned his head just enough to face the tall rapper.

"Oh yeah, what would you like?" he whispered back. A shuffle followed his words that told him Felix had most likely left the kitchen.

And suddenly he was alone with Hyunjin.

"Do you have raisins? Maybe a date?" a stupid smile broke out on Minho's lips and he sputtered out a giggle at the lame pickup line.

"I will have to check my schedule. There are these two dumbasses always on my tail for attention. What can I say, I am irresistible." the duo was cackling loud by the end of his sentence. Hyunjin threw his head back, his laughter ringing in Minho's ears like the most mesmerizing music and it warmed his heart to be back on good terms with his dongsaeng like that.

It was so easy to just be themselves like that.

It would be so easy to have everything they want all the while just being themselves like that.

It would be so easy to make everything not as complicated as they thought of it.

What was so complicated about love anyways?

As Minho stared at Hyunjin, a lovely smile on his beautiful face, his sparkly eyes set on him and a healthy glow to his aura, he felt the love.

So why not act on it?

After all, Hyunjin and Felix were all that he ever needed in someone as his partner.

So what if he got the qualities in two of them instead of one?

Love is not restricted to numbers.

Love is simply love, has no reasons, has no explanations, it just exists.

And Minho wanted to exist harmoniously with that mere existence.

***

Chapter 14: 14.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

"Drag out the 'now' ok?"

"Ahh okiee." Felix nodded, and put on the headpiece again, getting ready to sing his line.

"Yes you, that's you, thank you, right now."

He smiled when Jisung clapped immediately and congratulated him.

"Perfect, love the vibe, baby." he rambled, turning on the beat to correspond the line with them. Chan hit the button to merge them and played it just as Felix set the headpiece down.

"Nice." he complimented the freckled boy and put on his own pair of headphones to work on sequencing the recordings.

Felix grinned happily and skipped over to sit beside his twin, not wanting to leave yet because he wanted to see the others sing.

They were recording their vocals for the masterpiece created by non other than Jisung, which he was desiring to call 'CHILL' for their upcoming album 'MAXIDENT'. He didn't have much lines in there because it was mostly a vocal based slightly emotional song, and his voice normally didn't set such tones. But he was still excited for it, because CHILL was most probably his favorite song from the album and it wasn't even fully recorded yet.

He was in love with the lyrics, probably even more than Hyunjin and Minho, but he wasn't going to tell them that of course.

The song was a contrast to his situation now.

So damn ironic.

It was hilarious.

"Who is next?" he wanted to know.

"Minho hyung." Jisung replied, flipping through the sheets to get to Minho's part. Felix peeked in and observed that the elder had the second part of the chorus both the times. He read the lyrics and tried to imagine how would Minho sing them.

Probably beautifully.....

Definitely beautifully.

He could never fathom Minho singing bad. It just wasn't possible. He had a naturally good voice and sense of notes.

He knew it would be as amazing as always.....

"AMAZING!!" Jisung yelled, standing up in excitement to clap Minho's back while Felix just sat back in awe.

Damn his soft thin voice...

How can someone sound so ethereal?

Apparently, Minho can relate.

"I love the vibe." Chan smiled wide, shaking his dongsaeng's arm while the dancer just flushed in embarrassment and tried to shake off the two producers.

"Alright, yeah, I get it." he mumbled with a shy chuckle. His ears went red and Felix couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was so amusing and adorable seeing him get so flustered over compliments. Felix made a mental note to throw unnecessary praise his way all the time now.

"You were breathtaking, hyung. Your voice is remarkable, I am so floored by your vocals." he started gushing as Minho came closer to him. The dancer sniffed disdainfully and kicked his shin softly.

"You wanna be air-fried?" he threatened just as adorably.

"You would never." Felix smiled wanly and grabbed his arm as the two made their way out of the studio.

"Fighting I.N-ah." they cheered in unison when the maknae passed them on the way to the room. Jeongin winked back and disappeared behind the doors just as Hyunjin appeared in the hallways.

"There you are... I was looking for you two." he beckoned them forward. There was an air of excitement around him as he jumped on the balls of his feet and grinned at Felix, who belatedly realized they were supposed to start the recording for 'TASTE' today.

Ahhh sh*tt....

"We wanted the melody to be dark and mysterious... so, here...." Hyunjin played the song while Felix slid the notebook over to Minho.

The opening notes filled the studio and the elder's eyebrows disappeared behind his bangs. His eyes ran through the lines quickly and his mouth fell open a bit at the explicit flirty lyrics. A small gasp left his lips when he reached the second verse with the 'kiss me or leave me' part and Felix couldn't help but smirk at Hyunjin, who licked his lips in anticipation and smiled back.

When the beats rang through the speakers, Hyunjin spoke up again.

"We can put this rap part here, the lyric scheme matches..."

"And herein, we can put your falsetto to set the pre-chorus..." Felix leaned over too when the beats merged into the mysterious note again. He tapped the dashes after the first verse, where they had discussed with the producer to put adlibs or extra sounds.

"The pre-chorus will be here?" Minho asked when the pace picked up leading to the sudden sensual silence.

"Yeah, a pause here to get in the mood and then the chorus." the breathy exhale had Minho leaning away from the computer

"And then the second verse..." Hyunjin said after the pace subsided and the ear-chilling sirens filled the air again.

"Seductive hyung, we want it to be seductive. You aren't singing a lullaby. You aren't getting the vibe of this." Minho glared at Hyunjin hotly.

An hour into the recordings and the only problem was that Minho's voice wasn't sexy enough and Hyunjin's words weren't sharp enough. Again, Felix was stuck between the two high tempered dancers.

The thing is, since Minho had been absent the entirety of the song making, he had no idea about the concept of the song or its message or meaning.

It was starting to make Hyunjin mad.

"I can see that." Minho clipped and turned back to the mic piece with a frown on his handsome face.

Felix felt really bad.

It was bad enough the elder was not involved in the song and the freckled boy knew he felt left out due to that. His expression throughout the session whenever Felix and Hyunjin discussed the song while he gave no input was pretty heartbreaking. He looked lonely and confused.

Felix hated it.

At first he had thought Minho would be grateful they had assembled the song all well, but now he knew, they had been wrong for singling him out like that all because he was sick and closed off those few weeks.

This was supposed to be a danceracha song, not Hyunjin's or Felix's.

"Stop being a jerk." he scolded the tall rapper and pinched his arm for good measure. Hyunjin winced and scowled a little bit.

It made him feel even worse.

Hyunjin was tired and impatient enough too. It wasn't his fault either and Felix didn't want him to think it was. He gave the taller an apologetic look and screwed up his face in an effort to relay is message of patience.

It didn't work.

Or maybe it did.

Hyunjin got up and left and a sigh rang out from Minho's mic.

"Don't make me bad, make me bad, I am addicted to you~" Minho was trying well, Felix could see that, but it just didn't sit right with the melody.

Something was so wrong between them.

With a sigh, he got up and walked inside the small area for recording. He felt a weird pain in his heart when he saw the slight pout on Minho's lips and the concentrated eyes narrowed at his paper.

The poor guy was definitely embarrassed.

It made Felix embarrassed as well.

He was supposed to be the nice one, the glue that held them together, but stupid him really managed to just make Minho feel worse.

The glass door closed behind him and Minho glanced up instantly with a guarded expression.

"I get it, seductive and sexy, I get it." he mumbled, avoiding eye contact and turning back to his paper.

Felix pouted.

He walked up behind Minho and back-hugged him tight.

"I know you are trying. Don't be so hard on yourself." he mumbled against the elder's shoulder blade. Minho relaxed in his hold and held his clasped hands in his own warm ones. It made Felix smile dreamily.

"You are the most amazing person ever, hyung. You are probably the most dedicated, most hard-working and most helpful hyung to ever exist. I am so proud of you. You are so talented, so ethereal, so unreal at times with how great and skilled you are in every single thing you try. I wish I was even half as good as you. I know you don't see your worth, hyung, but I do. I see it so clearly. And let me tell you, your worth more than anything and everything. I am lucky to have you with me, with us." his words held the weights of his own thoughts and every single one of them was true and faithful.

He was amazed by his existence.

"You didn't have to- I mean, thank you..." Minho was flustered.

It made Felix laugh.

"You just cannot take compliments, can you?" he giggled

"Shut up- I mean, no, no, I mean yes- what the-..." he wiggled out of Felix's hold and turned around swiftly, removing his ear piece and letting the paper fall on the small table beside the door.

"You just cannot let me breath, can you?" he narrowed his feline eyes and pursued his lips. Felix bit his own lips to hold in the laughter and the action made the elder's eyes flicker down.

The silence suddenly felt too loud as he backed up a step to lean against the wall.

Minho stepped forward.

Felix smirked and reached over to fist his black shirt in his hands. He pulled the dancer and Minho came willingly, his arms resting on the wall beside Felix's head. He leaned in and connected their foreheads together.

Felix let his hands wander over the elder's chest, feeling the planes and flexing of the muscles underneath his palms. His shoulder's were so sexy it made the freckled boy wanna bite them. His fingers trailed up Minho's neck to his jaw teasingly and then traveled to the back of his head to run through his soft hair.

Minho just watched him impassively and smiled.

Felix brought his head forward and kissed him.

In contrary to the kiss with Hyunjin, this one was even softer and hesitant, as if Minho was afraid and unsure but still acted on his feelings. His lips enveloped Felix's bottom one and he sucked on them tenderly before pulling back a little.

Felix, however, wasn't hesitant at all.

He pulled on the elder's hair and pressed their bodies together, leaving no space between them whatsoever. The kiss definitely turned more passionate when the freckled boy took control. His teeth nibbled on Minho's bottom lips before licking them. The elder shifted a little and wrapped his arm around Felix's waist to support his torso against his while Felix just kissed him harder.

They pulled away from each other when the sound of a door opening rang in the air.

Hyunjin was back.

And the Lee duo were kissing.

"Oh great, you guys got started without me." he smiled dryly.

He really shouldn't have...

But Felix giggled.

***

(Hyunjin)

"Bye, get home safe." Felix waved his hand and stepped out of the room quietly, leaving behind a tense silence.

Since the freckled boy was done with his recordings and also had a photoshoot the next day, Hyunjin had asked him to leave early to take rest and get some sleep. Felix hadn't been having a good night's sleep when he was staying in their dorm and despite being back in his dorm now, he still had trouble adjusting to it so suddenly.

And so, since he was done for the day, Hyunjin really wanted him to catch up on all the rest he needs.

He also wanted to be alone with Minho and Felix knew that.

Speaking of who...

Hyunjin glanced at the elder who was standing beside the recording area with a blank expression on his face and yet, he couldn't help but find him so damn attractive.

Minho's hair was pretty messed up after that wild kiss Felix had given him, his lips were just swollen enough to draw attention to it and his eyes looked hooded and dark. He gave off the 'don't talk to me' aura and it was definitely driving Hyunjin crazy just looking at him standing there so easily.

He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what.

Should he just outright apologize?

He should do that...

He didn't even knowwhathe was supposed to apologize for though...

Maybe he shouldn't have sent Felix away.

Aww sh*t.

His heart thudded against his chest loudly when their eyes met and the sudden desire to just drop everything and melt in Minho's embrace was louder than bombs.

It had been so long since he had received one of his rare but warm hugs.

He wanted his caring soft hyung back.

He opened his mouth to say something but Minho cut him off with a flat voice.

"I will continue to practice. You can come back when I am done." straight dismissal.

Damn, that hurt a little.

When did the elder go from loving him to being so weirdly indifferent around him?

He watched Minho flinch a little and start to speak again but then the elder stopped and just stared silently.

Fine, he can take a hint.

With a defeated huff, Hyunjin walked out of the studio, leaving behind the embarrassed practicing dancer, and strolled through the hallways of the building, greeting staffs and other JYPE artists he came across on his daze walk.

He walked out of the building mechanically and started his journey down the lane.

The night was quiet in a good way. Its not everyday that you get a peaceful lone road in Seoul and it was honestly exactly what Hyunjin's whirring mind needed. His legs carried him wherever they wanted while his brain just tried to come up with ways to apologize and set things straight between them. As far as straight can go with them anyways.

He knew he had to apologize, that was the basis of making things right, but he just didn't knew how to admit his stupid actions and come clean about all the emotional sh*ts he did in his weird mood.

It made him slightly mad, knowing how complicated they had made their simple relationship to be.

But he knew being angry won't reverse it back to being simple.

He will just have to suck it up and be the humble one for once.

A strong familiar scent caught his attention and his foggy mind cleared a little when their regular restaurant came into view. All through their trainee years, the group always visited the restaurant whenever they wanted, it was their regular stop for the day. The owner knew them for half a decade now and was always ready with special meals for them.

However, it had been some time since Hyunjin last visited the restaurant.

It felt nostalgic to see it now.

It felt even worse when he realized they hadn't had their late night walks and snack session for weeks now.

He smiled as an idea struck his brain.

"Hello, Hyungwon-nim. How are you?" he greeted the old man cheerfully, heart inflating proudly when the owner glanced up and beamed at him.

"Hyunjin-ah, long time no see." he chuckled and held out his arm for a small hug.

"Your old man is just fine. How areyou?" great question sir, I don't know either...

"I am good. We are preparing for our new comeback now." he slid into a seat behind the counter and smiled up at the old man.

"Really? When? I am excited for it." Hyunjin laughed loud enough to crinkle his eyes and show off his pretty smile.

"October at best, sir. Its months away for now." Hyungwon laughed too and walked over to his skillet to take off the grilling meat.

"I think I can manage to live by then." he joked while taking out the steaming meat away on the plate that had Hyunjin's mouth watering and stomach grumbling in protest.

He still hadn't had dinner and he was definitely hungry now.

But he had a task at hand.

"Don't talk like that, sir. You will manage to pull out till our disbandment." he joked back, the inside joke being when Jisung had been drunk after their first win and had shouted that SKZ will never disband.

"Anyways, I wanted a favor. Can you make us some Bulgogi and steak? Right now?" he switched back to his plan and got up to leave.

"Us?" Hyungwon's wrinkled eyes narrowed in confusion and Hyunjin was amused when he saw the man look around as if he expected someone to jump out suddenly.

"Yeah, I will go bring Minho." he informed him and gathered up his mask and cap.

"Oooh, did you finally tell the boy your feelings?" Hyunjin froze.

What. The. Hell.

"Eh?" he was dumbfounded.

"Oh c'mon son, I might be old but I still have my vision intact. It was so clear you had some feelings for the cat man." Hyungwon chuckled like a faux wise man.

"Apparently, the one who's supposed to see it, is the one who is blind." Hyunjin muttered darkly and pouted a little.

"Its ok, I see you have made improvement. Go on, bring your man now."

"He is NOT my man sir. He will dig you an early grave if he hears you say that." Hyunjin whispered faux conspiratorially and Hyungwon laughed again.

"I will be back quick." he sped out of the store and ran up the lane to the company building again.

Heneverruns.

Minho better appreciate this.

"Hyung..." he burst through the studio door, startling the sh*t out of the singing man, making Minho yelp and drop his paper.

"What the-" he cursed in japanese once and then back in hangul twice before picking up the sheet again and straightening up. Hyunjin just laughed a little crazily at his actions and grabbed his arm.

"Let's go." he took off again, dragging an unwilling and very confused Minho behind him.

"What are you doing? Hwang Hyunjin, I swear to god, 10pm at night isn't the best time for your shenanigans. Yah..??" Hyunjin just ignored his words and kept speed walking through the hallways towards the elevator.

"Just wait and watch, why do you have so many questions?" he teased the annoyed man and pressed the button for the ground floor.

"Uh, because you just dragged me out of my practice session for, i don't know what reason and are suddenly being weird?" Minho raised his eyebrows with an expression that told Hyunjin he found him crazy.

"Oh c'mon, we can record it later on." he dismissed it with a wave of his hand and tapped his foot against the floor impatiently, willing the elevator to speed up.

"Who are you, and what have you done to Hwang?" this man...

"Don't be dramatic." Hyunjin snapped and shook the elder's arm for good measure as his action of defense.

"I am being dramatic? You are the one who suddenly dragg- you know what? Ima shut up. You don't listen to me anyways." Minho mumbled in defeat and let Hyunjin grab his hand to lead him out of the building.

"Good choice." Hyunjin grinned back and felt relief flood his veins when he smelled the familiar meal's aroma from the restaurant. He pulled the elder inside and breathed in deeply when he observed the empty area and Hyungwon by the stove, stirring the stew.

"Oh.." he heard Minho mutter behind him and his heart sped up thinking about the fact that they were back to their usual domain after weeks of drama.

"Its been long, hasn't it?" he smiled a little sadly, catching up on the fact of how many moments they had lost in those complicated times. If only they had thought of communicating...

"It shouldn't have been this long though..." Minho murmured, stepping forward so that his chest touched Hyunjin's back. The taller leaned back a little and grinned when he felt the elder support his weight.

"Yeah well, we are here now, aren't we? Let's enjoy."

And they did enjoy...

Because suddenly, the tense aura disappeared and they fell back into their old banters and dramatics, stealing each other's meat and veggies and making fun of each other's spice level.

Minho even fed him like he used to and Hyunjin made him his favorite kind of wrap. Hyungwon just kept on adding food after food, sometimes conversing with them too, and kept them occupied for a long while.

Minho talked with the old man for a long time about his recent stay at his home, showing him pictures of Soonie, Doongie and Dori, and telling him about the new mall opening, since both of them come from Gimpo.

Hyungwon in return gave him some recipes to try since Minho loved cooking too.

Hyunjin just watched them talk.

It was so damn nostalgic and heartwarming to see the elder back to his colors around him, he didn't even feel the gap between them anymore.

They were back to normal just like that.

It was amazing.

"Wow, I haven't had such a good meal in a long time. Covid really f*cked up my taste buds. Thank you sir." Minho bowed and Hyungwon bowed back, while Hyunjin just stood by the door, silently gathering courage to take the next step in his plan.

"Aigoo, come back soon, you two. And tell Jeongin I am still waiting on him." Hyungwon patted Minho's head affectionately before going back to his dishes and leaving the two dancers to walk out of the restaurant.

"Thanks, I really needed that." Minho spoke up after a strong minute and Hyunjin scrunched his nose slightly as he tried to think up of ways to apologize.

"Of course, its on me anyways. I am sorry for being so snappy today. I really made it harder for you. I should have been more patient and considerate." his own words were quieter but still clear.

"Its fine Hyunjin, we all have our bad days. Coincidentally, both of us had it on the same day. Don't worry about it." Minho gave him that pretty smile that had his entire sanity crumbling away.

"No, I am still very sorry. I have been such a bitch to you for the past few weeks. Its honestly embarrassing how I got so influenced by my emotions that I didn't stop to consider your feelings. I am so sorry for being so disrespectful and rude, hyung. I should have been more thoughtful. I am sorry...." he trailed of shyly, lowering his head to let his long hair shade his face away from Minho.

"Hyunjin... that's not true... It was both of our fault. I apologize too. I should have given more thoughts to you guys instead of being selfish over my feelings. I made it pretty hard for all of us just because I couldn't accept what was happening. Things became very complicated because we let them, that's on us. I am sorry for being so closed off and cold, I should have communi-"

"You aren't cold." Hyunjin interrupted swiftly and looked up, meeting eyes with Minho, who was standing there with a surprised face.

"Uhh- yeah, ok." his cheeks went red at that and he broke the eye contact as Hyunjin stepped forward. The tall rapper licked his lips and stared down at his hyung.

"You are the most comforting human to ever exist, hyung. I don't care what others think or say, and you shouldn't either. If only you could see how much you mean to us.." Minho chuckled at that and softly took Hyunjin's hand in his warm ones.

"That's the second time this day that I have made someone emotional. I think I have a talent." he joked good-naturedly and Hyunjin instantly scowled at that.

"I complimented you. Where is my compliment?" he rebuked in faux offense which made Minho laugh harder.

"Your compliment is back at the dorm, Hyun, its getting real late. Let's go." Minho's eyes were in crescents, his cheeks bulged out in that adorable way that showed off his cute teeth and his hair was swaying in the wind freely.

He looked like something Hyunjin needed in his life...

Forever...

"No wait, I don't wanna go back right now. Can't we just stroll around for sometime?" he pleaded in a pathetic attempt to extend their company. Minho raised his eyebrows at him but pursued his lips and then smiled.

"Alright, where do you want to go?"

Hyunjin grinned back.

"Let's go get some ice-cream."

***

(Minho)

The first time Minho realized he was evil was back in middle school when one of his classmates disrespected his geography teacher and he had dropped his berry juice over his classmate's geo assignment to punish him.

The tears in the egoistic boy's eyes were such a balm to his fired soul who remembered the tears in his teacher's eyes when the boy called her slurs and made fun of her virtue. He had been livid, and on top of that, he had wanted to teach the disrespectful bitch a lesson.

No one ever caught him, the students who even had a chance of knowing it was him didn't care to snitch, they all enjoyed it and supported his action.

From that day onwards, Minho came to terms with his Scorpio energy.

He knew he was wickedly mischievous and devilish. He knew he had a fiery temper and a no-nonsense personality and he also knew his atrocious playfulness really flustered people.

And so, when he leaned across the bench to touch Hyunjin's ice cream covered bottom lip, he wasn't shocked to see the younger blush profusely.

"You have a little ice cream there..." he spoke lowly, enjoying the reaction on Hyunjin's face at their close proximity. The rapper shied away in himself, his pale cheeks red and his doe eyes wide. It really did weird things to Minho's heart to see the normally confident and loud Hyunjin so shy and small in front of him.

He knew he had that affect on him, he always knew....

Hyunjin had never tried to be dominant over him, even though he had his own fair share of superior energy. The younger just seemed very submissive or compliant when it came to him. Maybe it was the threats, maybe it was the fact that Minho had always had some sort of upper hand between them, maybe Hyunjin just liked him so much, or maybe Minho just had a dominant aura. But whatever it was between the two, the elder knew he held the cards more tightly than the rapper.

And right now, he was determined to play the cards well.

He shifted on the bench, right beside Hyunjin and wrapped his arm around the younger's shoulders, who tensed up and gave him a cautious look. They were right outside the ice cream parlor, which was like 3 minutes away from their company building.

"Hyung... don't..." his voice was a warning that Minho was hell bent on ignoring. The elder smirked and leaned closer to nuzzle his nose against Hyunjin's neck, who gasped quietly and squeezed his thigh in return.

"Why not, hmm?" he whispered against the soft skin, before brushing his lips on it. Hyunjin sighed and threw his head back to give the elder better access and the action quite literally drove Minho crazy.

"I will not be held responsible for jumping you right now if you don't stop." Minho lifted his head at the hoarse loaded words and their eyes met.

They were so close Minho could see the brown flecks in Hyunjin's dark lustful eyes. They were hooded and his long eyelashes fanned against his blushed cheeks. His parted lips blew warm breath across Minho's wet ones and the feeling made him want to slam the younger against the wall and kiss him senseless. The flustered expression, the hot mess of hair, the seductive eyes and the dare in Hyunjin's aura really made him thirsty.

A smirk adorned his lips and he let go of the younger.

"Make me stop." he grinned and grabbed Hyunjin's hand, pulling the younger after him as he speed-walked to the company.

Deja vu to the two hours ago when the rapper dragged him out of the building.

Hyunjin had planned a fluff reunion.

Minho plans a spicer one.

"You know you can never top me, right?" Hyunjin scoffed and locked the door behind himself, facing the now smug Minho who was watching him with dark eyes.

"You let Felix f*cking manhandle you not more than 3 hours ago, talk about being dominant..." Hyunjin taunted the elder, knowing full well it will come to bite his ass at best.

Minho smiled sardonically and stepped forward slowly, his heart thudding in anticipation. He let his expression go aloof and confident, his eyes were crescent with that sassy promising grin. A jolt of heat sparked in his body when he saw Hyunjin gulp and lick his lips nervously.

Silly boy, acting all tough when everyone knows how much he loves yielding to Minho.

Funny.

He stopped right in front of Hyunjin, who was now a step away from the door. He let the smile slip from his lips when he strode forward and watched the younger touch the door with a heated look in his eyes. His arms lifted up to rest on the door on the either side of Hyunjin's head as he leaned in.

"Felix is different. He is the baby, I will let him manhandle me any time. But you..." he trailed off suggestively and touched their noses in an eskimo kiss that had Hyunjin gasp in a staggering breath. The younger leans against the door for support and takes in slow gasping inhales. The elder noticed the slightly shaky hands of the taller and the dazed eyes that told him he was very very affected by all this.

Minho let his right hand fall between them, caressing the younger's cheek. Hyunjin closed his eyes and went lax in his embrace, a small smile on his kissable lips. Minho smiled too, his heart warming at the sight of his dongsaeng.

His hand slipped lower over the taller's neck to his chest to his abs as he watched the stream of emotions flashing over the younger's face, his bottom lip stuck in between his teeth, his cheeks flushed and his hair messy. It literally made hot flush run through Minho's body to see the younger so f*cked just by his touch. His own thoughts were a mush, his body was flooding with flames and he was dying to just kiss him.

His hand trailed up again and clasped Hyunjin's shirt to pull the younger completely against him. The rapper came willingly, his arms wrapping around Minho's neck and his face lowering against the elder's.

"f*ck, you make me crazy." the rough whisper made Minho chuckle hoarsely.

"Now we know where all that chaos in your brain comes from." he replied back as he wrapped his own muscular arms around Hyunjin's waist and supported his weight.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes with a smirk and the action up close just jacked up Minho's already freaked out heart and he closed his own eyes in the silent permission to just go for it.

Their lips brushed against each other tenderly before Minho took the pace and pressed their lips together.

Pure bliss spreads through his body as his mind goes numb and he cups the younger's face on his own accord, his thumb caressing the cute cheeks.

A hurricane swirls between the two of them when Minho's tongue nudges against Hyunjin's seam of lips. The younger opens his mouth and the elder's tongue slips inside. An unintended gasp leaves Hyunjin's lips and Minho responds by pushing their bodies together tighter and harder. The kiss turns ever more heated, if that is even possible, and the elder lets his hand run up Hyunjin's long soft hair, the other one going down to Hyunjin's chest that had the younger making another sound of pleasure.

The rapper reciprocates by tugging on Minho's shorter but silkier strands. The elder angles his head to the younger's wish and lets him take control.

Hyunjin nips on his bottom lip before licking it slowly. Minho just smiles and keeps his hand settled against the younger's waist while the other leans down a little to pepper kisses along the dancer's jaw. The elder throws his head back and shifts his legs a little to balance themselves lest they topple over in the haste to chase their high. Hyunjin follows, his head dipping lower to press open mouthed kisses on Minho's neck. The sensation leaves goosebumps over the elder's body and shivers down his spine. He grabs Hyunjin's hair and the younger sighs against his neck at the pleasure.

Just at the moment he thinks the rapper will stop, he is attacked by a new feeling that erupts on his skin when Hyunjin sucks on it lightly and then bites it.

"f*ck.." he breathes out instantly, tightening the hold on the younger's hair to tilt his head up. Hyunjin smirks at him through his red swollen lips and the black curtain of hair framing his flushed face well. Minho narrows his eyes at him menacingly and takes control again by pushing the younger against the door. A low chuckle leaves Hyunjin at the rough action and Minho feels his heart stumble at the fact.

"Stop teasing me or I won't be able to hold back." the elder growls, his arms caging the younger in the warm embrace again.

"Why are you holding back then,hyung?" lil bitch did not just question his dominance again...

"You.." Minho crashes their lips together again. "... behave yourself..." his lips devour Hyunjin's. ".. .. or I won't leave you whole."

"Oh f*ck..." Hyunjin just moans out and goes limp in his hold.

Minho pulls back slightly and meets eyes with the impish boy in front of him, grinning cheekily with those swollen lips and red cheeks. He feels a smile tug on his own lips and when Hyunjin slowly lowers his head against his chest, the elder grins back and wraps his arms around the younger protectively.

They stay in a sudden soft hug for quite some time, Minho just content with having Hyunjin in his arms and the younger finally at peace feeling safe and warm in the elder's embrace. The two smile giddily and pull back with flushed expressions.

"Hi.." Hyunjin whispers in a surprisingly shy voice and Minho feels himself giggle at the adorable human in front of him.

"Heyy..." his speaks back quietly, connecting their foreheads.

The silence between them is a comfortable one as they just drink in each others appearances and the fact that they have stepped over a huge obstacle and taken a different pace with this.

They still haven't talked about their relationship, theirarrangement,but it was clear things would never go back to what they were.

And Minho was more than happy with that.

***

Chapter 15: 15.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

Traveling has always been hard on Felix.

The freckled boy was the one in the group who got the worst jet-lag during their mid tour jumps from one venue to another. And since they only had a duo set of shows per venue this tour, the traveling was frequent, which meant cranky mood, emotional state, and sore body.

Currently why he was all saddled up in his seat with blankets, plushies, chips and all fluffy accessories he could steal from his members, like the cat headband he snatched from Minho's hand, the soft neck pillow from Jisung and the socks from Seungmin.

He slouched down in a comfortable position and plugged in his earphones to listen to songs in the hopes of spending the remaining 2 hours worth of flight by dozing off or falling into the comatose state with all the sugar intake he was having.

Yes, he was high on feels and sugar.

Yes, he made his brownies.

Yes, he was hell bent on being a whiny baby for now.

"That's enough, brownie boy." a hand grabbed his own when he lifted up a piece of the chocolate delicacy to his lips. The freckled boy stared at the large hand over his small one, feeling greatly offended by the intrusion.

Frown marring his perfectly shaped eyebrows, Felix glared at the offender who went by the name of Seo Changbin.

How dare he....

"Never enough." he mumbled and stuffed the brownie in his mouth without a second thought which made the elder giggle at his endearing action. Puffed up cheeks chewing on the brownie, crescented eyes, freckles on display, mussed hair and drowned in fluffy stuff, Lee Felix looked too adorable to not be giggled at.

"You will crash after all these sweets and jet-lag, Lix. We have a concert in a few hours." nevertheless, Changbin tried his best to get the warning across the stubborn freckles.

"I am aware." Felix stuck out his tongue childishly and gobbled up another piece of brownie.

Yeah, he was being immature, but bare with him, the poor baby was just sad.

It had been a week since he kissed Minho.

It had also been a week since Hyunjin told him about what happened between him and Minho.

The spicy details and the tension had Felix melting right through the call.

But Minho never initiated anything with him.....

Its not like he was ignoring Felix, far from it actually, because he helped the freckled boy pack all his stuff carefully and even gave a hand in the brownies.

Its just that.......

He went back to normal as if nothing had happened between them.

And it sorta bothered Felix.

Ok, it bothered him a lot.

No, it wasn't Minho's fault.

Knowing the elder and looking back at how they had spent the last few months handling their feelings, Felix knew this wasn't out of the blue thing. But to be honest, a sensitive cuddly baby like him thrives on attention and affection.

AND HE WASN'T GETTING THAT!!

FROM ANYONE ACTUALLY!!

Because everyone was busy completing the recordings of the new album before the Japan tour.

So yes....

Lee Felix was sad.

He wanted attention, he wanted some love, he wanted cuddling and he wanted some kisses too, but sh*t, both of his supposed boyfriends were busy.

With a low groan, Felix flopped sideways on Changbin.

"Hyunngggg...." he whined and glanced up with puppy eyes.

If not his boyfriends, then Mr. Big Muscle Cuddles will have to do.

"Hold me, I wanna sleep." he pouted full force, trying to melt his hyung's heart so that he would get some warm cuddles to sleep this journey off while his gaze strayed off unwittingly at his two babes.

Minho and Hyunjin sat on the other side of the aisle of the plane, right in front of each other. Seungmin sat beside Minho while Jisung was cuddled up against Hyunjin, who was throwing him disgruntled glances at the physical contact.

AND FELIX WAS ALONE ON THE OTHER SIDE!!!

What a disgrace!!!

With an annoyed sniff, the freckled boy threw his arm and legs over Changbin's muscled build and snuggled close. His abrupt action caught the attention of Minho, who co*cked his head to the side thoughtfully.

Felix narrowed his eyes at him menacingly, challenging him.

His hold on Changbin's biceps tightened.

A shimmer of smirk ghosted the elder's lips and he wrapped his arm around Seungmin's shoulder in retaliation.

Felix gasped, outraged.

HOW DARE HE.....

Felix shifted slightly and rested his head against Changbin's chest.

Minho grinned and cuddled closer to Seungmin.

THAT DEVIL!!

Felix growled lowly and glared at the elder.

Minho tilted his head and gave him a feline sinister smile back.

"I appreciate the hug Lixie, but I don't fancy getting killed by hyung and Hyunjin after this." Changbin, who was quietly watching everything finally spoke up. The freckled boy glanced up to see an amused smile on the rapper's lips and realized that Hyunjin was watching him too, albeit he looked confused rather than entertained like Minho.

Feeling greatly wronged, Felix let go of the death grip he had on Changbin and got up sulkily, admitting his defeat and slowly trudging over to the other side of the aisle.

Yeah, he wanted to cuddle and fall asleep in Hyunjin and Minho's embrace.

Looks like I have to initiate this too!....

Jisung perked up when he noticed the haggard looking freckled baby in front of his and Hyunjin's seat.

"Oh hey baby, what do you want?" he chirped in his styled British accented English he used occasionally around Felix. "Do you want to sit here? You wanted to meet me? You missed me? Tell me baby." a huge grin was plastered on the squirrel boy's face, his eyes gleaming in mischief and his expression telling the other twin he knew exactly what was happening.

Clown....

"Get lost." Felix let out flatly in his deep voice.

"OK." Jisung muttered meekly in an instant and skipped off to bother Changbin.

Sighing greatly, Felix plopped down on the warm seat left behind by his twin and faced Hyunjin, completely and utterly ignoring Minho at it too. He switched on his puppy-eyes and made grabby hands for the taller, who grinned at him.

"Hey baby. Come here." Hyunjin held out his arms, an adoring smile on his kissable lips. Felix smiled back and instantly snuggled in his hold, sighing in pleasure when the familiar warmth and the soft scent enveloped him. He breathed out dreamily and nuzzled his face against Hyunjin's chest, feeling the difference in the embrace when he compared it to the times he had cuddled with Minho.

While Hyunjin held him tightly, Minho would just hold him in a loose but softer embrace. Being more muscular than Hyunjin, Minho had a way of adjusting the freckled boy in a more comfortable hold, while Hyunjin just outright wrapped his arms around him and snuggled in.

Minho would most likely place his head on top of his chest and let him throw his legs over his muscular ones, but Hyunjin was the type to pull them chest-to-chest and just stay like that in the clasp.

In short.

Minho held him.

Hyunjin cuddled him.

Yes, Felix just explained the very important theory of cuddling.

Say 'thank you Lix'.

Hyunjin relaxed in his slouched position and started patting Felix's soft hair to lull him to sleep. The freckled boy giggled a little at that and decided to push his luck when he realized how soft Hyunjin was being with him. While he had been over-thinking about things with Minho, Hyunjin had stayed by his side all the time to reassure him nothing was wrong and that the elder was just being careful with how things progressed for their own sake.

Felix understood that.

They had taken up a huge step with each other and it didn't just affect them but also the team and their career.

He actually admired and respected Minho even more at his responsible, caring, and cautious approach.....

..... but he was also in need of some attention from him.

Minho was one of his best comfort person, and he really missed his presence the last week.

He just wanted some alone time with his boyfriends.....

Cuddling, going on dates, watching movies together, just having fun in life again....

He angled his head up and just stared at Hyunjin until he got the hint.

The taller boy laughed out loud at his face and then lowered his head to plant a soft kiss on Felix's freckled nose.

Hyunjin had no problem being affectionate and well,boyfriendly,with Felix, but to be honest, the freckled boy wanted a vocal confirmation about their relationship from the two dancers.

He was no Captain America with the willpower of a saint, he was insecure and a over-thinker too.

And the unchanged but complicated dynamics was messing with his head.

He wanted a clarification, he wanted an act of communication.

He wantedthatkind of affection.

He wanted to havethatkind of connection.

"..... you don't understand..."

".... but I don't know how to. I try, really, but I don't have experience with this, you both know it."

"I know, hyung. I amnotblamingyou, I am trying to tell you what the problem is, the solution is up to you."

"Yeah, I get it. It was my fault again, it really was. I am just trying to figure this out, y'know? This.... I- this is all so new and sudden to me. I am afraid, ok? For myself, for you both, for our group, for our career, for our future. I cannot let things get out of hand, alright? I am..... not in control of this. It makes me antsy."

"Maybe you need to give up this 'controlling situation' behavior and just breath for once? Just live in the moment, hyung. Stop worrying about things we have no control over, you will lose the little control you have in the present fretting over the control in future."

A sigh.

"I know, its just a bad habit being the elder responsible one now. Worrying is like my middle name now. I will try to be better though, I promise."

"You don't have to be better, you are perfect as you are, even with this bad habit of yours. Just try to be more.... open with us. We both aren't kids, y'know? Just because you are protective and caring doesn't means that you have to shield us and fight your demons all by yourself. Let us in, we can help. We are in this together."

"I know. I am sorry. Let's make the best of this tour in Japan, then, alright? I will try to be more... err- boyfriendly?"

Felix snorted out a laugh.

The two conversing dancers immediately tensed up and glanced down at him in unison.

"You were awake?" Hyunjin screeched in a nervous high-pitched voice.

"Clearly." Minho muttered snarkily.

The freckled boy just beamed up at them, stuck in between their bodies and feeling pretty chirpy. His salty thoughts were gone in a poof as he eavesdropped on their conversation and realized he wasn't the only one with insecurities.

Of course, everyone over-thinks and has complicated thoughts, he was stupid to not consider Minho's feelings too.

It was like a repetition of the past again.

And he was determined to not let things fall back in that whirlpool again.

The repetition showed him that yes, things were complicated, yes, it will be hard to maneuver this, and yes, they will go through this a lot of times.

But that's what being in a relationship entails.

It requires time, efforts, understanding, willingness, care, and most importantly, acceptance.

And Felix was ready to accept every shortcoming Hyunjin and Minho had for their sake.

"I love you." he raised his arms and hugged the elder dancer.

Minho went rigid in his hold for a moment, while Hyunjin cackled in the background, but Felix didn't let go.

He was never going to let go.

"Ahh yeah- I love you too, baby. In every way possible. I am sorry for being so closed off, I will try my hardest to show my love for you?" Minho cringed at his own sweet words and pulled back with a grimace that elicited a laugh from both Hyunjin and Felix.

The elder just wasn't cut out for the mushy fluffy stuff.

It made him even more adorable and lovable.

"Let's go on a date." Hyunjin suggested with a huge excited smile on his face.

"Deal." Minho smiled back. The embarrassment didn't stay in his veins for too long.

Felix sighed and melted back into the embrace of his two boyfriends.

***

(Hyunjin)

You know that exhilarating appreciation and love you suddenly feel for someone?

That feeling of just breaking down in tears and telling them they mean the world to you?

That they are the reason you have made it this far? That they are the ones you look at and imagine your galaxy with? That they are the reason you shine so much?

That's what the boys feel for their fans.
And that's the emotion Hyunjin feels bubbling up inside his heart as the hordes of green paper planes filled with love and support from their lovely fans, fly their way in their concert.

With trembling hands, he picked up a fallen paper plane and opened it carefully.

We will always STAY with you.

Was written in it.

Hyunjin sniffled and let it fall from his hands as another surge of tears build up inside him.
Oh how he loves his fans....

You are the reason for my smile.

My heroes

You have saved my life, I will forever stay by your side.

No one understands me better than you

I am so grateful to have known such amazing angels like you

Love you, keep shining

I LOVE YOU, MARRY ME.

The best inspiration in life, my boys, fighting!

Just STAY with us.

He was so so grateful for them, they were his cheerleaders in this exhausting game of idol life.
And he wished they were aware of that.

He glanced around at his members and found them in the same state as him; emotional.

Seungmin was sobbing into his sleeve, his thin shoulders shaking with every silent cry that left him while Changbin was hugging him from the back to comfort him. Same with Jisung, who was wiping his tears haphazardly while Minho looked at him in shock at the realisation that Ji was crying. Chan was busy consoling the maknae who was sitting on the stage, hiding behind his hands.

And Felix....

Oh God Felix....

He was shedding tears uncontrollably, his entire body racking with sobs and his face completely wet with red cheeks and nose. Hyunjin felt his heart shatter to pieces at the sight of his boyfriend crying so hard, it hit him right where it hurt. His feet moved towards the freckled boy on their own accord, while his chest constricted in pain to see the heartbroken look on Felix's face.

He wishes to never see that sight again.

"Oh baby..." the endearing term left his lips instinctively and he held out his arms for the younger boy to collapse in. The sniffles and weeps reached his ears as Felix buried his head against the taller's neck and cried all over again. Hyunjin just sighed and hugged him tighter, feeling the trembles run through his own body at Felix's sobs.

What a pure kind heart Lee Felix has....

It scared Hyunjin at times, how naturally beautiful and tender hearted Felix was. It made him anxious and worried for the boy's safety.
Having been scarred by the cruel world so many times in his career, Hyunjin was very wary and protective of his other members when it came to it. But at the same time, he was aware of the fact that he cannot keep them safe from their lives. And so, he was determined to at least keep the affects of their idol life to the minimum.

But Felix felt emotions too strong. He wasn't the type to steel his nerves and let things go through him like Minho or Changbin or Seungmin. He wasn't fragile, just delicate. The type of dainty art that should be kept in a safe lock in a museum, not displayed in a school competition for unworthy people to touch.

People should keep their dirty hands and toxic thoughts to themselves when it came to the idols, but of course, Hyunjin couldn't say that outright.

What he could do was be there for his members when they fell apart and help them rebuild themselves again and again.

Again and again....

Forever....

"Shh baby, don't cry so much, please. You will lose your voice and it's killing me to see you like this." Hyunjin whispered softly, patting Felix's head and smiling at the angel in hopes of calming him down. The freckled boy gave him a watery smile back and wiped his nose against his sleeve, which made Hyunjin laugh out loud.

"Wait..." he fished out his hankie from his pocket and gently held Felix's chubby cheek in his hand to wipe his tears off. He could hear the crowd going wild at his actions, he knew they will be trending all over the social media now because of this moment, but did he care? Nope.

Just for the sake of it, Hyunjin took it to the next level by kissing Felix's forehead too.

The crowd screeched like crows.

The rapper was evilly laughing inside as he saw the realisation dawn on his boyfriend's face.

"Yah! Not cool. You will make them faint." Felix scolded him huskily, a secretive smile playing on his lips too. Hyunjin grinned back mischievously.

"This is the real fun, Pixie." He whispered back, leaning in conspiratorially as the crowd started chanting gibberish of their ship name 'Hyunlix'.

"Causing ruckus without me again?" Another husky voice at his ear sent a jolt of electricity down Hyunjin's spine. He glanced behind him to come face-to-face with Minho's feline smirk.

Oh god.... f*cking attractive.

"You are welcome to join, hyungie." Felix smirked back and held out hand for the elder to take.

That escalated quickly....

And just like that, Hyunjin was kicked off to the side as the Lee duo met in a warm embrace. Minho swayed Felix side to side in an attempt to make him laugh, which definitely worked as a loud giggle escaped Felix and he held onto the elder tightly. A chuckle escaped Hyunjin when he heard the crowd roar again while his gaze found Minho's teasing ones.

"You brat..." he breathed out and wrapped his arms around Felix too in a three-way hug. The freckled boy put his arms around Hyunjin and Minho's waist to pull them closer while the elder threw his arm around the younger's waist and Hyunjin's shoulder. The rapper just loosely held onto Felix and let his arm hook around Minho's torso. He leaned his head against the elder's muscled shoulder and smiled at Felix, who was teary-eyed again.

"It's ok, this is what we wanted, right?" He spoke softly, mussing up the freckled boy's hair in an affectionate gesture.

"Yeah, I am so happy." Felix whispered back hoarsely.

"Then stop crying or I will pick off all the olives from your pizza." Hyunjin snorted out loud at Minho's threat while Felix just cried harder.

"You sure know how to set the mood." He commented offhandedly, feeling the urge to just pull the elder close and kiss him.

"If you pick all my olives, I will never hug you again." The freckled boy was still buried deep in their arms but his muffled voice carried the faux threat in them too.

"Oh look, the mentee is mentoring the mentor." The three of them laughed in unison, while the numerous flashes of cameras surrounded them in their embrace.

Now Hyunjin knew what was going to trend on the social media tomorrow.

"Move over, yah!!" Hyunjin twisted his body and threw his legs over Minho's thighs as the elder settled in between him and a drowsy Felix. Fueled by a sudden wish of dramatics, and the need to rebuke back, the taller groped the elder dancer's torso and shook him hard, just for fun. Minho shot him a deadpan look and scowled back.

"You have a death wish? I will throw you out of this galaxy." A hysterical laugh bubbled out as Minho purposefully turned his back on Hyunjin and pulled Felix closer. The rapper in return climbed over the elder's back and peeked over with a cheeky smile.

"No, I just have a wish to bother you." He slayed with his innocent eyes and adorable puff-cheeked grin, which visibly melted Minho. A peck was landed on the elder's cheek by the hyper rapper and then Felix snapped out of daze enough to join in too.

The temperature hiked up as the youngest in the room took control all of a sudden to climb over Minho's body halfway and kissing him hard. Hyunjin reeled back in shock before snorting out another round of laugh when he realised Felix was taking out that one week's longing.

Oooh what an amazing sight to behold.

The alpha, blue-haired male named Lee Minho all subdued by the crazy feline Lee Felix all because he was just attractive as f*ck.

And what was Hyunjin doing?

He was watching the erotic scene with lustful eyes and desiring lips.

You will never know how hot it was to watch the Lee duo makeout, but Hwang Hyunjin had the first class seat to it.

The sight of their lips moulding against each other, the occasional peek of their tongue and the small sounds they were making; Hyunjin was as close to descending to Hell as the two were while kissing. Felix's hand slipped lower to Minho's chest before he pushed himself off the elder and looked over at Hyunjin with a heated smirk.

Oh f*ck...

Hyunjin bit on his own lips, feeling his blood boil in lust at the hot mess called Felix.

sh*t, why wasn't the aircon working?

Minho pulled away from their tangled legs to sit up with dazed eyes and messy hair that could give their hairstylist a coronary.

Despite the tension in his veins and the desire coiling in his body, Hyunjin laughed at his hyung.

"Sure, you are the dominant one." He taunted skilfully and leaned out the elder's arm reach.

"You better shut your mouth or I will make you." Minho's voice was lower and huskier than usual and f*ck, it only made the desire warmer in Hyunjin's gut.

"Make me." He stuck his tongue out challengingly and smirked at his predicament.

This time, it was Felix who was laughing at the scene and Hyunjin who was on the bed in daze while Minho connected their lips in a desperate hot kiss.

Holy hell, he was really starting to love this arrangement....

***

(Minho)

"Hello?"

Oh the calming sound of your mother's voice....
It balms the soul.

"Mom." Minho softly uttered, feeling his heart thud deeper with the sudden longing of hugging his mother. It had been months since he had last gone home, even before their Oddinary comeback in March, and it was already July.

"My baby, how are you?" A chuckle escaped him at that. She never stopped calling him a baby, even though he was touching 25yrs now. Guess he will forever be her baby, not that he was complaining.

"I am fine, a little sore. The Japan leg went amazing, did you see the clips of those messages fans gave us?"

"Yes, oh my God. It was so beautiful. Soonie was jumping in joy seeing you hug Felix and Hyunjin. Aigoo, Felix cried so much, I felt emotional just watching him. Also, don't tell anyone, but your father cried while watching the video." Minho's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open.

"WHAT? HE CRIED? WHYY? Oh my, why are you guys so sentimental?" He shrilled over the phone in embarrassment despite the pride and affection settling in his bones.

"Ay hey, our son is famous worldwide, why wouldn't we be emotional?" His mother retorted back immediately. Guess where he got his sharp tongue from?

"This isn't anything new, ma. Will you keep crying every time I achieve something?" The smile was visible in his words as he plopped down on his hotel bed and rolled on his stomach to resume the conversation long enough to think up of the ways he could break the news to her.

He came up blank, to be honest.

"Yes, of course. How could you even ask?" Minho giggled at that but his attention was captured by his two boyfriends walking in the room. They had gone to receive their share of dinner that Channie had ordered for the team; they opted to eat inside instead of in the diner to avoid run-in with fans since their Japan tour was over for now.

His eyes met with Hyunjin's concerned ones.

Ahh right, the reason he called her....

"Mom...."

"Hey, your father is here. You are on speaker now."

"Ahh dad, hi." Minho's voice quivered slightly, which made Felix and Hyunjin glance over in worry. The tallest placed the food on the table carefully and then, the two stepped over to his bed quietly and sat on the either side of his.

"Oh look, it's my ever-so-busy charmer son." Minho scrunched his nose at that and glanced at his boyfriends with a look.

"Not funny dad. I did call you last week, you missed it." He sniffed and tried to sound offended.

"My bad, Min. What can I do, I am getting old and my hearing is getting haywired." His father laughed from the other end, while his mother scolded him for making fun of such a thing.

Minho did the same.

"Oh please, not that again. You are as young as you think, as old as you believe. Don't use that 'old' card on me, what do you want?" He straight up asked.

"Hahaha, now we are talking. You know that whiskey brand, Jack Daniel?" Felix snorted a laugh before hurriedly covering his mouth while Minho just smacked his head on Hyunjin's thigh.

"Yes, fine, I will bring over some for you." He conceded, knowing he will cave in anyways even if he didn't.

"You are spoiling him." His mother complained from the side and this time, both Hyunjin and Felix laughed quietly, which inevitably made Minho smile.

"That's exactly why I exist, mom. Anyways, I wanted to tell you something very important before I have to hang up again, because we have to pack up for our flight now." His boyfriends' laughter died down in an instant as a nervous tension hung over them. Felix exchanged an anxious look with Minho, who tried to smile back in reassurance. Key word being 'tried'.

He was sure his face imitated that of a man with constipation, the way his smile twisted in fear.

"I am dating someone." He dropped the bomb bluntly though, clutching Hyunjin's hand at it to calm his nerves down.

There was silence from the other side for a long time, in which Minho could imagine his parents share that bewildered look between them, just like when he had told them he wanted to be an idol.

He couldn't blame them, the sudden and random fact must have thrown them off.

Felix laid down beside him and wrapped his arms around Minho's neck to hug him in an attempt to comfort the elder, while Hyunjin sighed and squeezed his hand in return.

"Oh really? Who?" His mother's voice trembled slightly, whether in disappointment or excitement, he couldn't tell.

"Umm- that.... Err- " his anxious gaze found Felix's softer ones and then Hyunjin's promising ones.

I can do this.

For them.... I have to do this....

For us....

"Not just one, but two.... I am dating Felix and Hyunjin." The silence that followed was even heavier than before, wrenching Minho's heart in anticipation. His forehead was beaded with sweat as he bit his lips while waiting for his parents response.

A sniffle met his ears.

"Dad? Are you crying? Again?"

"Aigoo, you made him cry. Heh, how will I handle this dumbass?" His mother was fussing suddenly and the dancer felt relief flood his veins at that. His hold on Hyunjin's hand slackened, he hadn't even realised they were clutching each other so tightly, while Felix let out a long sigh and dropped his head against the elder's neck.

"Mom..." Minho trailed off, still waiting for a proper response.

"I am proud of you, baby.Weare proud of you. We are proud of what you have become, a dedicated hard-working man with talents like no other.Yourlove for someone cannot changeourlove for you. And anyways, you couldn't have found anyone better than Hyunjin and Felix."

"So... you aren't bothered by me being.... err- gay? And datingtwomen?"

"More boyfriends means more fun, dimwit. We are happy for you." His father's watery voice flew over the line and the relieved chuckle that left the three dancer's lips was enough to make their day.

Minho dropped his phone down on the bed and pulled his two boyfriends in a hug with the biggest squeal ever. They could hear the laughter coming from his parents but to be honest, the three were screaming, crying and fighting with the air in happiness.

"So, you told your parents?" Chan spoke in his ears as the two stepped a few paces back to let the younger members get in the line first.

"Yeah, they were ecstatic. Kept me on call for half an hour from then, asking for details and what not.... They even talked with Lix and Hyunjin a little, but we had to hang up." Minho angled his head to speak in Chan's ear too, trying to keep their conversation private from the horde of people and bodyguards around them.

The group was leaving Japan, finally but unfortunately, and flying to New Jersey for their U.S tour starting from Newark.

And the two hyungs couldn't keep themselves from gossiping.

"Nice. What about us?" Minho glanced over with furrowed brows.

"What about us?"

"When will you clear it out for us? Y'know Hannie and Innie aren't so smart with all this, right?" Chan grinned at the dancer with dimples on display, mischief shining in his eyes.

"Ayy hey, you are being weird on purpose." Minho gave him a dead look in return and pushed him away a little to create space between them lest Chan tried to jump him with affection. Unfortunately, the leader just came back with full force to hug his dongsaeng which had the younger whining right there on the airport beside their check-in point.

"Yah, let go." He screeched and gnashed his teeth at his hyung, who giggled back and started baby-talking him.

"Awww our adorable Lino baby is all grown up...." A defeated sigh left him.

Life as Lee Minho is hard, when you have a doting hyung, a problematic dongsaeng, a dramatic boyfriend, a demented soulmate, a sunshiny baby, a sassy puppy and a clueless son.

"Poor Lino hyung." Minho heard Hyunjin's faked sympathy words behind his back as a medium to tease him, which escorted a growl from within.

"You just wait, I will cook you and feed you to the eagles from the flight." His words had no affect on the taller whatsoever as he blew him a raspberry and turned away to bother Jisung.

Why God... why?

He rolled his eyes to the heavens and sagged against Chan.

Yet, amidst all the chaos, his mind was stuck on what the leader had said about coming clean to the group. Minho knew he was right, as usual, the guys deserved to know what was happening.
And telling them won't even be as nerve-racking as telling his parents, so the dancer made up his mind to talk with his boyfriends and then have a group meeting to fill them in with their relationship.

He could already imagine their reactions to be honest.

Chan's relaxed posture, Changbin's knowing look, Jisung's shocked face, Seungmin's nonchalant expression and Jeongin's lost eyes.

It made him smile secretly.

Oh how much he loves those fools....

But, don't tell them that.

Minho has an image to uphold.

"How do you date two people at the same time, hyung?" Jeongin leaned over his seat with an interested expression and sparkling eyes.

"You just do, Innie. No need to think too hard and long over this. Your heart follows and loves whoever it wants." Felix spoke back calmly, as if he was a therapist who was giving crucial life lessons.

Minho snorted and relaxed back in his seat.

As expected, the boys had taken the news with no words and doubts. Changbin had punched Minho's arm in that masculine way of bro-congratulating-hit, which had earned him a glare, and then hugged Felix warmly. He had also tried to jokingly flirt with Hyunjin again, faking a broken heart and hurt expression which had only made everyone laugh at his antics.

Poor boy didn't get the desired reaction.

Jisung had been dumbfounded with the fact that all three of them were datingjust like that.But he let the shock evaporate in air replacing it with excitement. A few erotic questions were thrown at the three dancers, borderline asking for details in kissing and whatnot which made Chan age a decade in just a few seconds. The rapper had gotten a whack on the head for being so lewd and pervert.

"Han Jisung, I will throw you off this plane if you ask about dick one more time." Chan had screamed, while Minho had hid his face in mortification and tried to think up of plans on how to kill his soulmate.

The guy had traumatised and scandalised their maknae.

Seungmin just gave them a meaningful nod before asking if they were doing alright and if they needed any help, like changing hotel room because he mostly roomed in with Hyunjin. Felix had assured him everything was fine and that they will ask if they wanted some help like that. Satisfied with his participation, the singer went back to watching his kdrama after promising that he will poke for details later on.

Minho had kicked his shin at that.

Which brought the youngest to his senses and he suddenly became very interested in the three dancers' dynamics.

"But then, what about skinship.... And y'know... sex...?"

"Yang Jeongin, what the hell?" Minho yelled in shock, while Chan banged his head against the portable table on his seat. The others dissolved in laughter at his intentions while the two elder ones looked at each other helplessly.

Oh God, where did that innocent baby go?

"What? I am curious." Jeongin shot them a sheepish bewildered look, poking his head in between Hyunjin's and Jisung's to get closer to Minho.

"Curiosity killed the cat. Go to sleep now." Minho pushed his face back with his hand and turned away. He could hear the youngest complaining about being kept in the dark and Changbin trying to console him with made up facts about sexual intercourses that made Chan scream obscenities at him, but he tuned them all out and pulled Felix in his arms to sleep.

He knew the freckled boy didn't like travelling and instead preferred to sleep on the journey to make it pass quickly, so he was willing to just cuddle him and let themselves drift off to the dreamland to escape the real world for a moment.

Felix situated his head over Minho's chest and wrapped an arm around his waist, folding his body in fetal position to cling to the elder. The said male just smiled and hugged him tighter. A moment later he felt Hyunjin's scent hit his nose as the taller slid in the seat beside him and adjusted his arm under Minho's head to pull him against his chest too. The elder buried his head against the warm body and listened to his boyfriend's heartbeat to calm his own heart down and slip into a dreamless sleep.

The last thing he heard was a small endearing gasp from Changbin and a 'They are adorable' from Seungmin. It made him fall asleep with the softest smile on his face.

***

Chapter 16: 16.

Chapter Text

(Felix)

"JEJU..." Felix gasped in awe, clutching Minho's arm tightly as his gaze flitted around the open scenery.

The boys were gathered in the area overlooking the gorgeous blue sea a hundred metres away. It was a beautiful day with a weather to die for.

Clear sky, shallow shrills of water, and the slight breeze to ruffle their hairs, it seemed straight out of a romantic picnic date. The smell of sea mixed with that of fresh grass soothed down Felix's jittery nerves. The sparkle of sun's reflection on the sea was shining brighter than everyone's future, to be honest, which made him secretly giggle.

Minho glanced over with a confused smile but he said nothing, just holding onto Felix's hands while the others roamed around, inspecting the table they are supposed to settle at, or wandering to the sea.

Unfortunately, they were here for filming.

"Gather around everyone." The director clapped his hands and signalled Chan to collect the boys, who were running around in excitement and making plans. Felix saltily glared at the elder man, feeling robbed of their simple rights, like enjoying their day for once.

Why is everything about content in our life?

Why do you gotta filmeverything?

The others too trudged over unwillingly while Minho guided Felix to a chair, smiling down at him gently,

"Don't worry, baby. We will get 2 days off here, no filming or content. Just a healing time for us." He reassured the pouting freckles and sat down on the chair beside him.

"I know but still.... We will be exhausted with all this shooting." Felix complained softly, reaching out with grabby hands for the drink Minho was holding. The elder passed him the Starbucks drink, patting his head tenderly as the others started gathering around them. Felix scooched his chair closer to Minho to let his members fit in the frame, all the while playing with the elder's rings.

"Camera rolling in 1, 2, 3... action!"

The fell into their script and roles, making jokes, being entertaining and shooting effortlessly. After 5yrs of the same sh*t, they were used to being what the fans wanted to see, it was really no big deal. Felix knew exactly what he was supposed to say, exactly what he was supposed to do and exactly how he was supposed to act, it was like second nature to him.

He knew when to raise his hand in Changbin's favour, even though he wanted to ride with Minho, all for their Changlix fans. He knew to follow Hyunjin, mostly because he was sure Hyunjin's prediction about Minho would be right, but also for their Hyunlix fans. He knew when to show disappointment when Changbin appeared as their driver to rile up things and he knew when to scream in elation when Minho slid into his driver seat.

It was all so damn easy for him that he lost his sour mood and started enjoying the day again, singing his lungs off with Jeongin before falling into a slumber.

The day had started with some fooling around with Hyunjin in their styling room, so the freckled boy was slightly tired and with his distaste of travelling, he was happy to doze off.

When they finally reached their destination, a famous but isolated restaurant for their shooting, Felix collapsed into the seat beside Hyunjin and beamed at him. The taller looked at him suspiciously but still returned the smile.

"What's up?" He asked casually, flicking through the menu for food to order. Felix glanced at Chan when the elder started rounding up their orders and then back at Hyunjin, who was still discussing the menu with Minho beside him.

"What are we ordering?" He furrowed his brows in question, weirded out by the way his two boyfriends were still casually discussing the food while the others had already ordered it.

"Hmm? Oh, the order is already placed." Minho smiled slyly, confusing the poor boy even more.

"Eh?" He looked from Hyunjin to Minho to Hyunjin back again, trying to understand.

They had already ordered and they didn't ask him anything? What the hell?
And then, why were they still discussing the f*cking menu?

A male waiter materialised next to them suddenly with a big polite smile on his face, startling Felix.

"Hello, sir. Your reservation is ready." He bowed to Minho slightly and stepped to the side to let him pass. Hyunjin laughed excitedly and grabbed Felix's hand in return and pulled him out of his seat too. Felix threw a helpless glance at his leader and then the other members, but none of them stopped them. In fact, he could see the teasing grins on their faces before he turned his attention to the staff team.

Absurdly, even the staffs and directors didn't utter a word.

Weren't they supposed to film the eating scene too?

"Let's go Lix." He was whisked off by the hyper weasel, who wrapped his arm around the freckled boy's shoulder and manoeuvered them through a hallway to a staircase, with Minho right behind them and the waiter in front of them to lead.

"Where are we going?" Felix asked, feeling lost with the sudden action.

"You will see." Minho chirped back from the behind, and even without looking back at him, Felix could literally see his adorable grin.

Ok, he kept quiet and let the moment roll over, knowing that his boyfriends must have thought something through after all.

And he was right. His eyes slid past a sliding door to a whole new room.

The room was divided into small cubicles or, as everyone called them, booths, with high end wood walls in between them wherein the plush seats were engraved. Large clean wood tables occupied the middle of the booth with black leather seats on either side of them. The dim lights added a different kind of ambience in the room and Felix was left amazed by the simple but pretty decor of the restaurant.

The waiter smiled at them again and motioned them to sit.

Felix slid into a seat with trembling legs, realisation dawning on him as his brain caught up with the fact that his boyfriends had planned a dinner date.

Oh God.... He will cry....

Minho tried to sit beside him, but Hyunjin being Hyunjin pushed him away by his hips and crashed into the seat beside Felix, nearly punching the poor boy in the face.

"Why, you insolent brat..." Minho muttered with a glare before sliding into the seat in front of them. Hyunjin winked at him cheekily which made Felix shake his head in amusem*nt.

Hyunjin and Minho's dynamic was out of this world. It entertained Felix to no end, watching them bicker, fight, tussle, tease, taunt and then kiss and cuddle like newly weds. There was that fun factor in their relationship that really attracted the freckled boy. They were amazing together all because they just enjoyed each other's company. It was very simple and pure like that. He loved it, their companionship. They were like two pieces that just fit together. One loved teasing, another loved retaliating, one was sensitive, the other was strong as a rock, one was insecure, another was self-obsessed, one was kind hearted, the other was a slytherin. It really was hilarious.

"Next thing you know, it'syouon grill instead of the pork." Minho pointed his knife at Hyunjin threateningly before leisurely opening the menu and turning to the waiter, leaving Felix and Hyunjin giggling like mad-men.

Oohhh this was going to be fun.

***

(Hyunjin)

When Minho proposed the idea of a secret dinner date in JEJU, Hyunjin thought he was high on puddings.

Ignore shooting and go on a date with his boyfriends when the sole reason they were in Jeju was because of the content of SKZ Code? Hah, the elder was being delusional.

He knew the management will never approve. They were supposed to not be seen and inconspicuously shoot the episodes within 2 days and rush back. How were they going to have a surprise dinner date in that?

Stupid cat.

He had scoffed and walked away, talking gibberish to annoy the elder.

That night, Minho had called him at around midnight and told him that the dinner date was ready and that they had two extra days of stay in JEJU.

Hyunjin had dropped his phone on the bed in shock.

"How did you do that?" He had whisper yelled over the call, unable to contain his excitement and disbelief.

"You have no faith in me, tch." Minho had grumbled back, but he didn't tell him the details. Not even when the younger begged for it numerous times. It was a secret between him and Chan, and the younger wasn't allowed to know.

What did those two elder ones had against the company that made them agree to such absurd demand? Hyunjin had no idea, but to be completely honest, he was giddy with elation knowing that they managed to not only secure a dinner date but also extended the vacation for two more days wherein they will just relax and not film at all.

It was a dream come true.

They had packed up the very next day, had a sleepover in the maknaes+Minho dorm so that they will be ready to leave together and left for JEJU first thing in the morning.

All through the journey, Hyunjin's couldn't stop jumping around and bothering Minho as they got closer to their destination. Felix remained blissfully oblivious of the cause of Hyunjin's excitement, he thought it was just his normal antics, and he stayed cuddled to Minho's side while Hyunjin kept tugging the elder's head around, gasping at his blue hair for the umpteenth time.

"I don't think you have ever looked better than this." He had kept repeating his words, running his fingers through the soft hair all the while kissing the elder's cheek and jaw occasionally. Minho also remained blissfully ignorant of his actions, too absorbed in his movie to care, and that gave Hyunjin a wonderful opportunity to just push his buttons without dying.

When they arrived in JEJU, they started filming the intro of the content with the usual scripts, but this time, Minho being Minho told the younger that he was in the white car, which wasn't allowed. A small cheating on their side, but who cares? Definitely not them. After a lot of drama for the entertainment of the fans, they ended up leaving the premises with a good dose of laughter—all due to Han's awesome stunt he pulled on Changbin—and praise from the staffs for following and acting so well.

But all those theatrics died down when they situated themselves on the table and Minho motioned for him to wait for their hired waiter.

It's time....

"He will take us to the private booths." The elder had informed him while Felix was busy peeking at Chan's order.

The exhilaration was uncontrollable as Hyunjin grabbed Felix's hand and started dragging the lost boy behind the assigned waiter, Minho following them with a satisfied smile on his face.

The rapper was so thrilled with the thought of spending time with his boyfriends that he didn't even cared to take a good look around the restaurant and instead just pushed the elder away to sit next to his younger babe. Minho scowled at him at that but it was all fun and games as they started bickering back and forth again, much to Felix's amusem*nt and surprise.

The freckled boy was amazed and overjoyed at the fact that they get some hours off their workday and then started to slowly try and convince Minho to let them share the bill but the elder remained adamant that it was his treat for his two boyfriends, and it made Hyunjin realise the gravity of the situation.

Minho had not only managed to book a date but also pulled some strings for some relaxation that the entire team needed. He was willing to pay for the expensive meal and was also talking about the plans to work on in the two days they will get off for their vacation. He was doing all this for them and it just made Hyunjin fall in with love him even more.

That tsundere cat with his cheeky smile and beautiful heart

He scoffed playfully and sent the elder a flying kiss, to which he responded with turning his head away to reject his love. It only made Hyunjin and Felix laugh.

"Are you ready to order, sir?" The poor waiter asked after watching their antics for the last few minutes, but Hyunjin was again too happy to care or be embarrassed. He just beamed at the man and grabbed Felix's hand in his own, holding it lightly as the boy smiled at him warmly.

"Yeah...." Minho eyes twinkled as he flipped the menu down and looked up with a huge smile on his face.

"And then, he attacked my uncle and bit his finger off." Minho boasted loudly, his fork waving around in the air as he talked about his cats with the most lively expression ever. It made Hyunjin rest his cheek on his hand and just watch his boyfriend's lit up face. The way he talked about his cats really did something to his heart. Even though he would most likely never meet them—he was allergic to cat fur—it melted him to see the proud and genuine love in Minho's eyes.

A man who quite literallyloveshis pets?

Hyunjin was sold.

Even though he was a dog person, and Kkami hates sharing anyways, he still cannot help but coo every time he sees Minho's cats.

They were adorable.

"Ohh, I wanna meet them." Felix clapped his hands and gave them the most puppy dog eyes ever. He looked at Minho pleadingly which made the elder beam too. Hyunjin popped a piece of spam in his mouth and watched them interestingly.

"You can come with me next time." He spoke up immediately and it made Hyunjin scoff playfully again.

"Right, go on. Leave this poor guy alone." He mumbled with faux offended theatrics which didn't faze Minho at all, but Felix threw him a guilty look and latched onto his arm instantly. A small smile broke free as he spun his chopstick's around his noodles.

"Sorry, Jinnie. You are allergic to cats." Hyunjin wrapped his arm around the freckled boy and kissed his head.

"It's ok. At least you worry about me." He threw shade at the elder. Again. While feeding his baby some meat.

Minho gave him a murderous look and a thin scary smile stayed on his lips. He tilted his head to the side with glinting eyes which made something crawl up Hyunjin's spine in anticipation. His chopsticks fell limp against the side of his bowl.

"He will have a lot to worry about once I am done with you." Shivers.

Whether it was supposed to be a plain threat or a promise ofsomethingmore, Hyunjin didn't know. But he was wishing on the latter....

Felix seemed to understand that too, judging by the way his cheeks flamed red and he ducked his head with the goofiest smile on his face.

Ayy hey, don't blame them, the elder is f*cking hot.

But so is the food, and Hyunjin plans on focusing on that for the time being.

And Minho seems to agree with him as he de-boned some fish and held it up for Felix. The small act of endearment made Hyunjin blush, and it wasn't even him who was getting the baby treatment. The elder looked f*cking handsome in his casual sweater and jeans, with wind tousled blue hair and shiny eyes as he exclaimed his surprise over the amazing cutlassfish.

"Woah, this is delicious." A piece of abalone was held up to Hyunjin, who grinned bashedly and rose from his seat to eat it. The taste hit his buds with the most amazing sensation ever, making him frown in happiness.

"I am too full. This isn't normal." Felix groaned from beside him but Hyunjin just rolled his eyes and held up some broth for him to slurp on, which the freckled boy did with a defeated look. "But the food is too tasty." He added after his actions, as salvaging his image and it made them laugh.

A sudden idea struck Hyunjin's brain as his eyes lit up. Both his boyfriends noticed and Felix leaned forward with furrowed brows as he shoved his face in the taller's to read him.

"What are you up to?" His suspicious look only made Hyunjin grin wider as he stole a surprise kiss from the freckled boy, who gasped theatrically, and then slid out of his seat to Minho's. The elder looked at him the utmost caution as he popped another piece of meat in his mouth.

"What are you doing?" He asked with narrowed eyes, making Hyunjin shrug innocently.

"Nothing. I am just ready to grant your biggest desire." What a great use of words.

"My biggest desire? And what would that be?" Hyunjin grabbed the elder's chopstick, picked up a slightly large piece of steak and directed it halfway into his mouth, grabbing it between his teeth as he slowly leaned over to his boyfriend, who was watching him with the widest eyes ever. The steak touched Minho's lips, which parted to take it in ever so slowly, while they maintained their eye contact.

Hyunjin shifted closer and forced the piece in Minho's mouth far up to get their juicy lips to touch, before biting his portion away and leaning back, satisfied with what he had done.

Minho sat in front of him with flushed cheeks and a slightly open mouth, his pupils blown out and his messy hair dangling over his wide eyes.

Felix was frozen in his eat, slack jawed, an abalone stuck in chopstick halfway up to his mouth as his eyes flickered between Hyunjin and Minho.

"Oh God, that was disgustingly sexy." His deep voice uttered after a moment of silence. "You both are freaky together." He added as an afterthought which made Hyunjin cackle.

"You can join in too, Lixie." He winked with the best smouldering gaze he could summon, watching Felix's face go red at the implication.

"No thanks. I will just watch. That's undeniably better, to be honest." He muttered with a shy smile on his face, which made Hyunjin's heart thud deeper.

"I know what you mean." He whispered back, his mind reeling back to that night in hotel when Felix jumped Minho and he was forced to watch the erotic scene play out in front of him.

Yes, watching is undeniably better.....

And people wonder why p*rn is popular.

"What did you want to be when you were younger?" The sudden question that left Hyunjin's mouth was unheard by everyone else but Felix beside him, who frowned at the weird interrogation.

"An engineer, why?" He leaned in Hyunjin's space and watched him with big brown concerned eyes.

"Nothing. Just like that." The taller smiled wanly and shifted his butt on the rock to slip closer to the freckled boy when Minho walked over to sit next to them.

The boys were busy admiring the sea from the mounts of big rocks scattered around the place. The sun was about to set and the faint orange glow over the blue water made it all so ethereal to watch, especially with his two boyfriends. The slight wind was ruffling through their unstyled hairs, making them messy and even more adorable. Hyunjin smiled in satisfaction and leaned his shoulder against Felix's, giving Minho more space.

The aesthetic of the evening was getting him intoxicated in an elated mood. His smile turned into a toothy grin and he angled his head to plant a soft kiss against the freckled boy's jaw. He saw Felix smile at the action, before closing his eyes at the romantic sensation flowing through the wind. His hand found Minho's warm ones beside him and he grasped them tightly in his own. The elder's body heat seared through the younger's as he shifted right beside him, their arms pressed against each other's. His somber scent of vanilla and something sweeter invaded Hyunjin's senses and it made him realise the elder was wearing the perfume he got him when he came back from hiatus. The thought made his eyes misty.

Felix turned his head towards him and leaned down to press a swift kiss on Hyunjin's lips before turning back towards the sea. Just as a shy smile broke his face, he heard a scream from behind them.

"Yahhh!!! I captured the perfect picture." Jeongin was jumping up and down in the sand, his excited shriek gaining the boys' attention. The three dancers got up for their maknae too, as he rushed down the rest of the way to stand next to them, shoving his camera in their faces. Hyunjin squinted his eyes and concentrated on the screen blinking back at him, rather than listening to jeongin's elated chatter.

It was a slightly dark picture, with streaks of sunlight wafting through it in an weird ombré effect. The sea was visible on front, a mass of deep blue with silvery sparkles over it caused by the sky's reflection. The orange, pink and blue shining from the surroundings nearly made him miss the centre of attraction—them.

The picture showed the best angle of the three of them sitting on the rock, Hyunjin's denim wedged in between Minho and Felix's white which seemed a few shades darker than normal. His body was angled on Felix's shoulder, whose face was turned to his. The picture captured the exact moment their lips met while Minho had slightly raised their intertwined fingers to adjust his arm. The messy wind-blown hair of theirs, the scene around and in front of them, and them just enjoying their evening in each other's company, all captured in one single picture.

Hyunjin spun towards Jeongin and hugged him tightly. The youngest laughed and patted his back.

"That will be 50k won in my bank, please." He said, making everyone burst out laughing too. Hyunjin giggled too, pulling back and squishing the maknae's cheeks in admiration.

"Our baby bread is all grown up, trying to negotiate for love." He cooed which made the youngest cringe instantly.

"Alright, take it for free. Leave me alone." He cried out, trying to get out of Hyunjin's reach. Thankfully, Minho came to his rescue by wrapping his arm around Hyunjin's waist and pulling him back against his chest. Jeongin let out a sigh of relief and hid behind Seungmin just in case.

"Amazing though, he couldn't have clicked this any better." Changbin was still marvelling over the beautiful picture, the camera in his hand.

"Yah, In-ah, send me the picture after you download it, ok?" Seungmin was looking over his shoulder too, his eyes drawn to the couple sitting there calmly. He felt unnaturally happy seeing his group mates like that. Their happiness is his happiness maybe....

"I will, so please give me my camera back, before any of you break it and that picture gets lost forever." The youngest cradled his precious camera back in its bag and slung it over his neck.

"Are we going to the resort now?" Jisung asked, his eyes tired and his lips parted in a sleepy yawn.

"Yeah, let's go. The director is planning a bonfire, I guess." Chan collected the rest of the members in front and glanced behind to see the three dancers huddled together, walking with them slowly.

Hyunjin had his arm slung over Minho's shoulders, his head thrown back mid-laugh at something Felix had said, while the freckled boy himself was giggling in his hands. Minho had a small smile on his lips, his head turned towards his boyfriends with shiny eyes.

Chan grinned secretly and turned back to walk with his other kids.

***

(Minho)

"Bend your left knee, turn your body to the right, slide." The three dancers landed on their butts, their right knee bend forward and their left leg tucked.

"Hip roll." Donghyun snapped his finger on beats, before walking over to the speaker to pause the song.

Don't make me bad, make me bad, I am addicted to you....

Minho smirked as his voice rang through the studio and his eyes met Hyunjin's in the mirror. The younger had sweat running down the side of his face, his long hair a mess as his sensual gaze got stuck on the elder's defiant ones. Simultaneously, they glanced towards Felix, who was focused on bending his knees in a way that his core strength could handle. Minho noticed the wrong alignments of his legs.

A devilish idea formed in his head.

"If you don't twist your ankles that way, you will crash, Lix." Minho advised the boy, getting up from his sitting position and going over to fix the freckled boy's ankle, so that it was facing the right direction of his knees and would support his weight. Felix froze in his position, his knees slightly bent and his arms outstretched as he gazed down at Minho heatedly. The elder let his fingers run teasingly over the skin of his ankle up to his calf, glad that the freckled boy was wearing shorts.

A snort left Hyunjin's lips, he was definitely enjoying the slight drama going on.

After making sure their choreographer was still busy on his phone by the speakers, Minho slowly straightened. His hands trailed up Felix's body, situating on his shoulders to pull himself up. His face rose two centimetres away from Felix's red one and his nose skimmed over the younger's cheek. Their eyes met. A ghost of a kiss was placed on the corner of his lips before Minho pulled back completely and let go of his shoulders, leaving his youngest boyfriend wide-eyed and blushing.

Felix's knees trembled. His hand shot out to grab Minho's arm as he stabilised himself, which made the elder smirk wide.

Oh, the affect he has on his boyfriends....

"You will pay for that one. I will put raisins in your brownie." The freckled boy muttered saltily and gave his eldest boyfriend a stinky look.

"A small price to pay for your red freckled cheeks." Minho murmured back, his hands slapping on both of Felix's cheeks, smushing them together which made his lips suppress in a pout. The boy went cross-eyed as he glared at his boyfriend's cheeky hands. The elder was unfazed as he leaned in and kissed the cute freckled nose peeking out from in between his hands.

"Alright, I found this amazing idea for Minho's verse after the chorus." Donghyun exclaimed suddenly, making the three dancers jump in action. The man played the song right from the chorus and rushed to the centre of the practice room, much to the idols' confusion at his sudden excitement.

My eyes getting too loose, can't repeat tying up this strain,
Instead of runnin' I'm gon' mess it all up this second
I am cherishing this moment.

"We can put popping moves here, backed up by the dancers." Donghyun yelled over the rap and then promptly dropped to his knees as the second part of the verse, Minho's part, came on.

You have a blue chill, I will dye it red in this space.

And....

Their choreographer started rolling his hips.

On the floor. On his side.

ON THE f*ckING FLOOR WITH THAT CRINGE SEDUCTIVE GLEAM IN HIS EYES.

Minho descended to hell quietly, wondering what sin has come to bite him on the ass like this.

Watching this elderly man, their choreographer, subtly grind the floor ontheirsexy song....

Oh God, just take me.

Awkwardly closing his eyes in embarrassment, Minho shifted his weight to the side and rested his head against Hyunjin's shoulder to stop himself from seeing the monstrosity again.

"This will drive your fans crazy." The man stood up triumphantly, proud of his discovery of the sensual move and paused the song. He looked at the three dancers for any sort of reply, but they were too busy drowning in shame to say anything. Felix hung his head, trying to keep his laugh in, while Hyunjin was desperately trying to control his expression from falling into a scandalised mortified one. Minho just kept his eyes closed, not at all interested in seeing that masterpiece move on his choreographer ever again.

"Right." The youngest of the room coughed slightly. "It's getting late, why don't we gather here tomorrow in the morning? The choreography is mostly completed anyways, we can finalise it tomorrow and start the practice." Minho was glad Felix took the matter into his hand because he, for sure, would have never had the guts to look at the elder man without cringing.

"Ok, see you all tomorrow sharp at 10." Donghyun-nim collected his bag, jacket and phone from the speaker, and walked out of the room, leaving behind a tension filled atmosphere.

"That was, by far, the worst thing I had to see this entire year." Hyunjin commented after a moment of silence.

"You bet." Felix muttered and went to fetch the water bottles from his bag.

"Snooping around is bad habits, Lix." Minho whispered from behind, startling the poor boy out from his skin. Felix spun around and immediately hit the elder's shoulder twice with a pale face.

"Hyung!! You scared the crap out of me." He whined, leaning in against the blue-haired male promptly which elicited a chuckle from him and a warm embrace ensued.

"I was just looking for my earphones. You didn't have to push me into a cardiac arrest for that." The freckled boy added, much to Minho's amusem*nt who pulled back his face to peer down at his youngest boyfriend.

"Your earphones are with Seungmin, remember?" A dumbfounded expression fell on Felix's face at that, his mind gears whirring in process to remember that.

"Ahh... yes, sh*t..." he grinned sheepishly, when the sudden realisation dropped. Minho smiled. Watching the entire thinking process on Felix's face was quite fascinating to him.

"Yes, sh*t..." he mocked lowly and pulled the boy down on the bed with him. He rolled over to the right side of the bed and grasped the younger's hoodie in his hand, dragging him down beside him. The freckled boy came willingly, scooting closer until his body was pressed against Minho's side. The elder elevated his right arm to pull Felix under his embrace while the younger placed his arm around his eldest boyfriend's chest and his leg slung over his thighs.

"Hmm hmm, we have done this so many times on your bed. Cuddling and falling asleep together." Minho grinned at that, remembering the various instances where they ended up on his bed. When he had teased Felix back in March, when the younger boy was injured, when Minho had fallen severely sick and then, when the adrenaline rush from their Seoul concerts had landed the freckled boy in the elder's bed again.

"Yeah, remember that day when we first flirted?" A groan escaped Felix's lips at that.

"Oh God, that tension was so bad. I felt like I was gonna burn from all that heat and desire." He murmured.

"If only we knew back then, we would end up like this." Minho couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"If we did, then things wouldn't have gone so smoothly." Felix said gravelly. It made the elder squint his eyes in thoughtfulness.

"Hmm, I don't know about things going smoothly. I think we drew too much drama." A grimace fell on their lips at that, their past actions causing great embarrassment now. Minho shuddered low-key and bit his lips.

"Ehh whatever. We are together now. That's what matters." Felix dismissed the cringe environment again and shifted closer to kiss Minho's neck. His soft lips brushed over the skin before licking it slightly.

"Although...." Minho tilted his head to the side to give his boyfriend better access, all the while still conversing. "I did want to kiss you back then when I teased you." His words made Felix's naughty actions pause.

"Really?" His own words revealed his surprise and it made the elder turn over with raised eyebrows.

"Why so shocked? I did start liking you in that way first, all starting from that teasing. I only started liking Hyunjin afterwards."

"Ooohh" poor boy looked bamboozled. He had clearly not expected that, not only was he the one the elder liked first, but it was also for pretty long. Minho chuckled warmly and leaned in close to connect their foreheads.

"That was a secret I was planning on taking to the grave. But really, nothing goes as planned when it's about you two." He complained softly, his left hand trailing up Felix's back to his head, threading his fingers in his soft hair to pull him in for a kiss to make his point. The younger smiled against his lips and cupped his jaw, rubbing his thumb over and over Minho's cheek. The kiss was so warm, simple and loving.

"Secrets I have held in my heart, are harder to hide than I thought. Maybe I just wanna be yours, I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours." The sudden whisper of the song lyrics Minho had heard numerous times made him undeniably shy and embarrassed. He let out a breath that was supposed to be a laugh and hid his face against Felix's chest which made the younger laugh.

"Did I embarrass you? That was too cringe, wasn't it?" Minho's face twisted in a disgusted one but he kept his head hidden.

"No no, go one. That was very cute." He made a lame effort at consoling his boyfriend which only made him laugh harder.

"Hyung, liars get their pants on fire." Felix had a teasing grin on his face that did the worst sort of things to Minho's heart.

"I can live without pants, I guess. I am one fine specimen, after all." His co*cky words didn't had the desired effect as the younger rolled his eyes and grabbed his hood.

"If you don't stop talking, I have no idea what I will do to you." The elder's eyebrows rose at the cute threat, his face lifting up from the pillow to hover over Felix's. The younger turned fully on his back, his hands supporting Minho's weight over him.

"Oh really? Like what?" The elder leaned in close, his lips ghosting over the younger's cheeks, before slipping down to his ear. The hot breath over his neck and ear made Felix sigh and the sound only drove Minho more crazy. His teeth nipped at the soft skin just below the younger's ear, the silver ear hoop touching his nose. A breathy moan left his lips as the intoxicating scent of the rapper drowned his senses. His head dipped in to kiss the younger's neck but his sudden train of naughty actions were interrupted as his world was engulfed in darkness.

The cords of his hood were pulled tight, scrunching the fabric around his head until his vision was filled with the black shadow over his eyes and his nose was peeking out through the small bunched up circle. A psychotic burst of laughter left Felix's lips as the elder rolled off him with a dumbfounded expression that no one could really see.

Minho's hands instinctively reached up to free his face from the warm fabric and his eyes instantly fell on his youngest boyfriend who was flailing around, laughing like a maniac, pointing at him tauntingly. The warmth spreading through his heart at the sight of his happy baby made him smile like an idiot.

What could he do? He was always soft for Lee Felix.

"I will let you have your moment." He chuckled, watching the freckled boy wiping his eyes in mirth. It gave him an unexplainable surge of adoration, watching the smile on Felix's lips.

"You looked so funny." The younger dissolved into giggles again, taking the elder along this time as they fell down on the bed beside each other, laughing their asses off for no reason other than the sad fate of Minho.

10 minutes later, Hyunjin waltzed in the room and found his boyfriends gasping for breath, giggling like lovesick teens. It brought a smile on his own face as he joined in their giggle fest, no idea why they were so happy, but still tagging along with their smiles.

***