Hot Chocolate

Pairing: Gen; Hip-hop Unit

"Why the is Seungcheol-hyung always so ing late?" Wonwoo questioned, pouting and searching out the window because Seungcheol was late by fifteen minutes again. Hansol smirked, nudging him from across the coffee table with a knowing glance, implying something a little too explicit for Wonwoo to process at nine in the morning.

Mingyu caught on and instantly slapped Hansol's head, scolding him for dirty thoughts. "Jihoon-hyung and Seungcheol-hyung aren't like that! How many times do I have to tell you, they practically bite off each other's heads and spit fire at each other!" Wonwoo was quick to agree before alerting them of Seungcheol's presence in the shop.

"Hey, hyung! How's Jihoon-hyung doing?" Hansol greeted, much to Mingyu's protests and Wonwoo's choking on coffee. Seungcheol took upon the greeting smoothly, replying with a knowing quirk of his lip. A silent conversation passed between the youngest and eldest of the friend group before Seungcheol announced a rather disturbing comment.

"Probably a little sore, but he's doing okay." The answer was immediatly met with a second wave of protests, and Hansol and Seungcheol exchanged snickers behind their palms. The waiteress brought out four mugs of hot chocolate and thanked them for their purchase before backing away, blushing furiously. There was a moment of awkward silence before they erupted in chatter again.

"Ah, hyung, how are those lyrics coming? The ones for Jihoon-hyung new mixtape?"

"They're alright, I suppose. I actually need someone to proofread them and stuff, so I'll email you guys a copy."

Most of the exchanges were small talk, to be quite honest, but none of them wished to burden the others with personal issues and doubts despite their friendship of over ten years. But without it being spoken, they could gauge each other's emotions and swerve around seemingly sensitive topics.

Hansol had a disturbed look in his eyes, and he leaned over to Seungcheol and Mingyu, who tilted their bodies so they were in lcose proximity and didn't bother Wonwoo. "What's up with Wonwoo-hyung? He's been strange lately, don't you think?" Hansol whispered, and Seungcheol nodded avidly. Mingyu's eyes were clouded with worry, and he turned to inspect Wonwoo's position to see if he had been budged at all. Wonwoo was still gazing out the window with a blank expression, nursing an untouched, cooling mug.

Mingyu faced the two again, and murmured, "I think it's family issues. His father's in the hospital again after a a couple nights ago, and the doctors told his family that he might not make the next month." Seungcheol and Hansol mirrored pure shock, and Mingyu nodded grimly to emphasize his point.

"Hey, guys, I need to get somewhere, so I'll excuse myself first." It was Wonwoo, recovered from his daydreaming and grinning brightly once again. Radiant, smiley Mingyu didn't have a problem in miming Wonwoo's grin, but Seungcheol and Hansol forced decent ones onto their lips. Before Wonwoo could walk away from their table, Seungcheol called for him, and he turned around with a quiet noise of acknowledgement.

"Just... Take care of yourself, Wonwoo. You're looking a little thin," Seungcheol mentioned in a strict tone, but there was a caring look in his eyes that Wonwoo didn't miss. He opened his mouth to reply when Hansol spoke up as well.

"Yeah, hyung. And cheer up a little, live in the moment, you know? Next time I see you, you better be walking sunshine because the whole gloomy-i-don't-give-a- aesthetic doesn't fit you," Hansol hummed casually with a playful twinkle in his eye, and he shot a couple cheesy hand guns in Wonwoo's direction. Wonwoo wasn't sure what to think with the indirect support he was receivnig, and as a flicker of tender warmth smoldered in his chest, he nodded with a small smile and left the café feeling much lighter than he had in the past week.

I've been neglecting my responsibilities as a writer for studying... Should I be my proud of myself?? Since I've officially started finals week, I might not post for the week. If I do, they'll probably be actual drabble length (read: 200-50 words), so be warned of that beforehand. I hope everyone's holidays are going along well so far and aren't quite as stressful as mine XD

Thanks once again for reading, commenting, subscribing, and upvoting! You lovelies make my writing worth it with all the feedback, and I can never stress that enough :)