The ambiance in the house was quiet and relaxed, save for the distant chirping of birds that permeated the silence every so often. The serenity blanketing them made the four grown men too lazy to move, their limbs heavy and their minds shrouded. Instead, they laid, sprawled in various degrees around the dining table amidst empty can drinks and food containers.

Chansung followed the rays of sunlight streaming in from the living room’s open windows with his eyes until they fell on the glass containers holding various artificial cakes. As the curtains shielding the windows moved with the wind, the lights shimmered and danced, as if alive, before bursting into multiple glittering lights as they pass through the glass, creating sparkles on the floor. Hypnotised, his eyes started to droop, aided further by a sated, well-fed tummy. Just as he was about to doze into a deep slumber, his peaceful state was rudely disturbed by an excited voice claiming that a loaf of bread was cute.

“That’s Jun-hyung’s normal snack whenever he locks himself up in the studio,” he drawled, not bothering to lift his head off the table. After all, there was a load on his back which did not give him much choice but to stay in place.

“Yah~ “the load protested in a petulant voice, “keumanhae, jaebal~”

He felt a soft jab on his back before the load laid back on it to rest more comfortably. He couldn’t help the small smile playing on his lips even as his eyelids resumed its downward journey.

"Minjun-ah..."

Chansung tensed, but decided to ignore the voice.

"Hmmm..." the load on his back answered dreamily.

"We need to talk."

His eyes sprung open as his body shot upright in his seat, dispelling the load on his back.Three pairs of eyes focused on him.

“No.” There was no mistaking the firmness in that one word even though his voice was eerily calm.

The temperature in the room dropped as the tension surged.

“Chansung-ah…” Minjun started, putting a hand on his arm.

“No.” He repeated, turning to his Jun-hyung, his voice sounding harsher that he meant it to be.

“Look here- “

“I said no." This time, not only his voice but his facial expression turned hard as he faced the source of his anger.

Taecyeon was stunned into silence by the vehemence smoldering in Chansung’s eyes. His body tensed as, from the corner of his eyes, he saw Chansung’s hands on the table curling into fists. Nickhun felt the air charged as the two giants stared at each other. He glanced towards Minjun, and their eyes locked. The worry in the other’s eyes was obvious. Just when he said they never got into a fist fight. He harrumphed as he turned towards Chansung.

“Chansung-ah, listen-“ he tried.

“No.”

The full wrath behind those eyes was now directed towards him. He steeled himself and tried again.

“You don’t- “

“I said, NO!” A thump on the table.

“- know what’s going on!” Nickhun couldn’t help raising his voice to be heard over his dongsaeng.

“I KNOW what the hell is going on! I’m not f*ucking blind! This has been going on for years! Only someone so f*ucking stupid wouldn’t know what’s going on! I should have stayed as Jun-hyung’s roommate! Then this wouldn’t have happened!!” he bellowed, punctuating every sentence with a thump on the table. In his distress, he had let slip his regret.

His hyungs stared at him in befuddlement as he heaved in heavy breaths, knuckles going white with how hard he was clenching his fists. He was usually the calm one whenever they had arguments. It was uncharacteristic of him to raise his voice much less curse, preferring to be rational and calm whenever he wanted to point out his opinions. To see him suddenly doing both, had his hyungs stupefied. Despite trying to remain calm, he could not help the panic wreaking havoc in his gut at the thought of his Jun-hyung getting hurt.

The scraping of metal against marble had him looking to his left. Minjun was pushing back his chair.

“Taecyeon-ah, let’s go to the studio,” he said as he moved to get up.

The panic bubbled out of control.

“Hyung, you can’t,” he pleaded in a near-whisper, desperation lining every muscle on his face.

Minjun winced as pain surrounded his right wrist. It was apparent how distressed his dongsaeng was with that little slip of control.

“Yah. What are you so worried about? It’s just your Taec-hyung,” Minjun pointed out as he lightly caressed the hand gripping his wrist with his free hand, trying to calm his dongsaeng.

The concern did not recede from Chansung’s face.

“He’s not some weirdo I let in without looking at the monitor.” He tried joking instead.

Nothing.

“Chansung-ah, let go,”Nickhun half-ordered, half-persuaded.

Chansung turned to Nickhun in exasperation, pleading with his eyes to stop what he was terrified of from happening.

“It’s okay, Chansung-ah. They need to resolve this themselves. It’s just gonna drag on further if you don’t let go,” Nickhun reassured.

“But- “ In his mind, what his Khun-hyung said made perfect sense, but his heart was still troubled.

Nickhun nodded and Chansung slowly relaxed his grip. Minjun rubbed his wrist as he looked at Taecyeon and nudged his head in the direction of the studio, signaling for Taecyeon to follow him. He pushed Chansung’s hair back from his forehead and softly patted his head to reassure him again before stepping away. Taecyeon pushed his chair back and slowly got up, silently watching Chansung whose eyes were still fixated on Minjun. He gave a meaningful look to Nickhun who nodded and made a sweeping motion with his hand, telling him to leave.

When he heard the ‘click’ of the studio door being shut, Nickhun got out of his chair and circled to the other side of the table. Chansung was still looking in the direction of the studio.

“Come on Chansung-ah. Let’s watch some tv,” he suggested as he pulled the maknae up from his chair by the wrist.

He was glad when Chansung meekly followed his lead but still did not let go of the wrist, just in case. They plopped on the sofa and Nickhun reached for the remote. He was flicking through the channels, looking for something light-hearted to cheer up his dongsaeng when a soft question interrupted him.

“What if he made him cry?”

There was a slight tremble in his voice, betraying the fear the maknae was trying hard to conceal.

“Then I’ll kill him myself,” Nickhun replied matter-of-factly as he continued flicking through the channels.

Taecyeon closed the door behind him, his heart beating a mile a minute. This was it. How Minjun reacts would decide if he would live to see tomorrow. There was no doubt what the other two would do to him if things go south. Not to mention what he would to himself.

“So…”Minjun started.

Taecyeon focused his gaze on him. As he expected, their eyes locked for about two seconds before Minjun looked away. He started fiddling with the papers on his desks, trying to put them together.

“That was some over-reaction, huh? Ha...Ha...” He tried to joke, making his nervousness more apparent.

Taecyeon sighed and walked towards the sofa.

“This is going to take a while,” he thought as he took a sit.

“Minjun-ah.” He called out and patted the cushion to his left after he got the other’s attention.

He noticed a slight hesitation in those dark orbs before he came over and sat down, putting a little distance between them.

“I don’t really know how to explain…this.” Taecyeon gestured at the space between them with his hands, “so just bear with me for a while, 'kay?”

A nod.

“I just…,” Taecyeon tried finding the right words,” feel like you treat me like a stranger- “

“I don’t-“ Minjun bounced on the sofa, eager to deny.

“Just.” Taecyeon stopped him, holding up a hand, “ let me finish, ok? ‘Cos if you keep cutting me, we’re not going to get anywhere.”

Minjun’s cheeks reddened and he looked away, bobbing his head in agreement. He fixed his eyes on the soft carpet below his feet, unable to look Taecyeon in the eyes.

Taecyeon sighed again. He thought it’s best to have eye-contact when having these kinds of conversations but decided to let it go.

“What I meant was, you don’t treat me like a dongsaeng,” Minjun’s head popped up and Taecyeon raised his hand again to calm the other down as he hurriedly continued.

“I get it. You,” he pointed towards Minjun, “understand that, outside of Korea, we are of the same age and you prefer for Nickhun and I to be more comfortable with you. I also understand that because we are of the same age, you treat us differently than you would the kids.”

He got another nod from that.

“But even between Nickhun and I, it was different. You treat him like a brother and me like an acquaintance, a business partner.”

Here, Minjun scrunched up his face in confusion, his mouth hanging open an inch. He did not say a word though, giving Taecyeon time to explain.

“I don’t want to sound petty or petulant. But I noticed the hugs you guys exchange and sometimes the hand-holds between you two whenever either of you are feeling down. So…” he trailed off, hitting a dead-end.

“So…you want me to hug you too?” Minjun added in, incredulous.

“Yeah…” Taecyeon agreed, feeling his ears heating up.

It was his turn to look away, fixing his gaze on the different Magritte paintings hung on the studio’s ceiling. When Minjun put it that way, it did seem that what he was asking for was very bizarre. Especially between two grown men. He scratched the back of his nape, thinking of another way to explain it.

“Hmmm… ok.”

The agreement startled him and his neck almost snapped at how fast he turned his head to look at Minjun. Minjun’s expression was somber as he nodded.

“I get it. I think? You don’t really mean you want hugs. I think, correct me if I’m wrong,” he put up both hands in defense,” what you really want is reassurance. It was the way Nickhun and I reassured each other that you hope to have. Am I… right?” He ended with a little uncertainty.

The thought clicked in place in Taecyeon’s mind and he beamed. The grip on his heart relaxing a fraction as something finally made sense to him.

“Yeah! That’s it! I knew talking would work something out.”

He reclined and rested his back on the sofa, relieved to get one issue out of the way.

“Ok, since that’s settled, let’s get out. Chansung must be out of his mind by now,” Minjun moved as if to get up.

“Hold on,” Taecyeon stopped him with a grab to his wrist.

Minjun winced and Taecyeon focused on the wrist within his hold. A bruise was forming around the porcelain skin.

“This-“

“Leave it.”

Taecyeon was about to argue but the look on Minjun’s face warned him not to push.

“So? What else is there?” Minjun tried changing the subject.

He nodded and released the wrist, storing a thought at the back of his mind to buy some cooling balm.

“Well, you never joke around with me like you do with Wooyoung and Junho.”

“I do so,” Minjun argued like a little child, “we had our share of laughter too, didn’t we?”

“I mean I don’t backhug you like Junho does all the time.”

“You want to backhug me?!” Minjun sputtered, eyes going wide.

Taecyeon could feel his face going red, just like how Minjun’s face was obviously doing.

“No! I mean- Not like- “ his hands were flying everywhere in his attempt to recover from his embarrassment.

“You want ME to backhug YOU?!” Minjun’s face was getting redder.

“Yes!”

Minjun chocked, not believing what he was hearing even though he was the one who asked.

“No, not like that- arrrgh!” Taecyeon mussed up his hair in exasperation, not believing how much he was ruining this in the most embarrassing way.

“Could you PLEASE not interrupt me? Look what you’ve done,” he reprimanded.

Minjun looked sheepish and nodded, snickering behind his hand.

“Sorry, that did turn out weird.”

“You don’t say,” Taecyeon agreed, laughing despite himself.

He rubbed his face with his hands, blew a breath and decided to try again.

“Okay, what I meant was, I hope you’d be as comfortable with me as you are with those two. Comfortable enough to…ummm… do aegyos? or hug or something like that. Comfortable enough to look me in the eyes for more than two seconds when we talk,” he continued, though he still thought it sounded off.

“Okay…”

“Okay?” There was a lot loaded onto that one word.

“Yeah. Okay,” Minjun repeated.

“There’s a ‘but’ in there, isn’t it?” Taecyeon pushed, leaning forward to put his elbows on his knees as he peered into Minjun’s face.

MInjun was once again fixing his gaze on the carpet, his bangs blocking Taecyeon from reading his eyes.

“But,” Minjun looked up, for a second surprised to see Taecyeon’s face so close but decided to hold his gaze since that was what he wanted. His cheeks heated again but he forced himself to continue,” you don’t like skinship in general anyway.”

“When did I-“

“The radio show just earlier this afternoon. Don’t lie.” Minjun stopped him before he could deny.

Taecyeon looked genuinely confused before recollection slowly light his eyes.

“Yeah but I did say I don’t push you away.”

“But it’s obvious you hate it-“

“Now, I’m SURE I did NOT say that,” Taecyeon pressed.

“But if it’s obvious to the others-“

“They’re just saying it to be funny-”

“No they’re not-”

“JUST!” Taecyeon raised his voice to get Minjun’s attention, putting his hand over the other’s mouth to shut him up, which caused him to be pushed back into the sofa.

Speaking normally again when he was sure the other was listening, he stated “trust me on this okay?”

He made sure Minjun understood, which he did with a nod, before removing his hand. Minjun righted his clothes and sat back up.

“Right. So, reassurance and to be comfortable enough around you. Anything else?”

“Yeah. One last thing,” he waited for Minjun to give a move to go ahead before continuing,” can you not always lean on Chansung?”

Minjun’s eyes widen until understanding set in. He wiped his face with both hands and sighed.

“You really at talking, you know that?” he did not give a chance for Taecyeon to answer and continued,” you don’t really want me to lean on you, do you?”

“Actually… I do.” Taecyeon confirmed.

“What?!” It was Minjun’s turn to flung his hands in the air and threw his back on the couch.

“Yeah, I want you to lean on me,” Taecyeon went on, unperturbed. “I’m here too, Minjun-ah. I hope you would notice that. When you are tired, I want you to lean on me too. Not just Nickhun or Chansung, but me too.”

Minjun slowly got up as he listened to Taecyeon’s words, a warm fuzzy feeling blooming in his chest. His lips curved as he patted Taecyeon’s thigh and reached for his hand to do their bro-handshake thing which ended with a half hug.

“OK. I hear you,” he said, still touched. “That’s all?”

“Yeah.”

“Oookay,” Minjun pushed off from the couch and stood up, dusting his bum,” let’s get out of here.”

Taecyeon straightened his legs and got up too. He followed Minjun to the door.

“Ufff!”

Just when he expected Minjun to turn the knob, he abruptly turned and gave him a hug. A proper hug this time, tight and with both arms around his waist, his head against Taecyeon’s chest. Taecyeon stood still in his surprise and the situation quickly grew awkward. Utterly disappointed with himself for his lack of response, he expected Minjun to let go anytime soon. Instead, Minjun tightened his hold and said something that made his heart soar.

“Mianhe, Taecyeon-ah. I didn’t mean to make you feel ostracized. I thought I treated all of you the same, but I’m obviously wrong. I’ll do better, but you know I can’t do it alone right? If you want this to work, you need to try too.”

Taecyeon nodded before he realized the other could not see him. He cleared his throat and gave a “Yeah, I know.”

A thump to his back.

“Then hug me back, yah imma! You’re making this awkward!”

Taecyeon chuckled, even as he raised his arms and curled it around the other’s waist and squeezed tight. Taking a chance, he bent his neck and rested his chin against the other’s head, totally engulfing him.

“Umnh, I can’t breathe,” Minjun complained as he started pushing at Taecyeon’s waist.

Taecyeon ignored it for a few seconds, relishing in the hug as it cleared the worries that had been crowding his mind. He finally let go when Minjun’s wiggling intensified, adding in some well-placed punches to his side. He chuckled merrily as he reached for the knob, turned it and stepped outside. However, his body went rigid and his laughter died in his throat as he was met with an ominous feeling from the other side of the door. A bump on his back pushed him a step forward.

“Bee-kyuh! (get out of the way)” Minjun hit the ‘wall’ in front of him to get it moving.

He rubbed his forehead where it had bumped on said ‘wall’ when Taecyeon suddenly stopped walking without a warning.

Taecyeon quickly turned his back to the living room to see Minjun rubbing his forehead and giving him a scowl.

“Well, the lunch had been fun!” he shouted to the two who were staring daggers at his back from the couch in the living room while absentmindedly messaging Minjun’s forehead with his palm. “I should go now. I have…uhhhh… some scripts to memorise.” He ended lamely in his haste to leave.

He rushed towards the door with Minjun hot on his heels.

“You shouldn’t have come if you’re busy. Send my regards to your parents. You should have told me you were coming so I could have bought something for them,” Minjun suddenly started lecturing at length.

Taecyeon kept mum as he continued in his direction, hastily opening the door to leave.

Watching them, Nickhun could not help smirking while Chansung rolled his eyes. “Scaredy-cat,” Chansung muttered under his breath as he turned back to the show on the television.

Nickhun heard him, though, and burst out laughing at the pun.

Chansung had been ready to scream bloody murder when he heard the studio’s door opened. However, it seemed that the ‘talk’ had gone well so he decided to let his Taec-hyung live another day. Only, Taecyeon had seen his murderous face and hurried his escape. Khun-hyung may have played a part in that too since he was emitting a menacing aura since the moment he heard the door knob turned.

Taecyeon hurriedly put on his shoes, not taking a chance at risking his life. He stood up to leave and had taken a step when he abruptly turned back to embrace the figure by the door. He decided that he liked how Minjun’s head only reach up to his chest. It was perfect.

“Thank you for understanding, Jun-hyung. See you tomorrow,” he whispered, and then he was gone.

“So?” Chansung asked, trying to sound disinterested but actually shouting impatiently in his head.

“So what?” came the exasperating reply.

“Just tell us, Minjun-ah. We’re all gonna know by tomorrow anyway. Or maybe I’ll even know by tonight if he decides to call me,” Nickhun pointed out.

“Fine,” Minjun sighed, nothing could be kept secret in their group anyway. “Basically, he said I haven’t been giving him much attention. Instead I pushed him to the sidelines and only interact with him for work. Which I agree, I guess. My time spent with him are always so serious, like discussing stuff regarding the group and so on.”

“And?” Chansung pushed.

“And so, he’d like it if I treat him more as a brother instead of a co-worker. He said I should depend on him more too and that’s not in terms of delegating work but like if I was feeling down and needed comfort, you know?” Minjun added, his cheeks heating up for no apparent reason.

“That’s it?” Nickhun asked, just to be sure.

“Yeah.” Minjun confirmed, nodding.

“But did he say “brother” though? That word came from his mouth?” He still could not believe what he was hearing.

“Well, not exactly, but I think that’s what he meant.”

Chansung face-palmed himself and laid back on the couch, totally giving up on his two hyungs. Nickhun, however, still had some hope left.

“What about you then?” he asked, imaginarily crossing his fingers.

Minjun’s heart protested but his mind agreed. Usually, His heart preceded his head, but in a move uncharacteristic of him, he decided to go with what his mind was telling him. So, he said,” I think it’s nice.”

“Ookaaayy,” Nickhun stretched the word as he pushed himself off from the couch, “how anti-climactic. Let’s go Chansung-ah.”

Chansung looked at him in confusion.

“I came here in Taecyeon’s car. But since the jerk left me behind, I need you to drive me back.”

They made their goodbyes with Minjun and warned him about missing dinner as he followed them to the door. While walking towards the car, Chansung voiced out, “it’s not over, is it hyung?”

“Far from it,” Nickhun grumbled, reminding himself to knock Taecyeon’s head the next time he met him.

“Thick-headed hyungs,” Chansung complained as he got behind the wheel.

Nickhun could not help but agree.

Fuh! That was a whole lot of melodrama! :P Hope I didn't bore you with it.

Actually, I was not planning on writing till my exam ends. But I got spurred on by your comments here and on my instagram. Also, I realised it's a little cruel to leave you all to simmer with the cliffhanger from the previous chapter for the next two weeks. Don't want any of you to die from curiosity or frustration now, do I? hahahahaha! Then there'd be no one to read my stories ._. But since this chapter is unplannned and rushed, I didnt have any time to look for pictures. Sorry for that. And sorry too if the flow is weird or if the scenes seemed rushed. I don't really have time to edit and one day is too short for inspiration. I had to change some parts of my original story since I did not have time to do my ' research'.

Also, for those who don't know, I forgot to mention that chapter 6's radio show conversation is totally real.

And don't worry if the 'talk' here did not go as how you wanted, this is not the end! Stay tune for next two weeks! (I at trailers too. hahahahah!)

EunM15 : I got motivated by your comments so here it is! The next update won't be up for the next two weeks though :(

funzzz : I hope their conversation did not disappoint you too much. Both Minjun and Taecyeon are babos. So they are just dancing around in circles and not getting to the point. I'm writing this story, but I'm frustrated too >..< so please don't shoot me. Haha!

peuleya : It's my way of thanking you for your support!! <3 You can follow my instagram for more taeckay hehehe (totally not advertising :P )