Despite the cold shower he had taken, Woozi still found himself falling asleep in Bumzu's car as they drove to Daegu. It was a good 4 hours and Bumzu was nice enough not to disturb Woozi the entire ride, even going as far as to turning off the radio so that there would be no noise that could potentially ruin Woozi's well deserved nap. Only when they arrived on Seungcheol's driveway did Bumzu shake the young producer to wake him up. It took a few seconds but eventually Woozi yawned and stretched his sore limbs before climbing out of the car. He heard Bumzu talking to him about something, but in his sleepy mind he barely processed anything, literally dragging his feet towards the front door and ringing the doorbell twice. 

The poor guy was so tired that he even fell asleep standing up during the few seconds that it took for Seungcheol's mother to open the door and when she saw his disheveled appearance, she immediately dragged him inside without saying a word and made him sit down on the couch. Knowing just how hard an idol's life could be, having seen her own son in a very similar state more times than she'd like to admit, she insisted that Woozi take one of the rooms to sleep in for a couple of hours but Woozi was adamant on getting his job done. He did however, ask for the strongest cup of coffee she could make and with a laugh she went straight to the kitchen to do just that. Bumzu just laughed and joined Seungcheol's mother in the kitchen while Woozi tried to get himself more away by slapping his cheeks. And that was when Seungcheol had come down, having heard the noise from his bedroom, and he couldn't help but to chuckle seeing Woozi so sleepy.

"Didn't get much sleep last night?" The leader asked, already knowing the answer.

"Did you know that producing songs can be a huge pain in the sometimes? I mean making songs is my passion and all but there are times when it makes me want to stab my eyes out." Woozi complained.

"What happened?"

"Ugh....first some of the layering got messed up for one of the songs so I had to redo it and then I accidentally deleted an entire verse for another song and finally I had this really great idea for Hip Hop Unit's solo song but trying to figure out lyrics kept me up until sunrise and I still got nothing!" Woozi said angrily. "Luckily though, I have 3 songs completed and the title song is halfway done."

"Well, if you need help with Hip Hop Unit's song, you can always come to us. You know that we're more than happy to take some of the weight off of you and write down our own lyrics." Seungcheol offered.

"That's why I'm here dummy. I have work for you to do." Woozi said, wasting no time in reaching for the bag he'd brought with him and pulling out some sheets of paper.

Seungcheol looked them over and laughed, which only annoyed the grumpy Woozi.

"What?"

"Nothing it's just that....Yah! This looks like my high school entrance exam! 'Explain how you're supposed to feel in this part due to any stress or trauma from being on stage.' Even the writing portion for the entrance exam wasn't this hard!" Seungcheol joked and Woozi just shoved his side.

"Shut up. Vernon already has his parts written down and Wonwoo is slowly working through his. I have the demo on my computer so you can listen to the beat and try to get a feel of the song. I also need you to work another song that I've been thinking about for Hip Hop Unit."

"We get two songs for this album?" Seungcheol asked, perking up at the thought.

"Actually, I have 3 songs in mind for you guys but I might save one of them for our next full album. I'll have to ask Bumzu hyung what he thinks about all of this and then get it approved by the higher ups." Woozi said, going through some of the pages that he pulled out.

"Are they giving you a hard time?" Seungcheol asked carefully. He knows that their CEO had promised him that they'd lay off a bit but Seungcheol could never be too careful. If it turns out that the company was still mistreating s then Seungcheol would have to take further steps, no matter how risky they would be.

"Relax. They've actually been pretty lenient with me on deadlines. It's just me. You know how I like to be a perfectionist when it comes to my work and I just want to make sure that I'm making all the right moves. I really want this mini album to be a success."

"Hey...it will be." Seungcheol assured the younger. "We're all working really hard for this, you most of all. So there's no way this won't be a success. Just have faith in our group and our Carats....I have a feeling that this time we'll be taking home a lot of awards...that is, if I don't drag you all down." Seungcheol added the last part glumly. 

The last thing he wanted was to hinder the groups' success. But with his condition, he wasn't sure if his best would be good enough. Even though he had been putting his blood and sweat into pushing his recovery, he still had his doubts. Although he didn't get to linger in his thoughts for too long because Woozi had flicked his forehead.

"You're always giving me for being too hard on myself but what about you? You're not gonna drag anyone down Seungcheol. We believe in you."

"Thanks." Seungcheol said with a smile.

The two then sat in silence as they worked on lyrics, the only noise coming from the demo that Seungcheol had on repeat as he wrote.

Minutes later Seungcheol's mother had returned with the coffee that she had promised Woozi and the younger boy practically inhaled the drink and even asked for another glass. The woman just laughed and went back to the kitchen to grab another mug full of coffee, and even bringing back another glass full of orange juice for Seungcheol even though her son didn't ask. Apparently she just knew. Something about mother's intuition and all.

As the boys worked, Woozi eyed Seungcheol from his peripheral vision and when it looked like Seungcheol wasn't doing anything particularly productive, Woozi took the opportunity to ask about the situation with Jeonghan.

"So....You and Jeonghan." The younger started.

"What about Jeonghan?"

"Nothing...just noticed that you two don't spend as much time together."

"Yeah well...I guess we just need to be away from each other for a while."

"Why?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Seungcheol said stubbornly.

"Come on, you know you can tell me." Woozi urged on.

"No. It's his fault anyway."

"What's his fault?"

"Nothing! I said I don't wanna talk about it okay? Can you please respect that!" Seungcheol said before he realized his little outburst towards Woozi that was completely uncalled for. "Sorry...I just...I don't wanna think about Jeonghan right now."

"You do realize that you guys will be seeing a lot more of each other pretty soon right? It won't be good for promotions if you guys can't even be in the same room together." Woozi reminded him.

"Then I'll fake it. It won't be that hard." Seungcheol decided and Woozi wanted to hit him.

"You know that won-"

But Woozi was cut off when the front door opened and they saw Seunggil walk in from where they were seated in the living room. And as soon as both Woozi and Seungcheol caught sight of the older Choi brother, Woozi noticed how Seungcheol's jaw tightened and how the atmosphere became much more tense. Seunggil made an effort to greet Seungcheol but the younger brother barely returned the greeting before grabbing his stuff and heading towards the stairs. And just a few moments later, everyone heard a door slamming shut and it was no doubt that it was Seungcheol locking himself in his room. 

That was when Seunggil let out a heavy sigh and his mother gave him a sympathetic look. Seunggil then helped himself to a hot cup of coffee before taking a seat in the living room adjacent to where Woozi was seated. The two sat in silence for a while until Seunggil broke it.

"Hey...you're Seungcheol's best friend right?" The older Choi inquired.

"Yeah..." Woozi answered hesitantly.

"Then...And I know this may be a lot to ask but....could you find out why he hates me so much?"

"What do you mean? Seungcheol loves you. He always used to talk about how cool you were when you guys were kids."

"Yeah well now he seems to have a strong dislike towards me and I have no idea why. I've tried asking about it but he just ignores me. Do you think you could talk to him?"

"I can try but Seungcheol isn't in much of the sharing mood these days. Are you sure you have no idea why he could be mad at you?"

"Not a clue. Although I did notice a drastic change in his behavior towards me about a week or two ago. I've tried asking him about it but like I said...all I get is the silent treatment."

At the mention of the time frame, Woozi was brought back to the time when he and some of the other members had convinced Seungcheol to go out and confess to Jeonghan. The day that Jeonghan happened to go out for a walk with Seunggil. And all of the events that happened after that. Suddenly it all clicked and Woozi had a pretty good idea of what actually happened and why Seungcheol was so upset. 

His best friend was an idiot.

Woozi then assured Seunggil that he would talk to the younger Choi before heading up the stairs to do just that. The young producer didn't even bother to knock on the door before barging into Seungcheol's room, effectively grabbing the older's attention despite whatever he was working on.

"Yah! Didn't I ever teach you to knock on people's doors before entering? Just because we're not in the dorm doesn't mean the same rules don't apply." Seungcheol tried to scold but Woozi didn't even pay attention to it.

"Do you actually think Jeonghan and Seunggil are in a relationship?" Woozi asked without any hesitation. Seungcheol was obviously caught off guard by the question but it didn't take long for him to become defensive all over again.

"There's nothing to think about. I know it because I saw them with my own eyes."

"Saw what?"

"Them! I saw them in the park together! They were hugging and holding onto each other and god knows what else they were doing after I left! Do you know what a fool I felt like back then? I had even bought Jeonghan flowers and I was ready to tell him everything but in the end I was too late. God I'm such an idiot!" Seungcheol berated himself.

"You really think- Oh my god! Dude, you are not too late!" Woozi told him.

"How can you say that? You didn't see the way they were hugging! They were-"

"Because if Jeonghan was in a relationship with your older brother then why is he sitting inside our dorm sulking over you?!"

"...what?" Seungcheol asked, his eyes going wide. "He's sulking? ....but why?"

"Because you really hurt him with whatever you said to him that night. He said that you didn't even give him a chance to explain himself and he's been upset over you ever since."

"But-"

"But nothing! You jumped to a conclusion and then lashed out on him. You've been a complete and you know it!" Woozi yelled and he didn't give Seungcheol a chance to argue back. "Look, I know you've been stressed over what happened to you and it that you're in this situation. I also understand that sometimes it's hard for you to control your anger but damnit Seungcheol! You need to start trying harder or you're going to ruin our group! You can't keep letting your anger get the best of you or you're going to push everyone away from you just like you did with Jeonghan! That can't happen Seungcheol! You're our hyung and our leader and you need to start acting like one and get your together!"

"I am trying!"

"No you're not! You're acting like a baby!"

And Seungcheol's very mature response to Woozi's outburst was to throw one of his pillows across the room to show his frustration. He even punched his mattress a couple of times in a mini tantrum before running frustrated hands through his hair and taking in several deep breaths to calm himself down. All the while, Woozi remained silent and waited for Seungcheol to come back to himself. Woozi knew when that was when Seungcheol lifted his face out of his hands and he saw the older's eyes puffy with tears in them.

"What am I doing?" Seungcheol asked, sounding broken and Woozi didn't answer. He definitely had a snarky remark for the question but he figured that he had given his best friend enough of his harsh words. Now he needed to comfort Seungcheol and help him in any way that he could.

"Have I really pushed him away from me?" The older asked a few minutes later and Woozi just sighed before joining Seungcheol on the bed and placing a comforting hand on his back.

"No...not completely anyway. He's just upset over whatever you said to him. And by the grudge he's holding over you, I can tell that whatever you said wasn't pretty."

"I was a bit of an ." Seungcheol said with his head down.

"Finally! He gets it!" Woozi said, not helping Seungcheol at all but he couldn't miss the opportunity to rub it in one last time. "But hey, now that you know you were a complete , you can fix things between the two of you."

"But how? I'm sure he must hate me right now."

"Which is why you're gonna apologize!"

"Will he even listen to me?"

"He will if he hears it in a song." Woozi said with a smirk. "Remember that song I told you I was working on for Hip Hop Unit?" And Seungcheol just nodded, still not knowing where Woozi was going with all of this. "Well the mood of the song may just be about longing and apologizing to someone. I figured you're in the perfect position to write genuine lyrics about that....and if Jeonghan just happens to read those lyrics-"

"Woozi you're a genius!"

"Duh!" But Woozi didn't get to live in his glory for too long because soon Seungcheol was looking at him with a grin of his own. "What?"

"You wrote this song for us didn't you?"

"N-no! Don't be ridiculous! You know I don't care to get involved in whatever is going on between you and Jeonghan."

"Uh-huh. And yet so far you've been the most helpful one in trying to get us together. Come on, be honest. You did this for us." Seungcheol concluded and Woozi's silence was enough to confirm that it was true.

"No! I'm just doing my job as a producer and a song writer. I try to get inspiration from wherever I can and you idiots just happen to inspire a lot of what I write."

"So it is a song for us! Woozi! I had no idea you could be so romantic!" Seungcheol teased.

"Oh shut up and let's get to work! Those lyrics aren't going to write themselves!" Woozi said before he stormed back downstairs to get his stuff.

When Woozi came back into the room Seungcheol was still laughing and he threatened to smother the older with a pillow before they actually sat down and got to work.

 

 

Two days later Woozi had another all nighter because apparently he had a dream about a pinwheel somehow that inspired him to write an entire ballad for the Vocal Unit. It took him about a day to finish writing all of the lyrics and the following morning he had dragged the rest of the Vocal Unit members into the studio to try recording the song. 

They had to record it a couple of times over but eventually Woozi was pleased with everyone's parts and he spent another hour putting the final touches on everything while the other's sat in another room discussing the comeback. And while they were talking, a senior producer from Pledis had told the four vocal members that he had overheard the song as they were recording. The man had told them that it was one of the best ballads that he'd heard from Woozi and that it was something to save for their next full album. 

Excited by the compliment, Jeonghan wasted no time in re-entering Woozi's little recording room to pass on the kind words. And as expected, Woozi was pleased to hear the praise and then he had asked Jeonghan to sit in his seat and critique him as he went to record some back trackings for another song. Thinking that the request was weird, Jeonghan had offered to get someone like Dokyeom or Seungkwan who could give him actual feedback but Woozi had insisted that he was fit for the job. 

Not one to disobey the younger when he was in his producer mode, Jeonghan took a seat in Woozi's comfortable chair and listened to Woozi sing back ups. And just as usual, Woozi was flawless and Jeonghan had nothing bad to say. He dongsaeng was talented and that was that.

Woozi just smiled at that and then excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Jeonghan alone in the little recording room with all of Woozi's stuff.

Now Jeonghan wasn't one to snoop (yes he was) but he couldn't deny the curiosity that came over him when he saw a yellow pad left open to a page that appeared to be filled with lyrics for a song. He took a quick peek at the page and noticed that it wasn't a song that he recognized. Perhaps it was a song for another unit?

If that was the case then Jeonghan saw no harm in him reading what the others had so far. Maybe he could even give his input. 

Throughout the page there were scribbles and between repeated words there were little notes of who's parts would go where. The first verse would include Seungcheol and Wonwoo and then Mingyu would take over the chorus for the first third of the song....so it was a song for the Hip Hop Unit.

Jeonghan flipped through the pages, seeing where the other members had written in their parts, Wonwoo's always being deep in meaning and almost poetic while Vernon's seemed a little more strange to Jeonghan with Korean sentences blended with English words. Mingyu's parts seemed to be more straight forward but there was still a hint of poetry in there as Jeonghan read how he alluded the emotions to something else. And finally he got to the last page.

Seungcheol's page.

Jeonghan told himself that he didn't want to read anymore, that he was bored with it, but a bigger part of him refused to put the yellow writing pad down. So instead he found himself reading the lyrics, trying his best not to imagine that it was actually Seungcheol trying to speak to him. The song was basically a huge apology after all and there was a little bit of hope forming in Jeonghan's heart, wanting for Seungcheol's lyrics to be about him. 

But that would be too good to be true, he thought to himself. 

That is until he got to one particular verse on the page.

~ If we can walk this path together again I would never let go ~
~ I want to hold your heart hands and give you warmth ~
~ If I could hold your cheeks with warm hands ~
~ Would you be my angel smile again for me ~
~ I'm sorry ~
~ If we can, let's do ~

Angel. Seungcheol only used the term when talking to or about Jeonghan and even though the word was crossed, there was no doubt Jeonghan's mind that Seungcheol was thinking of him when he wrote down those words.

Seungcheol was apologizing to him. In a song.

And most importantly...he wanted to try a relationship....With him.

Him and Seungcheol....together.

Jeonghan suddenly found it harder to breathe. His heart was racing and a million things were running through his mind. Should he act on this? But what if he was wrong? What if these words weren't meant for him?

But who else would they be for?

No! They had to be for him. It was the only thing that made sense.

But then....how should he respond? Should he just forgive Seungcheol? Should he confess? 

Where do they go from here?

Jeonghan had to sit down for all of this. If his assumption was right then Seungcheol was most definitely trying to tell him the things that he's been waiting to hear. Seungcheol was putting everything on the line and he was probably waiting for Jeonghan to answer. The thought alone left a bittersweet feeling in his chest. It was heartwarming to know that Seungcheol felt these things for him, amazing to know that his feelings for the older were being reciprocated, but at the same time his heart hurt thinking about Seungcheol being frightened of rejection and paralyzed by anticipation. 

Jeonghan knew the feeling of longing for someone who you didn't think wanted you in the same way. Hell, he'd been going through that ever since he realized his feelings for Seungcheol all those months ago. It was a horrible feeling and it wasn't something he'd want anyone else to go through, especially not Seungcheol.

So Jeonghan made the decision to put an end to Seungcheol's misery. He would go down to Daegu as soon as he could just to reassure the big dummy that he had nothing to worry about. That he felt the same. And that he wanted the same thing.

A relationship.

Jeonghan looked at his phone and saw that it was probably too late to do anything at the moment. Seungcheol was probably at his Physical Therapists' place right now and he'd be much too tired to deal with anything when he returned. So Jeonghan decided that he would do it another day. He would have time to gather his thoughts, to prepare just the right words to say, and it would be perfect.

Suddenly feeling motivated, Jeonghan felt the need to share this with his best friend and rushed out of the little recording room in search of Joshua. On his way though, he bumped into into Woozi, almost knocking the younger over.

"Sorry Woozi!" Jeonghan apologized.

"In a rush?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I was just...well...I gotta go find Shua!" Jeonghan said in a haste. "Oh Woozi! By the way, you left your notepad on the table so I put it away for you! Anyway, bye! Don't overwork yourself, okay." Jeonghan said.

But just before Jeonghan could leave the building, he heard Woozi call out for him.

"Hyung!" The younger said with a knowing smile. "I hope things work out for you."

Jeonghan just smiled, finally realizing what Woozi had done. 

His dongsaeng could be real sneaky sometimes.

"Thanks." Jeonghan replied, feeling thankful for being in a group with so many wonderful members.

 

 

Seungcheol was in his room, fiddling with his fingers as he stared at the clock every 10 minutes. He had just made amends with his brother, being vague but apologizing for his childish behavior. They hugged and made up and now all he wanted was to do the same thing with Jeonghan. Woozi said it would take some time, days even, and even then there was no guarantee that Jeonghan would even read what he had written. But Seungcheol felt like this was his last shot before he completely ruined whatever he had shared with Jeonghan. 

If Jeonghan didn't forgive him then he didn't know what he would do. Jeonghan was someone who was very dear to Seungcheol and the thought of the younger never wanting to hang out with him like they used to hurt. It made Seungcheol feel lonely and he decided that that was the worst feeling. And Seungcheol would have no one to blame but himself if that ever happened.

He thought back to what he had said that horrible way, and if Seungcheol weren't so fragile in his current situation, he would definitely bang his head against a hard brick wall for being such a temperamental idiot. No matter what had happened, Jeonghan didn't deserve what Seungcheol had said to him...what Seungcheol had accused him of. Those words were unfair and untrue and Seungcheol came to the conclusion that he deserved whatever punishment Jeonghan decided to go with.

If that meant giving him the silent treatment from months on end, then Seungcheol would have no choice but to comply. 

Of course that didn't mean that Seungcheol wouldn't try his hardest to prevent such a thing from happening. Everyone knew that Jeonghan was one to hold onto his grudges if he felt justified, and with what Seungcheol had done, this grudge could last quite a while.

It was a scary thought and that was why Seungcheol poured his heart out into those lyrics. He had worked for hours with Woozi, brainstorming which words to put down and making sure that each of them were genuine. He was thankful that Woozi was there with him, his talented friend giving in the right input and being able to help Seungcheol transform his sorrow and regret into just the words and turning them into something beautiful. He had even told Seungcheol to leave the unedited version in tact so that Jeonghan would see exactly what was going through his mind and honestly, the idea was genius. Only Woozi would suggest such an amazing idea and would be willing to help Seungcheol in such a way and the older was eternally grateful to the small producer. 

The younger really had made this chance possible for Seungcheol and the leader had no idea how he would repay him. 

And now all Seungcheol had to do was wait.

He hoped with all his heart that things would turn out positive but that was the scary thing about putting your heart on the line like he was doing right now. It could go either way and Seungcheol just hoped that things would turn in his favor.

He wanted to experience the type of happiness that only Jeonghan could give him...and he wanted to make the other feel the same thing.

He wanted to put a smile on Jeonghan's beautiful face and keep it there for as long as he could.

But that would only happen when Jeonghan would let him.

IF Jeonghan would let him.

 

 

Mrs. Choi had told him that Seungcheol was out for his morning jog when Jeonghan had arrived. Apparently the older had gotten and new PT that specialized in helping athletes and performers to get back into their regular lives and the man had wasted no time in starting Seungcheol off with a new and slightly more vigorous routine. Seungcheol's mother had said that it was definitely taking a toll on her son but that he was pushing through no matter what. That concerned Jeonghan but at the same time he was happy to know that Seungcheol was working hard to come back to him. And whatever he needed, whether it be a hug or a shoulder to cry on, Jeonghan assured the woman that he and the other members would take care of her son when he returned to Seoul.

That lead to her becoming a bit emotional, hugging Jeonghan until he couldn't feel his ribs and calling him a beloved son that had "blessed her life." Jeonghan felt giddy with the compliment and joined the woman in the living room to chat as they waited for Seungcheol to return from his jog.

It took another 40 minutes for Jeonghan to return and when he did, he was beyond exhausted that he didn't even notice the two people sitting in the living room. He yelled a greeting to hit mother before heading straight to the kitchen, grabbing himself a glass of orange juice and a towel to wipe the sweat off of himself. It was only after all of that did he step into the living room and finally see who was there. Seungcheol immediately froze, certainly not expecting to see Jeonghan there, and his mother quickly picked up on the hint that the two band mates needed some time alone. With hope that the two would end up on better terms, Mrs. Choi hugged her son before she left the room, sending a warm smile Jeonghan's way before she was out of sight.

Jeonghan chuckled to himself at Mrs. Choi's little encouragement before settling his eyes on Seungcheol, who was still frozen to his spot.

The leader had no idea what Jeonghan was doing there, well he had a slight idea, and he didn't want to make a single move in fear of screwing up again. So for the first time, he let someone else take the lead. Going at Jeonghan's pace and trying hard to read in between the lines. Was he pissed? Had he read the lyrics? Was he forgiven?

These were the questions that ran through Seungcheol's mind, questions that he desperately wanted answers to. And when Jeonghan said nothing, Seungcheol panicked and was about to ask those very questions.

Only, he didn't have to. Because in the next moment, he was being hugged.

Jeonghan had wrapped his arms around him and held him so close, so gently that Seungcheol wanted to cry. But instead, he just wrapped his arms around Jeonghan's lower back, burying his face in the younger's neck. They stayed like that for a moment until Jeonghan pulled away. 

Seungcheol again panicked for a second until he figured that Jeonghan probably didn't appreciate his sweaty forehead in the crook of his neck. And so Seungcheol also pulled away in favor of staring at Jeonghan's beautiful face. A face that he had missed so much in the last couple of days and one that he swore he would see more of in the later days to come.

As the two just stared at each other, Jeonghan chuckled, causing Seungcheol to giggle too, finally have a reason to after all this time.

"Hey." Seungcheol whispered, not wanting to disturb the comfortable scene they'd created.

"Hi." Jeonghan replied.

"So...if I said I was sorry, would you forgive me?" Seungcheol asked hopefully.

"You tell me." Jeonghan said....

....and then

Jeonghan kissed him.

 

---

A/N: Heyyyyyyy! Tbh I'm surprised I even found time to write this chapter LOL (School is killing me >.<)

Anyway!!! What did you guys think about that last bit?? I feel like I kept you all waiting long enough LOL But! My jeongcheol bbys still need to talk some things over before they become official so you can look forward to that in the next chapter. But other than that, things should be smooth sailing for a while. Also, who else loves Woozi? Bc I do. A lot LOL 

But yeah, please make sure to leave a comment to let me know what you guys thought! And thank you all so much for reading and liking my stories! It really means a lot!

Seriously, thank you so much! And until next time! (which I'm not sure when that will be, but we'll see lol) bye guys!!