Changkyun stands with the others in the airport, an obnoxious crew if you've ever seen one. The youngest had tried to tell Minhyuk Hyungwon didn't want anything extravagant, but, then again, subtlety has never been Minhyuk's strong suit.  

So, here they are, taking up more space than they should with neon Mylar balloons and a sign so big they all have to help and hold it covered in nothing but glitter, tinsel, and more neon. They've been standing here for at least ten minutes, looking like absolute idiots, because Minhyuk had insisted on coming early.  

"People are staring..." Hoseok mumbles sheepishly under his breath, shuffling on his feet. He shifts his hold on the sign to use it to hide his face, as it's begun to blush with embarrassment. Changkyun smiles fondly, this being one of his favorite sides of his boyfriend. 

"It'll be okay, Hoseok-ah," Hyunwoo assures him, giving him a kind smile for support. "Hyungwonnie will be here soon." 

"He's late," Minhyuk grumbles, tapping an impatient foot. "You should be here early for boarding, everyone knows that. Entitled little—" 

"There he is!" Changkyun cries, rocking back and forth on his heels excitedly as a familiar head of red hair suddenly appears through the crowd. Hyungwon's looking down at his phone, earbuds in and paying absolutely no attention to his surroundings. He almost walks right passed the group. If it weren't for him glancing up absently at the exact moment he'd needed to, Minhyuk would've taken the sign from the others and flung it at his head. 

"Oh..." he mutters, his eyes growing wide as he locks his phone and puts it into his pocket. It seems to take the boy a moment to process what he sees, but, when he does, a genuine smile breaks out over his features, and a light chuckle escapes him. "Wow. I told Kkungie nothing dramatic..." 

"This isn't dramatic, brat," Minhyuk tells him, a smirk coming to him as he steps forward to hug the younger tightly. "I could've added, like, way more glitter." Hyungwon laughs again, dropping his grip on his rolling suitcase to hug the older back. Minhyuk pulls away after a moment, lightly hitting Hyungwon across his chest. "You better come back, Wonnie, and not leave me with these scrubs." He glances over his shoulder quickly, as if as an afterthought, shooting Hyunwoo a wink. "Excluding you, of course~" Hyunwoo puffs up his chest proudly at this, and Jooheon can't help but roll his eyes at the interaction. 

"Wouldn't dream of it," Hyungwon assures him, his eyes shining. Changkyun slips out suddenly from behind the sign, unable to hold himself back any longer as he throws himself at Hyungwon, wrapping his arms tightly around the older's waist and burying his face in his shirt. 

"Be safe, hyung," he requests, his voice muffled by the fabric. Hyungwon's heart constricts at this, feeling a wetness begin to leak through his shirt that's most surely the younger's tears. Hyungwon hugs him as tightly as he can, his eyes falling shut as he tries to control his own emotions. 

"Don't worry about me, Kkungie," he tells him jokingly. "It's me who should be worrying about you, having to stay back and take care of all these losers." Changkyun chuckles thickly, pulling away and wiping at his face. The others gently put down the sign and come forward, each offering him a word of encouragement and a heartfelt hug. 

Jooheon willingly takes the last place in line, chewing on his lower lip anxiously. It feels wrong somehow for him to be here. Which is stupid, of course, because he and Hyungwon have gotten to be really good friends this year, and of course he's got to be here to say goodbye to a really good friend. He'd do it for Hyunwoo or Kyunnie, Minhyuk... He'd even do it for Hoseok. So, why does it feel like he's intruding on a private moment he very much does not belong in? 

You've been waiting for this day for years! a forbidden voice suddenly rings through his ears. Send this on his merry way! He's broken Kihyun apart, and now you can pick up the pieces. You should actually thank him... 

"Jooheonney," Hyungwon suddenly says, shaking Jooheon from his thoughts. He physically jolts, his eyes growing in a panic. Had Hyungwon heard him? No, that's impossible... The older glides forward, leans down, and hugs him tight. Jooheon draws in a surprised breath, chuckling anxiously as he pats the boy's back. "Take care of Kihyunnie for me, please." 

Jooheon's small eyes grow twenty times in size at the request. A light blush creeps its way up his cheeks as he thinks of just how much he'd love to take care of Kihyun in Hyungwon's absence... a thought he immediately admonishes himself for. 

"S-Sure, hyung," Jooheon replies thickly. Hyungwon sighs into his ear, clearly relieved, and pulls back. A brave smile is set on the handsome boy's features, and Jooheon's guilt grows tenfold. He glances around to see if any of the others had heard the exchange, but they're all completely oblivious. 

"So, no...?" Hyungwon pauses, unable to say the name of the one person he'd wanted to see—no offense to the others—though they all understand what he's asking.  

"He um... said to make sure you have a safe flight, if that's any better," Hoseok sheepishly offers, trying to give the boy an encouraging smile. Hyungwon's smile falters for a moment, as if that hurt more than anything else could've, and he only shrugs in acknowledgment before grabbing for his bags. 

"I'll text you guys when I land," he tells them, his voice harder than before. "Now, I've gotta go before I miss my flight. Thank you all for coming... It really did mean a lot." He gives them all one last grin, and then stalks off without even waiting for a response. 

"We love you, hyung!!" Changkyun shouts after him, waving wildly. Hyungwon hums at him, holding up a hand without turning back around.  

They remain long enough to watch him go through security, and then he disappears round the corner without so much as a glance. Changkyun groans loudly, clinging to Hoseok. 

"This is so stupid," he cries, hiding his face in the older's shirt. "Why can't they just talk it out? Why does he have to leave?" 

"Now you get on my side??" Minhyuk demands, sounding much angrier than he'd intended. Both Hoseok and Changkyun flinch at his tone, and Minhyuk has to smile at them to set them at ease. "What's done is done, there's nothing else we can do. Come on, all this grief made me hungry. Let's go get something to eat." 

"I think I'm just going to go home," Jooheon interjects as the others immediately move to comply with the older's words. They all turn to him, varying looks of confusion pointed at him. "I'm not all that hungry... In fact, all this sadness is great song-writing fuel, eheh..." He chuckles awkwardly, feeling Minhyuk's skeptical glare boring into his soul. 

"... Alright, your loss," Minhyuk finally relents with a shrug. He then turns towards the restaurants surrounding them, announcing with a gallant tone how much he's been dying for a hamburger steak. Hyunwoo chuckles warmly, having to quicken his pace to follow. Hoseok and Changkyun hold back a few paces before starting after them, tightly holding each other's hands as if the other could fly away at any second. 

Jooheon releases a long sigh, relieved the others had believed him, and makes his way towards the exit. Luckily, he doesn't have to fight his way through a huge crowd, and he finds the car still running right where he'd left it. He slides into the passenger's seat, sighing again as he buckles his seat belt. 

"He get off okay?" Kihyun asks thickly, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Jooheon hums, nodding, as he isn't too sure just how much detail to give. Kihyun nods once, as if the answer is suffice, and checks their surroundings before pulling away from the parking spot. Jooheon hesitates to add this, but feels it may help Kihyun... though in what way he isn't quite sure. 

"He asked about you," he adds softly, noticing how Kihyun grows rigid in his seat. His lips purse, and the bags under his eyes seem to grow five times deeper in a matter of seconds. Jooheon  his lips nervously, unsure if he should give more. "Um, hyung, I'm sure it wouldn't have been bad if you'd have come. Maybe try sending him a text or something? I don't think he'd mind." 

"I can't right now," Kihyun tells him grimly after a moment of tense silence. "I can't see him, I can't talk to him... I can't even think about him for too long. He wanted space, so I'll give it to him." Jooheon nods quickly, as Kihyun's typically-strong voice has begun to crack and he doesn't want to put too much strain on his hyung. Kihyun nods again, breathing in and out slowly. "Now, are you hungry? We can get some food or something." 

"Absolutely starving," Jooheon agrees a bit too fast, earning a light chuckle from the older.  

Jooheon tells himself he says this because he doesn't want to leave Kihyun alone, not because of a stupid crush, but because he's trying to be a good friend. He's trying to take care of the older, just as Hyungwon had wanted. He's just trying to be supportive, to keep everyone happy... 

That's all.