It was no secret that fans liked to fit members of groups into certain roles, especially ones akin to family. They weren’t entirely incorrect to do so- though he couldn’t speak for all groups, Dongmin could undoubtedly say that Astro was like a second family to him. Perhaps they didn’t have set ‘mom’ or ‘dad’ roles like the fans went crazy for, but there was an undeniable dynamic of brotherhood between all of them. 

That being said, when Bin had made their ‘DDOCA family’, it became a bit of a running gag in the group. They’d use it when they played around between practices. They’d especially had fun with it when they’d been practicing for their first mini-concert, when there was access to wigs for them to practice in and Jinwoo had shamelessly acted out his assigned mother role. 

More than just a means of play, though, the pretend family roles turned into a bit more. It wasn’t always easy for some of the members to come out and check up on the others. Dongmin knew that he himself was guilty a hundred times over of saying he was fine or that nothing was bothering him when he really should have said that he needed a break, just for a moment- and he also knew that doing so encouraged the awkwardness, but as hard as it was to ask after a member, sometimes it was as equally hard to answer honestly.

Perhaps the member that Dongmin had the most trouble connecting with on that level was Myungjun. It was, of course, possible for Myungjun to be serious- part of his happy virus image was, in fact, an image- but it was also a very real and very large part of his personality. It was of Dongmin’s opinion that it made it harder for him to ask more emotional questions. One had to listen a bit more carefully to Myungjun’s jokes and teasing to hear the undercurrent of care and concern that would run in them.

A day not long after Dongmin slept on the couch with Minhyuk, he didn’t have solo schedules. Instead, he stayed with the other members, working the day away in the company building. 

Hours later, as they were getting ready to head back to the dorm, Dongmin was resting against the mirrors of the entry room. He was tired to his very bones, but a good kind of tired- they had completed their dance, and it looked fantastic when they ran it. He was satisfied, and being satisfied let him tip his head back and close his eyes for a moment, listening to the voices of the other members as they banged around in their lockers, getting ready to leave. 

Suddenly there was a tap on his foot. “Excuse me, young man,” the person said, in a fake croak of a voice.

Smiling, Dongmin opened his eyes and looked up at Myungjun, who was hovering over him, shoulders rolled forward and hands on his hips. “Yes, grandfather?” Dongmin said, pulling himself up to sit a little straighter.

“Young man, have you been eating?” Myungjun continued, kicking Dongmin’s knee with his toe. 

“Yes, grandfather,” Dongmin said, a laugh working its way into his voice.

“And drinking water? And sleeping enough? You young people never sleep enough,” Myungjun said, flailing his arms in an over-exaggerated show of annoyance. 

Dongmin grinned more broadly. “I’m taking care of myself well, grandfather,” he said. The last part of his sentence got lost under the flow of the other member’s voices as Sanha noticed that Myungjun was playing and had started speaking in a shrill voice to be the sister. Minhyuk quickly joined him, announcing himself as the maknae loudly.

Pulling himself up off the ground, Dongmin grabbed Myungjun’s elbow. “Come on, grandfather, it’s time to go home,” he said, and laughed as Myungjun pulled his arm away, quickly going into a faux-rant about how he wasn’t that old yet, no sir, he could walk just fine, while at the same time shuffling forward at a snail’s pace.

Dongmin laughed louder than he had days.