Hyung

/ hee-ung / noun. a word used by Korean males to address another male older than them who they are close to. Hyung literally means “older brother”.

Example: Hanbin’s done calling ‘hyung’ when he can just call him Hao.

Hanbin has a lot of 'hyungs'. People he knew growing up, extended family members, his friends and senior dancers from the time he was active, other mentors he got to know along the way that helped him on his journey. 

It’s a form of address when he felt close enough with them.

With Hao, however, it felt too distant.

He’s tried it before - Hao hyung, Hao ge. It was fine when they started to get closer; it was easy getting close to Hao with his friendliness and smile that draws you in, with his encouragement that always came at the right time when he needed motivation. The little hugs and tietie and dancing fingers that grazed each other unintentionally (and eventually, intentionally) when they sat too close. 

But now, it wasn’t enough. 

Zhang Hao doesn’t seem to mind too much about formalities. He could do with blending in, calling Jiwoong hyung, accepting the same formality when others called him hyung as well. All the lessons in Yuehua had taught him the importance of managing this social construct where seniority mattered. 

And Hanbin, well, Hanbin is cute when he called him hyung, or ge. It’s the way his tone of voice would rise and fall in a gentle manner, lifting his