“I’ll be the first to have my hair dyed, just watch.”

Jonghyun laughed, head thrown back with eyes twinkling and mouth opened wide to show off his pearly white teeth. Minki didn’t see what was so funny; he scoffed and sent the older a look, clearly unamused by the fact that he might have to change his looks. What was wrong with the way he looked now? Didn’t he look cute with dark hair? It was the way they hired him, right, why change?

Slurping up the last of his noodles, Jonghyun chuckled again, “We’ll all change our looks at least a little, Minki-ah, it goes hand in hand with being famous here.”

“I’m just saying.” The shorter dark-haired man muttered, picking his chopsticks back up before tucking into a dumpling.

A short silence filled the area around them except for the other boys chatting quietly off to the side and the grill as the owner worked it carefully. It was then he set down a dish of food in front of Jonghyun, something Minki didn’t recognize, but it smelled good.

“Yah, Kim Jonghyun, you’re still eating?!”

Again Jonghyun laughed, setting aside his bowl of empty noodles, it wasn’t that big in actuality but Minki never really ate much to begin with. “This is the first thing I’ve eaten all day.” The older boy looked down at the food as Minki’s eyes unconsciously softened as his words, “Now that they’ve told me I’m leader they’re really pressuring me, I’ve got to do well.”

For all that laughter and those gorgeous smiles, Minki realized Jonghyun was nervous. Why would he have been thinking anything different? Jonghyun was human; of course he was just as worried as the rest of them. How was their debut going to go? Would people like them? Would they be able to perform at all or were people going to disregard them entirely with just a glance? It was why they’d escaped the dorm tonight and found themselves there in the first place; Minki was almost a bit embarrassed he hadn’t realized it sooner.

Here he’d been all night, complaining about his hair when in total Jonghyun had much more pressure on him. As leader their failure—if it happened—would fall on his shoulders, people would talk about the kid who couldn’t handle a group, who wouldn’t deserve a place because he couldn’t keep up; no matter how amazing his skills at rapping were.

“Jonghyun-hyung…”

The older looked at him, chopsticks still in his mouth before he beamed; the smile so bright his eyes crinkled at the corners. For someone with so much stress he smiled so beautifully, a smile and encouragement for everyone and anyone who needed it; even if Jonghyun needed it most.

“Let’s take a picture together.”

Slipping his phone out of his pocket, Minki raised it in front of the two of them, carefully trying to work around the slippery pink case. He switched it to the front camera just as Jonghyun smiled again and leaned toward him, the apples of his cheeks pressed against Minki’s temple.

The picture was taken with a quick snap and Minki pulled his phone down to get a good look at it. Jonghyun leaned in close, peering over his shoulder as the younger deemed it worthy of saving.

“Minki-ah.” Said boy snapped his head up; Jonghyun’s face just an inch above his, smile soft compared to his beaming ones from earlier. Cheeks flushing a bright red, he quickly bit his lip as the older spoke, “You’ll look pretty no matter what they do to you. In fact, if they give you a choice, I think you should go blond. You’ll stand out, and you deserve to, because you’re beautiful.”

By the end of the first sentence Minki’s entire face was a bright cherry red; Jonghyun smiled again and leaned back, turning to his food once again.

And days later, when he appeared away from the noonas creating their new images, Minki’s heart slammed hard against his ribcage as he spot Jonghyun with now two-toned hair. The older glanced up and smiled at him, Minki bit his lip and twirled a lock of his newly-blond hair gently.