Youngjae hesitantly placed both his feet on the scale, squinting a bit to see where the slim, red arrow pointed to. Everything was a bit fuzzy since the thought of putting on his contacts completely slipped his mind this morning. As the scale steadied itself, beads of sweat rolled down his temple, soaking the platinum blonde hair already plastered to his forehead.

“I haven’t lost anything? But it’s been a week already...” the teen muttered, sighing in disappointment since he saw that he hadn’t lost as much weight as he hoped. He hadn’t lost any, if fact, and he was mentally scolding himself for not sticking to his diet well enough. He chewed worriedly on his bottom lip, eyebrows knitting together at the middle as he stepped off the scale. Eyes still on the device located at the far corner of the practice room, Youngjae shook his head in discontent. “Looks like I just have to keep it up.”

“Youngjae-hyung!”

“Ah!” the shorter blonde squeaked as a pair of long arms wrapped tightly around his waist. In his surprise, Youngjae completely forgot about his weight troubles and focused all of his attention on the curly-blonde who, quite literally, jumped out of nowhere. He placed a palm to his racing heart, the other hand holding the arm around his torso. “Junhong! I basically threw up my heart thanks to you!”

Junhong cracked a smile at the mirror, showing his amusement through their reflection. “Pft. Hyung. You sounded like such a girl,” his grin, however, turned into a grimace once he felt some of the sweat from Youngjae’s body rub on his bare arms. “If she was a sweaty pile of blonde hair and body odor. Ew, hyung. Go shower soon. You’ve been here since we left a couple hours ago.”

Youngjae huffed, clearly annoyed by the comment, and elbowed the younger in the stomach in an attempt to escape. He failed at first, but eventually, Youngjae’s fatal stomach blows became too much for Junhong to bear.

“I do not stink. Nor do I scream like a girl.”

“Do to.”

“Not.

“To. Don’t even deny it.” cheekily, Junhong grinned, retreating from the figure who looked like he was ready to cut off his balls. The taller blonde had his arms spread out and knees bent, ready to make a run for it, if necessary. Which it probably would be.

“Why you little-Come back here, you!” the two started a little chase in the spacious practice room, with Youngjae falling a little behind since Junhong had longer legs he used to his advantage.

Youngjae didn’t know how long they ran after each other, laughing without worries to bring their spirits down, but they grew tired and ended up collapsing like logs on the floor. Their chests rose up and down rapidly, the both of them still trying to regain their breaths from laughing and running so much. The elder blonde smiled happily, thankful for the momentary distraction to his worries. He took in another gulp of air, breath evening out as the seconds ticked on the clock.

“Thank you, Junhong,” the two blondes scooted closer together on the wooden floor, shoulders bumping into each other awkwardly because of the rather obvious height difference. The taller of the two shifted on his side to face Youngjae who was still staring blankly at the ceiling. Junhong threw an arm over the other, pulling him a little closer to where his face was half buried in Youngjae’s fluffy, blonde hair. “Hey, what’s wrong?” the elder asked, concerned at how Junhong was acting.

“I’m scared, hyung.” the boy mumbled into the blonde locks, hugging the elder a little tighter for comfort. Youngjae’s lips formed a circle as he let out a small ‘oh’. Guilt washed the older blonde as realization hit him. Knowing that he was part of the reason of Junhong’s distress caused another heavy weight to rest in his heart. He shifted his weight over to his side too, placing an arm over the maknae’s waist, rubbing small circles on the other’s back to calm him down.

“Yeah. Me too, Junhong,” Youngjae nodded a bit, his lips curving up in a crooked smile. “We’ll be okay, though. We’re going to make it.”

Junhong nodded back, smiling his cute dimpled smile and trusting the words of his hyung. After all, his Youngjae-hyung was a smart, good person who always did the right thing in the end. If he said that everything would be alright, then he would believe him. Junhong didn’t have a reason not to, anyway. Youngjae never once lied to him, and he was always there when Junhong needed him to be. Whether it had something to do with his algebra homework or about his feelings for a certain someone in the group, he knew he could count on Youngjae to be there. Honestly, the younger boy didn’t like bothering Himchan and Yongguk so much because he knew how stressed they were, so in the end, he would go to Youngjae. The older never minded, and Junhong was really grateful for that. Sure, Youngjae wasn’t perfect, nor was he a saint, but that was okay. Junhong didn’t expect him to be one, anyway. Youngjae was fine as he was, and that was enough for Junhong. Sometimes, though, he wished that Youngjae knew that being him was enough too.

They stayed like that for a bit, bright lights shining in their eyes, the silence enveloping them. Words weren’t needed for them to show how much they cared for each other. Even with the simple, one-handed hug, Youngjae knew how much Junhong cared and how scared he was, too. Though Junhong didn’t say anything more about the subject, Youngjae knew.

“We have to go soon, hyung.”

“Mm? Really?”

“Yeah. Manager-hyung said we had a schedule today.”

“Ok. Let’s go then?” nodding in agreement, Junhong pulled himself away, pushing off the ground to stand up. Youngjae rolled away, cheek resting on the cool ground.

“Last one out has to buy ice cream later!” the younger yelled out, dashing through the door like a hyperactive cheetah.

“Wait, what?!” scrambling to his feet, Youngjae stumbled to the door in frenzied pursuit. “Oi! Come back here!”

“Too late, hyung! You’re buying after the photoshoot!”


---


“Jongup? Hey, Jongup?”

The said walked out from another room, head popping up from behind the pile of multi-colored towels and bed sheets, tiny eyes meeting the taller blonde before him.

“Yes, Himchan-hyung?”

“Is your Daehyun-hyung awake yet?” Himchan asked while taking away some of the load off of Jongup’s cradling arms. Together, they walked through through the hall and took the third right, arriving at the designated location; the laundry room. The elder switched on the light with his free hand and plugged the black cord into the outlet to start up the machine.

“Nope. Not yet, hyung. He’s buried under his pile of blankets and by the looks of it, I don’t think he’s coming out anytime soon. I mean, he’s been in the same position since I woke up!” Jongup exclaimed, dumping the towels into the white washing machine along with the sheets. He stepped past Himchan to take the measuring cup from the shelf by the machine and turned to where the soap was located. With his thumb and index finger, he pressed the top and waited for the blue liquid to ooze out.

“Really? Okay, well, I’ll have a talk with him later. How about you, Jonguppie? Are you doing okay?” the elder leaning on the closest wall asked concernedly. Himchan waited for the younger male to shut the lid and finish up setting the buttons for the machine. Once he heard the familiar ‘beep’ of the rinse cycle, he rested his right hand on Jongup’s shoulder.

“I guess. Things are still a bit, well, bleh, you know. But, umm...I’m waiting for things to get better again. Maybe I just needed a good cry. Let everything out, you know? To answer your question, I do feel a whole lot better than before, that’s for sure,” the younger replied with the sweet smile Himchan missed so much. The ulzzang attacked the other with a hug, holding him close and spinning him around for good measure. When he let go, he ruffled the younger teen’s soft blonde hair, tapping him on the forehead with his pointer.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked once more, wanting to make sure that the younger was telling him the truth. The boy nodded again, a bigger smile gracing his face in the process.

“Mhm. Life has to go on, hyung. We can’t all be stuck in the same place now, can we? Besides, I decided this morning, along with Junhong, that I wanted to be everyone’s personal sunshine. And how can I be a personal sunshine when I have a colon and open parentheses for an expression?”

“That’s my boy. Things will definitely get better, so don’t worry about it, okay? Now, go wake up Daehyun and tell him that if he doesn’t wake up now, that I’m going to kick his out of bed.”

“Mhm. I’ll be back!”

Himchan sent him off with a smile, letting his back fall onto the wall so that he could lean on it again. He crossed his arms over his chest, a content sigh escaping his lips as the sun shone through the glass window in front of him.

The blonde ulzzang promised himself that he would protect them all. All five of them. Yongguk, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, and Junhong. He would do anything just to see them all truly happy again. However, this decision and choice for happiness wasn't his to make, and the best thing he could do was support them. He knew they still had a long way to go, but he also knew that doing little things and taking baby steps would help them reach their destination. He still didn’t know what destination they were headed to, and he didn’t know exactly what they were all searching for, but he hoped that if ever they did find it, that it would be a great one.

---

Daehyun clutched his head with his calloused hands, the throbbing pain refusing to go away. He kept still, knowing that if he moved any more than he had already, that he was just going  to make things worse for himself. He rubbed at his eyes with vigor, the faint brightness of the sun’s rays shining through his mass of cozy blankets. Throwing his weight to his side, Daehyun turned away from the faint light source and huddled more under the comfort of his blankets. Closing his eyes once more, Daehyun felt sleep wash over his being once again, making his body feel like lead. In his state of semi-consciousness, Daehyun didn’t register the creak of the door or the dip in the side of the bed.

“Hyung? Daehyunnie-hyung? Hyung?” Jongup nudged the pile of blankets with his finger, losing his hand in the process as the layers of bedding hid it. The younger blonde felt around in the blankets, eventually coming across a solid figure. “Aha...Hyung?”

A groan came from pile of sheets and Jongup decided that it was best to just shake the bed violently so that Daehyun would think that he was in the middle of an earthquake. The boy paused a second before shaking, his lips curving into a smile. The earthquake idea wasn’t so bad. Sure, Daehyun might kill him later for giving him a heart attack, but Jongup would rather deal with raging Daehyun that raging Himchan.

In no time, Jongup was shaking the figure and the figure’s bed as if his life depended on it. Well, it kind of did, in a way. Himchan was really scary when things didn't go his way. Jongup knew that much from first hand experience. Everyone in B.A.P did, actually.

“Hyung! Hyung! There’s an earthquake! We have to go now! Hyung!” the younger blonde faked a tone of panic. In a flash, the lump of blankets rose up and rolled out of bed, grabbing his hand along the way and dragging him out.

“Jongup! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Where’s Yongguk? Himchan? Are Junhong and-Wait, why isn’t the ground moving anymore?” Daehyun whipped his head around frantically, the maroon blanket falling off his blonde locks.

“I uh...Good...Afternoon?” Jongup grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck when Daehyun shot a glare in his direction.

“Did you just fake an earthquake to get me out of bed?” the elder’s voice was husky from waking up only seconds before, but it was laced with menace nonetheless.

“Well, Himchan-hyung said that he’d kick your if you didn’t wake up so...I decided to spare you from an -whooping?” Jongup prayed to God that Daehyun wouldn’t blow his top off and start screaming at him for ruining his beauty sleep and whatnot. It happened once before and let’s just say that Jongup couldn’t hear out of his right ear for a week after that incident. He squeezed his tiny eyes closed, pulling his hand away from Daehyun’s tightening grip in fear. “I’m sorry I woke you up but I had no choice.”

He braced himself for the string of curses, readying his mind and body for the lecture that would make-”You did good, Jonguppie. Nice one.”

Immediately, Jongup’s eyes flew open and he was greeted by the older blonde laughing.

“I-. I um...What?”

“I’ll go change, okay? Tell Himchan-hyung that I’ll be there soon.”

Jongup watched Daehyun’s retreating figure, breathing a sigh of relief. He couldn’t help but laugh and smile too, though, after seeing his hyung laughing just seconds ago. Jongup was glad to have seen the other teen laugh heartily. It had been a while since he last saw Daehyun crack a real smile in front of him, and, to be frank, he really missed it.

It was then that Jongup realized that some things had to be taken away for you to realize how special it was to you in the first place.

Oh wow. Another update, huh? I hope you guys enjoyed the fail angst-to-somewhatfluff transformation from the last chapter? LOL. Okay, brb...I have to pee. Oh, and....*throws cookies at you all* bloopbloops-unnie, we'll go for ice cream in a bit, okay? Whoever else wants to come along can come. My treat~ LET ME LUVS U ALL~ ^-^ BTW, would you guys immediately know it was me if I ended something with 'Me Outtie'? (Useless author is useless. I don't even know why you guys deal with me. I love you all.)

Me Outtie~