Revelations
Where I Belong
“Junhyung, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Drawn from his thoughts about the previous day’s filming, Junhyung looked up at his leader. At the concern he saw there, he nodded and started to get up from his position against the wall.
“No, no. I’ll sit.” Doojoon sank down next to him and drew his legs up so he could rest his elbows on them.
For a few minutes, there was nothing but silence between the two. In front of them, Hyunseung and Yoseob went over choreography with Dongwoon while Kikwang practiced singing off to the side. It was one of few times when the members could see a true, if still somewhat tentative, smile from their “resident kitty”, as Kikwang and Yoseob had taken to calling him. Much to Hyunseung’s displeasure, of course.
Doojoon smiled to himself as he watched the trio practice, the two older boys standing off to either side while the maknae would dance. They’d let him finish, then go over whatever he’d been struggling with, and the three would practice together before starting all over again. Any time Dongwoon successfully made it through, they would see it - that rare, genuinely pleased smile from Hyunseung. Dongwoon seemed to bask in it every time, and never seemed uncomfortable by the intensity of his hyungs’ gazes while he practiced. Then again, Yoseob had a er in his mouth the entire time…
While waiting for Doojoon to speak, Junhyung watched the trio as well. His pleasure in watching them practice was not on as conscious a level as their leader’s, but it was still there. The normally stoic expression softened into one of mild amusement and approval, lips quirked up at the corners. If Yoseob hadn’t started jumping up and down with Dongwoon when they nailed a complex part of the choreography, he probably would have continued staring without pause. The sudden excitement made him tear his gaze from the trio and turn his eyes onto the boy next to him. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Huh? Oh…” Doojoon shifted, retaining a dazed look for a second or two before he managed to bring himself out of the reverie that came from watching Yoseob play. He cleared his throat and looked at Junhyung. “You’ve been awfully nice to Seungie.”
“I thought that’s what band members do.” Junhyung said dryly.
“I’m not complaining, I was just curious where it’s coming from.” Doojoon said quietly, making sure to keep his voice low enough that there would be no chance to be overheard. “You’ve been quite public with it and I want to make sure this isn’t going to… Well, I don’t want either of you hurt. Let’s put it that way.”
Junhyung lofted a brow at him. “Would you prefer I stop?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Because if you want, I can leave him alone. Of course, I’ll have to find a way to keep him out of my bed at night, but-”
“Junhyung, cut it out!” Doojoon snapped, the words coming out on a faint hiss against the loud antics of Yoseob and Dongwoon.
Sighing, Junhyung leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes inevitably following Hyunseung as the dancer tried to escape Yoseob’s happy chasing. “I don’t have an answer for you, Doojoon.”
Hyunseung let out an undignified “yah!” as Yoseob caught him around the waist and swung him around, but soon succumbed to laughter. Junhyung smirked as his eyes continued to follow them.
“All I know is that the image of his terror won’t leave my mind. When I close my eyes, I see that face… and I remember my own fear when I saw that light cord snap. I didn’t even think about it,” he sighed as the smirk drained away, leaving a surprisingly vulnerable expression on the rapper’s face. “I just.. ran for him. And that look… Before he fainted, when he saw me… I could swear he looked…”
“Relieved?” Doojoon asked softly, staring at him with an intent but knowing expression on his features. As Junhyung nodded jerkily, he followed his gaze to where Hyunseung was laughing, trying to get Yoseob to let him go while Dongwoon danced crazily in front of them. “He probably was..”
Junhyung rested his elbows on his knees in a mirror image of Doojoon, but his hands were clasped together, toying with one of his rings in a classic gesture of stress. “I don’t ever want to see that again… that look of pure fear. Not on him.”
“He’s not made of glass, Junnie…”
“No, but he still has a delicacy to him,” Junhyung responded firmly, frowning as an increasingly familiar expression of tiredness flitted over the dancer’s face. “He’s been soldiering through it the last couple of days, but he’s exhausted and I know his head still hurts. He’s nervous about being underneath some of the lights in the studio, too. I noticed it yesterday.”
Doojoon frowned at him, his gaze taking on a new intensity for a moment as he realized just how much their rapper really paid attention to Hyunseung. Far more than they had given him credit for so far, that was sure. “How did he sleep last night?”
Distracted by the trio’s playing starting up again, Junhyung answered without thinking. “He tossed and turned for awhile until I got him in bed with me. He’s like that most nights.”
“…I see.” Doojoon didn’t say anything more after that, letting the subject drop for awhile. There was no doubt in his mind, though... Junhyung was falling for Hyunseung, and he was falling hard.
He wasn't against it. He'd be pretty hypocritical if he was, all things considered... Still, it did worry him. Hyunseung had always been skittish, especially around Junhyung. At the same time, he seemed to place a high value on the rapper's opinions, worrying whether he liked him or not and always so determined not to bother him with anything. The more he thought about the things he'd noticed, the more Doojoon was certain that Junhyung wanted to be bothered.
By Hyunseung, at least...
Sighing, he got to his feet and walked toward the trio still goofing around in the middle of the practice room. Hooking an arm around Yoseob's waist, he effectively stopped the smaller boy in his tracks, much to Yoseob's chagrin. "Okay, time to practice together. Just because we're not promoting on the music shows right now doesn't mean we don't need to keep our group choreography running smoothly."
"You make us sound like a ship." Hyunseung remarked, earning a snort from Kikwang while Dongwoon tried to keep a straight face.
Junhyung grinned from just behind the dancer, eyes glinting at Doojoon when the leader would have grumbled about making jokes. "Nah. We're a car. Foreign. Sleek..."
"Beastly!" Yoseob finished with a quick bounce against Doojoon's side. He grinned up at their leader and in seconds Doojoon was smiling, unable to resist the infectiousness of Yoseob's smile.
He sighed and squeezed his waist. "Yeah Seobie... Beastly."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Short chapter, sorry!
Possible fluff coming up soon!
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