(2395 words)

Woohyun is forever thankful to his hyung. Despite the two years and the different century they're born in, generation gap some would call it, he had always been able to get along with Sunggyu hyung.

His hyung had been unreasonable countless of times, not to forget his naggy attitude which pisses everyone off. But they don’t deny his orders, because he is their hyung. Even when he nags at them all to clear the smelly rubbish in the rubbish chute, even if he orders them to do the housework, even if he himself doesn't keep his room spick and span, they still do as he says.

After all, he is still their hyung.

Sometimes he thinks to himself. That this is the best leader Infinite has been gifted with. A leader who puts others before he himself. And he won’t even mind if he is ordered by their Sunggyu hyung to end his life. His hyung had done and sacrificed so much for them.

Remember the pre-debut times when they were simply practising for almost the whole day and honestly he wanted to give up. Woollim wasn't any famous entertainment like SM and he wasn't even sure if they would be able to debut. But Sunggyu hyung gave them hope that one day, their CEO will be satisfied with their performance and announce their debut.

And he was right. Barely months after that very thought and years of tiresome trainings they were enduring, they were finally debuting. At that moment it was like a dream come true, he had managed to touch the tip of the star in the universe. One touch that was long enough to linger in his mind.

One day, he promised himself, he'll fulfil his dream of grabbing a star from the universe.

And he leaped, one giant step forward, when they won their first win with Be Mine. This time not only was he able to grab it, he had it in his hands for a few seconds. But moments like this doesn't last, before he knew it, it had slipped, out of his grasp; he had no control over it. And that determinant look replaced the lost and confused in his eyes again. Next time he was going to hold on to it forever, and never let go.

There are many more times like this. When the maknae was so tired he was on the verge of collapsing, their hyung and leader proposed to their CEO for a break. Even though it was just a short break to jeju, it brought back the colours in their faces and they were ready to continue their never-ending journey.

Some incidents made him extremely proud of their hyung. When they did not perform well, it was a norm to see the CEO appearing in their dorm and giving them a lecture which would often end with silence and guilt on their part. But ever since their first comeback, their CEO had abandoned the plan of scolding them. Initially he thought they were doing well, even if they weren't, maybe the CEO realises that they will know their mistakes and reflect upon it.

He thought.

That was until that fateful day he was asked to have a cup of tea in the CEO's office that it dawned on him who had been holding up the world for them. Even along the corridor, the shouts and voice were evident who it belonged to. And to his horror when the doorknob turned and their leader exited from the tiger's lair quietly, his heart sank upon realising what had happened all along.

He had wondered all along as well, how they were able to move dorms so frequently lately. It wasn't long before they got a new dorm and showcased it on JTBC Birth of a Family. But recently after the The Chaser comeback, their dorm had upgraded itself to one of the most expensive flat units in the city. He thought maybe their CEO was earning huge bucks which made him like this but no. Another fateful day, he chanced upon the signed agreement between his hyung and their CEO. My, how the envelope was teasing him to open it.

And he wished he hadn’t.

The contents revealed that if Infinite was to secure seven wins in this comeback, they were entitled to a new dorm. However if they failed to, Sunggyu would have to have his salary cut by half for 5 months. And with that Woohyun got brought back to the times before the comeback where his hyung was constantly in an angsty mood. He had scolded them whenever they made a mistake during their choreography practice. It was as if he was on a period and was in an extremely bad mood, except that he wasn’t a woman. That was when he realises how much he respects his hyung for his efforts and he decides that he will lighten his hyung's burden together.

And it came to him that they had exactly seven wins that comeback. Exactly.

And that was how he ended up waiting for his hyung before going to sleep, always. Despite the fact that Sunggyu hyung will come back in the wee hours of the day when everyone would be sleeping, he still stayed up to wait. He decided that, it would have been a nice feeling to have someone waiting for you. It gives one the feeling of home. Yes that's the exact feeling he had been having all these while. It felt exactly like home with Infinite, or rather, in Sunggyu hyung's embrace.

There’s so many things, he decided, that he would like to do for his hyung. Just days ago, they were onstage after a performance had ended; he had seen Sunggyu hyung standing by himself, rather lonely he must add. And so he went towards him and snake his arm around his waist and whispered to him, receiving much squeals from the fans. He swore he could hear the fans chanting ‘woogyu’, but maybe it was just his own mind playing tricks. Sunggyu had made eye contact with him and he could clearly see the gratitude in them.

All these improved their relationship by leaps and bounds. And Sunggyu seem to care for him more. As the leader it was his responsibility to take care of each and every of their well-being, everyone was treated equally. But he was sure Sunggyu took notice of him more than he did previously. He couldn’t count them all but there were the few special ones that he’ll remember for life.

There was once when he was feeling so, so miserable that he couldn’t do anything at all. He couldn’t remember what it was, but it was tearing him apart, slowly killing him. His manager had to cancel his entire schedule for him. He wished Sunggyu hyung could be with him all day but he knew it was impossible. Sunggyu hyung wasn’t responsible for him only; he had a whole team to look out for. It was the loneliest day he had ever had, crying till he fell asleep and waking up to cry all over again till he was exhausted. He had no idea how many cycles had repeated, he simply shut everyone out, even his manager, who was so helpless being in the dorm, yet he couldn’t do anything.

That was till he felt the bed sink and a weight settled itself on the bed. He could sense who it was. Being a roommate with him since debut, he would be a failure if he couldn’t recognise his hyung from a metre away. His hyung hadn’t talked at all; he simply held the miserable failure in his arms and rocked him to sleep. All of a sudden, he felt so safe again, and his mind could finally rest. He sighed in contend and fell asleep, in the safe embrace of his hyung, safe, embrace.

The next morning, he peeled open his eyes as he felt the sun piercing through his eyelid. The first thing that caught his eyes, beside the sun, was the arm that was on him. He looked up to see the leader asleep in an upright position, protective arms over his shoulders. His eyes widened at the sight of him sleeping while in a sitting position all night long. Guilt engulfed him, no doubt he was going to have neck ache the whole day.

He was glad they had no schedule that day so his hyung could sleep in and take a longer nap to let his neck get his well-deserved rest. Woohyun even volunteered to do all his housework for that day earning questions from the rest of the members. Even if they don’t know what Sunggyu hyung did for him, they know he must have sacrificed something such that Woohyun was even willing to do his most hated chore- washing the toilets.

There is so much more that he wishes he can do for Sunggyu hyung. Somehow he loves his relationship they share. It’s not that his hyung is biased towards him or whatsoever but he feels special in his hyung’s heart. Special.

At one point of time, he felt that he hadn’t understood his hyung well enough. Remember the scandal that Myungsoo got himself into while they were on their World Tour in Bangkok? Well everyone was on the edge that day they received the news. Some were appalled, others were shocked but Sunggyu hyung took it the worst, he was undeniably disturbed. But what could they do? They were after all, on their world tour and they had to continue, even if moments like this spoiled their mood.

He thought it would fine, for Sunggyu hyung had comforted and convinced everyone (and the guilt-ridden Myungsoo) they would do fine, they have to. They enjoyed themselves at the next concert as usual, until the night they were on their way to the airport and had stopped for a break at a nearby convenience store for some midnight snacks where he overheard some conversations.

“How was the concert? I’m so jealous you got to see them face to face!” One of them squealed as she anticipated her friend’s reply.

“How was Sunggyu oppa?” Came another timid question. Woohyun had to raise his eyes to take a clearer look at this person.

“He smiled, as usual and was cute. But his eyes looked so pained, so burdened, like there’s too many issues weighing down on him.”

And Woohyun thought he would never have heard such an observant and concerned fan in his life.

“Of course he would, this world tour and… the scandal…” Her voice trailed off but Woohyun felt like he’s been knocked in the head. He had forgotten the main problem his hyung was facing.

There are times when he feels that Sunggyu hyung has disappointed him. Just last week, he had collapsed from extreme fatigue after a concert in Japan, and he was hurriedly flown back to Korea to be hospitalised. Just before he was fully unconscious, Woohyun knew everyone was around him. He could hear shouts and screams, voices that aimed to reach him but failed. In the midst of all these, he hoped Sunggyu hyung had been there.

He was told, when he had awoken, that he was in a coma for six days, six days. The first moment he opened his eyes to the bright and white hospital room, his eyes fell onto the members by his bedside, but they closed in disappointment at not finding the one who was supposed to be there. After all, Sunggyu was supposed to be wherever he was at his weakest. Hyung you promised to be the first one I see whenever I open my eyes.

That resulted in a cold war between the two of them after the incident. Whenever Sunggyu tried to approach him, he would avoid his hyung at all cost. He ate breakfast before his hyung woke, he went to the gym and practice room to practise when his hyung was in the dorm, and he slept in the living room every night. The impact was deepened when he arrived back at dorm that day to see Sunggyu hyung sleeping in their bedroom. He stormed out of the dorm after that.

However the members tried to approach him on the topic, he would shut them off. There was simply no chance for explanations. Hoya soon got tired of seeing the unreasonable Woohyun and guilty Sunggyu. In his eyes, Woohyun was being too much.

“Hyung stop for a moment, I don’t care if you want to hear or not, but just listen I’m begging you.” Hoya cornered Woohyun one day while they were practising and Sunggyu was preparing for his solo comeback. Woohyun’s lips twitched but he said nothing. “It’s been a week hyung and it’s unreasonable, Sunggyu hyung wasn’t there because he didn’t want to, he couldn’t.”

Sometimes Woohyun thinks he’s the dumbest of all objects in the universe.

“Hyung had been there every day by your bed; he took care of you and refused to leave you alone. He said he promised, to hold on to your forever. But he couldn’t, and he collapsed, that very night you came back to us. It’s not always about you hyung, Sunggyu hyung has to look after himself too.” Hoya’s last sentence slapped him back to reality and he blames himself for being so ignorant. Can you open your eyes, and take a look at all the things our leader has done for you, hyung.

“Hyung…” he whispered to Sunggyu in the recording room. Sunggyu turned around in surprise at the voice he hadn’t heard for a week. “I’m sorry.” And he berates himself as Sunggyu hugs him and caress his face. He had to turn away from the dark eye bags on his hyung’s face. No, Sunggyu hyung hadn’t disappointed him, he had disappointed his hyung.

That night Woohyun rewrote his request to his hyung and showed it to him as they were preparing to sleep. “Can you wipe my tears, and kiss the pain away. Stitch up my scar, and seal me from loneliness. Promise me, that you’ll hold on forever, even when, I’m falling.”

“I promise Woohyun, I do.” And Woohyun smiled. This is his hyung, who puts everyone in front of him himself.

a/n: sorry I in writing haha.... and I didn't proofread sorry for mistakes (esp grammetical errors)