omg guys look at how Hoya is just watching Dongwoo i can't

It takes a nurse to shake his shoulder before Dongwoo realises that he’s been sitting on the chair for longer than an hour. He doesn’t have any real chores, or errands to do today so when he is jolted back into reality, Dongwoo only reassures the nurse that he’s fine and makes his way out of the hospital. 

Sunggyu was such a nice person when they’d gotten together. Dongwoo had been working part- time as a receptionist at Sunggyu’s company and the first time they’d met, Dongwoo had accidentally drizzled water all over Sunggyu and his tailored suit while watering the little potted plant by the reception. But instead of getting angry like Dongwoo had anticipated, he had just laughed it off and told him to continue taking care of the plant. 

Their next few meetings were on purpose: Sunggyu coming down to linger a little at the reception to talk to Dongwoo, or the latter going out of his way to take things up from the reception to Sunggyu personally. It wasn’t very long before one of them gathered up the guts to ask the other one out. It was Sunggyu, who asked Dongwoo out first. 

They had gotten together a month before Dongwoo’s birthday and had become official on his birthday. They also shared their first kiss on the same day. 

Now that he thought about it, Dongwoo’s birthday was fast approaching. It was already autumn and soon winter would take over, which signalled the nearing of his birthday. Last year, Dongwoo had spent his birthday with Sunggyu, in bed all day and then they had eaten cake for lunch and then Sunggyu had tried to make dinner. Dongwoo began tearing up again as he thought about it. They really were the perfect couple. 

There were a lot of couples around him, some probably visiting a patient and there were a handful of pregnant mothers with their husbands. It made Dongwoo feel a little sad. He didn’t regret filing for the divorce, at least he didn’t think so, but right now he wished he still had Sunggyu to go home to, even if he wasn’t always there. He wanted to curl up into Sunggyu’s side and talk about his day, then have Sunggyu chuckle at a funny story then share some idle kisses. He missed it all. 

Dongwoo quickly wiped his tears away and continued to the main entrance. He was just about to push open the door when he heard his name. Turning to the voice, he felt his face break into a smile, hoping his eyes weren’t red.

“Nam- goon! What are you doing here?”

Woohyun grinned and slouched/ walked over. 

“Well hyung, you guys kept joking about me not being able to get any of the staff. You guys were wrong. Did you just remove your cast?”

Dongwoo nodded and laughed, he couldn’t believe that Woohyun had actually managed to charm someone with his grease. 

“It’s a relief to finally get it off. And I’m glad you got someone.”

Woohyun shrugged loosely, then paused.

“Dongwoo- hyung, have you been crying?”

Out of reflex, Dongwoo brought both hands up, balled the sleeves of his hoodie in his fists and dabbed at the corner of his eyes. He inspected the sleeves to find them dry. 

“No?”

He was lying straight through his teeth.

“You don’t have to lie, Howon told me you guys settled the divorce a couple days ago. How are you feeling?” 

Dongwoo dropped his shoulders and sighed. 

“I don’t really know, Woohyun. I feel a little sad, maybe a lot sad, but at the same time I’m relieved. But I’ve just. I’m starting to forget why I was relieved at all. Now I have to trudge home to an empty apartment and have no one to count on. I just feel a little… off- Sorry Nam- goon, I didn’t mean to burden you like this.” 

Woohyun almost immediately reacted to his words, jumping forward and enveloping Dongwoo into a huge hug.

“Aw, hyung, you don’t have to be sorry! I understand completely! But you’re wrong, you know. You have Howon waiting for you at your apartment, he told he was going to get you lunch. And you can always count on me, or Howon, or Sungjong, even Yeol and Myungsoo.”

Dongwoo smiled as they stepped apart. 

“Thanks, Woohyun, I appreciate it. I’ll see you around, okay?” 

Woohyun nodded and waved as Dongwoo pushed through the doors and headed to the bus stop. 

Howon really was waiting for Dongwoo as he got home. Unlocking the door, the first thing Dongwoo noticed was the smell of freshly ground pepper roaming around the whole apartment. He had to admit, it was a nice break from the smell of scented coffee and orange candles. 

He slipped off his shoes and headed to the kitchen, seeing Howon’s bulky frame in an apron almost immediately. He was using a knife and pressing it down flat on something. 

“Howon?”

The knife almost flew out of his hands and the younger set it down turned around. 

“Dongwoo, you scared me!”

Dongwoo giggled and walked further into the kitchen, standing by Howon’s side as he realised Howon was crushing pepper corns under the blade of the knife. 

“You’re cooking?”

“Just some simple soup noodles, I hope you like it a little spicy.”

Dongwoo just smiled and slung an arm around Howon’s shoulder, pulling him close and giving him a one- armed hug. 

“Thanks, Howon. I’m gonna take a shower now.”

Howon watched Dongwoo leave to his bedroom. Picking up his phone he had slipped into his apron when he had heard the front door open, he unlocked it and redialled the last number. 

“Woohyun. You were right, he was crying.” 

“I knew it. I asked him but he didn’t really give me a direct answer.”

“What are you doing at the hospital anyways?” 

“Just hanging around, meeting more potential lovers.” 

Howon rolled his eyes and hung up. He had been preparing everything when Woohyun had called and told him that he’d just ran into Dongwoo and that his favourite hyung had been crying and that Howon had better make him feel better. 

By the time Dongwoo was dressed, Howon was already ladling out the soup into bowls, letting the noodles get a little softer before adding them in. He brought both bowls to the table as Dongwoo took a seat and grinned up at Howon. 

Clearing his throat and hoping his heart would stop being so erratic just from a smile, Howon sat down next to Dongwoo.

“How was your trip to the hospital?” 

“Eh, standard issue. I got treated by the same nurse that put the cast on.”

Howon made a noise of acknowledgment. Of course Dongwoo wouldn’t mention that he’d been crying. But Howon really wanted to know why he’d been crying. It was the only way to make him feel better, if not, he’d just be treating everything but the wound. He sighed. 

“Howon?”

Dongwoo dropped his spoon into his bowl and balanced his chopsticks on the top of his bowl. 

“Are you okay? That was a really big sigh.”

Howon grinned. Even if Dongwoo didn’t love him like he loved Sunggyu- yet-, it was nice to see Dongwoo worrying about him.

“I’m fine, Dongwoo. Just worrying about some things.”

“Tell me what you’re worrying about, I don’t mind listening, you know that.” 

Of course Howon knew that, even though during most of the time they’d known each other Dongwoo had been the one to lean on Howon, he was always there even for the littlest things. 

“Well, you could start telling me about some of the things troubling you now… then maybe I’ll tell you mine.”

It wasn’t the cleanest way to get the truth out of Dongwoo, but it was all for Dongwoo anyways. He wanted to know what was wrong, so he could help him and hug him until he didn’t feel like crying anymore. Because even though the elder was eating, he still looked distant and his eyes were glassy. More than once he wished he could kiss away all of Dongwoo’s worries. 

“Ah, you’re so sneaky, Howon. You must be spending too much time with Sungyeol.”

Howon simply shrugged and continued to gaze intently at Dongwoo expectantly.

“Well, I guess there’s no way out of this. You know I’ve been wanting to refurbish the kitchen for a while now, there is some serious mould in some places but I’m afraid my mom’ll come after me. Did you know she did design this whole thing before we even moved in? It’s your turn now.”

This made Howon smile. Dongwoo was starting off light. It didn’t matter, if Dongwoo wanted to play this game, Howon would gladly oblige. 

“No, I didn’t know. Why don’t you just call her first and tell her your plans? Well, since you so nicely obliged, here’s what’s bothering me: I think Sungyeol and Myungsoo are going through some problems and you know I always try to sit on the fence, I don’t want to take sides, I mean, they’re both my friends, right? But everyone knows Myungsoo’s at fault, so what do you think I should do?”

The corner of Dongwoo’s lip tugged upwards and Howon could tell that he was fighting a smile. Dongwoo had caught onto Howon’s return game. Hopefully Dongwoo would tell him what was really bothering him soon. 

“Mm, I heard about this from Sungyeol. I think maybe we should just let them deal with it themselves, we don’t want to get caught up in the crossfires, we all know how the two of them fight.”

Howon waited for Dongwoo to continue talking but the older only smiled at him slightly, picking at his noodles with his chopsticks. 

“Okay, Dongwoo, I know something really major’s bothering you. I can tell you’ve been crying. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Dongwoo really did want to tell Howon about it all. About how confused lately he’s been about his own feelings and he knew Howon would never judge him. He was just worried. What if Howon got annoyed at how Dongwoo still had feelings for Sunggyu? Even if they were just a smidgen, they were there and he almost hated himself for it. So, no, he needed to sort himself out first. He needed to figure out what was wrong with him before he said anything to Howon. Besides, it was time Howon stopped worrying about him. 

“Stop worrying about me, Howon. You need to start worrying about yourself, okay? Go out more, stop hanging out here so much. Meet more friends outside of Woohyun and Sungyeol and Myungsoo and even me.”

Howon smiled at Dongwoo’s suggestion but just shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m happy where I am.” 

The two of them continued to stare at each other before Dongwoo looked away, casting his eyes back down to his bowl of noodles. 

“Your noodles are going to get cold.”

Needless to say, Dongwoo’s students were ecstatic the moment he stepped through the door. Not only were they glad he was back but they were also glad that they didn’t occasionally have to be supervised by Howon anymore. Howon was scary, and unlike Dongwoo, didn’t allow them any time whatsoever for any chit chat.

Dongwoo went over everything he covered last, then perfected each student’s move until everything was moving like a well- oiled machine. He thanked them for practicing while he was absent- it was pretty amazing, especially because he wouldn’t necessarily describe his students as hardworking- because he didn’t know Howon had supervised his classes. And Howon made them keep their mouths shut about it, too. 

It felt good to be working again, when Dongwoo was waiting for his wrist to heal, he only had Howon as his almost- everyday companion and occasionally Woohyun- who didn’t seem to have a day job. He did call Sungyeol and Myungsoo and his parents every other day too, but seeing people again felt better than he thought it would. He would have gone crazy if he was stuck with only Howon forever, even though he loved Howon. 

The next day, it was Tuesday and Dongwoo decided to show up for Howon’s class. He wanted to see Sungyeol, Myungsoo and Woohyun. And he always liked to watch Howon teach his students with such dedication, almost like how he took care of Dongwoo when he was sick. Maybe it made him a little jealous to see him treat others the same way he treated Dongwoo but the thought left as soon as it came.

Dongwoo was practicing a move by himself as Howon made his rounds around the classroom. Sungyeol and Myungsoo were goofing off, having given up learning the moderately hard dance move. Dongwoo would teach them, but like when he first attended Howon’s class, he knew he wasn’t the teacher, Howon was. So he just watched with his eyebrows raised in amusement as Sungyeol created completely new dance moves that Myungsoo tried to mimic- Myungsoo really did kind of have two left feet-, before failing completely. It would only end in a fit of laughter between the two and a haste kiss, though.

“Those two are such idiots, no wonder they’re together.” 

Dongwoo stopped watching them and turned to face Woohyun, who had turned around and was watching Sungyeol and Myungsoo. 

“Yeah, but they’re like… our idiots.” 

Woohyun chuckled, before he stepped over and pushed the couple over, causing them to trip over their long legs and tumble to the floor. Woohyun snickered as he stepped back and Howon reached the back of the class.

“Guys, what the hell.” 

Sungyeol shot to his feet immediately, dragging his boyfriend along with him.

“Sorry, hyung! Woohyun- hyung pushed us down! We were practicing, honest! Weren’t we, Dongwoo- hyung?”

The eldest of the group could only nod with a wide grin on his face. They were such bad liars. Myungsoo was giggling the whole time and Howon rolled his eyes before he got serious and asked them to repeat what they’d learn. 

It had been a tiring day and for the first time, the 5 of them decided to go out for dinner together. They rounded the corner to some restaurant that exclusively sold noodles- clear soup, chicken, pork, beef broth (and some other animals), and loads more. Apparently it was where Myungsoo and Sungyeol had their first date. 

Dongwoo took the seat next to Howon, listening to his friends increase the average volume of the restaurant by at least 15%. Sungyeol was busy pointing at the table where their first date had taken place and Dongwoo tried to ignore the looks of irritation the waiters and waitresses shot them. 

“God, they’re so noisy. How do we get them to stop?”

Howon sounded embarrassed but Dongwoo knew he wasn’t. As much as Howon sometimes liked to pass off as the distant ice prince, it never worked out very well if you knew him. 

“If you can’t fight them, join them.”

A sound of agreement came from Howon before he stretched and rested an arm on the back of Dongwoo’s chair. 

Woohyun wanted to face palm himself. Howon was being so obvious, he wondered just how oblivious Dongwoo could get. Howon was pretending to be casual, letting his hand rest over Dongwoo’s chair but he knew it was because there was a group of girls just behind them who’d been eyeing the older dancer all night. Unfortunately, nobody had eyes for Woohyun. This made him frown. 

“Aw, Woohyun, why the long face?”

“There are some cute girls behind us but all they’re interested in is you, not me.”

His voice sounded so sad Dongwoo felt like walking out so that the girls could move their attention to Woohyun. The girls wouldn’t look anywhere else because Sungyeol and Myungsoo were so obviously a couple that a blind person could tell and Howon had the iciest vibe ever. But he didn’t. Instead he just laughed, Woohyun was probably joking, nobody would look twice at Dongwoo if Woohyun or Howon was there, even with the icy vibe. 

“Don’t kid around so much Woohyun, it’s bad for your reputation.” 

“Hyung, what are you talking about? Those girls are so obviously into you, they’re drooling.”

Howon spoke up as Dongwoo rolled his eyes.

“Nam- grease is right, the girls are totally drooling over you. You do realise you’re still in your dance attire and you have the brightest smile in this room, right?”

Now, it was Woohyun’s turn to roll his eyes. Did they act like this behind closed doors too? 

“Hey! That’s Nam- grease- hyung to you!”

All of it only made Dongwoo laugh loudly, his hand moving to playfully slap Howon’s side.

Even if Dongwoo thought Howon and Woohyun was joking, Howon knew it was true. Dongwoo was still dressed in his grey muscle shirt- unfortunately, not only did it show off his toned arms, but also parts of his toned chest and collarbones- and his hair was tousled perfectly from the sweat and movement. Plus, his smile was bright and kind.

In short, he was perfect.