Taehyun liked Sundays.

Before, as in before WIN, before they were Winner or Team A or anything concrete at all, Sunday had always seemed like just another day. Get up, shower, eat, practice, practice, practice, sleep and repeat. There wasn’t anything to set that particular day apart from the rest of the week. Days bled into weeks, then months. One long stretch of grey, meaningless time.

But not anymore.

Now, Winner gets Sundays off. Taehyun remembered being surprised when Seung Yoon gave them the news. For the first time, he could feel an actual change, something to set before and after apart.

So, he liked Sundays.

It was now mid-winter. The coldest time of the year. Winner had been travelling to and fro Japan for more than a month now. A routine of sorts had been established. When they were in Japan, they got to go places and have fun; doing things they never did before like visit hot springs and hold their own Winter Olympics. At home, life was divided between work and sleep, the studio and the dorm.

Except on Sundays.

On Sundays, Taehyun could do whatever he wanted.

This particular morning Taehyun woke up happy. It was rare for him to be like this for no particular reason; most of the time Taehyun’s mood ranged from neutral to worried to mildly excited. But today when Taehyun opened his eyes, he felt genuinely content. He wasn’t obsessing over a song, or a dance or a melody he couldn’t get right, He wasn’t thinking about the last time Winner performed and the notes he had wavered on.

He was happy.

Throwing off the covers, Taehyun grabbed his clothes. It didn’t take him long to get dressed and to be out the door; heading towards his favorite coffee shop down the street. The winter morning felt crisp and bright. The first rays of sun was reflecting of the snow and the air felt cool against Taehyun’s skin. As usual, he had a cap pulled low over his eyes and shades on. But today there was no one around to see him and Taehyun felt more light-hearted than ever.

The coffee place always opened early, thank goodness and Taehyun was able to get his regular order of … right away. The coffee shop’s wood-panel walls and soft music made gave it a relaxing aura. Only one table was occupied, but it was Taehyun’s favorite spot; right at the back of the shop where it was always warm and cozy. Taehyun felt mild annoyance mar his cheerfulness … until he saw who it was.

“Hyung?”

“Taehyunnie?”

Taehyun wasn’t very surprised to see Jinwoo there. The older boy had often come here with him. Taehyun liked Jinwoo’s company. He didn’t need to fill the silence with words but Jinwoo was willing to talk if Taehyun was willing to listen. And sometimes, Taehyun wanted to talk and then Jinwoo would give Taehyun his undivided attention.

“You never went home?” Taehyun noted that Jinwoo was still in the clothes he had on yesterday and his deer-like eyes were clouded over with exhaustion. Jinwoo just smiled and nodded, which was his default reaction when any of the members asked their hyung things like this.

Taehyun had always worried about Jinwoo. The older boy was so hard on himself; pushing himself to breaking point day after day, relentless picking at his own flaws and working to improve them. Jinwoo single-minded focus on practicing till he was perfect often meant he forgot other simple, but vital things - like sleep, for instance.

While Taehyun wished Jinwoo would give himself a break once in a while, he admired his hyung. Taehyun wanted Jinwoo’s ability to look at himself and know what needed to be improved. Taehyun couldn’t do that. He admitted that, to some extent, he was completely blind to his own flaws.

Taehyun took the seat opposite Jinwoo, wrapping his hands around his cup as he sipped at his coffee. The warmth from the drink spilled out to his hands, which were cold – he had forgotten to wear gloves. Taehyun found himself watching Jinwoo again, taking in the slightly furrowed brow and clear eyes. The older boy had his favorite gray hoodie wrapped around him like a second skin, which Taehyun was used to. Honestly, Taehyun always found it rather odd if Jinwoo wasn’t wearing one of his hoodies.

“What are you thinking about, hyung?” Taehyun asked softly. Jinwoo raised his eyebrows slightly at Taehyun’s sudden question. Smiling, Jinwoo put his cup down on the table carefully.

“Nothing much.” The older boy’s reply was equally soft. “Just about the album, and work. Normal things.”

Taehyun nodded. That was pretty much all the five of them could think about lately. Hesitating slightly, Taehyun asked his hyung again.

“Are you worried?”

Jinwoo looked at Taehyun quizzically. “About what, exactly?”

“The debut. The music. Us. Whether everything will turn out … okay.”

Jinwoo thought about it for a while. Taehyun wondered if Jinwoo would share his sentiments. For weeks now, Taehyun had been driving himself crazy obsessing over thousands of possible what-if’s.

What if their album doesn’t sell well? What if they didn’t meet everyone’s expectations? What if he made a mistake during one of their live performances? What if he slips up during interviews?

What if?

“Well … “ Jinwoo paused slightly, as though he wasn’t exactly sure how to put his thoughts to words. “Think of it this way. Do you remember how it was like before? And during the first few months of the show? When we were always worried about what would sajangnim think? And how would our music be compared to the other team?”

Taehyun nodded slowly, trying to see where his hyung was coming from.

“Remember how we only started doing well when we let go of all that? When we made music that showed who we truly were, instead of what we had been trying to be all along? When we gave performances that reflected us, our music and our style?”

Taehyun nodded again. Jinwoo leaned towards him slightly, a smile tugging his lips.

“Do you remember what was the result of all that?”

As if Taehyun could forget. He still woke up in the middle of the night and mentally replayed the scene over and over again, hardly daring to believe that all of this was real. That it was happening, right now.

“So .. I think if we keep doing what we love, and pour all of our passion and hard work into it, nothing can go wrong.”

Taehyun leaned back in his chair. Jinwoo’s words hit the nail right on the head.

“Thanks, hyung.” Taehyun watched as Jinwoo waved away his gratitude with a wave and an ‘oh it was nothing’ as he always did.

But it wasn’t nothing. It meant a lot to Taehyun. At times like this, when he was prone to get all tangled in his own thoughts, Jinwoo’s simple words felt like a breath of fresh air. Things weren’t as complicated as he was making them seem, Taehyun realized. He didn’t need to obsess over what everyone would think, what they would say and how they would react because it simply didn’t matter.

The morning slipped past, rays of light sliding through the windows of the coffee shop. Jinwoo and Taehyun stayed there a long time, simply being with each other.

Everything had never seemed more simple.