Hyesung hyung is pretty strange, Andy thinks.

Right now Hyesung’s right in the middle of trying to wrestle away from Eric, his face pulled into an expression of outrage and disgust, and Andy finds it strange because Eric’s barely done anything that might come off as offensive to the main vocalist.

Maybe it isn’t actually strange and he’s missing something, but Andy just finds the two an odd pair.

But they’re amusing nonetheless.

So Andy sits back, smiles and enjoys the show because it’s funny. It’s funny with the way Hyesung hyung flies off into a rampage while Eric hyung runs away and hides behind a confused Junjin hyung. It’s funny—their whole dynamic is funny. Andy remembers a time when the oil and water pair really were awkward and how harshly Hyesung would retaliate to Eric’s slightest actions (those times Andy would look at them and thought: “Are they going to be okay?”), but now most of the awkwardness is staged and they’re the best of friends. Save for the few times Hyesung hyung really is angry at Eric hyung, they really are on great terms.

“Andy-yah, save me!”

Andy doesn’t see the point in doing that, so he ignores Eric’s plea in favor of chatting with Minwoo and Dongwan. Eric hyung needs to solve his own problems, Andy thinks. But he doesn’t think Eric would yank him and use him as a human shield against the red-faced (whatever it is, Hyesung hyung looks really angry about it) Hyesung.

“Eric, that’s cheating!” Hyesung points an accusing finger at the man cowering behind him.

Eric hyung sticks out his tongue, and it’s really a wonder how childish they all actually are despite their age. “There’re no rules, so I’m not breaking any.”

Andy thinks it’s a good time for him to weasel his way out of Eric hyung’s grip, because Hyesung hyung looks about ready to taekwondo kick Eric to outer space (injured knee be damned), but Eric hyung’s strong and all the wiggling and thrashing he does only makes Eric clamp down harder. Hyesung hyung’s right. It is cheating. There’s no way Hyesung hyung would harm an innocent bystander in his rage against Eric.

 Junjin restrains Hyesung by the arms, and it gives Andy ample time to pinch Eric’s side and flee while the older man retaliates from the surprise.

“Andy, why?!”

“You’re dead, Mun!”

And thus begins their cat and mouse game anew as Andy finds refuge in Minwoo, who wraps his arms around him and gives him a loud smooch on his cheek. Andy giggles from the safety of Minwoo’s arms as Hyesung shouts crass words at the fleeing Eric. Junjin looks on, confused and a little lost on whether or not he should submit Eric to his fate, and Dongwan? Dongwan’s enjoying the show by the way his loud guffaws ring out in the practice room.

It isn’t until later, when the thought occurs to him once more, that he approaches Eric about it. Not Hyesung, Hyesung has a talent of avoiding answering questions by spewing excuses after excuses until no one remembers the original question. Eric, though, will be more honest with Andy. And Andy, though he would never admit it out loud, looks up to Eric the most. And why wouldn’t he? Eric practically took him under his wing.

So he approaches Eric, as the older man is tying his shoelaces, and asks, “Do you think Hyesung hyung is weird?”

Eric stops what he’s doing and looks Andy dead in the eye. When Eric seems to sense that no, Andy is not joking, he stands up and clears his throat.

“What brought this on?”

Andy shrugs, “Nothing. I just, I don’t know, thought about it and now it won’t stop bothering me.”

Eric chews on his lower lip. He looks torn between answering with a joke and answering seriously. So he settles, it seems, with a joke that makes Andy’s lips curl into a smile.

“And you haven’t noticed that after all these years?” Eric whizzes around after, looking left and right to make sure Hyesung is in no way hearing their conversation before continuing on. “But really, he’s just as weird as you and me.”

Andy scoffs. “I like to think that I’m saner than the likes of you.”

“Why you little—Urgh, seriously though, I don’t know what you’re seeing in him, but Pilgyo’s not all that strange.”

“Hmm,” Andy says, following after Eric as soon as the older man finishes tying his laces and walks out of the practice room, “It’s just your interactions with him. I mean, even I find it sort of odd sometimes. He really gets angry at the smallest things with you.”

Eric laughs and it’s a jovial laugh that brings laughter bubbling forth inside Andy as well. Eric pats him in the back as they make their way down the hallway. “Well, maybe you don’t know our dearest Hyesungie as well as I do.”

Andy stops in his tracks and watches Eric. Eric either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care that Andy isn’t following by his side anymore, and continues on, his back a retreating figure in Andy’s peripheral vision. He mulls over the statement (“Well, maybe you don’t know our dearest Hyesungie as well as I do.”) before shrugging his shoulders in nonchalant defeat.

“Yeah, well, maybe I don’t.”

And so, he yells a ‘wait up!’ and runs after Eric.

A/N: Still far away from falling in love. But don't worry folks, we're taking this one step at a time. No matter how long it takes. Also, I have something about this story that I'm thinking about but hmm...I'll wait until I have more subscribers to reveal what it is or else it's not very fair.