Minseok curls his fingers around the cup of coffee in front of him, twisting the cardboard sleeve as a smile tugs at his lips. These moments are always his favorite. Tucked away in a quiet corner and conversing in low murmurs, he feels his anxieties subside, giving way to something he could only describe as contentment. Under the warm lighting and sleepy atmosphere, Minseok thinks he could listen to Luhan chatter on forever. 

But it's Jongdae who is speaking, and it's Jongdae who reaches over and taps Minseok's knee to get his attention. Minseok blinks once, twice, focusing on the person in front of him. Jongdae has a funny look on his face, but it disappears as soon as they make eye contact. 

"Tired, hyung?" He makes an excuse for Minseok, flashing a sympathetic smile. 

"Yeah," he breathes out, "A little. Thanks for coming with me again." 

Jongdae shakes his head as they stand up, moving quietly towards the exit. 

"It's no problem."

He leaves the café without a drink, but Minseok still has his fingers curled tightly around his now empty cup of coffee as he follows Jongdae out the door, careful not to let its nonexistent contents spill over. 

A pair of arms sneak up behind him, wrapping themselves around him in a snug hold. Minseok feels a head drop onto his shoulders and a smile press against his jacket, and he knows who it is even before turning around. Twisting in Luhan's strong grip, a half-shout, half-laugh escapes him as he pries apart the fingers locked around his waist.

"Lu--!"

The arms holding him tightly suddenly loosen, and Minseok spins around with a grin showing his teeth, coming face to face with Yixing. He looks down at Minseok with a smile frozen on his face, arms hanging at his sides. 

"Ah, you pronounced my name wrong," he says, making up an excuse for Minseok. "It's Lay, got it?" He pretends to fake his wounded expression, pulling Minseok into a real hug this time, tighter than before.

Minseok's reply gets lost in the folds of Yixing's clothes as he's pressed against his chest.

Quietly, Minseok pulls two mugs and a container of ground coffee beans from the cabinet, setting them down next to the coffee maker. He grabs the pitcher sitting next to the sink and runs some water as quickly as possible, not wanting to wake the other members. Soon enough, coffee is dripping into the pot, and he leans against the counter, absentmindedly arranging the two mugs. 

He hears Luhan shuffle into the kitchen and cracks a tired smile. The aroma must've woken him up. 

"You're up early," he comments, eyes still glued to the coffee machine. 

"Good morning, hyung," Kyungsoo mumbles. 

Minseok turns around and is greeted with a pair of sleepy doe eyes--not the ones he's used to, but ones that are good to see anyways. His face must've held a confused expression, though, because Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow at him, question marks swimming behind his eyes. 

"Thought you were someone else," he explains sheepishly, the hiss of the coffee machine filling the kitchen as Kyungsoo simply nods. 

Minseok grabs one of the mugs and pours some water for Kyungsoo, patting his bedhead. He doesn't bother asking if he wants any coffee, because he knows none of the other members enjoys the taste. But he's made enough for two people, and so he resigns himself to two cups of coffee this morning.

The roar of the crowd is deafening, and Minseok wanders aimlessly around the stage, waving into the darkness and making heart signs with his hands, sweat-soaked outfit sticking to him like a second skin. He does a silly dance, and the noise coming from fans spike as Luhan bounds over to join him, both of them crashing into each other's arms. 

Minseok's breathless laugh is drowned out by cheers, and he looks up into Jongin's smiling eyes and a grin so radiant it would put the sun to shame. Jongin mouths something at him, and even though Minseok doesn't quite catch what he says, he raises his right arm reflexively as Jongin brings his left arm over their heads, making a lopsided heart. 

"You're too tall!" Minseok yells, showing his gums as he gets up on his tiptoes. 

They stay like that for a few seconds before Jongin waves goodbye into the crowd and slips his hand into Minseok's, running to join the other members as they make their exit, laughing the entire way there. 

Minseok looks up at the ride looming over them, shoulders knocking against Luhan's. 

"It's not that tall," he offers, even though he has to tilt his head back quite far to be able to see the entire ride. 

"I will die if I go on that," comes the reply in a voice that's a bit shrill, and Minseok loops his arm together with Baekhyun's, dragging both of them to the waiting line.

"Byun Baekhyun, you are a drama queen," he declares, not unkindly, as Baekhyun struggles against his efforts to get them both onto the ride. He runs his mouth the entire time they are in line, constantly trying to duck under the rope and escape, but Minseok's grip on his arm is too strong. Once they're locked into the seats, Baekhyun immediately latches onto the safety bar and proceeds to scream his head off as the ride begins, earning a laugh from Minseok. 

The wind bites at Minseok's face, and he feels tears beginning to prick at his eyes as he screams with Baekhyun, throwing his hands in the air. Somewhere along the ride, his screams turn into hysteric giggles and he turns his head to look at Baekhyun's terrified face. 

"Hyung! You're crying!" Baekhyun screeches, looking worried and scared at the same time. Minseok grins, letting out a whoop as the ride flips them upside down.

"So are you!" He hollers back, and promptly tunes out as Baekyun begins lamenting his eye makeup in between screams.

The airport is crowded when they land, as usual. Minseok is sleepy, and Luhan takes his hand, leading him through the sea of people, one part eager to be off the plane and one part eager to be back in Korea. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Minseok quickens his pace and matches his stride. 

Chanyeol looks down as Minseok falls into place next to him and grins beneath his facemask, releasing his hand to sling an arm onto the shorter's shoulder. Minseok hums, smiling behind his own facemask, and loops his arm around Chanyeol's waist. The taller boy takes out an earbud and nudges his shoulder, holding it out towards him. Minseok nods and Chanyeol tries to put it in his ear, but it falls out and eventually Minseok just does it himself. 

A pop-rock song from America he's never heard before plays in his ear, and he scoots closer to Chanyeol so the earbud doesn't get pulled out. 

"Do you know what they're saying?" 

"Not really," Chanyeol shrugs. "But it sounds good, doesn't it?"

Minseok nods in agreement, and Chanyeol looks at him happily, squeezing his shoulder. 

Minseok flips through the racks of clothing, trying to find something suitable to wear to the next fansign. Luhan browses the racks behind him, occasionally bouncing outfit ideas back and forth between the two of them. 

"What about these?" 

Minseok turns around to be faced with two denim jackets. Luhan holds them up, covering his face, and Minseok can tell he's grinning behind the clothing. 

"Denim?"

"Yeah! We can bring it back, you know. Plus, they're sort of matching, but it's subtle..." He trails off at the end, lowering the jackets to look at Minseok. "What do you think?"

Minseok stares into Junmyeon's hopeful smile and grabs a jacket from his hands, taking a good look at it. 

"We could make it work," he decides, and Junmyeon's face lights up. He takes the jacket back from Minseok and digs into his back pocket for his wallet. 

"Great! I'll buy," he says, sprinting towards checkout. 

Minseok chases after him, his own wallet in hand, a smile on his face. 

He really looks a lot like him. If you didn't pay attention, you might be able to mistake them for each other. 

This is what Minseok thinks as he stares at Sehun, who is whining about being bored. But they are not the same person, though they might look similar. Sometimes Minseok thinks he sees Luhan lingering by the water cooler backstage, eating in the kitchen, and lounging on the couch. But that's impossible, because Luhan left months ago. Sometimes Minseok thinks he sees Luhan in the airport, ordering coffee in one of their frequently visited cafés, and on stage with him. But that's impossible, because Luhan is in China and Minseok is not. 

And the one sitting in front of him is not Luhan. So Minseok tears his gaze away from Sehun's face and pulls him to his feet.

"Oh Sehun," he begins, "let's get something to eat. You've been whining so much I'm sure you've used up all your energy."

"Are you paying?"

Minseok swats at Sehun's arm, a smile forming on his lips. 

 Jongdae shakes Minseok awake gently, careful not to startle him too much. Groggily, Minseok sits up in his seat, hands still gripping a cup of coffee. 

"You're up," Jongdae says, relieved. 

Minseok sets the coffee cup down, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He notices Yixing hovering behind Jongdae and can hear Baekhyun bickering with Chanyeol outside (he can also practically hear Kyungsoo rolling his eyes). As he blinks up at Jongdae, he faintly registers Sehun's bored tone biting out a remark that Junmyeon reprimands him for. 

"Let's go, hyung," Jongdae smiles. "Everyone is waiting." 

Minseok takes the hand offered to him and lets himself be led outside to the others. Jongin gravitates towards him with a grin as soon as he sees him, and he greets the other members with a smile of his own. 

"I'm awake," he says. "Thank you for waiting."

Minseok leaves his coffee inside.