“Dankyunnie,” Hyungwon says, slipping his hands onto the younger’s hips to reposition them, “you’re leaning in the wrong direction. You need to lean more towards the left to get the pivot right.”

“R-Right,” he stutters out, the proximity of the older sending nervous jitters all throughout his veins. “Thanks, hyung.” Hyungwon smiles gently to him, nodding as he moves away. Jooheon and Changkyun exchange a knowing glance, making silent retching gestures where his twin can’t see. Hoseok notices this exchange, chuckling to himself.

It’s been two weeks since the twins joined the club, a grueling time full of nothing but practices. It’s surprising, but Changkyun has actually come to enjoy himself here. Jooheon and he had become friends almost instantly, the older rapper’s constant support of his lyric-writing endeavors proving to be a perfect bonding mechanism.

Dankyun and Hyungwon seem to be getting closer, as well. The older of the twins spends as much time as possible with the upperclassman. He tries to do everything he can in his own time to progress in learning the routines, so as to impress his crush, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much good. He still needs the most help out of anyone to learn all the moves correctly, and, if his twin were completely honest, he thinks his brother is doing it on purpose.

“Changkyun-ah,” Hoseok’s gentle voice suddenly says in the youngest’s ear, surprising him so much he jumps. Hoseok bites back a chuckle at the reaction, giving the freshman a moment to calm himself before moving close. “You’re getting the moves really well, but your feet at this part are wrong.” He then demonstrates how it should be done. Changkyun nods determinedly, mirroring the older’s actions almost perfectly. Hoseok nods in approval, ruffling the younger’s hair before returning to his position. Changkyun groans in protest, fixing his hair as he concentrates once more on the routine.

He glances over at the older every so often throughout the remainder of practice, though he doesn’t know why. Luckily, though, it doesn’t seem to him that anyone notices.

Unbeknownst to him, Minhyuk sees all too clearly what’s going on.

“I d-don’t know what you’re t-talking about, Minhyukkie,” Hoseok stutters out, setting a couple text books into his locker and exchanging them for another. The younger stares at him with a knowing smirk, not buying the response.

“You and Changkyun-ah make eyes at each other more than Dankyun-ah and Hyungwon-ah do,” Minhyuk continues, ignoring the older. “To make matters worse, you two act like you don’t realize what’s going on. At least Hyungwon-ah and Dankyun-ah don’t deny how obvious they are.” He shakes his head, shifting his stance to lean backwards against the set of lockers. “It’s been almost a month of this maddening back and forth with you two. Luckily, Hyungwonnie is going to ask Dankyun-ah out today.” He pauses, adding, “He should be doing it right now, actually.”

“Good for them,” Hoseok comments, thinking it to be about time. “But, I don’t see what that has to do with Changkyunnie and me. We aren’t that close.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Minhyuk snorts. He glances over to give his hyung a sarcastically bright smile, but quickly halts at seeing who’s heading their way. “Changkyun-ah!” he greets, waving a hand excitedly. Hoseok stiffens up visibly, the hand holding his locker door open tightening against the metal. He turns and sees the youngest member walking up to them, a meek smile set on his face.

“Jooheon-hyung said I might be able to find you here,” he murmurs. “Hongsik-songsaengnim asked me if I could work with you on the next song. He wants to make sure my lyrics will flow well with the beats you’re using.” Hoseok nods adamantly, silently delighted at the notion of getting to spend some time alone with the first-year. He then pauses, glancing over at Minhyuk demandingly. The younger merely gives him a knowing smirk. He tells the two to have fun, and lazily meanders off.

Changkyun glances at Hoseok questioningly, Minhyuk’s words holding a sense of meaning greater than they should. Hoseok merely offers a smile before turning to close his locker.

“Shall we?” he asks. Changkyun nods, and silently follows him down the hall. They go to the normal practice room, since it’s almost always empty. Hoseok pulls his laptop out of his bag and opens up the song he’s been working on since the beginning of the year. Changkyun retrieves his notebook from his own backpack and opens it to the rap lyrics he and Jooheon had been perfecting for the past week. He his lips as Hoseok starts the song, taking a swig from his water bottle.

Hoseok sings the vocals as best he can, the lyrics he uses still a bit rough. He’s been so busy perfecting the song itself that he hasn’t bothered working on the words with Hyungwon for a while. Not that the younger would have time anyway, what with how much he’s been talking to Dankyun lately. Hoseok glances over at Changkyun, wondering if he already knows or not about Hyungwon asking his twin out. He’s about to ask, but Changkyun dives into his part as it plays, surprising the older into silence with the sudden intensity of his voice.

Watching the first-year rap his lyrics is almost hypnotizing. The way he lilts his voice as he travels through the verses causes Hoseok’s emotions rise and fall with it. He’s so caught up in the younger’s tones that he doesn’t even notice when his part comes back. He gives a start at Changkyun’s prompting glance, and nervously chuckles before finding where the song is in the lyrics and picking up his part.

They finish with the song quickly enough, Changkyun nervously his lips as the last note echoes away. He worries about how he’s done. He glances around the room, willing to look anywhere but the hyung sitting so closely to him. He doesn’t know why this proximity makes him so nervous. It isn’t as if Jooheon’s incessant physical contact bothers him, so why is he so anxious around Hoseok when they aren’t even touching…?

“You’re a great rapper, Changkyunnie,” Hoseok compliments, acting as if he doesn’t notice his nervous behavior. Changkyun slightly jolts at the nickname. His brother is the only one to ever have called him that. The cute modification to his name coming from Hoseok causes his heart to bang hard against his ribcage, and, if he’s to be completely honest, he doesn't mind it.

“Thanks, hyung,” he says softly. He’s proud of the compliment, especially since it’s coming from such a hardworking club mate like Hoseok. Hoseok turns and smiles at him, the bright expression earning a smile from the younger. Changkyun glances down at his notebook, surprised by his own expression. He looks back up at the older, his eyes pausing on Hoseok’s. They shine with a vibrant light that seems so fascinating to the young rapper, so utterly beautiful, that he’s paralyzed by it.

They stare into each other’s eyes, neither willing to be the first to break the gaze. Hoseok doesn’t even realize he’s staring at first. He becomes so caught up in the younger’s dark eyes that he doesn’t even notice Hongsik coming into the room.

“How’s the work going?” Hongsik asks, startling the both of them. Changkyun blinks repeatedly, looking around for the source of the sudden voice.

“It w-works great w-with the song,” Hoseok stutters out, unconsciously scooting away from Changkyun. He stares hard at his laptop screen, hoping desperately that his face isn’t turning as red as it feels. He knows he must seem pretty guilty, but he can’t tell why he feels like this. They were only looking at each other, after all. It isn’t as if the two were making out.

He chances a look over at Hongsik, who’s smirking at the two teenagers with a knowing look similar to what Minhyuk had given him earlier. This only serves to further embarrass Hoseok, and he returns his glance to the screen before him to try and ignore it. Hongsik merely quirks an eyebrow up at them, and then goes about filing some paperwork in the only filing cabinet in the room. He finishes quickly, and can’t help but chuckle at the boys as he walks passed them on his way out.

They’re silent for some time, both feeling too anxious to try and say much. Changkyun feels as if he should leave, but he doesn’t really want to. He likes spending time with the older like this, without anyone else around. This realization makes him slightly uncomfortable, and he shifts in his seat. Hoseok looks over at the movement, something he hasn’t done since their teacher had come into the room. Changkyun tries for a smile, but has a feeling it comes across as one of the most awkward expressions he’s ever had in his life. The attempt brings a slight grin to Hoseok’s face, though, so the younger can’t help but consider it a success.

“S-So,” Changkyun finds himself saying, trying to think quickly of something to talk about. He leans forward, looking at the laptop screen, and it comes to him. “What else are you working on right now?” Hoseok straightens up, his smile growing at the younger’s interest.

“Well,” he says, “I’ve got a couple other songs in the works right now…” He then goes to play one of his other projects, beginning to explain the general feel he’s going for. Changkyun leans even closer to the screen as he listens, nodding his head to the rhythm.

He sits back once it’s finished, smiling appreciatively.

“I like it,” he tells him. Hoseok chuckles, already moving to play another song. Changkyun watches him, delighted at his excitement to share. “It’s amazing how you can do this,” he murmurs, not realizing he’d even spoken until the words had left his lips.

“It t-takes practice,” Hoseok stutters nervously, surprised by the compliment.

“Show me,” Changkyun says. Hoseok chuckles again, this time with more gusto. He immediately goes to open a new project, and dives into an explanation about how he goes about putting together a song. Changkyun listens intensely, and even eventually makes a suggestion to improve the melody. Hoseok nods, trying it out. He sits back slightly, impressed by the improvement. He glances over at the younger, and they share a smile. He returns his gaze back to the program, playing the song from the beginning to review it. The younger scoots his chair closer to the laptop, his back hurting from leaning forward for so long. He reaches forward absentmindedly to support himself in the new sitting position. Hoseok glances down, the younger’s hand pressing into his thigh. He chuckles below his breath, but it goes unnoticed by the freshman who’s too focused on the song to notice much of anything.

Hoseok doesn’t mind the touch, though. After all, he can’t deny the warm tingling that spreads from the younger’s touch, how nice it feels for the first year to lean on him, to depend on him…