"Making Up For Regrets"

Usually Hakyeon is the first one awake in the dorms while everyone else tries to sleep in. But strangely enough that morning as he got out of his bedroom, he heard someone rummaging through the kitchen. 

As he went out to see who it was, he saw Hongbin cleaning up the kitchen and sweeping the floors.

”Kong-ah? What are you doing up so early in the morning?” Hakyeon asked as he checked the clock on the wall, saying 7 am in the morning.

”Cleaning,” the younger simply answered.

”So early?” 

“I woke up too early and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

”Is something the matter? And why are you cleaning of all things? You’d usually play Overwatch or something if you can’t sleep, don’t you?”

”Uh yeah but I didn’t want to accidentally wake you up,” Hongbin said.

”Really?” Hakyeon almost couldn’t believe it.

After all, the younger one never really considered the noise level they make whenever they play games in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for Hakyeon, his room is just in the middle of everyone else’s like Jaehwan is across from his room, Hongbin to his left and both Hyuk and Wonshik’s shared room is nearby as well. They’re all so noisy at times he wished that Taekwoon’s room wasn’t so far away since the other was the quietest. 

“Did you get enough sleep, hyung?” Hongbin asked.

”Kind of,” the older let out a yawn.

”We didn’t get back til 2am. You sure?”

Hakyeon, Jaehwan, Hongbin and Hyuk was out last night in order to do a LieV broadcasting while LR was away in Japan for their concert. They had a lot of fun but it was very tiring since everything was pass Hakyeon’s usual bedtime. 

“Did you brush your teeth and wash your face yet?” the younger asked more question.

”Not yet,” Hakyeon was confused because for a good moment, he forgot that he was the older one.

”Go. I’ll make you breakfast. Do you want milk or juice?” Hongbin asked as he pushed Hakyeon to wash up in the bathroom.

”Juice I guess,” the leader just went with it.

But Hakyeon couldn’t help but think how odd the younger was behaving that morning and even throughout the day. Hongbin was looking out for Hakyeon and taking care of the older like he’s never done so before. He almost felt like Hakyeon’s assistant more so than their actual manager. 

What’s going on? Hakyeon kept wondering as he watched Hongbin fetch his jacket for him.

”Here,” the younger handed the long coat to Hakyeon. “You need to stay warm and zip up. It’s really cold out so make sure you layer up and stay warm. You don’t want to catch a cold, do you?”

”Um thanks...” Hakyeon was speechless. 

The younger’s hospitality was very strange to him and even the other members noticed it. 

As Hongbin went to clean up the dorms throughly, Jaehwan and Hyuk came next to Hakyeon and the three of them simply watched the Hanzo master sweeping the dorms while wearing a Rilakuma apron. 

“What’s wrong with Kong lately?” Jaehwan asked. 

“Yeah, he’s been acting weird lately. You think he’s okay? How long does he plan on sweeping that floor? I don’t even see any dust on it,” Hyuk scratched his head. 

“I don’t know... he’s been acting that way for the past few days,” Hakyeon said.

”Maybe he did something wrong and is trying to make up for it? Like that time he accidentally got too excited and broke one of your precious candles,” Jaehwan said.

”That’s what I thought too but I checked all over and nothings’s broken.” Hakyeon told him.

”I wonder what it could be.”

The three of them looked at Hongbin and shrugged, having zero clue as to why the other was behaving the way he is.

For the next few days, Hongbin's treatment towards Hakyeon continued and the older still couldn't figure out why the younger was behaving the way he was. So, he decided to ask instead of just sitting there to watch. He liked the care and all but it was all too strange that he just couldn't stay put any longer.

"Kong-ah, can we talk?" Hakyeon finally approached the younger one day. 

"Sure, but first, come with me," Hongbin said and grabbed Hakyeon's wrist to follow him. 

Where are we going? Hakyeon couldn't help but wonder. 

As he followed, the two of them ended up in their dance studio of their company.

"Why are we here?" Hakyeon asked.

"Just one sec," Hongbin said and went to turn on the music.

It was a very familiar song to Hakyeon but he didn't know why this song of all songs that Hongbin decided to play in the background. Was it some sort of anniversary today? What day is it? Just a typical Wednesday, Hakyeon looked at his phone.

"Do you remember this song?" Hongbin asked.

"Um, yeah? I think so? Why?" Hakyeon asked back. 

"Do you remember how to dance to this song? The performance the two of us made when we were still trainees?" 

"Not really... it's so long ago," Hakyeon said. "Why are we listening to this now?"

"The other night during LieV... you mentioned that your regret was not being able to perform with me on stage. Since that night, I thought about it too. I really wanted to perform with you, hyung. It was something I've always wanted to do since I was a trainee and since we became friends. I really looked forward to that performance but in the end, we never got to do it. I thought I was the only one who was disappointed about that but I never thought that even now, you still remember it. I was really shocked when I heard you talk about it during the LieV you know?" Hongbin said and suddenly held tightly onto Hakyeon. 

The younger buried his face onto Hakyeon's shoulders and it almost sounded as if his voice was going to crack because of his overwhelming emotions.

"I never forgot about the dance or about the song. Even now, I can still remember every thing we prepared for that performance. I always act as if I don't care whether or not we got to perform together but I do care about it a lot. It's been on my mind for the longest time and I really thought you forgot about it. That's why... I can't help but tease or make fun of you. Do you know how much you've changed since the other members came into your life? Do you know how pushed aside I felt whenever I see you cling onto the others and not me anymore? Do you know how much it hurts?" Hongbin sounded as if he was going to cry.

And it was the same for Hakyeon. 

Listening to the younger's shivering voice and feeling a desperate hug, Hakyeon couldn't help but feel sorry for Hongbin. 

"I'm sorry, Kong-ah. I never knew..." Hakyeon didn't know what else to say. "Please don't cry, I'll do anything to make up for it."

"I'm not crying," Hongbin said stubbornly even though his voice was still rather unstable from his tears.

"There, there. Don't cry. If you cry, I'm going to cry too," Hakyeon said as he rubbed the younger's back gently. 

"You can't cry, hyung. You know how much we can't stand you crying," the younger reminded him.

"Then you shouldn't cry either. It hurts to hear you cry or feel sad. Especially if it's because of me..."

"I won't cry," Hongbin sniffled once more. "Just give me a minute..."

Hakyeon gave the younger more than just a minute. The two of them stood there in the dance studio, listening to the song that they prepared for over and over on loop while they tried to reflect on their past together. Every minute of their trainee lives were so precious to them and neither could ask for more. There were a lot of ups and downs but each one of them made them who they were today. And if it wasn't for Hongbin's tears, Hakyeon really would've forgotten just how much they've gone through together. Just the two of them before everyone else came in. 

Hongbin knows that he can be a bit selfish sometimes and he really does love the other members. He's close to all of them since they were trainees and even closer after they debuted. But he can't help but want to have Hakyeon all to himself. So whenever he sees the leader paying more attention to the other members than him, he can't help but want to tease the older so that the older would finally look his way. 

The younger really thought that he was the only one who remembers that performance and the special moment they shared together. He couldn't help but resent Hakyeon sometimes for that because he really thought that he was the only one who was special. So when he heard those words of regret from Hakyeon's mouth, he couldn't help but want to make up for his attitude the past few years. 

"Kong-ah, tell me how I can make it up to you. I'm sorry for making you sad," Hakyeon said once more after they settled down their feelings a bit.

"Only look at me. That's all I need."

A/N: I've been wanting to write about this since the LieV came out but I've been away in Osaka and Kyoto for the week so I couldn't find the time to write or draw! So here it is~