“Our Jooheonney is so pretty~” Minhyuk comments, leaning over to shoot Jooheon a dazzling smile. Jooheon merely gives his hyung a tight grin in return, an unreadable light filling his eyes. Minhyuk’s good mood falters ever so slightly, but he pushes it away. He’s the moodmaker, after all. If his mood falls, the interview goes sour.

“Our Kkungie is adorable, too,” Kihyun interjects, easily sensing the tension in the air. “The rapper line is always fun to have around, and they’re really cute dongsaengs for all the hyungs.” The interviewer hums in acknowledgment, scribbling down notes as she clearly readies herself for the next question.

She asks them something about ideal types, an incredibly typical question at this point. He gives his usual response, saying he’d like someone who’s the opposite of him. But, despite the progression of the interview, he can’t shake the feeling he’s said something to aggravate his favorite dongsaeng…

He resigns himself to having to ask later, when they get home. After all, he can’t very well ask in the middle of the interview… unfortunately.

 

Jooheon ripples at the compliment from his hyung during the interview. Usually, he doesn’t care. Usually, he actually enjoys the endless compliments from Minhyuk.

However, today isn’t a usual day.

Today, he’s realized something.

Today, he’s come to terms with everything.

Today, he’s finally accepted his own feelings for a certain band member, and, once they get a chance, he and a certain vocalist will be having a very serious conversation indeed…

 

After the interview, the boys are taken from the magazine’s location to the company building. With their comeback quickly approaching, they’re working harder than ever to perfect every millisecond of choreography, every miniscule pitch of the song. Everything has to be just right for their Monbebe. They have to make their fans proud.

 

Later that night, with sweat pouring off them, they trudge back on shaking legs to their dorm. Their clothes cling to their bodies, and they find themselves very grateful for the cool breeze blowing through the air. They make casual conversation about things like who gets into the shower when and what they’ll be having for dinner.

Though, there’s a noticeable gap in the voices mingling together. Kihyun glances between Jooheon and Minhyuk, who by now are always impishly messing with each other and making a general nuisance of themselves… albeit in a good way. But, tonight, neither seem quite able to look at each other.

The main vocalist in a breath through his teeth, hoping they resolve their issues soon. It’d be really annoying if they allowed whatever this is get in the way of their group’s dynamics. Then it’d be a mess he’d have to clean, and he’s got enough messes to take care of without their help.

 

Minhyuk and Jooheon are left alone in the bedroom they share with Kihyun and Changkyun. Their other two roommates are too busy cooking in the kitchen for the others to be bothered with playing buffer for them. The vocalist glances over at his dongsaeng, unsure as to how he should approach the subject of his odd reaction during the interview, or even how he’d acted towards him during their hours of practice.

He’d purposefully put more and more physical distance between himself and the older throughout the time they’d been in the practice room. At first, Minhyuk had thought he was just being paranoid. But, the young man grew more and more obvious about his intentions, quite literally jumping away when Minhyuk had moved closer to help him with a certain move.

“… Jooheonney?” Minhyuk finally mumbles, playing sheepishly with his overly-fluffy comforter. Jooheon blinks rapidly in surprise at the older speaking. He hums in response, prompting his hyung to continue, but doesn’t look over. Minhyuk outwardly pouts at his actions, his paranoia worsening, but he powers through it. He can stand it when pretty much any member is mad at him… but not Jooheon.

“Did I do something to upset you?” Minhyuk asks. “You’ve been acting weird with me ever since the interview…” Jooheon heaves a breath, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth in thought.

He hadn’t wanted to talk about it like this, but he isn’t very well going to lie to his hyung if directly asked.

The rapper finally tears his gaze away from his phone, and looks over to the vocalist.

“I wish you’d stop calling me cute and pretty,” he finally says simply. “It makes me feel like you mean more than you do, that you… that you feel for me a certain way.” He pauses, having to hold himself from closing the distance between them just to keep Minhyuk’s beautiful smile from falling any more than it already has. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate it. It just gets my hopes up, and I know you’d never look at me how I want you to… so I wish you’d just stop.”

Minhyuk blinks his left eye repeatedly in thought. He hadn’t thought of it that way, of how Jooheon might one day feel…

Jooheon sighs, moving to get up from his bunk.

“Just forget about it,” Jooheon mumbles, Minhyuk’s silence very disheartening indeed. He feels it just proves his suspicions, and he wants nothing more now than to get out of this room.

Next thing he knows, Minhyuk’s grabbing him by the wrist and yanking him down into the bunk with him. Jooheon instinctively ducks to avoid hitting his head on the maknae’s bed above, which results in his head being held tightly against Minhyuk’s still-kind-of-damp chest.

“Jooheonney,” Minhyuk coos, humming a soothing tune. “Oh, my adorable Jooheonney~ …How could you ever think I didn’t love you with all my heart?”

Speaking of hearts, Jooheon’s quite literally freezes in his chest. He becomes paralyzed at the older’s words, his mind hardly daring to think the vocalist means what he thinks he does.

“You… You mean…?”

Minhyuk chuckles, and leans his head forward to press a kiss against his blonde hair.

“Of course, bumblebee,” Minhyuk replies. “I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious all these years, but now I guess not.”

Jooheon laughs himself, relaxing finally in Minhyuk’s hold and wrapping his arms around the taller’s waist.

“… I love you too, hyung.”