Mingyu tumbles to the ground as he is tackled by his shorter and smaller (yet stronger) friend Minghao. Minghao pins Mingyu to the ground by his throat, sitting on Mingyu's torso. 

Junhui sighs. 

Mingyu thrashes in an effort to get up. Minghao seems unfazed and starts laughing. Mingyu pouts and Minghao helps him up, then shoves the taller a little, both laughing. Mingyu pushes back and succeeds to his own surprise. Minghao though, as light as he is, is quick on his feet and takes a step back and seems otherwise fine. 

Junhui looks away. It hurt less, but he could still hear them. He plugs in his headphones, willing for the music to fade life out.

"Minghao, you're so mean to me," the taller whined, pouting. The younger pinched his cheek and Mingyu pushed his hand away in protest.

"That's only because you stole my charger, Mingyu." Minghao reasoned.

Junhui gets up and leaves, looking for Soonyoung since he might want help choreogrphaing. It's always nice for him to have extra opinions and it was a good excuse to get out.

"Well, if it was your Junhui hyung, you wouldn't even be mad." Mingyu teased. "So it's just me you're mean to." The Chinese boy blushes, knowing the truth in Mingyu's words. 

"I didn't tell you just so you can tease me," Minghao said, fake-upset.

"Well you told me and you expected me not to tease you?" Mingyu said and Minghao shrugged, knowing that it wasn't the easiest thing to ask of the tall, clumsy boy. But he was his friend and he'd at least try to keep a secret. Way better than telling Seokmin or, god forbid, Seungkwan. "Why'd he leave?" Mingyu asked, out of the blue, but Minghao assumed that he had meant the older Chinese boy. 

"Dunno. Performance team meeting's not for another half hour," Minghao answered.

Jun found the practice room where Soonyoung was. Or at least where he normally is. He should be there, but today, all that was there was his stuff. He shrusgged and let himself in anyway, putting his stuff down when the slightly younger dancer walked in. He seemed unfazed about seeing Junhui there, he came around often when he didn't have much else to do.

"Where'd you go?" Junhui asked, referring to the younger's earlier absence.

"Jihoon's studio. He has a new song and wanted me to hear it to see if I could choreograph it. It's one of those cheery songs with kinda sad lyrics. You know, the type Hoonie likes. Sounds a bit like Still Lonely." Junhui nodded. Soonyoung got very excited over Jihoon's compositions, partly because they gave him so much inspiration for choreography and partly because he was whipped as for the shorter boy. "If you want to hear it, I can ask him for a copy of the guide he recorded. His voice is so nice in it," Soonyoung added, partly fanboying again.

"I'll hear it eventually, won't I?" Junhui said, not particularly interested in this new song. At least he wouldn't be until they finished choreographing their current song. It was a catchy and slightly upbeat tune, with lyrics about a dim lover who never realizes how much Seventeen loves them. It was a less cheery song, like how most of their songs have morphed into, starting with Boom Boom. The choreography was going really well, the song was purposely made with some catchy little sound effects and lyrics for some choreo killing parts. Jihoon had really done his job particularly well on the song and Soonyoung and his unit were doing their best to make a title track worthy choreo that the Carats would like. It still didn't have a title though. Jihoon said he couldn't choose anything he liked from the lyrics so they kept it without a title for now, calling it "the new song" or "hopefully the title track" or anything like that.

"I say it's your loss, but you really seem to like that other song, so we'll work on that today," Soonyoung said, walking over to the soundboard and the speakers, plugging in his phone for the music. He was told many times (mostly by Jihoon) how to get the music on easier and without draining his phone battery, but Soonyoung with machines (his own words) so he stuck with his phone. 

Soon Junhui had forgot about the ordeal of earlier and how ing gay he was for someone who definitely didn't like him back. All that was left in his brain was dance. Kicks, turns, footwork, jumps, all of the good stuff. In a matter of no time, it was time for the actual performance team meeting and Chan and Minghao both came to the practice room.

"Hey hyungs!" Chan said, the cheerful maknae. He's not as happy-go-lucky as he seems when he's being a cute, agyeo-y maknae for the camera or for the hyungs, but for the most part, he was a cheery boy. "You're early," He added, looking at Junhui. 

"Hey. I was bored so I came to help Soonie here." Junhui asnwered. Soonyoung gave a nod also and Chan smiled. 

"What'd we miss then?" Minghao asked, Chan nodding at the question, as if to say that he would also like to ask it. Instead of an answer, Soonyoung played the song again from the beginning and the younger two moved closer to the wall to give Soonyoung and Junhui space. They now had everything but the last 45 seconds of the song, which would most likely get finished in the next three or four hours. 

After four hours of choreographing and perfecting, the quartet were finished the entire song and the rest of the group started joining them, one or two at a time until all 13 gathered. When the performace unit had shown them the choreogrpahy, all of them applauded and a couple of them sighed.

"Just gets harder and harder," Jeonghan said with a grin and everyone laughed. 

"Okay everyone. So we got the first minute and half in last time so we can go that far, just stop and from there we'll teach the new stuff." Soonyoung took charge and everyone gave an affirmative. Soonyoung played the music until the end of the old choreo. The performace leader counted as the four did the steps slower so everyone else could catch on. 13 members made for slow rehearsal, but everyone were fast learners, at least when it came to dancing.

Come midnight and the boys were almost finished. They had the whole thing taught by 1am, which was pretty quick. They decided to cut it there for the day since some of them had schedules the next day, and everyone went back to the dorms.

In the van to the dorms, Mingyu and Minghao were sitting together in the back seat, whispering to each other, Minghao hitting the older now and then. Jun was sitting in the middle row, next to a sleeping (therefore oblivious) Jeonghan, with headphones plugged in again. He was thankful the older and somewhat motherly figure was asleep and not breathing down his neck asking what was wrong. The last time he had done that, Junhui almost did say. What was left of his old acting skills helped him out and he managed to keep it all a secret. The unknowingly painful ride went on as such for the 5 minutes following, before the black van arrived in front of Seventeen's dorm and everyone climbed out. 

Seokmin, Jeonghan, Wonwoo, Hansol and Mingyu called first showers, which was fine with everyone since nobody took that long to shower anyway and two or three members showering together was more normal than not. Junhui plopped down on the couch, which was a mistake since Minghao decided to sit next to him. Junhui kept his headphones in and pretended not to notice the younger boy beside him. 

So much for that plan when Minghao pulled his earbuds out and started talking to him.

"Hyung, talk to me. I'm bored." Minghao said, uncharacteristically whiny and baby like. Jun nodded as an answer, causing the oddly clingy boy to shake his shoulders back and forth.

"Okay okay Minghao what do you want?" Junhui gave out, staring at a spot on the floor in attempt not to look at the smaller.

"You don't like talking to me anymore?" Minghao pouted. "You're avoiding me too."

"No I'm not Minghao, what are you talking about?" Acted the older boy, sighing on the inside that the other noticed. 

"Yes you are. Did I do something hyung?" The younger argued. 

"Well you got Mingyu anyway." The taller said, sadly, but he tried not to let it show.

"You're better than Mingyu." An unexpected responce from Minghao and Jun looked up from the spot on the floor. 

"You talk to him more though. You guys should date. You would look good together." Junhui said, biting back the pain it brought him to say it.

"Mingyu?" Minghao asked, then started laughing. "Ta xihuan Wonwoo. ta ai Wonwoo." (he likes/loves Wonwoo) Minghao said in a much lowered voice and in Mandarin so that nobody would hear. Jun's eyes widened. "Wo bu xihuan ta. Wo xihuan ni. Wo ai ni, Junhui" (I don't like him. I like you. I love you, Junhui)

"Wo ye ai ni, Minghao," (I love you too, Minghao) Jun said, brain not quite functioning. He pulled the younger closer to him and met his lips with his own for a second before pulling apart. 

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Double update! Whoop whoop! request from @uknowminakwon Jidu (I can't find the pinyin keyboard) meand jealousy or envy in Mandarin, which I am currently learning so I used some of that for this story. This is a double update so make sure you read both and hopefully they make up for my week of no writing!