Taekwoon stares at his topless body in the mirror, frowning at what he sees. He's put on weight. There's a soft pudginess to his stomach that he really hasn't noticed until now, just a tiny bit of tummy overhangs his jeans. He pokes at it a little bit - it really isn't a big deal, he thinks. He's had no schedules, they've had very little practices lately, some small weight gain isn't anything abnormal.

Taekwoon slides on a t-shirt. It's very snug, a little uncomfortable, certainly a bit tighter than what he remembers it being. He looks at it in the mirror. He doesn't like how tight it looks on him, how much it clings to his body. It makes the pudge seem a lot more obvious.

And now that Taekwoon's looking again.. has his face gotten rounder? It seems fuller. He squishes his cheeks between his fingers; they definitely feel fattier than they used to. He can't believe it's took him so long to realize this, and it makes him feel gross. He wonders if anyone else has noticed.

Taekwoon ditches the t-shirt and chooses an oversized sweatshirt instead. It hides his new chubbiness, and he feels a lot better. All he has to do is lay off sweets and the instant ramen he's been eating, it shouldn't be too hard.

He still decides to skip lunch today, though.

Jaehwan visits his family, and brings back an entire tray of chocolate chip cookies his mother had baked for them. Taekwoon tells himself only one but he ends up finishing off three (or maybe it was four?) in one sitting. Milk dunking included. Jaehwan's mom is a dangerously good baker.

"Wow, hyung, save some for us!" Hongbin teases as he grabs a few of his own. Usually Taekwoon wouldn't even blink at his snarky comments but this time there's a heavy feeling in his chest, and he's filled with guilt for eating so many.

He thinks he'll skip dinner tonight.

They're all in the practice room. There's a music festival they're performing at next week, so they're going through a few songs and doing some early rehearsing. The cooling system for the building is under maintenance. It's so hot Taekwoon thinks he's dying.

Wonshik pulls off his shirt as soon as the first song's over. His body is nice. He's a gym rat these days, spending more time working out than in his studio even. Taekwoon stares, trying to be subtle, because he's aware of how different he and Wonshik looks now. Wonshik seems to have no extra chub anywhere, just all abs and muscle. Gorgeous abs and muscle.

One by one the others follow, stripping their shirts off once the heat gets too overwhelming them. Besides Taekwoon, who feels like putting on more layers as he takes in everyone. Even Jaehwan is slimmer than him now. He wraps his arms around his middle to hide himself, retreats into a corner and tries not to beat himself up too hard.

Wonshik passes a water bottle to him. "Are you hot?" he pants from the hard rehearsing, nodding towards the shirt that Taekwoon still wears. It's drenched with sweat.

"I'm fine," Taekwoon mumbles.

He stays and practices an extra hour to burn off more calories.

It's been a while since they've done this. Hakyeon and him together, in Hakyeon's bedroom that smells sweetly of the candles he makes. They're in bed, all of the kids are out and it's quiet except for their heavy breaths and the occasional whimper from Taekwoon.

He's needy, and Hakyeon knows that. He gives Taekwoon hard kisses along his jaw, on his neck, nibbling just where Taekwoon likes it. He s his hips slightly against Hakyeon, hurrying him up. He's ready to move along soon.

Then Hakyeon sneaks a hand underneath his shirt. He presses against Taekwoon's tummy, and he can feel it. He feels how Hakyeon's hand sinks ever so slightly into his pudge. He's squishy, and he hates it.

"Stop." Taekwoon pushes Hakyeon away, off of him, gently. His touch retreats and Taekwoon swears the skin on his stomach burns where Hakye