Chapter 3: The Man

Hyuk stares at the man before him with a piercing gaze, eyes scanning over all of his features. He raises an eyebrow, and the man copies him. Shifting his position, Hyuk crosses his arms and stares at him with the most smouldering look he can muster. The man responds and the diva-ness radiates from his presence.

Hyuk acknowledges that this man is handsome, giving him a smile and nod, and receiving one in turn.

He basks in the praise, until an arm swings over his shoulder, interrupting his moment with the accompanying screech in his ear.

“Aigoo!! Our Hyukkie is so handsome!” Ken coos, leaning in until Hyuk can feel his breath on his neck.

He shoots the handsome-diva-man a look of desperation but internally sighs when he realises his reflection is in the same predicament.

“You’re so cute, Hyuk-ah, admiring yourself in the mirror like that.”

Ken watches with amusement, as the maknae twists and turns, admiring himself in the mirror.

He watches the younger boy his jaw at an angle.

He watches as he sneakily lifts up his shirt to check out his baby abs.

But Ken finds it hard to stop himself laughing when he watches Hyuk check himself out, with self-satisfaction oozing off him in waves.

This is the point where he decides to join him at the mirror, and make that freshly polished ego even shinier.

Hyuk gives him a dead-panned expression, giving unspoken sass to his hyung.

“I’m not cute. I’m a manly man.”

“Of course you are.” Ken smiles brightly, eyes disappearing into crescents as he replays that moment again and again in his head.

‘Manly man’. He snickers to himself. This is by far, one of the cutest things he’s ever heard anyone say.

“So what’s a manly man like you doing here on this fine day? Surely such a man wouldn’t need to rely on a mirror?”

“I’m practising for the photoshoot, hyung. You know, the one Hongbin-hyung and Leo-hyung just left to do?”

Of course Ken knows what Hyuk is talking about.

In fact, it sounds like Ken knows more about this photoshoot than Hyuk.

“So you’re practising your poses?” Ken’s grin gets wider, and Hyuk feels himself getting uneasy.

But a manly man never shows fear.

“Yes.” He answers resolutely, and focuses again on the mirror before them.

His stare is not as sure as earlier, and his eyes drift occasionally to Ken who is still hanging off him with a stupid smile plastered on his face.

“What.” He snaps.

His hyung’s expression is getting on his nerves, and when one cannot show fear, the other option is irritation.

“Oh, nothing much.” Ken dodges the question breezily, taking his arm off Hyuk’s shoulder in order to pat his head.

Internally, Ken acknowledges how tall the maknae is and ponders over how much he’s grown in the past two years.

Wow, it’s already been two years.

Ken is a little sad when he thinks of the tiny seventeen year old which he met under tense circumstances

He slides out of his thoughts as he notices Hyuk staring at him through the mirror, hands in his pocket whilst trying out a nonchalant pose.

Ken again has to control his urge to giggle. He instead slips his arms around Hyuk’s waist from behind and, on his toes, leans his chin on his shoulder.

“Hyuk-ah, a true ‘manly man’-” laughter bubbles in his throat as he uses Hyuk’s term, “-never practises his poses. It’s supposed to be natural.”

“Hakyeon-hyung and Ravi-hyung do it sometimes!” Hyuk protests, half-heartedly trying to break out of Ken’s hold.

Ken stays firm and rocks side to side, causing Hyuk to sway as well. His head bounces from left to right and he gives up with a sigh, going along with the action.

“Do you honestly consider Hakyeon-hyung and Ravi to be manly men?”

Hyuk pauses as he thinks of the leader’s joy when practising and performing as Vixx Girls and internally curses his choice of example.

“Ravi-hyung is definitely manly though.” He answers. How could Ravi not be manly? He snored like a jackhammer – as his roommate, Hyuk sadly had first hand experience – his voice was deep, and he had the classic ‘I don’t wash often’ image of someone completely manly-

“A manly man does not scream when he sees a spider.”

Silence followed as both remembered the high-pitched screeching from the bathroom that day. Even Leo had leapt to his feet from the couch, but they had all been bowled over by a wet Ravi wrapped in a towel, blubbering about a spider on the wall.

“And manly men definitely do not mistake cracks for spiders,” Ken finishes with a smirk, recalling their reactions when they realised a ceiling tile had just developed a crack.

Ravi’s ‘I had water in my eyes’ excuse definitely did not work and all of them had proceeded to let out a little scream whenever he headed to the bathroom.

Even Leo had murmured ‘beware the spider’ one afternoon. Their hysterics had lasted for hours until their manager had come out to scold them.

He soon joined them in their teasing-Ravi fest.

“Have you ever seen Leo-hyung, myself or Hongbin posing in the mirror, Hyukkie?”

The maknae craned his neck to give Ken a derisive look, giving up and staring through the mirror when his neck protested its lack of flexibility.

“Kenjumma-hyung, you’re not manly.” But Hyuk has to admit that he had a point – the others were completely natural in photoshoots.

He would never say that out loud though.

Ken gives Hyuk a pout and walks back to the couch, once again opening his phone to message someone – Hyuk assumed it was N, judging by the swift replies and bajillion selcas he could see.

“Pose if want you to Hyuk, but I’m just saying, you’ll always be cute to me.”

Especially after this photoshoot.

Rolling his eyes, Hyuk turns back to the mirror.

I’ll show you how manly I can be, hyung.

Fifteen minutes later, Hyuk is cursing his hyung silently as he pulls on the tiger onesie and has a pink nose and whiskers drawn on his face.

He tries not to glare too much at the photographer when he tells Hyuk to “be cuter” because “you’re the maknae”.

He attempts to not punch the wall when he squeezes his fist to do a ‘buing buing’ for the shot, one arm holding a plush pig.

And Hyuk tries not to show his anger to his hyungs when he returns to the dorm afterward.

But when the magazine is released a week later and Ken fanboys over his manly tiger costume, he can’t help but shove him into Leo as the man carries a bowl full of soup to the table.

It’s satisfying to hear Kenjumma cower from Leo’s manly glare.

Because even though he questions why at times, a manly man is never violent to the hyungs he loves.

Here's a longer one-shot for all of you lovely people~ I had a lot of fun writing this one.

Thank you to everyone who has commented and subscribed and please continue to do so~

Also, I'll take requests if anyone wants to give me one, but university is picking up so it may take some time (though not half a year. sorry. ><)

Have a great day everyone!