Heart to Heart
Where I Belong
“They weren’t trying to be hurtful, hyung,” Dongwoon said quietly as they waited backstage. Several staff were checking their microphone packs to make sure everything was properly set up for each singer.
Hyunseung stared at the group currently on stage with a stubborn set to his jaw, the unusually bright glint in his eyes making it obvious he was still upset by what s had said. “It’s not their business to say things like that, Dongwoon.”
“Doojoonie and Junhyung would never talk about someone meanly. You’ve got to know that by now, hyung,” Dongwoon insisted, frowning at the shorter male in concern. When Hyunseung still hesitated to look away from the stage, he put a hand on his shoulder. “Hyung…”
“We worry about you, Seungie,” Yoseob murmured as he stepped up beside the dancer and hooked an arm around his waist. Hyunseung seemed to be adjusting to Yoseob’s constant need for physical contact with s, because he didn’t look uncomfortable or shift away. Yoseob rested his chin on Hyunseung’s shoulder. “Doojoonie was just trying to understand you, and Junhyung was trying to explain what he thinks. They weren’t trying to be mean. They’re not used to how quiet you are.”
A tic worked in Hyunseung’s jaw, and he dropped his chin a little, eyes falling to the floor at his feet. “I don’t look like a cat.” He muttered, sounding a little petulant.
Yoseob and Dongwoon both froze for a second, then Yoseob burst out laughing. Despite Hyunseung’s affronted expression, Yoseob couldn’t seem to stop giggling and had to clap a hand over his own mouth to stifle the noise. His hysterics drew the other members’ attention, and Dongwoon clapped him on the back awkwardly. “Yah, hyung… Hyung!”
Hyunseung turned his head slightly to look at the laughing boy, eyes sliding to the side to fix on him in a subconsciously feline way. That had Yoseob laughing even harder in seconds, and Hyunseung narrowed his eyes. “Stop it.”
“But-”
“Stop it.”
When he saw how annoyed the dancer was, Yoseob quieted. He’d never seen his friend so worked up over something so trivial. Why was he so upset? Yoseob had called him silly little nicknames before and Hyunseung never batted an eye. The one time Junhyung and Doojoon mention him looking like a-..
He frowned. Doojoon and Junhyung hadn’t actually said Hyunseung looked like a cat in the dressing room. They’d only alluded to the previous… discussion.
Hyunseung must have overheard them when he was in the bathroom at their dorm.
Eyes wide and earnest, he wrapped his arms around Hyunseung’s shoulders and squeezed gently. “Sorry.. It’s just that you do look like a cat sometimes. It’s not meant to be an insult, Seungie.”
There were several moments of silence among the members, with Doojoon looking distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, the leader stepped forward and put a hand on top of Hyunseung’s head. “I’m sorry for prying about you, Hyunseung,” He murmured, meeting the smaller boy’s gaze levelly when Hyunseung finally lifted his eyes to Doojoon’s. “There’s something you need to understand, too, though. We - that is, the six of us,” He gestured around at them all, “We’re a group. One unit. That means we all need to take care of one another. Part of being able to do that is knowing more about each other. If you won‘t talk to me about what bothers you, I have to ask someone else, like Junhyung. I‘m sure Junhyung knows some things about you, but there‘s always the chance that information can be wrong, with anyone. I need you to talk to me.”
“Yeah,” Kikwang chimed in, smiling a little from just behind the leader. “We don’t care that you’re shy or quiet, Seungie. We just need to know that you’re comfortable with us.”
Dongwoon fiddled with his earpiece. “You’ll get more comfortable with us over time. We know that, hyung.” He stopped what he was doing to smile at the frozen dancer and shrugged a shoulder. “Just don’t treat us like lepers, okay?”
Hyunseung swallowed, looking around at them all with wide eyes while Yoseob readjusted his arms so he could go back to resting his chin on Hyunseung’s shoulder. Just how much had they paid attention to him? Had he really been treating them like that?
Junhyung was the only one who hadn’t said a word, staring at Hyunseung with the same stoic expression he’d worn when they got out of bed.
He still hadn’t said anything when they were called to perform, and Hyunseung wasn’t the only one who noticed.
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