“Hakyeon-ah, you look tired. Let’s just go to bed, we can talk more later.” Taekwoon stifled his own yawn as he got up from where both he and Hakyeon were settled into the sofa.

“Mmm, alright.” Hakyeon agreed sleepily and let Taekwoon pull him up from the sofa with a soft sigh. “You go ahead, I’m going to check on the others first.” The younger nodded and made his way to their shared bedroom.

Hakyeon went throughout the dorm and switched off all the lights and lamps that had been left on, pausing in the kitchen to drink a glass of water. He noted the time displayed on the microwave and calculated how much sleep he’d be able to get before having to wake up for a full day of schedules the next morning. It was only nearing three in the morning -he and Taekwoon having spent more time on the couch than he realized- so he should get about four hours if he was lucky enough to fall asleep quickly. He gently sat the -now empty- glass into the sink and turned off the kitchen lights before making his way to Hongbin and Jaehwan’s shared bedroom.

Their room was dark but he could make out their figures from the light of the moon that shone through the open curtains. Jaehwan was cuddled up to his gigantic Chopper plushie, the faintest of snores coming from his side of the room, tired and worn out from a full day’s worth of dance practice in preparation of the comeback. Hakyeon smiled fondly at the younger boy before looking over to where Hongbin lay sprawled out over his sheets, his duvet kicked down to the foot-end of the bed.

“Idiot,” Hakyeon whispered when he realized that Hongbin was slightly shivering. “That’s what you get for kicking the covers off.” His words were teasing but full of love as he pulled the fluffy duvet up and over the younger’s sleeping form. Hakyeon moved closer, careful not to knock over the bottle of pills placed beside the bed, and swept the bangs out of Hongbin’s eyes, smiling softly when he sighed in his sleep. It made Hakyeon happy knowing that this particular member was able to sleep soundly these days.

“Sweet dreams, kids.” Hakyeon whispered before quietly leaving their room.

He moved to Wonshik and Sanghyuk’s room next, a small sigh escaping him at the expected sight before him.

Sanghyuk was fast asleep on his back with an opened manga laying face down on his chest, one hand still holding on to the book. Hakyeon recognized the manga to be the same one he’d bought for maknae as a birthday gift a few months back. He gently pulled the worn book out of Sanghyuk’s grasp and set it aside before tucking the covers around the young boy’s annoyingly large frame. Since when did his precious maknae have the right to grow up so fast? Hakyeon leaned down to press a quick kiss to Sanghyuk’s forehead, accidentally waking him up in the process.

“Hyuuuung.” Sanghyuk groaned out in feigned annoyance before turning on his side and pulling the covers the rest of the way up to his shoulders.

“Sorry, sorry. Go back to sleep. You should really quit staying up so late to read, you know.” He chided softly, rubbing a hand along the curve of Sanghyuk’s shoulder.

Sanghyuk chuckled quietly at that. “Then you should quit supplying me with such good reading material.” He mumbled into the blanket. Hakyeon said nothing but ruffled the younger’s hair in response before moving to Wonshik’s side of the room, unsurprised at the sight that greeted him.

Wonshik was sleeping soundly on his back with his huge set of headphones still on settled on his head and his laptop sitting open on his stomach.

He must have been working on the songs again, Hakyeon thought to himself as he reached over to gently remove the headphones and close the laptop.

The leader couldn’t help but be thankful that the rapper was at least home and sleeping in his own bed rather than on the uncomfortable fold-away bed in his studio at the company building. Hakyeon hated it the most when Wonshik would do that. He knew how much of a perfectionist the other was and how hard on himself he could get if the music or lyrics didn’t flow like he wanted them to and end up staying awake until he was satisfied with his work. Those kinds of nights happened more often than not lately. With their comeback fastly approaching the rapper was working in overdrive to put the finishing touches on his original composition that would be included in the new album, and if it wasn’t absolutely perfect in Wonshik’s standards, then the rapper would work himself into the ground until it was.

Hakyeon frowned at the thought and removed the laptop from Wonshik’s bed and carefully placed it on his cluttered desk. Off to the side he spied a single sheet of staff paper with Wonshik’s neat scrawl covering almost the entire page in lyrics and notes to the singer on how the song is supposed to be sung. The leader recognized the song to be the very same one he sang the guide for almost two years ago when Wonshik had nothing but the lyrics and a rough melody line written. Who knew that it would someday be the second track on Taekwoon and Wonshik’s very own self-produced album.

The leader’s heart swelled with pride at the thought of s’ success with the album. He looked back at the sleeping rapper and smiled fondly before his eyes landed on neon green numbers that glared at him from the bedside table clock. Hakyeon made a face at the time and decided that he should also join the others in dreamland and soundlessly made his way through the dorm to the room he shared with Taekwoon.

°°°

Hakyeon could swear that his eyes had only been closed for ten seconds when he was being rudely awakened by the loud alarm tone emitting from his cell phone. He groaned into his pillow and pulled the duvet up until it covered his head, briefly muffling the noise of his alarm until it stopped altogether.

“Time for you to get up.” Taekwoon murmured a moment later, gently carding his fingers through Hakyeon’s hair in attempt to settle some of the more unruly looking parts of it.

“Ow…” The leader mumbled into the pillow when one of Taekwoon’s fingers caught on a particularly stubborn tangle.

“Sorry.” Taekwoon chuckled and pulled away when Hakyeon began to show signs of getting up from the bed. Taekwoon went to his wardrobe to start picking out his outfit for the day and Hakyeon watched in confusion as the younger stripped an oversized sweater from its hanger and began to change.

“Why are you getting ready? You and the others still have another hour-”

“When are you going to come back to dance rehearsals?” Taekwoon interrupted, his face unreadable as he spoke. “Are you.. are you really going to record separately from the rest us?”

“Hm? Don’t tell me you all actually miss me,” Hakyeon scoffed lightheartedly and let his feet dangle off the side of the bed. “I only have Weekly Idol shooting today since the last radio show recording was the other day.” Taekwoon’s face softened and Hakyeon thought he might actually start to smile.

“But...” Hakyeon paused and watched as whatever hint of a smile Taekwoon was sporting slowly fell away. “I have one of the last drama schedules really early tomorrow morning, so I’ll only be free for a few hours this afternoon before having to leave again.”

Taekwoon made a face at that, his nose scrunching up like he’d smelled something sour. Hakyeon knew that Taekwoon disliked when he had to spend nights away from the rest of them for filming purposes. It made Taekwoon worry if the leader was resting enough or eating enough. There would always be food trucks on site, but Taekwoon knew that Hakyeon was selfless enough to make sure the entire cast and crew were all well fed and hydrated before concerning himself in the slightest.

“So.. take care of the kids well while I’m gone tonight.” The leader began as he got up from his bed. He stood in front of Taekwoon and mumbled something about the other seeming a bit taller than he last remembered before smoothing out the wrinkles between Taekwoon’s eyebrows with a single finger. Taekwoon wasn’t frowning anymore, but Hakyeon was far from satisfied. He put each of his palms flat against the younger’s cheeks and smushed them together, giggling quietly at the silly face he was forcing Taekwoon to make for a moment before pushing them up so that the other looked like he was smiling. Hakyeon smiled, pleased by his own actions, and let the younger go so that he could start looking for something to wear.

“Hongbin needs to take his iron supplements with dinner‒”

“I know‒”

“And he’s down to taking only half of a sleeping pill fifteen minutes before bed for now. Make sure Sanghyuk doesn’t stay up too late reading…” Hakyeon ignored the way Taekwoon folded his arms across his chest and sighed and continued speaking without missing a beat. “Hmm, Jaehwan-ah is pretty good at taking care of himself when it comes to sleep, but don’t let him over-do it when you guys are practicing. If you start feeling tired then he’s more than likely already going to be exhausted, but he’ll try not to show it. And Wonshikkie… make sure he comes home tonight. If it starts to get late and he’s still in his studio just text me and I’ll take care of it.”

“Will you have time to eat breakfast if I fix you something real fast? Eggs won’t take too long to make.” Taekwoon purposely ignored the leader’s reminders, only caring about Hakyeon in the moment. Plus, they’ve gone through this countless times, Taekwoon could probably recite the routine in his sleep by now.

“Mmm, you know I’m never opposed to your cooking, but if you can make something that will be easy to eat on the go it would be better.” Taekwoon smiled and nodded before leaving the room so that the leader could have time to himself to change and get ready for the day.

♫    ♫    ♫

It was done. He was done. For weeks on end Hakyeon had to split his attention in what felt like hundreds of different directions and now he was finally, finally getting a break.

Okay, so maybe it didn’t seem like much of a break with the comeback scheduled for the next week, but now that would be the only thing he had to focus on. No more MC-ing, no more drama shoots, no more DJ-ing, and no more co-assisting any weekly shows of the sorts. It was bittersweet having to part from all of these schedules he’d grown quite fond of, but it was definitely necessary with promotions starting soon.

Hakyeon didn’t bother with texting any of the others to let them know that he was on his way back and would make it in time for the end of their scheduled recording session. Why they had scheduled it so late at night, Hakyeon would never understand, but he was more than happy to finally see s after such a long and tiring day full of shoots. Not to mention the obligatory cast and crew dinner that immediately followed the final shoot at which Hakyeon ate lightly and steered clear of alcohol, no matter how deserving of it the other cast members insisted he was. Hakyeon was only slightly sad about missing out on the free dessert offered by one of the directors when his manager texted him that it was time to leave, but he managed to maintain his happy attitude with the knowledge of being able to surprise the others at the recording studio soon enough.

°°°

Taekwoon was the first one he came into contact with as he walked into the lounge that was right outside the producing booth. Taekwoon seemed to be extremely relaxed as he was, sprawled out on the sofa with his head on the armrest, one leg crossed over the other and a foot tapping in mid-air along to whatever song he was listening to through his earphones.

As he approached him Hakyeon was able to make out the song to be the title track of the new album in which the group had recorded a few weeks prior. The leader smiled fondly at his relaxed friend and almost felt bad for disturbing him by pulling out a single ear bud.

“Hakyeon-ah!” The younger exclaimed in surprise with a hint of something else -relief?- in his voice when he saw the leader. “I didn’t know you’d get back so soon tonight, thank God!” He sat up from his somewhat comfortable position and pulled Hakyeon down to sit beside him on the sofa.

“Is something wrong? Where are the others?” The leader’s mind raced with a million different things that could all be wrong, but none that would be plausible with how relaxed Taekwoon had seemed only moments ago.

“I sent the younger ones off to the dance studios to give them a break from‒.”

Taekwoon was cut off by the door to the producer’s booth swinging open and nearly slamming into the wall, and had it not been for a conveniently placed doorstop, there would most definitely be a fresh hole in the wall in the shape of the doorknob.

“I’m going to get a drink of water!” Jaehwan yelled as he stepped out of the producer’s booth, promptly letting the door slam a bit harder than necessary. He took only two steps away from the door before he noticed the additional presence of his leader, relief flashing in his eyes much like the way it had in Taekwoon’s voice earlier.

“Oh, Hakyeon-hyung! Thank goodness! Please go talk some sense in Wonshik-ah before I go absolutely insane.” Jaehwan exclaimed before stomping off toward the exit. “It’s ONE song, for crying out loud! How the hello Taekwoonie-hyung managed put up with this for multiple tracks, I will never understand!”

Taekwoon sighed as the younger’s rants became faint the further he walked down the hallway until the door to the lounge clicked closed. Hakyeon could swear that his friend had aged a few years in just the couple of days since he’d last seen him and it made him realize how serious the situation must be.

“That’s basically all that’s been happening over the past couple of hours. I stood in with the kids while they recorded to keep Wonshik from going too far, but I know that Jaehwan can handle him. He’s a great deal harsher with us due to part distributions and high expectations that come with being a main vocal, and while I don’t particularly agree with some of the ways he’s done things, the end result is amazing. You should hear Sanghyuk’s part, I swear Wonshik knows how to bring out the best of that boy’s voice because he seriously sounded amazing.”

“Yah,” The leader remarked with a soft chop at the younger’s neck. “Hyukie always sounds amazing. You all do.” He went on to grumble something about having more confidence in one’s self and Taekwoon rolled his eyes.

“Maybe, but do we always sound amazing while jumping up and down and dancing in place while recording?”

“I mean.. do we not do that during performances?”

“Okay, but while recording?”

Hakyeon sighed tiredly, he was too exhausted for all of this. He’d only wanted to spend time with s for a bit and get his recording done so that they could all go home to rest early, but it didn’t seem like any of that would be happening any time soon. At least not until after he had a heart-to-heart with a certain rapper turned producer.

“I’ll talk with him. Is there anything else that’s been going on that I should know about?” Hakyeon asked his friend with another tired sigh. It was going to be another long night.

°°°

Hakyeon instructed Taekwoon to gather the others and head back to the dorm first. He paced the length of the waiting lounge for a few moments after the other left trying to figure out how to deal with Wonshik. The younger member was stubborn, there was no doubt about that… but Hakyeon was even more so. Though he supposed that it was Wonshik’s inner-perfectionist that brought out his absolute worst, even if it did always bring the best results in the end. He just needed to realize when enough was enough when it came to pushing the members and making them strive to be even better.

Hakyeon stood in front of the door that lead to the producing booth with one hand on the door handle and took a deep breath. He could feel vibrations from the thumping bass of whatever music Wonshik kept playing and pausing and playing over again, no doubt picking the song apart until he weeded out every single imperfection. Hakyeon was exhausted, but he needed to take ’s feelings into consideration as well. A calm approach would be best in this situation, but it could easily blow up if he said the wrong thing, and that’s the last thing the leader wanted this late at night.

He took another breath as soon as the music was paused for longer than thirty seconds and pushed the door open.

“Took you long enough.” Wonshik’s exasperated voice called out before Hakyeon could even round the corner. “Are you ready to be serio‒ H-Hyung!” The younger sputtered about upon seeing that it wasn’t Jaehwan entering the booth. “I didn’t‒! We didn’t‒! You’re back early...” He wanted to run to his hyung and pull him into a suffocating hug, oh, how he missed the leader! But the elder’s tired smile made him stay put. Wonshik could tell the other was exhausted, and if his dark circles were anything to go by, he wondered why Hakyeon even bothered stopping at the office rather than heading straight to the dorm to sleep.

“Hyung, you didn’t come to record did you? No offense, but you look like . You should head home, we can do your recording tomorrow. I just have to finish up with Jaehwan-hyung tonight.” The younger spoke softly with a lopsided smile, his attitude seeming to have taken a complete 180º turn, and oh…

Hakyeon understood now.

The leader felt impossibly burdened realizing how stressed Wonshik must have been. And he should have known with how alike the two of them are that the rapper would never directly tell anyone of his worries, instead shouldering them all until it became unbearable. Hakyeon could tell that the younger member was gradually reaching that point and wished that he’d realized it all sooner. At least then the other wouldn’t have had to deal with all of the stress of everything alone. Hakyeon had only let himself get to that point once in his time as leader of a six member boy group. But now he knows better than to hold back on sharing his worries, unless he wanted Taekwoon threatening to never make his favorite dinner ever again… damn his friend and his convincing ways. Always with food as well...

“I sent the others home. Everyone is done working for the night, including you.”

“But Jaehwan still‒!”

“No buts, Wonshik-ah!” Hakyeon said, a finality in his tone shutting the rapper up.

It was a tone he’d forgotten the leader even possessed, the other having not used it in a very long time. Sure they’ve all been scolded by Hakyeon in the past, but it was always in a joking manner with an underlying warning tone and that usually did the trick. A feeling of uneasiness settled in Wonshik’s stomach, he must be in deep trouble this time.

“It’s hard, isn’t it? It’s been really difficult on you, right Shikkie?”

What?

He was sure he was just about to get the scolding of a lifetime, but this hyung sounded almost sad.

He didn’t know how to respond to his leader’s sudden change in attitude, so he stayed quiet.

“I understand that you’re under a lot of pressure, I really do. But you need to understand that patience is key when it comes to these kinds of things. Nothing is going to go perfectly the first time, there will always be trial and error, and it’s going to be annoying. Take breaks, talk it out with the others, give examples to the best of your ability and know that the others are trying their best as well. Also remember this… it’s always okay to ask for help. Even if ‘help’ means just having an extra opinion on five seconds worth of a song, or letting one of us get you something to eat or drink.” Hakyeon took one of Wonshik’s hands in his own and rubbed his thumb along the back of it.

“But this, the yelling, the countless reps without any breaks, the disrespect toward your hyungs, this is the wrong way to go about things. You’re only making it hard on everyone, including yourself, by doing all of that. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand, hyung.” The younger answered, keeping both his voice and gaze low. “I’m sorry for causing you to worry and putting you under even more stress.”

Hakyeon pulled him into a short hug and he could physically feel all the unspoken tension and stress the younger member had built up in him melt away.  “I won’t let you suffer with all that stress alone, okay?” The leader whispered with his arms still wrapped around the other, smiling to himself when he felt Wonshik nod against his shoulder.

°°°

The two of them went on talking for nearly an hour before Hakyeon’s phone pinged with a text notification from Taekwoon. The other had grown worried that they were taking so long and Hakyeon supposed that it was time to head home and be with all five of s again.

“We’ll come up with a plan of action tomorrow, after a full night’s sleep in our own beds.”

“That sounds… like a fantastic idea.” Wonshik said, yawning around his words.

Hakyeon pulled the sleepy rapper into yet another hug, secretly reveling when he didn’t avoid or back out of the embrace.

“I believe in you, Wonshik-ah. You’re so talented and you’re bursting at the seams with so much potential and I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see what I already get to see on a daily basis.”

“You’re such a sap!” Wonshik whined, but hugged his hyung back with all of the force he’d wanted to hug him with when the elder had first walked into the booth.

They packed up Wonshik’s stuff together and made their way to the exit, and Hakyeon felt nothing but warmth and happiness radiating throughout him as the younger helped him decide which member would be easiest to ambush with hugs and cuddles once they arrived back at the dorm.

a/n: There are two more planned intallments to this series! But there's a possibility that I will continue adding on to it even after that. Taekwoon's chapter will be the next~ thank you for reading!