[FIC] CLUELESS
Title: Clueless
Fandom: MBLAQ
Pairing: Seungho/Cheondoong (SeungDoong)
Rating: G
Genre: Romance, fluff
Words: 8,035
Summary: There are actually two other things in this world that Seungho dislike aside from waking up in the morning and not getting his meals: Joon's annoying habits and Soonja. All of these things are actually linked with Cheondoong one way or another.
A/N:
Because I think the world needs more Doongie love, particularly of the SeungDoongie type....
Honestly, I just did this fic so that there would be at least 1 additional SeungDoongie fic out there. And of course, I was inspired a bit.
After I finished this story, the first thing that came to me was that "this is so random". Seriously. I didn't know if the story actually made any sense. But then I was also rushing this because I wanted to continue writing a Cheondoong-centric multi-chapter fic. And because I was finishing this at work. Not a very conducive place for writing since co-workers and bosses hover around... but, yeah. Hopefully, this is decent enough for you, guys.
Anyway, I would like to apologize for the grammar. English is not my native language; so please bear with the errors and inconsistencies. I have yet to get this edited. If anyone's interested, I think my contact details are somewhere in this site. I'm new here so I actually don't know much about the stuff that goes around.
So, yeah, this is a fluff, romance sort of story. I will have to tell you as well that I'm new to romance fiction, fluff and RPF; so please, again, bear with me. Also, I bear no grudge against Joon and Soonja; they were only convenient plot devices as far as the story is concerned.
Thanks a lot and hope you enjoy this fic.
***
I
Waking up has always been a dreary matter for Seungho. More so since MBLAQ has been very busy these past few weeks. They were shooting almost everyday for the next season of Sesame Player; this was their second go at the said show since they started it the previous year. Aside from that, shooting started right after their recent Japan tour. At this rate, the promised vacation that the members should be having looked further and further away, considering that their scheduled return album will be in a few months time.
Seungho groaned at the thought and tried to forget the fact that he should be getting up now to start the day. Anytime soon their manager would be coming in to wake him up. It would be good if he could actual get a few more shut eye before that happens.
And seemingly he was able to get some shut eye as he felt warm hands shaking his shoulder after a seemingly short while.
"Hyung! Hyung! Wake up! Hyung!"
Somehow he instantly knew that slurry voice. Unaware, Seungho smiled and muttered under the comforter.
"I'm awake, Doongie. No need to throw me off the bed with your shaking."
"Huh? Ah, I'm sorry, hyung!" Cheondoong sounded sincerely apologetic.
"No, it's ok," he quickly said. Seungho frowned and wondered if he came off angry. He didn't like the sound of worry in Cheondoong's voice.
He felt the sudden shift in the mattress and knew that his younger bandmate was about to leave.
"Get up, hyung. I'll be going-"
"No." He abruptly sat up, yawned and stretch to stare at his maknae who was a little startled by his action.
Usually, it takes at least half an hour before anyone could compel their leader to wake up in the morning. Everybody in MBLAQ knows it since they've seen the usual morning scenario with their manager and Seungho. The scene usually reminded Cheondoong of a Filipino saying about "dragging giant lizards out of their hiding place." Yes, the ordeal seemed that hard and scary.
Honestly, if looks could kill, their manager should have been dead years ago. The other MBLAQ members have tried waking Seungho before; and after their firsts, nobody tried to do it again. Well, at least not willingly. Mir, who was Seungho's roommate, was basically useless. After Seungho growled and threw a clock at him, he never dared unless he lost a bet and GO (seriously) threatened to hang him on the balconey by his feet. (Or his dick, whichever would make Mir shout so loud, Seungho wouldn't have a choice but murder him to stop). Their kind manager was the one who would usually do the dreadful job; but when he's not around, nobody would dare do it. Either they just let Seungho sleep as long as he wants or they fool someone to wake him up.
Strangely, this happened to be Cheondoong's fourth time at waking up their low-blooded leader. During the first three occassions, he lost in a game set up by the other MBLAQ members to determine who would wake Seungho up. On this fourth one, he was actually asked by their manager to do it. Not that he would deny their manager this simple request, but sometimes Seungho can be very scary. It's a good thing that he usually got lucky and ended up waking their leader in one of his rare good morning moods. He hoped he got lucky like this everytime.
Seungho stared dazedly in front and tried to remember if Cheondoong ever got chapped lips. Or does he wear lip balm all the time? Why does his lips look smooth all the time recently? As far as he knows, Cheondoong doesn't like wearing make up, especially when they're at home and not infront of the camera. The weird maknae confused him a lot.
“Hyung?” Sometimes, he would get scared of Seungho not because of his evil eyes of death, but because he would look insane while smiling broadly at nothing in particular, just like the smile he was giving right now. He rarely gets scared of Seungho; heck, he rarely gets scared with most people (except maybe Bi-hyung or his sister or spiders and sea foods). But right now, it seemed that Seungho's manic smile was getting to him. It felt like his hyung was going to grow fangs and bite his neck which wouldn't really surprise him that much. The weird leader confused him a lot.
If Seungho were to be honest, he really thought Cheondoong was cute, completely and most positively cute, all the time. So cute that it seemed forbidden, not to mention absolutely awkward since they're both guys. He had let out this opinion of his very few times in the past, but was careful not to convey how insanely adorable Cheondoong was for him. Particularly right this moment when the maknae was scowling at him.
“Hyung, you should get up now.”
Seungho laughed his trademark grandpa laughter, something that he would usually let out when around the fake maknae.
“Don't I get a morning kiss?” he said, pouting his lips for emphasis.
Cheondoong laughed and shook his head. “No, hyung. I don't like morning breath.“ He was absolutely sure that their leader was in his rare good mornings now. He stood up and helped Seungho get up. Cheondoong was sure that with that smile on his hyung's face during the start of this morning, everything was going to be fun.
_____________________________________________________________________________
II
Seungho's smile was from ear to ear as he readied to inflict punishment on Cheondoong after losing there little game. The way the fake maknae was squirming under G.O.'s grip was very adorable.
"Stay still," he said cheerfully as he cleared Cheondoong's forehead with one hand, then clasped the maknae's cheeks with both hands.
Cheondoong had his eyes closed in anticipation of the pain. Seungho could hit really hard and he could do nothing but plead for his leader to go a little soft on him. "Hyung..." After this was aired, Cheondoong would probably be silently mortified with the way he sounded like a baby, or the way he was squirming.
Seungho knew he was smiling too much now. His jaws hurt. With the way Cheondoong sounded, he wanted to spare him; and at the same time, hit him really really hard. But in the end, he opted for a milder ddakbam, not because he would usually feel weak whenever Cheondoong was at his cutest (as if the maknae could actually drain his strength just by being unforgivingly adorable), but because... um, he felt gracious. Yeah, something like that.
"Now, my turn!" said an excited Joon; it was one of those rare occasions wherein he wasn't the one being punished. As it went, Cheondoong doubled over in pain.
"That hurts the most!" At the back of Cheondoong's mind, he reminded himself to be wary of Joon's punishments as they were usually the ones that hurt the most, especially when the older guy would get excited. GO has not tried going all out with him and the guy was known to hit the hardest and give the most brutal-looking attacks. Even Seungho never tried to hit him hard. Mir surprisingly never hit him that hard.
"Ah!" Joon cried, sounding sincerely apologetic, "Sorry." And like the clumsy and compulsive guy that he was, Joon did something he has never done before: he kissed Cheondoong gently and squarely on the forehead. In front of the other MBLAQ members, the cameras, and random strangers. With no script at hand. Right in front of Seungho.
After a half second awkwardness, the two involved suddenly burst in to laughter. It was funny and embarassing but nothing to kill themselves over. They guessed the fangirls would be squelling their heads off.
G.O. and Mir laughed and teased as well. But Seungho just smiled awkwardly. Somehow, that moment with Joon ruined his day; and Cheondoong's laughter made it worst. His jaws really hurt now; but not from too much smiling. It was hard to carry a smile when you really didn't feel like it.
_________________________________________________________________________
III
This was one of those rare days when Seungho woke up earlier than usual, more than 3 hours the usual. And more often than not, based from Seungho's experience, this was one of those bad days.
He was feeling really bad since yesterday. Not in the 'unhealthy' bad way, but in a 'I wanna smack someone's face' bad way. To be honest, he's been thinking of hitting Joon since yesterday. Honestly, the man could get to him. The guy was unbearably annoying during the shooting, showing off his body and being annoyingly touchy feely on the set. Particularly, after the scene with Cheondoong. The screaming writers and staff (a.k.a. rabid Joon fangirls) on the set were basically screaming their heads off when Joon kissed Cheondoong on the forehead. He found it utterly distasteful and unprofessional, that vulgar show of skinship that Joon was doing. They were artist, not some cheap talentless thrills people watch for amusement. And he did it with Cheondoong, no less! A dongsaeng! Never mind the fact that he's already legal. Cheondoong was still one of the younger members and it's very alarming that Joon has been influencing Cheondoong for so long. Seungho took note to seriously talk with the younger member about being influenced by Joon as soon as possible. He couldn't allow this to go on.
Even if he's already awake, there was no way he was actually going to get out of bed. Moments like this were rare; and despite the fact that his whole day may go bad due to having only a few hours of sleep, there was no way in hell he was getting up. Not with how bad he was still feeling. Which he came to realize, did not really make sense. He actually didn't know why he was feeling awful since yesterday.
Seungho groaned. The sudden realization didn't really do much to alleviate what he was feeling. Whenever yesterday's fiasco came to mind, he still wanted to hit Joon badly. As the leader, he should be level-headed and rational. But he still thought Joon should be punched. No amount of rationality could make him think otherwise. At least not today or at this moment. Well, maybe.
In any case, he would just have to enjoy this rare moment, no matter how god awful the rest of the morning would be. Besides, their manager wasn't around. It seemed that Manager Kim was really determined to get himself married as soon as possible. Seungho smiled. He was happy for his manager; at the same time, he was happy for the freedom and the relative quietness of his mornings as of recent. With the evident dark clouds hanging around him yesterday evening, he would be surprised if anyone would want to try to wake him up today. He would probably lash out on the poor sod who would wake him up today. Mir and GO, he would probably glare them to death, shoot them verbal abuse and such. If it's Joon, he might have to do damage of the physical kind. Now, if the one to come wake him up would be...
He groaned under the cover, suffocating himself with his pillow in a vain suicide attempt. He probably should get up by himself right now. It's a lot safer to his sanity. And Mir, who was snoring like an elephant on the bed nearby, completely unaware of an attempt to his life by his badly tempered roommate. The day was going to be bad anyway, might as well get it over with.
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IV
Cheondoong did an double take. He paused at the threshold of their living room entrance. There was a half second awkward moment when he contemplated how amusing it was thinking his heart actually jumped out of his chest. Cartoon characters with exaggerated thumping hearts flashed in his mind. He mentally laughed at it within that awkward half second.
Going back to reality, Seungho was in the living room. Awake. Cheondoong stared at the clock opposite the sofa where Seungho was currently sitting. It was... 6 in the morning. He stared back at Seungho at the sofa. He ignored the panda deathglare directed at him and then stared back at the clock. Last he checked the clock wasn't broken and they didn't have any special schedule today, if today was the day he thought was today. And he was sure that today was the right day; and he had their schedule memorized, verified, and validated. He could not have been wrong. He looked back at Seungho who seemed real and have blacker eye shadows today. Funny, Cheondoong was half convinced that he was dreaming. He guessed what made him think otherwise was that Seungho's glare looked authentic and ready to kill for some reason; and the fact that he was sure of their group's schedule for today. He was, strangely, feeling light given the situation. He thought it might be the after effects of exercise at work here. Either that or somebody spiked his water bottle as a prank.
"Um, morning." Nonchalantly, he greeted his leader, dropped the duffel bag he had on his shoulder, and then proceeded to take off his shirt. Because he was really sweaty after the long jog from the practising room and he couldn't give a damn if Seungho were blasting him with laser beams. He was icky as hell. With another of his awkward bowing gestures, he left Seungho and dragged his bag from the floor with a grace of a lethargic snake. He barely even heard Seungho's insult of being a 'clean freak' when he closed the door of the bathroom. It was only after the cold water hit his face when his mind actually understood Seungho's shouted insult. Really, he couldn't understand the clean freak part; that was GO's nickname. After all, Doongie was the one with the smelly feet.
Seungho, on the other hand, was feeling angry. Angry enough to throw an unsuspecting teddy bear on the wall. Cheondoong was - oh, that boy really didn't know manners. He turned his back on him, his senior! To take a shower! Cheondoong shouldn't have done that. He should have.... Well, ok, he didn't really know what Cheondoong should have done and he didn't really need anything from him. But he was angry. Come to think of it, it was irrational to be angry with Cheondoong. However, it didn't change whatever feeling he had at the moment. Seungho was feeling angry, alone, and, if he were to be honest with himself, abandoned. Cheondoong should have...
"Eh, Seungho! You're awake. What is wrong with the world today? We're not in twilight zone - "
Seungho threw the abused teddy bear lying on the floor smack at Joon's face. He was too loud and unbearably annoying so early in the morning.
______________________________________________________________________________
V
Hell was the day.
Why was he even born?
These were the thoughts swirling in Seungho's head as his clouds grew darker. The coordis were going to be angry with him but he couldn't care less right now. Joon's laughter was grating on his head, literally.
"I don't want that. I'll make my butt look big!" Joon whined at the laughing crew. They were giving him a duck butt belt to wear. From the smile on his face, Joon would have worn it regardless of his verbal protest.
The ass, Seungho wanted to say. He also wanted to stuff the duck butt at Joon's throat; but he was slightly dizzy, and he might miss and waste his effort in the process.
Mir was holding the belt and chasing after Joon in an attempt to stick it to his behind. Joon was swatting him away, acting all annoyed and defensive.
Seungho didn't miss though when Mir passed the horrible yellow thing they called a belt to Cheondoong. Cheondoong merely took it amiably, walked calmly to Joon, and effortlessly tied the belt around Joon's waist. Joon even raised his hands up so Cheondoong could go around without a problem.
There was nothing wrong with the scene actually. It was just the group having fun, something they normally do when they were together. They've done this sort of thing before. Seungho remembered laughing his ass off while they were teasing Joon or each other.
But there was something about the easy smile in Joon's face and, especially, the soft smile on Cheondoong that made Seungho feel like his stomach was performing harakiri by itself. And it should be emphasized that it was not a a very good feeling. For a split second he thought he was going to thrown up; but then he was alarmed by something much worst when he felt the stinging behind his eyes. He swallowed the remaining saliva on his throat and smiled forcefully. Everyone else was still being stupid with Joon while Seungho sat at the corner, feeling horrible without knowing much of the reason why.
Cheondoong turned to him in mid-laughter, his gaze questioning after a second. Seungho gave him a little smile, feeling the horrible knot in his stomach relaxing a little. He was definitely going to defeat and punish Joon in their next made-up game. Maybe Cheondoong too. Cheondoong smiled at him for a second before turning to join the others. Well, maybe not Cheondoong. No, not Cheondoong.
________________________________________________________________________________
VI
"We hope you enjoyed our performance tonight. Please continue to watch over us," Seungho said in a clear and confident voice. He has done this many times now; he could say his speech while sleeping. "One, two!"
"Thank you very much!" They all said.
Another performance, another day done. They went off the stage immediately and packed their things to go. When they got into their van, Seungho wanted nothing more but to sleep. He could say that he has never felt this drained since his trainee days. Actually, he couldn't remember if he has ever felt this tired in his life. He had been physically drained before. But right now, it felt like other than being physically tired, something also drained the soul out of him and placed a boulder the size of South Korea on his shoulders. He felt numbed, lost and floating. He couldn't really describe it; but it sucked.
He was vaguely aware of their manager asking him if he was alright. He just responded with a 'hm' and then continued to stare off the window. He also barely missed GO babbling on his side about him. Seungho stared at GO for a moment before saying, 'I'm tired'; and then continued to ignore him like before.
Seungho stared at the endless lane passing by. He thought he had imagined Cheondoong's gentle voice saying to everyone to 'stop harassing, Seungho-hyung; he needs to rest'. Later on, Seungho would be amazed at how he could have slept with open eyes. The other members would verify that he had been seemingly awake and had been staring errily outside the window of the vehicle the whole trip; when in fact, Seungho was already a goner and couldn't remember anything that transpired on that trip. The only memories he could come up with of that night were Cheondoong's voice, a gentle hand on his arms guiding him, a faint smell of roses, a delightfully honey soft and smooth texture on his face, and the suffocating fabric of his bed as his body landed heavily on it.
Cheondoong stared at the closed door of Seungho's room. He was sure that his hyung wasn't in the right state of mind. After trying to understand Seungho, failing, and forgetting the issue to think about his cute Dadoong's new picture, he eventually decided to forgo dinner and go to bed.
___________________________________________________________________________
VII
Seungho woke up on his bed feeling he had a really good dream. He dreamt of a nice warm feeling. It didn't really make sense but the feeling reminded him of soft, fluffy, kittens. Which was really weird since he was not really a pet lover, much more a cat lover. He remembered experiencing an almost similar warm feeling sometime in the past; but he had never before associated them with cats.
Cheondoong was the cat lover in the group. Seungho couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of him at the thought. Doongie really adored cats and he never hid the fact. Strangely, everyone who had visited their dorm knew that Doongie owned Hello Kitty bed sheets and pillow covers, and a cute little Hello Kitty stuffed toy which he actually called Soonja and took to bed every night; but no one has ever divulged this in public. Jihoon-hyung also knew about this when he visited their dorm, passed by Cheondoong's open room, paused at the door step, stared silently for an awkward second at the stuffed toy sitting cutely in the middle of a light pink bed, and then walked by as if nothing happened. Jihoon-hyung never said anything about it. Cheondoong was completely oblivious. The rest of the people either did not care or pretended not to, so to hide the awkwardness they were feeling.
For Seungho, he didn't really care and found other people's awkwardness with Doongies' preference unnecessary. Cheondoong had every right to like whatever it was he liked. The only thing he didn't like about the whole Hello Kitty thing was the stuffed toy. The toy felt ominous. Seungho never really cared about stuffed toys; he only thought of them as something girls and kids liked a lot for some reason. He was too manly to even give stuffed toys a thought or to feel anything about it. But he really didn't like Cheondoong's toy. He didn't like how pink it was or how comfortable it looked sitting on top of Cheondoong's bed. There was even a time when it crossed his mind to steal the doll, burn it in the trash bin, and blame it on Joon. It was during the time when he and GO were bored and wanted something crazy to do. He was a bit taken aback by how much he really wanted to do it; but he stopped himself from even telling GO about it. He wouldn't do that to Cheondoong, even if the thought of burning that thing and blaming Joon for it was very tempting.
The thought of Cheondoong's stuffed toy and Joon sent a frown to his face. "Such a morning killer," he huffed to himself before glancing at his side and spotting Mir sitting on his bed and staring at him, eyes wide in fear. He didn't notice the maknae at all; and from the looks of it, Mir seemed to have been watching him for sometime now.
"Hyung, are you gonna kill me?" Mir asked him in a tiny, fearful voice. "You look crazy. Have you gone crazy?"
Seungho stared, glared, and said, "Yes. Run."
With that said, the maknae made a dash for the door like the hounds were on him. The banging of the door seemed to have resonated throughout the dorm.
Content, Seungho sank back on his bed. Simple joys really made life worth living. Having slept well that night, he spent only a few more minutes plotting on how to terrorize the others before getting up with a smile.
_____________________________________________________________________________
VIII
GO stormed out of the bathroom, looking for his aftershave. They couldn't find it and GO didn't want to use the other's aftershaves. He wouldn't let other aftershave brands touch his face. He was the only one with a particular preference, milky melon scent. The other members would frown at his choice; but GO wouldn't have anything else. In the end, GO decided not to shave that day, much to the noonas chagrin.
Seungho knew he'd react that way. He wondered how long it would take them to spot GO's aftershave inside Joon's bag, and what sort of riot would ensue.
He smiled maniacally as he stole Mir's toasted bread and watched as the maknae scooted away from him like he was a rabid dog out loose. Since the morning, the maknae wouldn't go near him. And like the fully energized bastard that he was, Seungho tried to scare Mir in every oppurtunity he could find.
It was just bad that Cheondoong caught his smile. Seungho saw a spark of knowing in Doongie's eyes, and knew he had been found out. Cheondoong has always had good intuition. He shot the boy a warning look. Cheondoong knew not to mess with him; he would probably quietly try to find GO's aftershave himself.
It took only about 10 minutes before GO discovered the aftershave in Joon's bag.
"I swear in my mother's deathbed I did not take your aftershave!"
"Joon, you're mother is still alive."
Insert awkward pause.
"Don't tell my mom."
"Ok."
"But I didn't steal your aftershave. I don't need it. I don't have facial hair!"
"You're not a woman, Joon."
"Of course, I'm not a woman!"
"I think I'm more concerned with the fact that you're not aware of what you're saying."
Seungho was watching the scene in amusement. Nearby, Cheondoong looked on worriedly, clutching his prized stuffed toy for comfort. Doongie does that whenever there was a situation that was bothering him. It was as if the toy could help him, comfort him, and give him strength. Cheondoong rarely asks his seniors for their help or comfort. And if he would ask for comfort, he would usually go to Joon and not the other members. Seungho realized that he didn't like that. He really didn't.
"GO-hyung," Cheondoong called in a soft voice that only Seungho could hear. The two idiots were too busy discussing the plausibility of random teleportation and existence of animated aftershaves.
"GO-hyung, it's actually me," Cheondoong continued, barely even getting in between GO and Joon who seemed to be absorbed in making up their magical aftershave story plot scenario that involved GO's aftershave having a life of its own due to having been exposed to the magical full moon light when they forgot to shut the bathroom window last night, and realizing that it hated servicing GO because he had too much hair. So it decided on its own to become Joon's aftershave because he had less hair and was more handsome than GO; thus the aftershave ended on his bag. GO didn't like the later part of the story and tried to changed the plot into a vengeful aftershave story.
"Hyung," Cheondoong called again. "I took your--"
Seungho's feet moved swiftly in three strides. His right hand acted with him, smoothly reaching forward and grabbing the stuffed toy by its cottony head from an unsuspecting Cheondoong. Without pause for thought, he threw the toy at Joon with such an impact unexpected from something made of cotton and polyester.
Soonja bounced a feet away from her owner. There was a deafening silence that followed after. GO and Joon looked at Seungho like he just killed someone. Cheondoong stared at Soonja lying on his feet for a second, before he silently walked out of the room.
"The two of you are annoying," Seungho said as he looked at the stuffed toy on the floor and gave it a kick.
Mir was just getting into the room when Seungho rushed by him. "Eh, what happened?" he asked the other two in the room who looked as if they just witnessed a road kill.
"I told you my aftershave hated you and wanted revenge."
Joon shot GO an incredulous look. "How could it hate me? I'm more charming and beautiful! I told you your aftershave likes me more."
"I'm telling Jihoon-hyung that all of you have gone insane," Mir said, convinced that yes, his teammates have gone crazy.
___________________________________________________________________________
IX
The rest of the day went a little uncomfortable for the group. Cheondoong wasn't speaking to anyone, particularly Seungho. Seungho was all antsy and dark clouds. Joon was upset with GO and was still insisting that GO's aftershave liked him more. GO was happy he got his aftershave back and believed that it hated Joon. Mir was convinced that his hyungs have all gone insane and continued on having a one-sided conversation with Cheondoong whom he belived was the safest among them, meaning that Cheondoong would most likely just throw random accessible objects at him when annoyed and wouldn't suddenly lash out and bite him.
Regardless of the conflict in the group, the day went on productively. They stayed at the studio preparing for their next album. Cheondoong was busy composing and giving his inputs on some of the songs that he didn't have much of a chance to interact with the other MBLAQ members; while the rest of the group were already working on the songs that were almost finished. They had their dinner while working and decided to wrap up when 8PM arrived. They would be filming tomorrow and it would be best to give the team a goodnight's sleep.
It was already 10PM and Seungho was still up and sitting by the balconey of their dorm. The night breeze was comfortable. It helped him ease the discomfort he was feeling since the fiasco this morning.
"Boo!"
"AH!" He turned abruptly and controlled the urge to punch GO's grinning face. "Do you want me to die, you ass?!"
GO just chuckled. "Sorry. Couldn't help it. What are you doing here?"
Seungho glared at him. "What do you think? I was waiting for you. You do realize that it's already 10 o'clock?"
"Eh? Really? I didn't notice," GO's voice drifted in wonder.
"Sometimes I wonder what you do in the bathroom. Do you sleep in there?"
GO smiled at him. "Sometimes. And sometimes I do other things which I don't think you would want to know."
"Wow. Thanks for telling me that. I don't think I want to enter our bathroom now. Or ever. I will never look at it the same way again." Seungho wrinkled him nose.
They both burst in laughter.
"Ok, I'll take my shower now," Seungho said, grabbing his towel from the banister.
"Hey, wait." Seungho looked at GO. It was only then that he noticed GO holding something in his left hand. "You should give this back."
Seungho didn't know what to say. The discomfort he was feeling since this morning's fiasco came back to him.
"I know it was you who took my aftershave. It was hard not to be suspicious with that shit-eating grin you had when you woke up this morning. I also think you should apologize."
"To Joon?"
"No, not him. If you're feeling nice enough, then, yes, you should. But I will not be held liable if anything happens to Joon when you do face to apologize to him. For Joon, maybe not today. Surprisingly, that guy understands things better than you do." Seungho glared at him. "Seriously, he does. Anyway, you should apologize soon. I'll leave you now." GO left with a goodnight, placing the object in his hand on the small table nearby.
Seungho wanted to throw it through the balconey. However, he knew GO was right. With a sigh, Seungho grabbed Soonja roughly by the ear and headed for Cheondoong's door.
He knocked several times, called him and then knocked some more. He wanted to get this over with. Aside from that, he really wanted to apologize to Cheondoong. He didn't like the tension between them. It was suffocating him. Like every bit of air he took in was poisonous and painful to him. Seriously. He didn't know why. It was worse than when he had a huge argument with his parents. Or when he fought with his brother. Or when he broke up with a girlfriend. However, in those cases, he was able to speak up or argue his point with them. Let his proverbial fuse blow so to speak.
But with Cheondoong, he couldn't do it; he couldn't speak to him about it. He attempted several times when they were at the studio. Every time he drew back because he couldn't do it. Usually, he would be able to apologize immediately when he knew it was his fault or when he has gone overboard with his prank. He was a straightforward guy; so it frustrated him that he couldn't. It reminded him of an English expression 'cat got your tongue', which was strangely and annoyingly appropriate considering the situation.
In frustration, he banged the stuffed toy in his hand at the door several times, before deciding to enter Cheondoong's door without permission.
The lights were already out in Cheondoong's room. And the said boy was quietly sleeping in his ligh pink and fluffy bed. Seungho carefully closed the door behind him and slowly walked to the younger one's bed. Cheondoong had a slight frown on his sleeping face; Seungho wished he wasn't the reason for that. Gently, he sat down Cheondoong's bed and stared at him. Seungho felt all the tension of the day evaporated out of him, leaving him only with a sense of regret and sadness.
"I'm really sorry. Forgive me," he whispered. He knew he was cheating. He would say it again to Cheondoong tomorrow; but for now, he really wanted to say it. Because the moment just felt so right to say things he couldn't say calmly and directly to Cheondoong. Like the words 'You're beautiful' which came out of nowhere, startling himself with the sincerity he felt when he said them.
"You're really beautiful," Seungho whispered with more conviction. Seungho knew it even before; it was just he didn't want to admit it to himself. From the first time he saw the young boy, he had thought he was beautiful. But he had stopped himself from acknowledging it. And Cheondoong grew to become more and more beautiful in front of him, with all his good points and flaws. Unlike other people whose flaws turned them less appealing in Seungho's eyes, Cheondoong's beauty never waiver despite his bad habits. Seungho would always try and correct his dongsaeng's bad habits. He does the same to all his juniors, but Cheondoong was always special. It wasn't always noticeable, but with Cheondoong, he was more willing and determined to guide him. It was a good thing (and maybe a little sad as well) that the younger boy was more well-behaved and dependable than the others. In any case, he was just painfully beautiful in Seungho's eyes.
He placed the stuffed toy near Doongie's pillow. Seungho didn't care about Soonja at this moment. Because everything was simply irrelevant compared to a sleeping Cheondoong.
Seungho's hand grazed Cheondoong's forehead and down his cheeks. Doongie's skin has always been very nice to look at; however, they were immensely irresistable to touch. It was like touching delicate petals. The touch sent tingling shocks to Seungho's spine.
He wanted the moment to last. He wanted to touch him. He wanted something from him; but he didn't know what it was. He wanted to tell him things, many things, something; but no words came to him. He wanted to call his name.
"Sanghyun." He had never realized how much he wanted to say his name. In the many years they have been together as teammates, he had rarely called him by his real name.
"Sanghyun," he said again. It didn't make sense to him how much one name could make him feel like a dam was about to break inside of him. How a name could tear him apart and free him at the same time.
He felt a very urgent need to do something. So he bent down and tenderly touched the soft plump cheek with his lips.
"Saranghamnida."
Later on that night, after he had gotten out of Cheondoong's room, he would wonder why it perfectly felt right saying that and how it was able to obliterated all confusing thoughts swirling in his head. But for now, he has never been more sure in his entire life of anything that came out of his mouth.
He carefully closed the door behind him. It felt like somebody switched off the power button on his brain. He vaguely remembered how he finished his shower, dressed in his pajamas, and got to bed. Looking back, he realized that Cheondoong seemed to be the main culprit behind most of his brain shut-downs. Unfortunately, he was too dazed and tired to think much about it. The issue would just have to wait for tomorrow.
___________________________________________________________________________
X
Seungho groaned. He wanted to a kick the cushions. He wanted to kick Joon. He wanted to kick Soonja. But he couldn't do anything but crouch down and accept defeat. He recently lost the 'bending joints' game that Cheondoong invented. He shouldn't have been in this situation if it weren't for that stupid doll, and Joon.
During their shooting, they were treated lunch by the staff for the successful episodes of Sesame. They were doing filming for the last episode already. The staff already laid out the meal on the table. Of course, Seungho was ready to dig in; but then Joon had to open his mouth and suggested a game, of all stupid things.
"There is only five bowls of noodles. And there is five of us, plus Soonja."
Cheondoong brought Soonja along. He was evidently happy when he woke up today; so nobody commented on him bringing the doll to the set. Besides, people usually think nothing of the doll; they may have thought that it was just some random prop they picked up to make the boy look more adorable that he already was.
Seungho looked at Joon incredulously. The idiot couldn't have been thinking of what he thought the idiot was thinking, could he?
"So let's include Soonja in the game. Only five people will get to eat this meal prepared for us by the staff. The first one to loose will be barred from eating any of the food. In this case, Doongie will play the game for two people, for him and Soonja. Does everyone agree on this?"
The others immediately agreed to this. Seungho thought it was disadvantageous to Cheondoong who was playing for two. But as it went, he was the one who lost the game.
Seungho didn't know if he intentionally lost because of Cheondoong or because he really sucked at that game. He kind of thought the later was a much nicer reason to tell others though. He gritted his teeth as the other taunted him about his lost, particularly since the prize he lost was food. It was a good thing that he couldn't see them. He would like to kill GO with a deathglare and maybe poke Joon with a barbecue stick. He also didn't like Mir's squelling but then again he had no tolerance for it even before. But to be honest, he didn't want to look at Cheondoong. He hasn't spoken with him yet. God knows he tried this morning, when Doongie was all sparkly and bright; but he couldn't speak with him. He just couldn't speak a word to him.
"Hey, Cheondoong, stop hoarding the food. You can't eat that much," Joon said.
"But I won for two. I'm just taking what's mine." He could hear the smile in Doongie's voice.
"Thank you for you hard work everyone." He heard one of the staff say to them.
"Wrap up!" Another shouted and some clapped their hand. Shooting was done for today; but still, Seungho crouched.
"Yey! Thanks for the food!" It was Mir's obnoxious laughter.
Seungho drowned them out, feeling annoyed and rebellious since he didn't get to eat. He felt a pat on his shoulder and the familiar soft voice. "Hyung, get up already."
He didn't want to. He was still sore from the lost, as well as the fact that he didn't want to face the younger boy. "Hyung~!"
Cheondoong didn't stop nudging and calling him. After a few calls and nudges, he moved to get up. He hated loosing the food; but he was mature, dammit! Cheondoong shouldn't think otherwise. Idiot GO and Joon would just rub it in if he refused to get his act together. And was that barbecue meat being pushed through his lips?
"Open your mouth," Cheondoong calmly told him, on which he silently complied and the younger boy successfully placed the meat on his mouth. It tasted good too.
"But that's your prize," he told him in between chewing.
"Seriously, hyung. Soonja can't eat. It'll mess her up if I try." Seungho thought that Cheondoong had more sense than any of the other MBLAQ members. It was one of the reasons why he liked him the best; and yes, more than he liked GO who was his best friend in the group. Or Jihoon-hyung. Or Jeon Jihyun, most of the times actually.
"Wai! Seungho-hyung's eating now. Wai!" Mir chanted while dancing around the table with Joon. He didn't know why they were moving around and dancing; but they were idiots anyway.
"Hyung," Cheondoong called him. He removed Soonja from beside a bowl of noodles and placed her on the floor beside them. "Here's your bowl." Cheondoong was about to grab the bowl; when Joon, who was busy dancing like an idiot, bumped his feet on the small table and nearly tipped over the bowl Cheondoong was going to get. Seungho reflexively grabbed Soonja off the accident path; while Cheondoong prevented the bowl from completely tipping over. There was some soup that spilled; but luckily, it wasn't hot enough to scald anyone.
"Ah, sorry!" Joon apologized immediately.
"Hey, be careful!" GO scolded them. Some of the staff hurried to grab a cloth for the spill.
"Are you alright?" Seungho asked.
The younger boy nodded. "Soonja?" he asked.
"All dry," he said, showing the doll to Doongie.
Cheondoong smiled warmly at him. Seungho felt the warmth seep to him as well.
The younger boy took the stuffed toy from him; and without a pause or a thought, he leaned across and kissed Seungho softly on the cheek.
"Thank you."
The effect was instantenous to Seungho. The warmth he felt turned into fire that grazed his face and neck and made his stomach do something like backflips. He also couldn't help the smile and laughter that bubbled over him afterwards. He was surprised, but more than that, he felt seriously happy. He vaguely took in the surprised look of people around.
"We have a new couple here. Joon, I'm sorry but you got rejected," GO said in his usual humorous calm.
"How could you, Doongie? I thought we were going to grow old together!" Joon said in mock pain. Seungho could see the twinkle in his eyes and thought that Joon wasn't such an ass sometimes.
"Ah, but Doongie has good sense," Seungho couldn't believe he said that with confidence.
"What are you talking about? You can't choose him. Even GO's aftershave knows who to choose!"
"I told you, it hates you. It wants revenge."
"Why do you keep saying that? Everybody likes me, even your aftershave."
"Are you guys going to keep acting crazy? 'Cause I'm going to finish all of the pizza," Mir said this before polishing off the last piece of pizza in two bites.
GO looked at Joon seriously, "Joon, I think we need to hang Mir by the balconey."
"Yes, I think we have too," Joon nodded just as seriously.
Seungho and Cheondoong were laughing out loud as chaos ensued. Seungho felt like the last couple of days didn't matter; the depression, envy, and all that nasty stuff. He felt it drain out of him the moment Cheondoong kissed him. He would probably experience more shitty emotions now than before; however, Cheondoong was beside him, holding his hand, and laughing with him. Somehow, everything seemed inconsequential. He didn't know what all of this was; didn't have to name or define it. All that mattered was that Cheondoong, Sanghyun, was there. He'd figured out the world or whatever later, just as long as Sanghyun was there.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Seungho was heavy for him, particularly now that he's turning into deadweight. Why he was the one to carry him to bed was something he has been trying to figure out.
"You could wake him up; then you could put him to bed too," was GO's logic. Eventually, Cheondoong decided that it was shitty logic. He should have figured it from the first nano-second. But then even if he did point that out, they'd still order him to do it.
"Hyung, you awake?" Cheondoong tried. His only response was an incoherent mumble. Seungho was fine when he nudged him out of the van; but when he leaned on him for a second, he slowly turned deadweight.
Cheondoong sighed to himself. "Hopeless." He was speaking about the both of them. Good thing that they were already inside the dorm and all he needed to do was drop his hyung on the bed.
He kicked open Seungho's and Mir's room. He wondered where Mir escaped. He should be the one doing this instead of him.
"Hyung, hyung, you're going to bed now," he said softly, nudging the older one and maneouvering him over the bed.
Cheondoong got startled when Seungho moved himself over him. His hyung was weird. He didn't know if he was sleeping, drunk or playing around. Seungho could still stand and move a little on his own; but he didn't have the comprehension and motor skills of a sober person at the moment. It made him think about people actually spiking their drinks for laughs.
"S-sanghyun," Seungho called out. The younger boy was a bit surprised. And suspicious. But he was positive he didn't smell any liquor.
"Ah, hyung, you should sleep now," he gently said.
"Don't do it," Seungho whispered, focusing his disoriented eyes on him and draping his body over him.
"What?" he should just try to humour him to get this over with. Regarless of how cute his hyung was in this drunk-like state, he wanted to do his own sleeping as well.
Seungho hugged him like a teddy bear. Which Cheondoong found ironic since Seungho was the panda. He couldn't figure out if that made actual sense.
"Don't do it. Don't kiss Joon," the older one slurred near Cheondoong's neck.
The younger boy chuckled. "Ok, hyung. Now go to bed."
"No!" Seungho insisted angrily. For a guy who seemed barely sober, Seungho was pretty scary and strong. His grip on Cheondoong's arm was a little painful. He could probably terrorize and fight people at this state. "Promise me."
Cheondoong sighed. "Yes, hyung. I promise." He noted to himself to always approach Seungho with caution regardless of what state he was in, particularly if he was half-asleep, drugged, drunk, sick, etc. Seungho was highly likely to be deemed dangerous in all state.
Then Seungho hugged him tightly, hiding his face on the younger boy's neck. Cheondoong wanted to squirm; his hyung was holding him too intimately for his liking. "That's my Doongie-ya. My lovely Doong-Doong," Seungho whispered to his ear like he was really happy. The younger boy couldn't help smiling; and eventually, he warmed to his hyung's embrace.
"Hyung, go to sleep now. You need rest," he nudged his hyung a little.
Seungho moved away, but not without planting a lingering kiss at Cheondoong's cheek. He moved away a little, smiling softly at the shocked boy; then crashing down like a heap on his bed. The younger boy stared at him with awe for a few seconds, before deciding to help the older boy remove his shoes and settle properly in his bed.
Cheondoong went out of the room silently, thoughts in muddle. Lucky enough for the boy, he tended to dismiss things off when they get too complicated for him to contemplate. He just moved on and thought everyone was entitled to be weird once in a while. Aside from that, he really liked Seungho, regardless of the weird and scary episodes.
So the uncomplicated boy marched on to his room, thought about his cat, and slept deeply.
_____________________________________________________________________________
The End
_____________________________________________________________________________
Fandom: MBLAQ
Pairing: Seungho/Cheondoong (SeungDoong)
Rating: G
Genre: Romance, fluff
Words: 8,035
Summary: There are actually two other things in this world that Seungho dislike aside from waking up in the morning and not getting his meals: Joon's annoying habits and Soonja. All of these things are actually linked with Cheondoong one way or another.
A/N:
Because I think the world needs more Doongie love, particularly of the SeungDoongie type....
Honestly, I just did this fic so that there would be at least 1 additional SeungDoongie fic out there. And of course, I was inspired a bit.
After I finished this story, the first thing that came to me was that "this is so random". Seriously. I didn't know if the story actually made any sense. But then I was also rushing this because I wanted to continue writing a Cheondoong-centric multi-chapter fic. And because I was finishing this at work. Not a very conducive place for writing since co-workers and bosses hover around... but, yeah. Hopefully, this is decent enough for you, guys.
Anyway, I would like to apologize for the grammar. English is not my native language; so please bear with the errors and inconsistencies. I have yet to get this edited. If anyone's interested, I think my contact details are somewhere in this site. I'm new here so I actually don't know much about the stuff that goes around.
So, yeah, this is a fluff, romance sort of story. I will have to tell you as well that I'm new to romance fiction, fluff and RPF; so please, again, bear with me. Also, I bear no grudge against Joon and Soonja; they were only convenient plot devices as far as the story is concerned.
Thanks a lot and hope you enjoy this fic.
***
I
Waking up has always been a dreary matter for Seungho. More so since MBLAQ has been very busy these past few weeks. They were shooting almost everyday for the next season of Sesame Player; this was their second go at the said show since they started it the previous year. Aside from that, shooting started right after their recent Japan tour. At this rate, the promised vacation that the members should be having looked further and further away, considering that their scheduled return album will be in a few months time.
Seungho groaned at the thought and tried to forget the fact that he should be getting up now to start the day. Anytime soon their manager would be coming in to wake him up. It would be good if he could actual get a few more shut eye before that happens.
And seemingly he was able to get some shut eye as he felt warm hands shaking his shoulder after a seemingly short while.
"Hyung! Hyung! Wake up! Hyung!"
Somehow he instantly knew that slurry voice. Unaware, Seungho smiled and muttered under the comforter.
"I'm awake, Doongie. No need to throw me off the bed with your shaking."
"Huh? Ah, I'm sorry, hyung!" Cheondoong sounded sincerely apologetic.
"No, it's ok," he quickly said. Seungho frowned and wondered if he came off angry. He didn't like the sound of worry in Cheondoong's voice.
He felt the sudden shift in the mattress and knew that his younger bandmate was about to leave.
"Get up, hyung. I'll be going-"
"No." He abruptly sat up, yawned and stretch to stare at his maknae who was a little startled by his action.
Usually, it takes at least half an hour before anyone could compel their leader to wake up in the morning. Everybody in MBLAQ knows it since they've seen the usual morning scenario with their manager and Seungho. The scene usually reminded Cheondoong of a Filipino saying about "dragging giant lizards out of their hiding place." Yes, the ordeal seemed that hard and scary.
Honestly, if looks could kill, their manager should have been dead years ago. The other MBLAQ members have tried waking Seungho before; and after their firsts, nobody tried to do it again. Well, at least not willingly. Mir, who was Seungho's roommate, was basically useless. After Seungho growled and threw a clock at him, he never dared unless he lost a bet and GO (seriously) threatened to hang him on the balconey by his feet. (Or his dick, whichever would make Mir shout so loud, Seungho wouldn't have a choice but murder him to stop). Their kind manager was the one who would usually do the dreadful job; but when he's not around, nobody would dare do it. Either they just let Seungho sleep as long as he wants or they fool someone to wake him up.
Strangely, this happened to be Cheondoong's fourth time at waking up their low-blooded leader. During the first three occassions, he lost in a game set up by the other MBLAQ members to determine who would wake Seungho up. On this fourth one, he was actually asked by their manager to do it. Not that he would deny their manager this simple request, but sometimes Seungho can be very scary. It's a good thing that he usually got lucky and ended up waking their leader in one of his rare good morning moods. He hoped he got lucky like this everytime.
Seungho stared dazedly in front and tried to remember if Cheondoong ever got chapped lips. Or does he wear lip balm all the time? Why does his lips look smooth all the time recently? As far as he knows, Cheondoong doesn't like wearing make up, especially when they're at home and not infront of the camera. The weird maknae confused him a lot.
“Hyung?” Sometimes, he would get scared of Seungho not because of his evil eyes of death, but because he would look insane while smiling broadly at nothing in particular, just like the smile he was giving right now. He rarely gets scared of Seungho; heck, he rarely gets scared with most people (except maybe Bi-hyung or his sister or spiders and sea foods). But right now, it seemed that Seungho's manic smile was getting to him. It felt like his hyung was going to grow fangs and bite his neck which wouldn't really surprise him that much. The weird leader confused him a lot.
If Seungho were to be honest, he really thought Cheondoong was cute, completely and most positively cute, all the time. So cute that it seemed forbidden, not to mention absolutely awkward since they're both guys. He had let out this opinion of his very few times in the past, but was careful not to convey how insanely adorable Cheondoong was for him. Particularly right this moment when the maknae was scowling at him.
“Hyung, you should get up now.”
Seungho laughed his trademark grandpa laughter, something that he would usually let out when around the fake maknae.
“Don't I get a morning kiss?” he said, pouting his lips for emphasis.
Cheondoong laughed and shook his head. “No, hyung. I don't like morning breath.“ He was absolutely sure that their leader was in his rare good mornings now. He stood up and helped Seungho get up. Cheondoong was sure that with that smile on his hyung's face during the start of this morning, everything was going to be fun.
_____________________________________________________________________________
II
Seungho's smile was from ear to ear as he readied to inflict punishment on Cheondoong after losing there little game. The way the fake maknae was squirming under G.O.'s grip was very adorable.
"Stay still," he said cheerfully as he cleared Cheondoong's forehead with one hand, then clasped the maknae's cheeks with both hands.
Cheondoong had his eyes closed in anticipation of the pain. Seungho could hit really hard and he could do nothing but plead for his leader to go a little soft on him. "Hyung..." After this was aired, Cheondoong would probably be silently mortified with the way he sounded like a baby, or the way he was squirming.
Seungho knew he was smiling too much now. His jaws hurt. With the way Cheondoong sounded, he wanted to spare him; and at the same time, hit him really really hard. But in the end, he opted for a milder ddakbam, not because he would usually feel weak whenever Cheondoong was at his cutest (as if the maknae could actually drain his strength just by being unforgivingly adorable), but because... um, he felt gracious. Yeah, something like that.
"Now, my turn!" said an excited Joon; it was one of those rare occasions wherein he wasn't the one being punished. As it went, Cheondoong doubled over in pain.
"That hurts the most!" At the back of Cheondoong's mind, he reminded himself to be wary of Joon's punishments as they were usually the ones that hurt the most, especially when the older guy would get excited. GO has not tried going all out with him and the guy was known to hit the hardest and give the most brutal-looking attacks. Even Seungho never tried to hit him hard. Mir surprisingly never hit him that hard.
"Ah!" Joon cried, sounding sincerely apologetic, "Sorry." And like the clumsy and compulsive guy that he was, Joon did something he has never done before: he kissed Cheondoong gently and squarely on the forehead. In front of the other MBLAQ members, the cameras, and random strangers. With no script at hand. Right in front of Seungho.
After a half second awkwardness, the two involved suddenly burst in to laughter. It was funny and embarassing but nothing to kill themselves over. They guessed the fangirls would be squelling their heads off.
G.O. and Mir laughed and teased as well. But Seungho just smiled awkwardly. Somehow, that moment with Joon ruined his day; and Cheondoong's laughter made it worst. His jaws really hurt now; but not from too much smiling. It was hard to carry a smile when you really didn't feel like it.
_________________________________________________________________________
III
This was one of those rare days when Seungho woke up earlier than usual, more than 3 hours the usual. And more often than not, based from Seungho's experience, this was one of those bad days.
He was feeling really bad since yesterday. Not in the 'unhealthy' bad way, but in a 'I wanna smack someone's face' bad way. To be honest, he's been thinking of hitting Joon since yesterday. Honestly, the man could get to him. The guy was unbearably annoying during the shooting, showing off his body and being annoyingly touchy feely on the set. Particularly, after the scene with Cheondoong. The screaming writers and staff (a.k.a. rabid Joon fangirls) on the set were basically screaming their heads off when Joon kissed Cheondoong on the forehead. He found it utterly distasteful and unprofessional, that vulgar show of skinship that Joon was doing. They were artist, not some cheap talentless thrills people watch for amusement. And he did it with Cheondoong, no less! A dongsaeng! Never mind the fact that he's already legal. Cheondoong was still one of the younger members and it's very alarming that Joon has been influencing Cheondoong for so long. Seungho took note to seriously talk with the younger member about being influenced by Joon as soon as possible. He couldn't allow this to go on.
Even if he's already awake, there was no way he was actually going to get out of bed. Moments like this were rare; and despite the fact that his whole day may go bad due to having only a few hours of sleep, there was no way in hell he was getting up. Not with how bad he was still feeling. Which he came to realize, did not really make sense. He actually didn't know why he was feeling awful since yesterday.
Seungho groaned. The sudden realization didn't really do much to alleviate what he was feeling. Whenever yesterday's fiasco came to mind, he still wanted to hit Joon badly. As the leader, he should be level-headed and rational. But he still thought Joon should be punched. No amount of rationality could make him think otherwise. At least not today or at this moment. Well, maybe.
In any case, he would just have to enjoy this rare moment, no matter how god awful the rest of the morning would be. Besides, their manager wasn't around. It seemed that Manager Kim was really determined to get himself married as soon as possible. Seungho smiled. He was happy for his manager; at the same time, he was happy for the freedom and the relative quietness of his mornings as of recent. With the evident dark clouds hanging around him yesterday evening, he would be surprised if anyone would want to try to wake him up today. He would probably lash out on the poor sod who would wake him up today. Mir and GO, he would probably glare them to death, shoot them verbal abuse and such. If it's Joon, he might have to do damage of the physical kind. Now, if the one to come wake him up would be...
He groaned under the cover, suffocating himself with his pillow in a vain suicide attempt. He probably should get up by himself right now. It's a lot safer to his sanity. And Mir, who was snoring like an elephant on the bed nearby, completely unaware of an attempt to his life by his badly tempered roommate. The day was going to be bad anyway, might as well get it over with.
_____________________________________________________________________________
IV
Cheondoong did an double take. He paused at the threshold of their living room entrance. There was a half second awkward moment when he contemplated how amusing it was thinking his heart actually jumped out of his chest. Cartoon characters with exaggerated thumping hearts flashed in his mind. He mentally laughed at it within that awkward half second.
Going back to reality, Seungho was in the living room. Awake. Cheondoong stared at the clock opposite the sofa where Seungho was currently sitting. It was... 6 in the morning. He stared back at Seungho at the sofa. He ignored the panda deathglare directed at him and then stared back at the clock. Last he checked the clock wasn't broken and they didn't have any special schedule today, if today was the day he thought was today. And he was sure that today was the right day; and he had their schedule memorized, verified, and validated. He could not have been wrong. He looked back at Seungho who seemed real and have blacker eye shadows today. Funny, Cheondoong was half convinced that he was dreaming. He guessed what made him think otherwise was that Seungho's glare looked authentic and ready to kill for some reason; and the fact that he was sure of their group's schedule for today. He was, strangely, feeling light given the situation. He thought it might be the after effects of exercise at work here. Either that or somebody spiked his water bottle as a prank.
"Um, morning." Nonchalantly, he greeted his leader, dropped the duffel bag he had on his shoulder, and then proceeded to take off his shirt. Because he was really sweaty after the long jog from the practising room and he couldn't give a damn if Seungho were blasting him with laser beams. He was icky as hell. With another of his awkward bowing gestures, he left Seungho and dragged his bag from the floor with a grace of a lethargic snake. He barely even heard Seungho's insult of being a 'clean freak' when he closed the door of the bathroom. It was only after the cold water hit his face when his mind actually understood Seungho's shouted insult. Really, he couldn't understand the clean freak part; that was GO's nickname. After all, Doongie was the one with the smelly feet.
Seungho, on the other hand, was feeling angry. Angry enough to throw an unsuspecting teddy bear on the wall. Cheondoong was - oh, that boy really didn't know manners. He turned his back on him, his senior! To take a shower! Cheondoong shouldn't have done that. He should have.... Well, ok, he didn't really know what Cheondoong should have done and he didn't really need anything from him. But he was angry. Come to think of it, it was irrational to be angry with Cheondoong. However, it didn't change whatever feeling he had at the moment. Seungho was feeling angry, alone, and, if he were to be honest with himself, abandoned. Cheondoong should have...
"Eh, Seungho! You're awake. What is wrong with the world today? We're not in twilight zone - "
Seungho threw the abused teddy bear lying on the floor smack at Joon's face. He was too loud and unbearably annoying so early in the morning.
______________________________________________________________________________
V
Hell was the day.
Why was he even born?
These were the thoughts swirling in Seungho's head as his clouds grew darker. The coordis were going to be angry with him but he couldn't care less right now. Joon's laughter was grating on his head, literally.
"I don't want that. I'll make my butt look big!" Joon whined at the laughing crew. They were giving him a duck butt belt to wear. From the smile on his face, Joon would have worn it regardless of his verbal protest.
The ass, Seungho wanted to say. He also wanted to stuff the duck butt at Joon's throat; but he was slightly dizzy, and he might miss and waste his effort in the process.
Mir was holding the belt and chasing after Joon in an attempt to stick it to his behind. Joon was swatting him away, acting all annoyed and defensive.
Seungho didn't miss though when Mir passed the horrible yellow thing they called a belt to Cheondoong. Cheondoong merely took it amiably, walked calmly to Joon, and effortlessly tied the belt around Joon's waist. Joon even raised his hands up so Cheondoong could go around without a problem.
There was nothing wrong with the scene actually. It was just the group having fun, something they normally do when they were together. They've done this sort of thing before. Seungho remembered laughing his ass off while they were teasing Joon or each other.
But there was something about the easy smile in Joon's face and, especially, the soft smile on Cheondoong that made Seungho feel like his stomach was performing harakiri by itself. And it should be emphasized that it was not a a very good feeling. For a split second he thought he was going to thrown up; but then he was alarmed by something much worst when he felt the stinging behind his eyes. He swallowed the remaining saliva on his throat and smiled forcefully. Everyone else was still being stupid with Joon while Seungho sat at the corner, feeling horrible without knowing much of the reason why.
Cheondoong turned to him in mid-laughter, his gaze questioning after a second. Seungho gave him a little smile, feeling the horrible knot in his stomach relaxing a little. He was definitely going to defeat and punish Joon in their next made-up game. Maybe Cheondoong too. Cheondoong smiled at him for a second before turning to join the others. Well, maybe not Cheondoong. No, not Cheondoong.
________________________________________________________________________________
VI
"We hope you enjoyed our performance tonight. Please continue to watch over us," Seungho said in a clear and confident voice. He has done this many times now; he could say his speech while sleeping. "One, two!"
"Thank you very much!" They all said.
Another performance, another day done. They went off the stage immediately and packed their things to go. When they got into their van, Seungho wanted nothing more but to sleep. He could say that he has never felt this drained since his trainee days. Actually, he couldn't remember if he has ever felt this tired in his life. He had been physically drained before. But right now, it felt like other than being physically tired, something also drained the soul out of him and placed a boulder the size of South Korea on his shoulders. He felt numbed, lost and floating. He couldn't really describe it; but it sucked.
He was vaguely aware of their manager asking him if he was alright. He just responded with a 'hm' and then continued to stare off the window. He also barely missed GO babbling on his side about him. Seungho stared at GO for a moment before saying, 'I'm tired'; and then continued to ignore him like before.
Seungho stared at the endless lane passing by. He thought he had imagined Cheondoong's gentle voice saying to everyone to 'stop harassing, Seungho-hyung; he needs to rest'. Later on, Seungho would be amazed at how he could have slept with open eyes. The other members would verify that he had been seemingly awake and had been staring errily outside the window of the vehicle the whole trip; when in fact, Seungho was already a goner and couldn't remember anything that transpired on that trip. The only memories he could come up with of that night were Cheondoong's voice, a gentle hand on his arms guiding him, a faint smell of roses, a delightfully honey soft and smooth texture on his face, and the suffocating fabric of his bed as his body landed heavily on it.
Cheondoong stared at the closed door of Seungho's room. He was sure that his hyung wasn't in the right state of mind. After trying to understand Seungho, failing, and forgetting the issue to think about his cute Dadoong's new picture, he eventually decided to forgo dinner and go to bed.
___________________________________________________________________________
VII
Seungho woke up on his bed feeling he had a really good dream. He dreamt of a nice warm feeling. It didn't really make sense but the feeling reminded him of soft, fluffy, kittens. Which was really weird since he was not really a pet lover, much more a cat lover. He remembered experiencing an almost similar warm feeling sometime in the past; but he had never before associated them with cats.
Cheondoong was the cat lover in the group. Seungho couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of him at the thought. Doongie really adored cats and he never hid the fact. Strangely, everyone who had visited their dorm knew that Doongie owned Hello Kitty bed sheets and pillow covers, and a cute little Hello Kitty stuffed toy which he actually called Soonja and took to bed every night; but no one has ever divulged this in public. Jihoon-hyung also knew about this when he visited their dorm, passed by Cheondoong's open room, paused at the door step, stared silently for an awkward second at the stuffed toy sitting cutely in the middle of a light pink bed, and then walked by as if nothing happened. Jihoon-hyung never said anything about it. Cheondoong was completely oblivious. The rest of the people either did not care or pretended not to, so to hide the awkwardness they were feeling.
For Seungho, he didn't really care and found other people's awkwardness with Doongies' preference unnecessary. Cheondoong had every right to like whatever it was he liked. The only thing he didn't like about the whole Hello Kitty thing was the stuffed toy. The toy felt ominous. Seungho never really cared about stuffed toys; he only thought of them as something girls and kids liked a lot for some reason. He was too manly to even give stuffed toys a thought or to feel anything about it. But he really didn't like Cheondoong's toy. He didn't like how pink it was or how comfortable it looked sitting on top of Cheondoong's bed. There was even a time when it crossed his mind to steal the doll, burn it in the trash bin, and blame it on Joon. It was during the time when he and GO were bored and wanted something crazy to do. He was a bit taken aback by how much he really wanted to do it; but he stopped himself from even telling GO about it. He wouldn't do that to Cheondoong, even if the thought of burning that thing and blaming Joon for it was very tempting.
The thought of Cheondoong's stuffed toy and Joon sent a frown to his face. "Such a morning killer," he huffed to himself before glancing at his side and spotting Mir sitting on his bed and staring at him, eyes wide in fear. He didn't notice the maknae at all; and from the looks of it, Mir seemed to have been watching him for sometime now.
"Hyung, are you gonna kill me?" Mir asked him in a tiny, fearful voice. "You look crazy. Have you gone crazy?"
Seungho stared, glared, and said, "Yes. Run."
With that said, the maknae made a dash for the door like the hounds were on him. The banging of the door seemed to have resonated throughout the dorm.
Content, Seungho sank back on his bed. Simple joys really made life worth living. Having slept well that night, he spent only a few more minutes plotting on how to terrorize the others before getting up with a smile.
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VIII
GO stormed out of the bathroom, looking for his aftershave. They couldn't find it and GO didn't want to use the other's aftershaves. He wouldn't let other aftershave brands touch his face. He was the only one with a particular preference, milky melon scent. The other members would frown at his choice; but GO wouldn't have anything else. In the end, GO decided not to shave that day, much to the noonas chagrin.
Seungho knew he'd react that way. He wondered how long it would take them to spot GO's aftershave inside Joon's bag, and what sort of riot would ensue.
He smiled maniacally as he stole Mir's toasted bread and watched as the maknae scooted away from him like he was a rabid dog out loose. Since the morning, the maknae wouldn't go near him. And like the fully energized bastard that he was, Seungho tried to scare Mir in every oppurtunity he could find.
It was just bad that Cheondoong caught his smile. Seungho saw a spark of knowing in Doongie's eyes, and knew he had been found out. Cheondoong has always had good intuition. He shot the boy a warning look. Cheondoong knew not to mess with him; he would probably quietly try to find GO's aftershave himself.
It took only about 10 minutes before GO discovered the aftershave in Joon's bag.
"I swear in my mother's deathbed I did not take your aftershave!"
"Joon, you're mother is still alive."
Insert awkward pause.
"Don't tell my mom."
"Ok."
"But I didn't steal your aftershave. I don't need it. I don't have facial hair!"
"You're not a woman, Joon."
"Of course, I'm not a woman!"
"I think I'm more concerned with the fact that you're not aware of what you're saying."
Seungho was watching the scene in amusement. Nearby, Cheondoong looked on worriedly, clutching his prized stuffed toy for comfort. Doongie does that whenever there was a situation that was bothering him. It was as if the toy could help him, comfort him, and give him strength. Cheondoong rarely asks his seniors for their help or comfort. And if he would ask for comfort, he would usually go to Joon and not the other members. Seungho realized that he didn't like that. He really didn't.
"GO-hyung," Cheondoong called in a soft voice that only Seungho could hear. The two idiots were too busy discussing the plausibility of random teleportation and existence of animated aftershaves.
"GO-hyung, it's actually me," Cheondoong continued, barely even getting in between GO and Joon who seemed to be absorbed in making up their magical aftershave story plot scenario that involved GO's aftershave having a life of its own due to having been exposed to the magical full moon light when they forgot to shut the bathroom window last night, and realizing that it hated servicing GO because he had too much hair. So it decided on its own to become Joon's aftershave because he had less hair and was more handsome than GO; thus the aftershave ended on his bag. GO didn't like the later part of the story and tried to changed the plot into a vengeful aftershave story.
"Hyung," Cheondoong called again. "I took your--"
Seungho's feet moved swiftly in three strides. His right hand acted with him, smoothly reaching forward and grabbing the stuffed toy by its cottony head from an unsuspecting Cheondoong. Without pause for thought, he threw the toy at Joon with such an impact unexpected from something made of cotton and polyester.
Soonja bounced a feet away from her owner. There was a deafening silence that followed after. GO and Joon looked at Seungho like he just killed someone. Cheondoong stared at Soonja lying on his feet for a second, before he silently walked out of the room.
"The two of you are annoying," Seungho said as he looked at the stuffed toy on the floor and gave it a kick.
Mir was just getting into the room when Seungho rushed by him. "Eh, what happened?" he asked the other two in the room who looked as if they just witnessed a road kill.
"I told you my aftershave hated you and wanted revenge."
Joon shot GO an incredulous look. "How could it hate me? I'm more charming and beautiful! I told you your aftershave likes me more."
"I'm telling Jihoon-hyung that all of you have gone insane," Mir said, convinced that yes, his teammates have gone crazy.
___________________________________________________________________________
IX
The rest of the day went a little uncomfortable for the group. Cheondoong wasn't speaking to anyone, particularly Seungho. Seungho was all antsy and dark clouds. Joon was upset with GO and was still insisting that GO's aftershave liked him more. GO was happy he got his aftershave back and believed that it hated Joon. Mir was convinced that his hyungs have all gone insane and continued on having a one-sided conversation with Cheondoong whom he belived was the safest among them, meaning that Cheondoong would most likely just throw random accessible objects at him when annoyed and wouldn't suddenly lash out and bite him.
Regardless of the conflict in the group, the day went on productively. They stayed at the studio preparing for their next album. Cheondoong was busy composing and giving his inputs on some of the songs that he didn't have much of a chance to interact with the other MBLAQ members; while the rest of the group were already working on the songs that were almost finished. They had their dinner while working and decided to wrap up when 8PM arrived. They would be filming tomorrow and it would be best to give the team a goodnight's sleep.
It was already 10PM and Seungho was still up and sitting by the balconey of their dorm. The night breeze was comfortable. It helped him ease the discomfort he was feeling since the fiasco this morning.
"Boo!"
"AH!" He turned abruptly and controlled the urge to punch GO's grinning face. "Do you want me to die, you ass?!"
GO just chuckled. "Sorry. Couldn't help it. What are you doing here?"
Seungho glared at him. "What do you think? I was waiting for you. You do realize that it's already 10 o'clock?"
"Eh? Really? I didn't notice," GO's voice drifted in wonder.
"Sometimes I wonder what you do in the bathroom. Do you sleep in there?"
GO smiled at him. "Sometimes. And sometimes I do other things which I don't think you would want to know."
"Wow. Thanks for telling me that. I don't think I want to enter our bathroom now. Or ever. I will never look at it the same way again." Seungho wrinkled him nose.
They both burst in laughter.
"Ok, I'll take my shower now," Seungho said, grabbing his towel from the banister.
"Hey, wait." Seungho looked at GO. It was only then that he noticed GO holding something in his left hand. "You should give this back."
Seungho didn't know what to say. The discomfort he was feeling since this morning's fiasco came back to him.
"I know it was you who took my aftershave. It was hard not to be suspicious with that shit-eating grin you had when you woke up this morning. I also think you should apologize."
"To Joon?"
"No, not him. If you're feeling nice enough, then, yes, you should. But I will not be held liable if anything happens to Joon when you do face to apologize to him. For Joon, maybe not today. Surprisingly, that guy understands things better than you do." Seungho glared at him. "Seriously, he does. Anyway, you should apologize soon. I'll leave you now." GO left with a goodnight, placing the object in his hand on the small table nearby.
Seungho wanted to throw it through the balconey. However, he knew GO was right. With a sigh, Seungho grabbed Soonja roughly by the ear and headed for Cheondoong's door.
He knocked several times, called him and then knocked some more. He wanted to get this over with. Aside from that, he really wanted to apologize to Cheondoong. He didn't like the tension between them. It was suffocating him. Like every bit of air he took in was poisonous and painful to him. Seriously. He didn't know why. It was worse than when he had a huge argument with his parents. Or when he fought with his brother. Or when he broke up with a girlfriend. However, in those cases, he was able to speak up or argue his point with them. Let his proverbial fuse blow so to speak.
But with Cheondoong, he couldn't do it; he couldn't speak to him about it. He attempted several times when they were at the studio. Every time he drew back because he couldn't do it. Usually, he would be able to apologize immediately when he knew it was his fault or when he has gone overboard with his prank. He was a straightforward guy; so it frustrated him that he couldn't. It reminded him of an English expression 'cat got your tongue', which was strangely and annoyingly appropriate considering the situation.
In frustration, he banged the stuffed toy in his hand at the door several times, before deciding to enter Cheondoong's door without permission.
The lights were already out in Cheondoong's room. And the said boy was quietly sleeping in his ligh pink and fluffy bed. Seungho carefully closed the door behind him and slowly walked to the younger one's bed. Cheondoong had a slight frown on his sleeping face; Seungho wished he wasn't the reason for that. Gently, he sat down Cheondoong's bed and stared at him. Seungho felt all the tension of the day evaporated out of him, leaving him only with a sense of regret and sadness.
"I'm really sorry. Forgive me," he whispered. He knew he was cheating. He would say it again to Cheondoong tomorrow; but for now, he really wanted to say it. Because the moment just felt so right to say things he couldn't say calmly and directly to Cheondoong. Like the words 'You're beautiful' which came out of nowhere, startling himself with the sincerity he felt when he said them.
"You're really beautiful," Seungho whispered with more conviction. Seungho knew it even before; it was just he didn't want to admit it to himself. From the first time he saw the young boy, he had thought he was beautiful. But he had stopped himself from acknowledging it. And Cheondoong grew to become more and more beautiful in front of him, with all his good points and flaws. Unlike other people whose flaws turned them less appealing in Seungho's eyes, Cheondoong's beauty never waiver despite his bad habits. Seungho would always try and correct his dongsaeng's bad habits. He does the same to all his juniors, but Cheondoong was always special. It wasn't always noticeable, but with Cheondoong, he was more willing and determined to guide him. It was a good thing (and maybe a little sad as well) that the younger boy was more well-behaved and dependable than the others. In any case, he was just painfully beautiful in Seungho's eyes.
He placed the stuffed toy near Doongie's pillow. Seungho didn't care about Soonja at this moment. Because everything was simply irrelevant compared to a sleeping Cheondoong.
Seungho's hand grazed Cheondoong's forehead and down his cheeks. Doongie's skin has always been very nice to look at; however, they were immensely irresistable to touch. It was like touching delicate petals. The touch sent tingling shocks to Seungho's spine.
He wanted the moment to last. He wanted to touch him. He wanted something from him; but he didn't know what it was. He wanted to tell him things, many things, something; but no words came to him. He wanted to call his name.
"Sanghyun." He had never realized how much he wanted to say his name. In the many years they have been together as teammates, he had rarely called him by his real name.
"Sanghyun," he said again. It didn't make sense to him how much one name could make him feel like a dam was about to break inside of him. How a name could tear him apart and free him at the same time.
He felt a very urgent need to do something. So he bent down and tenderly touched the soft plump cheek with his lips.
"Saranghamnida."
Later on that night, after he had gotten out of Cheondoong's room, he would wonder why it perfectly felt right saying that and how it was able to obliterated all confusing thoughts swirling in his head. But for now, he has never been more sure in his entire life of anything that came out of his mouth.
He carefully closed the door behind him. It felt like somebody switched off the power button on his brain. He vaguely remembered how he finished his shower, dressed in his pajamas, and got to bed. Looking back, he realized that Cheondoong seemed to be the main culprit behind most of his brain shut-downs. Unfortunately, he was too dazed and tired to think much about it. The issue would just have to wait for tomorrow.
___________________________________________________________________________
X
Seungho groaned. He wanted to a kick the cushions. He wanted to kick Joon. He wanted to kick Soonja. But he couldn't do anything but crouch down and accept defeat. He recently lost the 'bending joints' game that Cheondoong invented. He shouldn't have been in this situation if it weren't for that stupid doll, and Joon.
During their shooting, they were treated lunch by the staff for the successful episodes of Sesame. They were doing filming for the last episode already. The staff already laid out the meal on the table. Of course, Seungho was ready to dig in; but then Joon had to open his mouth and suggested a game, of all stupid things.
"There is only five bowls of noodles. And there is five of us, plus Soonja."
Cheondoong brought Soonja along. He was evidently happy when he woke up today; so nobody commented on him bringing the doll to the set. Besides, people usually think nothing of the doll; they may have thought that it was just some random prop they picked up to make the boy look more adorable that he already was.
Seungho looked at Joon incredulously. The idiot couldn't have been thinking of what he thought the idiot was thinking, could he?
"So let's include Soonja in the game. Only five people will get to eat this meal prepared for us by the staff. The first one to loose will be barred from eating any of the food. In this case, Doongie will play the game for two people, for him and Soonja. Does everyone agree on this?"
The others immediately agreed to this. Seungho thought it was disadvantageous to Cheondoong who was playing for two. But as it went, he was the one who lost the game.
Seungho didn't know if he intentionally lost because of Cheondoong or because he really sucked at that game. He kind of thought the later was a much nicer reason to tell others though. He gritted his teeth as the other taunted him about his lost, particularly since the prize he lost was food. It was a good thing that he couldn't see them. He would like to kill GO with a deathglare and maybe poke Joon with a barbecue stick. He also didn't like Mir's squelling but then again he had no tolerance for it even before. But to be honest, he didn't want to look at Cheondoong. He hasn't spoken with him yet. God knows he tried this morning, when Doongie was all sparkly and bright; but he couldn't speak with him. He just couldn't speak a word to him.
"Hey, Cheondoong, stop hoarding the food. You can't eat that much," Joon said.
"But I won for two. I'm just taking what's mine." He could hear the smile in Doongie's voice.
"Thank you for you hard work everyone." He heard one of the staff say to them.
"Wrap up!" Another shouted and some clapped their hand. Shooting was done for today; but still, Seungho crouched.
"Yey! Thanks for the food!" It was Mir's obnoxious laughter.
Seungho drowned them out, feeling annoyed and rebellious since he didn't get to eat. He felt a pat on his shoulder and the familiar soft voice. "Hyung, get up already."
He didn't want to. He was still sore from the lost, as well as the fact that he didn't want to face the younger boy. "Hyung~!"
Cheondoong didn't stop nudging and calling him. After a few calls and nudges, he moved to get up. He hated loosing the food; but he was mature, dammit! Cheondoong shouldn't think otherwise. Idiot GO and Joon would just rub it in if he refused to get his act together. And was that barbecue meat being pushed through his lips?
"Open your mouth," Cheondoong calmly told him, on which he silently complied and the younger boy successfully placed the meat on his mouth. It tasted good too.
"But that's your prize," he told him in between chewing.
"Seriously, hyung. Soonja can't eat. It'll mess her up if I try." Seungho thought that Cheondoong had more sense than any of the other MBLAQ members. It was one of the reasons why he liked him the best; and yes, more than he liked GO who was his best friend in the group. Or Jihoon-hyung. Or Jeon Jihyun, most of the times actually.
"Wai! Seungho-hyung's eating now. Wai!" Mir chanted while dancing around the table with Joon. He didn't know why they were moving around and dancing; but they were idiots anyway.
"Hyung," Cheondoong called him. He removed Soonja from beside a bowl of noodles and placed her on the floor beside them. "Here's your bowl." Cheondoong was about to grab the bowl; when Joon, who was busy dancing like an idiot, bumped his feet on the small table and nearly tipped over the bowl Cheondoong was going to get. Seungho reflexively grabbed Soonja off the accident path; while Cheondoong prevented the bowl from completely tipping over. There was some soup that spilled; but luckily, it wasn't hot enough to scald anyone.
"Ah, sorry!" Joon apologized immediately.
"Hey, be careful!" GO scolded them. Some of the staff hurried to grab a cloth for the spill.
"Are you alright?" Seungho asked.
The younger boy nodded. "Soonja?" he asked.
"All dry," he said, showing the doll to Doongie.
Cheondoong smiled warmly at him. Seungho felt the warmth seep to him as well.
The younger boy took the stuffed toy from him; and without a pause or a thought, he leaned across and kissed Seungho softly on the cheek.
"Thank you."
The effect was instantenous to Seungho. The warmth he felt turned into fire that grazed his face and neck and made his stomach do something like backflips. He also couldn't help the smile and laughter that bubbled over him afterwards. He was surprised, but more than that, he felt seriously happy. He vaguely took in the surprised look of people around.
"We have a new couple here. Joon, I'm sorry but you got rejected," GO said in his usual humorous calm.
"How could you, Doongie? I thought we were going to grow old together!" Joon said in mock pain. Seungho could see the twinkle in his eyes and thought that Joon wasn't such an ass sometimes.
"Ah, but Doongie has good sense," Seungho couldn't believe he said that with confidence.
"What are you talking about? You can't choose him. Even GO's aftershave knows who to choose!"
"I told you, it hates you. It wants revenge."
"Why do you keep saying that? Everybody likes me, even your aftershave."
"Are you guys going to keep acting crazy? 'Cause I'm going to finish all of the pizza," Mir said this before polishing off the last piece of pizza in two bites.
GO looked at Joon seriously, "Joon, I think we need to hang Mir by the balconey."
"Yes, I think we have too," Joon nodded just as seriously.
Seungho and Cheondoong were laughing out loud as chaos ensued. Seungho felt like the last couple of days didn't matter; the depression, envy, and all that nasty stuff. He felt it drain out of him the moment Cheondoong kissed him. He would probably experience more shitty emotions now than before; however, Cheondoong was beside him, holding his hand, and laughing with him. Somehow, everything seemed inconsequential. He didn't know what all of this was; didn't have to name or define it. All that mattered was that Cheondoong, Sanghyun, was there. He'd figured out the world or whatever later, just as long as Sanghyun was there.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Seungho was heavy for him, particularly now that he's turning into deadweight. Why he was the one to carry him to bed was something he has been trying to figure out.
"You could wake him up; then you could put him to bed too," was GO's logic. Eventually, Cheondoong decided that it was shitty logic. He should have figured it from the first nano-second. But then even if he did point that out, they'd still order him to do it.
"Hyung, you awake?" Cheondoong tried. His only response was an incoherent mumble. Seungho was fine when he nudged him out of the van; but when he leaned on him for a second, he slowly turned deadweight.
Cheondoong sighed to himself. "Hopeless." He was speaking about the both of them. Good thing that they were already inside the dorm and all he needed to do was drop his hyung on the bed.
He kicked open Seungho's and Mir's room. He wondered where Mir escaped. He should be the one doing this instead of him.
"Hyung, hyung, you're going to bed now," he said softly, nudging the older one and maneouvering him over the bed.
Cheondoong got startled when Seungho moved himself over him. His hyung was weird. He didn't know if he was sleeping, drunk or playing around. Seungho could still stand and move a little on his own; but he didn't have the comprehension and motor skills of a sober person at the moment. It made him think about people actually spiking their drinks for laughs.
"S-sanghyun," Seungho called out. The younger boy was a bit surprised. And suspicious. But he was positive he didn't smell any liquor.
"Ah, hyung, you should sleep now," he gently said.
"Don't do it," Seungho whispered, focusing his disoriented eyes on him and draping his body over him.
"What?" he should just try to humour him to get this over with. Regarless of how cute his hyung was in this drunk-like state, he wanted to do his own sleeping as well.
Seungho hugged him like a teddy bear. Which Cheondoong found ironic since Seungho was the panda. He couldn't figure out if that made actual sense.
"Don't do it. Don't kiss Joon," the older one slurred near Cheondoong's neck.
The younger boy chuckled. "Ok, hyung. Now go to bed."
"No!" Seungho insisted angrily. For a guy who seemed barely sober, Seungho was pretty scary and strong. His grip on Cheondoong's arm was a little painful. He could probably terrorize and fight people at this state. "Promise me."
Cheondoong sighed. "Yes, hyung. I promise." He noted to himself to always approach Seungho with caution regardless of what state he was in, particularly if he was half-asleep, drugged, drunk, sick, etc. Seungho was highly likely to be deemed dangerous in all state.
Then Seungho hugged him tightly, hiding his face on the younger boy's neck. Cheondoong wanted to squirm; his hyung was holding him too intimately for his liking. "That's my Doongie-ya. My lovely Doong-Doong," Seungho whispered to his ear like he was really happy. The younger boy couldn't help smiling; and eventually, he warmed to his hyung's embrace.
"Hyung, go to sleep now. You need rest," he nudged his hyung a little.
Seungho moved away, but not without planting a lingering kiss at Cheondoong's cheek. He moved away a little, smiling softly at the shocked boy; then crashing down like a heap on his bed. The younger boy stared at him with awe for a few seconds, before deciding to help the older boy remove his shoes and settle properly in his bed.
Cheondoong went out of the room silently, thoughts in muddle. Lucky enough for the boy, he tended to dismiss things off when they get too complicated for him to contemplate. He just moved on and thought everyone was entitled to be weird once in a while. Aside from that, he really liked Seungho, regardless of the weird and scary episodes.
So the uncomplicated boy marched on to his room, thought about his cat, and slept deeply.
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The End
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