SH 2015: 7 (for exolted)
For: exolted
From: ANONYMOUS until May 22, 2015
Title: 7
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho/Kris
Length: 2,631 words
Summary: Joonmyun feels like he’s sinking, but Yifan’s there to pull him up.
Warning/s: implied depression, brief sex scene, unprotected sex
Notes: I think this turned out a little bit more angsty then I intended but HAPPY ENDING. WHOO. I hope you like this dear prompter and that this what you were hoping for. Shoutout to the lovely mods of suholidays and a big shoutout to moneybags $uho xoxo
Clouds.
That’s all Joonmyun sees when he blinks. The image of unmoving balls of white fluff on a fading blue background is all but engraved into his mind.
It’s late. The sun set a long time ago and Joonmyun knows he should get some sleep because he has school in a few hours. He can’t bring himself to leave the practice room though, even as his limbs burn from the exertion and his cheeks flushed red. Even when he knows he’ll have to stop at a shop on the way to school to buy more muscle relaxant because he’s already out. Even when he knows his mother will fret over the deep bags under his eyes again then complain to his father that he’s pushing himself too hard.
He wanted to practice though. Needed to. Otherwise, it would all be pointless.
Joonmyun joined S.M in 2006 with hope in his heart and a promise to his parents that he was sure to debut soon. Weeks turned into months, and months into a year. Now, Joonmyun feels like he has nothing to show for the year and a half that he’s been here, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to give it all up. The only reason his parents haven’t banned him completely from training is because he kept the promise of keeping his grades up.
You could always go to the same university your brother went to. His father would always say. You have the grades for it.
That was always the argument. Wasting his grades on something that may not even happen. But as far as Joonmyun was concerned, as long as he didn’t drop from the top ranks in school he could do whatever he pleased. That included following the dream he’s had since elementary school.
Grabbing his backpack, Joonmyun finally decides to call it a night. His shirt is sticking to him with sweat and he probably reeks but he’s far too exhausted to care. No one sits close to him on the subway back to the dorms.
When Joonmyun collapses onto his bed, he sets his alarm to wake him up in three and a half hours which should give him enough time to reach to school early enough to help his teacher with morning registration.
It’s when he’s just on the cusp of sleep that Joonmyun sits up quickly, groaning at the realization that he has a test tomorrow.
Sleep can wait.
x
Time passes. Not slowly or quickly. It just passes.
It blurs together. A strict routine of practice, homework and studying. Joonmyun thinks he could do these three things in his sleep, if he ever gets any. His sleep schedule has gotten so bad and that going to bed before 1 am is virtually impossible. The bags under his eyes seem permanent.
Try harder says his vocal coach when he misses a note.
Try harder says his teacher when he writes the wrong answer on the board.
Try harder says his mother when he tells her that he’s not debuting soon.
And he does.
He really does.
Joonmyun tries so hard that he can feel himself cracking, breaking around the edges. It’s never enough though. But when will it ever be? Joonmyun thinks he could function a little better if he had a goal to work towards.
In school if you study and do well, you’ll get good grades. As a trainee, you could practice as hard as you could and still not make it. It’s like walking through the jungle and not knowing where the edge is. Joonmyun could be so close to debuting or be in the same spot he was a year and a half ago.
It’s the faint hope that he’ll break through soon that keeps him going.
x
It’s raining when the news breaks out.
S.M is debuting a boy group in the coming year. The practice rooms are alive with chatter at the prospect of finally debuting. Everyone works ten times harder to try and be noticed by the selection team.
Joonmyun calls his parents immediately to tell them the good news. His mother is ecstatic, going on and on about how proud of him she is. It makes Joonmyun heart clench.It’s been awhile since he’s heard that.
Don’t mess this up. is all his father says.
He won’t. He can’t. There’s too much at risk, including his sanity.
So Joonmyun practices. And practices. And practices.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
His grades never drop, he doesn’t allow them to. He doesn’t know how but he always finds time to study and do his homework diligently. Finding time for sleep or a break, proves to be difficult.
He practices until his throat hurts from singing so much. He practices until his muscles are ready to give way from dancing. He even practices his piano skills to try and stand out more. Anything he can do to make it work.
Except it doesn’t.
The members for the boy-group SHINee are selected. Joonmyun knows most of them, including Taemin who is an incredibly gifted dancer. Taemin’s best friend, Jongin, is so happy for him that you’d swear it was Jongin debuting.
Joonmyun puts on his best smile for the five boys who were chosen, even though he’s breaking on the inside. Taemin is young. Only 15. What does he have that Joonmyun doesn’t? Is he not good enough? It’s questions like these that keep Joonmyun up at night for the next few months.
Just come home, son. This is pointless his father says time and time again.
Joonmyun wouldn’t call it pointless, he knows the point of everything he’s doing. He knows the point of practicing until he’s just on the verge of passing out. He knows the point of checking his homework over 4 times to make sure everything is correct. He knows.
He just doesn’t know why he can’t stop, even in the face of a situation that’s completely hopeless.
x
It’s raining again when the news breaks out.
S.M won’t be debuting another boy group for at least four more years.
Joonmyun buys a calendar for 2012 and slips it under his small bed before heading to vocal practice.
x
Joonmyun feels like he’s sinking.
Not really drowning, but sinking.
It’s a strange feeling to be constantly in, like when he’s swimming and wants to stand on something solid but the water’s too deep.
He keeps searching though, searching for something that might not even be there.
x
The first time they meet, Joonmyun is practicing some greetings in english because good idols need to be able to speak more than one language.
He’s tall, very tall, and speaks english well by the way he politely tries to correct Joonmyun’s pronunciation. The stranger obviously isn’t korean, his words too accented, but Joonmyun doesn’t ask.
They see each other a lot after that. In the cafeteria, in the dorms, in the practice rooms. It’s hard to miss someone who towers over most of the trainees. They don’t get past short greetings and awkward eye contact for awhile, not until Joonmyun gets the nerve to actually start a conversation with him.
His name is Yifan, or Wufan or Kevin. He’s Chinese but holds Canadian citizenship, which explains his english skills, and is apparently addicted to basketball. They’re both alike in a lot of ways yet still different.
It doesn’t take long for them to move from acquaintances to friends, which is something Joonmyun though he’d never have time for. Friends get in the way of things, but Joonmyun finds that venting about his stress even for a few minutes to Yifan helps tremendously.
“Reading so much is going to kill your brain cells.” Yifan chastises, plucking the book from Joonmyun’s hands. His korean has gotten better over the past few months, his accent almost completely concealed.
“I’m pretty sure reading does the opposite, Yifan.” Joonmyun retorts, picking at his kimchi lightly. “Can’t expect me to get through university without reading.”
Yifan makes a tsking noise and turns the book sideways, flipping the pages carelessly. “What are you doing tonight?”
“What I do every night. Study and practice.” Joonmyun shrugs and reaches for his book but Yifan pulls it away at the last second.
“A few of us are going for drinks. You should come.” Yifan pauses. “Actually no, you’re coming. You’re stressing yourself out too much.”
Taking the last bite of his food, Joonmyun stands up. “Stress keeps me alive.”
“No, living keeps you alive.”
“You know you don’t make any sense half the time you speak right?”
Yifan stands up then, handing Joonmyun back his book. “But you still listen don’t you?”
“Unfortunately.” Joonmyun mumbles. He shivers when Yifan places a large hand on the back of his neck, lingering a moment too long for it to be friendly.
“So I’ll see you tonight, right?”
Joonmyun has been telling himself that he needs to learn how to say no to Yifan since they first met.
“Tonight.”
x
The first time they kiss is also the first time Joonmyun breaks.
His father has been persistent about him leaving S.M and pursuing a ‘real career’ and even though she didn’t say anything, Joonmyun knows his mother silently agreed.
Four years.
It’s been four years since Joonmyun came to S.M.
At this point it would make sense to leave, just give up but Joonmyun can’t give up the slight chance he may make it one day. He wants all the practicing and grueling hours spent in this building to be worth it. If he quits now, the past few years would’ve been worthless but the longer he stays the more hopeless it seems.
Joonmyun tells Yifan all of this, and through the tears the elder seems to understand. That’s when they kiss, soft yet firm. It only lasts a few moments before Yifan is pulling away. Joonmyun half expects him to walk away but he pulls the younger in for a tight hug, mumbling something about an ancient chinese proverb that says to never give up on your dreams. That gets a laugh out of Joonmyun.
“You sound like an old man.” Joonmyun sniffles.
“I am an old man. I’m turning 20 soon” Yifan takes a tissue and rubs at the younger’s damp cheeks. “We’ll both be dust by the time we debut.”
Joonmyun scoffs and is about to say ‘if we debut’ when Yifan cuts him off with another kiss.
“You’re going to debut, even if you’re an old, wrinkly sack of bones. You’re going to debut.”
Joonmyun doesn’t think he fully believes that, but he believes just enough to keep going.
x
“Why do you have so many names?” Joonmyun asks one night. They’re in their shared dorm watching an english movie with Joonmyun perched between Yifan’s legs.
Already half asleep, Yifan grumbles out a “It helps.”
“Helps what?”
“It helps me figure out who it is talking to me.” Yifan sits up slightly, the small dorm bed creaking. “If someone calls me Kevin, I know they know me from high-school in Canada. If they call me Wufan they’re a friend from China. Yifan means they know me from..well, here.”
Joonmyun hums lightly, fiddling with the other’s large palm. “What about Kris?”
Yifan shrugs before gripping Joonmyun’s wrist, rubbing small circles into the pale skin. “That’s what I want my stage name to be. Kris and Yifan will be different, so they might as well have different names.”
“I was thinking of a stage name too. It sounds stupid though.” Joonmyun mumbles but Yifan looks down at him expectantly. “I was thinking maybe ‘Suho’. It means guardian because...if I ever get into a group I’d look after them.”
“Sap.” Yifan teases. “I like it.”
x
The first time they have sex is when Joonmyun feels like he’s sinking again, all the work and pressure from his parents pulling him down deeper and deeper. Yifan pulls him back up though. The second his back hits the sheets, Joonmyun can feel the broken pieces himself being pulled back together again.
Yifan prepares him with slick fingers and calm words that have Joonmyun keening into his pillow. Any discomfort is taken away by Joonmyun focusing on Yifan’s lips on his, his tongue prodding and exploring.
Joonmyun’s head feels fuzzy as Yifan drags the pads of his fingers over his sensitive spot over and over again, bringing him to the brink of an orgasm before taking him back down.
“Please.” Joonmyun begs. “Please, please,please…”
His begging drones on and on, only being broken by soft moans before starting up again. Joonmyun has no idea what he’s begging for but Yifan gives him what he needs and so much more.
When he finally starts to rock into Joonmyun, the younger muffles his moans by pressing his lips onto the skin of Yifan’s neck and eventually pressing their lips together. Every stressed fiber in Joonmyun’s body melts away into nothing as it’s replaced with pleasure and love. His thighs tremble from where they’re wrapped around Yifan’s waist, clenching around him as Joonmyun nears his orgasm again.
It’s Yifan who loses himself first, uttering soft words into Joonmyun’s ears as his hips finally come to a shuddering stop. Joonmyun’s brought over the edge at the sensation of being filled, painting both of their stomachs white as his soft curses fill the air.
Afterwards, when Yifan is carding his fingers through Joonmyun’s damp hair and they’re both on the verge of sleep Joonmyun manages to finally agree.
“I can’t wait until we debut.”
Even in the darkness, Joonmyun can see Yifan smile at the statement.
“Me too.”
x
x
x
Clouds.
They’re moving this time and there’s a few blades of grass rubbing against the nape of Joonmyun’s neck. He comes out to the park near S.M to think sometimes, or to not think. Whichever he’s in the mood for.
A shadow casts itself over Joonmyun’s view and he doesn’t have to think twice about who it is.
“What’s up, giant?”
Yifan scowls lightly before sitting on the grass near Joonmyun’s head. “You can’t call me names. We’re in the same group now.”
“And you think the rest of our members won’t call you names? If I recall Baekhyun’s already dubbed you ‘bushy-brows’.”
Joonmyun laughs when Yifan’s scowl deepens, sitting up so they’re facing each other. “I just came out here to clear my head. Watch some real clouds instead of those fake ones in our practice room.”
“The others are already bugging me about where you went.” Yifan complains, dropping his hand onto Joonmyun’s thigh before pulling it away. They’re not too popular yet that any paparazzi would be around, but they’re still in public and have to be careful. “I wanted to debut but I didn’t think we’d have 12 members.”
“I think it’s nice. We’re like a big, dysfunctional family with two idiots for leaders.” Joonmyun half-jokes before standing up. “Come on, let’s head back inside.”
As they walk back to the building, Joonmyun remembers something. “I think I thought of our catch phrase. What do you think of ‘We are one’?”
Yifan snorts. “That’s so corny. You really think that’ll catch on with the members?”
“I bet it will.”
Yifan eyes the younger for a moment. “We are one, huh?” He tries the words out, letting the syllables run off his tongue before chuckling and wrapping his arm around Joonmyun’s shoulders. “Come on, leader. Let’s go back to our group.”
Now, for the first time in seven years, Joonmyun can say he’s not sinking anymore.
From: ANONYMOUS until May 22, 2015
Title: 7
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s)/Focus: Suho/Kris
Length: 2,631 words
Summary: Joonmyun feels like he’s sinking, but Yifan’s there to pull him up.
Warning/s: implied depression, brief sex scene, unprotected sex
Notes: I think this turned out a little bit more angsty then I intended but HAPPY ENDING. WHOO. I hope you like this dear prompter and that this what you were hoping for. Shoutout to the lovely mods of suholidays and a big shoutout to moneybags $uho xoxo
Clouds.
That’s all Joonmyun sees when he blinks. The image of unmoving balls of white fluff on a fading blue background is all but engraved into his mind.
It’s late. The sun set a long time ago and Joonmyun knows he should get some sleep because he has school in a few hours. He can’t bring himself to leave the practice room though, even as his limbs burn from the exertion and his cheeks flushed red. Even when he knows he’ll have to stop at a shop on the way to school to buy more muscle relaxant because he’s already out. Even when he knows his mother will fret over the deep bags under his eyes again then complain to his father that he’s pushing himself too hard.
He wanted to practice though. Needed to. Otherwise, it would all be pointless.
Joonmyun joined S.M in 2006 with hope in his heart and a promise to his parents that he was sure to debut soon. Weeks turned into months, and months into a year. Now, Joonmyun feels like he has nothing to show for the year and a half that he’s been here, but that doesn’t mean he’s willing to give it all up. The only reason his parents haven’t banned him completely from training is because he kept the promise of keeping his grades up.
You could always go to the same university your brother went to. His father would always say. You have the grades for it.
That was always the argument. Wasting his grades on something that may not even happen. But as far as Joonmyun was concerned, as long as he didn’t drop from the top ranks in school he could do whatever he pleased. That included following the dream he’s had since elementary school.
Grabbing his backpack, Joonmyun finally decides to call it a night. His shirt is sticking to him with sweat and he probably reeks but he’s far too exhausted to care. No one sits close to him on the subway back to the dorms.
When Joonmyun collapses onto his bed, he sets his alarm to wake him up in three and a half hours which should give him enough time to reach to school early enough to help his teacher with morning registration.
It’s when he’s just on the cusp of sleep that Joonmyun sits up quickly, groaning at the realization that he has a test tomorrow.
Sleep can wait.
x
Time passes. Not slowly or quickly. It just passes.
It blurs together. A strict routine of practice, homework and studying. Joonmyun thinks he could do these three things in his sleep, if he ever gets any. His sleep schedule has gotten so bad and that going to bed before 1 am is virtually impossible. The bags under his eyes seem permanent.
Try harder says his vocal coach when he misses a note.
Try harder says his teacher when he writes the wrong answer on the board.
Try harder says his mother when he tells her that he’s not debuting soon.
And he does.
He really does.
Joonmyun tries so hard that he can feel himself cracking, breaking around the edges. It’s never enough though. But when will it ever be? Joonmyun thinks he could function a little better if he had a goal to work towards.
In school if you study and do well, you’ll get good grades. As a trainee, you could practice as hard as you could and still not make it. It’s like walking through the jungle and not knowing where the edge is. Joonmyun could be so close to debuting or be in the same spot he was a year and a half ago.
It’s the faint hope that he’ll break through soon that keeps him going.
x
It’s raining when the news breaks out.
S.M is debuting a boy group in the coming year. The practice rooms are alive with chatter at the prospect of finally debuting. Everyone works ten times harder to try and be noticed by the selection team.
Joonmyun calls his parents immediately to tell them the good news. His mother is ecstatic, going on and on about how proud of him she is. It makes Joonmyun heart clench.It’s been awhile since he’s heard that.
Don’t mess this up. is all his father says.
He won’t. He can’t. There’s too much at risk, including his sanity.
So Joonmyun practices. And practices. And practices.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
His grades never drop, he doesn’t allow them to. He doesn’t know how but he always finds time to study and do his homework diligently. Finding time for sleep or a break, proves to be difficult.
He practices until his throat hurts from singing so much. He practices until his muscles are ready to give way from dancing. He even practices his piano skills to try and stand out more. Anything he can do to make it work.
Except it doesn’t.
The members for the boy-group SHINee are selected. Joonmyun knows most of them, including Taemin who is an incredibly gifted dancer. Taemin’s best friend, Jongin, is so happy for him that you’d swear it was Jongin debuting.
Joonmyun puts on his best smile for the five boys who were chosen, even though he’s breaking on the inside. Taemin is young. Only 15. What does he have that Joonmyun doesn’t? Is he not good enough? It’s questions like these that keep Joonmyun up at night for the next few months.
Just come home, son. This is pointless his father says time and time again.
Joonmyun wouldn’t call it pointless, he knows the point of everything he’s doing. He knows the point of practicing until he’s just on the verge of passing out. He knows the point of checking his homework over 4 times to make sure everything is correct. He knows.
He just doesn’t know why he can’t stop, even in the face of a situation that’s completely hopeless.
x
It’s raining again when the news breaks out.
S.M won’t be debuting another boy group for at least four more years.
Joonmyun buys a calendar for 2012 and slips it under his small bed before heading to vocal practice.
x
Joonmyun feels like he’s sinking.
Not really drowning, but sinking.
It’s a strange feeling to be constantly in, like when he’s swimming and wants to stand on something solid but the water’s too deep.
He keeps searching though, searching for something that might not even be there.
x
The first time they meet, Joonmyun is practicing some greetings in english because good idols need to be able to speak more than one language.
He’s tall, very tall, and speaks english well by the way he politely tries to correct Joonmyun’s pronunciation. The stranger obviously isn’t korean, his words too accented, but Joonmyun doesn’t ask.
They see each other a lot after that. In the cafeteria, in the dorms, in the practice rooms. It’s hard to miss someone who towers over most of the trainees. They don’t get past short greetings and awkward eye contact for awhile, not until Joonmyun gets the nerve to actually start a conversation with him.
His name is Yifan, or Wufan or Kevin. He’s Chinese but holds Canadian citizenship, which explains his english skills, and is apparently addicted to basketball. They’re both alike in a lot of ways yet still different.
It doesn’t take long for them to move from acquaintances to friends, which is something Joonmyun though he’d never have time for. Friends get in the way of things, but Joonmyun finds that venting about his stress even for a few minutes to Yifan helps tremendously.
“Reading so much is going to kill your brain cells.” Yifan chastises, plucking the book from Joonmyun’s hands. His korean has gotten better over the past few months, his accent almost completely concealed.
“I’m pretty sure reading does the opposite, Yifan.” Joonmyun retorts, picking at his kimchi lightly. “Can’t expect me to get through university without reading.”
Yifan makes a tsking noise and turns the book sideways, flipping the pages carelessly. “What are you doing tonight?”
“What I do every night. Study and practice.” Joonmyun shrugs and reaches for his book but Yifan pulls it away at the last second.
“A few of us are going for drinks. You should come.” Yifan pauses. “Actually no, you’re coming. You’re stressing yourself out too much.”
Taking the last bite of his food, Joonmyun stands up. “Stress keeps me alive.”
“No, living keeps you alive.”
“You know you don’t make any sense half the time you speak right?”
Yifan stands up then, handing Joonmyun back his book. “But you still listen don’t you?”
“Unfortunately.” Joonmyun mumbles. He shivers when Yifan places a large hand on the back of his neck, lingering a moment too long for it to be friendly.
“So I’ll see you tonight, right?”
Joonmyun has been telling himself that he needs to learn how to say no to Yifan since they first met.
“Tonight.”
x
The first time they kiss is also the first time Joonmyun breaks.
His father has been persistent about him leaving S.M and pursuing a ‘real career’ and even though she didn’t say anything, Joonmyun knows his mother silently agreed.
Four years.
It’s been four years since Joonmyun came to S.M.
At this point it would make sense to leave, just give up but Joonmyun can’t give up the slight chance he may make it one day. He wants all the practicing and grueling hours spent in this building to be worth it. If he quits now, the past few years would’ve been worthless but the longer he stays the more hopeless it seems.
Joonmyun tells Yifan all of this, and through the tears the elder seems to understand. That’s when they kiss, soft yet firm. It only lasts a few moments before Yifan is pulling away. Joonmyun half expects him to walk away but he pulls the younger in for a tight hug, mumbling something about an ancient chinese proverb that says to never give up on your dreams. That gets a laugh out of Joonmyun.
“You sound like an old man.” Joonmyun sniffles.
“I am an old man. I’m turning 20 soon” Yifan takes a tissue and rubs at the younger’s damp cheeks. “We’ll both be dust by the time we debut.”
Joonmyun scoffs and is about to say ‘if we debut’ when Yifan cuts him off with another kiss.
“You’re going to debut, even if you’re an old, wrinkly sack of bones. You’re going to debut.”
Joonmyun doesn’t think he fully believes that, but he believes just enough to keep going.
x
“Why do you have so many names?” Joonmyun asks one night. They’re in their shared dorm watching an english movie with Joonmyun perched between Yifan’s legs.
Already half asleep, Yifan grumbles out a “It helps.”
“Helps what?”
“It helps me figure out who it is talking to me.” Yifan sits up slightly, the small dorm bed creaking. “If someone calls me Kevin, I know they know me from high-school in Canada. If they call me Wufan they’re a friend from China. Yifan means they know me from..well, here.”
Joonmyun hums lightly, fiddling with the other’s large palm. “What about Kris?”
Yifan shrugs before gripping Joonmyun’s wrist, rubbing small circles into the pale skin. “That’s what I want my stage name to be. Kris and Yifan will be different, so they might as well have different names.”
“I was thinking of a stage name too. It sounds stupid though.” Joonmyun mumbles but Yifan looks down at him expectantly. “I was thinking maybe ‘Suho’. It means guardian because...if I ever get into a group I’d look after them.”
“Sap.” Yifan teases. “I like it.”
x
The first time they have sex is when Joonmyun feels like he’s sinking again, all the work and pressure from his parents pulling him down deeper and deeper. Yifan pulls him back up though. The second his back hits the sheets, Joonmyun can feel the broken pieces himself being pulled back together again.
Yifan prepares him with slick fingers and calm words that have Joonmyun keening into his pillow. Any discomfort is taken away by Joonmyun focusing on Yifan’s lips on his, his tongue prodding and exploring.
Joonmyun’s head feels fuzzy as Yifan drags the pads of his fingers over his sensitive spot over and over again, bringing him to the brink of an orgasm before taking him back down.
“Please.” Joonmyun begs. “Please, please,please…”
His begging drones on and on, only being broken by soft moans before starting up again. Joonmyun has no idea what he’s begging for but Yifan gives him what he needs and so much more.
When he finally starts to rock into Joonmyun, the younger muffles his moans by pressing his lips onto the skin of Yifan’s neck and eventually pressing their lips together. Every stressed fiber in Joonmyun’s body melts away into nothing as it’s replaced with pleasure and love. His thighs tremble from where they’re wrapped around Yifan’s waist, clenching around him as Joonmyun nears his orgasm again.
It’s Yifan who loses himself first, uttering soft words into Joonmyun’s ears as his hips finally come to a shuddering stop. Joonmyun’s brought over the edge at the sensation of being filled, painting both of their stomachs white as his soft curses fill the air.
Afterwards, when Yifan is carding his fingers through Joonmyun’s damp hair and they’re both on the verge of sleep Joonmyun manages to finally agree.
“I can’t wait until we debut.”
Even in the darkness, Joonmyun can see Yifan smile at the statement.
“Me too.”
x
x
x
Clouds.
They’re moving this time and there’s a few blades of grass rubbing against the nape of Joonmyun’s neck. He comes out to the park near S.M to think sometimes, or to not think. Whichever he’s in the mood for.
A shadow casts itself over Joonmyun’s view and he doesn’t have to think twice about who it is.
“What’s up, giant?”
Yifan scowls lightly before sitting on the grass near Joonmyun’s head. “You can’t call me names. We’re in the same group now.”
“And you think the rest of our members won’t call you names? If I recall Baekhyun’s already dubbed you ‘bushy-brows’.”
Joonmyun laughs when Yifan’s scowl deepens, sitting up so they’re facing each other. “I just came out here to clear my head. Watch some real clouds instead of those fake ones in our practice room.”
“The others are already bugging me about where you went.” Yifan complains, dropping his hand onto Joonmyun’s thigh before pulling it away. They’re not too popular yet that any paparazzi would be around, but they’re still in public and have to be careful. “I wanted to debut but I didn’t think we’d have 12 members.”
“I think it’s nice. We’re like a big, dysfunctional family with two idiots for leaders.” Joonmyun half-jokes before standing up. “Come on, let’s head back inside.”
As they walk back to the building, Joonmyun remembers something. “I think I thought of our catch phrase. What do you think of ‘We are one’?”
Yifan snorts. “That’s so corny. You really think that’ll catch on with the members?”
“I bet it will.”
Yifan eyes the younger for a moment. “We are one, huh?” He tries the words out, letting the syllables run off his tongue before chuckling and wrapping his arm around Joonmyun’s shoulders. “Come on, leader. Let’s go back to our group.”
Now, for the first time in seven years, Joonmyun can say he’s not sinking anymore.