A Touch of Jealousy
Disclaimer: Not mine, not true.
Writer's note: I don't think this is really something that happened. It comes from a random observation made by or to dizzy_grace (I can't remember which) about KwangMin's role in the group (the company seem to be grooming him to be their visual). I actually woke up with this (in the middle of Infinite and Prince of Tennis gift-fics) and it wouldn't let me go until I'd written it.
DongHyun came out of the kitchen, turning out the lights on his way, and stopped short. He thought he'd heard everyone else go to bed, but YoungMin sat on the couch, elbows braced on his knees, looking as dejected as he'd ever seen any of the three youngest. Possibly more.
"YoungMin?" he asked, moving further into the room.
The older of the twins started and looked up, eyes wide. "Sorry, hyung," he said. "I thought everyone had gone to bed."
"So did I," DongHyun said, and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
YoungMin shrugged and looked back down at his hands. "Why do you think something's wrong?"
DongHyun lifted an eyebrow at him. "You're still up, and I know you've had a long day. You're sitting like the world is coming to an end. And you won't look at me," he said, and rubbed gently between YoungMin's shoulder blades. "Want to talk about it? It's been bugging you for a while, and it might help to get it out."
YoungMin laughed softly, but not the happiest of laughs. "And I thought I was good at hiding it."
DongHyun smiled. "You don't have to say anything, but everyone else is starting to see it, too," he said. "They're all probably asleep now, anyway." Not a guarantee, of course, and YoungMin's wry look in his direction said he knew it, too.
But then he sighed and let his head sag again. "It's not fair," he said, so softly DongHyun could barely hear him.
"Not fair?" he asked, just as quietly.
"It's stupid, hyung," YoungMin said. "I know it is, and it doesn't help, knowing that."
DongHyun was starting to get an idea of what was bothering him. "What?"
YoungMin sighed. "I'm supposed to be better than this," he murmured. "I'm the older one."
"You're seventeen," DongHyun pointed out, sad to find out he was right. "You're only older by what... an hour at most?"
"Still."
The twins were probably.... DongHyun looked at YoungMin, and wondered if that were the problem. They weren't one unit, no matter what everyone seemed to think (including him, sometimes). Still stubborn, both of them, though. More stubborn than most of the group.
"Still what?" DongHyun said.
"It feels so... petty."
"If it weren't important to you, you'd be asleep," DongHyun said.
"He makes me feel ugly."
An automatic denial on the tip of his tongue, DongHyun stopped. He wasn't sure that was the way to go, actually, and didn't know if that reaction would feel like a complete dismissal. And, really, he'd had enough of that. "How?" he asked, trying to draw YoungMin out, get this thing out before something went really wrong and it got between the twins. That kind of thing Boyfriend wouldn't survive.
YoungMin sighed. "I don't know. We're supposed to be identical."
"You are. It took us forever to be able to tell you apart."
"You can," YoungMin said, glancing up at him through his bangs. "You've been able to for a long time. I think you got it quicker than MinWoo."
DongHyun smiled. "MinWoo's not the most observant person I know," he said.
"No," YoungMin said, amused, and looked back down at his hand, sobering again. "Now no one has a problem."
"Isn't that good?"
"I don't know. I guess," YoungMin said reluctantly. "But why...."
DongHyun hugged him. "I don't know," he said when YoungMin didn't finish. Yes, get this out. Jealousy between the twins would be fatal for everyone involved.
"I don't want to feel like this," YoungMin said after a very long time, his voice soft. "I want to support him, be happy for him, but it just... hurts." They'd moved; DongHyun now sat against the back of the couch, arms still around the oldest of his so-called magnae line, YoungMin relaxed (finally) against him, curled up with his head on DongHyun's shoulder.
"I know," DongHyun said. What else could he say? He understood all too well. "I think you're doing a great job."
"I feel like a hypocrite."
"You want to be better than that," DongHyun said with a smile. "Sometimes, feeling like a hypocrite is part of the process. Wanting to be better makes you not one."
"Maybe." It almost sounded hopeful. And when YoungMin sat up, DongHyun let him go without resistance. "Thanks, hyung," he said, and smiled, almost that same cheery smile DongHyun knew him for. "You should get to bed. Morning comes early."
"I'm going," DongHyun said, and pulled himself off the couch. He pulled YoungMin up as well, and gave him a gentle shove toward his room. "Go to bed."
YoungMin grinned and went. DongHyun turned off the lights, listening to the sleepy query from KwangMin and YoungMin's soft answer - he couldn't hear the words, just the tone - and smiled. He padded across the floor to his own room, checked quickly on HyunSung and JungMin, then crawled into bed and slept almost immediately.
No one noticed the relief in his smile at the normal, unrestrained chaos at breakfast the next morning when he had to separate the twins before they did something he was sure to regret later, in the form of JungMin's retaliation.
Writer's note: I don't think this is really something that happened. It comes from a random observation made by or to dizzy_grace (I can't remember which) about KwangMin's role in the group (the company seem to be grooming him to be their visual). I actually woke up with this (in the middle of Infinite and Prince of Tennis gift-fics) and it wouldn't let me go until I'd written it.
DongHyun came out of the kitchen, turning out the lights on his way, and stopped short. He thought he'd heard everyone else go to bed, but YoungMin sat on the couch, elbows braced on his knees, looking as dejected as he'd ever seen any of the three youngest. Possibly more.
"YoungMin?" he asked, moving further into the room.
The older of the twins started and looked up, eyes wide. "Sorry, hyung," he said. "I thought everyone had gone to bed."
"So did I," DongHyun said, and sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
YoungMin shrugged and looked back down at his hands. "Why do you think something's wrong?"
DongHyun lifted an eyebrow at him. "You're still up, and I know you've had a long day. You're sitting like the world is coming to an end. And you won't look at me," he said, and rubbed gently between YoungMin's shoulder blades. "Want to talk about it? It's been bugging you for a while, and it might help to get it out."
YoungMin laughed softly, but not the happiest of laughs. "And I thought I was good at hiding it."
DongHyun smiled. "You don't have to say anything, but everyone else is starting to see it, too," he said. "They're all probably asleep now, anyway." Not a guarantee, of course, and YoungMin's wry look in his direction said he knew it, too.
But then he sighed and let his head sag again. "It's not fair," he said, so softly DongHyun could barely hear him.
"Not fair?" he asked, just as quietly.
"It's stupid, hyung," YoungMin said. "I know it is, and it doesn't help, knowing that."
DongHyun was starting to get an idea of what was bothering him. "What?"
YoungMin sighed. "I'm supposed to be better than this," he murmured. "I'm the older one."
"You're seventeen," DongHyun pointed out, sad to find out he was right. "You're only older by what... an hour at most?"
"Still."
The twins were probably.... DongHyun looked at YoungMin, and wondered if that were the problem. They weren't one unit, no matter what everyone seemed to think (including him, sometimes). Still stubborn, both of them, though. More stubborn than most of the group.
"Still what?" DongHyun said.
"It feels so... petty."
"If it weren't important to you, you'd be asleep," DongHyun said.
"He makes me feel ugly."
An automatic denial on the tip of his tongue, DongHyun stopped. He wasn't sure that was the way to go, actually, and didn't know if that reaction would feel like a complete dismissal. And, really, he'd had enough of that. "How?" he asked, trying to draw YoungMin out, get this thing out before something went really wrong and it got between the twins. That kind of thing Boyfriend wouldn't survive.
YoungMin sighed. "I don't know. We're supposed to be identical."
"You are. It took us forever to be able to tell you apart."
"You can," YoungMin said, glancing up at him through his bangs. "You've been able to for a long time. I think you got it quicker than MinWoo."
DongHyun smiled. "MinWoo's not the most observant person I know," he said.
"No," YoungMin said, amused, and looked back down at his hand, sobering again. "Now no one has a problem."
"Isn't that good?"
"I don't know. I guess," YoungMin said reluctantly. "But why...."
DongHyun hugged him. "I don't know," he said when YoungMin didn't finish. Yes, get this out. Jealousy between the twins would be fatal for everyone involved.
"I don't want to feel like this," YoungMin said after a very long time, his voice soft. "I want to support him, be happy for him, but it just... hurts." They'd moved; DongHyun now sat against the back of the couch, arms still around the oldest of his so-called magnae line, YoungMin relaxed (finally) against him, curled up with his head on DongHyun's shoulder.
"I know," DongHyun said. What else could he say? He understood all too well. "I think you're doing a great job."
"I feel like a hypocrite."
"You want to be better than that," DongHyun said with a smile. "Sometimes, feeling like a hypocrite is part of the process. Wanting to be better makes you not one."
"Maybe." It almost sounded hopeful. And when YoungMin sat up, DongHyun let him go without resistance. "Thanks, hyung," he said, and smiled, almost that same cheery smile DongHyun knew him for. "You should get to bed. Morning comes early."
"I'm going," DongHyun said, and pulled himself off the couch. He pulled YoungMin up as well, and gave him a gentle shove toward his room. "Go to bed."
YoungMin grinned and went. DongHyun turned off the lights, listening to the sleepy query from KwangMin and YoungMin's soft answer - he couldn't hear the words, just the tone - and smiled. He padded across the floor to his own room, checked quickly on HyunSung and JungMin, then crawled into bed and slept almost immediately.
No one noticed the relief in his smile at the normal, unrestrained chaos at breakfast the next morning when he had to separate the twins before they did something he was sure to regret later, in the form of JungMin's retaliation.