The Heart's Placard → for omoikkiri
Title: The Heart's Placard
Recipient: omoikkiri
Pairing(s): minseok/all of exo
Rating: G
Warnings: un-beta'd. How do you English.
Word count: 3558w
Summary: Everyone keeps their special words somewhere in their heart. It takes courage to take the placard out of your heart. It takes some time to realize what you really have to say. Even if it's a shy little "thank you", Minseok will still be happy.
When the news first broke out, it was Minseok who comforted Junmyeon. Junmyeon had come out of his room, panic clear in his expressions, and Minseok had been the one to hug him and everyone else when they were too busy in their own thoughts to comfort one another. Minseok pulled Junmyeon aside that night, and told him that everything’s fine, that it’s not his fault, that the kids will be just fine if Junmyeon just pulls it together and that Minseok will always be by the kind-hearted leader’s side. The leader smiled, as if telling Minseok not to worry too much about him, thanked him with sad eyes, and leaves the kitchen with 3 cups of caramel pudding from Minseok (which Minseok had actually saved for later, but Junmyeon needs it more) to make himself feel better.
Junmyeon only has time to think about it properly once he’s alone in the dark quietness of his room. His mind races, thinking about things that he could do to make this better tomorrow when he’s less panicked, and try to help all the members get through this together. How did Minseok look so calm and composed? Junmyeon could never help the kids if he looks like this, panicked, upset, and really angry. With the concert coming up, too, and with everything going so well, he just couldn’t wrap his head around it. The members will really need his help this way, they’ll really need someone to lean on-and that would be Junmyeon. But Minseok had told him it was fine, that he’ll find out what had happened, in place of Junmyeon who has to calm the kids down. That he will try and contact Kris, that he’ll take care of everything, while still magically smiling that beautiful smile while telling Junmyeon that it’s okay, all you have to do is tend to the others and I’ll help you. I’m always here if you need any more help. You can’t go through this alone. But Junmyeon’s the leader, he can’t possibly let Minseok do that. He’s the leader. He should be doing these things. Minseok should be sleeping and enjoying his pudding. This is Junmyeon’s job. This is his responsibility.
Despite Minseok’s looks and the way he speaks, Junmyeon knows that Minseok cares about everyone just as much as he cares about Junmyeon. He thinks Minseok is the one who’s done the most for everyone. He’s selfless, he puts everyone ahead of him, and he doesn’t ask for anything in return. Junmyeon knows Minseok has been working just as hard as him, tending to the younglings when both leaders are out for an event, helping everyone stay in line when both leaders couldn’t do it, and isn’t afraid to use his hyung status. Minseok is such a patient person that when he’s angry, it doubles the scary factor, and Junmyeon knows well enough how Minseok is always keeping everything to himself-he’s not the type of person to speak up about things that bother him, most of the time he just let it slide, and that’s what Junmyeon likes and hates the most about him. Junmyeon knows that all his members admire the eldest hyung. They’d tell Junmyeon about their days while staring at him with wide eyes, and gushing about how “today hyung did this, he did that, he said this to me, we did that together”, and it never fails to make Junmyeon smile. He knows Minseok is everyone’s role model.
Looking back at it now…
It was Minseok who comforted Tao when a crazed fan had somehow gotten her hand on his cell phone number and called him, and he had to get the level-headed, Chinese speaking Luhan to not lose control and get angry at the fan. The younger had come to Minseok angry, wanting to kick anything and everything into oblivion, and nobody wanted to deal with him when everyone’s too busy with themselves. It was Minseok who took Tao into his room and hugged the younger boy, telling him that it’s okay, that he shouldn’t be so angry, because he would get older quickly. The younger boy smiled, and thanked Minseok who listened to his hour-long angry (Korean-Chinese) rant, even though Minseok understood none of it. Tao had happily told Junmyeon how happy he was that his roommate Minseok was super nice to him.
Minseok was the first to notice Jongin’s pained expression during practice. It was Minseok who pulled him aside and asked him if he was okay. It was him who notified Junmyeon in the middle of their intense practicing for their comeback. Jongin told Junmyeon how happy he was that Minseok paid attention to him at all in the first place to notice his pain. Ever since, Jongin looks at Minseok differently-differently enough that Junmyeon noticed.
Not to mention the many times he’s also comforted Jongdae when he accidentally butchers his Mandarin lines in public, or when Jongdae gets homesick. Jongdae would even come back to Korea confident and tell everyone Minseok improved his Chinese, even when Luhan rolled his eyes at the obvious lie, even when Yixing and Luhan had to help them both correct their pronunciations, Jongdae still brags about Minseok improving (when really, Jongdae is the one that’s improving with the help of his beloved Liyin nuna. Minseok is improving slower due to his age, but Junmyeon knows he’s trying his hardest).
There’s also that one time Kyungsoo was so angry at everything (mainly Sehun and Baekhyun), that he just stopped speaking to everyone, and it was Minseok who comforted Kyungsoo and helped him when everything the wide-eyed boy did to the duo didn’t work. It was also Minseok’s doing when he replaced Sehun’s Rilakkuma plushie Baekhyun accidentally tore apart when he fought with Chanyeol without anyone knowing (Minseok still has the re-stitched plushie somewhere in his closet). It was him who scolded Chanyeol for making Jongin sad, and Junmyeon can see how it scarred Chanyeol for life. It was all such subtle, hard to notice actions, one that has a huge impact but gets no “thank you” in return, but now, Junmyeon knows just how much Minseok cares and loves all the members of his little “harem”, as Luhan would call it.
Junmyeon appreciates it. He does.
~*~
Minseok loves his dongsaengs equally. He loves that they are all such lively young men, compared to the dead-eyed Minseok who has 2 facial expressions most of the time, which is either uninterested, or smiling. His default face is just that way. He loves that they all care for each other and how they can be very playful but then get serious in a split second. Minseok is almost always serious. The rest of the time he’s sleepy or tired.
But he also hates them. He hates that they’re messy, noisy, cranky, and he hates how they always fight over the smallest things, such as who gets to shower first, or which food to get, or who can annoy member A the most. That’s what you get for living with 10 other young men, but still, he hates that they’re so annoying and noisy and did he mention that they’re very noisy? They’re clingy, incompetent young men who shouldn’t be idols, but did Minseok mention that he loves them all?
It might not seem this way to many people, but he’s very caring, and does so many for the little kids who call themselves grown men. Sure, he doesn’t like to flaunt it as much as he likes to flaunt his hand wrestling skills, but he likes helping them no matter how small. It’s his responsibility as the eldest, after all. It’s only natural that he helps all his minions out, even the leaders (because they’re still his little minions. Minion? Minseok frowns.)
He likes helping his cute babies out. Why? Because they’re incompetent brats. They can’t do anything without Minseok, and is he just going to ignore that? Nope, Minseok’s too nice.
~*~
Minseok’s always so quiet even when the dorm is buzzing with chatter and random acts of vandalism. Something is always happening at the dorm, and Minseok is rarely ever a part of that. He doesn’t like involving himself in things that do him no good (for example, bullying Sehun or stealing Zitao’s snack stash), and chooses to sit in his room most of the time. Trouble is not his cup of tea, unlike the little beagles and rascals that roam the dorm and turn the living room upside down daily. He’d also go out and shop just to escape the noisiness and spoil himself (“It’s good for you!” was what Luhan said to him), while some other time, he’ll gladly help everyone out with things which he considers useful (which roughly translates to “no, I will not lure Kyungsoo out of his hiding just so someone can use him as their personal plushie toy”).
Alone time is rare when you live with a dozen other people, and Minseok is almost always with somebody. Whether it’s in the kitchen with Kyungsoo, or the living room with Baekhyun and Jongdae, Minseok is rarely ever by himself. Even in his room, he never feels truly alone. But he’s content with his life with so many other boys in a cramped apartment, sharing the same living space, and most importantly, sharing the same dream.
But still, alone times are greatly appreciated by Minseok. He never passes the rare opportunity to be alone. Junmyeon would suggest that he go out and do things by himself while he stay at home and take care of the members. Minseok would shrug and head out in a heartbeat-being with so many other people 24/7 gets really tiring sometimes.
As much as he loves his alone time, he loves his members more, so when he finds out through the group chat that Sehun caught a fever, he quickly heads to the pharmacy, the bubble tea shop (to cheer Sehun up!), and catches a cab to get back home quick.
Alone time may be rare and very dear to him, but his members are more valuable than anything in this world. They can’t replace another member, and alone time can easily be rearranged for another day.
For now, Sehun is more important.
~*~
Sehun feels guilty. He really does. Making all the members panic because of his high temperature and making Minseok come back home earlier than he was supposed to, made Sehun feel extremely guilty. He loves his hyung and he doesn’t want his hyung to hate him for taking away his alone time.
So when Minseok steps in, Sehun apologizes like the nice, little baby that he is.
Honestly, Minseok doesn’t even feel bothered by the fact that he had spent the last of his cash on pills and bubble tea for his sick little kitten. He just wants his kitten to get better. He likes it when the youngest clings to him like a baby kitty, he likes it when the baby maknae pouts at him, and he likes it more when the growing kid smiles in happiness. The kid has signed away his teenage years to SM Entertainment, and it feels like Sehun-despite the growth spurt that shot him up to be taller than Jongin-still has the mentality of a 14 year old sometimes, so Minseok always makes sure he gets the attention he needs.
Even if Minseok isn’t Sehun’s favorite hyung, that’s okay, because Minseok loves him a lot. More than Sehun loves him
~*~
Minseok looks over at Jongdae and realizes how tired the other boy looks. Singing high notes and dancing all day sure takes a lot out of your body. At least Minseok doesn’t have a lot of lines and doesn’t have to lip sync as hard as the main vocalists, especially Jongdae who has to move his lips to a different language. He looks so worn out, eyes closed and drenched in sweat, and Minseok feels so bad. The boy deserves some rest.
Grabbing his hand, Minseok wordlessly hands over his iced water bottle to Jongdae, pressing it against the younger boy’s palm. Jongdae opens his eyes, and Minseok smiles and signals for him to drink it.
You sure? Jongdae’s eyes looks worried, but why would he be? Minseok’s perfectly fine. He’ll just get another one later. He nods and ruffles Jongdae’s hair, smiling sweetly. How could Jongdae ever refuse Minseok?
When Minseok ends up on an IV drip for dehydration the next day, Jongdae feels the most guilt, even when Minseok keeps repeating “it’s totally okay, I’m fine, I’ll be okay.” But it’s not okay, because Jongdae never even said thank you for the drink, and now Minseok is dehydrated.
~*~
When Junmyeon calls over all the members to the living room one night, everyone knows it’s not a good thing. The last time this kind of emergency discussion happened was when Kris left, and that wasn’t a good time. The only other time was during their early days when U-Know Yunho had called all the way from Japan, in the middle of his Tohoshinki tour schedules, and scolded them for a terrible performance. That wasn’t exactly a good time either.
But the difference is that now, Minseok isn’t here because he’s out with his high school friends for a reunion.
“If you guys are wondering, this isn’t exactly an emergency, and this isn’t bad either, but I just thought… We need to discuss this.” Junmyeon starts, sitting down on the couch. He can see the members becoming less tense and relaxing.
“This is, I’m not gonna lie, the worst thing all of us has ever done to someone. I’ve just realized this myself, but we’re really, really taking Minseok’s kindness for granted. Don’t you think? I’ve been thinking about it, about all the things he’s done for me, and how many times I’ve actually thanked him for it. The last time I thanked him was when he gave me all his caramel puddings. I know you all gush about his kindness all the time to each other, but does he actually know how thankful you are? Please think about this. I know none of you have actually thanked him enough for all he’s done. Can we just… Thank him? And appreciate his kindness in the future? Think about it, guys. Zitao, when was the last time you thanked him?”
Zitao freezes in place. When was the last time he thanked Minseok? Was it when Minseok found his favorite earring? When was that?
“See? Just… When you see him, thank him, will you? Do you know how much he’s sacrificed for you guys? How much free time he’s cut down just to tend to us? We depend on him too much. I think he at least deserves a sincere thanks. Maybe more. I really, really would appreciate it if you took just 5 seconds out of your time to thank him in person.” Junmyeon smiles down at all his members, looking at each of their expressions closely.
They have something in mind. He just knows it.
~*~
It’s raining. Minseok can smell coffee and something being cooked outside. Jongdae is asleep next to him, his phone still softly playing Zhang Liyin’s song, and it makes Minseok want to pull his blanket up to his chin, and sleep again for the rest of the day. But the smell of coffee is pulling him, and he’s so hungry his stomach is growling.
Kyungsoo greets him as soon as he walks into the kitchen, quietly serving Minseok a plate of whatever it was he was cooking. At least it looks good, and it smells good. Whenever someone else besides Kyungsoo or Yixing cook, it usually ends up a disaster, but nowadays, ever since Chanyeol is on Roommate, he’s learned to cook decently. Well, at least the boy learned something useful while he was away.
“Oh hyung, by the way, we’re all going out for dinner tonight! You should come with us. Junmyeon is paying.” Kyungsoo says, moving aside some plates to the sink. Minseok raises his brows. Junmyeon is starting to pay for food again? He stopped a while ago and suggests they pay what they eat, but is it perhaps because there’s one less mouth to feed? That’s just mean. But at least Junmyeon is paying.
“Sure, I’ll be there for you guys.”
~*~
Minseok and Luhan are the last to arrive for the dinner party at a fancy restaurant somewhere in Namdaemun. The smell of meat and soup fill the place, which has been reserved for them. But the atmosphere is weird…
Why are all of them looking at Minseok like that?
Why does it feel like an intervention when 10 pairs of eyes stare at him like that?
“You’re here!” Chanyeol breaks the silence, smiling widely.
“We’re here for something special today.” Junmyeon says.
“Don’t tell me I forgot my own birthday? It’s not March yet, is it?” Minseok jokes, laughing awkwardly as he takes a seat between Luhan and Yixing.
“No, but we forgot something. This is a thank you dinner. For you.” Sehun says, smiling like the cute baby kitten he is.
“What? No, you don’t have to. What is this?”
“Say what you want. But we’re already doing this.” Jongdae says from across Minseok.
“I haven’t thanked you for the one time you canceled your meeting with your sister just so you can cheer me up and play soccer with me. Thank you for that.” Luhan says, wrapping his arms around Minseok’s shoulder.
“What-“
“Thanks for the lifetime advices and the sacrifices. Thank you for always being here for me, Minseok hyung. You helped me through lots of hard times.” Junmyeon smiles from his place. Minseok can hear Jongin whisper over to Baekhyun something about Junmyeon being a greasy old man.
“Thanks for always making me feel better. You also take care of me well when I get injured. Hyung, I think you have to eat more. You take care of the others so much, but why not yourself?” Yixing pouts.
“But-“ Minseok is cut off again.
“Thank you for helping me with the whole news thing. You didn’t have to lock me up and throw all my gadgets into your underwear drawer, but if you didn’t do that, I’d have probably created a bigger splash on my own scandal.” Chanyeol hits Baekhyun’s shoulder at the dumb comment.
“I didn’t thank you for helping me pack when I was moving out to the Roommate house. I didn’t thank you when you found my favorite t-shirt. I didn’t thank you for a lot of things, so this one thank you isn’t enough, hyung.” Chanyeol frowns, and Minseok laughs.
“No, why are you making me feel so burdened?”
“But hyung, really, thank you. You make me feel so much better when I’m homesick. I’m forever grateful that you’re always by my side.” Jongdae smiles, his kitten smile (Minseok’s favorite kind of smile) brightening up his face.
“Thanks for always making the kids calm down. You do a better job than me.” Kyungsoo looks down, shy.
“You hit people, Kyungsoo, you can’t possibly calm them down when you hit them all the time.” Minseok sends a judging stare across the table to Kyungsoo.
“You listen to me when nobody else will. Hyung, you’re honestly so nice. Thank you.” Zitao is nearly and tears and Minseok nervously laughs.
“Uhh, why-“
“Hyung! I love you! Thank you! You’re so nice to me and you always take care of me when I’m sick or tired. You run around with me even when you’re tired, and you don’t mind it when I pull at your cheeks.” Sehun says, eyes turning into crescents as he smiles.
“This is awkward, but… Hyung, thank you for always noticing when I’m feeling unwell. You are so nice to me. I wish I can cling to you forever.” Jongin’s eyes turn softer than usual, and Minseok feels really burdened.
“Why all of a sudden… This…” Minseok starts, but it turns silent for a minute.
“Because we’re dumb, and we don’t thank you when you do something for us. You’re honestly so nice and you help us a lot, but I don’t think we’ve thanked you enough, even when you sacrifice yourself for it. So thank you, hyung. For everything. And now, let’s eat because I am so hungry and I swear to God if I don’t eat, I am going to tear something up.” Junmyeon says, quickly grabbing the first piece of chicken he seed with his chopsticks, and takes a bite out of it.
Minseok smiles as everyone echoes Suho. Yeah, let’s eat they say, grabbing whatever they see and eventually choking on it (or perhaps that is just Sehun being dumb), and laughing as they help the maknae and scold him for eating too fast. “This is why you should always eat slowly and chew properly.” Tao says, rolling his eyes. Well isn’t he one to talk, Minseok thinks.
Minseok loves his dongsaengs equally. He loves that they are all such lively young men, who appreciates all the little things in life. Even if Minseok feels burdened, he doesn’t care, as long as it makes his dongsaengs happy, then he will be happy, too.
Author’s note: What did I just write…. What. Adajfbskfbsdjad… To my recipient, I am very sorry if this is disappointing. I lost the file to the finished draft the day I was supposed to turn it in and used the latest draft I had in hand (unfinished with like 1600 words) and wrote this speedy in like a whole day. I’m so dumb and this is so disappointing. I’m sorry, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways, even if I kind of strayed from the prompt :( Now if you’ll excuse me, I will cry in the corner over my lost files.
Recipient: omoikkiri
Pairing(s): minseok/all of exo
Rating: G
Warnings: un-beta'd. How do you English.
Word count: 3558w
Summary: Everyone keeps their special words somewhere in their heart. It takes courage to take the placard out of your heart. It takes some time to realize what you really have to say. Even if it's a shy little "thank you", Minseok will still be happy.
When the news first broke out, it was Minseok who comforted Junmyeon. Junmyeon had come out of his room, panic clear in his expressions, and Minseok had been the one to hug him and everyone else when they were too busy in their own thoughts to comfort one another. Minseok pulled Junmyeon aside that night, and told him that everything’s fine, that it’s not his fault, that the kids will be just fine if Junmyeon just pulls it together and that Minseok will always be by the kind-hearted leader’s side. The leader smiled, as if telling Minseok not to worry too much about him, thanked him with sad eyes, and leaves the kitchen with 3 cups of caramel pudding from Minseok (which Minseok had actually saved for later, but Junmyeon needs it more) to make himself feel better.
Junmyeon only has time to think about it properly once he’s alone in the dark quietness of his room. His mind races, thinking about things that he could do to make this better tomorrow when he’s less panicked, and try to help all the members get through this together. How did Minseok look so calm and composed? Junmyeon could never help the kids if he looks like this, panicked, upset, and really angry. With the concert coming up, too, and with everything going so well, he just couldn’t wrap his head around it. The members will really need his help this way, they’ll really need someone to lean on-and that would be Junmyeon. But Minseok had told him it was fine, that he’ll find out what had happened, in place of Junmyeon who has to calm the kids down. That he will try and contact Kris, that he’ll take care of everything, while still magically smiling that beautiful smile while telling Junmyeon that it’s okay, all you have to do is tend to the others and I’ll help you. I’m always here if you need any more help. You can’t go through this alone. But Junmyeon’s the leader, he can’t possibly let Minseok do that. He’s the leader. He should be doing these things. Minseok should be sleeping and enjoying his pudding. This is Junmyeon’s job. This is his responsibility.
Despite Minseok’s looks and the way he speaks, Junmyeon knows that Minseok cares about everyone just as much as he cares about Junmyeon. He thinks Minseok is the one who’s done the most for everyone. He’s selfless, he puts everyone ahead of him, and he doesn’t ask for anything in return. Junmyeon knows Minseok has been working just as hard as him, tending to the younglings when both leaders are out for an event, helping everyone stay in line when both leaders couldn’t do it, and isn’t afraid to use his hyung status. Minseok is such a patient person that when he’s angry, it doubles the scary factor, and Junmyeon knows well enough how Minseok is always keeping everything to himself-he’s not the type of person to speak up about things that bother him, most of the time he just let it slide, and that’s what Junmyeon likes and hates the most about him. Junmyeon knows that all his members admire the eldest hyung. They’d tell Junmyeon about their days while staring at him with wide eyes, and gushing about how “today hyung did this, he did that, he said this to me, we did that together”, and it never fails to make Junmyeon smile. He knows Minseok is everyone’s role model.
Looking back at it now…
It was Minseok who comforted Tao when a crazed fan had somehow gotten her hand on his cell phone number and called him, and he had to get the level-headed, Chinese speaking Luhan to not lose control and get angry at the fan. The younger had come to Minseok angry, wanting to kick anything and everything into oblivion, and nobody wanted to deal with him when everyone’s too busy with themselves. It was Minseok who took Tao into his room and hugged the younger boy, telling him that it’s okay, that he shouldn’t be so angry, because he would get older quickly. The younger boy smiled, and thanked Minseok who listened to his hour-long angry (Korean-Chinese) rant, even though Minseok understood none of it. Tao had happily told Junmyeon how happy he was that his roommate Minseok was super nice to him.
Minseok was the first to notice Jongin’s pained expression during practice. It was Minseok who pulled him aside and asked him if he was okay. It was him who notified Junmyeon in the middle of their intense practicing for their comeback. Jongin told Junmyeon how happy he was that Minseok paid attention to him at all in the first place to notice his pain. Ever since, Jongin looks at Minseok differently-differently enough that Junmyeon noticed.
Not to mention the many times he’s also comforted Jongdae when he accidentally butchers his Mandarin lines in public, or when Jongdae gets homesick. Jongdae would even come back to Korea confident and tell everyone Minseok improved his Chinese, even when Luhan rolled his eyes at the obvious lie, even when Yixing and Luhan had to help them both correct their pronunciations, Jongdae still brags about Minseok improving (when really, Jongdae is the one that’s improving with the help of his beloved Liyin nuna. Minseok is improving slower due to his age, but Junmyeon knows he’s trying his hardest).
There’s also that one time Kyungsoo was so angry at everything (mainly Sehun and Baekhyun), that he just stopped speaking to everyone, and it was Minseok who comforted Kyungsoo and helped him when everything the wide-eyed boy did to the duo didn’t work. It was also Minseok’s doing when he replaced Sehun’s Rilakkuma plushie Baekhyun accidentally tore apart when he fought with Chanyeol without anyone knowing (Minseok still has the re-stitched plushie somewhere in his closet). It was him who scolded Chanyeol for making Jongin sad, and Junmyeon can see how it scarred Chanyeol for life. It was all such subtle, hard to notice actions, one that has a huge impact but gets no “thank you” in return, but now, Junmyeon knows just how much Minseok cares and loves all the members of his little “harem”, as Luhan would call it.
Junmyeon appreciates it. He does.
~*~
Minseok loves his dongsaengs equally. He loves that they are all such lively young men, compared to the dead-eyed Minseok who has 2 facial expressions most of the time, which is either uninterested, or smiling. His default face is just that way. He loves that they all care for each other and how they can be very playful but then get serious in a split second. Minseok is almost always serious. The rest of the time he’s sleepy or tired.
But he also hates them. He hates that they’re messy, noisy, cranky, and he hates how they always fight over the smallest things, such as who gets to shower first, or which food to get, or who can annoy member A the most. That’s what you get for living with 10 other young men, but still, he hates that they’re so annoying and noisy and did he mention that they’re very noisy? They’re clingy, incompetent young men who shouldn’t be idols, but did Minseok mention that he loves them all?
It might not seem this way to many people, but he’s very caring, and does so many for the little kids who call themselves grown men. Sure, he doesn’t like to flaunt it as much as he likes to flaunt his hand wrestling skills, but he likes helping them no matter how small. It’s his responsibility as the eldest, after all. It’s only natural that he helps all his minions out, even the leaders (because they’re still his little minions. Minion? Minseok frowns.)
He likes helping his cute babies out. Why? Because they’re incompetent brats. They can’t do anything without Minseok, and is he just going to ignore that? Nope, Minseok’s too nice.
~*~
Minseok’s always so quiet even when the dorm is buzzing with chatter and random acts of vandalism. Something is always happening at the dorm, and Minseok is rarely ever a part of that. He doesn’t like involving himself in things that do him no good (for example, bullying Sehun or stealing Zitao’s snack stash), and chooses to sit in his room most of the time. Trouble is not his cup of tea, unlike the little beagles and rascals that roam the dorm and turn the living room upside down daily. He’d also go out and shop just to escape the noisiness and spoil himself (“It’s good for you!” was what Luhan said to him), while some other time, he’ll gladly help everyone out with things which he considers useful (which roughly translates to “no, I will not lure Kyungsoo out of his hiding just so someone can use him as their personal plushie toy”).
Alone time is rare when you live with a dozen other people, and Minseok is almost always with somebody. Whether it’s in the kitchen with Kyungsoo, or the living room with Baekhyun and Jongdae, Minseok is rarely ever by himself. Even in his room, he never feels truly alone. But he’s content with his life with so many other boys in a cramped apartment, sharing the same living space, and most importantly, sharing the same dream.
But still, alone times are greatly appreciated by Minseok. He never passes the rare opportunity to be alone. Junmyeon would suggest that he go out and do things by himself while he stay at home and take care of the members. Minseok would shrug and head out in a heartbeat-being with so many other people 24/7 gets really tiring sometimes.
As much as he loves his alone time, he loves his members more, so when he finds out through the group chat that Sehun caught a fever, he quickly heads to the pharmacy, the bubble tea shop (to cheer Sehun up!), and catches a cab to get back home quick.
Alone time may be rare and very dear to him, but his members are more valuable than anything in this world. They can’t replace another member, and alone time can easily be rearranged for another day.
For now, Sehun is more important.
~*~
Sehun feels guilty. He really does. Making all the members panic because of his high temperature and making Minseok come back home earlier than he was supposed to, made Sehun feel extremely guilty. He loves his hyung and he doesn’t want his hyung to hate him for taking away his alone time.
So when Minseok steps in, Sehun apologizes like the nice, little baby that he is.
Honestly, Minseok doesn’t even feel bothered by the fact that he had spent the last of his cash on pills and bubble tea for his sick little kitten. He just wants his kitten to get better. He likes it when the youngest clings to him like a baby kitty, he likes it when the baby maknae pouts at him, and he likes it more when the growing kid smiles in happiness. The kid has signed away his teenage years to SM Entertainment, and it feels like Sehun-despite the growth spurt that shot him up to be taller than Jongin-still has the mentality of a 14 year old sometimes, so Minseok always makes sure he gets the attention he needs.
Even if Minseok isn’t Sehun’s favorite hyung, that’s okay, because Minseok loves him a lot. More than Sehun loves him
~*~
Minseok looks over at Jongdae and realizes how tired the other boy looks. Singing high notes and dancing all day sure takes a lot out of your body. At least Minseok doesn’t have a lot of lines and doesn’t have to lip sync as hard as the main vocalists, especially Jongdae who has to move his lips to a different language. He looks so worn out, eyes closed and drenched in sweat, and Minseok feels so bad. The boy deserves some rest.
Grabbing his hand, Minseok wordlessly hands over his iced water bottle to Jongdae, pressing it against the younger boy’s palm. Jongdae opens his eyes, and Minseok smiles and signals for him to drink it.
You sure? Jongdae’s eyes looks worried, but why would he be? Minseok’s perfectly fine. He’ll just get another one later. He nods and ruffles Jongdae’s hair, smiling sweetly. How could Jongdae ever refuse Minseok?
When Minseok ends up on an IV drip for dehydration the next day, Jongdae feels the most guilt, even when Minseok keeps repeating “it’s totally okay, I’m fine, I’ll be okay.” But it’s not okay, because Jongdae never even said thank you for the drink, and now Minseok is dehydrated.
~*~
When Junmyeon calls over all the members to the living room one night, everyone knows it’s not a good thing. The last time this kind of emergency discussion happened was when Kris left, and that wasn’t a good time. The only other time was during their early days when U-Know Yunho had called all the way from Japan, in the middle of his Tohoshinki tour schedules, and scolded them for a terrible performance. That wasn’t exactly a good time either.
But the difference is that now, Minseok isn’t here because he’s out with his high school friends for a reunion.
“If you guys are wondering, this isn’t exactly an emergency, and this isn’t bad either, but I just thought… We need to discuss this.” Junmyeon starts, sitting down on the couch. He can see the members becoming less tense and relaxing.
“This is, I’m not gonna lie, the worst thing all of us has ever done to someone. I’ve just realized this myself, but we’re really, really taking Minseok’s kindness for granted. Don’t you think? I’ve been thinking about it, about all the things he’s done for me, and how many times I’ve actually thanked him for it. The last time I thanked him was when he gave me all his caramel puddings. I know you all gush about his kindness all the time to each other, but does he actually know how thankful you are? Please think about this. I know none of you have actually thanked him enough for all he’s done. Can we just… Thank him? And appreciate his kindness in the future? Think about it, guys. Zitao, when was the last time you thanked him?”
Zitao freezes in place. When was the last time he thanked Minseok? Was it when Minseok found his favorite earring? When was that?
“See? Just… When you see him, thank him, will you? Do you know how much he’s sacrificed for you guys? How much free time he’s cut down just to tend to us? We depend on him too much. I think he at least deserves a sincere thanks. Maybe more. I really, really would appreciate it if you took just 5 seconds out of your time to thank him in person.” Junmyeon smiles down at all his members, looking at each of their expressions closely.
They have something in mind. He just knows it.
~*~
It’s raining. Minseok can smell coffee and something being cooked outside. Jongdae is asleep next to him, his phone still softly playing Zhang Liyin’s song, and it makes Minseok want to pull his blanket up to his chin, and sleep again for the rest of the day. But the smell of coffee is pulling him, and he’s so hungry his stomach is growling.
Kyungsoo greets him as soon as he walks into the kitchen, quietly serving Minseok a plate of whatever it was he was cooking. At least it looks good, and it smells good. Whenever someone else besides Kyungsoo or Yixing cook, it usually ends up a disaster, but nowadays, ever since Chanyeol is on Roommate, he’s learned to cook decently. Well, at least the boy learned something useful while he was away.
“Oh hyung, by the way, we’re all going out for dinner tonight! You should come with us. Junmyeon is paying.” Kyungsoo says, moving aside some plates to the sink. Minseok raises his brows. Junmyeon is starting to pay for food again? He stopped a while ago and suggests they pay what they eat, but is it perhaps because there’s one less mouth to feed? That’s just mean. But at least Junmyeon is paying.
“Sure, I’ll be there for you guys.”
~*~
Minseok and Luhan are the last to arrive for the dinner party at a fancy restaurant somewhere in Namdaemun. The smell of meat and soup fill the place, which has been reserved for them. But the atmosphere is weird…
Why are all of them looking at Minseok like that?
Why does it feel like an intervention when 10 pairs of eyes stare at him like that?
“You’re here!” Chanyeol breaks the silence, smiling widely.
“We’re here for something special today.” Junmyeon says.
“Don’t tell me I forgot my own birthday? It’s not March yet, is it?” Minseok jokes, laughing awkwardly as he takes a seat between Luhan and Yixing.
“No, but we forgot something. This is a thank you dinner. For you.” Sehun says, smiling like the cute baby kitten he is.
“What? No, you don’t have to. What is this?”
“Say what you want. But we’re already doing this.” Jongdae says from across Minseok.
“I haven’t thanked you for the one time you canceled your meeting with your sister just so you can cheer me up and play soccer with me. Thank you for that.” Luhan says, wrapping his arms around Minseok’s shoulder.
“What-“
“Thanks for the lifetime advices and the sacrifices. Thank you for always being here for me, Minseok hyung. You helped me through lots of hard times.” Junmyeon smiles from his place. Minseok can hear Jongin whisper over to Baekhyun something about Junmyeon being a greasy old man.
“Thanks for always making me feel better. You also take care of me well when I get injured. Hyung, I think you have to eat more. You take care of the others so much, but why not yourself?” Yixing pouts.
“But-“ Minseok is cut off again.
“Thank you for helping me with the whole news thing. You didn’t have to lock me up and throw all my gadgets into your underwear drawer, but if you didn’t do that, I’d have probably created a bigger splash on my own scandal.” Chanyeol hits Baekhyun’s shoulder at the dumb comment.
“I didn’t thank you for helping me pack when I was moving out to the Roommate house. I didn’t thank you when you found my favorite t-shirt. I didn’t thank you for a lot of things, so this one thank you isn’t enough, hyung.” Chanyeol frowns, and Minseok laughs.
“No, why are you making me feel so burdened?”
“But hyung, really, thank you. You make me feel so much better when I’m homesick. I’m forever grateful that you’re always by my side.” Jongdae smiles, his kitten smile (Minseok’s favorite kind of smile) brightening up his face.
“Thanks for always making the kids calm down. You do a better job than me.” Kyungsoo looks down, shy.
“You hit people, Kyungsoo, you can’t possibly calm them down when you hit them all the time.” Minseok sends a judging stare across the table to Kyungsoo.
“You listen to me when nobody else will. Hyung, you’re honestly so nice. Thank you.” Zitao is nearly and tears and Minseok nervously laughs.
“Uhh, why-“
“Hyung! I love you! Thank you! You’re so nice to me and you always take care of me when I’m sick or tired. You run around with me even when you’re tired, and you don’t mind it when I pull at your cheeks.” Sehun says, eyes turning into crescents as he smiles.
“This is awkward, but… Hyung, thank you for always noticing when I’m feeling unwell. You are so nice to me. I wish I can cling to you forever.” Jongin’s eyes turn softer than usual, and Minseok feels really burdened.
“Why all of a sudden… This…” Minseok starts, but it turns silent for a minute.
“Because we’re dumb, and we don’t thank you when you do something for us. You’re honestly so nice and you help us a lot, but I don’t think we’ve thanked you enough, even when you sacrifice yourself for it. So thank you, hyung. For everything. And now, let’s eat because I am so hungry and I swear to God if I don’t eat, I am going to tear something up.” Junmyeon says, quickly grabbing the first piece of chicken he seed with his chopsticks, and takes a bite out of it.
Minseok smiles as everyone echoes Suho. Yeah, let’s eat they say, grabbing whatever they see and eventually choking on it (or perhaps that is just Sehun being dumb), and laughing as they help the maknae and scold him for eating too fast. “This is why you should always eat slowly and chew properly.” Tao says, rolling his eyes. Well isn’t he one to talk, Minseok thinks.
Minseok loves his dongsaengs equally. He loves that they are all such lively young men, who appreciates all the little things in life. Even if Minseok feels burdened, he doesn’t care, as long as it makes his dongsaengs happy, then he will be happy, too.
Author’s note: What did I just write…. What. Adajfbskfbsdjad… To my recipient, I am very sorry if this is disappointing. I lost the file to the finished draft the day I was supposed to turn it in and used the latest draft I had in hand (unfinished with like 1600 words) and wrote this speedy in like a whole day. I’m so dumb and this is so disappointing. I’m sorry, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways, even if I kind of strayed from the prompt :( Now if you’ll excuse me, I will cry in the corner over my lost files.