Chapter Text
By the time they got back into the dining room, everyone else was already seated, waiting for them. All eyes turned to them as they entered, with various reactions being met. Sunoo was still glaring at Jay for the earlier comment, but spared Jungwon a smug smile. Niki briefly met Jungwon’s eyes before going a bright pink and looking away. Jake, looking like the puppy he was, met their gaze sheepishly. Sunghoon had an eyebrow raised, looking between the two of them in understanding. Heeseung, however, met their gazes firmly, but not unkindly.
Jungwon suddenly felt bad for his eldest hyung. Not just because of what Jay had said earlier, but also because he realized that Heeseung hadn’t wanted the added responsibility that the leader was supposed to have, and yet, he had to take on that responsibility for this situation.
“I’m sorry, hyung.” Jungwon apologized softly, meeting Heeseung’s eyes. Heeseung searched them for a second or two before recognizing the deeper apology in there, and then his own softened.
“You’re okay, Jungwonie. We just need to talk.” He answered, voice gentle. Jungwon nodded, taking a seat next to Jake, who shot him a cute smile despite the kick that Sunghoon sent him under the table.
Heeseung leaned forwards, clasping his hands together and putting his elbows on the table. “Okay, so, obviously, everyone except for me has now kissed Jungwonie.” There was a long pause, as everyone’s eyes snapped to Jay and Sunoo, both of whom shrugged, little twitches at the corner of their lips telling everyone that they were suppressing their smirks.
“So, I guess my first question should be- is it a full-on polyamorous crush on each other, or is it just on Jungwon?” Jungwon cocked his head to the side, actually curious to hear the answer. Jay stepped up to answer, though a little hesitant. “I, for now at the very least, am only interested in a relationship with Jungwonie. Maybe as time passes, I might be comfortable opening that up, but at the moment, I would like to focus on establishing our relationship.”
Heeseung looked around, and everyone else seemed to be nodding along. “Okay, so is there anyone who wouldn’t like that?” No one said anything. Heeseung sighed, before turning to Jungwon. “Okay, Jungwon, this is obviously centered on you. Are you comfortable with that?” Jungwon gave everyone a little smile, making sure to catch Heeseung’s eyes towards the end. “I don’t mind. I have lots of love to give and a lot of people I love to give it to. As long as everyone else is comfortable with that, then I don’t have any problem with it.”
Everyone nodded. Niki bit his lip. “What about you, hyung?” He asked, obviously looking at Heeseung. Surprisingly (and yet, unsurprisingly), Heeseung completely ignored the question as if it had never been asked. “Great. Now, everyone go do something productive. The studio, the vocal room, I don’t really care. But if you’re going to the studio, don’t go without someone else there and don’t be there for more than four hours at a time- and remember to eat meals at their correct times!”
He called out, before heading to the coat rack and grabbing his. “Where are you going, hyung?” Sunghoon called out from where he was still sitting at the table with the rest of them, all of them staring at him in shock from how he had ignored Niki. “I’m going to visit TXT.” He said, before leaving.
Niki whimpered, and they all turned to him, surprised to find him looking incredibly hurt, his eyes watery and his lip trembling. “D-Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry, I’m still not really fluent. I didn’t mean to say anything wrong. Hyung knows that, right?” He said, and they all instantly winced. “No! No, you didn’t say anything wrong, Niki-yah. Heeseungie-hyung’s just…” Jay trailed off, unsure as to how he could phrase his words of comfort since he had no idea what had gotten into the eldest member either.
Jungwon sighed. “I’ll go talk to him. It’s probably my fault.” He said, giving Niki a reassuring smile before putting on his own coat and shoes and texting Soobin.
Jungwonie:
Hey, hyung. Heeseung-hyung is heading over there. I need to talk to him, so can you all bring him somewhere I can talk to him without him realizing it?
Soobin:
… what happened?
Jungwon:
Very long story. Let’s just say that he’s not in the best state of mind right now…
He kind of made Niki cry because he ignored him.
Soobin:
I’ll kill him.
Jungwon:
Hyung
Soobin:
Fine. I’ll tell Yeonjun to intercept him and take him out to the 4th floor cafe.
Jungwon:
Thanks, hyung. I owe you one.
Soobin:
Nah. Just make sure that he knows that if he ever makes Niki cry again that he better be prepared to be buried alive. Or we’ll lock him in a room with Hueningkai when he’s sleep deprived and acting all cutesy.
That might actually kill him quicker.
Jungwon:
… okay
Jungwon arrived to the fourth floor cafe, otherwise known as the Artist’s Cafe, in record time. He easily caught sight of Yeonjun, his bright hair giving him away easily as he caught his eye. Yeonjun gave him an almost imperceptible nod, before excusing himself and leaving.
Jungwon, meanwhile, walked next to Heeseung, who only sighed. “Come to yell at me?” He asked. Jungwon wasn’t even surprised in the slightest. “No. Although Soobin-hyung did tell me to tell you that if you ever made Niki cry again that he’d either bury you alive or lock you into a room with a sleep-deprived, aegyo-acting Hueningkai-hyung. He seemed to be leaning towards the latter.”
Heeseung involuntarily shuddered in horror, and Jungwon and Heeseung both laughed. “I really made him cry?” Heeseung asked, voice suddenly soft and upset. Jungwon hesitated, wetting his lips before speaking. “I wouldn’t say cry. He was definitely upset- he thought he had said the wrong thing and had upset you.” Heeseung’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion.
“I’m such a bad hyung. What kind of hyung makes their own maknae cry?” He asked, and Jungwon gave a little huff. “One who makes mistakes. Hyung, you’re human. None of us expect you to be perfect. We never did.” He said softly, remembering how much Heeseung struggled with his perfectionism while on I-Land and how much of a toll it took on him.
“But-” Jungwon shook his head. “Hyung, no. You know Niki. You’ll apologize and he’ll forgive you and then he’ll go back to annoying Jay-hyung or Sunoo-hyung. We’re all resilient, we all bounce back. Niki knows that this situation likely isn’t easy on you, and the rest of us know it as well.”
Heeseung shifted, a little flustered. “Um… what do you mean?” Jungwon sighed. “Hyung. You lock away your emotions because you’re afraid of hurting us.” He prompted. Heeseung hesitated, but nodded. “Yes. And look where expressing my emotions has gotten me.” He said, referring to Niki’s reaction. Jungwon wanted to roll his eyes. “Hyung. That was you suppressing your emotions, not letting them through. That’s what ended up hurting Niki. That’s how you can solve it. If you had just told us what you were feeling at that time, then there wouldn’t have been a problem. If you tell Niki how you were feeling, he’d forgive you.”
Heeseung frowned. “But… Jungwon, I can’t… I can’t tell him how I felt. I can’t speak my feelings. Emotions can’t be expressed through words.” Jungwon smiled gently. They had come to the root of the problem, and thus the solution. “Then act them, hyung.”
Heeseung blinked. “What?” Jungwon took his hands. “Act your emotions, hyung. Show them through action. You do it when you give us forehead kisses or hugs. When you slap us over the head and roll your eyes because you think we’re being stupid, but you’re fond of us. We;ve learned to read your actions, hyung. Don’t start trying to change them, because then we’ll be lost. It’s your form of love language, and none of us have a problem with it.”
He said. Heeseung paused, looking thoughtful. “C-Can I have some time to think over it?” Jungwon smiled. “Of course, hyung.” He let go of Heeseung’s hands and backed up a bit. “Take however long you need. We’ll always be waiting for you with our arms open no matter how long you take and no matter the decision you make.”
Later that night, Jungwon was in bed when he felt it shift and creak, someone lifting the covers to get in with him. He blinked sleepily, quickly recognizing that it was not Niki or Jake, the two who usual did this, but instead an unfamiliar body. One that he recognized.
“Hyung.” He murmured. Heeseung shyly met his eyes, looking vulnerable and soft in the low light of the shared bedroom. Heeseung bit his lip nervously before lifting a finger and tapping it to his lips in an obvious gesture.
A sleepy smile crawled onto Jungwon’s face, and he leaned forwards to press his lips softly to Heeseung’s, keeping it light and gentle. “I love you, hyung.” He said softly. Heeseung finally opened his eyes, and there was a spark in them that hadn’t been there before. “Love you too, Jungwonie. Thank you for helping me find out how I feel.”
Jungwon giggled. “Don’t be ridiculous, hyung. You didn’t need help with that. You just needed a push in order to find your way of showing it.” Heeseung smiled fondly. “Still. Thank you. Goodnight, Jungwonie.”
Jungwon’s eyes dropped closed. “Goodnight, Heeseung-hyung.”