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Jeonghan was speechless.
At least, he felt as if his mouth couldn’t be able to articulate properly for the next ten minutes, as the latter standing before him has given him quite a shock. Sure, being a great, (or perhaps, the best) anticipated rookie of this year (in addition to the fact that they won’t be calling themselves ‘rookies’ anymore by their next debut anniversary), that definitely had struck a nerve or so but this – this was something he didn’t expect would’ve happen even so until his death; or further than that, until another reincarnation of him steps foot on this planet, he always knew this was never going to happen. What has set upon him that puts him in such a critical condition, if you may have asked?
It was the sight of Byun Baekhyun kneeling down before him, wrapping his arms tightly around Jeonghan’s knees, a position similar to him hogging a tree.
“S-Sunbaenim,” The younger one stutters, him shifting uncomfortably while secretly hoping that he could wriggle out of Baekhyun’s grip as it was quite hard to maintain his balance.
By this perspective, Jeonghan could clearly feel the boy’s light strands of hair caressing the fabric of his pants. a short snippet crosses Jeonghan’s mind; a barricade of furious stylists working for hours developing a very sleek hairstyle and to foremost bring out the member’s brightest point only to be informed that Baekhyun had already fucked his hair up before performing (but it’s not like as if they didn’t expect it anyway). Jeonghan eyes his dongsaengs who were walking beside him when this happened; hyperactive Dokyeom that had his eyes opened so wide it looked like his eyeballs will fall off in any second, and a very confuzzled Chan who had just bragged about getting his hair done backstage next to Exo’s Kai (who apparently, according to the maknae, had been applied 2 years worth of highlighter at the span of 15 minutes and was constantly scolded by his stylist because of how careless he was) a few minutes ago. And now they’re there, stopping at the most deserted place of the entire set, not being able to let the awkwardness set loose as there were nobody else but them. Silence fills the atmosphere for a few seconds, but it felt like centuries for the highly-intimidated boys.
Baekhyun still had his eyes sealed shut, but he took the wild chance to open his mouth just to let out a whisper, “You look like a whole different person now.”
A very oblivious Jeonghan who was still in the middle of recovering reels into another wave of shock, unconsciously worried by the fact he could faint any moment now. Jeonghan gathers his own sense of liability he had left for the sake of his name and his group members, now approaching to another different level of professionality (or so that’s what he assumes is going on). “Baekhyun-sunbaenim, are you alright?”
Just before the older boy could answer, they were suddenly encountered by another pair of familiar faces that came out from the nearest entrance across them. One had a frown plastered on his face where as the other one could only let out an unrelenting sigh. Both men had platinum black hair and wore uniforms nearly identical to Baekhyun’s.
Yeah, now we see where this is going.
The two men goes by the name Sehun and Chen.
“Hyung!” Sehun sprints across the hallway just to follow his older brother from making a fool out of himself. But from what Sehun could see from here, he was worried about his condition instead. “Hyung, are you okay?” He puts his hand on his shoulder, completely forgetting the fact that the startled Seventeen members were still there with them.
Chen, who likes being called by his real name Jongdae, follows from behind and furrows his eyebrows, placing his attention to the boy who’s actually the same age as him but doesn’t look like it in any way (sometimes Jongdae can be more immature in several occasions, it depends to when and where are you seeing them; Baekhyun is filled with positive energy of daylight whereas Jongdae gets wilder by the night). He eers loathly. “Are you crying?”
Sehun bends down to take a look. “I think he is.”
“I’m not!” Baekhyun yelps, his voice cracking after the amount of practice they had yesterday, his voice was practically this close from tearing up. “I’m just disappointed.”
Sehun squints his eyes. “Of what?” His eyes shifts to Jeonghan who was staring at him immensely the whole time. He must’ve gone through a lot of Baekhyun’s tantrum while we were gone, Sehun thought to himself.
Baekhyun eyelids flutter and he gazed up to meet Jeonghan’s eyes, not even bothered with the awkward atmosphere between them whatsoever or by the fact that he
has never had a proper conversation with the latter other than simple greetings, let alone the amount of skinship they had shared together for the last 30 seconds. “Of you, whoever your name is.”
Jeonghan mouth forms the letter ‘o’. Jongdae clicks his tongue. “Okay, you’re scaring him.”
“I’m not planning on not expressing my opinions, mom.”
“You scare off dongsaengs, that’s what you do.” Jongdae points out. He pulls off Baekhyun from the floor and fixes the light-haired boy’s collar while continuing his ramble. “You practically scare off everyone; sweeping GOT7 off their feet. Aggresively dancing to rainism just to catch Bangtan Sonyeondan’s attention. Good thing they have someone as unexplainable as you - what was his name, Taehyung?”
“Please, they’re only scared of the makeup. No printer, just fax.” Baekhyun points a fingergun at him. “This is why you’re not loved by your dongsaengs, Dae. You’re just plain boring.”
Sehun slips his arm around Jongdae’s and defends him immediately. “I beg your pardon.”
“Yeah, you’re so not my favorite dongsaeng anymore, Sehunnie.”
“Good, you’re always putting your attention to Nini anyway.”
Jeonghan, who has been quiet this whole time as well as the other Seventeen members, cleared his throat politely just to catch their attention. “I’m really sorry to ask but, can my members and I dismiss ourselves?”
Jongdae was about to nod before Sehun stopped them. “Wait, why is Baekhyun-hyung disappointed of you, exactly?” He asks.
Jeonghan shrugs. “I was about to ask that question myself,” Everyone immediately had their attention to Baekhyun, who unsuccessfully had tried to get everyone to forget what happened earlier.
Baekhyun knew it was only out of sheer impromptu and boredom he did what he had done, as he wasn’t sure what was the main reason of his unquestionable actions. But sure, seeing a man he’s so familiar of yet he has no idea what’s his name getting rid of something that made him memorable actually made the boy discouraged. It was like seeing a good combination of clothes ruined because of the choice of socks or seeing a kid accidentally dropping his ice cream cone to the ground, the feeling’s mutual. Baekhyun steps closer to Jeonghan (who felt the ease to step backward at the sight of him getting closer) and points a finger at him. “What do you think is different from him?”
Sehun examines the boy bluntly. He’s seen him a couple of times, if that’s not obvious. Seventeen is a pretty famous band, and this guy Baekhyun’s pointing at has made a couple of memorable moments on stage, that’s for sure. He lifts up an eyebrow. “He looks skinnier.”
“Yes! Thank you for pointing that out.” Dokyeom says that out of nowhere, before getting held back and realize who he was talking to again. “..I’m sorry, I’m just worried about him, that’s all.”
This has gone for a few months now. Jeonghan, Jisoo and Seungkwan being all invested to the new diet their nutritionist has planned for them, a little excessive fasting that is expected to give them the ideal ‘elegant’ body structure they had to maintain. The worst part of it all was the fact that their manager didn’t let the other members know what they had to go through, as they all know with 13 members knowing, it could cause a tantrum about how they’re treating their hyungs and their beloved endorphin harshly. Besides, it was all by the 3 boys’ consent; they listened, they agreed, and they effectuate it.
“What have they been feeding you? You look emaciated.” Jongdae looks at him in concern. “Rookies shouldn’t be treated this way, it’s too much.”
Jeonghan shakes his head and softly rejected their perturbation. “I’m fine. Nothing too bad, I suppose.”
“Well you definitely take care of yourself kid, we don’t want you to overwork yourself.” Baekhyun reminds the boy. “But that wasn’t the point. Come on, how could you not notice? Do you even know this boy?”
“Yeah,” Jongdae crosses his arms. “He’s Jeonghan of Seventeen.”
Jeonghan doesn’t know if he has to be appalled or scared by the fact that Chen knows his name. Perhaps he just gives a specific interest to Seventeen. Apart from it all, he was somehow touched. Baekhyun nods sheepishly. “I did not know about that but I do now! What do you think is different from him, Dae-ah?”
Jongdae scrunches his nose and points at his hair, circling his finger in a continuous manner. “The...?”
“His forehead? His face? His ‘I’m the prettiest man in the world and there’s nothing you can do about it’ vibe?” Baekhyun slowly has gotten closer to Jongdae, parting his sentences with a little leap of enthusiasm, the little chain at the hem of his outfit keeps clinking every time he jumps.
Sehun tilts his head. “He still looks like the prettiest guy in the world.”
Jongdae shrugs. “What can I say? Pledis always have those kind of men in store.”
Baekhyun groans and pouts aggressively. “Why are you guys ignoring me?!”
“Because you always ask the most irrelevant questions, Baek-ah.” Jongdae accounts. “And it’s fun teasing you, so..”
“You guys are mean.”
“Sunbaenim,” The boy with the name Chan appear in the midst of the seniors’ ramble.
Felt like they’re called, the 3 members of exo immediately centers the attention to the teenager. “Yes?”
Chan clears his throat. “May I.. help answering Baekhyun-sunbaenim’s question? He looks like he’s going to die out of excruciation if no one does it for him.”
Baekhyun’s eyes flutter. He didn’t expect that to come out of the boy’s mouth. But he agreed anyway and absentmindedly approves of him to be a part of the conversation. “Sure! Never hurts to try.”
“Okay, so what I think is different from Jeonghan hyung that Baekhyun-sunbaenim is so disappointed of is..” Chan leans forward to take a closer look of his hyung, who was too tired of people looking at him as if he’s an scientific observation object or something. “is the change of his hair.”
Baekhyun takes yet another leap of joy and basically strangled the maknae (out of pure happiness, of course) “Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re officially my favorite dongsaeng. Yehet who? I only know this tiny dinosaur baby.”
Chan looks like he’s going to suffocate by the tightness of Baekhyun’s hug, but he controls himself as every single movement can easily lead to the older boy’s disappointment, at least that’s what he has been perceiving ever since this conversation started. “T-Thank you, sunbaenim.”
Baekhyun caresses the boy’s slit-back hair, doing it facilely so that he doesn’t ruin anything in particular. “You’re so cute. What liner are you?”
“I’m a ’99 liner, sunbaenim.”
Baekhyun’s eyes widen in shock. He shoves the boy assertively with his hands and holds unto his shoulder, keeping his feet in touch with the ground so that he wouldn’t lose his balance. “’99?!”
“Yes, sunbaenim.”
“No way – you’re 7 years younger than me!”
“Yes, sunbaenim.”
Sehun, who was deeply following the two boys’ conversation are also severely surprised on how young he is. Jongdae, however, has known this fact already as he holds a very deep interest to the Seventeen members and other rookie boy groups behind him. He chimes. “Haha, Baekhyun-ssi feels like an old man.”
Baekhyun leers at him deprecatingly. “Oi, watch your words. You’re the real ahjussi.”
“No I’m not.”
“Yes you are!”
“Can you please stop your altercation? We all know you’re both grandpas, please do deal with it.” Sehun interrupts the fiery argument by stabbing both of his hyungs’ hearts. He looks at Chan decorously. “And I suppose your group members are the same age as you..?”
It was Dokyeom’s turn to answer. “He’s actually the maknae.”
“He’s the maknae?” Sehun raises an eyebrow. He alters his eyes to both Dokyeom and Chan, heeding the both of them in all seriousness. “I thought that short aegyo kid is the maknae.”
“That short aegyo kid has the name Woozi, Sehunnie. He’s a producer and he’s a lot more talented than you think.” Jongdae informs him meticulously.
Jeonghan smiles at his senior’s hardcore defense towards his talented, tiny producer. “You sure know a lot about us, sunbaenim.”
Jongdae smiles back. “You guys are such talented hoobaes, I can’t help but observe from afar.”
However, Baekhyun was in a middle of an existential crisis. He was confused as to how the age system in Seventeen actually works, and how he now sees his whole life as a lie when he realizes the short aegyo kid isn’t the maknae of Seventeen. He squints his eyes and points at Dokyeom with his index finger. “Wait, so you’re younger than this Woozi kid?”
Dokyeom nods. “I’m a ’97 liner, he’s ’96. We’re not that far from month, though.”
“And how about Jeonghan?”
“He’s actually the second oldest, a ’95 liner, behind our leader.” Chan explains. “Our eomma, in specific.”
Baekhyun rapidly changes his center attention to Jeonghan, Dokyeom, and Chan and starts to question his own life. “Wow, this is crazy. He would’ve thought that you’re the maknae and you’re the hyung?”
Sehun simpers as he crosses his arms. “Who would’ve thought that I’m the maknae of Exo?”
Baekhyun pauses. “.. Yeah, that too. But Jongin still respectively holds his role as the maknae of Exo when it comes to his looks, and he’s no older than you anyway.”
“Anyone called?” A voice appears from the entrance Sehun and Jongdae came through, revealing no other than the charismatic Kai of Exo, preferably being called Jongin. Chan smiles giddily at the sight of him again. His slicked-back hair and silver contacts illuminates the corridor lights. He was using the same outfit Jongdae, Chen, and Baekhyun were wearing, but the feeling is different, especially by the fact that his stylist has decided to keep a few buttons undone at the area of his chest. Sweat has already vigorously covered his metallic hair, treating it properly as if it’s a part of his concept. Whatever his concept was, he clearly pulled it off perfectly.
Baekhyun pauses. “Okay, I take back my words; he definitely doesn’t show up as Exo’s maknae.”
Jongin doesn’t say a word and went touchy with Sehun instead. He notices Chan and points at him with a friendly laugh. “Hey, I remember you! Your stylist did you well.”
Chan bows politely and exchanges a smile. “You look amazing too, sunbaenim.”
Jongin had to immediately leave as he (again) had to get a few extra touches before Exo comes up with their performance (Jongdae, Sehun, and Baekhyun were actually also called, but they are already too invested with the conversation they were having with the Seventeen kids). Baekhyun furrows his eyebrows and turns to Jeonghan. “So.. About your hair..”
Jeonghan laughs lightly. “Are we still discussing about this?”
“Yes, because this is a very important matter to me.” Baekhyun’s gaze intensifies. “You don’t know how much I admire that hair of yours.”
“I-“
“I mean like, remember that look of yours in the Very Nice music video? The one with the hat? Or god, that purple hair in Mansae – that was legendary.” Baekhyun continues to blabber about nothing but Jeonghan’s hair that is now nonexistent.
In the middle of Baekhyun’s messy gabfest, Jeonghan voluntarily bows down and sets to apologize. “I’m sorry, sunbaenim.”
Baekhyun wasn’t sure of the boy’s response. “Sorry for what?”
“I didn’t know that cutting my hair has led you to such distress. I’m s-sorry, I’ll do better next time.” Now Jeonghan doesn’t even look like he’s joking. He’s genuinely requesting for an apology to someone who is bantering him because of his hair,
Baekhyun stares at him in disbelief. “Oh my god Jeonghan, what in the world are you talking about?”
Sehun has a mischievous smile plastered on his face. “See, hyung? Your words hurt.”
Jongdae fumes as he unconsciously puts his arm on Dokyeom’s shoulder (who tried hard not to fanboy too hard, having physical contact with his favorite member of Exo). “What happened with ‘being a nice hyung to everyone’?”
“I-I didn’t mean it that way!” Baekhyun pulls Jeonghan into his arms while he was still in a bowing position. “Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to offend you in any way.”
Jeonghan chuckles. “I understand.”
“I promise to make it up to you. How about Jjajangmyeon after all of this ends?”
“Everything’s fine-“
“You know? This isn’t even a suggestion anymore. It’s a demand. I’ll contact you when I have the time.”
Jeonghan doesn’t know how exactly he has to reply, but Baekhyun really insisted, so he agrees. “Okay, sunbaenim.”
Baekhyun scrunches his nose and faces everyone. “Can we like.. Drop out the ‘sunbae’ thing?”
Chan blinks a few times. “But that’s impolite, sunbaenim.”
“I feel like calling us hyung has a better ring to it.” Baekhyun grins. “We’re already in that state, right?”
“Yeah, I think hyung is better.” Jongdae coincides to Baekhyun’s consideration. “Except for Sehun, you can call him whatever you want. He’s not worthy of the ‘hyung’ or ‘senior’ title.”
Sehun glares at his hyung. “Hey!”
Chan giggles. “Don’t worry, Sehun-hyung. We’ll keep your pride unharmed.”
Sehun grins at the fellow maknae before he turns to Jeonghan. “You don’t have to call me hyung, though. I’m completely fine if we’re only a year apart or two.”
Jeonghan replies to the latter with a cheeky fingergun.
“Competing nominees of the Mnet Asian Music Awards 2016 who are still wandering off backstage for some reason, please proceed to the mainstage.” The voice in the speaker announces, a voice the Exo members clearly recognize.
Dokyeom looks up to see from which speaker the voice came from. The voice in the speaker sounds strangely familiar. “.. Is that?”
“And when I meant backstage wanderers, I meant those 3 Exo members who probably lost themselves in the refreshing room,” the voice continues his announcement.
Jongdae wheezes. “Junmyeon-hyung is ruthless.”
“Do yourself a favor and get your butts here quickly before you face my wrath that has a literal meaning as no jjajangmyeon for one month.” The voice pauses. “Oh, and S.Coups of Seventeen also requests for the remaining members of Seventeen to proceed to the main stage or else..” Another pause, “The household fairy gets a break for one month and he passes all his work to you all.”
The 6 of the men exchange an enlivened look. Baekhyun grins. “I guess we’d better go running.”