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“Do you like it there? Is it fun there?” Variety King Ong Seongwoo wasn’t letting the phone call turn out as anything boring. Trust him for being the television sweetheart. Minhyun knows this Seongwoo like the back of his hand. But maybe he just knows all types of Seongwoo like the back of his hand.
“We called because you guys miss us.” He said, not answering any of Seongwoo’s questions. Minhyun brushed off the waver of Seongwoo’s eyes as a video call glitch. Seongwoo doesn’t waver, that’s just not who TV Seongwoo is. But he knows that Seongwoo knows what he meant. His friends were silent, comfortable by just sitting this one out. They understand that Minhyun and Seongwoo needed the moment, no matter how brief. They may not understand what Minhyun and Seongwoo have, but they understand enough to know that it’s MinhyunandSeongwoo not Minhyun and Seongwoo. Sometimes, the typo-like lack of space explains all the unexplainables.
Although it took everyone by surprise when Seongwoo asked his next question with a lilt of fondness Minhyun can’t miss, even if he tried.
—
“Are you happy there?” Seongwoo asked daringly to Jisung’s phone. He felt his friend tensed up, but he held his gaze.
All around them were cameras. The sacrifice of their personal space and privacy for this so-called idol life. But he just had to ask. It wasn’t like that he can’t hold back when it comes to Minhyun (because that’s cliche and Ong Seongwoo doesn’t do cliches), it was just that he wanted to ask if Minhyun enjoys his time in Japan. As impersonal as that was phrased, the question held the atmosphere of the exact opposite. But Seongwoo had to be careful in the way he conveys his longing, fondness, and care for his fellow group member. His choice of question was strategically chosen, in the haste of the moment. He was sure all the viewers would want to know too, and his seemingly unimportant question will please the producers because it shows their friendliness.
But Seongwoo knows that Minhyun knows the question was directed to him. Seongwoo knows that Minhyun knows better than to give a straight answer, as he expected if this is a verbal conversation shared at the back of their van while adrenaline pumps in their veins. It wasn’t much a question as much as it was a statement. A stolen moment for only them. Seongwoo took a seemingly harmless and mundane question, ripped its core off, and shoved his own ideas into the flesh of the question.
I miss you, Min.
And that’s the perk of being an aspiring actor. Used to. Whatever.
—
The stolen moment, stolen question, turned into something only Seongwoo and Minhyun can hold. Seongwoo kept his expression unfazed, knowing better than to give out even the slightest clue that his question was to hold something more. Minhyun envied his acting skill.
Minhyun’s lip tremble, itchy to answer the questions truthfully. The older man is not the best at hiding his feelings and for one moment he saw a flash of panic in Seongwoo’s eyes. He should’ve said something to make it not look weird. But he couldn’t. He looks at the little Seongwoo in the little screen and he knows Seongwoo knows he has so much to say to Seongwoo.
“I enjoy it here!” Daehwi quipped. Minhyun thanks all the divinity for small victories and considerate friends.
His friends caught on the cue, and Minhyun secretly felt grateful the conversation had side-tracked seamlessly thanks to Sungwoon’s antics. He saw Seongwoo smiled to himself as he took an extravagant bite of some kind of seafood on a skewer, Daehwi following suit in a cute manner. His eyes caught Seongwoo’s and if there wasn’t so much food in his mouth he would flash a grin or even a kiss, if Minhyun was feeling brave.
—
Their eyes met, while Minhyun stuffed his face with food and Seongwoo felt warm all over. Jisung was cooing at Daehwi when Seongwoo thought about how ridiculous it is to feel flustered from a mere eyecontact from a video call. There’s love in the twenty first century for you. He looked at the screen again, musing the fact that the screen was very small and the video call quality was not the best despite everything about technology advances and Korea’s superior internet. Maybe it was because Minhyun was in that seafood market. Despite the low resolution video, Seongwoo was still able to catch Minhyun’s eyes and blush from it. Trust the Hwang Emperor to have the actual power to rise through bad video quality on top of everything else.
(Seongwoo thought back to the times he would watch their older stages, the ones from Produce, in a hotel room with his phone desperately trying to get better reception. Daniel —his then roommate— was on a video call with his mum using the wavering wifi and Seongwoo might be a little shit but he is not an asshole who would jeopardize his friend’s call. He watches their Never stage in low quality, somehow still managing to find Minhyun’s face shining brightly between the prickly pixels.)
“I’m hanging up.” He declared, and Jisung ended the call. The screen paused briefly on the scene of Minhyun chewing happily and Sungwoon laughing about something. Seongwoo smiled and gave his senior a pat on the back before leaving to his room. The waver of Minhyun’s lip were enough answer for his unsaid statement.
Miss you too, Ong.
(Seongwoo made his phone call, not before sending a text to Minhyun he won’t reply to until he’s safely snuggled in his hotel room)
(Eight hundred twenty nine kilometres away, Minhyun peeked at his notification and a small smile sneaked its way to his lips)