Chapter Text
"C'mon, Jooheonie, it's family night," Wonho whined loudly from the couch. "Don't be such a baby."
Their second youngest was hiding in the bedroom he shared with Changkyun, Minhyuk, and Kihyun, after they'd all come to a unanimous decision (without him) to watch a horror movie for their designated family movie night. Jooheon hadn't taken the decision well, storming off after they'd told him.
"Hyung, you know I hate them!" Jooheon whined back from the bedroom. Wonho rolled his eyes, sharing a look with Kihyun, who simply shook his head. Hyungwon was already bringing up the movie on their TV, while Minhyuk was busying himself getting comfortable in Shownu's lap. Changkyun stood uncertainly off to the side. Of course he'd voted on the movie knowing Jooheon wouldn't like it, but he didn't think his youngest hyung would opt out of watching it with them all.
It just wouldn't feel right not having all his hyungs there, he decided.
After a moment, Changkyun made up his mind and entered his shared bedroom to find Jooheon curled up and pouting in his bunk.
"Come watch the movie with us, hyung."
Jooheon huffed, shaking his head.
"Please? I bet it won't even be that scary."
Changkyun pulled on Jooheon's arm. Jooheon turned over to look at Changkyun and regretted it immediately, because Changkyun was giving him that signature sad puppy look, and even the aegyo master Jooheon was powerless to their maknae's skills.
He groaned loudly, allowing Changkyun to drag him out of bed and into the living room.
"Aigoo, won't listen to your hyungs but you listen to Kyunnie just fine," Kihyun teased as the two sat down at the end of the couch. Jooheon made a face at the older before curling up practically on Changkyun's lap.
The movie started, and immediately Jooheon was gripping Changkyun as the opening credits played among some pretty ominous music.
"It's okay, hyung. I won't let the ghost get you," Changkyun assured, wrapping his arms around Jooheon's shoulders. Jooheon smiled to himself.
He knew he really shouldn't be the one cowering, seeing as he was a hyung and all, but for the moment he was glad their maknae was braver than him.
-
"Hyung, it's time for bed."
Wonho generally had such a high alcohol tolerance that Changkyun could probably count the number of times he'd seen him with more than a slight buzz on one hand. Tonight was one of those times.
"But I'm not even tired," Wonho fussed, kicking feebly at Changkyun from where he was slung practically upside-down on the couch. Shownu and Minhyuk had been much easier to put down. Hyungwon and Jooheon were both quite coherent still and had put themselves to bed, and Changkyun hadn't been allowed to have more than a few sips of alcohol on account of their designated driver Kihyun hovering around him the entire night.
"Aigoo, Changkyun, just let him pass out on the couch. He's gonna be hungover and cranky in the morning anyway," Kihyun called over his shoulder as he went into the bathroom down the hall.
Wonho, oblivious, was busy fumbling to get his hoodie off. Changkyun gave an exasperated little chuckle.
"Kyunnie, it's hot in here."
"Let's go to bed. You won't be hot if you go to bed," Changkyun reasoned, helping Wonho out of his hoodie before pulling him to his feet. The older swayed for a moment before draping himself over Changkyun to keep his balance.
"You're a good maknae, Kkukkungie," Wonho slurred blissfully against Changkyun's ear. The younger grinned to himself at the compliment (that Wonho surely wouldn't remember giving him) before practically dragging his hyung to his room. Shownu and Hyungwon were both out cold, which meant Changkyun didn't have to worry about waking them as he helped Wonho into his bunk. The older immediately proceeded to shed his t-shirt, from being too hot or out of habit before bed, Changkyun couldn't decide.
From there, the youngest gently pushed on Wonho's bare chest to get him to lie down.
"Okay, good night, hyung," he murmured, and he turned to leave when Wonho reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Sleep with hyung," Wonho pleaded, pulling Changkyun toward him. "It's too cold."
"You just said it was too hot," Changkyun chuckled, slightly exasperated.
Wonho was adamant, though, and he pulled Changkyun down into his bed with him. He curled around him and hung on, arms and legs wrapped securely around the youngest. Changkyun didn't struggle, though he sighed loudly once Wonho had settled them both under the covers. He wasn't exactly annoyed, but it was a little inconvenient. Anyway, he didn't see the harm in waiting until Wonho passed out for him to get up and leave.
Later that night, in spite of all his griping, Kihyun had brought a bottle of water and a few pain relievers to put on Wonho's bedside table. He couldn't help but smile when he found both Changkyun and Wonho fast asleep, their maknae held tightly against Wonho's chest.
-
Nothing was going right. First their fansigns for the week get canceled and now their choreographer decides to change their newest dance a week before their comeback? On top of that, they'd just had a scathing meeting with their manager and CEO about their apparent "slacking" attitudes. They weren't being difficult on purpose. It was just that they were so tired.
"Hyunwoo, you ought to be leading this group better. You're all having a comeback soon and that means you all have to work harder."
The second the meeting was over he got up and stormed out of the room into the corridor. He thought he heard a few of the members call after him, but the rush of blood in his ears made it hard to hear much of anything.
He'd made it to the end of the hall to the window overlooking the street when he abruptly realized that there was someone behind him; had probably followed him out to talk him down.
When he turned around, he hadn't expected to see that the member following him was their maknae. There was something vulnerable and disarming in Changkyun’s eyes that caught Shownu off guard.
"Aigoo, what honest eyes," Hyungwon had said of Changkyun once. Shownu didn't doubt it then and he certainly didn't now.
The youngest didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He suddenly reached for Shownu's hand and squeezed it. Not hard enough to hurt, because as was his character, he was too gentle to hurt anyone, but enough that Shownu could focus on the pressure of the younger's touch rather than his own anger.
The boy was quiet. Most of the time he only really talked when he needed to. They tried their best to bring him out of his shell, and as much success as they'd had in the past few years, he still wasn't quite the energetic and bratty maknae that most other groups had. Except more and more, Shownu was realizing just how lucky they were to have someone like Changkyun.
In fact, the act of grabbing his leader's hand seemed so impulsive that Shownu saw the hesitation in Changkyun's eyes, and a moment later he loosened his grip, searching Shownu's face as if formulating an apology.
"No," Shownu blurted, startling himself. "Don't let go."
Changkyun relaxed a little, and Shownu feels the gentle, comforting pressure return around his hand.
"I’m sorry,” he murmured. That deep voice of his soothed the knot in Shownu’s stomach. “It’s just... This is how my mom used to calm me down when I was little."
There had always been that nurturing side that came with Changkyun's maturity. They saw it quite a bit, in those moments that Changkyun seemed to forget he was the youngest.
"Thank you," is all Shownu managed to utter, out of all the dozen other phrases rushing through his mind.
Changkyun slightly lifted one of his shoulders in a dismissive shrug. One side of his mouth twitched upwards for a moment in a comforting smile, and Shownu felt the tension in his muscles lifting. He almost didn't want to stop being angry, because then Changkyun would have to let go of him.
Even after he'd calmed down, they walked down to the van with Changkyun still giving his hand an occasional squeeze. Shownu had almost forgotten why he was mad to begin with.
-
Kihyun clambered down from his bunk, awakening first as usual. He'd planned to get all those pesky chores built up throughout the week out of the way, seeing as they were about to be very busy again. He couldn't help the fond smile on his face as he glanced at Jooheon, tangled up in a blanket in his own bed. Minhyuk was also out cold, a pillow covering his head and one of his legs hanging off the side of the bed. Out of habit, he stood on his tiptoes to check on Changkyun as well, only to find that the youngest wasn't in bed.
He didn't find this particularly unusual, seeing as the youngest was always up at obscene hours composing and writing. He thought back to the night before and how he'd gone to bed without actually seeing Changkyun get back from the studio, making a mental note to scold the youngest for staying up so late.
He walked out into the living room and was met with the sight of Changkyun diligently folding laundry on the couch. He had quite a cute case of bedhead, and had pulled on one of Wonho’s freshly washed hoodies.
”Morning, hyung," he greets casually upon hearing Kihyun behind him. The older stood in stunned silence for a while before approaching.
”Kyun, did you do the laundry by yourself?” he questioned. He placed a hand on the small of the youngest’s back as Changkyun looked away, embarrassed.
”I know how to do laundry, hyung. I watch you do it all the time.”
“Aigoo, and here I was dreading it. What did we do to deserve you?”
Changkyun smiled bashfully as Kihyun wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and squeezed. Now he could focus on breakfast.
That wasn't the end of it, though. Later that night, after dinner, Kihyun found himself in another predicament. He wiped his brow as he finished putting away the last of the dishes. He'd just finished cleaning up the mess they'd all made at dinner, only for him to realize halfway through doing the dishes that he'd been too busy plating the food and tending to them all that he himself had forgotten to eat. All of them being so busy, they'd eaten everything before he had a chance to get himself a portion. He sighed at his revelation, leaning tiredly against the counter.
He'd made a lot of food, and they'd eaten all of it too, which he couldn’t be too upset about. At least they were all eating well.
He almost flinched as he realized Changkyun was now standing by the fridge, waiting to be noticed. Kihyun really must've been zoning out; that, or their youngest was just really quiet.
"Hey, Kyunnie. What's up?"
Changkyun pulled the refrigerator door open, and Kihyun was about to scold him for eating again just after dinner. Instead, the youngest pulled out an unassuming plate wrapped in foil. He kicked the door closed and presented Kihyun with a plate of the food he'd made them all for dinner.
"Hyung always forgets to feed himself," Changkyun mumbled, looking quite seriously at him. Kihyun, for the second time that day, remained gaping in stunned silence at the youngest for a few seconds before breaking into a wide, grateful smile. He put the plate on the counter behind him before pulling Changkyun into a tight hug.
"Aigoo, I raised you so well," he chuckled. Changkyun huffed against his shoulder.
-
Minhyuk was supposed to be the mood-maker of the group, which was why he hid away in bed after their particularly taxing schedules that day. He was feeling quite down in the dumps, and he didn’t want to spread the negative mood to his members.
He was just burying his head in his pillow to hide his frustrated tears when he heard the bedroom door open.
”Hyung, are you up?” Changkyun called softly. “Dinner’s ready.”
Minhyuk groaned, signaling he wasn’t interested in food. He heard the door close and assumed the youngest had left, but a moment later he felt him sit down at the edge of his bunk. The comforting weight of a hand laid itself on his back.
”You did your best today. I’m proud of you, hyung.”
Minhyuk was usually the one comforting the other members, so to be comforted by their maknae no less was a new experience. He lifted his head from his pillow and glanced back at the boy. As per usual he was wearing that endearing, sincere expression of his. Not quite a smile but something close.
Changkyun reached out and easily brushed away the wetness from Minhyuk’s cheeks with his fingers, and Minhyuk reveled in the warmth and tenderness of it.
”I can bring our food in here and eat with you, if you don’t want to sit with everyone else right now.”
Aish, this kid.
“Don’t think I could eat right now if I’m honest, Kyunnie,” he chuckled, sniffling after. Changkyun nodded before lying down next to Minhyuk and putting an arm around him.
”Okay, hyung.”
Knowing Changkyun, he wouldn’t make Minhyuk talk if he didn’t want to. So they laid in comfortable silence, Changkyun rubbing soothing circles on Minhyuk’s back until Minhyuk drifted off. He needed the warmth and gentle touch of someone he trusted, mostly, and that’s exactly what Changkyun gave him, without even trying.
-
Hyungwon was practically asleep on his feet when he felt someone tugging his sleeve. He found the strength to turn his head and found Changkyun blinking up at him. He gestured to the open space on the couch next to him, and Hyungwon dropped back, practically landing in the younger's lap in the process. Hyungwon settled his head against the younger's shoulder.
"Aish, I'm way too tired for this," Hyungwon whined, and he heard Kihyun huff nearby because Hyungwon had been complaining about how exhausted he was all morning, but Changkyun didn’t seem bothered by him and his complaining. "Why did we have to get up so early?"
"I know, hyung. It'll be okay. We’re going home soon.”
Hyungwon had almost drifted off, leaned against the youngest's shoulder, when he felt Changkyun move slightly. He opened his eyes and glanced up at the younger's face, watching as the boy rubbed his eye with his free hand. He looked about as tired as Hyungwon felt, and suddenly Hyungwon felt like a complete asshole. Here he was complaining about having to wake up early when he knew Changkyun hadn't even really gone to bed the night before. The boy had been working so hard lately, what with his solo and their new promotions coming up, and yet Hyungwon hadn’t heard a single complaint from him.
He made up his mind, then. Hyungwon was generally regarded as one of Changkyun's more overly protective hyungs, and he was really beginning to dislike the amount of pressure and stress their youngest was being put under. Not only was he promoting with double the schedules as the other members, but the company was already preparing them for another comeback and of course Changkyun was being counted on to contribute for the new album. That night after getting home, Hyungwon had ushered a barely conscious Changkyun to the bathroom for a shower before gathering the rest of the members in the living room.
"Changkyun's been working too hard lately," he said seriously, addressing all of them although he was looking at Shownu. "I'm really worried."
"You think so too?" Jooheon asked quickly. Clearly, he agreed. Why wouldn't he? He spent more time with Changkyun than anyone. If there was anything up with the youngest, he would've been the first to notice.
The rest of the hyungs glanced to one another, sharing similar looks of apprehension and concern.
"I think you're right," Shownu said finally. "He's probably feeling a lot of pressure to do well in all his activities. I can't imagine all the stress he's been under lately is good for him."
"Well, we have some time off tomorrow, don't we?" Kihyun inquired. "We need to take care of him and make sure he's okay."
"Yeah, why did we have to wait this long to make sure he was alright?" Minhyuk questioned. Hyungwon himself had only noticed that morning, though he was sure he would've noticed sooner if he wasn't so busy. They'd all been busy. Jooheon seemed to be the only one who was already aware that something was going on.
"As long as we can take care of him now. What should we do?"
"Whatever he wants. He needs to know how willing we are to take care of him."
They heard the bathroom door open and quickly ended the discussion. Changkyun entered the living room, drying his hair with a towel. Now that they knew what to look for, he certainly did look exhausted.
"Hey, Changkyun. That was fast."
"Didn't wanna make hyungs wait."
"Aigoo, sweet boy," Minhyuk cooed, getting up to help the boy dry his hair.
"Think you can stay awake for dinner, maknae?" Kihyun asked. Changkyun swayed slightly from just the gentle force of Minhyuk rubbing his hair with the towel, and it took him a moment to formulate a reply.
”I’m really tired, hyung. I’ll eat tomorrow morning.”
They all shared glances as Minhyuk finished drying the youngest’s hair.
”Are you that tired? You wanna sleep in hyung’s bed so you don’t have to climb up to yours?”
Changkyun nodded, grateful. Minhyuk took the boy into their bedroom and helped him into his bunk.
”I’ll come lay down in a little bit, alright? Just rest.”
He petted the boy’s damp hair, and he was sure Changkyun had fallen asleep before he could even shut the bedroom door behind him.
”Aish, that kid.”
They all took their showers and had a quick dinner before going to bed, looking forward to taking care of their youngest in the morning.