Chapter Text
Jae yawned, pushing his glasses back up his nose for the tenth time in the last half hour. Not that he could see much anyway, with his eyes borderline shut and his bangs being in the way. The brightness of the computer screen was the only thing keeping him awake, probably. And Jae could barely make out the music program opened on it. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the company studio, folded up in a chair, trying to find something that sounded right.
Jae was no composer. But there were cool things he wanted to experiment with and hear in songs, so he tried his damnest to figure something out. Usually, his members helped him. Mainly Younghyun. But they’d all headed back to the dorm for the night… maybe an hour ago? Two? Jae wasn’t keeping track. It was late, and he was alone.
He pushed play. The small chord progression played and Jae tried to analyze it again. It was almost there, but it sounded hollow. Jae couldn’t articulate what it needed still. Or maybe Jae was going insane listening to the same notes over and over and over…
The chair squeaked as Jae groaned loudly and laid back.
“What time is it,” Jae mumbled to himself. He dug his phone out of his hoodie pocket, squinting as it, too, burned his eyes from the brightness.
1:24AM, it read. A string of messages also inhabited Jae’s screen.
‘Well fuck.’ He’d spent over two hours in the studio. Jae scrolled through the notifications of texts, trying to read the different English and Korean ones. His head hurt too much, but only one really mattered to him.
[New Message] BriBriBro [36 Minutes Ago]
yo jae we got chicken waiting for you
That made Jae quickly save his progress and leap to his feet. Nothing motivated him more than food. Nothing.
Jae gathered what little he brought (charger, notepad, keys), and quickly locked up the studio. The hallways of the company were barely lit, giving the whole place an unsettling vibe as Jae left the studio area. Technically, no one was supposed to in the main building this late at night… but it wasn’t uncommon to see trainees overexerting themselves, or instances like Jae’s of working too long. Plus there wasn’t any staff around to scold him. So where’s the actual trouble?
Everything was quiet as Jae made his way towards the exit. Every practice room and studio he passed, Jae spared a slight glance, just in case his eye caught on anything. It was weird for Jae to remember, but he was technically a senior to more than a few people at the company. It wouldn’t do well for him to ignore a trainee or junior who also was out this late. He’d caught Bang Chan one too many times pushing himself late at night. So Jae learned to be a little more aware of his surrounding.
Surprise surprise, Jae actually found something.
A studio at the very end of the hall, leaking a sliver of light across the wall and floor.
Jae took a deep breath and approached the door. He mentally prepared some lecture for whoever was there, maybe a couple jokes to break tension. Maybe he could laugh with them about being out just as late. Really, anything could happen as Jae pushed the door open and peeked inside.
Empty. Huh. That’s weird.
“Maybe someone forgot to lock up?” Jae wondered to no one. Or at least, he thought.
Jae heard a slightly gasp behind him. He turned, facing the entrance of the hallway, where a young boy stood, mouth gaped. Jae blinked a couple times, trying to register what he was seeing. A kid, dressed in a way too big hoodie, carrying… is that an Eevee? Like, a Pokémon plushie?
Jae recognized him. “Jisung?”
Jisung was frozen, barely visible from the stray studio light. Jae could make out how frightened he looked though.
Then the kid shrieked.
Jae jumped as the kid then bolted off somewhere down the hall, shoving past Jae and nearly knocking him down. He was left dazed for a moment.
“H-hey!”
Jae gave chase after Jisung, trying to keep an eye on him in the darkened hall. Jisung rounded a corner, Jae quickly following.
The chase was brief; Jisung had ran into a dance practice room and essentially cornered himself. Even still, Jae was wheezing. Jisung was looking wildly around the room and seemed to realize Jae stood between him and the exit.
“Ji… Jisung,” Jae huffed out and damn, he was out of shape. How did these kids have so much energy? “What… was that about? Why are you here so late?”
Jisung faced Jae, eyes wide and glassy, clutching the Eevee for dear life.
“Hyung,” the boy half-mumbled. “Scared me…”
“I’m sorry, kid,” Jae said, breath starting to even. “But you shouldn’t be out this late. Or scream and run off suddenly like that. You scared the hell out of me.”
Jae felt like a hypocrite, but at least he was a disaster adult that didn’t have things like dance practices. Jisung was a kid who couldn’t risk his health with staying awake all night and being busy all day.
Jisung remained silent, still hugging his Eevee, shaking slightly. Jae took a step closer to the boy.
“Jisung, are you okay?” Jae tried carefully. “You look more scared than me right now. And trust me, that’s pretty bad.”
“S-sorry.”
Jae stopped in his tracks.
“For running away… and, and yelling. It’s— it’s bad. I was bad. I’m sorry,” Jisung confessed, looking genuinely apologetic.
Something about Jisung’s speech sounded odd to Jae. Like, the way he was speaking was more like an actual child’s than a typical teenager’s. Jae wasn’t sure how to react. Something was clearly off with the boy, but Jae wasn’t exactly close to him.
“Do you want me to call your members, Jisung—”
“No!” Jisung shouted suddenly, then flinched again. The brief panic wasn’t lost on Jae. “I’m sorry, don’t call them, please, they’ll, they’ll hate me, they’ll think I’m weird and, and…”
Jae finally got close enough to the kid to reach out and touch his shoulder. Jisung jumped at the contact and looked up at Jae. His eyes were still huge and wet, and it made Jae’s chest ache at the sight. The kid seemed so conflicted about something.
“Kid,” Jae spoke lowly. “I just wanna know what’s wrong. Okay? I won’t call your members. But I doubt they’d hate you for anything. Can you just tell me what’s up?”
Jisung kept staring at Jae before his face broke into the saddest expression Jae ever witnessed. It was like a kicked puppy. Jisung sniffled and a few tears threatened to slip from his eyes. Jae instinctively pulled the young boy into a hug, and Jisung broke. He grabbed onto Jae and sobbed, wailed, and uttered broken ‘I’m sorry’s. Jae let him get it out of his system, awkwardly patting the kid’s hair and trying to shush him.
Jisung eventually calmed down, slowly dissolving into soft sniffles. Jae still held onto him just in case.
When Jisung finally pulled back, Jae sighed.
“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong now, kiddo?”
Jisung looked down at his Eevee, face turning red, and said nothing. Jae almost gave up on the issue when Jisung mumbled something.
“What was that?”
“I’m… a little…” Jisung spoke again, a little louder, but still as embarrassed. “It, it means, when I get stressed or upset or overwhelmed, I act little… like a little kid.” He pulled at his Eevee’s ears, voice wobbling. “I act like a huge baby and can’t even take care of myself, and I don’t mean to, hyung, I don’t, I try not to, and if the others knew they’d think I’m weird and, and kick me out and never speak to me—”
“Woah, woah, slow down, Jisung,” Jae interrupted. Too much info and insecure rambling. “So, you’re a little. And when you get stressed, you act like, uh ‘little’ to de-stress. Did I get that right?”
Jisung nodded after a moment of processing. Jae let out a breath in relief and smiled.
“Okay, that sounds simple enough.” Jae could think of a hundred different stress coping methods, and Jisung’s seemed relatively harmless in comparison.
Jisung then pouted at his words. Jae held in a gasp at how cute it made him look.
“It’s not simple, hyung, it’s weird, Jisung is weird for being a baby—”
Wait. “Jisung, do you feel little right now?”
Jisung clamped his mouth shut and his face flushed again.
Jae continued, worry overtaking him. “Is that why you’re out so late? By yourself?”
Jisung averted his gaze. He nodded, hesitantly.
“T-the others would think I’m weird… so I try to sneak out or be alone when I’m feeling little…”
Jae felt a surge of protectiveness well up in his chest. The thought of Jisung, a normally bright and happy teenager, wandering out at night when he was feeling especially childlike and helpless worried him. He could get lost, or hurt, or who knows what.
“That’s dangerous, Jisung. What if something happened while you were alone and little?”
Jisung looked startled at the idea. Clearly, the thought never crossed his mind.
“Jisung, Jisung didn’t mean…” His voice was getting uneven again. Jae reacted as fast as he could.
“I-it’s okay, Jisung. Nothing bad happened,” Jae comforted the kid with a couple head pets. “Just don’t do this alone again. You could seriously hurt yourself.”
“Okay, hyung…”
Jisung seemed to enjoy Jae petting his hair, relaxing and even smiling at the gesture. In turn, Jae grinned and kept stroking, until Jisung gave a wide yawn. His eyes and shoulders drooped immediately.
“M’Sleepy, Jae hyung…” Jisung said, rubbing his eyes with his spare hand.
“We should get you back to your dorm, kid,” Jae cooed and stood to his full height. The walk to the dorms wasn’t very far from the main company building. So Jae started heading out of the dance room, expecting Jisung to follow him—
“Up.”
Jae looked back at Jisung, who still looked half asleep and was now holding out his arms. Jae didn’t follow for a moment. Then it clicked.
Jae cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ah, sorry, Jisung, I don’t think I’m strong enough to carry you…”
Jisung’s arms fell in clear disappointment and Jae felt bad. He really had to get in shape. But Jisung was a grown teenager, so it wouldn’t be an easy feat regardless. Jisung evaluated what to do instead, then simply offered his hand.
Jae accepted to hold Jisung’s hand, with some hesitation. He looked between their now conjoined hands and Jisung’s expression to see if that’s what he wanted. The toothy grin on the kid’s face confirmed for Jae it was.
Jae chuckled. Jisung really was cute. “Let’s go home then.”
“Home,” Jisung echoed, happily following Jae’s lead out of the practice room.
_
The Stray Kids shared dorm wasn’t too far away from Day6’s, so the slight detour didn’t bother Jae at all. He silently wished it was longer so he could spend a little more time with Jisung, who was quickly growing comfortable around Jae.
The whole walk back, Jisung talked to Jae about his favorite things, like coloring or playing with his trusted Pokémon Eevee, which Jae found the cutest thing ever. He tugged on Jae’s hand, spoke with grand gestures, and giggled every few seconds. Jae was completely enraptured with little Jisung by the time they reached the dorm.
“Hyung,” Jisung was still bouncing excitedly on his heels. “Can we play? We’re home!”
“We are home, Jisung,” Jae lightly chuckled before kneeling in front of the boy. “But we can’t play tonight. I’m sorry. It’s late and we’re both tired.”
Jisung’s smile vanished and he stopped bouncing. “Oh. Hyung has to go.”
“Hyung does have to go,” Jae sadly agreed. “And Jisung needs to go to bed. I’m sure you’re very busy tomorrow with your group.”
Jisung looked heartbroken again, but thankfully didn’t cry. He mumbled a sad “Okay,” and let go of Jae’s hand.
Jae didn’t want to leave the kid while he was little. Jisung had been so scared of his members finding out, he didn’t want to be responsible for them finding out Jisung’s secret. So he thought of a plan.
“Jisung,” Jae addressed the boy sweetly, “do you have your phone?”
Jisung blinked before pulling out his iPhone and giving it to Jae. Jae offered Jisung to unlock it and the little didn’t respond. It was good Jisung had saved his thumbprint to open the phone up, at least.
Jae quickly saved his personal contact in Jisung’s phone and showed the boy. “See this? Now you can text or call me whenever you want.”
Jisung gasped in awe, quickly taking his phone back. “Whenever I want, hyung?”
Jae laughed at his reaction. “Yes, as long as we’re both not busy. But I want you to make me a promise, Jisung.”
Jisung nodded feverishly and waited for Jae to continue.
“You have to tell me when you’re feeling little, okay? If you don’t want to tell your members, at least tell me, and I’ll check it on you,” Jae finished and stood up fully. “Do you promise?”
“Jae hyung is going to be my caregiver?” Jisung was still gaping at Jae. Cute.
Jae assumed, based on the name, that that meant he’d be responsible for Jisung as a little. Which Jae was basically proposing anyway.
“Yes,” Jae ruffled Jisung’s hair. “I’ll be your caregiver. But you have to promise to tell me when you’re little!”
Jisung jumped up and down a couple times, clearly ecstatic, and held out a pinky. “I promise! I promise, Jae hyung!”
Jae sealed their agreement with a pinky promise before Jisung tackled Jae’s middle with a hug.
“Thank you so much, Jae hyung.”
Jae melted and hugged the boy back. “Sure thing, Jisung. Now you really should go to bed.”
Jisung nodded against Jae’s chest before pulling away. Jae would be lying if he said he wanted it to end there.
“Me and Eevee will go to bed!” Jisung held up his plushie again and opened the Stray Kids’ dorm door. “Make sure you do too, hyung!”
“Of course, Jisung. Sleep tight,” Jae hummed and offered a tiny wave to Jisung, who happily reciprocated as he shut the door.
Jae stood in front of the shut door for a moment longer before turning away. He really couldn’t process what had transpired tonight, but he was going to have to accept it.
‘Jisung is a little. I have to take care of him,’ Jae mentally noted. At least that’d make his free time more interesting, if anything.
Day6’s dorm was quiet as Jae stepped out of his shoes, only a light from the kitchen left on for Jae’s return. The countertop had a few take-out boxes and bags that smelled divine. Jae figured this was his late dinner. He didn’t even care that it’d gone cold as he bit into a drumstick he dug out. Chicken wasn’t common, but it was delicious as ever.
Jae would’ve eaten much more than a single piece, but Jae didn’t find himself that hungry. So he packed up anything that was left and tossed it in the fridge.
The door creaked lightly as he entered the shared dorm bedroom. The snores of Younghyun were clear, but it was silent otherwise.
Jae settled on his bed, not bothering with his clothes, simply discarding his socks. As he laid back, a buzz and relit phone screen grabbed his attention. It was a text from an unknown contact. Jae swiped it open.
xx-xxx-xxxx
good night hyung!!!
Attached was a selfie of Jisung, blanket pulled up to his nose, and Eevee visible by his cheek. Jae smiled to himself, and saved the boy’s contact.
good night Jisung
Jisung responded with a huge string of heart emojis. Jae chuckled lightly. ‘What a cute kid.’
A pillow met the side of Jae’s head, knocking him out of his Jisung-happy-moment.
“Turn your phone off, Jae, holy shit,” Younghyun’s voice was deep and garbled from the other side of the bedroom.
“Go to bed, edgelord,” Jae retorted, but reluctantly clicked his phone off. He rolled over, finding a comfortable position, and tried to drift off.
His thoughts wandered to Jisung. He was very curious on the nature of ‘being little’, but didn’t want to disturb the kid from sleeping.
Using his blanket as a shield from Younghyun, Jae opened a web browser and begun his research. It’d be a while before he finally rest.