Work Text:
jisung and his bandmates were on mbc radio and sang live versions of some of their songs. it was relaxed, he enjoyed listening to the others' voices as always. "my pace" had gone well, after that they continued with "awkward silence". a fun song. then it was jisung's turn. he rapped the first few lines but suddenly he blacked out. the words just wouldn't come out of his mouth automatically like they always did with this song which they had already performed multiple times. awkward silence, the song fit well now.
before he could quickly save himself after the initial shock of forgetting his lyrics, it was too late. jeongin started his part. jisung just looked at his laughing friends with a gaping mouth and wide eyes. embarrassing. to stop his own mind from making himself feel awful for his mistake, jisung joined the other members joking around while everyone sang their respective parts. felix could barely stop laughing and woojin grinned brightly at jisung while showing off his strong vocals.
okay, it was jisung's turn again. he could do this.
the first line went alright, the hint of a laugh in his voice while the members expectantly looked at him. then the second line. oh. oh no. with the pressure on him about better not messing up another time, jisung messed up another time. he damned his stupid brain, feeling his face flush while he leaned his forehead against the microphone in embarrassment. that just made the other boys giggle even more.
~
they eventually finished all the songs and while they drove back to their dorm, jisung of course got teased a few more times. it was inevitable. he played along, not wanting to ruin the light mood with his perfectionism.
as soon as they arrived, the members threw themselves onto their beds and slowly sunk into their dreams one by one. the last weeks had been exhausting with all the performances and schedules around their comeback. nevertheless, that didn't stop jisung from restlessly tossing and turning in his bed. he thought about his dumb mistakes that could have been easily avoided if he hadn't had so much trust in his memory regarding song lyrics. he groaned into his pillow, also angry at himself for being so embarrassed about it, for not being able to get his well needed sleep at a busy time like this.
suddenly he heard a sleepy voice from the other end of the room. minho.
"what's up? can't sleep, huh?"
"yeah... i'm thinking about- you know, what happened today."
"what are you talking about? what happened?"
"stop acting like you don't remember! you know, i forgot my lyrics two times..." jisung replied with a pout, pointless because minho couldn't see him anyway.
"ah, that? oh jisung, shit happens. don't beat yourself up over such an unimportant incident!"
"that's how you work, you're like the king of confidence. but i- i can't stop thinking about how i could've done better. you know, i feel like i don't really have something that i'm truly good at... changbin hyung is better at rapping than me, seungmin is better at singing than me, chan hyung is better at songwriting than me, you are better at dancing..."
"come on, don't say that! see, you're an allrounder: you're great at rapping, singing and dancing! you even write amazing lyrics! do you know how lucky you are?" minho interrupted jisung's rant while crossing the room to lie down next to him. "hey, everyone slips up. it happens to the best. woojin hyung's voice recently cracked a little bit on stage, and do you remember that time when hyunjin couldn't go on with his part in "grow up" because he started crying? or during that showcase in the first episode of our survival show when changbin dropped his mic? or when felix messed up the dance at that busking thing we did or when i stuttered like a loser while rapping! i almost didn't make it, felix too! jeongin, hyunjin and woojin hyung were at danger as well! you know who got praised for his great talents by jyp? you!"
jisung was speechless. he definitely wouldn't have expected minho to become so passionate about building up his self esteem. he blushed.
"hm... thank you, thank you a lot. you're so nice... i know that it's stupid and that i'm overthinking but it's- it's hard to regain confidence after something embarrassing like that. but thank you for cheering me up, it means a lot to me." jisung's voice was shaky and before he knew it, little tears started leaving his eyes and dropped onto minho's arm which was wrapped around the younger boy's body. jisung hadn't even noticed how close he was to his friend.
"wait, are you- hey, don't cry! i will cry too! shh, it's fine... you did well..." minho pulled jisung against his warm chest. after a while, the tears died down and their breathing adjusted to each other until it was synchronized.
"thank you so much for- for being here for me." jisung mumbled between quiet sniffles.
"ah, don't thank me for that... you mean a lot to me, okay?"
jisung felt a gentle kiss on his forehead, he was too sleepy now to say anything about minho's loving gesture or about how he felt guilty for keeping him awake.
the only thing he could do before his tiredness overcame him was brushing his lips against the older boy's, in a soft way, so vague that it could just have been an accidental touch.