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Ten was a strong dancer and a pretty face. He could show off his vocals when asked, he even knew how to rap - not as fast as Taeyong or Mark, but still better than some of his members. That’s where the praise usually ended for the only full Thai in the group.
He wasn’t SM’s golden boy like Mark or the best leader the industry had to offer like Taeyong. He didn’t blend into songs effortlessly like Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Taeil. Ten didn’t show dedication or determination like Yuta, Johnny, or Winwin. He was always labeled as a foreigner, even in WayV he was struggling to keep up (and Lucas was in the sub-unit).
When he was told that he was going to be in a permanent sub-unit, he was overjoyed. Ten didn’t care about leaving most of his members, he didn’t care that he was going to be with three new trainees, he was too focused on the happiness that came from having a consistent sub-unit, a stable job and income.
Then they got to China. He struggled so much with the language, Hendery and Kun were trying their hardest to help him with standard Chinese to no avail. Ten would practice and study daily for at least three hours, opting to miss dance practice or vocal training. No matter what he did, nothing made sense to him. He’d have to have members repeat what they said multiple times to him before catching the gist of the conversation or question.
Winwin was the first to catch on. Ten had been teaching him English in their spare time, mainly on breaks and car rides. The elder had lost enthusiasm when speaking in the foreign language. He would mess up simple sentences and phrases, eventually to the point of Hendery and Yangyang correcting him whenever they had the chance.
“Hyung, can you teach me Thai? I want to watch dramas without subtitles and I think I know enough English to handle myself in the States.” Winwin asked one day curled up in Ten’s bed. They had been watching Stranger Things after a fairly rough vocal lesson with Kun. The leader had screamed at Ten for his pronunciation, it had gone on for several minutes before Winwin stepped in to stop his shouting.
Winwin pulled Ten out of the practice room and stormed out of the building. It was pouring, the weather reflected the tears streaming down Ten’s face. Winwin grabbed the elder member into a hug and held him as he sobbed and tears racked his body. When the lithe body started shaking and shivering, Winwin clenched tighter, bringing Ten even closer to the Chinese.
“We’re gonna get you home, baby. We’re gonna take a bath, you’re gonna need some epsom salt for your muscles anyway, and then watch that new show Johnny-hyung suggested last night over Skype. How does that sound, sweetheart?” Winwin was quietly cooing at Ten, not wanting the subsiding tears to pick up again. He gently began to direct Ten into the busy streets and back to the dorms.
They were soaked through when they entered the dorms, Lucas was just getting back with the younger members. They had been dancing, one look from Winwin told Lucas that they we’re taking the bathroom priorities.
Ten stripped while Winwin ran the water, he made sure it was warm, throwing in some lavender salts. The clothes were pushed into a corner by the door as the two boys stepped into the tub. Winwin sat first and opened his arms for Ten to slide in, murmuring a small ‘come here, baby boy.’
Ten slowly sank into Winwin’s embrace, stretching out his legs while still wrapping his upper body around Winwin. “You’re kind of the best didi out of the group. Thank you for watching out for me,” Ten smiled into Winwin’s chest, pressing a soft kiss to it.
They stayed in the tub until the water was cold and their skin was pruny. Winwin wrapped Ten in a huge fluffy towel as soon as he got out, “Are you ready to watch the show? We can go in my room, Lucas’ll hang with the maknaes and leave us alone.”
Ten was practically pushed into the room across the hall, almost dropping his towel wrapped around his waist. Winwin picked out a soft sweatshirt and sweats for him and Ten to lounge in before bed while watching the Netflix show.
At parts, it was a little scary for Ten’s exhausted mind. Winwin would tighten his arms around him before deciding enough is enough and turning it off.
That’s when he asked if Ten would teach him Thai. Ten immediately agreed, asking Winwin what he wanted to start with, considering the younger man knew some basic introductions from their time in Thailand with NCT. Winwin told him he wanted to learn food names and ingredients.
“Tell me how you make your favourite meal, just translate it as you go, hyung.” Winwin instructed, Ten followed his orders quickly. Ten took it slow, letting Winwin to process the new language, but he was so sure of himself. Winwin liked this confidence on Ten.
Winwin committed the name of the food to memory as Ten’s breathing slowed and eyelids grew heavy. The computer had long stopped running, there was just the sound of breathing and the ceiling fan. Winwin looked down at Ten before speaking lowly, “are you ready to go to sleep, love?”
Ten faintly nodded against Winwin’s chest before letting his eyes slip close. He was asleep in seconds, Ten made himself comfortable in Winwin’s arms.
Just as Winwin was falling asleep, the bedroom door opened. Light streamed through the small crack from the door as Kun’s silhouette graced the floor. "You better have a good excuse for coming in here, I just got him to sleep." Winwin murmured.
"I wanted to apologise, I shouldn't have taken my anger and frustration out on Tennie. I have no excuse but I want to make it up to him." Kun's head hung low. Winwin smiled, relishing in his ge's shame and knowing perfectly how Kun could make up his outburst.
Kun woke up in the early morning, earlier than he normally would for a full day of practice. He was on a mission to apologise to his younger member. When he had walked into Winwin’s room, he didn’t expect Ten to be asleep in Winwin’s arms. He intended to ask how to make it up to the Thai, Winwin happily supplied that their main dancer was homesick or ostracized, or a combination of both, and suggested Kun make Ten’s favourite dishes to apologise.
Ten had told Winwin the names of his favourite foods and Winwin relayed them for Kun to make. Kun had gone to the grocers to get fresh chicken and other ingredients to make noodles and bread from scratch. It had taken him a few hours to prepare the meal and another to keep the maknaes from eating it before Ten and Winwin were up.
Winwin came stumbling out of his room, a grunted “if you want to talk to him, he’s out of the bathroom.” Before Winwin could step up to make coffee, Kun was out of the room. The leader almost bumped into Ten coming out of the bathroom.
“Tennie, hey, I want to apologise for what I said last night, I didn’t mean for you to be an outlet for my anger. You know I love you and don’t mean it, you’re more than what SM says you are, sweetheart.” Kun was rushing through his apology, but Ten nodded in acceptance anyway.
Ten let himself be led to the kitchen, following the smell of Pad Thai and Naan. He was surprised, happy, thankful that Kun homemade his favourite dishes. He hugged the elder, whispering a soft ‘thank you’ into the crook of his neck.
After Ten took the first bite of food, the other members were allowed to eat. Winwin and Kun subtling putting more food on Ten’s plate and fending off Lucas and the maknaes. Hendery and Xiaojun offered to do the dishes for Kun, Lucas and Yangyang dragged Ten away from the small kitchen to the slightly bigger living room.
Ten was just about to succumb to sleep when his phone began to buzz in his pocket. He dug it out, seeing Johnny’s face on the screen. He unlocked the call, “hey, baby boy, how are you doing?” Johnny’s deep voice rang from the tinny phone speaker.
“Oh, nothing much, John. I was falling asleep with Lu and Yang before you called,” Ten’s breathy laugh began to break free, “That’s great, sweetie. I’ll let you get back to napping, seeing as the members are taking care of you.” There was a lilt in his voice, implying the Chinese members hadn’t been taking care of him.
“No, babe, their taking care of me really well now.” Ten’s eyes were falling close, sleepiness setting in, “hey, I couldn’t watch Stranger Things with Chengie, think I need a pair of strong arms around me to watch such a scary show.” Ten smiled, not waiting for Johnny’s reply as he had fallen asleep.