Chapter Text
Road to Kingdom.
The programme’s name filled Changmin with a sense of excitement, a feeling of swet thrill and anticipation at what was to come. As a member of The Boyz, he had always been filled with immense gratitude and joy with being on every stage, but to be able to show something special - it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
But that didn’t mean that when he learned he had to execute a huge jump in their first performance - the 90 Second Mission Stage - to leave a good first impression on all their fellow competitors and viewers, he wasn’t anxious at all. In fact, his members had all yelled in exhilaration after seeing the video of the dancers mock-executing it and turned to him with excitement written all over their faces. As the team’s main dancer and “dance teacher”, Changmin could only plaster on a tight-lipped smile in response. It wasn’t that he was not awed by the performance their choreographers had prepared for them, but it was thoroughly overwhelmed by the sudden crushing burden on his shoulders. The entire “omph” factor of their stage rested on his ability to pull of that stunt. And he really, really wanted to just run away from it all.
His members spent the next few hours recording their performance cover whilst Changmin threw himself into memorising and analysing the entire stage with their choreographer. He had already done his parts beforehand and now it was his responsibility to help out with their teacher to master the moves. Especially with his huge part at the front. Throwing himself into perfecting his other moves was the only way to keep his mind off the huge obstacle before him.
“Hyung,” a mellow voice called from behind him. Changmin had been practicing the entire choreography alone before their first practice session with the members and Sunwoo walked into the otherwise empty practice room. The younger must have finished his recording first, or decided to come early. “They said you recorded before all of us. What have you been doing?”
Changmin offered his wine-haired dongsaeng a small smile. It was always a comfort to see Sunwoo - they had become lovers well before their debut and even till now, he couldn’t believe he had this amazing, perfect human being all to himself. A wonder, really, how their awkward confessions had blossomed into a steady relationship over the years, carefully hidden away from the cameras that continuously recorded every moment in their lives as idols.
“I’ve been learning Sword of Victory from Baek Seongsaeng before practice later.” Changmin answered, his lips tugging into a larger smile as the younger threw an arm around his shoulders, easily pulling him closer. Sunwoo had been working out recently and easily shrouded his smaller frame - he secretly loved it, of course, but he would never admit it. “How was recording?”
“The usual,” Sunwoo shrugged, before tugging on Changmin’s shoulders to get them to face each other. Dark brown eyes stared into his eyes, searching. Changmin could see the softness, the adoration and the worry in them.
“Hyung, are you worried?” His lover asked quietly, their gazes never leaving each other’s.
There was a sudden overwhelming wave of emotion that rose in his chest. He had been so stressed ever since they had first got to see their choreography and Sunwoo’s care for him just seemed to break everything that he had been trying to hold back.
Wordlessly, Changmin reached forward and pulled Sunwoo into a hug, in the middle of the empty practice room. He willed himself not to cry as he buried his cheeks into the broad chest of his lover. Road to Kingdom had just started - he could not be breaking apart like this. They had been given this rare opportunity and he needed to do it properly. Sunwoo gently pressed his lips to Changmin’s forehead, seemingly guessing his thoughts.
They stayed wrapped around each other like that for a few moments, until the shaking in his shoulder’s eased as Sunwoo’s hand rubbed his back reassuringly. Changmin sucked in a deep breath, suddenly hyper aware of the sweat that he was covered in, against the woody musk of Sunwoo’s cologne. He somewhat reluctantly peeled himself away, allowing his brown hair to fall over his eyes.
“I will be alright,” Changmin murmured, meeting Sunwoo’s eyes with his usual grin. The younger was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly doubting him. His grin only grew wider at the expression. Sometimes, Sunwoo was so adorable and he himself didn’t even know it. “I have to be.”
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“Okay, let’s try the jump now! Q, are you ready?” Changmin swallowed, steeling himself as he gave Baek Seonsaeng what he hoped seemed to be a firm nod. Juyeon and Hyunjae hyung were going to help throw him upwards, while Jacob hyung would help him with the forward momentum to help him land in the front of the stage. He had practiced jumping with them, but now Younghoon hyung was seated in front of him. If he didn’t jump far enough or high enough...he could cause some serious injuries. The other members were watching him from the sides, their gazes all rather expectant and worried.
Changmin stared at himself in the practice room mirror, supported by his three members. The dark wine red flash of hair caught his attention and he found himself meeting the dark brown eyes of Sunwoo as the beginning tunes of Sword of Victory echoed around them. There was something unsaid that passed between them as their eyes met. Sunwoo gave him a firm nod and he sucked in a deep breath as he leapt.
There was a tense moment as he flew in the air, his breath catching in his chest as he kept his knees tucked to his chest. But there wasn’t enough momentum upwards - his foot caught slightly on Younghoon hyung’s right shoulder, sending the latter sprawling forward and himself hitting the floor in an unelegant manner.
The world whirred around him as he rolled to break the impact - thankfully with nothing broken - before he ended up spread out on the practice room floor, heavily winded but otherwise uninjured from the fall.
“Changmin!”
“Q hyung!”
There was a chorus of voices from his members as he struggled to sit up. The sound of panicked footsteps quickly surrounded him, followed by a very anxious and wide-eyed Kim Sunwoo.
“Hyung, are you alright?” he asked hurriedly, pulling Changmin up.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Changmin winced, rolling the slight ache left behind in his shoulder that suffered the brunt of his fall. “Younghoon hyung?”
“I’m fine!” The elder answered with a wave. Changmin left out a sigh of relief. Even if he hadn’t made it all the way, at least no one was hurt...he had to do better.
“Let’s try again.” Changmin got up quickly, ignoring the slight protests of the members around him. “We have to get this right.”
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The entire time they had been waiting at the sides in the audience for their turn, Changmin - or Q, as he now was in his working environment - was simply praying that he would pull that jump off later and catch the sword well. As long as that worked out, he would be much more relaxed for the rest of the performance. Once he nailed that part down, all would be fine.
Alas, their names were called and Changmin was on his feet in a flash, quickly stretching out the inactivity from all the sitting and waiting during their filming. This was it - he needed to do well for their team to shine. To do their Deobis proud.
They quickly fell into formation as they headed up the stage. His hand was given a warm squeeze as Sunwoo brushed past him in a rather nonchalant manner and Changmin bit back a smile at the gesture. Even if there were cameras rolling all around them, it was exactly what he needed. He sucked in a breath as they huddled close, Juyeon and Hyunjae hyung whispering soft words of encouragement beside him as the first beats of the music began. You can do it, Changmin ah. You have to.
There was a tense moment as he was in the air. Time seemed to slow down for him, his hand reaching out to grab the sword that Younghoon hyung had thrown perfectly up into the air for him, grip tightening around the hilt. The moment ended when he landed squarely on the ground, the awed cheers of the other teams echoing before and behind him as he automatically reacted to the next sequence of movements for their choreography. There was a sense of satisfaction that filled him and Changmin couldn’t help the smile that threatened to overwhelm his face during the stage, although he very quickly bit that down.
He did it.
“Hyung, you did it!” Sunwoo cried once he’d ripped the microphone off his head, his cheer echoed by his members around him. The younger had faced trouble during his performance, his sword getting stuck for the final pose but here he was congratulating Changmin instead. Changmin let out a relieved laugh, snaking an arm around his lover’s waist as they gathered for a group hug. He really wanted to celebrate this properly, especially after all the help Sunwoo had given him, but the cameras were rolling. They didn’t really need to hide anything since both of them preferred to keep their moments private anyway, but it was a shame their fans often liked to look too much into every single one of their actions and moments together.
Changmin would really like a warm hug right now and Sunwoo looked like he needed one too.
They took the opportunity when they were announced as first place, the subtle skinship easily categorized as a casual thing - in a moment of celebration. And even though their stage had much room for improvement still, he was glad their efforts had paid off.
Their celebration as a group was a short but sweet one, a meal of barbecued meat before they headed back to their dorms to get a good night’s rest before they delved into their next Road to Kingdom performance.
And Changmin took the opportunity to give Sunwoo all the attention he wanted to give during their shooting in the privacy of their room, with Kevin wrapped up in his own corner on the top bunk with his headphones and his art - almost a routine for him, to have to room with a couple for so long.
Hidden underneath Sunwoo’s blankets on the bottom bunk (away from all of Changmin’s array of dolls and plushies), they comforted each other about their mistakes from their stage. Changmin finally managed to steal an agonisingly slow kiss from the red-haired boy, their lips connecting gently at first, then searching for each other more desperately. They were long past the sparks and fireworks of their relationship and the kiss meant something more like an affirmation of their love for each other. They had worked hard and these short moments of intimacy were almost like a reward. They couldn’t go any further - they had practice and needed to be in their top forms, but for now, Sunwoo’s warmth pressed against his side was just enough. Changmin closed his eyes, his arms wrapped around his lover’s waist as a hand lazily cupped the back of his neck to press their foreheads together.
Tomorrow, he would worry about their next stage. For now, he was content.