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Mingi was always hard on himself, that was one of his best kept secrets. Onlookers would never be able to tell just by his exterior, no way. He emitted such positivity and laughter most of the time it would be hard to imagine him in any kind of bad mood. But alas, he is human just like us all, and therefore he is no stranger to a depressive slump or an anxious bout. In fact he was probably more prone to it than a lot of the other members.
He'd been struggling a lot more than usual lately, crawling into his bed after practice each night and wishing it would simply just swallow him up so he doesn't have to go another day. He didn't speak much off camera unless spoken too, always seemed so tired or lost in thought. Sometimes both. He moped around the house in the most obvious way possible, oblivious to that fact. It was sad to the members, seeing him plaster a fake smile on when a camera was around, seeing just how fast the corners of his lips fell back down when the cameras were done. It tugged on Yunhos heart strings particularly harshly, playing his insides like a harp, and it hurt.
It hurt more knowing they couldn't actually do much about it, when you're in the middle of promoting a comeback you kinda of have to put on tunnel vision goggles and keep them on the whole time, aiming for the end result and nothing else's, no side distractions. Mingi was a terribly tempting distraction though, Yunho couldn't ever manage to stay too far away from him. He told himself it was out of love for his member, because he was looking out for him and keeping a close eye. Because if Mingi slipped out of their grip- well that just simply wasn't allowed to happen.
"What're you thinking about so hard?"
Yunho lifted his head, remembering he was still in the makeup chair. He met eyes with Hongjoong who was in the chair next to him, looking on worriedly.
"Him." Yunho explained, nodding his head ever so slightly in the direction of Mingi who was dozing off on the couch.
The leader looked over at Mingi, then nodded, "I know." He said, "But we can't force him to relax, we just have to be careful."
Yunho didn't like when Hongjoong was right, mostly because that was 99% of the time. Even the times when he didn't like what he was hearing, Hongjoong was right, just like right now. Nobody could force Mingi to take some rest, to talk to the company and just get a week off or something. No, they just had to sit back and keep and eye on him and respect his decisions. Yunho would be damned if he let Mingi loose his grip on things though, if he saw even one finger release from his hold on himself he'd be right there underneath to catch him, to soften then blow. Because that's all he could do. That's all he always did.
By the time promotions were halfway over, everyone was in full swing. They'd found their rhythm, being fully used to the early mornings and fleeting meals between schedules. For most it was an exciting time, getting to put new music out for the fans and make lots of different appearances on TV programs and music shows. It was a good distraction, being perfectly busy all the time. But nothing could distract Yunho fully from the boy he tried to keep by his side all the time. Because he knew Mingi was still only holding on with a slippery grip, he was just waiting for the slip up.
"Can I sleep on you?" Mingi asked, climbing into the van after Yunho and settling in the seat next to him.
He nodded, "Of course."
Yunho adjusted for Minho to be able to rest his side against him, head on his shoulder and both lanky arms wrapped around one of Yunhos thicker ones. He felt the warmth of Mingis breath on his neck anchoring him to his seat when the car began to move, the weight of his friend keeping his grounded. He loved to be the one Mingi relied on, being sought out for comfort was reassuring, made him hope that his grip was a little stronger today. He carded his fingers through Mingis hair, tracing them along his neck and cheek before bringing them back up to his hair. He smiled at the little happy hum he got in response, today was one of the better days.
By the last day of promotions things felt much lighter than they had two weeks ago, and Yunho was revelling in it. They completed their last appearance with flying colours, cheering and thanking the staff as they left. He hoped this mood would linger for a few days, hopefully following him in to his dreams too. But as they clambered into the van, headed for home where they'd be able to rest for a week straight, his eyes fell upon the most frequent object of his thoughts. Mingi slumped into a seat next to Jonho and shut his eyes, looking on the verge of slipping away. Yunho wanted nothing more than to go and get him, to wrap him up and tell him he'd done an amazing job, that it was all done now and he was so proud of him. But he was too far away, and closing his eyes as the van pulled on to the highway.
Yunho could feel his fingers positively itching for the younger when they clambered back out of the van at their dorm building, waving their manager off and heading inside. Seonghwa mumbled something to the group about food, probably going to fix them up a nice big dinner to enjoy later together. Yunho observed from the entrance as he worked on untying his shoes, he watched San and Wooyoung dash to the youngers room followed by Yeosangs loud complaints. He watched Hongjoong collapse into one of the dining chairs and shut his eyes for a moment, and the rest of the members land on the couch. It was going to take a while for everyone to properly wind down, he thought. But he had the patience.
Yunho finally kicked his shoes off, walking to the living room where he saw Mingi on the edge of the couch, eyes unfocused on the screen that the others were so intently ogling over.
"Come here." Yunho murmured, tugging on Mingis arm to get him to stand up.
He complied so easily, limbs so pliant in Yunhos as the older steered him to his bedroom. It was like waves and waved of tension broke free, crashing on the shore and soaked up by the sand as Mingi exhaled, falling on to the bed and slipping under the covers with Yunho.
"You did so well baby." Yunho fawned, slipping his arms around the youngers thin waist. "You held on so good, right until the end."
Mingi stuffed his face as far into Yunhos neck as he could force it, letting a tear slip out of each eye before shutting them tight. "I've been so tired." He mumbled.
"I know." Yunho breathed, bringing a hand up to card through the youngers hair just how he liked it, "You were so good, but now you can relax."
Mingi let another large shuddering exhale escape, completely ridding himself of all tension and going limp against the older, save for his neck which he craned up to get a better look at the olders face.
"Thank you." He said, bringing himself up to rest his forehead against Yunhos.
The older smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of Mingis mouth, "Anything for you baby."