Work Text:
It starts out with jokes.
The guys like to call Hyunwoo their dad; maybe it’s the way their leader is so in charge of everything and gets things done so quick, that they don’t hesitate to go to him for everything and anything. Maybe it’s the way he doesn’t hesitate to stand up for them whenever they’re being taken advantage of or mistreated, like when they went to America and their stage crew had fucked their set up; none of them had ever seen him that close to being angry at anything. It’s probably the way he works so well with all of them to make sure their individual voices are heard, to make sure that the group is headed in the direction they’re looking for. Most likely, though, it’s the way he can keep their secrets and help them through their issues. He does give them really good advice, so that helps a lot as well.
So yes, all of them feel comfortable calling Hyunwoo dad - all of them except Kihyun. It’s different with Kihyun though, because it’s not that he doesn’t like or doesn’t want to call Hyunwoo dad, it’s that he doesn’t particularly feel the need to call him that. He feels that they’re more partners than Hyunwoo taking care of him; they take care of each other, and that’s just how they work.
Maybe that’s why the guys like to call him mom.
Kihyun cooks most of the time, likes to spoil them with their favorite meals whenever they’ve had a particularly exhausting schedule. He doesn’t mind cooking, the guys aren’t particularly picky (they’ll eat anything Kihyun cooks for them in an instant) and they do help prepare the ingredients a lot of the times, if not all. He’s sure the guys like that he cleans a lot; it’s therapeutic for him, as cliche as it sounds, but it really does help de-stress him from all the responsibilities he faces. And he really is sure the guys appreciate him running the house as strictly as he does, keeps them in line and on time. But most of all, he’s sure they appreciate his confidence and how that helps them stop doubting themselves like they tend to do sometimes.
Really, it’s Minhyuk that starts the whole there come mom and dad joke.
It starts because the one time they’re all allowed to go out without staff, it strangely feels like a moment from their childhood. They decide to go to an amusement park - Changkyun is the one who suggests it, and of course they have to keep their maknae happy - so they wake up early to get there before it gets too crowded. Kihyun knows how expensive food is inside, so he packs some leftovers and puts them in a cooler, yells at Hyunwoo to help him carry it to the car while he gets Hyungwon to hurry up.
“Hyungwon-ah,” he says, knocking on the door, loud and clear. “How much longer? We’re just waiting on you.”
He’s not lying, the other four are sitting in the living room playing on their phones, looking ready to go. Hyungwon finally comes out of his room at the same time Hyunwoo is coming back from putting the cooler in the car.
“Ok, is everyone ready?” Kihyun asks, grabs the keys from Hyunwoo without hesitation. “Let’s go.”
Hyunwoo walks out of the house first, followed by the other five, and finally Kihyun. He locks the door and walks up to Hyunwoo, hands him the keys as the rest of them get in the car, taking a quick mental note of what each of them are wearing in case they get split up. Objectively, he knows they’re grown and they could easily find each other in case they got lost, but his inner mother hen doesn’t let him rest so easy. Once they’re all in, he takes his seat next to Hyunwoo, looks back one more time to make sure they’re all sat down.
Thankfully, it’s not as crowded as Kihyun was dreading. They get through security inspections fairly quickly and immediately head to the tallest roller coaster in the park.
“I’ll just hang back,” Hoseok says, and immediately starts taking everyone’s cell phones and wallets. “You guys go ahead, I’ll be right here when you come back.”
“Are you sure?” Kihyun asks, hates for any of them to feel left our of anything. “I can stay with you. I’m sure Hyunwoo won’t mind going on this one by himself.”
Hoseok shakes his head.
“No, you can go ahead, it’s fine. Now go, dad’s waiting for you; can’t have a man waiting for his wife for so long.”
So he goes, catches up to the rest of them. Like always, Changkyun and Jooheon ride together, Hyungwon and Minhyuk fight over who gets the left seat (like they always do). It’s a ten row ride, so Changkyun and Jooheon immediately head for the front row seats. Hyungwon and Minhyuk right behind them, and of course Kihyun with Hyunwoo after that. Through sheer power of luck, they’re able to go on the same turn as each other. As the cars are going uphill, Kihyun immediately grabs onto Hyunwoo’s arm, does his best to bury his face in his shoulder.
“Come on, Kihyunnie,” Hyunwoo laughs, halfway to the top. “You’re missing the view.”
“Fuck you, asshole,” Kihyun says, the only thing he has time to say right before the drop. He screams and screams until his lungs almost give out, meanwhile Hyunwoo just laughs at him. Really, he doesn’t know why he even bothers getting on these gigantic rides when most of it is spent with his face buried in Hyunwoo’s shoulder. Maybe it’s just the perfect excuse to be close to him, to breathe him in without it being weird.
They get off the ride, and immediately go to purchase the pictures. Changkhyun and Jooheon’s picture is just of both of them throwing up peace signs, wide smiles on both of their faces. Hyungwon is caught mid-scream, meanwhile Minhyuk is laughing, hands up in the air. Of course - of course - Kihyun is caught with his face in Hyunwoo’s shoulder, and Hyunwoo is caught mid laugh. It makes Kihyun’s heart beat all that much faster, a blush quickly making his way to the top of his cheeks. But, really, it’s the way Hyunwoo does not hesitate to buy them two copies that gets him riled up.
“Look how cute mom and dad look,” Minhyuk says right before he takes Kihyun’s copy out of his hands. “Always finding comfort in dad’s strong arms; you guys are so cute.”
“It’s only fair,” Hyunwoo says, taking back Kihyun’s copy and giving it back to him. He doesn’t say anything else, and no one else asks him to - they all know exactly what he means.
The rest of the day goes by faster than any of them would like. They do find time to go back to the car and eat, mostly led by Hyunwoo and Minhyuk complaining about their insides eating each other. Kihyun serves them, and they all say thank you mom after he’s handed them their plate. Hyunwoo’s different, though, he says thank you Kihyunnie with the biggest smile on his face, refusing to look away from Kihyun even after he’s got his plate in his hands.
“Stop flirting with him, dad,” Changkyun says, mouth full of food; he laughs when Kihyun scolds him for speaking with his mouth full. “You know mom gets flustered if you look at him too long.”
“Yeah, let him feed us first before you start flirting,” Hoseok says, makes the others laugh uncontrollably.
They have fun, Kihyun thinks, because they just work so well together.
Once they’re home and the rest of them have gone to sleep, leaving Hyunwoo and Kihyun alone, the atmosphere isn’t as tense as Kihyun had been expecting. The rest of them had spent the rest of the day referring to them as mom and dad, which, Kihyun doesn’t really think Hyunwoo has a problem with (he really doesn’t have a problem with a lot) or he would’ve said something.
Kihyun’s about to go to sleep himself when Hyunwoo catches him by the elbow, stops him from going any further. He doesn’t say anything for a while, just looks all over Kihyun’s face for any signs of discomfort or annoyance. When he doesn’t find any, and all he finds are Kihyun’s beautiful eyes staring back at him, he says:
“I had fun with you guys today,” Hyunwoo says, soft. “With you.”
It’s then Hyunwoo realizes the only reason he doesn’t mind being called dad or husband, the only reason is because it’s always attached to Kihyun. From their awkward beginnings to them not being able to function properly without each other, Hyunwoo thinks that somewhere along the jokes, somewhere along there, he wishes there was some truth behind it.
“I had fun with you too,” Kihyun replies, smiles with all his teeth. “Thank you for letting me scream into your shoulder all day. Sorry if I ruined your shirt.”
Hyunwoo wants to kiss him so bad.
“Do you mind being called mom?”
Kihyun shakes his head, smiles, shy.
“No.”
“Wife?”
“Also no.”
Hyunwoo grabs Kihyun’s face then waits for Kihyun to pull back, to scream at him and ask him what he’s doing. Instead, Kihyun closes his eyes, like he’s been expecting something like this, almost.
“Good, because I don’t either.”
He closes the gap between them and places a soft kiss on Kihyun’s lips, a short peck. Once again, he waits for Kihyun to pull back. He doesn’t. So, Hyunwoo goes back for another kiss. This time, though, he wraps his arms around Kihyun and squeezes tight, wants to feel Kihyun’s petite figure mold into his. They’re going at it, Kihyun kisses back with intensity that Hyunwoo’s not sure if he’s really seen before. Hyunwoo’s hands explore Kihyun’s back, and they’re just about to get to the top of his ass when he hears Changkyun’s unmistakable gasp, followed by the sound of his body colliding into someone else’s.
“Go back,” Changkyun says in what he thinks is a whisper, but can be heard loud and clear, guessing by the way Khyun smiles into the kiss. “Go back, Hyungwon.”
Hyungwon grumbles something, but neither of them can really hear what he says. When they hear the door close, Kihyun pulls back, blush evident on his face. It’s Hyunwoo’s favorite sight in the world, and damn it if he isn’t willing to do whatever it takes to do that over and over again.
“You know that they’re probably already talking about this right now,” Kihyun says, laughs a little. “I think finally their jokes won’t be jokes anymore.”
“They won’t be.”
//
The next morning, none of them are meeting their eyes, especially Changkyun; he’s downright refusing to meet Kihyun’s eyes, even after Kihyun calls his name multiple times.
“Changkyun-ah,” he says, reaches out and puts his hand on top of Changkyun’s. “Is something wrong? What happened?”
“I feel bad that I interrupted your moment last night,” he replies, head down. All of them burst into laughter then, calling him cute because he’s acting so shy. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. Mom’s going to cook you anything you want if you look at me.”
Hyunwoo’s heart grows three sizes too big for his chest at the sight of Changkyun smiling at Kihyun.
//
Kihyun’s well aware that Hyunwoo is very handsome, attractive and fit. He’s aware of the way people look at him whenever they go out, the way their heads turn and the way they go out of their way to catch a glimpse of him. He’s well aware of the way people make conversation out of the most irrelevant things just to be talking to Hyunwoo, and Hyunwoo’s just too nice to tell them that he doesn’t have a clue of what they’re even talking about, so he lets them talk, laughs along when he thinks it’s appropriate. He’s the type of guy to let people feel his muscles if they ask nice enough, smiles and thanks them when they say he’s the sexiest man they’ve ever seen; he’s also the type to never refuse drinks from anyone.
And Kihyun hates it.
He knows Hyunwoo doesn’t belong to him, but something about other people seeing Hyunwoo the way Kihyun sees him, something about that makes him jealous. Normally, Kihyun is a very confident person. He knows what he has, knows that he’s not going to lose it easily, knows that he’ll do whatever he can to keep it. Hyunwoo isn’t one of those things, however; he’s his own person with his own decisions that has the right to do whatever he pleases - Kihyun can’t control that. Deep down, very deep down, he wishes he could.
Especially on nights after they have schedule, those rare nights that they get out early and are able to go to a bar. Nights that people don’t stop approaching them for a dance or drinks, yeah, nights like those Kihyun really wishes there was something he could do or say to stop people from draping themselves all over Hyunwoo.
This night in particular, there’s this couple that seems to be following Hyunwoo everywhere. Of course, Hyunwoo’s way too nice to tell them anything, to let them know he just wants to hang out with his friends. So, he lets the shorter guy dance on him, grind his slutty hips on Hyunwoo. As it’s to be expected, Hyunwoo’s natural reaction is to grab the man’s hips and dance along with him; the woman dances along his back, runs her hands all over Hyunwoo’s chest, all down his arms. Objectively the sight of it is extremely arousing - the sight of the two petite figures dancing along with Hyunwoo’s larger frame - but Kihyun would much rather be the one dancing with Hyunwoo like that.
Kihyun can’t bare the sight of it anymore so he goes to the restroom to cool himself off, but when he returns, Hyunwoo’s nowhere to be seen - and neither is the couple.
“Where’s Hyunwoo?” he asks, trying to be as casual as possible. “Wasn’t he just dancing?”
Hyungwon laughs despite Hoseok’s elbow to his ribs.
“He’s getting laid tonight,” Hyungwon says, still laughs despite the pain in his side. “That couple basically dragged him off. He’s gonna get his dick so wet, lucky motherfucker.”
Kihyun’s on autopilot after that, walks all the way back home by himself. He catches sight of himself in the mirror when he walks in, frowns at the way he looks; he doesn’t know why he’s so upset. Hyunwoo had never asked him anything, never made it official, and neither had Kihyun. All they had really agreed to was that Kihyun didn’t mind being called mom or wife - nothing else beyond that.
Still, Kihyun thinks as he’s walking to his room, why would he go with them like that without telling me first? So much for being his fucking wife.
Really, he doesn’t know who he’s more upset at: Hyunwoo for leaving without saying anything to Kihyun or at himself for not establishing their exclusivity with each other. It doesn’t matter now anyway, not when Hyunwoo is out fucking two strangers and completely forgetting Kihyun. Something deep inside of him, something like rage and maybe jealousy, makes him want to throw everything on the ground. He takes off his shirt first, balls it up and sends it hurling to the ground, kicks it because he doesn’t want to trip on it later. He then strips down to just his boxers and immediately crawls into bed, pulls the covers way over his head and drifts off to sleep.
Kihyun wakes up in the middle of the night to some voices outside his door, two very distinct voices that he’d recognize anytime.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Hoseok says, sounds like he’s blocking the entrance to Kihyun’s bedroom from someone. “Just go to bed and you guys can talk about it tomorrow. He’s probably asleep.”
“Please don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, Hoseok,” Hyunwoo replies, and it sounds like he tries to reach for the knob, but Hoseok blocks him right before he can get to it. “Move or I’m going to make you move.”
It sounds threatening, and the last thing that Kihyun wants is to cause problems between his friends. So, he gets out of bed and puts on his shirt. Hoseok is blocking the door like Kihyun had suspected, but the thing he hadn’t expected is for Hyunwoo to look so ready to punch Hoseok in the face like that; his eyebrows are high on his face, arms crossed over his chest, and he’s breathing heavy, almost huffing. His expression softens a little when he sees Kihyun’s face, but still, he does not uncross his arms.
“Can you guys stop screaming?” Kihyun asks, tries to act as nonchalant as he can. “You woke me up and now I’m not going to be able to go back to sleep until late. Please take this somewhere else that isn’t outside my door, thank you.”
Hoseok and Hyunwoo share one last glance before Hoseok sighs.
“Do you want me to take him or you’re good on your own?” he asks Kihyun, never taking his eyes off Hyunwoo. “Because I can definitely take him.”
“He can stay,” Kihyun tells him, pats Hoseok’s shoulder gently. “I’m going to sleep anyway, so who cares.”
Hoseok seems to hesitate just a little before he walks away, glancing once over his shoulder to make sure Kihyun’s ok. As soon as he goes inside his room, Kihyun walks away, doesn’t even bother to close his door because he knows Hyunwoo will make his way in eventually. Sure enough, Hyunwoo follows him inside, closes the door behind him. Kihyun acts like he’s not even there, just gets back in bed and closes his eyes.
“So you’re just not going to say anything?” Hyunwoo asks, standing at the foot of Kihyun’s bed, arms crossed once again. “I thought-”
“What do you want me to say?” Kihyun retaliates, angry. “That I think you shouldn’t have gone with that couple because you called me your fucking wife just last week? Or that you should have told me first? How about-”
“But nothing-”
“Don’t interrupt me.”
“It really didn’t-”
“I said don’t interrupt me,” he says, sits up against the headboard. “I know you’re not dumb to not know that I’ve been into you since No Mercy. Did- did you seriously think that you calling me your wife wouldn’t mean anything to me? Well, I have news for you; it did mean something to me, but apparently not to you, and that’s ok.”
“What do you mean it didn’t mean anything to me?” Hyunwoo asks, scoffs right after. “So, what, now you know exactly how I feel? Cool, nice to know you know how to read minds now.”
“Well, if it had meant something to you, then you wouldn’t have gone to fuck some strangers.” You would have gone home and fucked me instead.
“What, like I was going to pass up an opportunity like that? I haven’t gotten laid in close to a year, Kihyun, I wasn’t just going to reject them. They were hot and I was in need.”
Now, it’s Kihyun’s turn to scoff.
“Yeah, fucking right,” he says, rolls his eyes at the ridiculousness of Hyunwoo’s statement. “Like you’ll ever be in need of that, especially when- no, you know what? Never mind, I’m not about to argue with you. Please leave and let me sleep.”
“Fine,” Hyunwoo replies, turns around to face Kihyun once he’s at the door again. “I think it’s unfair for you to be acting like this.”
“And I think it’s unfair for you to call me your wife but still go fuck other people, but I guess we have different opinions.”
“Oh? So that’s what this is-”
“Please leave.”
Kihyun ignores Hyunwoo then, just pulls the covers up above his head and closes his eyes. He hears Hyunwoo close the door behind him soon after; he’s thankful because he didn’t have it in him anymore to argue all night with him. They’ll probably have to talk about that sooner or later, but for now, Kihyun just wants to sleep and forget all about it.
//
Things are tense for a while after that - Hyunwoo keeps hooking up with random strangers, and Kihyun keeps ignoring him. To his credit, Hyunwoo does try to talk to him several times, but each time, Kihyun isn’t willing to talk to him any of those times. Thankfully, Hoseok is always there (and if it’s not Hoseok, it’s the rest of the guys) to act as a buffer between them, making jokes or taking up Kihyun’s attention so he doesn’t have time to snap at Hyunwoo. It’s uncomfortable, to say the least, for all of them to have mom and dad mad at each other (well, more like mom’s mad at dad), but they try to go about their day as normal as possible.
It doesn’t get any easier, even during their preparations for their Japanese comeback. It’s difficult, especially when they have to film the video for Flavors Of Love; the scene near the window is especially difficult. The director probably senses some tension between the two, maybe not, who knows really, so thankfully he doesn’t make them look at each other. They do have to sit next to each other, however, which is uncomfortable to say the least, so Hyunwoo can’t help but jump up and shake himself off after they’re done filming that scene.
“Don’t look too happy about it,” Kihyun says, scares Hyunwoo a little because of how quiet he is. “We still have to film the piano scene and we have to act happy.”
“I am happy,” Hyunwoo replies, faces Kihyun properly. “You’re the one that’s in a bad mood all the time now, so, I don’t know what to tell you there.”
“Whatever.”
Kihyun walks away then, quickly strikes up a conversation with the director.
Things remain the same.
//
It’s hard to work together when neither are speaking to each other. And it’s even more difficult when they can’t even look at each other in the eyes, can’t even speak to each other; frustrating. Communication is key to have a group that runs smooth, that puts forth their best work, and the two main idiots clearly aren’t doing their part.
The guys notice right away - of course they fucking do - but nothing they say seems to get through to Hyunwoo or Kihyun. They think and plan for a while (even contemplate locking them in a room together) until they decide to do something under the darkness of night, something that’ll catch them both off guard that they have no choice but to go through with it.
Enough is enough.
//
It finally, finally, comes to a stop when they’re out celebrating Hyunwoo’s birthday; not because either of them did anything, however, they have Changkyun to thank for that one. Maknae does as maknae wants, and really, they’re no one to deny Changkyun of anything, even on someone else’s birthday.
“Come on, mom,” Changkyun whines, tugging at Kihyun’s sleeve, tries to drag him to the dance floor. “Please dance with me. You don’t dance with me anymore, come on, please. Just one song, I promise.”
It’s not just one song; it never is.
Kihyun’s so lost in the music that he doesn’t notice Hyunwoo coming up to him and grabbing his hips, pulling him close. He thinks it’s some random stranger and, fuck, if Hyunwoo can do it, so can he. So, he dances on the man, lets the man grip his hips hard enough to leave bruises.
“You’re so beautiful when you dance like that, Kihyun-ah,” Hyunwoo’s unmistakable voice tells him, real close to his ears that it sends shivers up Kihyun’s spine. “So pretty, my wife.”
He’s about to pull away, but Hyunwoo’s grip on his hips tightens considerably, anchors him in place.
“Let me go,” Kihyun says, struggles to break free from Hyunwoo’s hold. “Hyunwoo, please, let go.”
“Do you really want to let me go or do you just want to run away from me because you’re still pissed off for whatever fucking reason?”
“You can do whatever the hell you want, I don’t care anymore.”
Kihyun gives up then, realizes Hyunwoo’s not going to let him go unless he wants to. He tries to relax as much as he can, but jealousy is still prickling in the back of his mind. It sucks, he would really like to enjoy himself with Hyunwoo dancing up on him, and it’s worse because he can’t seem to let go of the fact that Hyunwoo’s not completely his. Sure, Hyunwoo’s got all of Kihyun’s heart, body, and soul, but the fact that he’s got none of Hyunwoo’s really kills him inside.
Before he’s able to do or say anything else, Hyunwoo’s pulling him through the crowd. None of the guys are screaming after them, going after them, so Kihyun gets the feeling that they all planned this; maybe the tension between him and Hyunwoo was getting to be too much for them.
When they finally make it home, Hyunwoo all but pushes Kihyun into his room, locks the door behind himself. He stands there, crosses his arms over his chest, and just stares a hole through Kihyun. He stands there for a while, doesn’t say a damn thing, and maybe he’s just waiting for Kihyun to say something. There’s no way Kihyun will say something, though, not when Hyunwoo hasn’t even begun to apologize for playing with his feelings like that.
“Just go ahead and say it,” Hyunwoo finally says, rooted to his spot, voice delicate but stern. “Say whatever’s on your mind that’s been bothering you so much that you won’t even speak to me anymore, that you’re completely forgetting that I’m your friend and your leader, that has you acting like an immature child. Don’t worry about me, I can handle whatever it is that you have to tell me; just, please, talk to me.”
It breaks Kihyun’s heart, really, the way Hyunwoo’s voice wavers just a little at that last part. He didn’t mean to do this, he didn’t mean any of this, but maybe his jealousy got the best of him. Hyunwoo’s right; Kihyun hasn’t been acting like himself lately, hasn’t been talking to Hyunwoo as much as he used to, as if he’s pushed his best friend aside. And it’s not that he doesn’t miss Hyunwoo - he misses being able to joke with him at three in the morning when Kihyun’s stress cleaning, misses being able to have a couple of beers on the stairs because the guys have taken up the whole living room - it’s more that he’s scared to admit maybe he took things a bit too far, that maybe he made up an idea in his head that wasn’t all there.
“I’m sorry,” Kihyun says, looks at the ground because he’s afraid to meet Hyunwoo’s eyes. “I took thinks too far and I shouldn’t have. I- I just assumed that something that wasn’t for real, was real. I should have asked. I shouldn’t have just assumed we were going to be exclusive because you called me your wife one time. I’m sorry.”
Hyunwoo sighs.
“Is that what all of this has been about?”
Kihyun nods, embarrassed.
“I just- I wanted things between us to be real so bad for so long, that I forgot a simple word wasn’t going to change that. I should’ve spoken up and said something, and I’m sorry I didn’t. And I- I just got so jealous when you went with that couple, because why did you have to go look somewhere else for what I can easily give you any day of the week? I couldn’t understand that and I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
Hyunwoo walks closer and pulls Kihyun into a tight hug. He rubs his back soothingly, like he’s telling Kihyun that he’s forgiven him, without actually using any words.
“There’s no one in the world I want more than you,” he says, soft like a confession. “I only went with them because I didn’t know you wanted to be exclusive with me. Believe me when I say I wouldn’t have done that if I had known. I value you more than anything or anyone, I hope you know that.”
He kisses Kihyun’s forehead before he pulls back completely and walks away, rummages through the last drawer in the nightstand next to his bed, and finally pulls out a red box. He opens it before he walks back to Kihyun, presents him with the most beautiful silver bracelet Kihyun’s ever seen.
“My dad gave it to my mom when they first started dating, said it was given to him by his father. It’s a bit of a family heirloom, but now it’s mine. Mom said I should give it to someone who’s worth it, someone I want in my life forever, and I- I think I finally found that person.”
Kihyun looks up at him with tears in his eyes, his throat feels like it’s got a knot making it hard to breathe. He swallows, thick with emotion.
“What?” Kihyun asks, dumb, because there’s nothing else he can say. “M- me? You think I’m that person?”
Hyunwoo only nods.
“Be my wife?” he asks, hand shaking a little. “We don’t have to be anything on paper right away, but I just want you to know that I’m serious about you, about us. I don’t need nobody else but you.”
“Put- put that bracelet on me before I pass out, Son Hyunwoo.”
Hyunwoo’s smile is blinding when he closes the clasp shut; he lifts Kihyun’s hand to his lips and kisses it, soft and warm.
“My wife. I love you.”
“And your wife loves you.”