Chapter Text
“Something’s up,” Junhui mutters when the Performance Team is done filing into their van and wait for Manager Jeon.
He’s slumped in his favorite, spacious seat at the back, flipping idly through his phone with his mind entirely elsewhere from the tiny screen. He’s been keeping his words in all day on the particular matter, wanting the group to finish out their schedule without any distractions. But now, in the privacy of his subunit, he has to bring it up.
“You noticed it too, huh?” Soonyoung returns, twisting in his seat in the middle section of the van to give Junhui a rare, concerned look while he puts his seatbelt on.
“I didn’t want to say anything earlier,” Minghao says next to Hoshi and fidgets a bit with the small backpack he has in his lap. “I wasn’t sure if I was just imagining things.”
Junhui holds in a sigh. Thank goodness. He really isn’t the only one that noticed.
“What’s going on?” Chan chimes in from the passenger seat He rears around, looking at his hyungs with large, questioning eyes.
Oh, Chan, bless his innocence. He doesn’t want to worry their youngest but it wouldn’t be right to keep him in the dark either.
“Scoups-hyung and Jeonghannie seem angry at each other,” Junhui explains in a gentle tone.
“But I have no idea why,” Soonyoung adds. “They seemed fine yesterday. But all of today they barely even looked at each other. And I don’t even remember them saying a word to one another. It’s worst than when they can’t keep their hands off each other.”
“Yeah,” Minghao agrees with a nod, probably to that last part.
“Scoups looked kind of annoyed during his break,” Jun says.
“Right,” Hoshi nods. “And neither of them said much during lunch either.”
“Do you think the other teams might know something we don’t?” Minghao ponders.
“Possibly,” Jun mutters, considering that they’ve split up into their subunits during most of their activities. He’s almost certain the others have picked up on the heavy cloud hanging around their eldest members.
Noticing Chan becoming visibly worried, Soonyoung reaches over towards the passenger seat and pats him on the shoulder.
“Hey, it’s okay Chan-ah! We might just need to give them tonight to cool off. I’m sure they’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”
Even though Chan nods in agreement, Junhui can sense that he doesn’t quite believe Soonyoung’s words.
Tomorrow happens and Chan’s less-than-optimistic suspicions are sadly proven right.
The tension between the two eldest members that Junhui mentioned, it’s still there, maybe even a little worse. It fills the air in the radio station they’re at, during styling, during hair and makeup, during recording. Chan notices their physical distance, now. How Seungcheol wedges himself between Jihoon and Soonyoung at one end of the recording table. And Jeonghan all but dragged Joshua and Junhui to sit next to him at the complete opposite end.
Neither of them seem to want to acknowledge the other.
Fortunately, they hide it well from the hosts and staff, dodging questions that would have require them to speak to each other, opting to address any other member but each other. When the director gives them the OK to wrap, the whole session turns out to be a good guest appearance overall.
Seventeen never falls short of professionalism.
When they start to file out with Jeonghan disappearing first with Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Vernon, Chan sees Joshua and Junhui talking in hushed tones as they get up from their seats. Across the table, with Seungcheol gone, Jihoon whispers something into Soonyoung’s ear.
He doesn’t need to hear to know they’re all sharing concerns over their two eldest. Chan scoffs silently to himself as he follows his hyungs back to the parking structure.
Those two must be really stupid if they think the members aren’t going to notice after today.
Tomorrow’s tomorrow comes and it’s the middle of the week.
Jihoon sighs inwardly. He’s drawing a blank, staring at his computer screen late into the calm silence of 11pm. He can’t think of anything. No catchy beats. No pretty melodies. No fun string of notes that could be a contender for their next comeback title track. He really should finish up this project with what little he has now but he just can’t focus. Irritatedly, Jihoon already knows why he can’t tap into the right mind space for his work.
Seungcheol and Jeonghan are acting weird.
Which means the other members are feeling strange.
And that means he can’t focus on anything one hundred percent when he’s worried about all of them.
He spins a couple rotations in his desk chair and sighs deeply and loudly then runs his fingers through his hair before rubbing his face tiredly.
“I swear those two…” he muttered to himself and spins back to face his desk to grab his phone. He shoots out a couple of text messages, doesn’t bother to wait for a response, and tries to go back to his work for however long it’ll take until he hears a knock on his door.
Five minutes.
The first knock is tentative and soft before he hears a matching gentle voice say ‘hello’ to him. Joshua steps into Jihoon’s room in his oversized white t-shirt and baggy sweatpants. He walks gingerly over to the younger’s bed and sits down on the edge, “What’s up?”
All Jihoon says is, “Seungcheol and Jeonghan,” and Joshua nods with a knowing look.
“Who else is coming?” Joshua asks up front and Jihoon appreciates that he’s to the point. Maybe because he’s so close to Jeonghan that he already knows what’s going on. Maybe it’s because it’s so late into the evening and he looks about ready to go to sleep.
“Junnie and Soonyoung,” Jihoon answers him all the while still staring at the scattered remnants of his current project, not really sure why he isn’t just calling it a lost cause for the night.
The second knock comes only a moment later. Jun is shuffling in with his black hoodie and PJ bottoms. He looks a little sleepy but not sleepy enough that Jihoon feels guilty about summoning him at this hour. He sits down next to Joshua on Jihoon’s bed then yawns, “Is this about what I think it is? Or who, I should say.”
“Yep,” Jihoon and Joshua answer in unison.
“Should be one more coming,” Jihoon says, turning his chair around to face his members to see that both of them are on their phones. “Hopefully he’s actually awake.”
“I’m awake…” Soonyoung’s mumbles and shuffles into the room without a knock. He definitely looks like he had just been sleeping or drifting off to sleep when Jihoon sent him the message. He lets out a little whine as he takes the rounded stool besides the foot of the bed. “Are we gonna do something about Seungcheol and Jeonghan?”
“Does anyone actually know what they’re fighting about?” Jihoon asks, looking from Jun to Joshua, mostly, because he’s talked about it with Soonyoung and neither of them can figure it out from their side. “We’ve tried to get it out of Seungcheol but he just gets sulky and avoids our questions.”
“Jeonghan’s doing the same thing,” Joshua says, shaking his head.
“Minus the sulking,” Jun adds. “He just gets really quiet and annoyed then tries to change the topic.”
“What can we do to get them to stop being mad at each other?” Soonyoung murmurs in thought. “They’re hiding it fine from the staff but no one in our group is being fooled. Even Chan knows that something is wrong. I hate seeing him so worried.”
“I don’t think we can get them to make up in any way,” Joshua says. “They’re going to have to figure it out for themselves.”
“But,” Jihoon says. “We can give them a little push in the right direction.”
“What do you have in mind?” Jun asks, leaning forward, intrigued.
“Let’s corner them… lock them into a room together, and make them wear those get-along shirts until they figure it out.”
Jun and Joshua stare at Jihoon like he’s suddenly grown a third eye. Until Joshua says, “I was with you until the shirt part…”
“No, no,” Soonyoung says slowly at first. He purses his lip and crosses his arm in thought.
Then, Jihoon sees him almost vibrating with the energy he gets when he’s excited about coming up with a cool new move for their choreography. Jihoon’s glad at least one of their creative brains is working tonight.
“Alright,” Soonyoung says clapping his hands together. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to need everyone and it’s gonna take some work so listen up.”
He waves the three of them to come closer to him as he explains the details.
Jihoon’s becomes more and more impressed with each passing layer of the plan. It’s definitely flashy, elaborate, and probably even a little unnecessary, compared to what he envisioned but for their eldest members’ sake, they can’t spare any effort. Jihoon holds back a snort because part of him thinks that the members might also find this mini project to be fun.
At the end of his explanation, Soonyoung is breathing heavily from his excitement, the sleep in his eyes casted aside for a bright gleam of hope.
Friday rolls around and Chan isn’t sure how much more he can take.
The dorm has been feeling tension for a week, all three floors. Amongst the usual morning rush, Chan makes note of each member when they file into his floor’s living room as the 7th floor inhabitants themselves finish getting ready.
Chan surveys the living from where he sits on one of the kitchen stools. Junhui is already done, lounging on the couch and typing something on his phone. Soonyoung and Seungkwan came over earlier and seated themselves on either side of Junhui. Now they’re talking about something behind Junhui’s shoulders. Chan’s not sure why they didn’t just take the loveseat instead to talk directly to each other.
He sees Vernon and Seokmin rush in and out of the living room, still getting ready. Then Wonwoo and Mingyu come through the front door with Joshua and Minghao right behind them. As Wonwoo and Mingyu take the loveseat, Joshua and Minghao shuffle over towards the other stools besides Chan.
“Morning, Chan-ah,” Joshua says, gentle smile on his gentle face. “You ready for the shoot today?”
“I think so,” Chan replies. “I’m more interested in why everyone is gathering on our floor. This is about Seungcheol-hyung and Jeonghan-hyung isn’t it?”
“Yep,” Joshua and Minghao answer in unison.
There’s the sound of two doors shutting almost simultaneously from down the hall and Seokmin and Vernon join the rest of them. Seokmin takes the last kitchen stool next to Minghao while Vernon squishes himself onto the couch arm next to Seungkwan just as Jihoon opens the door. Chan sees their producer mouth numbers as he does a quick headcount.
“Looks like everyone’s here,” Jihoon says, shuts the door behind him, and leans against it, foregoing finding a seat, “Alright let’s make this quick, since we have to go soon.”
“Thanks for coming everyone,” Soonyoung says and gets up from his seat. “I’m sure you’re all aware of why we’re gathered.”
“Our hyungs?” Seokmin asks but rather rhetorically.
“Yep,” the entire group says.
“Here’s the plan,” Soonyoung continues and walks to stand next to Jihoon so that he’s in front of the whole group. “We need to get them talking somehow. And what better way for a couple to have an intimate conversation than a romantic dinner.”
Some of the members burst out into a variety of chuckles and murmurs of excitement.
“That could work…” Seungkwan says. “In public, they’ll need to speak civilly without making a scene. Which restaurant though?”
“Ours,” Jihoon says with a smirk.
“Eh?” Vernon cocks his head to the side with a questioning look. “What do you mean, hyung? What have you guys been scheming?”
“We’re going to host it ourselves,” Soonyoung supplies with a devious grin. “On the rooftop of our building this weekend. We’ve already checked with the building management and they agreed to let us use the property as long as we put it back to the way it was. It’s going to take all of us to pull this off.”
Excited mumbles stirs amongst the group. Chan can’t help but lean forward in his chair, eagerly waiting for the next part.
“We’re already come up with roles for everyone so that it’ll go as smoothly as possible,” Jihoon says. “Seokmin, you’re going to be our host. We’re going to need you to greet them as they arrive one at a time and lead them to their table.”
“Ohh!” Seokmin sounds, making a perfect O with his lips and smiles eagerly. “I have the perfect outfit for it too!”
“Just don’t overdo it,” Jihoon says with a sigh but continues. “Wonwoo, you’re going to be the waiter, is that cool?”
“Yep,” Wonwoo says with a thumbs up.
“Mingyu, we’re going to need your cooking skills. You’ll be our chef.”
“Oh perfect,” Mingyu says excitedly. “I actually have a recipe that I wanted to try. It’ll make a good dinner item.”
“And you don’t have to do the cooking alone,” Joshua chimes in. “I’ll be your sous-chef. We thought it’d be more meaningful if we gave them home cooked meals instead of ordering takeout.”
“Yeah I agree!” Mingyu gives him a bright smile and a thumbs up that Joshua returns from across the room. “This is going to be fun.”
“Next up on the to-do list,” Jihoon continues. “Music. I’m gonna bring my equipment and have a playlist put together for the lovebirds.”
“And I’ll be on piano,” Jun adds when Jihoon looks in his direction. “Seungkwan, we need as our main singer for the night. Let’s work together with Jihoon and come up with a setlist.”
“Wow you guys really thought all this out,” Seungkwan says wide-eyed. “But okay! Are we meeting later tonight? Because this weekend is tomorrow.”
“That’s the plan,” Jihoon nods. “You too Seokmin.”
“I thought I was the host?” Seokmin asks, cocking his head to the side curiously.
“You are. But we have a couple of duet songs in mind. Perfect for you and Seungkwan.”
“Ah, got it.” Seokmin nods and smiles in Seungkwan’s direction and the two give each other bright, knowing grins.
“Now for decorations and setup,” Soonyoung says. “It’s going to take a lot of us. So, Chan, Minghao, Vernon, you guys are with me in this department.”
Chan nods, his heart jumping with excitement hearing his name and responsibility in this elaborate plan. He’s so ready for them to pull this off. Even though they definitely have some trouble in paradise, he can’t help but think that this is somehow going to be a lot of fun. He smiles in the direction of his hyungs with admiration. They did a good job setting up all the roles, they’re all perfect for each of them. Only, Chan realizes a small detail that they haven’t covered yet.
“So,” Chan says, seeing all ten pair of eyes turn to him. “How are we going to get them to actually be there? It’s not like we can just tell them we have dinner prepared for them.”
“You’re right, Chan-ah,” Soonyoung says and points a finger gun in his direction with a wink. “First thing is pretty obvious. Those two can’t know what we’re up to. So we need to keep quiet. But we’re also going to need two spies to extend them the invitation for dinner.”
They all fall into silence for a short moment, looking around at one another to see who would be the best candidates for the spy roles. Somehow, it feels like they’re filming for Going Seventeen.
“How about,” Jihoon speaks up. “I’ll take Seungcheol and Shua-hyung you take Jeonghan?”
“Let’s do it,” Joshua nods.
With that, the entire group lets out a cheer and start to pick up their things and head down to their awaiting vans.
Chan smiles. They’re really going to do this. He’s excited. Excited to pull this whole thing off with his hyungs. Excited to get their two oldest hyungs and just kiss and make up already.
With a heavy inward sigh, Joshua holds his breath and knocks on Jeonghan’s door with an iced americano and each hand.
“Yeah?” Jeonghan’s voice came from the other side.
“It’s me. I bought us some coffee.”
He hears some soft footsteps and the door swings open to reveal a bare-faced Jeonghan practically drowning in a tan, wool pajama set the looks far too large for him. Joshua laughs as he steps into the other vocalist’s room.
“Are you wearing Seokmin’s pajamas?” Joshua asks and hands him one of the cups.
“Oh yeah,” Jeonghan says with a smile and a chuckle. “I told him I’d steal it for a bit. I like the material but I’m too lazy to buy my own.”
“It looks really comfy.” Joshua takes a sip of his cup and sits down on the edge of Jeonghan’s neatly kept bed. He gazes around the room and ends up looking curiously at the computer desk. “What’re you up to?”
“I was looking at some books,” Jeonghan says about taking a few sips of his drink before sitting back in his desk chair. “I finished the ones that Wonwoo recommended.”
“Wah,” Joshua marvels. “I didn’t realize you were such a scholar.”
That earns him a playful kick to the calf as Jeonghan says, “Shut up. Are you just going to take it easy tomorrow since we have it off?”
“Hm, yeah. Actually, I was thinking we could get dinner?”
“Sure, where?”
“There’s this new rooftop restaurant that I wanna try.”
“It might be a little chilly at night,” Jeonghan says thoughtfully, resting his chin in his palm as he sips his coffee.
Joshua swallows a nervous lump in her throat but tries to calm himself with the fact that he didn’t exactly say ‘no’.
“I’m sure they’ll have outdoor heaters. Plus, you can always steal Seokmin’s jackets too while you’re on a burglarily streak.”
Jeonghan laughs and says, “I like how you think. Okay. Are you going to make the reservation for us?”
Joshua resists the urge to roll his eyes at Jeonghan’s uniquely evil ability to somehow always get his members to do the things he wants them to. Usually, he would put up more of a fight but for the sake of their schemes, Joshua just agrees with a soft smile and a nod before he starts picking on Jeonghan for the types of cheesy romance books he’s been browsing.
Secretly, Joshua wonders why Jeonghan’s eyes look a little sad even when he’s laughing and teasing him back. He wonders if during their stretch of silence, Jeonghan really misses Seungcheol.
“Hyung, are you free Saturday night?” Jihoon asks then immediately curses when his character on Wonwoo’s computer screen takes a hit, making his HP drop by nearly a quarter.
“Yeah, why?” Seungcheol answers, his attention being glued to his own computer. He has the same posture as Jihoon, one hand on the keyboard, the other on the mouse, and his eyes locked on the monitor.
“Want to grab dinner?” Jihoon cuts to the chase. “I want to review some new song concepts and wanna get your thoughts. Figured we can also go out and grab a bite to eat. Change of scenery.”
“Sure,” Seungcheol replies easily. “Ah—shit!”
“Sniper on the left, hyung.”
“Got ‘em. Uh, you got someplace in mind?”
“Yeah. There’s this new place that Mingyu recommended. It’s outdoors so we have to dress warm but he says the food is really good.”
“Okay. Where is it? I can make the reservation if we need to—Dammit I almost had him.”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Jihoon says, hoping that he didn’t answer too quickly. “I got it covered.”
He hears Seungcheol hum some sort of acknowledgment before he’s cursing at the computer screen again. Jihoon keeps the small smile he has hidden to himself.
Almost there.
Just one more day and they get to put their plan into action. Jihoon has always been somewhat of a pessimist but he’s willing to believe in the better in this case.