Work Text:
sunwoo locks himself in his and kevin’s room. he knew the risk of asking that but he still went with it. he’s tired of hiding. the damage has been done, now all he can do is cry himself to sleep. hoping kevin doesn’t go home yet so he can cry all day. it hurts. it hurts so much.
after what felt like an hour of crying his sorrows away, he heard a knock.
“who… who is it?” his voice cracks.
“it’s me, sunwoo. i have water and chocolates.” sangyeon says.
sunwoo forces himself to get up and open the door. he probably looks the worst right now.
“oh dear.”
“i look terrible? i know.”
“you said that, not me. come on, drink water.”
“of course i look terrible, hyung. i just broke up with my boyfriend of two years.”
“do you want to talk about it?” sangyeon asks as they sit down on sunwoo’s bed. he sees that sunwoo’s pillow is damp from tears.
“i know i’m selfish for wanting such a big thing for him. but hearing him saying that i wasn't enough… it hurts.”
“yeah… we heard. do you want a hug?”
sunwoo hugged sangyeon tightly, his tears falling again. he’s so grateful to have someone hug him in this situation.
“well… what do you want to do about it? i’ve seen how you look at him. you’re the happiest when you’re with changmin.”
“it hurts. we obviously want different things. our priorities are different… i just… i don’t know. we love each other but that isn’t enough for a relationship to work. especially a relationship like ours.”
“do you want my advice?”
“yes please.”
“well obviously you two are hurt right now. changmin said something to hurt you, you returned his promise ring… everything is a mess. you both are hurt from each other. but it’s up to you guys if you want to get back together. i wholeheartedly believe that you guys should. you guys love each other a lot.”
“i… i regret breaking up with him. my emotions got the best of me that moment. i wish i could take it back.”
“i figured. but i think it’s best if you guys gave each other time to think about it.”
“thanks hyung. that made me feel better.”
“if you really want help in figuring out what to do with your relationship, you can tell me how it started. you guys never told me.”
“well… it started like this.”
(entering a flashback)
sunwoo doesn’t know what to do.
should he google his situation? watch youtube videos? cry? sleep? he doesn’t know.
“hey, you okay?” kevin asks after heaving sunwoo sigh.
“hyung, what do you do when you’re in love?”
“uhh. i don’t know bro. you probably think of them all the time? when you hear love songs, you think of that person. you want to see that person smiling because of you? ask younghoon hyung. he’s a hopeless romantic like you.”
“thanks. i need motivation to write my next song.” sunwoo lies, he can’t tell anybody about his feelings yet.
“you’re welcome. you should take a break, you’re most likely to get motivation if you’re well rested.” kevin advises.
sunwoo fucked up.
a great beginning to a wonderful story indeed. to make things short, sunwoo fucked up, and that’s it.
how did he fucked up? none other than by falling in love with his group member and best friend, ji changmin.
sunwoo actually doesn’t know how and when did it start, it could be the time when changmin took care of him when he was sick. it could be when he gave changmin a hug after working hard all day.
it could be when they cuddled because kevin was with jacob, so they had a room for themselves. it could be any time really. he sucks at remembering things.
but he does remember the first time his heart skipped a beat because of changmin. it was during their practice of their cover of what is love. as cliche as that sounds, changmin looked the happiest while he danced. his eyes sparkled, probably because of the lights of their practice room. but changmin was glowing every time he dances. he looks the best when he’s in his element.
it wasn’t long until sunwoo wanted to act on his feelings. the only problem was, he doesn’t have a clue if changmin reciprocates his feelings or not. it’s all a gamble and he’s scared. but then, he remembered kevin’s advice. he should definitely talk to younghoon. he’s the only one who will probably not laugh at him and keep it a secret.
he knocks on younghoon and eric’s room, nervous as hell.
“hey sunwoo! what brings you here?”
“where’s eric?”
“with haknyeon. why? what’s wrong?”
“hyung… i need your help.”
“i’m not helping you steal chanhee’s food.”
“what? that was one time! this time is different… i’m in a situation…”
“uhuh. continue.”
“i fell in love.”
“oh my! who’s the lucky guy?”
“changmin.”
“changmin? as in… our changmin? ji changmin? q?”
“...yes.”
“i knew it!”
“what?”
“was berry inspired by him?”
“how did you know? am i that obvious?”
“no. i just had a feeling your song was inspired by one of our members. i didn’t know who.”
“phew. i thought i was being too obvious.”
“but anyways, how can i help you?”
“i don’t know? i want to act on my feelings but i don’t know if he likes me too.. i… i don’t know hyung.”
“you should subtly ask him, i don’t know either. but what i do know is that you’re changmin’s favorite.”
“really?”
“he’s always clingy with you.”
“he’s clingy with everyone if given the chance.”
“but does he initiate holding hands with everyone? no. only with you.”
“can’t i just go up to him and confess?”
“you can.”
“i’m going to do it right now! you only live once!” a sudden rush of confidence came to sunwoo.
“you have my full support.”
“please don’t tell anyone, hyung. please.”
“i won’t. pinky promise.”
“pinky promise.”
(end of flashback)
“and i went up to him and confessed. he cut me off by kissing the tip of my nose. after that we talked about the rules and conditions of our relationship, like… only letting three people know.”
“such a cute story you got there. i hope you guys fix this.”
“i hope, hyung. thank you so much for the hugs and chocolates.”
“that’s from chanhee. call me if you need anything, okay? i’m going to make excuses for you if you need it.”
“chanhee. let’s drink.”
“no.”
“no?”
“we heard the argument. i’m so disappointed in you. how can you say that sunwoo’s not enough?”
“we all know i don’t mean it like that.”
“yeah but it still hurts. we are not drinking today, solve your problems, sober.”
“how? he broke up with me. he gave me my promise ring back.”
“are you really letting him go like that?”
“i can’t give him what he wants.”
“do you love him?”
“i do.”
“then act like it.”
after that, chanhee leaves the room. leaving changmin in his thoughts, he begins to cry. he definitely said things that sunwoo doesn’t deserve. he will fix this, but in the meantime, he’s going to cry about it first.
a few minutes later, chanhee enters the room again with a glass of water.
“drink this so you won’t get a headache from crying. also, i have bad news.”
“what is it?”
“you can’t stay in your bed crying all day. we have a schedule tomorrow.”
“fuck. can’t i not go?”
“no. we are going to practice our new choreography for the concert. you’re the main dancer.”
“so is juyeon.”
“i know. but what will we tell manager hyung and our choreographers?”
“i hate it when you’re right. it’s going to be very awkward…”
“i know. get some rest, i’ll tell the group an excuse.”
“thanks chanhee.”
“always. i hope a good sleep will help you think better.”
the next day, it was awkward as hell in their van. sunwoo woke up late, meaning the only van available was the one with changmin. he tried to go to the passenger’s seat, but jacob was already there. he had no choice but to sit beside changmin. i guess this is one of the consequences of dating your co-member.
“you okay, sunwoo? you slept a lot.” kevin asks as they hit the road.
“yeah… just wanted to be well-rested. my birthday is in four days.” that’s the best lie he can come up with.
“did you have your breakfast?” changmin asks, catching sunwoo off guard.
“yeah.” he answers, hoping no one picked up on how passive aggressive he was.
“we’re here.” chanhee interrupts the awkward silence.
the group entered the practice room, their choreographer was already warming up the members who got here first.
“just a short choreography for today, i don’t want to stress our birthday boy here!” their choreographer lightens the mood.
and so the group practiced. changmin and sunwoo were professional enough to not let it affect their work. it was going great until…
“juyeon hyung… i don’t get this part that much. can you teach me?” sunwoo asks.
the other members were confused, especially eric. he knows that sunwoo would always ask changmin if he has trouble with the choreography. it has always been like that, ever since pre-debut, so it was weird as hell for him to ask juyeon.
“me? you’re asking me?” juyeon asks. even him, he finds it weird that sunwoo asked him not changmin.
“yep.” sunwoo stands his ground.
“oh? okay… sure.” juyeon says, then proceeds to teach sunwoo while the group was taking a water break.
chanhee looked at changmin, and if looks could kill, they would lose a member. it’s obvious that changmin was… mad? jealous maybe.
“alright, let’s continue practicing. one more hour left.” changmin says.
oh dear, the members noticed that he was in a bad mood. which isn’t a good thing. changmin can be really scary when it comes to practicing.
the whole time, sunwoo kept on asking juyeon if he’s doing it right. changmin almost wanted to explode, he doesn’t know if sunwoo is doing this on purpose, but he’s jealous. that’s his thing, that’s their thing. it’s been like that for years. changmin would always be the one to polish sunwoo’s dancing.
finally, sangyeon’s alarm rang. their practice was done for the day. changmin saw an opportunity and he’s not going to let it pass.
“sangyeon hyung, can you make an excuse for us? i need to talk to sunwoo.”
“sure sure. do we need to wait for you guys?”
“no… we’ll just take another company car.”
“okay okay. goodluck, i’m rooting for the two of you.”
changmin saw sunwoo packing up his things, he grabbed his arm and said, “let’s talk.”
sunwoo was nervous. he knew how scary changmin can be when he’s angry. after all the members left, changmin locked the door.
“sunwoo.” changmin starts.
“i’m sorry.”
“i’m sorry for hurting you. i’m sorry i said that you aren’t enough for me. you are, sunwoo. you’re more than enough.”
“i understand if you don’t want to forgive me. i hurt you and i-” changmin was cut off with a kiss from sunwoo.
“you know i can’t stay mad at you.”
“but still-” sunwoo gives another kiss to stop from changmin from saying nonsense.
“forgiven. i know we both said hurtful things.”
changmin hugs sunwoo, that was the worse hours of his life.
“are… are we back together?” he asks.
“of course. i regret breaking up with you. let’s never do that again.”
changmin hugs him tighter, “i agree. i love you.”
“i love you.”
“about your birthday wish…”
“shush… i know that was selfish of me. forget that i asked that.”
“no… i’ll give it to you.”
“no. you don’t need to.”
“i want to. let’s make our relationship public to the members.”
“are you sure? i don’t want to force you.”
“you’re not. it’s about time i brag to them that you’re my boyfriend.” it was changmin’s turn to give sunwoo a kiss.
the couple went home excited to tell the members. it was about time they did, at least by doing this, they could freely act as a couple inside their dorm.
they arrive at the dorm, immediately calling a group meeting. the members already sensed something was going on the moment sunwoo asked juyeon about the choreography.
“so… we’re here to announce that…” changmin started.
“we’re dating… for two years now.” sunwoo continued.
silence. the group was silent, the couple was nervous.
“i know.” jacob breaks the silence.
“you do?” sunwoo is shocked, he’s certain nobody told him.
“i… i caught you guys once. we were very tired after filming, but to my surprise, you guys weren’t tired enough as i caught you guys sucking faces in changmin and chanhee’s room. the door was slightly opened. i didn’t mean to peak… i wanted to close the door but i was surprised…”
“you knew and didn’t tell me? i thought we should tell each other everything!” kevin whines.
“and you, sunwoo! what happened to roommate privileges?” kevin whines further.
“i’m sorry, hyung. only three people could know about it.”
“who are those people?” haknyeon asks.
“sangyeon, younghoon, and chanhee hyung.”
hyunjae playfully hits younghoon’s chest, “you knew and didn’t even tell me! i’m so hurt, hoon!” he sulks.
“why would we tell you, hyung? if we told you, the whole group would know the next hour.” changmin chirps in.
“woah… am i the only one who didn’t suspect anything? i thought they were just best friends.” eric says.
“i suspected something but i brushed it off as them being best friends too.” juyeon adds.
“well… what can i say? you guys were too busy to notice them sucking faces.” chanhee interrupts.
“excuse you, we were very careful!” changmin defends.
“yeah but not in our room! jacob hyung caught you guys.” chanhee teases.
“but i was just lucky that day. all you guys had were suspicions. they hid well.” thankfully jacob defends them.
“you guys fought, am i right or am i right?” haknyeon grins.
“yeah… we did. but we’re okay now.” changmin answers.
“i still can’t believe you hid it from me! we're supposed to tell each other gossip!” hyunjae points at younghoon.
sunwoo could only chuckle at them. it felt so good to be out with their own group members. sunnwoo plants a soft kiss on changmin’s forehead while the group was preoccupied.
someday, they won’t need to love in private.