Work Text:
Everyone loved watching Changmin perform. Since debut, through their Road To Kingdom and Kingdom performances, the year-end award shows - every stage that Changmin was on was a joy to watch. Being able to see the passion that he had as he dominated the stage was truly something else. He’d trained so hard, for so long, and he was finally thriving in the place he belonged.
And Sunwoo was no exception to that.
Watching Changmin hyung’s fancams was an experience in itself. His partner’s expressions never faltered for a moment, even when the main cameras weren’t focused on him. From a sly smirk to even a slight raise of an eyebrow could send the hearts of any viewer into a frenzy. And there was so much variety in every stage they’d performed, Sunwoo easily found himself glued to his screen, trying to capture and imprint every single one of those expressions in his memory.
As a fellow idol, he could always give himself the excuse that he was simply learning from his hyung - and he was! Being able to fully immerse himself in any stage performance was still something Sunwoo was trying to grasp, but seeing Changmin hyung do it so naturally was always inspiring for him. Especially those cute and bright concepts like ‘Bloom Bloom’ or ‘DDD’. Sunwoo didn’t detest those concepts like Juyeon hyung or Sangyeon hyung, but there were only so many different versions of ‘happy’ he could come up with after performing these stages day after day.
But when Changmin hyung did bright concepts, it was different . Watching the elder performing these concepts felt like a breath of fresh air. As a viewer, it was as though he could feel how happy Changmin hyung truly was on stage. And his smile was infectious. Sunwoo could feel his own chest lightening as he stared at the small figure on his phone screen executing their choreography with knife-like precision and enjoying every moment of it. Off-stage, Changmin hyung was in every way his safe space, to seek comfort and take a break from the stresses of their job. But on-stage, Changmin hyung, or Q, was Sunwoo’s happy place.
So if anyone caught him ‘monitoring’ Changmin’s Bloom Bloom and DDD fancams almost religiously, Sunwoo would just joke and say he was preparing his heart and soul for their next bright concept. And when their company finally announced that they were indeed doing a bright concept for their first comeback after Kingdom, amidst groans throughout the room, Sunwoo was secretly thrilled. He had yet another series of fancams to add to his collection.
＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊
The first time Sunwoo watched Changmin hyung perform ‘Thrill Ride’ was on The Show. Just like their Bloom Bloom and DDD performances two years ago, it took his breath away - the stylists definitely knew what they were doing each time, dyeing Changmin hyung’s hair in bright shades to accentuate his charm on stage. They had practiced the very same choreography for months, yet when they were finally executing it on a proper stage… whoa . Monitoring the overall stage didn’t have the same impact as watching a fully focused fancam, that was for sure. But in the moments where the camera focused on Changmin hyung in his element, Sunwoo wanted desperately to take a picture of these moments and tattoo it over his heart. The bright smile, the constant energy he has on stage - Sunwoo felt as though his world had narrowed down to that few milliseconds of a flash of pearly white teeth and uplifted cheeks on his favourite hyung’s face.
“Hey, Kim Sunwoo,” A familiar voice jolted Sunwoo out of his reverie. Changmin hyung (the very same one that was beaming like a thousand mega-watt mini sun on-screen and sending his stomach into odd little flips-) arched an eyebrow at him, his gaze questioning. “Is our performance so perfect that you have nothing to say but stare dumbly at the screen, grinning like a fool?”
“I’m only a fool for you, hyung.” Sunwoo replied as smoothly as he could with the same dazed grin on his face, watching Changmin hyung blush furiously and walk away with a petulant huff. It was true, and he would keep saying that until Changmin hyung truly believed it. His response was met with a series of mock-hurling noises from his teammates. “I can’t wait for the focus cams to come out! I’m going to stream Q hyung’s every day!”
“Sunwoo is so whipped for Q hyung,” Eric gloated, ignoring the half-hearted punch to his chest from his same-aged friend.
“Can you blame him?” Jacob hyung chortled, draping an arm over the two youngest members. Sunwoo shrugged, his mind still blazing with the imprint of his lover’s happy smile on stage. “We are all whipped for Changmin too.”
And truly, Sunwoo believed all his hyungs really loved Changmin hyung. Not in the same way he did, of course, or he would be prepared to swing a few fists in their directions. But they all dearly wanted the best for their Main Dancer. Compared to how serious his hyung was while leading their dance practices or worrying over their choreography, Changmin hyung looked free during these stages - unburdened by the concerns that came with being in charge of their team’s overall performances. It was a big responsibility to shoulder, especially since Changmin hyung never liked confiding in anyone else for fear of burdening them as well. In these moments on stage was where you could finally, truly see Changmin hyung shining so brightly, drawing all their Deobis, his hyungs and Sunwoo like sunflowers to their sun. And Sunwoo desperately wished his hyung could feel as carefree as he did off-stage too. But alas, they were all just human beings and Sunwoo could only make up for this by fooling around, trying to get a hard-earned smile or laugh from his partner.
Sunwoo tore his eyes away from the screen, where he could still see a beaming Changmin hyung executing each strong movement for their Thrill Ride choreography. As much as he loved watching fancams and performances, nothing could compare to the real thing. Off-stage, away from the prying eyes and ears of the cameras recording their evey move, his Changmin was all of that bright persona he loved on stage and even more.
“Hyunggg! Where are you going! Don’t leave me behind!” Sunwoo whined, dashing after the disappearing figure of his partner. “Are you going back to the waiting room already? I’ll go with you!”