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He woke up to someone shaking his shoulders and screaming his name.
"Ah—ah, hyung why are you being so loud?" he whined, knowing whom the voice belonged to in an instant.
"Hwang Hyunjin! Are you all right?!" Lee Minho was still screaming, though not as loudly, while propping Hyunjin up.
"Yes, hyung, why did you wake me up?" Hyunjin whined.
"Why d—" the elder blinked. "What were you doing on the floor?!"
Hyunjin paused.
"Oh," he looked around at said floor, trying to remember vaguely why. "I fell asleep?"
Minho pursed his lips. "You looked like you collapsed," he said dangerously, and Hyunjin suddenly felt a hundred percent awake.
"No, hyung," he rushed. "I always fall asleep on the floor, remember? I was painting and it just looked so comfortable—"
"Babo," Minho cut him off, suddenly curt.
"B—babo?" Hyunjin's heart fell. Minho had called him a lot of things and he never minded, but he never called him dumb. The others did, and sometimes Hyunjin did get a little bothered, but he realized he never truly minded because his Minho hyung never called him babo. It hurt when Minho hyung said it somehow. He felt... well, stupid. His throat suddenly felt tight and his eyes started to sting so he looked away from his hyung.
It was silent for a bit.
"I'll go now, I just came to check on you," he heard Minho say, softer now, but he still wasn't looking so he couldn't see the expression on his hyung's face. He was scared he would only burst completely into tears and embarrass himself, and then what would Minho call him when that happens?
He vaguely heard his door close and after a few seconds, he tiptoed towards his doorway, barely hearing the pat-pat-pat of his socks on the soft carpet.
He made sure his door was locked that night.
"If you come to our concert you'll want to eat snow crab," Minho said, smirking at the Talker camera.
Minho was not one to presume. Though when Hwang Hyunjin was still avoiding his eyes four days after their little encounter and the younger had yet to call him to get McDonald's at 2am, Minho started to sense something was wrong.
He of course tried to convince himself he had more important things to worry about, like their world tour starting in a few hours, but he couldn't help but glance at Hyunjin's lanky figure curled up at the sofa, with blindingly stark red hair and headphones on. He had said the snow crab comment a bit loudly, maybe hoping to get a reaction from Hyunjin: a remark about how he had been craving snow crab too, or telling him STAY can't carry that to the venue... anything really.
"Right, Yongbok-ah?" he said absentmindedly.
"Mhmm? What was that you wanted to eat, hyung?" Felix absentmindedly asked him, scrolling through TikTok.
"Nothing," he sighed, resigned. "You."
"What?"
"What?"
"Lee Know Hyung could be Sonic," Felix said laughing, catching Minho's attention.
Their manager was juxtaposing Hyunjin's bright red hair with a picture of Knuckles and Sonic.
He didn't say anything, glancing at Hyunjin just in time to see the latter expel air from his throat exactly three times in a feeble attempt to laugh.
Minho hummed, and Felix's big smile turned into a confused expression. Minho smiled at him so he wouldn't feel like his hyung didn't appreciate his joke.
If this were any other time, he would have made a big fuss about it, because he and Hyunjin did look like the two cartoon hedgehogs, and if it were any other time they both would have gotten a kick out of it.
"Hyung," Felix whispered, sidling up to him.
"Hmm?" he stared pointedly at his phone, already knowing what Felix was going to ask.
"Are you and Hyunjin okay?" his dongsaeng asked in an even lower volume, since one of the noonas was still filming them for Talker.
"Of course we are, Yongbokah," he whispered back, scrolling through his photos in an attempt to free up space in his 64gb phone.
"Like, are you two on speaking terms?" Felix's tone was laced with worry now.
"Well..." he hesitated.
"Hyung what did you do?" Felix frowned.
"What makes you think I did anything?" Minho hissed, almost offended.
"You never get mad at Hyunjin," Felix said matter-of-factly.
"I—" Minho paused, stunned. "I do too, get mad at Hyunjin."
"No you don't, you just stuff tissues in his mouth and then you both laugh it off."
Minho faced his dongsaeng fully, trying to think of a fitting retort, but god damn it no matter how much he looked back, it was true: Hyunjin had never done anything to make Minho truly mad at him. Hyunjin always seemed to know what Minho's limit was, never crossing the line. Minho, on the other hand...
"Hyung, please do something about it, he's supposed to be over the moon right now, we're seeing STAY in a few hours!" Felix pressed him, and if it was anyone other than Felix, he would have gotten annoyed at being told what to do.
"I'll do my best," he mumbled, glancing at Hyunjin again, who was now getting his hair straightened at the vanity table.
"Hyunjin-ah."
"Ga—hd, oh hyung it's you," the younger clutched his chest dramatically, lifting a little bit of the dread off of Minho's own.
It was the third and last day of the concert, and there was frustratingly no progress with him and Hyunjin, and Felix was breathing down his neck. The Talker cam was on the other side of the room so he plopped down next to Hyunjin who was once again on the makeup chair, gauging what to say next.
"I'm sorry," he was startled by Hyunjin's small voice.
"What?" he exclaimed.
Hyunjin was looking at his knees, at the blowdryer on the table, at his own hands, anywhere but Minho.
"The other night, I was shocked at how you snapped at me and well, you've never done that before," Hyunjin continued, and Minho felt a guilty pang in his chest as Felix's words rang in his ears. You never get mad at Hyunjin. Maybe that was the first time Hyunjin heard him speak like that.
"I know you've been trying to reach out to me. But I... I completely shut you out after that night and you don't deserve that. I realized you were probably just worried about me," Hyunjin reflected.
Minho stared, not knowing what to say first. "I was not worried," "No I should be the one apologizing," "Don't look so guilty, you have no right to look that ado—"
"Hyung? You look a little constipated," Hyunjin observed, eyebrows scrunched in worry. "Are you okay?"
"Hyunjin," he replied, gritting his teeth at the constipated remark (he'll forgive him for that... for now). "I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I wasn't..." he paused. "Mad," he said pathetically.
"Oh," Hyunjin looked at his fingers again, looking a little disappointed. "Well I knew you weren't mad," the younger smiled weakly. "Thanks hyung, I think it's your turn now."
"My—"
"Minho, on the high chair, please," one of the make-up noonas called from behind him, and before he could say anything, Hyunjin had moved away to the other side of the room.
"So how was it?"
"God, Yongbok, you scared me," he clutched his chest just like Hyunjin had done earlier, almost glaring at Felix for the sudden interruption.
"I don't think you did very well at apologizing," Felix frowned, ignoring him.
"Well I—I don't know what else to do, okay? I told him I wasn't mad," Minho whispered, afraid the noona would hear.
"Well duh," Felix rolled his eyes. "That probably wasn't what you should have apologized for, then."
"What should I apologize for, then?!"
"I don't know, I wasn't there that da—HI, HYUNJIN!"
Hyunjin, clutching a half-eaten apple in one hand and a shirt in the other, stared at the two of them.
"Oookay," he said hesitantly. "Noona, I'm a little worried about these arm-holes, aren't they too revealing?" he said, holding up the sleeveless black shirt he was supposed to wear later.
"Hyunjin, you're probably the only idol that doesn't want to show some skin when they came of age," the noona laughed. "You're so weird! Your fans are right, you are the baboracha leader," she giggled.
Hyunjin's easy smile disappeared as he glanced hurriedly at Minho and away again.
"You're right," the younger said, swallowing. "I'm probably overreacting, I'll just—" he didn't finish the sentence and walked away.
"Oh."
"Oh?" Felix asked, puzzled.
"Mmm. I know now."
"That's... great?"
"Noona, is there any way you could replace that shirt Hyunjin would be wearing?"
"Oh, everything's already accounted for and Vetements did sponsor it so he's going to have to..."
"Right, is there no other way?" Minho tried to dial up his polite charm as much as he could.
"Please, noona?" Felix chimed in, and that was probably what sealed it.
"Oh, I—I guess I could sew it a little but not tonight, I don't have time..."
"That's fine noona, whenever you have time is good!" Felix smiled brightly. "Right, Minho hy—aaaaand he's gone."
"Hey."
"God—I'm getting dressed, hyung, geez!"
"Hyunjin-ah, I'm sorry I called you babo," he said staring at his dongsaeng's red face.
Hyunjin was silent for a minute.
"No it's okay, I guess it's true," he said in a small voice.
"It is," Minho agreed. "But not in the way that you think," he added quickly seeing the sad upturn of Hyunjin's eyebrows.
"You... only eat carrots in cake form, you paint in the cold, you wear the same shirt until it disintegrates," Minho started.
"Hey!"
"You only seem to crave McDonald's when it's past 2am, you care about plushies' feelings..."
"Where are you going with this hyung..." Hyunjin sighed.
"You fall asleep on the floor," Minho finished. "You're not dumb. You're babo. But it's... it's good babo."
"There's a good babo?" Hyunjin sounded doubtful, but his eyes were shining.
"Yeah," Minho sighed in relief. "You're good babo. But obviously I won't call you that anymore. I shouldn't have done that in the first place. I hurt you and I don't want to do that again."
That was enough feelings for today.
"Hyung!" Before he could say anything Hyunjin had launched himself towards Minho, taking him in his (very bare) arms.
"Uh Hyunjin—"
"Hey guys—aAH!!!"
"Felix?!"
"Yongbok!??"
The curtain closed as quickly as it opened.
"Sorry, I didn't know you were uh... Carry on!"
"It's not what you think!" Minho called, but Felix was already gone and Hyunjin was giggling.
"You have to admit that was pretty funny," the younger wheezed.
Minho looked Hyunjin over, half naked, face contorted in laughter, and had to agree.
"Hyunjin I'm sorry," he said again, firmly this time. "And you shouldn't let people force you into doing things you're not comfortable with."
"I thought you were apologizing, why are you scolding me..." Hyunjin grumbled, but he was ready to relent. "I'm fine with it, honestly, I just... you know I don't like it when people only focus on my..."
"Noona will sew it for you in time for tomorrow," Minho glanced at the shirt. "Think you can handle tonight?"
"You asked her for me?" Hyunjin said brightly.
"Well, yeah but Felix—"
Hyunjin launched himself towards Minho again. This time Minho put his arms around the younger as well, trying to ignore the skin to skin contact.
"Okay I should—"
"Hyung no—" a voice yelled from outside.
"GOD—" someone else screamed.
"Nope, just Minho and Hyunjin," Minho smiled brightly, closing the curtain in Seo Changbin's face.
"Should we go outside and explain?" Hyunjin giggled, face still buried in Minho's shoulder.
"Nah," Minho decided, grinning ear to ear.