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The members are running late, again. They had to leave their dorm an hour ago, but no one had heard their alarms go off because they had arrived home in the early hours of the morning, just beginning to see the first ray of the sunrise. Even the leader, who is always punctual slept through his alarm, attesting to how tired and overworked the boys are.
Usually their manager comes half an hour early to make sure everything is going smoothly, but traffic was bad because of an accident.
Now all the members are running around, trying to get ready and eat something before they leave for a long day of filming.
Sunghoon is sitting at the dining table, absently staring at the wall while munching on a toast. Jake and Niki, who are ready to go, are sitting by Sunghoon looking at some footage of a recent football game.
Heeseung just got out of bed and is walking around with his hair standing up, trying to figure out what to wear for the shooting. He’s ruffling through piles of clothes in the living room while muttering to himself.
Jungwon is examining the schedule on his phone and discussing something with the manager, while Sunoo is standing against the wall by them and scrolling through his phone.
Jungwon suddenly looks up from his phone and scans around frantically, searching for something, for someone.
“Where’s Jay hyung?” he calls out, clear alarm in his voice, hoping that the older is awake and just somewhere out of sight.
“Last time I saw him, he was asleep” shouts Jake in response from the kitchen.
Sunoo can see the panic beginning to set in Jungwon’s feline like eyes, which are widening in worry. They have to leave in ten minutes and can’t be more late than they already are.
Before the younger can even ask, Sunoo volunteers to go see where he is.
Jungwon sighs in relief. “Thank you Sunoo hyung. I appreciate it.”
He leaves his bag by the wall and drags his feet to Jay and Jake’s room, praying that the older is awake and just getting ready.
The older is notorious for sleeping heavily and everyone has a difficult time waking him up. Jay only awakens according to his circadian clock and if it’s outside of that time, he will remain sleeping.
When Sunoo enters the room, he huffs in frustration. Jay is still asleep, cocooned under his covers, lying flat on his back and only the tuft of his hair visible from the door.
Usually Jungwon is the one that wakes up Jay and the others because he is the designated alarm clock of the group. But he is preoccupied with the manager and Sunoo doesn’t want to stress him out more.
Sunoo hopes that this goes quickly and they can get on with the day. Fortunately, Jungwon figured out how to wake up Jay just a while ago.
Gently.
One morning, Jungwon had come into the kitchen, wide-eyed and explained in disbelief that you just have to wake hyung gently.
“That’s it. Just gently.”
Sunoo saw how surprised and frustrated the younger was. Jungwon usually spent a good ten minutes in the morning trying to wake up the older, even resorting to violence or pouring water sometimes. The fact that Jungwon only had to be gentle and his hyung would wake up immediately was astonishing. It could have saved him so much time in the morning.
Sunoo never really understood what Jungwon meant by gently, never having seen the younger wake Jay up. Let’s see how this goes thinks Sunoo as he makes his way to the older.
He reaches his hand and places it on his shoulder and shakes it gently back and forth.
“Jay hyung, wake up.” He says in a hushed tone. “Wake up.”
He waits a few seconds and stares, hoping that this is enough. But nothing changes.
His hyung is still breathing away in dreamland, not having moved an inch.
Sunoo does not have the patience like Jungwon and soon his gentle shaking begins rougher and voice increases in volume.
“Wake up hyung!”
Nothing. Not even a twitch in his facial muscles or a hitch in his breathing.
He doesn’t know what to do and doesn’t want to resort to violence, but he also has no other choice. As Sunoo is thinking of another way to wake up his hyung, Jungwon pops his head in and asks, “Is he awake?”
Finally thinks Sunoo, Jungwon is here.
He turns around and says with frustration, “He isn’t waking up. I tried your gentle technique, but he isn’t budging.”
Jungwon rolls his eyes. Of course his hyung isn’t waking up, especially on the day they don’t have time to waste. He walks into the room and goes to Jay, who is still sleeping, unknown to what is happening around him.
Sunoo backs away from the bed and decides to remain in the room, wanting to see this gentle technique that the younger has mentioned on numerous occasions but never gotten to seen. He wants to know where he went wrong.
Jungwon makes his way to the elder’s bed and sits at the edge, right by his arm that is tucked under the cover. He places his hand on Jay’s shoulder and shakes it gently.
“Wake up hyung.” Jungwon says in the softest tone that Sunoo has ever heard from his him.
No movement.
Sunoo crosses his arms in front of him in triumph, he did the same thing too.
But Jungwon’s next action surprises Sunoo, making his eyebrows go up and crease his forehead.
The younger moves the hand from Jay’s shoulder to his head instead, and runs his fingers through his hair, brushing it. He then moves his thumb down and caresses his forehead, back and forth in a soothing manner.
“Wake up hyung” Jungwon continues to say.
Still nothing.
Then what happens next leaves Sunoo dumbfounded, eyes and mouth wide open. He shakes his head, making sure that what he is seeing is true. He looks around as well, wishing that someone else is there to witness it, but he is alone.
He thinks he should look away, feeling that he is intruding on a private moment.
Jungwon moves his face even closer and whispers into Jay’s ear, “Wake up hyung.”
Did Jungwon kiss his forehead thinks Sunoo as the younger moves away from Jay’s face and looks down at him, expectantly.
Then there is a hitch in Jay’s breathing.
He’s awake.
That does the trick thinks Jungwon, noting that the older always awakens after those specific steps of action he takes.
Sunoo is astonished.
Jay’s eyes squeeze, hoping for those last moments of sleep to not escape him, nose scrunching cutely in response. He then opens one eye, peaking at who is over him, twinkling with anticipation.
Jungwon.
The younger gazes down at him with so much adoration, it’s sickening thinks Sunoo.
The older brings one of his hand outside of the warm cocoon of his covers and rubs the sleep away from his eyes.
“Come on hyung. We’re late. You have five minutes.” Jungwon explains, voice filled with fondness over his actions.
As he turns to get up, Jay grabs Jungwon’s wrist. Sunoo quirks an eyebrow at that, thinking that is a very quick movement for someone that just woke up.
The corner of his lips moves up, a small smile making its way to Jay’s pink mouth.
“Good morning Jung-one.” He says, voice raspy from sleep.
Sunoo barely stops the disgusted scoff from coming out, repulsed by the aegyo in his voice. But Jungwon doesn’t seem surprised by it.
He rolls his eye, endeared by the elder and says, “Good morning to you too hyung. Now come on.”
He pulls his wrist out from Jay’s warm grasp and walks away like nothing out of the ordinary happened. As he turns around, he sees Sunoo’s bizarre expression.
Jungwon’s eyebrows furrow with confusion.
“What’s wrong hyung?”
“That’s how you wake him up?” pointing at Jay.
“Yeah,” shrugging casually in reply, not sure what his hyung is trying to say.
“That’s what you mean by being gentle?” Sunoo questions again, trying to figure out what he had just watched.
Jungwon just rolls his eyes, frustrated. He does not have the time to deal with this right now.
“Yes hyung.” he says in an irked tone.
“Now that you are done with your questions, let’s go. We are running late.”, walking out the door, leaving Sunoo even more confused than before.
“Morning Sunoo-ya,” says Jay, who has gotten out of bed and grabbing his clothes to change into.
He walks past him, patting his shoulder.
“It’s a good morning, right?”
Sunoo just nods in response, rendered speechless with the prior events he had just seen.
It’s too early for Sunoo to decipher what just happened because that is not how band mates wake each other up. Not even close friends or siblings. More like …
His thoughts get interrupted by bumping into Jake in the hallway. Sunoo looks at him, questioning silently about Jay and Jungwon.
The older had overheard Sunoo volunteer to go wake up Jay, with Jungwon shortly following him, knowing that Sunoo may not be able to wake him up.
“You okay?” questions Jake, concern in his voice over Sunoo’s dazed expression.
Sunoo opens his mouth and just grumbled frustrations come out.
“What is up with Jungwon’s gentle technique?”
Understanding makes its way onto Jakes face. “You saw huh?”
Jake being Jay’s roommate had seen Jungwon wake up the older on numerous occasions and had gotten used to those two’s weird relationship.
He pats the younger’s shoulder.
“It is what it is,” drawls out Jake in his Australian accent, leaving Sunoo even more puzzled.
What is what it is?
Jay had been woken up from Sunoo’s rough handling and is about to groan when he hears Jungwon ask Sunoo if he is awake. He quickly stops the noise from escaping and stills again, knowing that the younger will come and do the job of waking him up.
He hears the soft footsteps making its way to him and feels the bed dip from the younger’s weight.
Then he hears it. The softest tone.
“Wake up hyung.”
Jay has to forcefully stop his mouth from twitching into a smile, not wanting to expose that he is already awake.
He feels Jungwon running his dainty fingers through his hair and then falling onto his forehead, thumb moving in a soothing manner, almost putting him back to sleep. The older nearly sighs out loud in relief, comforted by the younger’s gentle actions.
The early morning of languid gestures with the younger always makes Jay feel warm and fill with deep affection.
He continues to wait. Holding on for that one moment.
Finally thinks Jay.
Jungwon moves closer and whispers into his ear, his soft, warm breath sending shivers down his body. He then feels the gentle peck on his forehead, before the weight of Jungwon moves away.
Jay wakes up.