Chapter Text
A Comeback meant almost zero time to rest or do whatever they wanted.
They have to be running from here to there, whether in meetings, performances, interviews, practicing...
It was very tiring, and usually all thirteen ended up exhausted.
That is why they treasured the small spaces of free time that they had. Most took advantage of them to rest and make up for lost sleep, others to catch up with a series or game, and others who simply felt restless not to be working and did it overtime.
Chan fell into the latter category.
"Were you still here?" Hansol inquired, raising both eyebrows in amazement at the scene before him.
He had gone for his bag that he had left in the practice room hours ago after finishing rehearsal. He had to go to a meeting with the other members of his unit that took longer than expected, and until now he had time to return for his things.
That's where he found Chan, lying on the floor with his chest heaving up and down due to how heavy his breathing was.
He approached him, helping him to sit up, and handed him one of the bottles of water that were in the place.
"I thought you had gone home, already" he commented with a slight grimace, but now that he thought about it, the younger one was never good at sticking to his rest schedules. "Channie, that's enough for today."
"It's never enough," He tried to joke his way around, taking small sips of the water. "Ah...no, no, you're right. I hardly feel my legs.”
He pursed his lips, worried about the other.
“Have you been here since practice ended?” He asked with slight annoyance, gently massaging the younger's legs, who was hugging them.
Chan let out a light sigh, and slightly looked away.
“You could say so…”
"Channie…”
“I really do have a good reason why!” He hastened to assure him.
Hansol sighed as well, shaking his head but keeping a slight smile.
"There's no good enough reason for you to push yourself," he declared, brushing aside the strands of hair that were sticking to his forehead from sweat. "I know you always want to improve more, but Channie, learn to give yourself a break once in a while, okay?"
The younger one just pouted, which managed to soften him, so he gently took both cheeks and gave him a little kiss.
Ah yes, they had been dating for around four months.
Being in one of the biggest music groups in Korea, they weren't really allowed to date anyone. The "no dating" rule was certainly strict, and the company always sought to deny any rumors that came forward in order to maintain a "clean" reputation on that front.
Pure nonsense if you ask him, but he couldn't really complain, as he wasn't following through.
It could be said that it was a secret exclusive to the two of them. They are aware that if they tell the other members there will be no problem, they will accept their relationship and keep their mouths shut to the company.
However, the Hyungs usually have them under scrutiny for being the youngest of the group, which wasn't always a bad thing, sometimes it brought certain privileges, but in turn, it certainly became overwhelming when they worried about them for the tiniest thing.
They were all adults now, but there were times when they were still treated like children. And they know that if they tell them about their relationship, that secret freedom they bring to each other won't last long.
Hansol loves all of his eleven Hyungs very much, and he knows Chan does too, but they can become absolutely nosy when they put their minds to it, and none of them really want that extra attention on top of what they already have.
That's why they don't plan to say anything for now, and let them go on thinking they're just "best friends".
Which was very easy.
Chan smiled at him, leaning in to probably give him another kiss, but out of nowhere, he widened his eyes and threw himself on his back to the floor, to...start doing sit-ups?
Obviously that left Hansol completely bewildered.
"Sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-six..."
"Chan, what…" He began to ask, placing both hands on the younger's bent knees.
"What are you still doing here?”The voice behind him made him jump slightly, and he abruptly turned towards the door, where a leader with crossed arms was looking at him with a frown “And why are you exercising?”
"Ah, you know, it's never good to stop physical activity suddenly," Chan said with the air of a know-it-all to the older one, lying casually through his teeth with a big smile.
Seungcheol looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and ended up sighing.
"It's too late, go home."
Hansol got up with Chan following him, both of them looking for their things quickly so as not to put the leader in a bad mood.
"Aren't you coming yet, Hyung?" The younger asked the dark-haired man, who after thinking about it for a moment, ended up nodding.
“I'm going for the manager, wait for me in the parking lot, '' Seungcheol asked, getting lost in the hall to look for the aforementioned, leaving them alone again.
He scratched the back of his neck, shooting an embarrassed look at his boyfriend.
“How did you know he was coming?” He asked with a light laugh.
“I heard his footsteps” The other explained, shrugging his shoulders, while looking both ways, and when determining the coast was free he took him by the hand, starting their journey outside “You would have done it too, if only you would not spend with the headphones stuck on all day. Have you already gone to get checked?”
“Yes, everything is fine” He complained, puffing out his cheeks, while elbowing who began to laugh at him, consequently making him laugh too “But, what was that way of disguising? Why sit-ups?”
"As if you could think of anything better…" Chan teased, with the two of them walking through the double doors to the back exit of the building.
“Hey!” He was about to complain more, but a pull on his sweatshirt interrupted him, and he suddenly didn't want to speak anymore when arms wrapped around his neck, forcing him to bend slightly.
His lips met Chan's halfway, in a short but sweet kiss that made everything else fade away.
"And that?" He asked something out of himself when the contact ended, with his eyes sparkling towards the younger, who laughed softly and fixed his hair a little.
"I haven't had many chances to kiss you these days," the younger apologized, shrugging his shoulders as he walked to the car, leaving him standing there like a fool.
He didn't move until out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the manager and Seungcheol were already arriving, so he hurriedly got into the car as well.